This chapter is about Harley, and was quite difficult to write out... Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, except for my game boy games.
(X: Grooming) Written by Brock Stone.

I'm sure you've all heard the old adage of "Beauty is only skin deep". It basically means not to put everything into physical appearances. The same goes for your pokemon; do not focus mainly on your pokemon's look and completely ignore its inner personality. All the same, do not disregard appearances. Your pokemon gets a confidence boost from looking its best, and from the general good feelings it gets from the grooming process.

Harley walked towards the tiny shop on the corner of the street, a shiny pokeball in his hand. He spoke to it quietly, as he always did while walking to the pokemon groomers. "Don't worry my precious. Soon you'll be looking fine and kicking that sorry excuse for a coordinator around the stage."

Harley was, of course, referring to his self-proclaimed archenemy May. The violet-haired coordinator could imagine his Cacturne standing in victory in the center stage, cameras flashing while his foot rested on the smooth exterior of a Squirtle's shell. May wept in her corner of the room, and Harley laughed in spite above the constant praise of his success. His laughter had extended outward and startled some nearby locals, who rushed to find a safe place to escape to.

His laughter was cut short as he reached the salon doors, and his eyes flittered across the bold lettering on the sign. "500 dollars for a grooming session!" He exclaimed. "What kind of place charges 500 dollars?" He gave a hesitant look downward at his Cacturne's pokeball, while he contemplated what to do.

But some places charge way too much to give your pokemon the weekly spa treatment. In that case, you can do it yourself for a fraction of what it normally costs.

The door to the hotel slammed open, the person standing in front of it hidden by the huge amount of supplies in his arms. The form moved forward and deposited all of it onto the bed, and Harley sighed. Then he sent out his pokemon. The green cactus pokemon looked between his trainer and the large amount of stuff on the bed. "Turne?" He mused.

Harley picked up a mud mask kit and showed it to Cacturne. "I've decided to give you your spa treatment this week, okay Cacturne?" The pokemon looked from his smiling face to the rest of the stuff, and was hit with unease.

The most important thing about grooming your pokemon is to use natural ingredients; free of chemicals. This is so that should your pokemon eat some of the stuff, it does not make them sick.

Harley flipped open the spa catalogue and skimmed to the point where it explained the milk bath. "How about a milk bath first?" He turned to find that Cacturne had left the room. "Buddy?" He decided to just shrug and proceed to fill the tub with the milk. He didn't like how cold it was, so he added hot water until the solution was just hot enough to be uncomfortable. It would cool down while he searched for his pokemon. He left the bathroom, the door closing on his way out to reveal the scarecrow pokemon hiding behind the door.

Cacturne made his way to the edge of the tub. After deeming the contents as safe, the pokemon quietly slipped into the tub and muttered a relaxed sigh.

The milk bath can be a great way to great skin and hair in a pokemon. Just be sure that the milk, or the mix, is not cold. You may also find it easier to just use powdered milk.

Harley poked his head into the bathroom after hearing a sigh. Then he walked in with the mud kit in his hands. "So are you ready to have your facial treatment?" He asked and showed the pokemon the box. Cacturne gave one look to the box and sniffed haughtily in another direction. "What's wrong?"

"Turne, cacturne cact." Harley looked at the box. "You mean you want all natural mud?" The pokemon nodded; Harley threw the box down. "I'll be right back."

Cacturne sank back and relaxed at the peace and quiet for the half-hour Harley was gone. The bathroom door was flung open and Harley carried in another mask kit. "Here it is. An all natural mud mask kit." The pokemon once again turned away from the coordinator. "What's wrong this time?"

The Cacturne explained that the mud was not all natural; a real all natural mask would consist of actual mud. Harley looked bewildered. "Where am I going to find real mud in the city!"

Sometimes your pokemon may insist on having the real all natural. It would be in your best interest to do so, as it is more healthy for your pokemon than not.

Harley stepped out of the bus near the woods outside the city limits. The ground was still heavily saturated with water from the last rainstorm that had passed through. He shuddered in revulsion as he scooped up the mud with his hands and put it into the large baggy.

Back at the hotel, Cacturne had ordered a few dozen scented candles, and was now relaxing in the hot milk water. The candles burning all around were the only source of light. A CD player was playing the peaceful sounds of jazz lounge music. The pokemon had also ordered a hot fudge sundae from room service. Cacturne let the melted dark chocolate and ice cream melt in his mouth.

You may not want to leave your pokemon alone, but there's no guarantee that your pokemon won't have their own spa treatment while you're gone.

Cacturne heard Harley return and in the blink of an eye, everything was gone. No traces of candles or the sundae remained as Harley entered with the mud.

"I've gotten the mud." Harley stated as he washed his hands. "Now we can start on the mud mask." Cacturne looked at him and the mud and nodded, then began telling him something else. Harley's shoulders sagged, as he understood his pokemon's request. "You want nail polish for your spines?" He asked, disbelieving of his pokemon. Cacturne nodded in response. "I'll go get it then."

Make sure that you let your pokemon decide what parts of the treatment they want and which ones they don't. Resistance on their part can mean trouble for you.

Harley stood in line at the drug store, a basket full of fine nail polishes in his hand basket. He looked around at the magazines lining the racks while the long line slowly diminished. Finally reached the cashier, who rang everything up and placed it into a bag. "That comes to a total of 169 dollars." The redheaded female added a bit too cheerfully. Harley froze while he double-checked the green numbers on the machine.

"Do you take charge card?"

The candles and music were back as Cacturne continued to relax in the tub. A mud mask had been liberally applied to most of his face. Another sundae was sitting beside the tub, half-eaten.

In a flash everything was gone again as Harley entered the bathroom. He carried the nail polishes over and set them along the tub's edge. "So, which would you like?"

Cacturne turned away again and Harley's face fell. "Is something wrong?" Cacturne explained to his trainer that he wanted something to eat, and Harley slipped out of the room to go to the nearby store. Cacturne wasted no time in calling the main desk and ordering a few blonde manicurists and masseuses. Then the pokemon watched his favorite shows while the women worked on his spines. He enjoyed a banana split with extra chocolate syrup thanks to room service.

Take extra care when using perfumes and polishes on your pokemon. There is a chance for more harm to be caused than good.

Days later, after Harley had his new ribbon, he opened the bill for his charge card. After seeing the thousand dollars he owed, and restarted his heart after the shock, he vowed to get the much cheaper professional job next time. It was proof that sometimes, your pokemon may not want the cheaper of two evils.

(End)


This is finally done after two weeks of being on hold, collecting dust on my disk. Maybe I'm losing my inspiration, or maybe I can't be lenient on the characters.