AN: Hey there! Another Chapter for you all. As I said in the Author's Note for Chapter 20, I have up until Chapter 25 written. Please keep inspiring me with your reviews, and if you have any suggestions for plot or development, don't hesitate to let me know! Like I said, I'm happy to revise and incorporate new ideas into these Chapters as I upload them.
"I've been waiting for you." The voice says, its tone slightly impatient. My mind's eye opens and the now familiar swirling colors surround me. The voice is Gardevoir's. That is obvious now.
"I had a tough time getting to sleep." I say, my tone innocent. Somehow I remember all of it, the sex, May cuddling me, and also that she knew about how close May was the whole time and she was turned on by it all as well. My mental voice doesn't struggle so much this time, the words coming to me much easier.
"I wonder why that was?" Gardevoir's voice is playful. The colors turn to bright pinks with undertones of dark purple, representing her playful mood, and start swirling faster as she speaks.
"I don't understand, Gardevoir." I tell her, I'm confused, and the colors, because they are just as much affected by my emotions, start to turn gloomy. It feels, somehow, like Gardevoir's presence in the room comes closer to me. I can tell that she's willing something to happen, for some sort of expression of love to manifest itself, and then I feel something. Like a hand on my face, its touch gentle and fleeting, caressing my cheek and chin and then slipping off. It makes me gasp a little. There was no hand, and my cheek doesn't exist, yet the feeling still came through.
"It's OK, Seth. I liked it, and that's all we have to say about it." Her soothing voice enters my head, accompanying the feeling of her hand on me. The colors in the room start to shift to mild yellows and creamy whites, soothing me. They change again after a few seconds while I consider her words, and her joy is made obvious by a myriad of shades of orange and yellow and red, almost like fall leaves swirling around us, kept at bay by an invisibly clear glass box.
"I still just don't know what I feel about this all, I think I was too turned on to think." I say, my voice sounding guilty. Again, the colors shift, changing gloomy again.
"Well, then you had to like it, at least a little."
"Yes." I admit, simply.
"Then don't worry about it. It felt good. I love you, and you love me. That's really all that matters." She comforts me again and the colors change yet again. It's like a light show in our minds as I struggle to accept my feelings for this situation. I don't really understand why she would just be OK with it. I mean, it was exciting, and naughty, and it felt a little wrong to do, which made it more exciting, but it was still crossing some sort of line in our relationship, and in our friendship with May. I guess Gardevoir has always had a bit of a naughty side. I remember the time with my dad in the room, and then I remember that I was just as invested as she was during that time. I guess I have some sort of perverted nature as well, hidden inside.
All in all, I think I'm OK with it, after all there was nothing happening between May and I, she was just close, and we already knew that she's a cuddly sleeping companion. Maybe this psychic bond is making us all grow just that more comfortable with each other. It makes me wonder if it'll ever happen again.
Sensing the change in my emotions by the swirling colors, Gardevoir manifests another feeling, this time her hand on my chest. It's strange that in here, we can touch with no bodies. It feels, almost, unnatural. But at the same time I'm really excited that this part of us is growing and evolving as well. The feeling dissipates after just a few seconds, perhaps because it's hard to maintain.
"See, everything is OK. We can just enjoy this really naughty thing for now, and if the opportunity ever presents itself again... then maybe we can have more fun. That's all this is, just a way for us to have fun." Her voice is serious, but I can tell that she really enjoyed it. As she speaks, our color and glass world starts to shift, not just the colors, but the room and our consciousnesses. I can tell it's starting to fade away, but I was already about to say something.
"OK Gardevoir, I love you." I say out loud, in the real world. I awaken just as I start to say it, and it's the strangest feeling because I don't will the words to come out. They just do. I snap awake after I say it, the waking world rushing to meet my eyes as they shoot open. I've rolled onto my back, and both my arms are wrapped around Gardevoir and May, who are cuddled in my right and left sides, respectively. Gardevoir is starting to wake up as I lay there, taking in the situation. May is sound asleep, and out of the corner of my eye I can see that she's cuddled into my shoulder, and her mouth has a dumb, sleepy smile on it. She looks peaceful. So peaceful in fact, that she's drooling on me.
"I love you too. I guess you were dreaming about me, huh?" Gardevoir's voice is playful and sleepy. Her head is near my shoulder, and she climbs up my body to reach my face, lying almost completely on me, the only thing keeping her from straddling me is May, who's leg is wrapped around mine, and who's arm is draped lazily over my chest. She moves so her heart doesn't stab May in the arm and wake her, and instead pushes it into my flesh as she comes down to connect our lips for a morning kiss. I can feel that she's lacking a certain set of green panties, and I can feel there's a spot on the bed still wet from some sort of activity that we both took part in last night. I also notice that my boxers are around my ankles, somehow managing to not come off completely during the night. I kiss her gently, and then she rolls off me. She stretches and stands up, her feet never touching the ground as she instantly starts levitating. She turns around to look at me. I'm trying to move out from May's embrace without waking her up. Gardevoir giggles a little at me, sensing my distress. She starts digging around in the sheets to find her discarded underwear. She finds them and slips them on while I struggle with May's sleeping form. I manage to get her arm off me, and her silly, sleepy smile fades and is replaced by a goofy, sleepy frown. Her eyes open for a second.
"Not yet." She mutters, simply. She must think I'm trying to wake her up.
"May, let me get up, you're all over me." I say gently, with humor in my voice. Her eyes shoot open and a slow blush creeps along her face. She suddenly recoils from me violently, like she had to process what was happening first before she acted, and turns completely around in the bed, bouncing me and the bed and making it squeak.
"I'm sorry! I guess I cling when I sleep!" She says, her voice distraught. She buries her face in her pillow and I take the opportunity to sit up and pull up my boxers.
"It's OK, we knew that going into this." I laugh, and I can hear Gardevoir's bell-like laugh in response to my words. May turns her face slightly to look at us, her cheeks blazing. She sees that we're both laughing and relaxes a little.
"I did sleep really well though. It was nice and warm with all of us in one bed." She admits after a second. Gardevoir grabs my hand and helps me off the bed.
"I agree. Very warm." I say, mischievously. I secretly bring my hand down Gardevoir's back now that I'm standing next to her and pinch her butt lightly. She flinches, looking at me, her big red irises honed in on my own blue ones. Her eyebrow furrows, but her mouth curves up in a smile.
"Yes, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Gardevoir broadcasts to us, emphasizing the word bad. I fake a hurt look before my smile breaks it and I'm grinning like a dork at her. May regards us with a look of curiosity, but she's usually pretty perceptive of this kind of stuff and I can tell that it's an act, and I catch her eyes glancing at the wet spot on the bed that I revealed when I got up. I nonchalantly pull the sheets back up, acting like I'm just fixing the bed. She doesn't say anything and just buries her face back into her pillow.
Gardevoir leads me to the bathroom and we get ready for the day with a shower and for me, a shave.
May takes a shower after us, getting ready while I try to find my cleanest clothing to wear for the day. Once I've found something suitable, I pack up my things and strap my Pokéball belt on. Things are going to get serious today.
Seriously boring that is. It takes a few hours for us to wash all of our clothes. True to her word, May has done a good job wearing all of the clothes she bought, and it has been a while since the last time we had a chance to do laundry. We spend too long in the laundromat, chatting about our plan and just about random stuff. May doesn't seem to be too perturbed by last night's events. As far as I can tell, she must have been seriously asleep while Gardevoir and I did what we did. I feel myself longing for another chance at doing it again, and when I touch Gardevoir's hand I can tell that she's thinking the same thing.
Once we're done at the laundromat, things finally start picking up. May and I both call our Swellow out of their Pokéballs and ask for their help getting to Mauville city. They nod, knowing the way.
Somehow, as small and light as Swellow is, she manages to carry me through the air at a reasonable pace. Asking her to carry Gardevoir would be too much though, and so, unfortunately, I had to put her in her Pokéball for the flight, the last time being when we were in Fortree city. This time, she seems to understand though, not wanting to overly burden Swellow. She certainly wasn't happy about it, and neither was I, but it was something we had to do for this plan to work. I'm left feeling anxious and guilty, and I brood over whether or not this is actually a good idea the entire flight. I can't even focus on how amazing the view is from up in the air.
Its only about an hour or so later that we arrive in Mauville city, the largest city in the Hoenn region. It's not connected to any major oceans or seas, but lies directly in the middle of the Hoenn region, and therefore has become a sort of hub for trainers new and pro. Our Swellow stop at the Pokémon center, and we return them to their respective balls, and I release Gardevoir from hers. She instantly grabs me in a hug; she missed me. I hold her back for a few moments, stroking her hair, and apologizing. I was holding her ball in my hand the entire time we were flying so that I didn't lose her.
Once we're landed, we head north from Mauville and towards route 111. The route is fairly straightforward until we run into some small boulders blocking our path. May calls Blaziken out of his ball with a smile, and he comes out of the ball in a flying kick that demolishes the rocks in a matter of seconds. May gives him a high five and a thank you, and then he's back in the ball and we're on our way again quickly. It makes me think about just how much we as people rely on Pokémon for so many things.
After about twenty minutes of walking, the route starts to diverge, and turns off to the west, while a vast desert area starts to open up in front of us, and the dry, hard dirt beneath our feet gradually starts to turn sandy. Mays stops and opens her bag, digging for too long to find the goggles she bought and then hands a pair to each of us. Mine fit pretty well, but then I see Gardevoir struggling with hers and try to help her. We manage to get them on and sitting on her face without squeezing her head too much, but the eye holes could be bigger and more spread out. It was designed for a human head, and her head isn't human, despite being similar. She assures me that they'll work and that they aren't hurting her eyes, so we continue into the desert, with the sandy air whipping around us.
Surprisingly, there are some other trainers out in the desert, trying to capture Pokémon and having some battles. May and I get challenged by some of them, and I get some experience in for my Anorith and Duskull. Pokémon trainers are incredible people, willing to go into even the most inhospitable environments in order to expand their collection of Pokémon.
After some searching under the desert sun, we manage to see the outline of a large stone structure in the distance, far away from where any of the other trainers are training. We start to head towards it, the wind picking up as we do.
By the time we arrive at the structure, the wind is howling and slapping sand against us. It almost feels like it's trying to push us away from the big rock. I try to shield Gardevoir and May as best I can, particularly Gardevoir seeing as her only clothing is a silk-like dress. We run through the sandstorm and once we're inside the mouth of the cave, we're protected.
We shake off the excess sand that has attached itself to our clothing, and Gardevoir pulls off her goggles once we're inside. I can see red marks around her eyes and on her face by the light of the desert sun outside. I gently run my thumb over them, feeling how deep they are.
"Those were too tight for you." I comment, gently caressing her face now.
"It's OK. It doesn't hurt." She cuddles into my hand, showing me she's alright. I smile at her, and then remember why we're here, and start to feel nervous. With my hand still on her face, she looks into my eyes and then I'm not feeling so nervous any more. She must be trying to help me by manipulating my feelings and making me more confident. I know she doesn't do this for anything else, so I'm OK with her using it occasionally to help me not feel so much anxiety. I release her face, and the feeling of confidence wanes a little. Her eyes drop from mine and start to examine my face.
"Thank you, Gardevoir. I'm alright." I smile at her and she smiles back. I take a deep breath.
"I'll be right here to back you up, Seth." May says, sensing my feelings in an entirely non psychic way. I nod at her. "Thanks, May." I tell her sincerely, and a very faint pink flush spreads over her cheeks. She returns my nod, and holds her fists in front of her, in a cute way of showing determination.
I take Gardevoir's hand and we slowly make our way into the cave. May remembers that her Plusle should be able to help light the cave and releases her from her ball. She emits a glowing, electrical, pulsing light from her body that illuminates the cave around us, all while sporting a cute cheerleader outfit, complete with pom-poms. May has been dressing her up again. Plusle seems to be on board with this outfit though, as she throws her arms up and happily calls her name as she's released. We head deeper in confidence.
The cave opens into a wider, circular area. It's still dark further away from us, but from where we are, I can tell that the inside of the cave is much larger than it seems from the outside. I take a look around and then I see it.
In the center of the room, there's a large pillar jutting up from the ground, but it looks like it has arms and legs attached to it, and that makes it look like a sitting pillar-like Pokémon. It seems to have some sort of braille written on the pillar where a face might be. It looks dormant, like it's sleeping or something. My breath hitches. This is scary. This Pokémon is the stuff of legends, and according to those legends, ancient people imprisoned the legendary trio of titans in these hidden caves because they're so powerful and uncontrollable. Can I really beat this Pokémon and capture it?
The Pokémon doesn't move as we gingerly approach it. Once we're standing close enough to touch it, we start discussing how to awaken it. The Pokémon, while intimidating, is still "asleep" and doesn't appear to be as large as I originally thought. Sitting down, its about the height that I would be if I was kneeling.
"I don't know. Maybe you should try touching it." May whispers, after I ask about how to wake it up.
"OK. I guess I could try that. You two should back up a little." I whisper back, motioning with my arm. May nods, but Gardevoir holds her ground, her eyes regarding me with defiance.
"I'm not going to just leave you. I'm here to help you." Her voice sounds a little whiny in my head, but is backed by determination. I give her a look, trying to tell her that I'm just trying to protect her, but then I realize its futile and motion for her to get behind me, and she floats to me and stands behind me with her hands on my shoulders. She won't be battling this thing, so she should be ok with me. May moves back about 10 feet away from the Pokémon, far enough to avoid any damage, but still allow Plusle's light to reach us. Slowly, I reach up to the Pokémon's face, reaching for the braille. My fingers brush the raised bumps, and then they suddenly spring to life, the braille lighting up with a piercing red glow. My hand flinches back, and instinctively I jump back, pulling Gardevoir with me. The thing rises slowly, its legs unfolding from under it. It stands to its full height, which is just under my height. Momentarily, I feel a little more confidence brewing. Even standing, it's not anywhere near how tall I was expecting. It makes a loud, crunching, gurgling sound that sounds like it could be two rocks rubbing together underwater. Its arms spin around in a wild attack. Its torso doesn't move, and it's like its arms aren't connected to its body. Fortunately, Gardevoir, May and I avoid the attack since we stepped back. I quickly call out my Swampert, throwing his ball out in front of me. Swampert emerges from the ball, ready to fight. The ball bounces back, and flies back to me. I grab it out of the air and hop back with Gardevoir again.
"Swampert, use water gun!" I call. Swampert launches into action, jumping back from another spinning attack and then blasting a geyser of water out of his mouth at the opposing Pokémon. The hit connects, stunning the Regi for a second. Swampert doesn't waste time, and digs underground when I issue the command. The Regi recovers and starts pounding the ground indiscriminately, making a horrible crunching growl. The sound reverberates around the cave, make the whole thing vibrate with its ferocity. It's angry.
Swampert explodes out of the ground, crashing into the Pokémon's rock-like body. He uses his powerful legs to propel himself off of the Pokémon, and jumps back towards me, holding his position in front of me, waiting for his next command.
"Mud shot!" I call, pointing powerfully towards the stumbling Regi. This is going too well. Swampert projects mud from his mouth, hitting the Regi more powerfully than the water did. The thing cries again, reverberating the cave again. Then it charges forward, its arms flailing. It moves faster than I'd have thought, and its too late for me to get away. The attack is aimed not only at Swampert, but at me as well. Gardevoir and I are directly in its path!
"Swampert! Dodge it!" I command, not wanting him to get hurt as well, I hold Gardevoir behind me, not letting her try to take the hit for me. If I have to sacrifice myself for her, I will. Swampert disobeys me. He takes a stance in front of me, his powerful arms up to block the incoming attack.
"No! Swampert, move out of the way!" I yell, starting to move more towards him. He looks back and yells his name back at me, his call fierce. It makes me stop. The Regi's arms come slamming down onto Swampert's. He blocks them, and they're locked into a strength battle that I'm afraid Swampert can't win. We're facing a legendary! We should be dodging and attacking from a distance. Swampert struggles against the Regi's unyielding strength. He holds his own, forcing the arms back. The earth beneath Swampert's feet starts to get dug up by the force he's holding back.
"Swampert!" I call once more, tears starting to form in my eyes as I pull Gardevoir with me and we get out of the line of attack. Swampert's strength finally falters, his purpose fulfilled now that Gardevoir and I are out of the way, and the Regi's powerful, rock solid arms come crashing down on Swampert, pummeling him to the ground mercilessly. Swampert is down for the count. It's all I can do to return him to his ball as quickly as possible to protect him from any further attack, like he protected Gardevoir and I. I hold back the tears that were starting to form. I have a job to do, and I won't let Swampert's sacrifice go in vain. He'll be ok once we're back at the Pokécenter. I grab the next ball from my belt and throw it quickly into the battlefield.
My newly caught Duskull emerges from the bright light of the Pokéball. I'm hoping that the Regi's arm attacks will phase right through him, as they seem like fighting type attacks. Duskull immediately looks determined, he knows his job despite only recently having been captured.
"Duskull, use will-o-wisp!" I shout out, my voice echoing in the cave. Duskull's one glowing eye gleams from behind his skull face and three blue fiery orbs form around him, circling around his ghostly body. The fiery orbs shoot towards the rampaging legendary and engulf it in a strange, blue flame. They burn savagely, making the Regi cry out against the cave walls again. They disappear as suddenly as they appeared, and the legendary Pokémon's rocky body is covered in scorch marks. It cries out in anguish. Being burned like that should make its will to fight diminish.
Regardless of its burns, the Pokémon comes charging at my Duskull, but when its arms connect with him, they phase through his spirit-like body, like I'd hoped. Duskull disappears from sight, and then reappears behind the Regi, leading its attacks away from Gardevoir and I.
"Now, use night shade!" I command, and Duskull obliges. Duskull's eye glows in the relative darkness of the cave again, and a swirling vortex of purple miasma descends upon the legendary Pokémon, surrounding it and engulfing it. The Regi shrugs it off, and then flinches from its burn. It charges again at Duskull, this time lifting rocks from around the room with some sort of mysterious power. It hurls them across the cave and one connects with Duskull, sending his light body flying. He slams against the wall, and then slides down it, struggling to stay afloat. He lands on the ground, on his hands, his eye glowing behind his skull. Then the eye's glow disappears and he falls down, defeated. Damn it! Is this completely hopeless? I return Duskull hastily and then quickly decide on the next Pokémon. I grab Anorith's ball. All in all, he's a mediocre choice. He'll be weak against the Regi's rock type attacks, and only decent against his powerful arm attacks, but he has water gun, which will be good against this Pokémon's rock-like body. I throw his ball wordlessly, waiting for the ball to fly back to me before issuing a command. I'm starting to doubt we can do this.
"Seth, don't lose hope!" I suddenly hear May's voice in my head. I permit myself a quick look back and see May and her Plusle transfixed on my battle. She looks determined, though her eyes are full of wonder. She smiles shakily at me when I look back, and gives me a thumbs up. She's scared, but she believes in me. I feel a renewed sense of courage, and turn back to the battle just in time to tell Anorith to dodge. He does so easily, the Regi's burn making his movements more sluggish. I notice that it might actually be getting worn out. We might be able to do this after all!
I reach back and take Gardevoir's hand. She's feeling more confident now as well, and I can feel it through our connection.
"Anorith! Use water gun!" I call, smiling with hope. The water blast from Anorith pelts the legendary Pokémon's back, making it stumble forward. It turns around, angry but tired. Rocks around the room start to lift from their positions on the floor again, they hover to the center of the cave, floating in a circle. The legendary is preparing to launch them at Anorith.
"Anorith! Use your metal claw to slash through those rocks as they come at you!" I command. Anorith glances at me, and his eyes look determined; he's ready.
In an amazing display of agility and power, Anorith jumps to the side as the first rock flies at him, he jumps on that one once it's on the ground, and uses it as a platform to jump up and slash the next into pieces as it hurdles towards him. He falls to the ground, scuttles to the side again, and then slashes two more as they approach him. He scurries forward, gaining the edge on the sluggish legendary Pokémon, and then destroys the last rock with a jumping slash that carries him into the Pokémon, who he slashes with all his might with both claws. The hits cut deep, gouging out pieces of the Pokémon's rock body. It cries out, stumbling backwards as Anorith gracefully falls to the ground. With a humongous crash, followed by an earthquake that knocks over May and her Plusle, the legendary Pokémon falls, landing hard on its back on the cave floor. I don't hesitate. I grab one of the great balls I still have with me and hurl it at the Pokémon, the hopes of May, Gardevoir, Swampert, Duskull and I all resting on this throw and on Anorith's commendable efforts. The ball makes a loud, echoing metal on stone clunk as it hits the Pokémon, and then bounces off, opening and swallowing the legendary in it's light. The ball falls to the ground, shaking violently as it works to contain its contents.
And then it explodes open, dispelling the Pokémon and shattering into pieces.
"No!" I yell, frustration heavy in my voice. It was so close!
As the Pokémon emerges from the ball, its arms come down in a titanic smash towards Anorith. I watch in slow motion horror as I know there's nothing I can say or do. Anorith is going to get smashed by those enormous stone arms and I have to watch it happen. What can I do? How do I save my Pokémon?
The Regi's arms descend on Anorith, and in an explosion of sand and dust, smash down on him. I look away, scrambling for Anorith's Pokéball. If I can just get him in and to the Pokécenter, he can still make it. I just need to return him. I look up and aim the ball and then I can't believe my eyes. Anorith is still there, holding back the legendary Pokémon's attack with his glowing claws. He's straining against the attack, holding it at bay with his own metal claw attack. The white glow of his claws suddenly starts to spread across his body, engulfing him in a white luminescence. His form shifts and changes, growing larger, his claws still holding the attack at bay as they rise up from the ground, morphing into powerful scythe-like blades. The shape rises until it's nearly as tall as the legendary Pokémon. The light dissipates, revealing Anorith's evolved form, Armaldo.
Now immensely more powerful, Armaldo pushes back against the Regi's attack and throws it backward, lunging forward after it and slicing it with its huge scythes. It's using fury cutter, and every time it hits, it gets more and more powerful. Armaldo slashes again and again, gaining momentum, slashing and chipping the Regi's rock body. With one final slash, it knocks the legendary back onto the cave floor. Armaldo stands over its opponent in triumph, vibrating its neck and emitting a fierce, screechy, metallic cry. The braille-like marks on the Regi's face dim and stop glowing, and without any hesitation I grab another ball and throw it like a baseball pitch at it.
The ball engulfs the legendary Pokémon again, and falls to the ground, shaking much less violently than last time. It makes a whirring, machine-like sound and then with an incredibly satisfying click, I've captured a legendary Pokémon.
Thank you for reading! I'm still planning on uploading the next few chapters every week. After Chapter 25, I might be uploading more slowly, as I haven't started writing those Chapters yet.