Just a short one, but I'm hoping to try and get more active with the story! Hope all of you are well.

CH 8 START

The store that was built into the tram station was huge. It reminded Harvic of the markets back home. It had items ranging from clothes and survival gear all the way down to books and food. Harvic looked at the various brands of coats that lined the walls around him.

Some had various fake furs lining their hoods and insides. Some were insanely bulky and looked uncomfortable. Harvic grabbed at one of thinner jackets that seemed lined with some light felt material. Putting it on, he checked the fitting to make sure he could wear it. It was navy blue and was held together by buttons in the center. It looked like some heavy-duty shirt rather than a jacket. Putting it on, he could definitely tell it would keep him warm, the warm inner material hugged his skin, and he already felt the heat getting trapped inside the sleeves.

Peeking into the nearby standing mirror, he couldn't help but make funny faces at himself. His beard had grown longer, the space under his eyes seemed darker. He noticed his vision was slightly blurring as well over the past few months. Ignoring the thought, he continued examining himself, making strange faces. As his faces got wilder, he heard a snickering snort from behind him. Turning to look, he saw Jeremy laughing at his antics.

"Jeremy, are you sure you don't need to wear anything? I know you're a fire type and all, but shouldn't you still bundle up or something?" Harvic asked him.

He watched as the Pignite crossed his arms and shook his head, grunting his name a few times.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Your internal godly fire keeps you warm, right?"

Jeremy smirked and proceeded to flex his arms, puffing smoke from his nose.

"You should get a hat or something so I can tell you apart from other Pignites."

Jeremy continued his grunting.

"What do you mean I'm supposed to be able to tell the difference? Don't you remember when you got lost in Haeriven city?"

The Pignite stomped one of his feet and looked away from Harvic, his arms crossed.

"You can be mad all you want. But you're getting a hat!"

Harvic lunged for the nearest Pokémon hat rack he had been keeping an eye on and grabbed the first one he could reach. It was a comically large top hat. Lunging forward, he tried to force it onto the Pignite's head, but missed. Jeremy had launched to the side and turned to face him, a dark shadow of determination over his face.

"You're gonna wear this hat! You'll look really dapper!"

"PIG-NITE!"

"You're gonna wear this fuckin' hat!"

Harvic lunged at Jeremy a handful of times, trying to guess his movements each time. Seemingly expecting this, Jeremy pulled off some next-level jumps and dodges to get away, being successful each time. Stopping only when Harvic ceased his own movements. It was almost like he was trying to imitate those Pokémon battles he always watched on TV when he got the chance.

He saw the Pignite grin and begin to gloat, supposedly daring him to come closer with one of his hooves.

Hat in hand, Harvic began walking towards him sternly, causing the Pignite's eyes to widen slightly at the new attempt. It looked like he expected him to give up by now. Jeremy Raised his hands before him, grunting in Pokéspeak.

"Pig-Pignite!"

"I can't make you wear this hat without getting closer."

Jeremy began walking towards his approaching rival, smoke puffing from his nose.

When the two reached, the struggle was immense. Jeremy launched upwards just as Harvic grabbed him, sending them both backwards into the coat racks. As the struggle ensued, more and more racks of clothing were toppled and clothes strewn about.

Harvic was launched backward into a rack of clothing. A nearby worker had originally began walking towards them, but upon noticing all of the toppled racks, simply walked away muttering to themself.

Jeremy looked up in triumph, staring at Harvic in defiance.

Harvic's grin expanded as he pointed a finger at the Pignite across from him.

"I have already won," he said.

Jeremy's eyes widened as he quickly examined himself in a nearby mirror. The top hat had been placed on his head; his ears had poked through the available holes in the top. The hat was made for Pokémon just like him, and it fit perfectly.

Harvic could see a smile appear on the Pignite's face, though he was trying to conceal it at first.

WHAT DID YOU GUYS DO?

They both spun and saw Angelica looking at them in surprise, Joey at her side. She was wearing a bright pink light coat over her dress. It looked more like a hoody than a coat. A large Pikachu was on the front and it was labelled "I 3 Kanto." It contrasted her black dress considerably.

Both Harvic and Jeremy looked around at the damage they had done. While the store itself wasn't damaged, dozens of clothing racks were tossed on their sides onto the floor. Clothes were strewn about everywhere, and the floor was a mess.

"Uh…Nice coat?" Harvic replied, shoulders shrugged.

AAAAGH, I'M GONNA HAVE TO CLEAN UP AFTER YOU GUYS BEFORE WE GET KICKED OUT.

The clothes all began glowing blue as the racks slowly lifted back onto their feet. The clothes all aligned on their hangers and were brought back as they were.

Just as everything returned to its rightful place, the employee from earlier returned with a man wearing a dress shirt.

"I don't see any 'huge disaster.' What are you talking about?" The man said.

"It was literally right here! I swear, everything was on the floor! It was all fucked up!" The employee replied, looking dead in the eyes.

"Listen, Greg, I think you need to take a vacation or something. You've been off the wall lately." The man replied, starting to walk away.

The employee looked around at the clothes and then at Harvic, "I know you had something to do with this!" He then chased after the other man who had walked back into his office.

Harvic sighed with relief. "Thanks Angelica." He whispered.

"Well, it certainly looks like we're all picking up a new style, at least we'll be warm for Villbow City. Has anyone seen Angela?" Harvic asked.

"How do I look?" A familiar voice reached from behind them.

They all turned to the voice and were greeted by Angela, who had picked out a bright blue sweater to wear. Her horn protruded through holes on either side, it looks like it was made for Gardevoirs. Either that or she just tore some holes in some poor sweater. She asked the question to everyone, but was staring directly at him.

Her hair was curled in Gardevoir fashion but was slightly messier than usual. She must have had some trouble getting the sweater on Her eyes looked intently into his.

She looked stunning.

Smiling after a few seconds, he gave her a big thumbs up. "You look pretty! I mean great! Pretty great! Ah, you know what I mean."

He thought he could see a blush on her face, but she turned away too quickly for him to be sure. "We should pay for this stuff and head out to that meeting before we're late."

"Yeah guys, let's go, let me see those price tags."

Later on, as the finally made their way through the various winding routes and forest paths, they reached the meeting location. The laboratory was a large stunning brick building with a massive chimney that spouted smoke from the top. The lights were on and there was a small line of people waiting to walk in through the front door. Various Pokemon wandered the nearby area. He noticed a few Beartics wandering close to the nearby frozen lake. A family of Vanillite and Vanillish circled around the fences of the property border.

Thankfully it wasn't snowing outside, but there was a decently thick blanket of snow covering the ground.

An intimidating burly man wearing a black suit stood at the door, checking cards and letting people in one at a time. Some people were joined by their Pokémon. Some were clearly Pokémon trainers; others were obviously in romantic or platonic relationships.

Angela huddled onto his arm, and he couldn't help but wonder if other people thought they were romantically involved. He had put the others in their Pokéballs in order to not take up as much space in line.

"Are you cold?" He asked her.

"A little, the sweater helps a lot. So does your arm."

"Good." He smiled.

The warmth of the fire blazing in the room brushed past their faces as they entered the building. It was much larger on the inside, and was filled to the brim with people and Pokemon of all kinds. Everyone was talking to each other, holding coffee and various pastries that seemed to cover the tables that lined the far wall.

The smell of sweets wafted through them, and he could hear Angela breathe in deeply.

"Do you want to go grab some sweets?"

"Uuuh, I don't know. I kind of want to watch my figure," she said. She looked down at her waist and poked it a few times.

"Oh come on Angela, you look great! You can definitely spoil yourself a little."

He noticed a blush creep onto her face. She lifted her arms shyly, having not expected his response.

After a few seconds she dropped her arms, and she was beaming.

"You're right, I'm going to go grab a donut. Do you want anything?"

"Nah, I'm good. Make sure to try not and lose me in this crowd okay?"

"I've always got my eye on you, don't worry." She winked, before turning and disappearing into the crowd.

Harvic leaned back onto a nearby wall near the entrance. His heart felt strained.

"Fuckin' hell. What are we, are we in a relationship? She definitely knows I like her." His eyes swept across the crowd, scanning for green and blue. Her new sweater helped her stand out. Just as he caught sight of her, a voice sounded in his ear.

"Why don't you just tell her?"

"Gah Fuck! What the hell?" He jumped up, slamming his head on a shelf that was on the wall above him.

The shelf rattled, and a small vase tipped and rolled forward. Just as quick as he had hit his head, the vase was launching toward the ground. Harvic cringed, expecting a shatter and a hundred eyes turning his way.

No shatter came.

"Man, you are so jumpy." The voice from earlier continued. "If I let that fall the professor would have had your head."

Looking up, he saw a figure standing before him. The voice was female. She was dressed in a big hooded jacket and had sunglasses on. It took him a moment, but he was quickly able to piece together who it was.

"Oh crap, hey Anya."

"Hey, it's Harvic right?"

"Yes ma'am. Why do you still have your hood up? And what's with the glasses?"

"It's my disguise. This way I can attend the meeting without being attacked."

"Attacked? By the Orion guys?"

"No, by my fans."

"Oh." Harvic couldn't help but chuckle at that. Looking to the right of her he saw Gunner, the Lucario from before. For some reason he had a fake mustache on, which caused Harvic to roll forward with laughter.

"Hey shhhh, don't give us away. It's serious, we would be mauled by fans in this packed place."

Forcing himself to hold back, Harvic brough himself down to a hearty chuckle, then to a smile.

"Sorry, funniest shit I've seen in a while. Totally wasn't expecting it."

He could see Anya smile for a few seconds before she turned serious again.

"But no seriously." She continued, returning the fallen vase to the shelf it fell from. "Why not just tell Angela how you feel?"

"Well, I'm not entirely sure if she likes me that way."

He could tell he said something wrong, because her face fell and her eyebrows raised. "Really? I've known you for hardly any time now, and I can tell that she does."

"Wait what?"

Gunner stepped forward and chimed in as well. "Yes. I noticed you two a few spots ahead of us in line. She wouldn't let go of your arm the entire time, and wouldn't take her eyes off of you."

Harvic's chest compressed and he felt pressured. He couldn't tell if he was blushing, or if the heat from the furnace was making his face hot. "Well I'm still not entirely sure if it's okay for us to be…together like that. I mean there is anti-Pokémon terrorists and people are more judgmental than ever this past year."

"Well hey this is the most open region of 'em all Harvic. If it's gonna happen anywhere, it'll happen here. Do you need proof? Look around, there's a dude making out with his Blaziken over there. No judgmental stares in sight. No, seriously, they are going at it over there."

Harvic couldn't help but laugh at her response, and purposely avoided looking to where she pointed unsure if what she said was a joke, but understanding her point.

"Well on top of that. What if I'm not good enough for her? Hell, I don't even have a job. I thought if I could paint or something that I could make a living, but I haven't even painted for a while now."

"Now it just sounds like you're coming up with excuses to not confess to her. If you think that, then why are you and your Pokémon still all traveling together?"

Harvic gritted his teeth slightly. He was mad because he knew she was right.

"Well I've never had a girlfriend before, so to be honest, I have no idea what I am doing."

"Shame. Has she ever had a boyfriend before?"

"Well, no but…"

"Look at that! You guys can learn together! Just like Gunner and I. You guys are gonna have so much fun!"

"You are assuming that she'll just outright say 'yes' to me."

"Of course, I am, because she will!" She said with a big grin. "When I asked Gunner, I wouldn't take no for an answer, he's a bit shy so I had to be really outgoing with it."

Harvic looked over to Gunner, who gave a sheepish grin and nod.

Anya quickly grabbed Gunners hand and looked back to Harvic. "Oh! Here she comes! Gotta go, Good luck!" Just as fast as she appeared, Anya disappeared. Following seconds behind her went Gunner, who gave Harvic a quick thumbs-up.

Angela returned with donut in hand. She smiled brightly as she took a bite and swooned.

"These things are so sweet! We ought to get these more often!" she chimed.

Harvic couldn't help but smile.

Before he could speak, a loud buzzing sound rung out for a second before being replaced by the low hum of a microphone.

"Attention please. Yes, yes, settle down now all've you. This meeting is about to begin, we're also gonna be havin' our Villbow annual raffle and the information panel for our upcoming Pokémon-Human Beauty pageant afterwards. If you wanna be here for those, then you can stay after. This year's raffle top prize is gonna be a set of five front row tickets to the upcoming Pokémon League Championship battle that'll happen early next year."

Harvic scanned around as the voice continued on, before noticing a short elderly lady holding a microphone on the other side of the room. She was shifting a few papers around in her hands before raising the mic again.

"Don't forget people, the number one rule of these meetings is bein' quiet about any plans or information that is given out today. We don't want any of those Orion goons finding anything out and causing a panic. All've you here today have been invited directly by myself or my administrators. I'm trustin' you guys okay? Okay, let's move on."

The elderly lady shifted the round glasses that sat on her face, and squinted as she looked closely at the papers in her free hand.

"Number one, make sure you're all being vocal. Even if you're not an active member in the bigger operations, you can still help by bein' vocal pro-Pokémon! We have a few in the crowd I can see who are together with their Pokémon. I see some couples; I see some friendships and I can see some what looks like parental relationships. Good! Be yourself! Don't hide these things from those around you! You have nothing to be ashamed of! Xendar is a place of love and family for Pokemon and Humans!"

He noticed that as the elderly lady; who he now assumed was the professor, continued to speak, Angela wrapped her arms around his own and pulled him close. His face grew hot again. His mind began racing and he couldn't hold back his thoughts.

She's pulling me so close. Is it because the Professor said that stuff friendships? Or maybe is it what she said about families? Ah shit, I really hope Angela doesn't see me as a brother or something.

Harvic's eyes widened as he continued thinking to himself,

Does Angela even know I'm attracted to girls? I've never talked to her about any of that stuff. Hell, I've never talked to any of them about it. Given that Angela reads my mind all the time, I'm just going to have to hope she's caught my mind wandering or something.

Harvic sighed heavily, catching Angela's attention.

"What's wrong Harv?" She asked.

"Eh, It's nothing, just got a bit lost in thought again."

"What is it with you and daydreaming all the time? You daydreaming about something, or…someone?" She smirked, looking directly into his eyes.

"Ehhh, well…"

"I'm just playing Harvy, don't get so pale! You look like you saw a Duskull!"

A lump fell in Harvic's throat.

SHE'S GOT TO BE PLAYING WITH ME. SHE CAN READ MY FUCKIN MIND ANYTIME. THERE'S NO WAY SHE DOESN'T KNOW.

"Angela, do you read my mind often?" He asked her, once he could speak again.

"Huh? Well, over the past few months I've noticed I don't often have to. Your thoughts and feelings come to me naturally, especially after the last accident we had. It's weird, I'm not sure if it's normal, or if I'm just doing it subconsciously. When it comes to what you're thinking, it's just that…your thoughts sometimes get really jumbled and hard to read when you get anxious, or think about certain things. Sometimes it feels like you block me out."

Her sentence ended with a sad note in her voice, before she turned to him with an awkward smile.

"But, uh, I'll never pry! I mean, I'd love to know what your thinking, but if you don't want me to on some things I completely understand! I mean it's your mind! I totally respect your privacy!" The paused grew longer between each of her sentences, only matched by the growing blush on her face.

Harvic felt himself calm down and sigh of relief, and then laugh, Angela following suit. The awkwardness dissipated between them.

As he thought of the mind-reading and the abilities that Angela had, an old memory popped in his head.

"Hey Angela, what does it mean to be 'marked' by a psychic Pokémon?"

He could see her eyes widen and quickly return to normal.

"Oh, well yeah, that means a psychic Pokémon has left a mark on a human or other Pokémon as a sign that they're…uh, good friends! And to let other Pokémon know. Some psychically gifted humans can sense it too I think."

That makes sense, and it explains what that random Gardevoir was talking about back then. Why did it have to be so creepy about it all though?

"Ah, sweet! Does that mean you and Angelica have me marked as your friend?"

He could see her face drop and felt her shift.

"No, no, no, Angelica is too young to mark anyone. And someone can only be marked once by one Psychic Pokémon."

"Does that mean you marked me?"

"I, uh, well yes I did. I marked you. But don't go telling everyone that I did, it's not something most of us openly talk about unless…" She trailed off.

"Unless what?"

"It's tough to explain Harv, we really should pay attention to the Professor, we probably missed a lot." She said sternly, taking another bite of her donut, watching as it eased her tension and let her shoulders ease back. A brief pause dragged out between them as she continued chewing. Harvic could hear the professor speaking amongst the background noise of others in the crowd speaking. He wasn't really paying attention, all he could do was think about what Angela had said.

"Angela, what do you feel about Pokémon-Human relationships?"

He watched as she nearly choked on the donut she had just bit into, before swallowing.

"What, why?" she managed to cough out, trying to regain her composure.

"Oh, well seeing all of these Pokémon together with these people, and meeting Anya and Gunner, it just got me thinking."

Harvic's heart rose in his chest, and he couldn't bear to turn his head to look at her. he could tell the heat of his face was noticeable. The problem with this is that he couldn't see her reaction to his words.

"Thinking about what?"

"Just what you think about it. Would…you ever consider being with a human like that?"

A long paused stretched between them. Harvic heart began pounding at his chest, begging to be let free from the anxiety of waiting for her response.

Just as he began to hear her talk, a middle-aged balding man approached them holding a huge roll of numbered tickets.

"Did you want to participate in the raffle this year? You put forward just twenty dollars or two thousand Pokédollars and get a chance to win a bunch of prizes?"

Harvic and Angela both let go of eachother's arms as he pulled his wallet from his pocket and purchased a ticket from the man. Giving a quick look around, he noticed the professor was done speaking on the mic, and was now talking to a group near the front of the room. The mic was taken by a young man in a lab coat and glasses, probably the professor's assistant. He was giving out directions to the various exits of the building for those not partaking in the raffle.

"Ah shit, Angela we missed it all, we'll have to see if we can ask someone or something after the raffle."

Looking to Angela he could see her eyes had shifted down towards the floor for a second before turning back to him, and a small smile returned to her face.

"Oh, haha, yeah. You're right, sorry I didn't mean to distract you."

"Huh? I'm pretty sure I was the one who distracted us."

"Anyways, do you think we'll win anything?" Angela continued, changing the subject quickly.

"Yeah, according to the dude that sold it to us, everyone wins something."

"Oh good, I'm going to go grab a bottle of water, I noticed some over there earlier." Angela walked off as she spoke, not giving Harvic a chance for him to ask her to grab him one too.

Not even a few seconds had past before the disguised Anya had returned to Harvic, this time approaching from his front as to not startle him. The crowd had thinned out a bit as a handful of people left, not taking part in the raffle.

"Sooo, I'm going to guess it didn't go well? Angela looks absolutely depressed." Anya started out by saying.

"What? No, she just went to grab some water. We didn't even really talk about it."

Anya's eyebrows raised at his response before replying, "You're completely dense, aren't you?"