This story is based on two of my very own Pokemon. A gentle Garchomp that likes to thrash about and a quirky Sylveon that's highly curious. Enjoy!

Scrattch and Sniffer

I quickly ran away from the Pokemon Center, resolving not to look back or pay attention to any other sounds besides my own running footsteps and sniffling nose. All I knew was that I couldn't let my Dragon friend see me. Not like. . .this. It certainly hurt to run away like this, especially after I finally realized how much my trainer and I loved each other. It was all just so painfully ironic, that something so good and pure between me and my trainer would cause me to loose someone else I truly cared about just as much, if not moreso.

After being released from my Pokeball, I was surprised to see a short, round little Dragon-Type hopping around and swinging his stubby arms.

"Go ahead, Sniffer," my trainer said eagerly, "Go ahead and meet the newest member of our team!"

I was quite curious about this new Pokemon. My nose was already twitching like mad, and I gave it a flick with my right forepaw to calm it down before approaching the Dragon-Type.

He was in the middle of a spin when he noticed my approach. He immediately stopped his thrashing and turned to face me. "Hi there, Eevee girl!" he said with a wave.

I smiled at him, and I said, "Hello! My name's Sniffer, actually. You're the roundest Dragon I've ever seen."

He nodded and said, "That's cause Imma a Gible. The human named me Scrattch. I like that name. But I like your name too! Sniffer sounds fun!" He then rocked on his heels as he asked slowly, "So, we're friends now, right? I'm real nice when I'm not battling, honest. Give me a chance and I can show you how likeable I can be."

I didn't respond right away, as I was captivated by this Dragon-type's mannerisms and way of speaking. His voice was rough and gravely, yet it appeared to switch between eager childish enthusiasm and carefully measured tones. However, even as I was making sense of all that, I found myself at the mercy of my quirky nose once again. I was compelled into taking several big steps forward, and then I leaned forward and close my eyes as I allowed my nose to take in the scent of the little Dragon-type. My nose nearly touched his red underbelly, and soon I was walking a circle around him, sniffing his left horn, then his tail, and his right horn. I then opened my eyes and grinned as I stepped back from him. "Alright, I've got your scent, so okay! We're friends!"

The Gible cocked his head at me and said, "Do you like to smell all your friends?"

"Yep-I-do!" I said with a grin, then I frowned and cocked my own head at an identical angle to Scrattch. "Everyone else except my trainer gets annoyed when I sniff 'em. Buuuuut. . . you didn't mind?"

The Gible shook his head and said, "Not really. Besides, I didn't wanna hurt you by accident, 'cause I'm so strong, ya know."

"Ooooh," I said in amazement, curious as to exactly how powerful this little Dragon could be. I didn't exactly doubt him, I believed that he was strong, i just wanted to know exactly how strong he was.

"You're nose is twitching a lot," Scrattch pointed out.

I frowned and crossed my eyes to glare at my trembling nose. "Yeah, it does that a lot," I remarked. I swore that it had a mind of its own, and simply had to be the source of my quirky tendencies. I wasn't that I was oblivious to my own nature, I simply rolled with it because I really couldn't do anything about it. Seriously, what exactly could I do about my sniff happy nose?

"Does it itch?" Scrattch asked, and he took a few wobbly steps towards me with his right arm extended. "I'll get it," he said, sounding happy just to be helpful.

I froze in place and said nervously, "Um, careful. It's kinda sensitive. . ."

"Oh, I'll be careful," he said confidently, and before I could say anything else, my nose was being smoothly stroked by the Gible's smooth, scaly palm. Honestly, it felt kinda good. "See. I'm gentle," he said in his gravely yet innocent sounding voice.

I smiled with pleasure and said, "Mmmm. . .I think we're gonna be real good friends, Scrattch."

I sniffled miserably at the memory, my soul feeling as dark and cold as the night I was running through. I already missed Scrattch's smooth yet scaly touch, but I knew that I would never be able to feel it again. At least, not in any way that could be described as "gentle". I suppose I could still be with him if I wanted, but I'd most certainly never be able to see Scrattch's gentle nature ever again, in which case I would rather simply never see Scrattch again at all. Having to be around him as I was now would simply be far too painful. I'd never survive it. At least this way, I still had the memories, which were better than nothing.

With a final burst of light, Scrattch stood in his newly evolved form.

"YES!" he shouted, and he began to jump around in a circle, swinging his new claws around in excitement, "I'm a Gabite! I'm a tall and handsome Gabite now!"

Our trainer applauded and said, "Congratulations, Scrattch! You look awesome!"

I was so proud and happy for my Dragon friend, even as I felt my curious nose get all twitchy as it eagerly sought out Scrattch's new scent. It caused me to quickly step over to the thrashing Gabite and said, "C'mon, Scrattch. Let me get your scent."

"Yeah, sure, later okay! Look at my fins! My claws!" he shouted eagerly.

"Careful, Sniffer," my trainer warned, sounding noticeably concerned, "Scrattch is bigger now, and those claws! His thrashing about is kinda dangerous now."

Indeed, Scrattch had full on gone into another one of his laughing, thrashing fits, and it did look pretty intimidating. I had to appreciate my trainer's concern for me as I approached. Nevertheless, I knew what needed to be done, and I sighed and rolled my eyes as an amused smile grew on my face. We'd been together for a quite while by this point, and we'd done this song and dance so many times before. I knew what I needed to do, although the fact that he was now four times my height would make things a bit more difficult.

I lowered my body as I watched Scrattch turn around and slash his claws at nothing. Then, when the right moment presented itself, I made the jump, springing right towards his head, my right forepaw making contact with his snout.

"Boop!" I said mischievously as I fell back to the floor. I smiled up at him, watching as he became crosseyed and immediately stopped his thrashing around, his mouth hanging open dumbly. I giggled happily as I began to sniff around the larger Dragon-type. He had a stronger, earthier scent than before, and I honestly kinda liked it. He smelled verycool.

Once my nose was satisfied and I backed off, Scrattch shut his mouth and blinked his eyes. Then he said with a tilt of his head, "So I guess my off button still works even after I evolved."

"Yep-it-does!" I said gleefully in spite of my quivering nose.

Scrattch smiled as he bent down so that we were a little closer to being face to face. "I think you got another itch, there," he said in softness surprising for a Dragon-type, and then he carefully extended his right arm and tenderly poked my nose with the singular claw on the end of his arm.

The gesture put a smile on his face.

"Looks like I'm still able to be gentle around you as well," he said with a calm look in his yellow eyes.

After stumbling into a bush, I raised a forepaw up to my nose to wipe it as my eyes began to tear up. These were such great memories, wonderful memories, but now they hurt more than anything. I laid there for a moment as I recalled another moment that, in hindsight, I really should have taken more seriously.

The ground shook as Scrattch, now a fully evolved Garchomp for several weeks at this point, stomped the ground irately.

"I can't believe it! Those stupid Fairy-type! I hate 'em! Hate 'em, hate 'em, hate 'em!" he snarled viciously.

I watched my furious friend rant and rage from a safe distance. I laid on my stomach and pouted, my ears hanging low as I watched my friends suffer under his own anger. I was mostly upset by the fact that he was way too tall for me to reach his snout, so I couldn't think of any way to calm him down.

My beloved trainer must have noticed my sad demeanor, as he came over to pet me and scratch behind my ears while saying, "It'll be fine, Sniffer. Scrattch will be okay. Just let him get his frustrations out. Nobody likes to lose."

"Stupid, stinkin' Fairies!" Scrattch shouted as he slashed at the air in front of him, "I lost in seconds! SECONDS!"

It actually hurt to see him like this. So much so that it filled me with a resolve strong enough to spur me to action.

"Sniffer! Stop! You'll get hurt!" my trainer shouted as I got up and ran forward. He got up as well in an attempt to hold me back.

The moment I felt his hand on the back of my collar of fur, I turned back to him and said, "He's my best friend! I can help him, trust me!"

Of course, he couldn't understand me exactly, but he looked into my eyes and saw how certain I was. I could feel the strong trust between us, and he nodded back to me and said, "Okay. . . please be careful, Sniffer."

I nodded, and he reluctantly let me go so I could approach the thrashing Dragon-type. If this was gonna work, I had to get the timing just right. I walked a bit closer to Scrattch, and said loudly, "Scrattch! Please stop! I'm here for you!"

Miraculously, he heard me, and he briefly turned to look in my direction. At that moment, I used Baby-Doll Eyes. It caught his attention, of course, and also stopped his thrashing. He blinked his eyes at me and asked, "Sniffer. . . Don't you think I'm a loser?"

I shook my head, and I promptly ran over and rubbed my cheek against his leg. "No way! You're my best friend, Scrattch! So what if you lost to a bunch of Fairy-types. You'll get 'em next time. And even if you don't, the rest of the team will have your back!"

I soon felt one of his claws gently scratch me on the top of my head, and then tenderly run down my back, making me quiver with delight.

"Thank you, Sniffer," he said in earnest, "I'm so glad I have you to make me feel better."

I looked up at him and said with all my heart, "I'm always glad to do it, Scrattch."

He smiled at me at this, but then he grumbled and said, "But still, I hate Fairy-types. A lot. I will NEVER be friends with a Fairy-type. EVER."

I gave a big smile in response and said, "Don't worry! I'll beat up all the Fairy-types for you!"

I buried my face in my pink forepaws as I sobbed my heart out, my ribbons lying limply on either side of me as I laid hidden in that bush. I don't think I had ever cried as hard as I had at that moment. I had been so happy when my trainer had said he loved me so much after he'd taken all that time to brush and groom me. I replied in Pokespeak that I loved him to, and before I even knew what was happening, I'd sprouted a ribbon and reached out to wrap it around his arm. The next thing I knew, I was a Sylveon.

A Fairy-type.

I had actually been happy up to the moment when my trainer said he couldn't wait to show me off to the rest of the team. Immediately, every memory of Scrattch griping about Fairy-types came back to me. It never had gotten as bad as that first moment, but there were many times when he would suddenly become irritated about Fairy-types, and I would play along, saying that I'd protect him from them and stuff like that. That my nose would sniff them out and I would quickly take them all down before they even got close to him. But at that moment, I was the Fairy-type.

I was now the thing Scrattch hated more than anything.

So, realizing that I couldn't bare to have Scrattch look at me with hatred, I used my new move Fairy Wind to cause a big enough disturbance to run away. It really was bizarre. I loved my trainer so much, I was a Sylveon after all. And yet the thought of losing Scrattch friendship was enough to make me ignore my relationship with my trainer.

At that moment, my misery was violently interrupted when the bush I was hiding under was ripped right out of the ground. I looked up to see a furious Usaring glaring down at me.

"GET OUTTA MY TERRITORY!" he snarled as he nailed me with a Hammer Arm attack.

I was thrown several feet away, rolling along the ground all the while. I opened my eyes and looked up to see the Usaring thundering my way with another Hammer Arm attack at the ready. Frightened, heartbroken, and confused; I was unable to do anything as the furious Pokemon bore down on me.

Then, a blue, red, and yellow blur struck the Usaring like a train.

I watched in awe as the Usaring was slammed into the ground and struck by Dragon Claw after Dragon Claw by the Garchomp standing on top of him. The furious, vengeful roars of the Dragon-type drowned out the Usaring's own cries.

Eventually, the battle, if you could even call it that, ended with Usaring fainted. From where I lay, I could tell that the Usaring would survive. He was just gonna have to rest for a while after he came to. Scrattch stood up, panting heavily with his tongue longing out as he looked down at the Usaring. Then he took his foot off of the Hibernator Pokemon's chest, then he turned towards me and walked over.

My breath caught in my chest as he leaned down towards me and asked, "He didn't hurt you too badly, did he?"

The Hammer Arm did hurt, but it didn't do any permanent damage. I've dealt with similar attacks many times before and been okay. So, I simply shook my head to answer the question.

"Oh, thank Arceus," Scrattch breathed out in relieve, then his eyes became nervous, and he tapped his claws together self-consciously and said, "I hope I didn't scare you with how I took down that guy. You know how gentle I am when I'm not battling, I'm still nice. But he hurt you, Sniffer. He was going to really hurt you badly, and it made me crazy. If I hadn't gotten here when I did. . ." Scrattch closed his eyes, and his body trembled a bit as he said, "I couldn't take it if you were badly hurt. . .or if I lost you."

I was thoroughly mystified by Scrattch behavior at this point. Finally finding my voice, I asked, "But. . .why did you save me? You said you hated Fairies."

Scrattch eyes widened in shock, and he said, "WHAT!? But. . .Sniffer. . .you're my best friend! We've been together for so long. We're so close, you've helped me out so much. We've cheered each other on, we've Double Battled together, you've always calmed me down whenever I got crazy, we know how to cheer each other up, and our tickle fights! Those were great! And. . .and. . ."

Scrattch trailed off as a look of shame overtook him. He hung his head and said, "Oh, Sniffer. I'm so sorry. I never realized that you could evolve into a Fairy-type. I shouldn't have said all those things about Fairy-types. I was just upset that I had a dangerous weakness. But it was wrong for me to hate an entire type of Pokemon just because of that. I'm really, really sorry."

Hope began to slowly bloom inside of me, and I said carefully, "But. . .don't you mind that I'm a Fairy-type now?"

Scrattch lifted his head and said to me, "Would you ever use a Fairy-type move on me just to hurt me?"

I quickly shook my head and said, "No, no, no! No way!"

Scrattch smiled and said, "That's right. You'd never hurt me, Sniffer. We're best friends, and I really care about you. I want us to stay together. I-."

I immediately got up on my paw and pounced towards him, cutting him off and nuzzling his chest. "THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" I shouted as tears streamed down my face.

I felt Scrattch's arms gently wrap around me in a careful embrace, and I smiled warmly as I felt all the fear and heartache melt away, only to be replaced by joy and relief.

"I could never hate you, Sniffer," he said softly.

I looked up and smiled up at Scrattch, and my eyes were drawn to the yellow star on his snout. For so long I had longed to touch it, but as an Eevee, I was far too short. Even as a Sylveon I was too short. But then, I suddenly came to the realization that as a Sylveon, I now had ribbon-like feelers. Very long ribbon-like feelers.

Still being held in Scrattch's arms, my smile became rather mischievous as I said to him, "Hey, Scrattch. . ."

"Hmm?" Scrattch said with a tilt of his head.

I giggled a bit. In spite of his big teeth and horns, I found him to be rather adorable at times. I then used one of my ribbons to reach up and make contact with Scrattch's snout.

"Boop," I said with a grin.

Scrattch's eyes crossed, and he blinked several times. Then his eyes widened and he said in mock horror, "Oh no. . .a Super Effective Fairy-type move. . . Feeling weak. . ."

Stifling my laughter with one of my other ribbons, I proceeded to tap the yellow star again with a, "Boop."

Scrattch rolled his eyes upwards and muttered, "Ooh, she got me again. . . Legs getting weak. . . Can't keep standing. . .Don't think I can handle. . .another attack."

"Boop," I say as I tap the star a third time.

Scrattch let out a groan before falling onto his knees, while stilling holding me in his hug.

"My strength is leaving me. . ." he whimpered, ". . .but there is still hope. . .her ribbons aren't as powerful as her paws. . .as long as she doesn't use her paws. . .I won't die. . ."

I almost felt kinda bad at this point. His acting was quite convincing. However, I simply couldn't resist. I really enjoyed this power I had over my big Dragon friend. So, with a twitching nose and sly grin, I slowly raised my right forepaw up and took full advantage of the fact that Scrattch was on his knees at the moment, eliminating the issue of our height difference.

Scrattch gave me straight up puppy dog eyes and said, "Please. . .don't kill me. . ."

"BOOP!" I said triumphantly as I pressed the pad of my forepaw onto his yellow snout.

"Bleah!" he slurred out as he stuck his tongue out, closed his eyes, and fell forward.

My eyes widened as I realized that he still hadn't let me go, and I squeaked out in surprise as I suddenly found myself pinned down underneath the massive Dragon-type. However, he had made sure to twist his body to the side so his full body weight didn't crush me. Instead, as he laid on his side, he both held me close and down on the ground simultaneously.

"I see what you did there," I remarked huffily, although I wasn't exactly uncomfortable in this position. I simply wished to regain control of the situation, and not be used as a teddy bear. "Good job, Scrattch. Let me go so we can get back to the others."

"Can't hear you. . .I'm dead. . ." Scrattch whispered into my ear, ". . .If only a Fairy-type would use her magic on me again. . .That could bring me back to life. . ."

I rolled my eyes and quickly tapped his "on/off button" with my forepaw again. "Wake up," I instructed.

". . .I feel the magic moving through me. . .I'll be alive again. . .in an hour or two."

"What!?"

"That's how long my naps usually are."

"Well. . . yeah, that's actually true. But what about the team? And our trainer!"

"We looked each other in the eye. He trusts me to keep you safe. Okay?"

". . .Well. . .hmm. . .a nice nap with you hugging me. . . sold. . ."

"Mmmmm."

"Mmmmm."

The story is not finished yet! There are two separate endings coming soon. You get to choose the one you want to see:

The Best Friends Forever ending

The True Love ending