~{Author's Pre-Notes}~
(A black and white emotionless Mimikyu lays in a pure white room, staring straight up as a black lightbulb burned a few feet away.)
...
...
Waiting for something to happen?
...
Indeed you all have been. You've been waiting months for a chapter, and I decided to make one because it indeed has been far too long.
So yeah, working on the retypes for my other fic has taken far more time than I had ever assumed, but if you read those recent chapters, then you can understand why. I mean, have you SEEN how long they are? Good lord. I've had to change so much while also adding more content to them, but now I have only 20 chapters left! Yes, I know that seems like a lot, but remember that as I near the end of those retypes, I won't have to be changing too much since the most recent chapters are nearly as good as they are now. So it'll take shorter to 'retype' them.
(Mimikyu stands up in a white room, ignoring the black laptop and white sketchbook on the side.)
But now, we've finally gotten a continuation of such a beloved story. Where did we leave off? Ah, yes... Our protagonist got in an unfortunate situation of unconsciousness, with no hopes of getting out of a raging river himself... Just what will his fate be?
(Mimikyu picks up a knife from the ground.)
Let's find out, shall we?
(Stares at the knife as a heartbeat echoes in the room.)
...
(Points it at self.)
For the record, NOT suicidal. Just another reference for a game.
Answered Comments (Oldest to most recent):
ninfamespinal: No doubt it hurt like hell.
Madko Ota Sanches: No, Victor doesn't have the abilities of Pokemon or genetic traits he can pick off them.
KingPlotBunny: *cough* *cough* Maybe *cough*
Lelouch Of Zero: Pfft, he's the protagonist, of course he'll be saved. Maybe...
Exia Zero: I had to remind you because it was necessary to bring in a reference! Bwahahaha
Silver Crow: Victor's odds of having a Mimikyu? Well, I already have his whole team planned out. So I can't confirm or deny if he'll get one or not.
5AT05H1L1NK: I'm not following the four move limit technically. Because I just don't think it makes sense for pokemon to forget moves after learning new ones, but the four move limit will still come into effect in upcoming formal battles as a rule. Kind of gives battles a more competitive and strategical feel, get me? And no, Victor doesn't have abilities nor will he have one unless it's something that his human body could replicate in some way.
the willyrex: Thank you so much for commenting again! I do think I might reference other protag trainers in some way? Maybe relating to the villains of Rainbow Rocket, but other than that, I doubt I'll ever bring them up. And thank you for being supportive even with this long wait!
lonelyboi69: Man, cliffhangers suck, huh? What kind of asshole would-? Oh wait~
Silent Master of Winds: Well I made you wait long enough! Enjoy this chapter to the fullest! To 2021!
Lildeevil: Er... Apparently not... But I mean, I ended up okay, so it's all good.
UknownHero: He's kinda too perfect because he hasn't exactly been exposed to the hardships of the pokemon world. He's an innocent and naive little cinnamon bun that hasn't seen too much. Yet. Nyehehehe. Also, I don't really know how subtle I can be about those references man, they seem fine and I don't think they ruin the story. And fossil pokemon will play an interesting role much later in the story. I really hope I write all the way to the champion league too.
fangs of death: There shouldn't be a change to Marnie or Hop's team, however for Marnie there will be one additional pokemon joining her, seeing as how she only has 5 total in the games. As for Hop, I'll use the general pokemon he catches.
~{Bridge Field- 12:08AM}~
*CRACK!*
She hated it.
*BOOM!*
She hated everything about this.
She hated how the sudden flashes of lightning would occasionally blind her. She hated how seconds after, thunder would explode in her ears. And she hated the lump of dread forming in her stomach, knowing that a reckless trainer was outside in the middle of a thunderstorm.
Her pokemon had branched off to search for any sign of the missing boy. Her Pelipper flew low to the ground so he wouldn't become a lightning rod. Her Barraskuda had dove into the rivers and effortlessly blazed through the waters thanks to its Swift Swim ability. Her Golisopod was slow, so he stayed close to the cave to search for Victor. And Nessa's signature Drednaw ran close to her trainer as they ran through the wet fields, only an already soaked towel covering Nessa's head.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! FUCK! FUCK FUCK!"
Drednaw was quite disturbed by how many times her trainer repeated the same word as they ran, the lightning strikes adding more anxiety to her as she ran.
"I'm gonna STRANGLE that kid when I see him!" She yelled, holding an arm up to shield her eyes from the oncoming rain. So much distress flooded her mind more than the waves of her Drednaw when it flooded the stadiums. Nessa didn't know the exact reasons Victor came out into this hell hole of a storm, but she guessed it had to do with helping more pokemon. But he ran into a thunderstorm, for fucks sake, what was wrong with him!?
Even so, she'd be damn if anything would happen to the boy out here.
Nessa tried to search through the plains of grass and violently blowing trees, but she could only get clear glimpses of the area whenever lightning flashed. Yet, she was breathing so hard as she struggled to calm herself in the violent vibrations going through her ears despite covering them up. But even with how scared she was, the model continued to run forward with open eyes, searching for any sign of Victor.
She wasn't gonna crouch down and cower, not again.
It was funny... It seemed like nothing could ever get her over her fears of thunder and lightning, yet here she was, running through a thunderstorm like a mad lad.
Nessa knew that people could get lost forever in these types of storms, so screw cowering when someone's life was at stake.
Victor really brought a lot more out of her...
But she really wished he did it in a better way than getting himself right into a thunderstorm.
Back to which, Nessa stopped running cupped her hands over her mouth while taking a deep breath.
"VICTOOOOOOOOOR!" She screamed as loud as she could, but of course, her voice couldn't go far with the louder booming of thunder echoing.
She continued to run north with her Drednaw, eyes scanning all over the place. Even if Bridge Field was wide, it still had an overall straight path into the Stony Wilderness. So Nessa knew that if Victor was still in the area, he had to be somewhere ahead. She knew this for sure since the watery footprints left in the cave hadn't dried, so he hadn't left too long ago.
And sure enough, after a few more minutes of running, she saw something.
Nessa skid to a halt at one particular lightning strike, catching a glimpse of a humanoid figure. Her gut told her everything she needed to know, so she ran in the direction of where she caught sight of the person like her life depended on it.
But as she got closer, she felt her stomach drop, a dreaded look of panic now stuck on her face.
In the distance, she could see a large river violently flowing with several branches, rocks, and even whole trees themselves following the current. But there was one tree standing in the middle of this violently flowing river; the only reason still being able to remain in place being the small psychic aura surrounding it. And this psychic energy belonged to a small Kirlia that desperately struggled to hold it for the few seconds he could.
And on that tree itself, she saw an Impidimp and Noibat holding onto a branch for their dear life with the boy Nessa was looking for trying to reach them. He wasn't even wearing his raincoat, as the item was on a Noibat nervously watching beside the Kirlia as the boy tried to save his friends.
"VICTOR!" Nessa screamed, running straight towards the river.
Her Drednaw followed close behind, looking as nervous as her trainer at the life-threatening scenario the boy had put himself in.
Despite screaming so loud, Victor didn't even turn his head, indicating that he didn't hear her. All his attention was on crawling inch by inch on the branch, making his way to the two small pokemon needing help. He got closer and closer, reaching his palm out for them. At the same time, the Impidimp close to him reached one of its tiny arms, desperate for safety. And for a moment, it seemed like he'd actually be able to get a hold of him, but that was until-
*CRACK!*
Nessa's eyes widened in horror as a bolt of lightning struck the middle of the tree, splitting it violently and sending Victor and the pokemon of them flying over the river. Yet not even a second after being sent off, Nessa saw Victor snatch the two pokemon from the air and spinning himself for added momentum, then throwing the two off to the river bank. All right before he fell into the violent murky water below.
She didn't even hesitate. She threw her towel off her head and dove right in after him.
He was surrounded by a world of nothingness, an empty void of complete silence echoing. Nothing moved, nothing spoke, there was only nothing. Simply darkness in every direction, only nothing being everything, nothing interesting or boring, just emptiness.
But in this completely empty world, something happened. He heard something. He felt it enter his circle of senses. He could hear the shuffling of someone, the eerie hissing of an opening metal door, light footsteps, but despite hearing all of these things, all he saw was still nothing.
At least, not until he realized that it was because his eyes were closed.
'Nnnnn...'
A young boy's eyelids rose to let his brown orbs gaze at the room of darkness surrounding him. Yet, compared to the pure black filling his vision moments ago, this room had light leaking in from the now open door. The room was revealed to having nothing but white on all walls, ceiling and floor included. The only exception of color was the blue bed that the boy was waking up on.
He weakly raised his head off his pillow, feeling drowsy from suddenly awaking and raising an arm to shadow his eyes from the light entering. He knew the secured metal door across from him should be closed. He knew that it should only open in the mornings to let him out, and he knew that it would open again just to let him back into this lonely room. Yet it was open. And who came in? A familiar shadowy figure he couldn't even see well.
His vision was disturbed from the assault of light in the darkness he had been adjusted to. But despite this, the boy's instinct immediately recognized the figure as the large metal door slid shut behind him, draping the room back into darkness.
'Papa?'
The shadowy figure had been making sure the door was sealed when his son's voice called, causing him to jump and turn back to him. But immediately realizing that it was just his son's voice, he released a breath of relief.
'Oh, Victor... I guess the door is louder than I thought it would be... Did I wake you up?'
He did, but Victor was too sleepy to complain. He simply released a small yawn and rubbed his eyes.
'Well, sorry about that.' His father chuckled as he approached, sitting on the edge of the bed and gently rustling his son's hair. 'I promise I won't keep you up for long, champ."
A still tired yet confused Victor raised his head to stare up at the shadowy figure.
'But... papa? I thought you and mama can't come here?' He sleepily mumbled.
He caught a glimpse of the relaxed grin his father gave him.
'Yeah, I can't. And if anyone finds out, daddy's gonna get in a lot of trouble.' He raised a finger to his lips in a shushing manner. 'So promise not to tell anyone, okay, champ?'
Victor let himself lean to the side and rest his head against his father, closing his eyes and enjoying the feeling of getting his hair stroked.
'Not... even mama?'
'Not even mama.' The man confirmed.
Victor could hear the easy-going positivity from him, one thing he always liked about his dad. He always smiled, he always laughed, he always made him feel safe. He always made it feel like everything was gonna be fine.
'But... *yawn*' Victor moistened his lips and rubbed his eyes. 'Why aren't you sleeping, papa?'
The gentle stroking of his hair stopped, and he could feel his father lightly grip his head.
Victor weakly opened his eyes and attempted to look up. 'Papa?'
But his face earnestly pressed Victor's head against his chest, preventing him from looking at him. And with his head pressed there, he felt his father take a deep breath as if to relax.
'Well... Victor. Did you know that there's going to be a... 'test' for you next week?'
Victor snuggled closer against his father, trying to stay awake despite his parent's calm warmth, causing him to start dozing off.
'Test?'
'Yes, Victor. A test... Don't worry, you won't have to study for it. But... I want to give you a good luck charm.'
'Really?' Victor mumbled.
'Yeah... But other people can't know about it, okay champ?'
'O...kay...' By now, Victor's eyelids felt like anchors pulling them down, struggling to stay awake any longer due to his body's automatic clock.
His father smiled above him, but he reached into his lab coat pocket and pulled something out.
'Now, Victor... I'm gonna start counting Mareep. Do you see them?'
'Mhm...' His son's eyelids closed completely, his body slightly shifting with each soft breath he took.
'Good. Picture each of them as they jump.' The man innocently said, pulling down the collar of his son's shirt to expose his shoulder.
Victor smiled and didn't notice what he was doing, simply giggling a bit to see Mareep heading towards the pink fence he pictured.
'One.'
He felt his shoulder gently rubbed with a cotton swab.
'Two.'
He felt his father take a pinch of skin on his shoulder.
But he didn't even process it, simply dozing off to flying Mareep.
'And...' He felt his father take a deep breath.
'Three.'
Victor felt a pinch on his skin that had him flinch and grip his father's coat, but it only lasted for about a second. Then something was applied in place, covering the area where he felt that pinch.
'I'll make sure you get out of this, champ...'
And now, his consciousness started fading. His body became limp, arms went under his knees and back, and he was lifted up in his father's arms.
'I'm sorry...'
The door of his room slid open, to which the world became blinded in white light.
*BOOM!*
"*Huff!* *Puff!* Nngh!"
Nessa was choking as she got a hold of Victor by his armpits, dragging him to the grass and as far away from the roaring river as possible. She and the boy were completely covered in mud from the murky river, her body freezing as the rain poured down at her. Yet, at the same time, the rain helped to slowly wash the filth that had been left on them.
"Skewda!" Her Barrakuda was floating just about the ground beside her, having been their savior. When Nessa had dove into the river and swam after Victor, he had submerged lifelessly above the water, clearly unconscious. Even if she was a good swimmer, swimming in a raging river was too much of a challenge. Yet she chased right after Victor and managed to grab hold of him, to which her Barraskewda came to her rescue and dragged them out.
And now here she was, gasping for air and on her knees as her head stared down right above Victor's, seeing no movement from him whatsoever. The storm had died down by a small scale, the rain growing lighter, but she didn't give a damn. As all it took was one look at the boy below her for her to realize that he wouldn't wake up without help.
She only took a second more to catch her breath after that life-threatening experience before then pressing her ear right against the boy's chest.
She didn't feel him breathing, turning her blood colder than the freezing water on her.
She immediately straightened her elbows and placed her hands over Victor's chest, pumping it repeatedly. Everything around her darkened, leaving only her and the boy in a single spotlight.
"Wake up! Wake up! Please!" She pleaded, her expression stressed and strained.
She didn't think. She simply acted.
She lowered her head and placed her lips over Victor's mouth.
She provided him a puff of oxygen before going back to pumping his chest, repeating this process.
There could be an entire war around her, and she wouldn't have given a damn. She didn't notice her Drednaw come running with other pokemon. She didn't notice her Pelipper flying down beside them. She didn't even notice Midori's worried crying beside her. All she cared about was bringing this boy back.
Why did he have to be so selfless? How did he even end up on that tree in the middle of a raging river!? He's on the verge of death because he set out to help those pokemon in trouble, yet Nessa knew he'd just do it again if it meant saving them.
She was on the verge of tears, like the Kirlia right next to her, watching helplessly and only hoping that she could bring him back. After a few minutes of the same process, Nessa was starting to lose hope. What was she gonna tell the others? What was she gonna tell his mother? That she had failed as an adult to protect him? That she let a kind boy that the world needed... die under her watch-?
Her grief was cut off as one of the pumps to Victor's chest had him spray the water that had been caught in his lungs, followed by a coughing fit from him as he struggled to catch his breath.
A wave of joy and relief overtook Nessa and the pokemon around her as they heard the boy cough, followed by visibly breathing.
"KIRL!" Midori dove right onto his partner's chest, crying against him as the rain continued to fall over them.
Nessa let her hands hit the ground, and she let out large breaths of relief, letting her head hang while the pokemon around her cheered.
"Thank god... Thank god, thank god..." She willed her tears back as she caught her breath. Her heart aching at the thoughts of losing the boy. She was so glad he was okay.
She didn't know what she'd do without him...
Wait, that last thought-?
"Dred!"
Her Drednaw nudged her in panic.
"Huh?" Nessa snapped out of her thoughts, to which she raised her head and immediately caught sight of the problem.
Victor was still on his back. He was breathing, or at least trying to through the rain getting into his nose. But not just that, but he was shivering and still unconscious, a pained expression on his face.
"Shit! We gotta get him near the fire! He must be freezing!"
She saved him, and now she had to ensure he'd be alright. She had to be the adult she needed to be.
*BOOM!*
A bolt of lightning struck a tree a few yards away, causing the pokemon around her to jump with startled cries.
But not Nessa. She didn't even seem to notice it as she picked up Victor and held him in a piggyback position. Filled with determination, she turned back to her pokemon.
"Pelipper! Carry the Noibats and Impidimp in your beak!"
Pelipper was surprised by Nessa's demeanor under this storm, but he eliminated his own worries, and resolution filled his eyes.
"Pel!" He opened his large beak and scooped the two Noibats and Impidimp in it, all three small pokemon using Victor's raincoat to huddle in.
Nessa then addressed the psychic pokemon beside her.
"Midori, you can walk fine, right?" Her voice was powerful and confident, looking down at him without any signs of fear as another explosion of thunder echoed in the sky.
Midori recovered from how distraught he had been, seeing as his partner was fine. He gave a confident nod to the model and pumped himself up, awaiting instructions.
Nessa looked around at where she was, lightning flashes allowing her to vaguely see the area around her. They were undoubtedly in the Stony Wilderness, indicated by the stone structures she saw in the distance. The river must've carried them here from Bridge Field. So, it was obvious where to go to get back.
"We have to follow the river to lead us back! Midori, you and Barraskewda lead the way and take out anything that comes flying at us! Pelipper, you carry those little ones back to the cave! Drednaw, you stay close to me!" She directed.
"Pel!" Pelipper's voice was muffled by the three in his beak, but he spread his wings and took flight ahead of them, although only flying about two feet off the ground.
As for Midori, he hopped onto Barrakskewda. Then the Skewer pokemon raced forward right after Pelipper, with Nessa running as fast as she could with Victor on her back and Drednaw beside her.
It took a while of following the riverbank, but soon she caught sight of her Golisopod by the earlier part of the river where she had dived. It seemed that he had finished searching the area around the cave and had traveled farther to help in Nessa's search. But seeing her now, he was glad that she and the boy she was fond of had made it back, albeit in rough condition.
"Gol!" He was surprised to see Nessa look so firm under the storm, but he was also happy that his trainer appeared to have gotten over her previous fears in such storms.
He followed her as she passed, remaining close like her Drednaw was doing as they all headed back.
And after several minutes of running, they made it back to their sanctuary.
"Quag!" Nessa's Quagsire was lounging just in the entrance when he saw his trainer arrive, happily waving his arms up.
Toxapex was watching over the refuged pokemon, all of them now huddled up in blankets provided by Ace and dozing off. But hearing Quagsire call, the Brutal Star pokemon turned his head and hissed at him to be quiet and let the pokemon sleep. But that was before her trainer and Pelipper came rushing in, to which he was shocked to see an unconscious Victor on her back.
Ace had been kicking more twigs into the fire before turning his head and catching sight of Victor, his eyes widening.
"Raboot!?" For once, he showed a rare emotion of worry as he watched Nessa rest the boy down by the fire and check his condition.
It was here by the illuminating fire where Nessa caught a full view of Victor. The boy shivered as he tried to curl himself into a ball to conserve his heat, soaked to the brim. Not only that, but Nessa saw a partly bleeding bruise on the side of his head.
"Shit! It must've nailed him when he fell in the water!"
She turned her head to Ace, barely able to hold in her voice. "Does he have any bandages anywhere!?"
Ace's worry was replaced with a firm look as he nodded, turning back and running into Victor's tent. He knew the boy was basically prepared for anything thanks to his mother, so hehad to have medical supplies in his backpack somewhere.
Pelipper opened his large beak and allowed the Noibats and Impidimps to get out by the fire. Although, they stared with guilt at the boy that had gotten hurt because of them.
"Noi..." The injured Noibat, still wearing Victor's raincoat, looked the most devastated out of all of them, being that he was basically the one that had the human go out with him to search from his friends.
"Kirl!"
But he was brought out of those depressing thoughts when he felt the raincoat taken off and replaced with a large towel to wrap around him and his two friends, gathering them together.
"Noi?" He turned his head and saw Midori reassuredly smile beside him, drying himself with his own towel while the Barraskuda he had ridden crowded by Nessa.
"Kirl, Kirl!" Midori patted him on his head, letting the Noibat know that it wasn't his fault.
Then the Emotion pokemon let out a small sneeze, sniffling a bit.
"Noi?" The Noibat raised the towel to offer him a spot between him his other two friends, which Midori happily agreed to, and they all huddled together.
In the meantime, Nessa looked down at the shivering boy rolled him on his side into the recovery position. But that was then she realized she had to remove his wet clothes first.
"Can't let him catch hypothermia..." Nessa muttered, gently grabbing his shirt.
But as she did, she heard a groan, making her pause with widened eyes.
Victor slowly came to, but he only partially opened his eyes with a tired expression. He blinked a few times, weakly gazing upward at her.
"Ne...ssa...?"
"Victor!" Nessa uttered, not having expected him to wake up. She moved a hand to his cheek and gently felt it, feeling an unnatural coldness to it.
"Why... am I...?" Victor cut himself off with a grunt, his head aching from where the trunk had impacted him.
"Don't try to talk! You need to rest! Just raise your arms and let me handle it!" Nessa told him, moving her hand off and raising his upper body up to lay it against a boulder. "I shouldn't keep you seated up for too long."
Victor was too dizzy and tired to argue, ending up weakly lifting his arms as Nessa pulled his shirt off him.
"C... Cold..." He whimpered, feeling the soaked shirt move against him.
"Sorry, please bear with it a little longer." Nessa stated, pulling off his soaked pants next.
Her pokemon were gathered around her in case she needed any help. They watched her pull off his shoes, then his socks, and she was just about to pull off his underwear when-
"RABOOT!"
Ace was back with the medical kit but had completely widened eyes as he wondered what the hell this lady was doing to his trainer.
Nessa turned to him in confusion, wondering why Ace was freaked out, with his bulging eyes and deep red blush. But when she looked back down at the last article of clothing she was grabbing, she understood.
To which her face went from zero to burning in an instant.
"Wha-Wha-!?" The model let go of Victor's underwear and turned to Ace with her arms up as if in surrender. "I-I-It's not like that! I-I wasn't gonna do anything!"
Ace just glared suspiciously at her, bringing the medical kit while Nessa's pokemon sweatdropped.
"Do... what...?" Victor didn't register what was happening around him, the cold and exhaustion bringing him in and out of the world.
"N-Nothing!" Nessa squeaked, pleading he wouldn't snap out of his daze.
She turned to Ace and started whisper screaming to him.
"H-He's gonna catch a cold if we don't get those soaked clothes off him!"
Hearing that, Ace relaxed and realized that she was right, nodding as he put down the medical kit beside her.
"Boot."
Nessa was now left nervously shivering from embarrassment rather than the soaked clothes on her. She turned back to Victor, seemingly going to get back to what she was doing.
Staring at the last piece of clothing that had to be removed, her hands shakily reached for it.
But...
She ended up withdrawing her hands and covered her now crimson face.
"ARGH! Why did you have to make me conscious of that now, you stupid rabbit!?"
"I-I'll just leave those on him! Y-Yeah, it should be fine!" She told herself, removing her hands from her face and taking deep breaths. "I-I'll just dry him now!"
Her pokemon couldn't help but sweatdrop once more. She didn't even bother taking any of them for help... But then again, Drednaw doubted that any of them could efficiently remove the last piece of clothing gently with their lack of flexible limbs nor movable fingers.
Nessa grabbed a partially wet towel from the side and started drying Victor's body. But with each passing second, her blush worsened while drying each part of his body.
"Don't stare, don't stare, don't stare. WHY ARE YOU STARING!?" She scolded herself, ending up glancing more to Victor's chest than anywhere else. She knew this already, but he really did have decent abs for a young boy. Nothing too special, but you could tell he'd be much more muscular as he grew up.
His muscles weren't even close to the many muscular men Nessa had run into during her modeling career or when she went swimming, yet it was Victor's body that turned her into a flustered mess.
"What the hell is wrong with me!?"
At least a moment later, she was able to calm down just a little, as her concern for Victor's bruised head came in, so she started treating him. First, she received another towel from Ace and finished drying off the boy. Then Ace provided her with a blanket which Nessa wrapped around Victor, keeping him warm. Judging that he was comfortable enough, she grabbed both rubbing alcohol and a small cloth from the medical kit, applying it to the side of his head where the broken trunk had impacted him.
She felt the boy tense with a small hiss, instinctively trying to turn his head away if not for Nessa holding it there.
"Sorry, kiddo..." She muttered, padding the wound a few more times. When she believed she applied enough rubbing alcohol, she grabbing the roll of bandages and wrapped them around his head.
When finished, she sat on her rump and let out a breath of relief, letting Victor lay against the ground in the recovery position. The young trainer was breathing softly with the blanket wrapped around him, yet he looked uncomfortable as he squirmed in his spot.
"Hey, what's wrong?" She asked, once again moving up into a crouching position right beside the boy.
Victor didn't give her an answer. Instead, he kicked something out from under his blanket. It had been the last article of clothing he had on him, leaving only the large blanket covering him up. It seemed wearing wet underwear was really uncomfortable.
Nessa stared at the black underwear that had been kicked out, the thought that Victor was completely naked sinking into her head.
She simply stood up and turned away, another deep blush seeping onto her face as her mouth became a nervous squiggly line.
"Wha-What was I thinking just now!?"
She seemed to be losing hope for herself at this point.
"Gol!"
"E-Eh?" Nessa looked up to see her Golispod in front of her, using one of his black claws to point at her shirt, hinting at her wet clothes.
"Oh... Right..." She had been burning so much inside that she didn't even notice that she was still wearing soaked clothes.
"Raboot."
Nessa looked down and saw that Ace was carrying a pink towel and two new pairs of shirts and shorts.
"Oh." She gave him a smile, crouching down and momentarily forgetting her inappropriate thoughts. "Thanks, little fella."
"Boot." Ace shrugged as he gave her the items, then taking a seat beside his partner.
"Even if he doesn't act like it, he really cares a lot, doesn't he?" Nessa couldn't help but chuckle.
Then she felt something crawl up in her, and she opened her mouth.
"*Achoo!*"
She sniffled and let out a sigh.
She turned to her pokemon, who were simply lounging about in the area now that Victor was fine. None of them needed to be dried, seeing how they were all water-types. Nessa was once again heavily glad that she chose to be a water-type trainer, as she doubted that she could've brought back Victor with other types of pokemon.
"Thanks, you guys. You all deserve a night's rest. " She smiled, bringing out her Pokeballs.
She got nods in return, her loyal partners basically saying that they were just happy to help.
Nessa returned them all into their Pokeballs, putting them all away to god knows where she puts them.
Then she let out a yawn. She was getting really tired, the panic and struggles in the storm really drained her, and she really wanted to just go to sleep.
First, she had to dry herself off. It was nerve-wracking, taking off her clothes and praying to god that Victor wouldn't wake up as she dried herself with a towel. She could've gone back to the tent to dry off, but it was Victor's, and she didn't want to get it wet inside, not to mention she needed to stay by the fire to keep warm.
But soon, she was in the new red t-shirt and black shorts Ace had brought her. She let out a breath of relief that she was no longer in anything cold, still using a towel to thoroughly dry her hair.
"Boot."
"Hm?" She stopped her rubbing and looked down at Ace, who was staring up at her with a rather expecting look. "What's up?"
"Boot, Raboot." He pointed his paw left, to which Nessa glanced down at the other pair of clothes left on the ground along with a new piece of boxers on it.
"Boot." Ace then pointed right, which Nessa followed to see him addressing Victor, who was sleeping.
Nessa went from zero to beet red in an instant, mouth falling open as he understood what Ace meant.
"Wha-Wha-!? I gotta put his clothes back on!?"
Ace deadpanned.
What did she expect? They couldn't leave the fire running all night. So Victor had to be dressed by then, or he'd be freezing for the rest of the night.
"B-B-But-!" Nessa looked down with her hands on her cheeks. "I-I can't do that!"
Ace continued to stare at Nessa with the same look.
'Can't do that,' my ass.
She had already undressed him herself earlier. What was different about now?
Apparently, that difference was enough to have the girl turn into a fumbling mess as she crouched on the ground and clutched her head at the thought of slipping those boxers on Victor.
She then rose her head nervously at Ace.
"C-Can't you do it?"
"..."
Ace facepalmed.
Fuck it.
He turned to the fire that had become slightly smaller than before. He then raised a leg and, with one swift kick, he instantly put out the bright source of warmth.
"Wha-Hey!" Nessa's eye widened, and she felt the temperature already starting to drop, the cold air from outside seeping in.
"Boot." Ace walked away with a paw waving goodnight, heading back towards the tents.
"You shitty rabbit!" Nessa thought with irritated cross-veins popping on her head.
"N-Nnn..."
The moment Nessa heard that whimper, she turned behind her to see Victor curling up with his blanket, tense and already starting to shiver.
Ace was basically forcing her to act. Otherwise, Victor would most likely catch a cold from the freezing temperatures.
Nessa's hands grabbed at her face as she let out a groan. Despite wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, the cold didn't affect her whatsoever. In fact, her body was heating up by just how flustered she was.
"What's wrong with you, Nessa!? Why are you freaking out over this!? He's a kid!? A KID! YEARS younger than you! This shouldn't be hard!"
With that thought in mind, she removed her hands from her head and put on a brave front of determination.
"Y-Yeah! So what if you've never seen... 'i-it' before!? He's a kid, so it shouldn't count towards anything! And I-I don't even have to look at it! Just start from the bottom and slip them up from there! Just don't look at anything!"
She picked up the clothes that Ace had brought for Victor and approached the boy, crouching down beside him and picking up the dark blue boxers.
She gulped down air as she lightly moved the blanket up to expose Victor's feet. Then she slipped his boxers on, bringing his legs up but making sure to turn her head away before she saw anything. The blanket was coming off, but she carefully brought down his boxers until she felt them slip on all the way.
She then hung her head with a sigh of relief, seating herself right beside Victor, completely forgetting about the rest of his clothes.
"Phew... See? I don't know why the hell I was freaking out so much..."
"Nnnn..."
"Eh?"
Nessa felt arms wrap around her.
"EEP!" It took all she had not to suddenly yell, only releasing a small squeak. She had brought up Victor's legs, the blanket unraveled off him, leaving him exposed to the cold air of the cave. So the boy instinctively reached out for the warmest thing near him, which was Nessa herself.
The model's mouth opened in small chokes as her eyes comedically became the size of Pokeballs. She stared down at the boy hugging her by the waist, his head pressed against her stomach as he shivered.
"H-Hey!" She had to whisper scream as to not wake him up. Or maybe it'd be better if she did wake him? She didn't know anymore. But he was still only wearing his boxers! This would look really bad for anyone that came in! She had to get him off her!
Her hands went down to his arms to force them off her, but...
"What the hell is up with his grip!?"
He didn't move, no matter how hard she tried prying his arms off. It was like he had some time of unnatural strength to be able to not even budge from her efforts.
And her mental state was honestly getting worse by the second. She could feel her stomach warm up by his breathing, his torso on top of her legs, and the firm yet gentle embrace of his arms.
She didn't hate it. In fact, she was actually enjoying his warmth. But that was the problem for her.
Her face still crimson red, she looked straight up to avoid gawking at Victor. Nessa had always been proud, confident, and she always maintained an adult-like aura around everyone. But ever since meeting this boy, she felt like she's been turning into an immature kid, a schoolgirl that didn't know any better. She got lectured on what she should do with her life, she ended up getting a piggyback ride, she got treated to food and a day of fun she hardly ever had, and even now... her heart raced for another person for the first time in her life.
Why did his hug feel so perfect?
Why didn't she want him to let go?
"There's no way, there's no way! I-I don't-! Why am I-!?" So many complicated feelings of happiness and denial. She only knew Victor for only about two days. There should be no reason for her to feel this... 'happy' around him. So why was she-?
"Papa..."
Nessa's thinking stopped.
"...huh?"
She looked down to see that Victor had his head down against her, hugging her even tighter. He was shivering, but for some reason, Nessa didn't even think it was because he was cold anymore.
"I... miss you..."
Her mouth opened in surprise. He was dreaming about his father?
Now that she thought about it... she only did only ever hear about his mother from Sonia. How... How long had the kid's old man been gone?
Her eyes fell in sadness.
Nessa still had her own parents living in Hulbury, but this kind boy missed one of his own... Why did the best kind of people have to be the ones to go through disheartening things? He even called him 'papa.' Just how long ago has he been gone?
She let go of Victor's arms, giving up on trying to remove them. Instead, she moved her right hand through his somewhat wet hair, gently caressing it with a sad smile on her face.
"That's right..."
The best kind of people... The best kind of person. That was who Victor was... Or at least, out of all the guys she's ever got to know personally.
Being a famous model and a notably strong gym leader, people naturally came frolicking to her. Whether it was for a simple autograph or trying to get on her good side like a 'close' friend. The males were especially troublesome, seeing as they could be very... 'passionate' about her.
They'd think she was beautiful, they'd think she was strong, and it was what attracted them to her.
But... that was it. That was all they knew about her.
They didn't understand her. And Nessa honestly doubted that they wouldn't see anything past her good looks and ability. That they wouldn't ever understand just what she was going through...
But Victor did.
He understood her from just a day of being around her. And with what he knew, he wished to help her out. Not because she was some famous model, not because she was beautiful, but only because she had a problem he wanted to solve, something he'd do for any person.
And that... had meant a lot to her.
"Oh god..."
Nessa felt her heartbeat increase, yet she let out a disheartened chuckle as her free hand grasped at her face with the feeling of disbelief filling her.
"I'm so messed up..."
She remembered Victor's blinding smiles, his adorable optimism, his selfless nature, his contagious positivity... All of it helping her get through her existential crisis.
He was the one that had saved her from giving up something she loved...
He was the one who never asked for anything but a smile back...
He was the one...
The one...
...
Nessa released a defeated sigh, removing her hand from her face and looking down at Victor with a warm gaze. It seemed that she wouldn't be able to put his shirt on him by how he wouldn't move his arms from around her. And she probably wouldn't be able to put on his pants that easily from their positions. But... she could still keep him warm.
"Come on, you big baby... we'll catch a cold out here."
She grabbed the blank that had fallen and wrapped it around Victor's body the best she could. Then she reached her hands under him and lifted him up with a grunt, hard to do so when he was still tightly holding her.
But... he was honestly lighter than she expected.
She took one last look at the pokemon around her, finding them all not fazed by the cold air, seeing as they were all huddled together in blankets for warmth—especially little Midori between the Noibats and Impidimp... what a precious thing.
And with that, Nessa made her way to the tent Victor had lent her, staring down at the boy's sleeping expression as she took him with her. It seemed that this boy really was on a whole different level than most people, not just as a trainer but as a person.
After all... he had unknowingly tamed the strongest of waves.
~{Spikemuth}~
The neon lights of the Dark Badge symbol brightly illuminated Pier's stage and pokemon court in front of him. He was seated right on the steps of his small stage, his tired monotone expression staring into nothingness.
Few members of Team Yell were within the area, and those that were around noticed their leader's pensive stare, making it clear that he was deep in thought and that he shouldn't be disturbed. But they did stare at him in awe at a distance, appreciating the sight of their rock lord going through some rare and serious thought.
They wondered just what the strongest Dark-type user of the world was thinking of right now? What kind of convoluted and world-changing thoughts did he have going through his head right now?
"I miss Marnie. Is she having fun? Are there people bullying her? Is she eating well? Does she feel lonely? Should I go find her? Is Morpeko taking care of her?"
Yeah, the usual thoughts.
Although this time-
"Wasn't she in Motostoke? There's a big storm there and in Bridge Field, isn't there? Is she dry? Is she cold? Is she sleeping someplace warm? Is she safe? Just how is she-?"
"Oi... Piers be in extra deep thought today, ain't he?" One of the several Team Yell grunts stared from afar.
"Yer damn right. What yer reckon he thinkin' about?" A female grunt asked.
"Maybe another song!?" A third gasped.
"Or maybe it's that prick that took our Marnie in a room by his lonesome?" The first growled.
"Oi! Don't say that! He's a man of culture as well!" The female snapped.
"Oi..."
All three of them flinched and turned their heads to Piers' piercing glare.
"You know I can hear you... right?"
"EEP! S-Sorry Piers!" The three grunts then vanished from the spot, leaving behind dusty after images of themselves.
Piers closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Sometimes these guys were quite the handful. They saw Marnie as some sort of goddess (which Piers practically agreed with), but they also saw him as some sort of amazing leader. He didn't think he was really as amazing as they made him out to be. He didn't even Dynamax his pokemon, even if it was just for personal preference. Some Gym Leader he was... Maybe a reason Team Yell was so disliked was because of him?
He shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking of stuff like that right now; he was still worried about Marnie. Thinking on it, he knew the girl was smart and strong, but... mentally speaking, she was pretty frail. She really was as timid as they come, especially after... her first time going outside Spikemuth. Piers couldn't help but feel mortified at the thought of his precious little sister being picked on.
Well... At least she did have some folks with her. And he was thankful to the other Gym Leaders she's met so far for getting along with her. He saw how Milo, Nessa, and Kabu spent time around Marnie along with her small group of friends on the media.
And speaking of that group...
Piers did trust Hop, as the tales his brother told of him really painted an optimistic and goodwilled image of him. And that lass Hop grew up with... Gloria, was her name? Yeah, Piers got some dangerous vibes from her and honestly wondered if Marnie would really be safe with such a girl. But apparently, the third fellow of that odd group had her under control.
But as for that fellow himself...
Piers frowned.
He wanted to trust Victor; he really did. But from their first official introduction in Motostoke Gym's locker room, he knew that the kid must be in some kind of deep shit.
Piers wouldn't say that he was as good as a judgment of character as that old pink-obsessed hag, Opal, but he was the kinda guy that saw through a person's bullshit. He didn't feel any kind of malicious or mischievous intent from Victor, yet he knew he was trouble in a big way. Even if he didn't intend on hurting anyone, the issue of being in the center of trouble that can hurt others was what really bugged Piers.
You think hearing 'I'll do everything to keep her safe' would make everything okay and give Piers the confidence to trust him with his little sister?
Hell no.
Especially when he called Leon earlier to ask about him, only to then hear him mention that Victor dealt with Rainbow Rocket goons. And several goons at that. And then there's the fact that Chairman Rose had sent a message earlier to the Gym Leaders and Macro Cosmos staff to inform him of Victor's location if anyone spots him.
Piers isn't an idiot, nor is he optimistic. He isn't gonna say that it was only a 'coincidence.' Especially after what Victor told him himself.
'Because... I don't want anyone to learn my secrets. Otherwise, they might end up getting hurt.'
'As long as she doesn't know them, then she'll be safe!'
Yeah, he wasn't having any of that.
Even ignoring the events around Victor, something was clearly off about the boy himself.
Most notably, when he had Dynamaxed.
Piers remembered the pain on the boy's face, even if he had tried to hide it. And he knew that he'd try to hide anything about himself that he thought would only make trouble for others.
But Marnie really considered this guy to be a really good friend. Piers remembered in the Budew Inn when Marnie held onto him and was practically crying for him not to hurt Victor... He knew he couldn't really tell either of them to stay away from the other.
So time for the next best thing.
Piers sighed and brought out his Rotom phone. No doubt Marnie was asleep by now, so he decided to only leave her a small text for when she woke up,
1:05AM
No Encores: When you get the chance, give Victor my contact and have him call me.
~{Bridge Field Cave: Next Day- 9:55AM}~
"*Snoreeeeeeeeeeeee!* *Snooooooore- Snort!*"
Hop opened his eyes and smacked his lips, staring up at the roof of his tent.
Despite literally just waking up, he immediately sat up with his eyes wide open and the biggest of grins on his face.
"That was one of the best night's rest I've had! I would thank Gloria, but I think that just encourage her to keep knocking me out..." He awkwardly chuckled, rubbing his forehead where the Scottish girl had nailed him the previous night.
He stretched his arms up with a small groan before grabbing his Rotom phone and checking the time, discovering it to be nearly ten.
"Guess it's time to get up! Come on, Victor-!" Hop turned left before finally realizing that he was alone in his tent, prompting a look of confusion to form on him. "Eh? Did he already get up?"
He wiggled out of his sleeping bag and crawled out of his tent, poking his head outside.
Then his eyes widened.
"Whoa! Where did you guys come from?"
He saw multiple groups of pokemon wrapped in blankets, all of them snoozing away together.
Hop pulled himself out of his tent and stood up, curiously eyeing the variety of pokemon. Stufful, Noibats, Zigzagoon, and even a Kirlia, all slumbering with happy expressions.
"Actually, is that Midori?" He wondered, seeing as how the psychic/fairy was the only one of his species among the group.
"Cor."
Hop turned his head to his tent, where he saw a Corviquire perched on top of the small metal chimney-ish pipe that his dome-shaped tent had.
"Um... Twilight?" Hop asked, basing it on his intuition.
The Corvisquire nodded.
"Raboot."
Hop then glanced beside his tent, where Ace leaned against, casually tossing up a stone and catching it several times.
"Hey, Ace!" Hop beamed with a wave, then turning to the sleeping groups of pokemon. "I'm guessing that's Midori over there?"
He turned back to see Ace nod.
"...Did Victor help these guys?"
Ace nodded once more with a roll of his eyes.
"Heh, I had a feeling..." Hop smiled, knowing his best friend all too well. "Where is he, by the way?"
"..."
Hop then noticed a blank look in the pokemon's eyes.
"Er... what?"
"..."
Ace released a sigh and started walking around Hop's tent and right up to Victor's. Hop's eyes simply followed him with a neutral expression until Ace stopped in front of the tent, turning back to Hop and pointing his paw at it.
"Boot."
Hop stared for a good minute, processing this.
"Eh? Victor's in his own tent? But I thought Nessa was sleeping in there? Why is he in his tent? Did Nessa already leave, and Victor went back in it? When would that have happened? Nessa wouldn't leave without saying goodbye, would she?"
Ace saw Hop's pensive and confused stare, to which the rabbit pokemon once again rolled his eyes and walked away.
Hop went through more possibilities in his head to explain his confusion before deciding that he should probably just check himself for an answer.
He approached the tent, although cautiously, and crouched down right by the entrance. Like the rest of the tents, it had a cover that acted as a door. Yet... it was unzipped, allowing anyone to peek within its contents.
Hop gently lifted the cover and poked his head through the opening.
To which he became immediately straight-faced.
"..."
Apparently... Victor had a lot more game than he gave Hop credit for.
He stared for a few seconds at the image in front of him as he sorted his thoughts, wondering just what happened here.
"Okay... First things first..."
He brought up his phone, snapping two pictures with a grin.
"Need something to make fun of them with later."
He then slipped his phone into his pocket before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
"And now..."
His whole composure changed into one of dread, frantically shaking in place as sweat started accumulating on him.
"I gotta figure out how to stop Gloria from ripping their spines out..."
"*Yawn* Phew... Ah, love sleepin' with the soonds o' the rain..."
Hop's blood turned cold as he turned comedically black and white, that slipping accent giving him visions of destruction. He immediately pulled away from the tent and turned to see Gloria coming out of her own. The girl was wearing a casual black tee with a magenta Pikachu in the center and matching plain black shorts. She stretched her arms up with a satisfied smile, having enjoyed her night's rest.
Marnie followed right after, coming out in her Scrafty onesie while holding her Morpeko with an arm. She rubbed her eyes with the other and yawned, standing up beside her friend.
"Mhm... Ah liked the thunder too. But that may be because a'm used tae loud noises..." Marnie muttered, her own accent slipping a bit.
Hop started sweating buckets. He didn't want anyone dying today, so he had to focus Gloria's attention away from Victor's tent at all costs.
Luckily, both of the girls were distracted by the surprising sight of new arrivals.
"Eh? When the bloody hell did all these pokemon show up!?" Gloria uttered in shock.
Marnie became wide awake at the sight of the sleeping pokemon grouped up in blankets, with many of them starting to wake up at the sound of Gloria's voice.
"Mmm... Imp?" The Impidimp was first, eyes opening sleepily before catching sight of three unfamiliar trainers, then immediately becoming wide awake.
"Imp! Imp!" He quickly nudged the other few pokemon of his group, waking up the two Noibats and Midori.
"Noi... Noi?"
"Kirl...?"
The Noibat's sleepily rose their heads, but like Impidimp, they panicked upon seeing the new trainers and all crowded behind Midori to hide.
"Kirl?" Midori blinked a few times and confusingly glanced behind him at the three nervous pokemon, then turning forward at the humans with a smile and wave. "Kirl, Kirl!"
Hop approached them, thinking on the fly how to either get Gloria out of the cave or just distract her enough to somehow let Victor wake up and perhaps fix the situation.
"Er, morning lassies!" Hop beamed, trying not to be so nervous.
Marnie and Gloria turned to him.
"Oi, Hop! Do ya know what's up with these pokemon?" Gloria asked with a furrowed brow, pointing at the group with her thumb.
"Um, I think they came in to hide from the rain last night! Right, guys?" Hop speculated, turning to the pokemon.
"Kirl!" Midori happily stepped forward and away from the pokemon hiding behind him, giving Hop a nod to confirm that he was correct.
The other pokemon slowly woke up as the voices stirred them. They all had similar reactions as their friends by nervously backing up out of their blankets.
"But... they got blankets aroun' 'em, don't they? Doesn't that mean they had help from someone?" Marnie speculated, her Morpeko curiously sniffing in the pokemons' direction.
Gloria facepalmed. "Me an' Marnie were sleepin' all night... And Hop didn't know what they were doin' here either... don't tell me Victor brought 'em in?"
"Sounds like him..." Marnie mumbled.
"Whatever... I'll ask him." Gloria sighed, removing her hand from her face and turning around towards the tents.
"W-Wait!" Hop uttered louder than intended, getting in Gloria's way.
The girl did stop walking, but of course, she gave Hop a suspicious stare.
"What?"
Hop spouted whatever he could.
"V-Victor isn't in my tent! He was gone when I woke up! I think he might've gone outside?" He quickly spoke.
But Gloria caught that stutter.
She stared with a neutral expression at Hop, seeing through his strained smile. Marnie nervously stared from behind her, feeling nervous as she could feel some sort of tension from Gloria.
The Scottish girl reached out and grabbed Hop by the shoulders, making him flinch.
"Move." She comedically flung him behind her, earning a yelp from the body as he landed on his butt.
She then marched forward right to Hop's tent, crouching down and poking her head inside.
Sure enough, Victor wasn't there.
She pulled out her head and stood up, giving Hop a suspicious squint.
The champion's little brother managed to put a straight face, hands behind his head, as he gave her one of his signature smiles.
"See? Victor's probably outside looking for berries for a quick breakfast. How about we get dressed and check outside ourselves? We should probably check on these little guys too." Hop stated, motioning them to the large group of wild pokemon.
Gloria just continued to suspiciously glare, knowing that something was clearly amiss. If Victor really was gone, like Hop said, why did he seem freaked out about her checking the tents? She didn't see anything in Hop's tent, and she had just come out of her own tent with Marnie, so all that was left was Victor's tent, where he let Nessa stay for-
...
Her eyes lost all color in them.
Marnie and the pokemon flinched at the dead gaze of the trainer, and Hop panicked when he saw Gloria turn around and march straight to Victor's tent.
"Gloria, wait-!"
Too late, she had already crouched down and lifted the doorway.
Then she was completely still.
Nothing happened for several seconds, so Marnie, nervous yet curious, quietly made her way right beside Gloria, then crouching down and peeking inside the tent with her.
Upon witnessing the sight, her face turned crimson red with her eyes and mouth opening all the way. Morpeko's mouth even formed an 'o' shape, with a paw going over it in surprise.
They saw Victor, with his arms around Nessa and laying his head right on top of her stomach, snoozing away. Nessa herself was sleeping on her back, wearing a different t-shirt and shirts than they remembered her having the previous night. Not just that, but both of the model's arms were gently hugging the boy's head, a hand even in his hair as she unconsciously caressed it. They had one blanket on top of them but seemed to have moved halfway off during the night, exposing Victor's bare backside and giving the impression that there was nothing else underneath.
"I-I-Is he naked!?" Marnie started breathing hard with steam emitting from her head, then turning her head away with a small whimper.
As for Gloria... she just stared.
And stared.
And kept on staring, no emotion going through her lifeless eyes.
Soon, there was some sort of movement, but not from her.
"Nnn..." Maybe she sensed the staring, or perhaps her internal clock woke her up, but Nessa slowly came to. Her eyes opened, and she let out a yawn, slowly sitting up and gently moving Victor's head right onto her lap, still unconsciously caressing it as she did so.
She rubbed her eyes with her free hand and smacked her lips, then noticing some light leaking in from her left. She sleepily turned her head and blinked a few times to get rid of the blurriness in her eyes.
Only to become wide awake with a look of pure, genuine horror.
"Wha-!? Wh-Wh-Wha-!?"
Gloria was staring right at her with a dead gaze, Marnie was muttering out a rant of embarrassment behind her, and Hop was farther in the back, giving her an apologetic smile.
Nessa's opened her mouth but choked on her words, end up spouting incoherent ramblings at the most dangerous girl she's ever seen.
At least it took her only a few seconds to finally say some actually understandable words.
"Th-Th-This isn't what it looks like! I swear!" She practically begged in despair.
"I think so too." Hop calmly approached Gloria from behind. "So how about we hear her out-ACK!"
He didn't even finish as Gloria's fist shot out behind her without the girl even looking back, striking Hop's chest and sending him comedically flying backward.
Marnie and the pokemon all turned blue in fear as they saw Hop fly all the way out of the cave, a crash echoing in the distance.
"Wh-Wh-Wha-!?" Nessa may have found a new fear, feeling her soul threaten to disintegrate by the burning glare of the Scottish girl.
But then...
"Mmm... Hm?"
Everyone's eyes fell on Victor, the boy slowly lifting his head off Nessa's lap.
"Ugh... Morning already...?" He mumbled, eyes closed and still somewhat dozing off.
He finally released the hold he had around Nessa since last night, sitting up with a yawn, which also caused his towel to slip down to cover only his lap. He brought up an arm and rubbed his eyes, unaware of the danger only a foot away from him.
"Nnngh..." He released another long yawn as he stretched his arms up, practically showing off his chest to everyone around.
Another puff of steam blew from Marnie's head to see Victor's torso, to which she turned around and covered her face with Morpeko, both of her extended tuffs of hair fluttering rapidly while the pokemon deadpanned.
Gloria surprisingly stared at the sight, engraving the image into her head, but her expression still not changing a bit.
Nessa was beet red as she stared at Victor, frozen in place with her mouth closed and gulping down air.
"Mm... Hm?" The male trainer finally turned his sleepy face to the right, where he saw his friend. "Gloria...?"
"..."
"..."
"Eh?"
He completely woke up to realize that something was wrong, blinking several times as he noticed that he was feeling a bit chilly.
He looked down at himself, eyes immediately widening at his lack of clothing and turning crimson at the thought that the girls were staring right at him.
He emitted a small squeak, cheeks flushing as he yanked his blanket up and concealed himself in it, only his head popping out.
"Wh-Who-!? What-!? Where-!? Why-!?" He stammered as he processed where he was, struggling to sort out the series of blurry images from last night in his mind. His head started stinging as he struggled to remember what occurred, an effect from the impact given to it.
So first of all, he can see that practically all of his clothes were off.
Second, he turned to Nessa and saw her heavily flushed expression, also realizing that she was wearing a different pair of his clothes than what he had lent her last night.
Third, he recognized the interior of his red tent, his backpack even just to the side.
He couldn't remember anything that well, so using context clues...
Practically naked, Nessa wearing different clothes, him and her sleeping together in his tent...
...
He nervously turned to Nessa with comedic tears, guilt written all over his face.
Nessa had a bad feeling about this and choked as she uttered a "Wh-What?"
Victor gulped down air.
"I-I'll take responsibility..."
...
...
Something broke in that cave.
~{Author's post-Notes}~
(Mimikyu standing by a tree.)
...
(Something sways in the wind.)
...
Well, we've made it to the end of yet another chapter of beauty. I wonder just how things are gonna resolve from there? Honestly, I think this cliffhanger is probably even worse than the previous one, lol.
But as for WHEN I'll update this again... ehhhhhhh, I don't know. Like I said before, I want to mainly focus on catching up to retyping the chapters of my other fic before I ever came back to this one. That will probably take a bit, so I might add a chapter or two of this in-between working on the retypes.
So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'm sorry if you gotta wait like 3 months or more for just another one, but since I'm nearing the end of my school year, so hopefully I'll hopefully have some time to work yet again!
Stay awesome trainers, leave a comment on what you would like to see happen! I'm always open to ideas. Ah, but not about Victor's team. I've already got them chosen.
Until next time!
{By the way. You should definitely check out Omori. I love crying my eyes out}