Chapter 21

Returning to the main lobby after they'd finished setting up for later that evening, Aura hurried to fetch the fully recovered Riolu from Nurse Joy before him and Daniel made haste to get back to the stadium before the halftime intermission. Luckily they didn't actually miss much of the second round since Dan thought to tune into the broadcast through the television as they worked, but as many of the battles barely exceeded through the full ten minute timer, the second round was finished far sooner than anticipated so trainers were given an early lunch break as the battlefield was prepared for the next round.

Upon their descent to the underground lobby, Aura and Daniel were met by a huge crowd of people and Pokemon ordering food and gossiping about the recent battles. Initially thinking they would have trouble finding the others amongst the crowd, Aura and Dan were pleasantly surprised to find them just a little ways away and carrying trays of food. The boys quickly weaved through the dense crowd and were able to catch up with the group just as they were sitting down at their table.

Daniel squeezed out of the crowd with his hand raised high over his head. "We're back!" He declared shortly before Aura stepped out from behind a passing Magmortar. They stepped up to the table and were quickly called over by Diamond and Nessa who sat together with an empty seat on either side of them. It made the trainers smile to see those two get along so well. They both rounded the table and sat beside their Pokemon as Darlene slid them each a plastic tray of food.

"I didn't know what to get you, Daniel, so I asked Nessa what you might like." As Dan waved it off and thanked Darlene for the consideration, Nessa sheepishly poked her fingers and kicked her feet slowly under the table as her trainer removed three tacos from the paper bag he was given along with a bowl of mexi fries. Nessa smiled when Daniel chuckled and assured her that she made a good choice.

"So, how'd you enjoy the second round?" Aura asked as he took a small bite out of his burger.

Diamond paused just before sinking her fangs into her crepe and looked at her trainer with a bright smile and her large tail gently wagging behind her. "It was really cool to see so many different battle styles!" Her eyes showed a sudden flare of passion as she sinisterly leered at the pastry in her paws. "I made sure to keep track of the extra powerful Pokemon too so we'll stand a better chance in the third round! Hehehe, they won't know what hit them- nyum!" She cutely chomped on the top of the soft pastry cone while her tail wiggled even faster.

Aura let out a snort and loudly snickered through his teeth as he tried not to accidentally spit out or inhale the food in his mouth. Diamond now looked at him more perplexed than anything as he slowly eased his laughter. "Haaah… I absolutely love seeing this more confident and playful side of you, Diamond," he glanced at her and smirked, slowly leaning closer to her face and scooping a small dollop of whipped cream off her chin with his finger, "never change," he finished, licking the bit of cream off his finger and making the vixen furiously blush and shake her head.

"S-stop doing that!" Diamond squealed and pushed Aura away who just continued to laugh.

"Ah~, young love," Kibbs tittered. "So, Aura, what was this errand you and Daniel had to do earlier?"

Aura turned his attention to the Growlithe but before he could speak Diamond hastily lifted her paw in front of Aura's face. "W-wait! If it's another surprise for me then I don't want to hear anything about it!" She suddenly wrapped an arm over her head to hold her ears down.

Kibbs looked at Aura with her mouth slightly agape in confused astonishment. Aura chuckled weakly and gently lifted Diamond's arm. "W-woah there. I wasn't planning on saying anything about any surprises." Once Diamond calmed down and resumed eating her crepe Aura was able to continue. He looked to his mother and Kibbs. "For a few days I've been planning to make an extra special dinner to celebrate Diamond's birthday so we just needed to go pick up a few more ingredients and get them ready to start cooking as soon as our third round match is over, or even before it begins depending on the order."

Diamond prodded Aura's side with her stick making the trainer recoil harshly. She pouted as her fangs never left her now half-eaten pecha berry crepe. "You said it had nothing to do with any surprises!"

"Hold on little miss poking-stick, I wasn't finished." Diamond scowled at him for the nickname but returned her branch to her tail and continued nibbling on the pastry, finally taking a break to sip the strawberry milkshake that Kelsey suggested she get. "As I was saying, originally it was just gonna be a birthday dinner, but it might have been yesterday when I decided it would also be a good way to thank the team for their hard work in the tournament." He looked at his three Pokemon and smiled. "It was going to be a surprise initially, but I was planning on telling you guys today anyway since I still had to actually cook everything." He laughed and finally took his second bite of his now cold burger.

"So does that mean you do have a surprise for Diamond still?" Kelsey blurted out. Gwen shot her a scolding glare and Aura once again nearly choked on his food from laughing.

"Ahum-! I-I mean, it's kind of obvious that I'm getting Diamond a gift. That is a big part of the whole birthday thing, but other than that and the dinner I don't recall anything too big planned since it was on such short notice and we've had the tournament to think about too," he grinned at Diamond with a wink, "but next year is gonna be a whole lot more exciting!"

The intermission between rounds lasted nearly two whole hours before the basement lobby was suddenly filled with muffled beeps from the participants' pagers, and not long after they went silent came a chime from the intercoms. "Attention competitors! The battlefield has been fully prepared for round three, please make your way back to the underground arena and check in at your soonest availability within the next ten minutes. Thank you and good luck." Another chime sounded off as the intercom disconnected.

Aura stood up and grabbed his and Diamond's empty trays. "Don't worry about your trash, hon," Darlene said as she stood up as well, "we'll clean things up while you go check in. We'll meet you in the stands."

Aura smiled and gave a nod. "Thanks, mom. Let's get going." He signalled his team to follow closely as they made their way through the crowds to the check-in booth where only four other competitors were already present. After handing over his participation card and trainer ID, Aura was instructed to join the other remaining trainers on the battlefield until the matchups were revealed.

When the ten minutes were up and the remaining trainers were all present and gathered out on the field, the crowd was quickly silenced by the booming voice of the announcer. "Thank you all for being here for the third round of our festival tournament! Because of the tied battles during the previous rounds, there are only eight remaining trainers for this round with four moving on to the semi-finales tomorrow morning!" The overhead displays began their usual pattern of shuffling the photographs like a virtual deck of cards, fanning out in pairs of two and flipping in unison to reveal the matchups.

"Looks like we're up first." Aura said. He looked down at Diamond and smiled. "You ready?"

Next to Aura's photo was one of a dark-skinned boy with dark brown hair, his parted bangs seemed ready to slip down in front of his amber eyes. His expression held a great deal of confidence that could probably make an inexperienced trainer nervous: it even sent a shiver through Diamond's spine. She was hoping they'd have at least a little time before their battle, but as nothing could be done to change the set order she took a deep breath and nodded to her trainer. The fox was startled by the sudden rise in cheers from the audience as the announcer came over the speakers.

"It looks like the first battle is going to be an exciting one as the two most promising trainers we've had so far are going head to head! First is Aura Borealis who managed to turn the tables in both of his previous matches thanks to his Pokemon each learning a new move in a pinch; meanwhile, John Winston had totally wiped out his first round opponent with his Charmander which then happened to evolve into Charmeleon to claim victory in their second round battle! I hope everyone is excited as I am to see these two compete for their spot in the semi-final!"

As the other six trainers left the field and the referee stepped up to his podium with his Ambipom beside him, Aura led his trio of Pokemon to the blue trainer box while John walked confidently to the red box with his Charmeleon right behind him. When he turned to face his foe, John adjusted the collar of his dark blue turtleneck and grinned without saying a word.

Diamond gulped anxiously and instinctively took Aura's hand for comfort. This got his attention and urged him to kneel down to speak with her at eye level. "You sure you're okay to battle?" He put both hands on her shoulders and gazed into her eyes.

For some reason meeting his gaze helped calm Diamond a bit and the fox was quick to shake her head and pat her cheeks. "Y-yeah. This is what we've been training for!"

Aura smiled. "If you say so, but I just want you to remember something. Even if we lose this battle, don't feel sorry about it."

She nodded again and placed a paw over his left hand. "I know. Losing is a part of battling. You've told me before that we learn from mistakes and losing just shows that we still have room to improve," Diamond grinned, "I'm ready."

Aura stood up and the referee began to recite the rules, which hadn't changed from the previous round, before instructing both trainers to send out their Pokemon. Aura thrust his hand out and called Diamond to the field, the Braixen handing her necklace to Prince before jogging out with much less hesitation than she thought she'd have. At the same time, John pointed to the field and called for his Charmeleon with a smooth yet powerful voice. The lizard exhaled a small cloud of black smoke and embers from its nostrils as it trudged onto the battlefield, quickly taking on a fighting stance and baring its fierce fangs.

The machine above the field quickly scanned the two Pokemon and displayed their status screens on the monitors. "Ten minutes on the clock! Are both trainers ready?" Aura and John confirmed with a nod and the referee continued. "Then let the battle begin!" As the referee and his Ambipom threw down their flags, Johnathon made no attempt to call out an order, allowing Aura the first move.

"Use Cut!" Diamond pulled her stick from her tail and instantly coated it with a thin veil of solid white energy that shaped it into a shortened katana. She kicked off the ground and started sprinting towards her foe, her blade held by her hip ready to deal a swift slash.

John's smirk suddenly shifted and a scowl came to his face. He thrust his hand forward and shouted, "Charmeleon! Counter attack with Metal Claw!" Charmeleon stretched both arms to the side and his sharp white claws flashed, suddenly growing twice their normal size while taking on a metallic sheen. Charmeleon lunged forward and readied its claws to knock away Diamond's Cut on upswing before striking at her chest with a downward slash that cut away a good portion of her fur, slightly exposing the very bottom of her small breasts.

Diamond winced and followed Aura's command to get some distance. She jumped away before Charmeleon could land another blow on her shoulder and soon crouched down on one knee. She winced again and lightly put her paw against her chest, feeling some blood seep through her chest tuft and cringing.

"A critical blow has been dealt to Aura's Braixen!" The announcer called, "and as Charmeleon seems to be gaining the secondary effect from its Metal Claw, attacking it head on may not be the best option!"

Aura scowled. "Okay then, Diamond, use Psybeam!" Standing back up, Diamond's branch reverted to normal before she ignited the tip with a pink fire. Through quick motions, Diamond twirled the flaming stick in her paws and jumped into the air. She let out a steady cry as she thrust the stick forward and fired a pink beam of energy at Charmeleon.

Charmeleon raised its metal covered claws to block the attack, but it was ultimately pushed back and its claws pushed aside to allow direct contact from the Psybeam. Though it didn't seem to do very much damage, Charmeleon dropped to a knee as Diamond landed back on the floor. "Great work, Diamond!"

She looked over her shoulder. "What's next?"

Before Aura could decide on their next move, John barked out his next order, "Trap it with your Fire Spin!" Harshly grunting back to its trainer, Charmeleon stood up straight and took in a deep breath which allowed flames to build up and swirl inside its gut before letting loose the large, spiraling inferno with a ferocious roar.

"Fire Spin as well!" Aura shouted, calling the first command he thought of to deflect it.

Both ends of Diamond's stick lit on fire as she spun it between her nimble paws like a baton. Her eyes suddenly flashed pink with psychokinetic energy that allowed her to force out two identical ribbons of fire from her branch that rotated through the air in sync with her twirling. The twisters of raging fire collided in the center of the field and were intertwined with one another, creating a massive tornado of bright red flames between them.

"Just as expected from two of the strongest trainers we've seen thus far!" The announcer boomed, shielding his eyes from the fire. "Their attacks seem to be so evenly matched! But Aura has proven to be a rather vigilant trainer looking for anything to give him an edge; while John has proven to be full of raw power and determination alongside his partner that would be difficult to stand against! But the battle is long from over and we still have over eight minutes on the timer!"

A couple more seconds passed before their combined Fire Spin attacks petered out and the field was clear again. Both Pokemon hunched forward panting from their attack. Aura and John watched the other intensely, wondering what the other's next move would be.

"Psybeam!" The fox straightened herself and tightened her grip on her stick as her eyes flashed pink. Moving with a quick rhythm, Diamond hopped around for a moment and pivoted on her toes before firing another pink beam of Psychic energy at her opponent.

"You know what to do! Smokescreen!" Charmeleon bared its fangs and took in a sharp breath, it then bent forward and began to exhale a heavy plume of black smoke from its maw across the field. Diamond's Psybeam pierced through the smoke where Charmeleon was standing, but it simply traveled through the smog without hitting its target before fading out as it reached a certain distance away from Diamond.

"Wh-what happened? I didn't get it did I?" Diamond asked as she waited for the smoke to clear.

Aura scanned the field cautiously. "I don't know, I didn't hear anything. Just keep your guard up!" A few murmurs were heard from the audience, some of which were questioning why Aura was speaking with his Pokemon like he understood her but otherwise were questions about Charmeleon's whereabouts.

It didn't take long for the smoke to clear and surprisingly only reveal a single hole dug into the floor. "Impressive! Charmeleon was able to avoid the Psybeam undetected by combining its Smokescreen with Dig and could easily be directly underneath Braixen's feet at this very moment!"

Aura scowled. "Shit… stay focused, Diamond! Try to feel for any vibrations in the ground! Maybe you can dodge it at just the right moment!"

Diamond glanced over her shoulder and nodded, widening her stance and holding her stick out like a katana as she focused intensely on the turf using her paw pads for more sensitivity. In the meantime, Aura knelt down and spread his hand on the floor to hopefully pick up some vibrations too, Prince and Stan doing the same despite not being asked.

Though none of them could feel any vibrations underneath the battlefield, Aura swore he could feel something else that he could only describe as other-wordly. As he focused on the strange energy more intensely, he began to actually see it through the floor and watched it take the shape of the missing lizard Pokemon. Realizing this was his auric abilities showing Charmeleon's essence rapidly ascending towards Diamond, Aura didn't think before hastefully standing up and shouting, "Diamond! Jump to your left!"

She didn't question his sudden order and for the split second before diving out of the way, she felt the floor violently shake just before Charmeleon erupted from the earth and swung at Diamond with his fist glowing dimly yellow. Diamond rolled back to her feet and felt a small tremor course through the ground as Charmeleon landed on its feet with a heavy thump.

"Tsk! I don't know how you were able to predict when Charmeleon was gonna attack," John smirked and lightly chuckled with an almost cheerful glint in his eye, "but that's a question for another time! Charmeleon, charge at it with Slash!"

Charmeleon's claws once again grew in size but were now surrounded in a pure white energy that left a trail as they moved. The fire lizard stormed after the fox snarling viciously. Diamond could block or evade the attack soon enough as she felt Charmeleon's claws raked across her chest which sent a bit more of her white fur into the air. Dealing an upward slash to finish it off, Charmeleon knocked Diamond's stick from her grasp as she was sent flying across the field, landing with an audible crack on her belly as a few ribs may have been fractured from the impact. Diamond struggled to push herself up and gasped for air as the landing had knocked the air from her lungs.

"Finish this with Dragon Rage!"

Charmeleon took a deep breath and the flame on its tail burned even brighter with vibrant blue and purple hues replacing the red and orange.

"Light Screen!"

Diamond narrowed her gaze with a pink glow emanating from her eyes. Though she could still hardly breathe, she managed to push through that feeling and create a transparent dome of solid Psychic energy around her. Charmeleon finally exhaled a vibrant stream of purple and blue fire from its maw that quickly enveloped the protective dome, however the draconic energy still managed to seep through the barrier and inflict a small amount of damage to the fox inside.

The instant Charmeleon's attack ceased, Diamond hurried over to where her stick landed and picked it up. "All right! Now fire off another Psybeam!"

"Cover the entire field with Smokescreen!" Before Diamond could properly aim at Charmeleon, the reptile exhaled an even larger cloud of smoke that was so thick it even managed to block out the light of its tail flame. Diamond fired off the Psybeam where Charmeleon was initially, however it simply shot through the other side of the deep haze.

Diamond began to harshly cough and held her throat while dropping to her knees. Her eyes burned from the thick smog and she couldn't even see her paw in front of her face. "Stay close to the floor!" She heard Aura call. Dropping to her belly, Diamond could feel a very thin layer of fresh air that seemed to slowly rise by a few centimeters every couple seconds. Though she could still hardly breathe let alone see, she was able to make out a red blur in the distance hurrying towards her.

By the time she realized it was Charmeleon's legs she couldn't do anything as she heard John call out for his Charmeleon to use Slash. She didn't understand how Charmeleon was able to see through the smog, but it didn't matter as its feet vanished from her sight moments before she felt something heavy land on her back and the agonizing pain of razor sharp claws cutting into her flesh.

Diamond tried to scream in pain but she could only cough even more violently as she felt a warm liquid ooze down her sides. "Th-this is it… This is where I die…?" She felt herself slowly drifting into unconsciousness, however a sudden rush a heat coursed through her body. "N-no… I won't give up so easily! G-get OFF!" Diamond suddenly managed to push herself off the floor and cause Charmeleon to stumble and fall to his back as Diamond stood up. A fiery aura surged across her entire body as she felt suddenly invigorated.

With a shrill scream, Diamond exhaled a wide column of fire directly upward that managed to clear away much of the surrounding smoke. With a proper view of her and Charmeleon once again, the overhead screens performed another scan and updated the status screen. Now underneath Diamond's photo a white square popped up with the exact words, "Ability: Blaze!"

"Incredible! Aura's Braixen had suffered so much damage that its ability was activated! Blaze will increase its power exceptionally which may turn the battle in Aura's favour for the third time in a row!"

Aura felt excitement burning within as he pumped his fist and cheered. "Way to go, Diamond! Let's clear away the rest of that smoke now with Fire Spin!" Diamond thrust her stick into the air and out of it shot a massive spiral of fire that seemed to eat away at the smoke until it was no more than a darkened mist. With the field mostly cleared, Aura finally saw the deep gashes across Diamond's back and the blood seeping through her yellow fur. He scowled at the sight, angered that she had to endure that pain without him even realizing let alone on a day like today. "Sooner we finish this the sooner we can get you healed… Full power Flamethrower!"

Embers began to flutter from Diamond's ears as her body drastically increased in temperature, the tip of her stick instantly becoming engulfed in fire as she held it near her mouth. With a calming breath, Diamond's eyes grew sharp and flashed purple as she spun around and intensely thrust her stick out, casting out an overwhelming inferno of condensed fire that, despite not being very effective, was able to inflict a great deal of damage to Charmeleon which brought his health bar down to the same level as Diamond's.

Despite his Pokemon taking such a high amount of damage from Diamond's powered up Flamethrower, John began to chuckle casually. "Now this is what I call a Pokemon Battle… Too bad you didn't consider my Charmeleon's ability!" Suddenly, a raging fire encased Charmeleon just as Diamond had before and the flame on its tail grew roughly four times in size. "Since Charmeleon's ability is also Blaze, he gains the power boost as well! Now, not much time left so let's end this! Flamethrower!"

Aura scowled. "Don't give up, Diamond! Show them your strength with another Flamethrower!"

As both Fire types shot out a massive burst of fire towards the other, their attacks met in the middle and remained in a constant stalemate. Sweat dripped from their foreheads as the entire room heated up greatly from the absurd power behind each Flamethrower until finally-.

"BZZZRT!"

"Time's up!" The referee shouted. The Flamethrowers were instantly ceased and the status screens were locked in with the final results. "After their outstanding show of strength, it appears this battle goes to-."

Before the referee could make his final declaration, Diamond's eyes grew heavy and her breath grew shallow. She could feel the blood rushing through her body with every beat of her heart. All of a sudden her vision went black.


Slowly opening her eyes, Diamond groaned and rubbed her head as she sat up, catching the attention of her trainer who sighed in relief. "Wheh, I'm glad you're finally awake. You feeling any better?"

She looked around and realized they were inside an emergency care room. "Y-yeah… What happened?"

Aura stood up and stretched. "You collapsed right after the timer went off. Nurse Joy said you just used too much energy and fainted from the exhaustion, but once you woke up you should feel mostly refreshed."

"Did we at least win?" She asked, Aura's distant gaze was enough to make her lower her head and sigh. "O-oh… we lost?"

Surprisingly, Aura shook his head. "Actually, it ended with a tie. You and Charmeleon were both at five percent of your health when the buzzer went off." He gently placed his finger under her chin and smiled. "Don't worry though, you did your best and that was all I ever wanted."

Her sorrowful frown slowly curved into a smile. She giggled a bit and pushed her mate's hand away. "I'm not gonna worry about it. We're not gonna win all the time, it's not the end of the world if we just lose a few battles."

Aura rubbed her head with a laugh. "That's right. There's always gonna be more battles to come our way and it hasn't been too long since our journey first started." She chuckled in response. "Y'know, we still have that birthday dinner to look forward to. You've been asleep for a few hours so my mom and Dan decided to take over cooking supper so I could be with you."

Diamond's stomach growled loudly at the mention of food and Aura laughed as she glanced away with a blush. "I-I guess using up my energy like that made me extra hungry…" Diamond went to cover her rumbling belly, but blinked as she noticed the bandages wrapped around her torso, then the memory of Charmeleon clawing at her back returned and made her wince.

"Don't worry, Nurse Joy applied some Restoration Gel to your back and your chest while you were asleep. That stuff might've cost me a bit since it isn't covered by the Pokemon Healthcare system, but it was worth it to make sure you're in top condition for your birthday."

Aura placed his hand on her back and urged her to sit up straight while he removed the bandages, happy to see the newly developed gel had worked as intended and totally restored any damaged tissue and even missing fur across Diamond's body. "Now then, if you're feeling up for it, would you like to go for a bit of a walk before supper? It's supposed to be a really nice evening today."

Diamond smiled warmly at her mate and climbed off the bed. She took Aura's hand and nodded. "I'd love to go for a walk."

Sunset quickly approached and the couple headed outside into the surprisingly calm streets of Camphrier Town. Diamond stayed close to Aura's side with her paws lovingly wrapped around his arm.

"So where are we going?" She asked, shyly looking up at Aura.

He looked down and smiled. "Well it might not seem that exciting, but we're actually heading to a bakery to pick something up… But I wanted you to come along so we could at least enjoy the fresh air together, plus we might catch the first stars of the night?"

Diamond looked up into the lavender sky and felt her eyes water a little. She pressed herself closer to Aura and sighed. "I think it's lovely."

Their short walk eventually brought the couple to a humble little bakery near the town square. As they stepped inside, Diamond saw many people enjoying all kinds of pastries. She followed Aura to the counter where he rang a tiny bell which led to a man in a white apron walking out from the back. "Good evening, how may I help-urg…" The man's face contorted to slight disgust as he stared between Aura and Diamond. "Terribly sorry, sir, but please put that thing in its ball or leave. We don't serve Pokemon here."

Aura furrowed his brow as Diamond looked shocked from the man's demands. "Uh, excuse me but I called ahead and put in an ord-."

"Frankly I do not care if you made reservations, Pokemon are not allowed in this establishment so either put that monster in its ball or leave, pick one!"

Aura scowled at the man and stepped forward. "You listen here, don't you dare ever refer to my mate or any Pokemon as 'monsters' or we'll have serious problems!"

The man looked even more disgusted as he raised his voice even more. "You're a disgusting excuse for a trainer if you say you're mates with a damn beast! Get the hell out of this bakery and never come back you disgusting Pokephile!"

Diamond whimpered and took a step back as she tugged on Aura's arm. "M-maybe I shouldn't have come with after all… I-I could wait outside if that would help?"

Aura shook his head. "I'm not making you stand outside. Maybe I should've looked around for a different bakery."

"What the hell is going on out here?!" A man's voice boomed from the back room. Soon a large, bald man wearing a head chef outfit stepped out with his bushy eyebrows furrowed harshly.

"Thank god, this pokephile and his disgusting pet are trying to eat here."

The bald man looked at Aura rather calmly and smiled. "I see no issue with that."

The skinnier man looked bewildered, but even moreso, pissed off. "You can't seriously tell me you're letting this Pokemon fucker into the restaurant?!"

The bald man turned back to the other man looking considerably more enraged. "If that is how you feel then perhaps you should find work elsewhere! Seeing as I'm also in a relationship with my Pokemon."

The skinnier man looked surprised but quickly grew even more angry. "You know what! Fine!" He ripped off his apron and slapped it into the chef's hands before storming off to the back room. "Then I fucking quit!"

Finally the elder looking man turned to Aura and bowed his head. "I'm truly sorry for that boy's behaviour. I suppose he never got the memo that this restaurant chain is a big supporter of interspecies relationships as the chairman and most of the company managers are in these relationships themselves including myself." The man pointed to a photo hanging on the wall of a modest looking Goodra wearing a chef's hat and an apron. "That Goodra is the chairman's mate and it was her love for baking that led to this company being founded-." He paused and awkwardly rubbed the back of his head with a hearty chuckle. "Sorry about that, it's just a very romantic way to begin such a large company. Anyhow, what is it you're here for?"

Aura smiled. "It's all right. I just came by to pick up an order for Aura Borealis?" He glanced down at Diamond and leaned over the counter with a hand cupped by his mouth. He must have been speaking extremely quietly since not even Diamond could fully pick up on what he was saying, though the man soon nodded happily and walked into the back room, returning about a minute later with a rather large basket and set it on the counter.

"Here you are, two dozen cupcakes I believe?" Aura was about to take out his card but was promptly halted by the man. "Please, consider it a gift as well as an apology for the rude welcome. I understand what it's like to want to make your partner's birthday extra special."

A leafeon wearing a red beret and neckerchief suddenly stepped out of the back room and giggled. She walked around the counter and approached Diamond with a smile and held out a small paper bag in her mouth. "Phweashe. Acshept thish for thad boysh rude behafiour." She said with her voice muffled. Once Diamond took the little bag from the Eeveelution she was given a small smile before the Leafeon returned to the back.

"Haha! Guess Autumn wanted to give your Braixen an apology gift as well." The chef laughed.

Aura looked down and watched Diamond open the little baggy to see multiple cookies shaped like the three signature starter Pokemon of Kalos. "Heh, guess I can't say no to that… Thank you again."

The man chuckled and pounded his chest. "Please, call me Ricardo. I'm sure you've got places to be, but please stop by anytime you're in town again."

Aura smiled again and took the large basket off the counter. "We'll be sure to do that. Thanks again, Ricardo. And say thanks to Autumn for us too."

"Haha! Will do. See you next time!" Ricardo waved them off as they exited the shop and soon enough the two were heading back to the Pokemon Center.

As Diamond stared at one of the Fennekin cookies she'd been given, she quietly sighed and put it back in the bag. "Aura…? Is this what will happen as long as we're together? Will you be treated badly just because you love a Pokemon?"

Aura looked at her sternly and slowed his pace. "It's not like that at all, and never think of yourself as just a Pokemon. You're so much more and I'll never stop loving you for who you are. Those kinds of people just don't understand because they refuse to accept anyone that's different than themselves. Don't pay them any mind because no matter what those kinds of people say, it will never change how I feel."

"B-but-"

"No buts. You don't have to worry about us being in any sort of danger because we're together. It's not often you find people who truly hate interspecies relationships anymore since the League created the Willpower Override System in Pokeballs."

"Willpower Override System?" Diamond repeated.

"It's a special function they made mandatory to add to Pokeballs specifically as a way to prove if a Pokemon is really in love with their trainer like you and me. But let's save that for another day, hm? Tonight it's all about you and making sure you're happy. But I promise to tell you more about it when we're back on the road."

Diamond sighed but smiled at her love. "Okay. I was just worried that I might be causing problems for being with you."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and smiled. "Never will be."

As the duo entered the Pokemon Center, Aura glanced over to see Nurse Joy pick up her phone and quickly dial a number. They ascended to the second floor and Aura made quick work unlocking the door, allowing Diamond to enter the completely dark room first before following behind and shutting the door.

"Uhm, Aura?" She asked a little nervously.

"Don't worry, I got the lights." Once he flipped on the lightswitch, Diamond jumped as she saw everyone standing in the room with colourful hats on and colourful pieces of paper hung all over the walls with balloons spread out across the floor. A few of their friends blew into some sort of whistle that made an odd buzzing sound while the others all at once cried out, "Surprise!"

"Wh-what is this?"

Aura chuckled and set the basket on the counter. "It's a surprise party. For you." He knelt down and took her paws into his hands with a smile. "This is what I've been really planning for you. It might not be much since I only had a few days to prepare, but I hope it's good enough to show you how much we all care about you."

As Aura pulled his mate into a loving embrace, Darlene walked up behind her and strapped a party hat to her head. "Aura told us about what happened on your birthday in the past so we all wanted to help make this one really worth remembering."

Kibbs walked up beside them next and placed a paw on Diamond's leg. "You're part of our family now, and that means you'll never be alone again."

Diamond looked around the room at everyone smiling at her and could feel tears welling up in her eyes. She hiccupped and sniffled and rubbed her eyes. "Th-thank you guys- all of you- so much… I… I don't know what to really say…"

Aura placed a hand under her chin and pulled her face close to his. "You don't need to say anything. You're family, and this is what we do for each other." He pulled her closer for a long and passionate kiss.

When they parted for air, Diamond felt overwhelmed and suddenly leaped forward, wrapping her arms around Aura and loudly sobbing over his shoulder. "Th-thank you, Aura! Thank you everyone! I-I love you so much." She said through hics and sobs.

Aura returned the embrace before coaxing her to step back and allow him to stand up. "Here, let's get you sat at the table so we can get started." Guiding her through the room by her hand, Aura had Diamond sit in a chair that was heavily decorated with streamers and balloons as him and his mother went into the kitchen. He opened the basket from the bakery and pulled out four boxes along with one more from the fridge.

Shortly later, the lights were dimmed and Aura and Darlene slowly walked to the table with three cakes in their hands, each topped by a few colourful candles as they sang happy birthday. Although, when they set the cakes in front of Diamond and she simply looked at them confused, Aura had to briefly explain she was to blow out the candles and make a wish.

"O-okay… I guess… Hmm." After a moment of thought, Diamond gently blew out each of the candles and flinched as everyone started clapping. A giddy smile started to spread across her lips as she felt a new sense of cheer from the celebration.

Aura and Darlene quickly took the cakes back into the kitchen where Darlene began to prepare the food as Aura walked over to his nightstand and opened the drawer. He returned with two objects wrapped in colourful paper and set the larger of the two in front of Diamond. "Here, it's not much but I'm sure you'll like it."

She picked up the somewhat heavy item and used her claws to swiftly cut through the paper. Diamond gasped as she saw the vibrantly coloured sweets printed on the book's cover. Aura explained it was a recipe book and hoped they could use it for teaching her how to cook. She tightly held it to her chest. "Thanks, Aura! I love it!"

Aura snickered, "There's one more gift though, you could consider it a gift from Mom and Kibbs too since they helped me find it."

Once he set down the small block in front of her, Diamond set the book down next to it and quickly ripped off the wrapping. She paused upon seeing a velvet box similar to the case for her necklace. She held it and looked up at Aura who nodded for her to open it, and as she did, she gasped and covered her mouth in shock. "They're beautiful…" She pulled out one of the Firestone studs and held it up to the light and watched them practically glow. She didn't realize tears were now flowing heavily down her cheeks. "I-I-I love them…" She set the box down and stood up on the chair, pulled her mate close and pressed her lips to his for a moment. "Thank you, Aura. Thank you so much. I love you so much!"

Aura smiled back and held her waist softly. "I love you too."

"I'm glad she likes them." Darlene said as she carried a large platter of paper plates with various kinds of food on each of them. "Here, hon, let me help you put them on." Aura took the plates from his mother so her and Diamond could step into the bathroom for a moment and put the earrings into Diamond's ears. They heard a short yip from Diamond as the pins were pushed through, but about a minute later they came back out and Diamond was tenderly holding where the studs were inserted.

"Owie…"

"Sorry, hon, but you'll get used to it. Does it still sting bad?"

Diamond gently shook her head. "I-I guess not."

Aura walked over and knelt down to see his mate at eye level. He smiled. "They look amazing on you."

She blushed and hid her paws behind her back sheepishly. "Y-you think so?"

He held her cheek. "One hundred percent. Now let's have some dinner and then we can dig into the cake." He heartily chuckled and led Diamond to her chair while everyone else got seated around the table. Moments later, Aura, Dan, Gwen and Darlene began to carry out the remaining platters and handed each of the Pokemon a dish before taking their own and sitting down.

With cheerful music playing in the background, everyone was enjoying themselves far into the evening. When dinner was finished and the cakes mostly gone, Gwen eventually pulled out a few travel-sized board games she'd bought as a gift and urged everyone to play along.

Laughs were shared and cheers were earned for most of the night, but soon it was time to wrap up and say goodnight. Though the others offered to help clean up, Aura politely declined and assured them he could handle it himself, although Stan and Prince refused to let him clean alone and the three of them made quick work tidying up the place while Diamond sat on the sofa looking through her new cookbook despite being unable to read what was written.

Cracking his back and letting out a heavy sigh of relief, Aura walked over to his mate and looked down at her with a smile. "So, did you enjoy the party?"

She looked up from the book and smiled as she closed it. "Yeah! Thank you for doing this, Aura, I really appreciate it." She suddenly looked down at the book on her lap then felt the studs in her ears. A blush decorated her cheeks as she meekly stood up and looked her mate in the eyes. "Actually, Aura, there is one other thing I'd like for my birthday." He was about to ask what that could be but was cut off as she pulled him closer by his shirt and firmly pushed her lips against his. The two stayed together for almost a minute before finally pulling apart and panting heavily. "I want my mate." She said rather seductively.

Aura smiled and trailed his hands down to her hips. "What's gotten into you? Usually you'd be really shy when it came to this kind of stuff."

She shrugged and stepped down from the sofa, "I don't know, it's just been a while since we were in Lumiose, and I want to be close to you again like before." She sat down on the bed and smiled at her mate.

Aura smirked and was about to go retrieve Stan and Prince's Pokeballs, but as he turned around he was surprised to see the Riolu holding them up to him, though the Riolu was blushing slightly and almost avoided eye contact. "Stan and I are more than willing to give you and Diamond your privacy. Stan is already inside his ball and we both agreed to not come out without your consent."

Aura scratched the back of his head and took the Pokeballs. "Th-thanks, buddy. Goodnight…" After returning the Riolu and setting the Pokeballs down on the table. Aura slapped his cheeks and walked over to his mate. "That was a bit awkward… But at least we know we won't be disturbed." Diamond giggled cutely and scooted back along the bed as Aura began to remove his clothes. The two of them getting excited for spending some quality time together for hours to come.