Okay so one reason I had Aura and Prince go off on their own was to try out a shifting perspective method of writing, similar to the way Krimson Kane writes his Flame of Life story. Basically what I am trying to do is switch between the perspectives of Aura and Prince to the others back in the city.

Chapter 43


After hours of traversing the path through the woods, after separating from Gurkinn at the gate, Aura and Prince eventually stopped at an old fallen log to briefly rest their weary feet and restore their energy.

Almost immediately, Prince uncapped his canteen and hungrily drank from the container whilst Aura looked over the map, and judged how much further until they would reached their destination. There was a loud hollow "pop" as the jackal pulled his lips away from the canteen, and let out a refreshed sigh before he wiped his mouth on his arm. "Better make that last. I'm not sure exactly, but I think we've still got another two or three hours before we get to the campsite."

Prince nodded and screwed the cap back on his canteen. Once his water was stashed back into his bag, the Lucario looked to the sky with his paw shading his squinting eyes. "With all due respect, Master Aura, but it has gotten a lot hotter out since we departed, and with all this walking we'll dehydrate much faster."

Aura looked up from the map, "At least now I know it's not just me. I would say we go look for some water to refill before continuing, but from the looks of things the map says the nearest drinkable water source is right where we'll be camping." He let out a heavy sigh and folded up the map, "I'm sure your fur isn't helping you with the heat either, but you think you can manage until then? Maybe sticking to the shade would help?"

Prince shrugged and stood up from the log, "I don't see many other options here, but I should still be fine with the water I have remaining."

Aura nodded with a smirk, "Great, the sooner we get there then the sooner we get fresh water… Come to think of it, we can probably find some way to train in or around the water?"

Folding the small map and stowing it in his back pocket, Aura hoisted his bag over his shoulder and signaled for Prince to follow. Leaving the rest stop behind them, the two were none the wiser to the shadowed being high above them. The figure's eyes squinted slightly before it began to follow suite across the treetops a good distance behind the pair, its quiet movements perfectly masked by the natural rustling of branches and leaves swaying in the breeze.


Just as Aura predicted, it had taken roughly around two more hours of hiking until the pair found themselves standing in a wide clearing. The serene location backed by a tall and expansive cliff with a narrow waterfall flowing down the steep, rocky wall into a shimmering pond full of aquatic life and a couple flattened boulders jutting up from the crystal clear depths.

The duo stood in awe at the majesty of their camping spot for the next few days. "Holy crap, this place is amazing!" Aura gasped as he and Prince walked into the clearing. Setting down their bags next to a burned out campfire, Aura took a moment to check out the pond, crouching down and dragging his hand through the cool water as small Magikarp, Barboach, and other tiny fish quickly swam away from his presence; although, the few Surskit atop the water didn't seem to mind as much and just continued to casually glide along the surface contently.

"This is a really beautiful place." Prince set down his bag and stood next to his trainer. The canine knelt down and cupped some water into his paws, bringing the glimmering liquid up to his muzzle and sipping it slowly. After a second of letting the taste sit in his mouth, Prince nodded and let the rest of the water slip between his fingers. "Seems perfectly fine to drink, too."

Aura smiled and did as his partner, cupping some of the water in his hands and slowly drinking it. Letting out a refreshed sigh, Aura savored the taste for a moment before shrugging. "It's definitely refreshing, a little different than I'm used to, but not bad." Glancing behind him at their bags, Aura quietly chuckled, "I kind of wish we could just drop everything and take a dip, but," he paused to stand up and dust off his hands, "we should get camp set up first and maybe have something to eat. What do you say?"

Prince stood up and nodded, "As you wish, Master Aura. How shall I assist you?"

Aura looked at their bags once more and thought how Prince may have trouble helping with the tent, but he quickly knew what he could do. "No offense, but I don't think you'd be too helpful with the tent, so while I get that set up could you go get us some firewood?"

The Lucario bowed his head in compliance, "I understand. I will be back shortly then with some wood."

"Great. Just don't go too far, and maybe bring your bag along just in case?"

With another nod, Prince took his bag and started walking off into the woods while Aura knelt down and began constructing their tent.


With not much else to do, the Pokemon all sat around the TV and watched some movies to pass the time. A few hours later, Alice and Darlene began whispering to each other during the third movie, before both women excused themselves to their rooms. No one really noticed as they were too entranced in the movies, but after a while the two women exit their bedrooms dressed in some nicer clothes and stopped in the middle of the room.

Alice looked over the Pokemon and cleared her throat, "Darlene and I are heading out for a while to go shopping. Any of you want to come with us?"

The Pokemon looked over curiously for a minute until Lilly raised her hand, "I wouldn't mind going with." Tia and Kibbs were the next to volunteer while the rest of the Pokemon politely declined the offer and returned to the movie.

Gathering by the door, Darlene paused and gazed across the room to where Diamond quietly sat by the window, slowly gliding her finger along the rim of a tea cup as she stared out the window at the beach. Sighing to herself before taking a sip of her tea.

"Why don't you come along too, Diamond?" Darlene offered.

The fox twitched her ear and looked over, "S-sorry, what was that?"

Darlene approached her and gently pulled her from the chair, "Come on, I know you miss Aura already, but there's no reason to sulk the whole time. Him and Prince will be back before you know it."

Diamond sighed, "I know. It just feels so different without him now, I can't help it... Whoa!" Darlene tugged Diamond's arm and began to lead her to the door.

"You're coming with us then!" She adamantly declared, "You need to something to keep your mind busy, and what better way than going shopping!"

Alice chuckled at the woman's optimism and opened the door. "We'll be back later. Lee, keep an eye on things here." The Lucario waved over the sofa with his eyes glued to the television. The guardian rolled her eyes and stepped back to let everyone else past her before shutting the door behind them. As the group entered the elevator to the lobby, Diamond was feeling a little unsure about the whole scenario she was caught in.

"So what are we shopping for anyway?" Lilly inquired. "We still have lots of food."

Darlene smirked and rubbed the rabbit's head. "We're going out to shop for clothes, silly. It's just a way we can get out for a while and stretch our legs, plus it's always nice trying out a new wardrobe every now and then."

Diamond began to nervously rub her necklace between her fingers and glance at the floor, "Not to sound ungrateful, but I still don't see why you'd take me along? I don't really know anything about that kind of stuff."

"That doesn't matter. We're just going out to have a little fun, so if you don't find anything you like then it's alright. Although, if you do decide to pick something out, don't be afraid to let us know." Darlene told her cheerfully. "And the same goes for you three," she said to Kibbs, Lilly, and Tia.

With a quiet "ding", the elevator doors slid open and the girls headed out to start their fun. After a fifteen minute walk to the shopping mall, the group entered the large building and sighed in relief as cool air conditioning engulfed them. "Ah~ That feels so much better!" Lilly cooed, spreading her arms out a little and letting the cool air hit as much of her body as possible. "You and Kibbs are lucky, Diamond. I bet the summer heat doesn't bother you as much."

Kibbs looked up to Diamond and did what could only be considered a shrug as she walked, "Not really, no. Since we constantly have higher body temperature we aren't really affected by heat a whole lot. I mean our fur and body is even fireproof to some degree. But we aren't like those fire types who live near active volcanoes, so we can still feel the change in temperature."

Darlene rolled her eyes, "You just have to act so smart don't you? A simple yes would have sufficed you know."

The Growlithe returned her remark with a minor scowl and rolled her eyes as well. "Whatever, a little trivia is good for her young mind." Lilly giggled as Darlene and Kibbs scoffed at each other, their glares quickly softening and turning into a short fit of snickering. "Anyhow, what's our first stop? All I know is we're shopping for clothes and stuff, but not what kinds of clothes."

Alice glanced over her shoulder, "Honestly, we haven't thought that far ahead ourselves, but we'll probably stop at a few places and look around."

"Why not start with that place over there?" Tia chimed in, slowing down to point at a store with mannequins set up in the window, each clad head to toe in brightly coloured attire. "I've seen most human females wearing similar clothes on our way here, so I assume it's a popular theme?" The Absol said, looking back at the others a little unsure.

Darlene quickly pat Tia on the head, "Sounds good to me. Some new summer wear might be nice, maybe even a new swimsuit or two as well."

Alice stepped ahead of them towards the store, "Then what are we standing around for? Let's start shopping!"


Back in the forest, Prince was nearly finished collecting firewood, a sizable bundle of sticks were tucked under one arm while a couple larger branches were under the other. Deciding to head back to camp, Prince took the time to pick up any of the wood he may have dropped or missed as he hiked along the trail the first time. As he stopped to reclaim one of his dropped branches, the jackal's ear twitched as he felt something like thread loop around it, having to refrain from dropping the firewood as he quickly itched at it. He then gave his head a quick shake and looked at the near invisible thread dangling from his paw.

A quick glance around and he noticed a few Caterpie and Metapod hidden in the brush, so assuming it must have been one of their loose threads he walked into, he dismissed it and grabbed the branch before carrying onward. Not long after Prince walked off, however, a pair of glowing eyes beamed out from under a bush, staring at the Lucario intensely until he was out of sight entirely.

Making his return from the forest, Prince saw the tent had already been put up and his trainer was sitting down by the river with his back turned to the Lucario. Realizing that he clearly didn't hear Prince had returned, an unfamiliar urge snuck it's way into the jackal's mind as he recalled the little trick Aura played on him in the shower, and an odd desire for revenge came forth. He momentarily decided against his plan for revenge, thinking of how Aura's phone might get damaged in some way, but that feeling changed once he noticed the trainer's cellphone neatly perched atop his backpack, plugged into the solar charger.

So with his mind made up, Prince quietly set down the wood as to not alert Aura of his presence, then he slowly crept up behind his Master like he were stalking his prey. Then finally, with one solid push, Aura cried out as he found himself being shoved into the pool, unable to do anything to stop himself as he became completely submerged in the water. Correcting himself and pushing himself up on his hands and knees, Aura shook his head and looked behind him to surprisingly discover that Prince, the normally serious and stoic Lucario, covering his muzzle with a paw whilst holding in laughter, his chest pumping rapidly from his restrained chuckles.

Aura gave him the faintest of grins, signifying a great joy in seeing his hardy Pokemon act so freely, while also a bit of mischievous intent laid hidden behind it. With his back turned, he lifted his hand up out of Prince's sight and began generating a small sphere of aura. "You enjoying yourself there? I assume this was payback for the shower incident, hm?"

Prince held his gut and began to chuckle a little harder with the ends of his lips pulling up to show his teeth. Taking this chance while Prince wasn't paying attention, Aura quickly turned around and unleashed the small aura sphere at the jackal, nailing him directly in the chest and knocking him off his feet. Stumbling back and landing on his backside, Prince held his chest whilst rubbing his lower back in pain.

A loud fit of laughter erupted from Aura as he remained in the knee-deep waters. "Looks like our training may begin a little earlier than we thought?"

Prince grinned from ear to ear and pushed himself back up. Even more joy welling up inside him as he rushed over to the pond, leaping over Aura and splashing down beside him. "I suppose so." Without a moment notice, Prince leaped into the air again, charging up energy in his right paw and thrusting it down to the water, forcing a huge wave to spread out in all directions, carrying Aura away with it and throwing him against the banks.

"Oh, it is on!" He cried with a big grin. Pulling himself out of the water and readying his stance. Returning his smirk, Prince began to wade towards the edge to climb out, but Aura had other plans for him and quickly blasted the water with a steady beam of energy, this time pushing Prince back into the depths and forcing him to roll around underwater.

When Prince finally burst out of the water and gasped for air, he scowled at Aura. "Cheap shot!" He exclaimed, shaking the water from his coat.

"Sorry, but keep in mind that you started this all." Aura reminded him. As Prince waded back to the edge, this time Aura bent down to help Prince out of the water. "No hard feelings, right?"

Prince nodded, "Of course, I may have acted by impulse there, but I can not stay angry with you, Master Aura."

Aura deadpanned and sighed, for a minute he actually thought Prince had finally let go of the formalities, but it appeared Aura may have to encourage it a bit more. "Come on, let's get camp set up before it's too late, then we can do some actual training."


Traveling down the large halls of the mall, just after leaving their third store of the day, the group looked around for their next destination. Though they didn't buy much, Darlene and Alice both carried smaller shopping bags. Tia and Lilly had gotten a few things as well, the Absol wearing a thin, light blue scarf around her neck whilst the Lopunny had gotten a sunhat, which was modified to allow her ears to pass through, and a silver bangle with little red gems lined around it. Kibbs even got a pair of sunglasses with palm trees sticking up from them, but throughout all the stores, not once had Diamond picked out anything for herself.

Eventually finding another store to stop in, just like the last few stores, everyone began splitting up and browsing the aisles curiously. Though some customers seemed a little off put from seeing random Pokemon wandering about, they quickly realized these Pokemon were trained and meant no harm from the way they acted so calm.

Lilly seemed to be drawn towards the sun hats and sun dresses, Alice trailing along with her interested in the same thing. "Oh, look at this one!" Lilly cheerfully cried, rushing to a small pink sundress with ivory coloured accents. A little flower was even stitched to the white sash around the waist.

Seeing Lilly hold the dress with a gleam in her eyes, Alice snickered, "Well if you like it so much then we can take it to try on later, after we look around a bit more obviously." With an enthusiastic nod, Lilly took the dress from the wrack and handed it to Alice. "You know, it's nice to share a similar fashion sense with someone else. My other friends aren't usually as excited about these kinds of dresses as you are, Lilly."

The rabbit smiled up at her, "I just really like the simple design of them. The colours aren't too bright either so they feel nice to look at more than those flashy outfits."

Alice's smile brightened, "That's exactly why I love them! They remind me more of the simple beauty of nature and make me feel more relaxed and free when I wear them. Not like those flashy gowns that make you feel super restricted and trapped."

Lilly tilted her head as Alice's expression turned to more of a slight scowl. Having never known about fashion before and still having very little knowledge on the subject, Lilly didn't know exactly what kind of clothes Alice meant, but from the sounds of it, they weren't something Lilly would particularly enjoy either.

As those two continued to look around, Tia had found herself by the accessories, stopping by a glass case with some items on smaller display racks. Tia was never one for flashy objects, having lived on a dull mountain all her life, so most of the expensive items behind the glass didn't exactly catch her eye. However she found no issue with looking them over anyway.

Despite her calm and casual behavior showing she was no threat, a few of the shoppers gave her worried glances and seemed to keep their distance. She knew it was probably a little unsettling to see a lone Pokemon wandering through a store without their trainer, one rumored to cause disasters nonetheless, but it still hurt her to see how her kind was still feared by the odd few humans. She looked at her reflection in the glass, eyeing her new scarf slightly obscured by her mane, then to her crimson red eyes that were as sharp as her blade-like horn.

"Maybe I am just a walking disaster." She quickly shut her eyes and shook her head, the thought of Stan adamantly consoling her when she would start to think negatively about herself rushing into her mind. "No, I won't let it get to me," she muttered quietly, "just because some humans are afraid of you doesn't mean anything. What matters is that you have a family that cares about you no matter what." A smile tugged at her lips as she opened her eyes again. This time her eyes appeared to be less sharp than before, then something caught her eye. Looking dead ahead of her, on a velvet casing with many types of accessories, Tia spotted a lavender hairpin with a red heart on the front, she didn't know why, but she knew she had to have it.

"Hey, Tia. You find anything you like?" The Absol turned to see Alice and Lilly approaching from behind.

Tia nodded, "Mhm, that purple one with the red heart on it."

Alice looked at the hairpin and smirked, "I think that would look cute on you for sure." Tia smiled as Alice asked the cashier for the hairpin, then crouching down to help clip it to Tia's bangs, the longer lock of hair that used to partially cover her left eye now pinned slightly farther back and giving the Dark type a more cheerful appearance. Alice snickered and fished for her wallet, "Yep, it does look cute. I'll bet your new look is sure to attract a mate." She giggled.

Tia suddenly blushed and glanced back at the glass, shyly looking over her reflection and thinking of the Luxio she's grown to like. Although, with Stan on her mind she suddenly noticed a second hairpin close to where hers was, but this one was coloured dark blue with a yellow lightning bolt instead of a heart. Her flush brightened for a moment and she swallowed. "Uh-um… Alice?" The woman looked down at her as she pulled her card from her purse, "Do you think I can get that other hairpin? For...Stan?"

Quickly looking at the lightning bolt pin in the case, both Lilly and Alice smiled wide. Handing her card to the cashier, Alice pointed to the second pin, "Can we also get that one as well?"

Looking between Alice and Tia a little confused, the woman simply nodded and took out the pin, placing it in a small white bag before ringing up their purchase. "Have a nice day." She told them as the three walked away.

"That was so nice of you." Lilly gushed, beaming with excitement from Tia's kind gesture.

Tia awkwardly looked away, "W-was it? I don't think it's that big of a deal." She stuttered.

"Are you kidding? You're super nice, Tia! And I'm sure Stan is going to love that pin a lot: because you picked it out for him!" Lilly chimed in glee with her arms spread wide in the air, this only making the Dark Pokemon blush more vibrantly under her dark fur.

"Come on now, let's stop teasing her and go find the others. Then we can start trying on our new outfits!" Alice beckoned, holding up one of the sundresses Lilly picked for herself.

"What a coincidence." They heard a woman speak from behind them, all three turning around to find Darlene and Kibbs standing with a basket full of clothes looped around the woman's arm. "Kibbs and I were just gonna start looking for you as well."

The small puppy Pokemon looked around them puzzled, "So I assume Diamond isn't with you, then?" She suddenly asked.

Darlene waved her hand, "Don't worry about her, Kibbs. She said she would meet us by the dressing rooms in a bit. Its not a huge store anyway."

Lilly raised her paw, "Diamond is pretty independent, and smart too, so I don't think we need to worry about her that much either."

Kibbs sighed and shook her head. "I know, child. But remember that she's carrying an egg too, and that's just why I'm feeling more protective over her. She's practically like my daughter now!"

Suddenly having a sunhat dropped on her head, Kibbs lifted the front with her paw and looked up to see Darlene grinning at her, "Don't worry, Kibbs. Even if she's pregnant she's still capable of looking after herself. It's only been about four weeks since she got pregnant, and nothing bad is going to happen to her here."

"Well then what are we waiting for? Let's go try on our stuff already." Alice spun on her heel and began marching toward the changing rooms with everyone else following closely behind.

One after the other, Alice, Lilly, and Darlene took turns trying on different outfits and stepping out to show them off to the others like a fashion show. "This is fun!" Lilly cheered as her and Alice stood in the changing room together, the half naked human helping the rabbit put on her lightly coloured dress and accessories.

"I couldn't agree more. I've always had a small thing for fashion shows since I was a kid, so doing this with you all now is awesome!" With Lilly's dress put on, Alice quickly began to put her sundress on, draping it over her frilly yellow underwear before putting on her sandals and hat. "Now lets show them what we got."

With an enthusiastic nod from the bunny, Alice pulled the curtain aside and walked out in sync with Lilly. The two of them donned matching sundresses and bracelets, Alice wearing a very light beige cowgirl hat with a pink ribbon tied around the base in a bow, while Lilly had a similar ribbon tied around the base of one ear.

The pair stopped in front of the others and, as if they had practiced it, leaned into each other striking very mild and modest poses that matched their attire. Darlene quietly clapped and laughed in her seat, "Man, you two really went all out on this. If i didn't know any better, I'd think Lilly was your Pokemon, Alice."

The matching duo looked at each other and giggled, "I can see what you mean. We both have so much in common apparently." Alice stated.

"I'm sure you do." Pausing for a moment, Darlene looked over her shoulder and then to her watch, "We've been here for quite a while. I wonder where Diamond is?"

"How about we go look around for her while these two change back?" Kibbs suggested, hopping off the cushioned bench with Tia and Darlene standing up.

"We'll still be here when you find her, Lilly and I grabbed more than I initially thought." Alice chuckled, looking at the two shopping baskets full of the clothes they picked out.

After leaving the changing area to search for the missing fox, Tia looked around for a brief second, "Any ideas about where she could be?"

A smirk crept up onto Darlene's lips, "Trust me. I think I have a pretty good guess." Not too far from where they started, the trio turned a corner to find the Delphox standing at a mirror holding up a hot pink bikini to her body, doing slight turns as well to see how she may look in the swimsuit. As they quietly approached, Diamond had returned the hot pink swimsuit to the rack and took a bright red bikini next, doing the same thing as before and holing it against her body, even lifting her breasts a little to make them appear slightly larger behind the bikini top.

"Diamond?" Tia asked. The fox Pokemon jumped with a quick "eep!" and spun around to see her friends, her white cheeks flushing pink as she stood wide eyed.

"I-I was just- I was…uhh." Diamond stammered.

Darlene laughed and began approaching the vixen, "Still looking at the swimsuits? Don't think we haven't noticed what you were looking at in those other stores too." Diamond's face brightened as she shyly looked away and tapped her fingers together. Looking at the rack, Darlene suddenly grabbed the bright red bikini Diamond was just posing with before holding it up to the fox's body. "Hmm, not bad." After a few seconds of observing her look, Darlene pulled the bikini away and snatched Diamond's arm, pulling her towards the changing area. "Come on, lets get you changed!"

"Wh-what?!" Diamond cried.

"Just trust me." Darlene told her, giving no other explanation as the returned to the dressing rooms, Alice and Lilly just stepping out again in another outfit to see the fox being dragged along by the arm.

"Oh, you found her." Alice said.

"Yep, and she has something to try on." Stopping at the changing booth, Darlene pulled Diamond into the small room and locked the door.

"D-Darlene?!" They heard Diamond squeal.

"Just hold still! You've never worn a swimsuit before and I wanna make sure you have it on just right!" Inside the booth, Darlene helped the Pokemon put on the two-piece swimsuit starting with the top, cupping it around her breasts and tying the strings tight while pulling her long fur out from under the fabric so it looked more natural and was less uncomfortable. "Now the bottom."

Shortly after hearing this, Diamond let out another squeak as Darlene swiftly parted the foxes dress and crouched down, Diamond freezing up and flushing as she felt the fabric press against her womanhood and along her butt, soon feeling Darlene tie the strings around her hips tightly.

"Hmm, kinda pointless to use the bottom piece with your fur covering it so much… Maybe I can…" Grabbing large portions of the fox's fur dress from the left side, she began to pull it behind her legs instead, revealing most of Diamond's leg up to her knees, just barely to her lower thigh. After a minute of adjusting her fur and loosely braiding it to keep it a little more secure for now, Darlene stood up and nodded, "And done! Now lets show the other girls what you've got!"

Coaxing Diamond out of the dressing room, she shyly stood in front of the others in the bikini, her fur dress looking more like a long skirt with an open part up the side, her breasts appeared more endowed from the tightly tied bikini lifting them up, her nipples making barely noticeable bulges in the fabric no longer covered by the yellow vest-like fur around her torso.

Darlene emerged from the dressing room behind her and stood next to the shy Pokemon, "So what do you guys think?"

"I think she looks damn sexy in that bikini!" Alice remarked, followed by a whistling sound of admiration.

"I wouldn't use those words exactly, but she really is very attractive." Kibbs said.

Meanwhile Diamond just continued to shy away with her face beet red. "C-can I change out of this now?"

Darlene gave her a quizzical look, "Come on, Diamond, no need to act so embarrassed about this. I've seen you browsing the swimsuits for a while and I'm pretty sure we can all guess why." Everyone gave a nod in unison, "You want to look more attractive for Aura."

Diamond shied away again, "It's that obvious, huh?" They all nodded again.

"But why do you think wearing a swimsuit will make you more attractive to Aura? He already loves you so much without it." Kibbs inquired.

Diamond let out a sigh, "Well I keep seeing so many human females wearing stuff like this and how other human males look at them. There's all so much about this stuff on TV and in magazines too, stuff about how bikinis make girls look sexier to guys… And it made me think that Aura may like me better if I wore more human clothes."

Darlene suddenly pulled Diamond into an embrace, "Honey, Aura isn't the kind of person who cares about how good a girl looks on the outside. He already loves you for who you are on the inside." Looking down at the fox's exposed cleavage made the woman smirk, "Though I don't doubt he'll think you look sexy in that bikini either way."

Sharing a laugh amongst themselves, the group didn't spend too much longer in the shop before paying for their stuff and leaving the mall for the day. However, on their way back to the Pokemon Center, Alice started slowing down as she noticed something across the street.

"Something wrong, Alice?" Lilly asked, everyone else slowing down as well.

"Actually, I just had an idea." She looked to Diamond with a large grin, "You remember when I mentioned we should get your fur styled?" The fox nodded slowly. "Well~ How about we stop off at a spa before we head back? It'll be nice to just sit back and relax after a day of shopping, plus Diamond can try on her new swimsuit in the jacuzzi after they trim her fur."

Everyone quickly came to agreement on the idea, and before long they were all heading across the street to spend the next few hours together relaxing.