Chapter 37 - Icy Witch

I woke up with my head nestled between Rei's breasts. She was still asleep and snoring lightly. Even though I had rested through the night, I felt drained. Nightmares of last night's encounter with Lilith, Rei's new Froslass, had flooded through my head. I lifted a leg and put it over Rei's lap and cuddled in closer to her. Throughout the night I could remember watching her die, sleep with Lilith, my own death over and over on repeat each scenario different and each one heartbreaking. To feel her warmth and hear her heartbeat under my ear was exactly the medicine I needed at that moment.

As I laid there and cuddled my sleeping girlfriend I had time to think and reflect on the situation. Lilith had been a wild Pokémon acting on her nature. While Pokémon were certainly intelligent many of them became more self-aware once they had been captured in a Pokeball. I thought back to Tsunami, my Gyarados, and how he had been a mindless brute when he'd evolved. Full of rage and lust enough that he almost fucked me to death. But, when we started to talk I found such a beautiful and intelligent mind behind those big red eyes.

Tsunami was now calm and patient enough that Joy, a baby Vulpix that should by all common sense be terrified of him, loved him and called him Uncle Sumama (because she couldn't pronounce Tsunami). Was that change because I had captured him and forced him to be something more than just a Gyarados? Was it because I used my will to make him MY Gyarados? Is that what was going to happen with Lilith if we tried?

Then my mind went to what I had done to Amber, forcing myself into the situation with her Falinks. Had that been the right thing to do? Force my own conviction on another grown woman that made a calculated choice and likely didn't want to see her aggressor ever again. Yet, when Lilith had done the same thing to Rei and myself I hadn't forced my will on her and forced her to take the Froslass. She had, because she knew that I would have done the same thing to her that I had done to Amber once I recovered. I knew without a doubt that before yesterday's brush with death that I would have marched back into the ice cave and beaten Lilith senseless and slapped her ball into Rei's hands. Was it the right thing? I'm not so sure anymore.

"You keep thinking that hard and your head is going to explode." Rei said, her hand gently rubbing my back and she pulled me in closer. "How are you feeling Lovey?" she kissed the crown of my head and I heard her take in a deep breath of my hair.

"I'm ok. Tired because I had nightmares about last night, but we're both here and that's all that matters." I said, my hand making slow circles on her stomach as I spoke. "Are you ok Honey?"

"I'm fine. Yesterday wasn't easy, but I'm just glad you're alive and ok. That was super scary." She shuddered and I saw a vision of me with my full power active. Eyes glowing, hair standing on end, my feet not even touching the ground. She wasn't talking about Lilith being the scary one.

"Do I frighten you?" I asked, shrinking just a little as I feared the answer.

"Dammit, get out of my head. That's only for sexy things!" Rei said, a smile coming to her face. She rotated and climbed on top of me and her blue eyes stared into my own, the honey blonde hair I loved so much falling into a curtain around our faces, blocking us from the rest of the world. "You spark a lot of things in me Kassi, but fear is not one of them. You might be able to read my mind, but you need to pay better attention to context." She leaned down and kissed me. "Look again."

I pushed my mind back into Rei's and a flood of emotions and memories washed over me. From our first meeting where I had indulged her fetish without me even knowing it. To that first night making love then sharing in carrying eggs from Blush, her Roselia, together. Birthing eggs together, countless nights of kind blowing sex. Tender moments spent cuddling, flirting, laughing. Watching me battle with determination and wit. Seeing how strong and soft I could be. All of it was there and we finally made it back to the cave, how when she'd come back to her senses, she'd found me in that strange form battling toe to toe with a Pokémon. Then I felt her fright when it was clear my powers were getting out of hand. The pain she'd endured my sharp ice to sing me back to my senses. And the utter dread she felt when she'd inspected me and found my heart had stopped.

Rei had realistically only been performing CPR on me for less than a minute before Ellie and Korra, Ellie's Zeraore, had found us and it had jumped my heart. But that minute had been the longest minute of Rei's life. She was slowly watching the love of her life slip away and there wasn't anything she could do. For all her intelligence, for all her schooling, money, and influence she could do nothing to save the woman she loved. Kassi shared in her overwhelming joy when my eyes had fluttered open. Finally, I felt her own conviction to catch the Froslass. She didn't want me to march back in here and hurt myself to satisfy my own sense of justice.

"See? Dummy. You mean the world to me Kassi, and while you can definitely be a scary bitch sometimes." She chuckled softly and kissed me when I frowned. "You're so much more. Now, I saw in your mind what you wanna do with Lilith, and I agree, but first." Rei leaned down and started to kiss me passionately. "You blue balled me last night and I wanna finish."

I smiled and kissed her back then wrapped my legs around her hips, "Are you ever not horny?"

"Nope." Rei said and pushed her hips forward, causing our pussies to slide across each other. We had both been away from a proper shower for a few days and there was friction as the tiny hairs rubbed together. The sensation was different, but not unpleasant. "Plus, remembering all those sexy things you've done to me over the last month really made me want more of you."

I pulled Rei down into a passionate kiss and opened myself up to her. She pressed her palm into my breast as she swirled her tongue around in my mouth. Her hips ground into mine slowly, our rapidly moistening pussies sliding together delightfully. "I love you Honey." Breaking the kiss and moaning happily as her clit brushed past my own.

"I love you too Melons." She said, giving my breast a squeeze and smiling as she used Ellie's nickname for me. Rei stopped grinding and started to hump at me, our pussies making wet slapping noises as they smacked together. Our faces were close together and the heat from our breaths started to make us sweat. I ran my hands across Rei's back and lightly scratched at her skin.

"Fuck! That's sexy." Rei said, then clamped her mouth onto my neck, biting down hard and sucking at the flesh. I moaned and felt my first orgasm building quickly. I dug my nails into Rei's back and she let out a deep moan around the flesh in her mouth and increased the power she was putting into her thrusts.

We hit our peak at the same time. I pulled Rei into me, pushing her hips into me and she continued to roll her hips and grind our pussies together. Our breasts squished together and our nipples danced around each other's. The tent was filled with our happy pants and screams as we came together.

Once we came back down to earth I pulled Rei's mouth to mine and kissed her deeply. Her hair was wet with sweat and clung to her cheeks and back. I heard a wet swishing sound to my side and broke the kiss with Rei.

We both looked to the side and saw that Ana, my rainbow swirl alcremie, was staring at us, a tendril swirling around in her pussy and pink milk leaking from her pale white nipples. She stopped what she was doing when she became aware that we were watching her.

"Why'd you stop? The show was just getting good?" She said, blinking her rainbow colored eyes. Her egg was tucked safely in the incubator beside her and she had a side pressed up against it.

"I thought you were asleep Ana." I said, my hand sliding down to grab a handful of Rei's soft ass. "Aren't you sore from last night?" I asked with genuine concern, Rei moaned happily as I dug my fingers in hard enough to break the skin.

"The soreness is half the fun of this experiment. I don't wanna do anything but watch, though. Can I just watch you two?" She said, tugging at a perky nipple and causing a bit of milk to shoot out of it.

"That's fine. I got a new toy that I wanted to use with Kassi anyway. Seems like the perfect time." Rei said, and got off of me. The very cold air assailed me as Rei flipped off the blanket and stepped naked to her bag. My only consolation was getting to watch her beautiful butt start to prickle with goosebumps as she quickly rummaged through her bags. "Holy Arceus it's cold in this part of Galar!"

As soon as she found what she was looking for she dove back into the bedroll that was still splayed open, revealing my own naked flesh to the cold air. Rei snuggled into me and I squealed as her cold skin brushed against my own. "Get off me! You feel like a block of ice!" I giggled and tried to push her away. Rei answered me by touching as much of my body as she could with her cold hands, making both of us laugh until our sides hurt.

"You know seeing you two be cute and lovey-pidovey is killing my sex drive." Ana said.

"Oh yeah, my new toy!" Rei said and then brandished something that looked like a clear purple snake with two heads.

"What the heck is that?" I said, knowing the answer but wanting to hear her explanation.

"It's a double headed dildo! That way I can fuck you, you can fuck me…"

"You're one big happy family, get on with it!" Ana interrupted, still playing with herself and her own tendrils.

Rei made a pouty face then shrugged and started to rub at my pussy with one head of the dildo. The silicon was cool, but not unpleasant and my juices were already flowing from our love making earlier. She pushed the head into me and sunk several inches of the long toy into my pussy. I let out a deep moan as I felt my love channel expand to fit the girth of the toy and enjoyed how deep it was able to go, only stopping after it hit my cervix.

"Mmm, I love watching you stretch like that." Rei said as she pushed the toy back and forth a few times inside of me and gently rubbed my clit. Once she was satisfied that the silicon snake was wedges firmly inside my love channel she got up and inserted the other end into herself. A happy moan escaped both our lips as we both felt the pressure of the toy pushing into her.

Once she was set, Rei leaned back and slid towards me; our pussies facing each other's and the purple dildo linking them together. I pushed my hips towards hers until our lips touched and the long toy vanished between us . A gasp escaped from Rei as the toy couldn't go any further and was forced to bend and flex inside of us. I moaned as well, the slithering bit of silicon was lighting my nerves up wonderfully. Rei started to rub at her pussy as she pushed back and forth, the toy continuing to wiggle inside of both of us.

A wet squishing noise came from Ana and I looked over to see my sweet girl was lost in her own pleasure. Her own tendrils were diving in and out of her pussy in an alternating pattern and she watched us with passionate interest. Being watched like that turned me on and I started to gyrate my hips, increasing the level of wiggle the toy had.

"Fuck Kassi, this thing feels great. I only wish I could tease those perky tits of yours." Rei said, tugging at one of her own puffy nipples while furiously rubbing her clit. I reached up and started to pull at my own nipples. The sensitive buds loved the abuse as I pulled and twisted at them. A random thought popped into my head, it was something I had considered a few times before, I wondered if a piercing would make them feel even better?

Rei worked herself into a furious orgasm, her hips bucking and the added intensity sent me over my edge. My back arched and I pulled at my breasts as I slammed my pussy up against Rei's. We sat there, filling each other and twitching for several seconds as the movement of one of us would make the other start to climax again. Finally, I got enough of my mind back to pull back and end the pleasure.

Ana had fucked herself into a creamy puddle and was laying there, her own fairy fluids dripping out of her pussy and pink milk leaking from her breasts.

We all laid there for several minutes just gasping and reveling in the after-sex glow. I was the first one to move, pulling the toy out of myself with a gasp and making Rei twitch as the toy moved inside her. I kept it in place and leaned over and kissed my beautiful girlfriend, even as I twisted and wiggled the large toy inside her.

"You're such a sexy tease." Rei said with a heavy moan.

"I have to keep you coming back, don't I?" I replied, then pulled the dildo out. Rei let out a moan and looked at me with desperation.

"Why? I want more." She said, trying to grab at my breasts.

"No, Honey. We're done for now and you're not allowed to cum again until I do it. Do you hear me?" I said, then kissed her. A bit of orgasm denial would be a great way to play with and torture the honey blonde.

"Mmm, you're so cruel." Rei kissed me. "I love it."

"I love you too." I said, then pulled away and started to get around. Ana got herself back in order and left the tent to go check on Hatterene. She hadn't heard anything from the witch in her mind and was a little worried.

"Those two are so cute." Rei said, still enjoying her naked time in bed and watching me getting dressed.

"Yeah, it's cute that they love each other." I replied then looked to Rei, "Can you imagine how scary their offspring are gonna be? They'll have two of the horniest creatures on earth as their mothers." I saw Rei was rubbing her legs together, trying to be sneaky about getting more pleasure for herself. "And another one as an Aunt." I said, tossing Rei's clothes at her then gave her the "tisk-tisk" finger. She pouted cutely then got up as well.

"We need to talk to Lilith. Do you want any help?" I asked, trying and failing to not stare at Rei's cute butt as she got into her panties.

"Yeah, after breakfast, let's step somewhere quiet and we can do that." She said then we finished getting around. I put Ana's egg into my pack inside its incubator. Bella had gone to sleep with Ellie and Amber sometime in the night so she could eat and ran up with a happy squeal as Rei stepped into camp. My heart filled with joy as the emotions boiled off of Rei when she scooped up the rapidly growing Eevee.

I looked to Amber and Ellie, who had beaten us out to camp and relit the fire. "How are you doing Kassi?" Amber said, a bit of concern in her voice.

"Yes Melons, are you doing ok?" Ellie asked, jumping up to run over and hug me.

"I'm fine. Honey took good care of me." I said. In truth a part of me still worried about what had happened. The cold metal of my ring on my finger felt more akin to a shackle around my wrist. What had this thing done? Would it nearly kill me if I activated it again? Could I even take it off at this point? I pushed that aside, there was something more important to discuss at the moment.

Then my mind went to what I had done to Amber, forcing myself into the situation with her Falinks. Had that been the right thing to do? No, I didn't think so. I had taken Amber's choice away from her. In a different way I had violated the woman against her will. What I had done wasn't rape, but it was still wrong. It was time to be a grown ass woman and own my mistakes.

"Amber?" I asked, looking at the curvy redhead.

"Yes?" She replied, turning her attention to me.

"I'm sorry for pushing you into taking Falinks."

"It's fine; don't worry about it." She said, making a waving motion with her hand.

"It isn't fine! I forced my opinions and views on you, and didn't even consider how you felt about it!" I said, my voice raising a bit more than I meant to. Amber didn't respond, but she did raise an eyebrow at me. "I realized now that I was on my own soap box and looking down on you. That I was being a spoiled brat out of touch with the real world."

I paused to take a deep breath and calm down. "I realize that you made a tough choice and maybe never wanted to see that Falinks again, after what happened. I'm not you and I shouldn't make decisions for you. So if you want, I can take that Falinks back and make sure you never have to see it again. And...I'm sorry."

Amber didn't say anything for a few seconds, seeming to consider my words. "You're forgiven."

I let out the breath I'd been holding during her silence. "Thank you. I don't need to read your mind to know what you're thinking. I didn't force Rei to catch Lilith, but she did because she was afraid I would repeat what I'd done to you. It's what made me realize that my view may not be the right one. You're all grown women that can choose for themselves, if you want my help you know I'll give it. If you're in trouble, I'll protect you with my life. But…" I paused looking at the group of women around me, each with a grin on their face, especially Amber, "I'm making the hole deeper aren't I?"

"Since you ignored me saying it was fine, yeah." Amber said, a slight bit of mirth in her voice.

I bowed my head, "Sorry I'll shut up now...I'm bowing my head in apology."

Amber shook her head at my stupid comment. "It's fine. I released the Falinks anyway."

"Oh! Ok…" I said, not having realized.

"Damn" Rei chimed in, a look of disappointment on her face. "Can we go back to the labyrinth?" Rei added, starting to gyrate in place once again, her thighs rubbing together.

We all laughed at my girlfriends horny addition to the conversation. Sitting by the fire we waited for Keifer to join us. Ten minutes later my stomach was full and he still hadn't made his appearance. "I'll go check on him." I volunteered.

Keifer had set up his tent a little bit further out than the rest of us. He was still passed out, and the only mind I could feel from within was Ana's; who was tinted with concern and worry.

I hurried up and entered the tent. The first thing that hit me was the strong smell of sex coming from the tent. It was the sweet kind that came from mating with a fairy Pokémon. Ana was desperately trying to shake Haterenne awake and the Pokémon was resting on top of Keifer, his face wedged in her massive bosom.

Rolling the surprisingly heavy witch off Keifer his eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright. He sucked in a deep gasp of air followed by several pants. Turning to me he smiled and embraced me. "Thank you Kassi! I thought I was a goner there!" He said as he held me.

"Why didn't you move her if you couldn't breathe?" I said, breaking the hug and trying to find some clothes for the naked young man. I expected some comment like, "but did you see how cute she is when she sleeps", but Keifer instead just sat there. His eyes were unfocused and he had a thousand yard stare. When I put my hand on his shoulder he jumped and I felt a flash of fear and saw a brief flash of a naked Hatterene riding Keifer; crazed lust in her eyes and a wicked grin on her face.

During this time Ana was checking on Hatterene. "Hatty, are you ok? How did your egg laying go? I passed mine with no issue. Based on the size I suspect I'll be having your Hatena." She said, but the witch continued to snore softly, the attention of Ana going unnoticed.

Keifer snapped to attention and his eyes refocused. He turned to face the cries of Ana and shuddered when he saw Hatterene. "It's useless Ana. After what she did last night, she'll be out for a while." Keifer pulled out a Pokeball and put Hatterene into it. He grabbed at the clothes in my hand and then started to get up. "I'll be out in a second." He said, his tone somber and lost.

"Keifer what happen-" I was cut off when he held up his hand.

"A man doesn't kiss and tell." He said, then gave me a sad smile. "Go on you two, I'll be out quick."

He stood up and pushed myself and Ana out of the tent. While he was pushing us out, I caught a glimpse of the egg in the incubator. It was small, about the size that the Budew eggs had been (chicken egg), only a creamy white. I remembered the image I had seen of Hatterene. Had she freaked out that much trying to lay such a small egg? No, there's no way. Hatterene was tough.

I walked back into camp and saw that the three women had already broken down my tent and were working on Ellie's monstrosity. Upon seeing me without Keifer in tow they all looked concerned.

"I think something happened to Keifer during Hatterene's delivery last night. Be gentle with him. Ana and Rei, come with me." I said, motioning off to the side of the camp. "Ana, I know you're worried about Hatters. When we get to Circhester tonight I'll see if I can get you two alone together for a while. Would that make you happy?"'

"Yes. I'm concerned. I don't think she handled her laying very well." Her face looked troubled. "I should rest, tonight will be taxing." She pushed the button on her own ball with a tendril then vanished in a cloud of red light.

"Remember when she was scared to go in the ball?" Rei said, lacing her hand into mine.

"Yeah, it was only a couple of weeks ago." I replied, my feet crunching as we stepped into fresh snow.

"Feels like so much longer. We've been through a lot." the honey blonde replied. She was heading for a large pine tree that was still within sight of the camp. Beneath its large bushy boughs sat a bench, overlooking the rolling fields of snow.

We both sat and Rei held out the Luxury Ball that held Lilith. "You ready?" She asked. I nodded and she released the Froslass to float in front of us.

Lilith appeared with a flash and a song. Her ghostly pale blue eyes looked to Rei, then to me. Fear and anxiety filled us as we heard her song. During that time, Lilith had moved in close and snuggled up to Rei, her icy horns pressing into her soft pale cheeks. I took a lasso of my power and wrapped it around the Pokémon then pulled it tight.

The Snow Land Pokémon took immediate notice of my grasp, but couldn't seem to do anything about it. Rei grabbed the ghost and held her at arms distance. "Hold on Lilith, we need to talk before we go any further." Rei said, and looked her in the eyes. I pulled Rei into my mind so she could hear what Lilith was saying. Rei was filled with just as much dread and terror as I was upon seeing Lilith.

"Yes, my golden trophy. What is it that you desire?" Her voice was airy and thin; like a breeze on a cold winter's day that cut to your core.

"First, I'm not your trophy. Second, what the hell happened yesterday? You almost killed Kassi and me!" Rei said, her fingers lacing into mine for support. Images of myself lying in the snow as Rei pumped at my chest to keep me alive flashed into her mind.

Lilith blinked several times then settled into an invisible cushion of air like she was sitting cross legged and folded her arms into her lap. " Very well, you both have something you wish to discuss. I shall listen."

Rei looked at me and I nodded, after this morning I was hesitant to jump into the middle of things if I wasn't asked. Lilith was Rei's Pokémon and had to respect her as such. I tried to push confidence and strength into Rei, but it was hard when I wasn't feeling it myself. "What you did to Kassi and myself was unacceptable. I realize that it is in your nature to try and collect prizes and eat souls, but raping me and almost killing Kassi was a step too far." She said, her voice taking on the no-nonsense corporate tone she adopted whenever she talked business, inside, however she was trembling.

"You said it yourself though, it's in my nature to eat souls and collect pretty things, you are both pretty things. Especially you, my Golden Prize." Lilith said, a hand dipping into her Kimono-like lower body.

"Are you seriously going to play with yourself right now?" I asked, unable to stop myself from objecting. Did this bitch care at all about what had happened? Anger started to tint the fear that was coming to a boil between myself and Rei.

"It's in my nature and the nature of my Trainer." She replied, clearly not caring that I had called her out.

"Again, not your prize and quit using my words against me. What you did was unacceptable and I need to know that it will never happen again." Rei demanded, grabbing the hand of Lilith that was playing with herself. The Pokémon locked eyes with her Trainer, then blinked several times.

Watching this process was strange. I could see as several areas of fuzziness in Lilith's mind suddenly became sharper and more focused. The effect was like dialing in a microscope, suddenly the picture became clear and the organism underneath was revealed. The Pokémon started to smile, a sight that was a bit terrifying since, under her beautiful mask, she shared the same maw as Glalie.

"What would stop me from simply claiming you as a prize as I had intended to do before?" Lilith asked, slowly drifting closer to Rei. The honey blonde gave in involuntary shudder and I couldn't help but remember Rei lying naked on the table of ice, the Froslass having her way with her. Rei visibly shuddered at that image and I felt her push it aside and gather her strength.

"I would stop you. Kassi already stopped you and nearly killed you. Not to mention Ellie. You haven't met Ellie yet; and she, honestly, terrifies me with how strong she's gonna be someday." Rei said with confidence.

"Agreed, Ellie doesn't realize just how strong she can be." I was off topic and tried to refocus, but was interrupted.

"You caught me off guard, is all. I've lived like this for a century; what makes you think a little whelp such as yourself could truly best me in a fair fight?" The Pokémon was now staring directly into my eyes. Her cold blue stare sending pins of fright down my spine. The air around us was starting to turn noticeably colder and I saw in her mind that she was getting close to using Frost Breath on Rei and I to simply end this talk.

Rei saw this as well through me and slammed her hand into the bottom of Lilith's jaw, causing her snow white teeth to clack together loudly. "You listen here! I am your Trainer and you will listen to me. Otherwise you will go live in a box until you do obey. Kassi and I are not prizes and you will take this seriously." She let go of Lilith and the Pokémon floated backwards, more stunned then hurt. "I want to be your friend and maybe a lover to you Liltih, but if you can't take this seriously then there's no point. Think about that." Rei pressed the button on Lilith's ball and the Froslass disappeared once again into a flash of light.

We collapsed into each other, both exhausted from the fear and nervousness that had come with talking to the terrifying Pokémon. "Sharing thoughts made that so much worse, didn't it?" I asked, hugging Rei tight and smelling her hair.

"Definitely, I didn't realize what all she was doing to me on that ice block. That made it so much worse." She had her face buried in my cleavage, only it was for comfort not Rei being her usual perverted self. "She's so scary Kassi, how will I ever make her into a partner?"

Pondering on that thought the only thing I could come up with was what I had seen in Lilith's mind. Her thoughts becoming focused, and oddly, patterned after Rei's. "I'm not sure babe, but I think if you give her time to reflect in her ball she'll come around. Leave her active today, so she's in real time and can see how much we all mean to each other and how strong our party is."

Rei nodded, cuddling into my chest for a minute then pulled herself free. "Let's get back. I want to make it to Circhester and sleep in a warm bed tonight. Ellie and I are going to split a room so we can cuddle our babies. Mummy is going to take them to our island soon while we finish the challenge."

I kissed her deeply then we stood up and walked back into camp.

How'd it go? Nona said into my mind as we approached.

Not good, she's too much of a frosty bitch to talk to right now. I replied.

There was a long pause and in a tone that sounded incredibly like Amber's snark Well I mean, she is truly an ice ghost of a woman, could you find a more textbook example of a frosty bitch?

"Amber, Nona is too much like you." I said, walking into camp.

"What are you talking about? She's not blind, redheaded, or nearly as sexy as I am." Amber said, her tone exactly the same as Nona's had been.

"Case and point." Was my only reply.

Keifer finally made it down to camp after breaking down his tent. He looked awful, but was forcing a smile onto his face. Rei and Ellie took notice, but I shook my head and told them to leave it alone. If he wanted to talk about it, he would.

We set off on the remaining path towards Circhester. The road ahead was snowy, but sunny. We ran into several Trainers and wild Pokémon that were brave enough to challenge even a group as large as our own. The Challenges were all intense and each time we rose to beat our opponent. Amber was a whirlwind when it came to battling and Rei seemed to have a knack for taking her opponents apart. We all got great experience and lined our pockets with a little more cash.

There was only one bad part of the day, which was Keifer's never ending stream of puns and bad jokes. The green haired boy had come alive after his first fight in which he was able to get a payout and phone number from the cute blonde that had challenged him. That meant joke after joke of groan inducing puns. Finally, it came to us telling him he was sleeping by himself tonight that made him stop.

Circhester finally came into view. The city was made of bricks and surrounded by a wrought iron fence that was currently buried in several places by snow. We were arriving in the late afternoon and the city was starting to glow with a mixture of gas lamps and electric light. Walked through the open gates and stopped at the Pokémon Center to top up our teams and items. Amber spent a small fortune on healing items then said she'd need to get some work done tonight to pay for a fun night out tomorrow.

We made our way to the massive hotel in town and booked four rooms. One for Amber, one for Ellie and Rei who wanted time to themselves, one for Keifer who claimed it was his idea and he was expecting his egg to hatch soon, finally one for me.

It was strange to be alone for the first time in so long and as after I showered and cleaned up, I was a little confused on what to do with the time by myself. A call to Mum and Joy lifted my spirits. I couldn't hear her actual words, not being near her, but just seeing her vulpine smile lifted my heart.

Luckily, I found something that made the evening for Amber and myself much more enjoyable.

***Message from DmDrewDragon. Thank you all for making it 37 Chapters with me. I never dreamed I would take this story so far and the support and love from all of you and those on the GTIG discord have kept my fire lit and powerful. If you want to join us in fun discussions and maybe collaborate on artistic works please join us discord dot gg slash F5QdwRk /F5QdwRk

I would also like to thank FreeSoul, Chaoslord, and CrisisofInfiniteMisses for collaborating and bringing their respective characters to life. As well as NovaDazzler for their collaboration and soon to be introduced character. I cherish your friendship and this wouldn't be the same story without all of you.***