"You were out late," Zoey says, looking down at her boyfriend, who still hadn't gotten out of his hotel bed.
Leon groans, rolling over onto his side. "Please…shut out the sun again. It's been…" he yawns as Crystal yawns near his head, also trying to catch up on some sleep, "…way too much training."
"I figured," Zoey says, leaning down and kisses his head, turning off the lamp she had turned on.
Leon yawns again and grabs Crystal in his sleepy state, hugging her tightly against his chest as she snuggles up against him. "So…nice…"
"You rest. I will be back later today," Zoey says, smiling.
Leon hums, nuzzling his chin against Crystal's head, and she nuzzles back in her sleep. He was so into his sleep; he didn't hear her leave and close the door behind her.
It was only later when Crystal slowly opens her eyes and yawns as she sits up. She rubs her eyes as she tries to pull the kinks out of her arms before using her physic to turn on the TV as she gives some yoga stretches. However, it was already tuned to the competition, and she idly watches it before realizing it was the award show. Crystal slowly came to a stop as she sees Dawn being given the contest cup and tries to see any sign of Zoey before looking sadly at the screen. Crystal then looks to Leon as he smiles in his sleep and shakes her head to turn it off now.
The door then opens, and Crystal turns to it as Zoey walks in and sees her standing on the bed, giving her a sad smile and a wave. Zoey gives the same smile and waves back before walking over and giving a small pet to her head. When she sits down on the bed near Leon, she reaches out and slowly rubs his shoulder, and he sighs in relief, pulling the covers around him more.
'Are you going to tell him?' Crystal asks Zoey, watching the two as she walks over and sits in her lap.
Zoey blinks at the voice before realizing it was Crystal and reaches to pet her head. "Not yet. I just want to enjoy this little moment for us," she says, slowly guiding his head into her lap.
'He will figure it out quickly. He isn't that dumb,' Crystal points out, also giving some pets to his head.
"I know. Watch after him while he rests," Zoey instructs.
Crystal nods as she keeps stroking his head. At the same time, Zoey gets up to get out of her contest clothes for her traveling ones. Crystal sighs as she keeps Leon calm as possible. Before Leon groans and slowly rolls his head and picks himself up to look around tiredly and then sees Zoey coming out of the bathroom in her traveling clothes.
"Hey…what did I miss?" Leon yawns, reaching out and petting Crystal's head.
Zoey gives a small smile to him before walking over and sitting right by him. "Just…the last bits of the contest."
"Who won?" Leon asks.
Zoey sighs and hangs her head. "Dawn did. Lost to May, though."
Leon motioned her over to him. Zoey leans over, and he lets her lean against his chest, giving some pats to her back. "It's okay. You're still amazing in my book," he whispers to her, keeping his arms wrapped around her.
"I know you would not think less of me," Zoey says, smiling.
Leon smiles along with her. "Never. I think I wouldn't be a good boyfriend or one at all if I did."
"You're not good to me. You are great," Zoey says.
Leon chuckles and hugs her tighter at the sound of that. "I love you, Zoey," he whispers, nuzzling his head against hers. "Please don't forget that."
'You two are kinda corny,' Crystal says to Leon.
Leon smiles at her before lifting her in a hand and hugging her against them. "Oh, just enjoy it."
"What did she say?" Zoey asks.
Leon snarks. "That we're corny."
"Well, you kinda are," Zoey points out.
Leon chuckles. "My only experience is what I know of romance novels."
"So any big progress last night?" Zoey asks.
"Yeah. Ippo got a sparring partner and pulled off the move we have been working on for the first time," Leon says.
'Ippo knocked him out,' Crystal chimes in.
Leon points to her. "That too. Anyways, I think he can keep trying to improve his move with his usual training to see when he can fit it in."
"I look forward to seeing this move in action," Zoey informs.
Leon smiles and hugs them again. "Also, I need your help. Beacon's wool has grown a lot because of the training."
Zoey smirks. "I have a feeling that you need some shearing clippers."
"We already have those," Leon says before bringing out a pokeball and releasing Beacon.
Beacon thrills as he looks around before turning to them. Zoey smiles as she looks over his almost fluffy covered self where they could barely see his face and half of his body covered in the soft wool. He then raises a paw and thrills happily to them.
"You ready to be sheared?" Leon asks, hugging his pokemon.
"Flaaffy," Beacon nods, shaking his wool.
"You ready to pamper our little fluff ball here?" Leon asks.
Zoey smiles and holds up the electric shears that she turns on. "Yep. Sit down, boy. We got a lot of shearing to do."
Beacon cheers as he finds a comfortable spot.
Zoey chuckles as she starts cleaning off the excess size while Leon works on snipping off anything that grew past the area. "Eager. And he's your first catch."
"I will always have a soft spot for him too," Leon says, petting Beacon.
Beacon baas happily and nuzzles his hand back as he closes his eyes and relaxes under their snipping and shearing. "How much do you think you will get?" Zoey asks curiously.
"Don't know, but I agreed with Shun, who I was training with that we would split the money fifty-fifty as her electabuzz was the one who was hitting Beacon with a thunderbolt, making the wool grow," Leon informs.
"Flaa," Beacon agrees, nodding his head at that.
"So that is why you were out so late and why so much wool," Zoey says.
Leon nods with Beacon as they keep working.
"Who is a big lovable fluff ball?" Zoey asks, petting Beacon after they finished. Beacon cheers and pats himself down, making sure all the extra fluff was off of him. Zoey smiles as she then looks to Leon, collecting all the wool in a bag. "So, how much do you think?"
"Not sure…actually, how do I transfer the money to Shun?" Leon thinks aloud.
Zoey smiles. "If you have the contact number, then you can send it to her almost like a text."
"I would rather give it to her in person," Leon says.
Zoey rolls her eyes amused. "Then, you can just message her to meet you somewhere."
Leon nods before getting out his pokedex and starts texting.
"How much do you have, by the way?" Zoey asks curiously as she cleans up the rest of the wool.
"Enough to get supplies for our trip to the next town," Leon says as he waits for a reply.
Zoey smiles and looks over his shoulder. "Staring at it isn't going to make her reply faster. Here you go," she says, placing the tied bag beside him.
"Thanks," Leon says before leaning over and kisses her cheek.
Zoey chuckles and kisses his cheek back. "Have to help you. That's what good friends are for."
"I thought we were more than that," Leon teases.
Zoey grins and gives another teasing kiss to the side of his lips. "You are right on that."
'Just kiss,' Crystal calls out, waving her arms from above the book at them.
Zoey smiles before walking over to Crystal and cheekily kisses her head.
Crystal gives a pouting look at her. 'Really?' she asks, hearing Leon snicker behind Zoey.
"You asked for it," Zoey informs.
Crystal sticks her tongue out at her before she feels it caught and looks down to see Leon holding her tongue as he kneels before her and holds a very knowing smile. 'She plays hard to get.'
"Come on. Let's go get some food," Zoey says.
Crystal spits as he lets go of her tongue. 'Bring me something nice,' she requests, going back to reading.
"You are coming too," Leon informs.
Crystal floats herself up onto his shoulder and still reads from the book. 'Let's go.'
"You're a good girl," Leon says, petting her as they leave.
"On the road once more. Anyone got any good music they want to play?" Leon asks.
"Nothing comes to mind," Zoey says as they walked on while Ippo and Amber walked with them, only they were both wearing weights on their arms and legs.
"And how are you two doing?" Gardenia asks the two fighters, soft grunting coming from them as they powered through and lifted the weights each time.
"So, what is the point of this?" Lana asks.
Leon looks back at her while giving some pats to his pokemons' shoulders. "Weight training. If they can get used to more weight, they would be quicker as this will soon feel like nothing to them."
"So, this is speed training?" Lana asks.
"And strength. Right, guys?" Leon asks the two, and they cry with excitement. "Plus, it's been a while, and they need it."
"What about her?" Zoey says, smirking as Crystal was riding on his back.
Leon chuckles. "Letting her have fun for once. She is always studying, so she deserves a break," he notes, reaching back and petting her head.
'Yah, my valiant steed,' Crystal cheers.
Leon rolls his eyes as she plays ponyta with him. "Yeah. I'm letting her enjoy herself and catch up on playtime. Which all pokemon need at some point in their lives."
"Think fast," Zoey calls, throwing two puffins up into the air. Ippo immediately catches it as it comes down while Amber fumbles once before catching hers. Leon smiles as the two eat their snack. "Reaction time looks good enough."
"We will be training that more as well," Leon informs.
Zoey hums before looking over her pokemon. "Can you help with mine as well? Maybe help plan another contest trick?"
"If you want," Leon says as Crystal snickered a bit.
"You should know he would do anything for you, Zoey," Gardenia says, smirking.
Zoey smirks and whips a branch back before letting go. A snicker was escaping her when she heard the thwack and yelp. "And you be careful of what you wish for."
"Ippo, continue. And Amber, instead of running, starts moving through the treetops," Leon says, noting that the trees were now strong enough. Amber nods before hopping and climbing into the trees, then jumping and swinging through them. Her face is showing a happy smile to be in something familiar and only being weighed down on top of it.
"Ippo, keep raising your knees more," Zoey calls as they continue.
Gardenia smiles while leaning over to Lana. "You think he can retire easily as a personal trainer for pokemon?"
"I can see it or open a pokemon dojo," Lana says before they heard the boom of thunder in the distance, and Leon looked up.
"Amber, what do you see above the treeline?" Leon calls.
Amber stopped swinging when she heard the boom and climbed up the tree she was on. She hums and stands on an open branch to see their path ahead. "It's…on the way for us. We go on; we will hit it," she calls back down to them and sees Crystal's eyes glowing towards her.
"Thank you for translating Crystal. Storm incoming so we best make camp," Leon informs the rest of the group.
"That is such a useful ability," Lana compliments and gets a happy smile from Crystal.
Gardenia chuckles while looking for a place to make camp. "Place glasses on her, and she would fit the bill and be extra cuter."
'Bitch, I'm adorable,' Crystal says in Gardenia's head with a lot of cheek.
Leon raises an eyebrow as Gardenia looks shocked at her and then frowns towards him. "Maybe you shouldn't think bad words around her," she advises.
"Crystal…?" Leon spoke dryly.
'I memed at her,' Crystal says smugly.
Gardenia smirks now that Crystal will get a tongue lashing before her smug face fell as she remembered who her trainer was. "You have to add looking cute to it," Leon adds, smirking, trying to hold back chuckles.
"Leon," Zoey says, grabbing his ear.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow," Leon groans, and even Crystal cries out in pain for a few seconds. All before crying out for real as Zoey holds one of her headpieces and drags them both away.
'No fair!' Crystal complains.
'Zoey is basically your mom now,' Leon thinks to her.
'This shouldn't have hurt that bad,' Crystal points to her headpiece still being pulled, now frowning disappointed. 'I think a connection with you is becoming even stronger if you think this hurts.'
"That is enough, Zoey. She is crying now," Leon says, taking Crystal away from her and holding her.
Zoey sighs as she watches him cradle the little psychic in his arms. "At this point, she is both your daughter and girlfriend," she says offhandedly.
'Mommy, why are you so mean to me?' Crystal asks in Zoey's head.
Zoey blinks and frowns. "Because you are being naughty."
'I only used a meme at her,' Crystal says as she is being petted.
Zoey kept frowning, holding her arms crossed while watching Leon massage and stroke her headpieces to soothe her. "You want me to add grounded to your pokeball?"
'No,' Crystal says, intimated a bit.
"Amber, can you gather up branches and stuff for fire before the storm hits?" Lana asks, working with Ippo to set up a campsite while they have their parenting moment.
Amber salutes before swinging away. She smiles as she grabs some dead branches off dead trees. Ippo grunts as he starts to grab and make their tents, but groaning in annoyance at how tedious the stakes are. Lana giggles as she stops her work to help him along when it came to the stakes.
"You hold her and comfort her while I work, ok?" Leon asks.
Zoey sighs while taking Crystal into her arms. "Okay…does feel like raising a real kid girl."
'Get used to it, mommy. Leon does love you, and you do him,' Crystal says.
Zoey smiles down at her before petting her head. "You're a good pokemon for him, Crystal."
'And you have my little brother, so we are a family,' Crystal informs snuggling into her. Zoey smiles, giving soft pets to her head while everyone else does their job behind them
Soon, Amber returned, and she and Leon worked together to set up the tarp to keep the rain off of them. Gardenia also went out and came back with many berries and roots to help with their food. When they finished, the thunder was a lot closer then. "Alright, I think that should be enough cover, don't you think?" Leon asks.
"Mon," Amber nods, looking at their work from a branch.
"Come down. I will catch you," Leon calls, his arms open and ready.
Amber cheers and jumps into his arms happily. 'Thanks, master,' she then stops and looks around before smirking. 'We were that tired, huh?' she asks, pointing to Ippo and Lana resting against each other…or rather Lana lying on top of Ippo as he snores loudly under the tarp.
"It's the extra weights," Leon says, holding and pets her as Gardenia gets to cooking.
'And mine?' Amber asks, showing her weights.
"A bit harder working with them on, right?" Leon asks, taking her to the campfire before they bring out all the pokemons, with Quake appearing outside the campsite for his size.
Amber nods while taking hers off for the moment. 'How about making something for me?'
"Gardenia has cooking duty tonight," Leon says, scratching her head.
Amber moans happily, leaning into his scratching. 'Man. It's been a while since I had this kind of stuff.'
"Good girl," Leon says, taking a seat near the fire with her.
After feeding everyone, Leon returned Quake and Lana's pokemon just before the storm hit them, and the rain started coming down hard.
"Man. This is bad," Zoey observes as they watch the storm pelt the ground.
"Not as bad as it could be, but it is bad," Leon comments as Crystal and Ralts laid in their laps as Beacon was dancing in the rain happily.
Zoey gives a little chuckle as he watches him dance. "At least he's enjoying it," he notes while Zoey giggles. Crystal smiles along and looks around before tapping Leon's side. Her eyes locked on some rustling bushes.
"Echo, what do you see?" Leon asks.
Echo chitters before looking to where Crystal is looking. Then crying out towards it and silences himself to listen. 'It's…a growlithe.'
"Crystal, go talk to it, won't you?" Leon asks.
Crystal nods before walking over to the limping and injured growlithe as it peeks itself out of the bushes. It then spots Crystal walking over and sinks back in. Crystal smiles softly and pushes some of the forests to the side. 'Hey there. Why not come to our camp? Warm-up and rest? Huh?' she asks, smiling.
The growlithe was very unsure until Crystal offered it a puffin. Because of the prospect of food, the injured pokemon follows her into the camp, getting out of the rain and close to the fire.
Leon smiles as the growlithe nibbles on the puffin. "Zoey, want to help me treat the growlithe?" Leon asks, looking at her as he started getting out medical supplies.
Zoey nods before going over to the pokemon and looking him over. "Legs, a bit hungry, and some scratches here and there. Nothing major."
"Crystal, assure our visitor we are not going to hurt it," Leon says, unsure of the gender yet as he gets closer.
Crystal smiles, sitting by the growlithe, and pats its head. 'Don't worry. My master knows how to fix up pokemon just like new.'
"Ok, tell her to grit its teeth," Leon says, sterilizing his hands and getting ready to start, having checked over the growlithe now. Leon waits for the Pokemon to brace itself as much as it can before starting. Zoey and Ippo helped hold down the growlithe when Leon starts extracting what turns out to be a broken off claw from a wound before applying a potion and suturing it up and placing a bandage over it.
Gardenia hums as she looks over the claw. "Seems to be just about his size. So it might not be something way bigger."
"She and most likely. Now you rest and don't move around, or your wounds will open back up," Leon informs.
The growlithe gives a soft bark before laying down.
"Echo, Ippo, and Beacon guard her, alright?" Leon asks.
They all nod and start to sit and lay down beside her—the growlithe growling softly as the drugs overtook her and made her fall asleep.
"So, you learned that working at the Pokemon center as a kid?" Gardenia asks, having watched the whole thing with Lana.
Leon nods, making one last checkup. "Yeah. I can fix them up to an extent. But I'm no doctor like one of the Nurse Joys."
"Seems like a handy skill," Lana comments as the rain let up a bit, so it was no longer pouring.
Leon smiles. "Helped out a ton in the beginning…when I got shocked by a very particular pokemon," he notes, looking to Beacon as he snores, disappointing him, but also not surprising him.
"You still love hugging your sheep pokemon," Zoey says, smirking.
"Quiet," he mutters to the side.
"It's nothing to be embarrassed by," Lana says as Crystal got back in his lap, and Amber took her place beside him.
Leon rolls his eyes as he pets the two. "Zoey snickers."
"Oh, come on now," Zoey says, motioning him to come to their tent.
'Come on. Let's go rest with mommy,' Crystal thinks at him.
Leon shakes his head and enters the tent with Zoey.