Vulpix Khione's Point of View
Slowly my eyes open, it is 6:42am, another 1.5 hours before I start heading off to school, great. Arcing my back and yawning, I notice my diaper. Slightly yellow, the sign of a real better wetter, really I am not sure how to feel about it. My relationship with them has only grown more complicated. Relaxing my bladder, what little pee is in there warms up my cold clammy diaper. Much better, I place a paw on the front of my diaper.
The crinkling alone is enough to get me excited, god I so badly want to go for it. My thoughts started drifting to last night. It is now just a blur, I know what happened, me and Martin…. The touching, the kissing, what was I thinking. God why is it so hard, he is too cute, in that thick diaper of his, the way his ears twitch when he is nervous and ….
"Aaaahh, stop thinking about it. Shit!"
Martin rolls over scaring me. Crap, that was loud, did I wake Martin? No, his eyes are still closed and did Martin poop himself? There is no doubt, the smell is all I need. Did he really poop in his sleep, that would mean he was correct. No, no, no. He might have just woken up and done it? Does it really matter? I sigh again. It is all fine, even if he did, isn't this what he wanted? I should probably get him up. I start shaking him lightly.
"Sleepy head, it is time to get up."
Eventually he starts moving, gets up, yawns and notices the state of his diaper. He blinks.
"Did I poop myself last night before we went back to bed?"
I don't think he did, should I just lie? No, it is fine we can work through this.
"I think you did it in your sleep."
He freezes, shock creeps into both of our bodies. I guess him sharing his emotions has it downsides. Then nothing followed, I was expecting him to cry again.
"Ok, thanks for letting me know. Looks like I might really have no control now."
Acceptance, how can he? This bothered him so much last night.
"Are you ok?"
I try to put as much genuine emotion in as I can, I am worried for him.
"Yeah, it is ok. Let's get you out of that diaper, you don't need them during the day."
Something in me can't just accept this and more importantly I can wear them even if I don't need them. My flame rises to my call, as rage fills my body.
"No! This bothered you yesterday, how can you just say this is ok?"
I feel a small chink in the amour, his emotions start to grow unstable.
"What else am I meant to do, tell me? There is nothing I can do, I am sick of worrying, I am sick of the stress, this is just one more thing, I just want to let go and you will not let me!"
"Because you are not being true to yourself, you hate pooping yourself. I saw that yesterday!"
"No! I hate not being able to make my own decisions in life, I hate having no sense of control, this is just a literal version of it. So I made the only decision that would end some of that pain and that involves just being a baby for a bit. That was something you said I should maybe ask Anastasia, right?"
My shoulder slump.
"That is right, but I thought it was just in your head, I was just trying to comfort you."
"Well it wasn't." He crosses his arms.
"What exactly do you mean by just being a baby for a bit? I doubt you are going to start talking gibberish and stop playing with your Lego. After all, a baby shouldn't play with such small pieces."
"Babies have nothing to worry about, so I am just going to ignore my problems."
"That just makes them worse and you know that!"
"Maybe I don't care."
He plops down on his bum as I see him grimace, that is going to take a while to clean. My flame starts to finally die down, as I calmly say.
"We both know that is not true."
"I just don't know what to do." Martin looks completely defeated.
"Maybe you can just take things one step at a time, nice and slow. You don't have to rush everything, you have time. Work on your problems one at a time and help around the house because you want to. There is no need to force yourself and when you need help ask, we are all here for you."
His shoulder relaxes and he calms down.
"I guess that is a start. What about?" He points towards his diaper.
"Well it was a wish that made you like this, you could wish again for the opposite or to be completely toilet trained. Of course if that is what you want. Just make sure you wish with both this and this." As a place my paw on his heart then head. "That is all assuming this is not just in your head."
"Ha, Ha, very funny." He retorts.
"Come on let's go get changed, you smell." He grumbles as I say the last part.
Once we leave my room Martin creates his emotional barrier. Mum is out in the kitchen, why didn't she come into my room to see what all the fuss was about, there is no way she didn't hear us. May as well play it cool for the moment.
"Mum, Martin made a stinky and needs a change."
"You don't have to yell it to the world you know. Not like your diaper is in much better condition." Martin whines.
I choose to ignore him.
"Yes I can smell it from here. Do you want any help this morning too?" Mum says.
"No, I should be fine, after all you said I should start figuring it out for myself."
"I guess, come on Martin, let's get you out of that stinky diaper."
"Okay." Martin quietly says
Mum grabs Martin's bag from my room as she leaves me to clean up myself. I have no problem getting them off, but cleaning up with wipes can be a bit harder, so I opt for the easy option. I get in the shower quickly to clean and dry by heating up. By the time I am done, Martin is having his fur brushed by Mum.
"What were you two up two last night, it is now worse than after your bath. Look at the state of both of your coats, you should take better care." Mum said
"Sorry, I move around alot in my sleep." Martin lies.
"I can see that."
"Mum, you have work to be ready for right? You should let me and Martin groom each other, after all he needs practice."
"How exactly are you going to groom him, I am sure Martin doesn't want you licking him."
"That doesn't sound like the worst idea." Martin interrupts.
"Are you sure?" Mum asks.
"Yeah, if worse comes to worse, I can groom both of us." He replied.
Mum sighs. "Fine I guess, but I am checking on you two 45, missy we are leaving at 8:15am, don't dawdle. You two still need to have breakfast. It is bad enough I have to always make your lunch."
"It will be fine mum, and we both know why that is." As I sit and raise my front paws.
"That doesn't stop you from packing your bag."
"Yeah well, I can't reach the counter." I say with a huff.
"It is ok, I was just teasing."
After grabbing a few brushes (Martin did anyway). The two of us walked off to my room.
"Did you enjoy your alone time with mum?"
"Not really, I could stop thinking about how itchy it all felt in my fur." Martin said
"Do you hate it that much?"
"Only when I mush it."
"Fair." I shrug. "You can brush me first, I will try to guide you as best as I can."
Once we reach my room he starts. I lay down to make it easier, his brushing is mediocre, I try to guide him and have some luck, I will have to fix up some stuff later at school. I end up doing my front paws and around my head.
"Do you want me to roll onto my back so you can do my stomach?"
Immediately his tail twitches as he manages to quiver out.
"I thought you were going to do that yourself, after all, I am going pretty slow, we might run out of time."
He isn't sharing his emotions but it does take much to see he is jumpy about the idea.
"No, we have plenty of time, it will not take…" Then I realised. "You don't want to go near there do you? Let alone look at it too much?" There is the widest grin on my face.
"Can we please not talk about it?"
Martin goes all red in the face. He is way too cute when he is like this.
"Come on, you know you enjoyed last night." As I go to peck him on the cheek.
"Don't."
A single work is all it took to stop me in my tracks, or more so the tone. It is so very different from his more normal soft, shy and playful sounding voice. Hard, determined and more masculine. It was how he was when I first pushed him too far and sounded a bit like the voice when he was talking with the grown ups. A little Riolu shouldn't sound like this, it is jarring. Instinctively I become submissive, lowering my head and curling up my tails.
"Ok."
Then something strange happens as he appears lost for a second, scared even, but manages to regain some composure. He returns to his normal self. Maybe he was not meaning to do that.
"Didn't mean too…" I stopped him.
"It is fine, we should force each other into uncomfortable situations."
"Can I make it up to you?"
I should be the one saying that, but I just go along with it.
"You can brush my tails."
It takes some more coaxing, but I get him to do them too. He was being so careful not to touch them, it is not like I am going to curse him. He understands that I don't like people touching them, but fails to understand that I don't mind some people doing it and that now includes him. Towards the end he even lightly touches them with his hand, clearly enjoying it. That is my way of making it up to him, for earlier, I take way too good care of them and are the softest parts of fur my body. Finally it comes to the part I have been waiting for.
"I did pretty bad didn't I?" Martin asks.
"No, it was good."
"Don't lie, you are already touching up some parts."
"Fine, it was a little rough. Are you fine with me grooming you, I will be using my tongue mostly. I sure as you know holding stuff can be a bit of a nightmare. Currently I can manage it, just using them is a different story. At least I will get an extra toe when I evolve, apparently that makes it easier and I heard stories about some Ninetales being able to pick up stuff with their tails."
"Hopefully it will get easier. Can you please just stay away from my inner thighs, not sure how I feel about you licking there, especially after you know what."
Neither of us can even say it, how sad are we?
"Sure."
He lays down on his stomach as I get to work, it is not quite what I was hoping for. Let us see what I can do.
"Martin, can you please, share your emotions?"
"Why?"
I really wish he just did it, this is going to get awkward. He turns around so he can see me, those maroon eyes feel like they are staring at my soul. I start fidgeting with my front paws, how do I even put it into words. Then I feel it, that sense of warmth, so different to my inner flame, it is him. Martin speaking breaks me from my trance.
"It's addicting isn't it?"
I avoid his eyes and my face grows hot.
"Yeah."
"I can see why Riolus made popular pets. We may be slow to trust, but it is all worth it if you get us too."
Continuing my work in silence, I cherish this feeling. Not as strong as last night, but still amazing and I wonder if this is like how Lucarios feel with their own child. Maybe psychics as well. We both just enjoy each other's company, no need for words, then it all comes to an end. I am done. Martin finishes up by brushing the areas I didn't do and is the first to break the silence.
"Thanks, you did a good job. Can I ask you a question?"
"Yeah, what?"
"Who would you say is in control, you or your flame?"
"Ha?" That is such a weird question, what does he even mean? Martin continues.
"Correct me if I am wrong, for you fire types your inner flame is connected to your emotions right?"
"I believe so, most fire types are pretty hot headed per say."
"So I will ask it in a slightly different way. Would you say you are impulsive, easily get carried away and clash easily with others? I get the impression you are."
That tone shift is here again, more subtle this time, why does it keep happening. I have to be completely truthful, I have to follow my heart. Wait, does that mean my flame rules me?
"If you put it that way, I would say my flame rules me. Usually I follow my heart when making my decision, not my head. Thinking things through is hard for a lot of fire types."
"There is a slight difference between following your heart and being ruled by it. You can listen to your heart, but at the same time think with your head. I was just trying to see which you were. To be honest it is never as simple as a yes or no answer. For most it is a sliding scale and you I at least feel do follow your heart more than your head. Although that is mainly influenced by last night. I was just trying to use you as a gauge, so I could figure out where I sit on that scale."
"I am not really sure myself, I have never thought about it."
"That is fine, it never crossed most people's minds."
"So in your original question you're equivalent to my inner flame, were your emotions?"
"Not quite, I was also talking about my body's cravings. I need to feel others' emotions like you need your inner flame to survive, without them I am sure I would go crazy. That is just one example, there have been a few other things too. Fighting against these feelings is so hard at times, often I find myself overwhelmed by them."
"You're talking about your instincts, everyone has those. You can learn to block them out later in life, although you should listen to them at least a little, they are there for a reason. Shouldn't you already be used to that? You know, being an old soul."
"Humans don't really have instincts, or if we do they are dulled pretty hard."
"They don't? I guess that makes sense."
"Khione, do you know what happens to a fire type when their inner flame goes out."
"We die." I am starting to worry where this is going.
"No, just before that."
"I don't think we can survive without it."
"It is possible you don't know. I wanted to see if a story I read in my previous life was correct or not. I guess we could ask Mr Fuji or MInato if they know."
That tone is now gone again. I can relax a bit more now.
"Just let me get my bag ready, it should be almost 45 minutes by now."
I don't even see him nod as I start grabbing everything I need, when he is like that it puts me on edge. At least I don't scatter everything like I used to. Grabbing my bag in my mouth, I fling it over onto my bag, I will strap it on later. Once I am ready Martin asks.
"Why is your bag like a saddle bag?"
"A saddle bag? I guess that is what they are called in your world, four legged Pokemon can't use regular bags can we."
"I guess."
Heading into the living room we find Mr Fuji reading on the couch and he quickly notices our presence. Martin has stopped sharing his emotions again.
"Morning you two, Khione already for school that is unlike you. Do you sleep well?"
"It was ok, a little restless. I want to see if you knew what happened to a fire type when their inner flame went out?" Martin said.
Straight to the point I see, a bit impatient maybe?. Mr Fuji gives a slightly worried look.
"Why would you want to know that? Usually that happens only after death, or just before."
"I wanted to see if something from a story I read was true in this world. It was called smouldering and only happened when the inner flame of a fire type itself was attacked, like say by the cold."
"Smouldering? I have heard the term used before. Most fire types would never have to deal with such a scenario, often those that can't deal with the cold live in more temperate climates. Give me a second."
Mr Fuji pulls out his phone and starts typing. After a minute of two he starts speaking again.
"Found it, smouldering is not the official term but the common name. Is more likely to happen to fire types with exposed flames and can very easily be fatal. If the core body temperature drops too much the inner flame can go out, after this depending on the size and age of the Pokemon they have from a few minutes to a few hours to live."
"The only way to save them is to find a nearby heat source. During that time the fire type doesn't have any emotions and has a numbed sense of touch. Afterwards both slowly come back with time right?" Martin interrupts.
"Yes you are right. Do you know other unusual things?"
Martin thinks for a second.
"Grass types can store sunlight as a chemical reaction for later photosynthesis? I can't really think of much else."
"That is more well known than smouldering but yes they can."
Mum comes into the room.
"Khione you are already, good, what do you two want for breakfast?"
I ask for cereal while Martin has milk and fruit. How I would love to have hands like him, eating with just my mouth means I make a mess so much easier. I lack the dexterity to use utensils easily. Martin continues talking for a bit more, but nothing comes up. Eventually we get into the car and head off to school. I am the first to be dropped up. The day is a blur until lunch, as I had last night on my mind.
"Khione, Khionnneee. Earth to Khione."
"What." I snapped.
Looking towards Nidorina Rhea (Female) and my small group of friends. Chameleon Etna (Female), Chansey Kiza (Female), Abra Cleo (Female) and Teddiursa Koda (Male).
"Hey, no need to get snappy with me, I was only asking how Sunday went with that little kid." Nidorina Rhea shot back.
"I could barely get anything out of you during history class." Teddiursa Koda added.
"O, that's all, nothing much happened. It was pretty boring actually, mum just wanted to see how he would interact with other Pokemon closer to his age. Don't know why mum had me bother."
"Really now tell me why, me then, the temperature just jumped a few degrees then." Nidorina Rhea said.
My body temperature spiked if it hadn't already.
"What are you talking about?"
"Rhea is only teasing, although I would like to hear a little bit about this kid. I heard they are involved in some investigation." Abra Cloe butted in.
"Please do tell, Khione, what kind of Pokemon are they?" Nidorina Rhea said.
"You I can't talk about this type of stuff right, it could get Mr Fuji in trouble."
"Not even just a little, you always have at least one thing interesting to share." Cloe pleaded.
Looks like I am not getting out, even if I wanted to. It is true, I do share bits and pieces about Mr Fuji's work. Why does it just have to be about him?
"He is just some baby Riolu, about 1 I think. His name was Martin. Still in diapers so he couldn't be much older than that."
"Really a Riolu, aren't they like super rare in this part of the world?" Chansey Kiza said
"Yeah they are most common in Sinnoh and Galar, although they are pretty much everywhere because of their popularity. You know people raising them as kids or pets." Nidorina Rhea said
"Personally I find it quite cruel separating a pokemon from their real mum, it is not always done willingly either. With Riolu and psychics it is partially bad, because of the close relationship they build with their mothers. The new parents often fail to teach the child how to control their powers too." Abra Cloe said
"You know his mum could have just sold him right?" Chameleon Etna butted in
Why does she say the dumbest things at times?
"That is just another problem in itself." Abra Cloe dead panned. She turns towards me. "I will take it, he was pretty shy and jumpy as well?"
"Yeah, at first, I did get him to talk and play a bit. Although he did sound pretty prideful when I first talked to him. I may have made a bit of fun of him."
"That does sounds like you at all." Nidorina Rhea teased
"You actually got him to play with you, that is a little surprising." Abra Cloe said
"What are you some type of Riolu expert?" Chameleon Etna sneered
"Don't give me that you know I am smarter than you by far and I like reading up on Pokemon that interest me." Abra Cloe fired back.
Chameleon Etna stands up and I get between them. I have to play babysitter at school now too.
"Etna now is really not the time and Cloe we all know you are 1 and a half years younger than the rest of us. No need to keep saying how smart you are. Anyway I got homework to do, I will see the rest of you after school."
With giving them a chance to say goodbye, I sling my bag over my bag and head off to the library. I just need a quiet place to go through all my thoughts, unfortunately Rhea follows.
"I definitely know you don't have homework, we did all of it together on Saturday. Also Cloe said she was a bit worried about you. Something like 'You felt off' or something. Also you have been spacing out for most of the day. " Rhea said
She was in my head again, god sake I hate psychics. At least she is pretty unskilled at it, only general feelings is all she can get from an unwilling target and her telepathy is spotty at best. Rhea continues unsatisfied with my silence.
"Did your mum finally find out about your little secret."
Rhea is the only other living creature beside Martin that knows I like or even wear diapers still. Probably the person I trusted the most in the world.
"What no! You said you would never bring that up at school."
"So what is on your mind? Does it have something to do with that Riolu? I know there is a chance he slept over last night, I saw him in the car along with your mum."
Really why is my luck so shit.
"Martin was just a little odd, ok, just trying to sort through all of the stuff he said and see if anything could be useful to Mr Fuji."
"Really how so."
Give an inch, they take a mile. I have to be careful, she is not going to take no for an answer and flat out lying is not really an option, too bad she knows me so well. We make it to the library and sit down, low-set benches are the norm at school to accommodate as many species as possible.
"Martin was just a little too smart and how he ended up in Kanto sounds too crazy to be true."
"Really how did he?"
"You know I can't tell you that, maybe after the investigation is over."
Her ears perk up and her spines grow more rigid from the excitement. She has always liked a good mystery.
"So he is involved in one. Do you know why he is so smart?"
"I don't know. His father might have been a psychic type, you know how they are."
Suddenly she catches me completely by surprise, thankfully not noticing it in her excitement.
"He could be an old soul, you are always talking about them."
Why did she have to pretty much hit the nail on the head. One of the librarians ends up shushing her as she is getting too loud. I place my front paws on the table and place my head on them.
"Rhea you know how unlikely that is right, we don't even know if they are real."
"True, I guess." She lowers her voice. "Well if this Martin did end up sleeping over did he find out about you know what?"
"He did sleep over and teased me a little but didn't appear to care much. I guess him being in diapers meant he didn't have a reason to judge."
"That or he was just too young to know any better. Does it scare you that another person knows now."
"A little."
"Did he know any moves? He should by that age."
"Only Lightly Speed and High Speed Movement, which he accidentally learnt while we were playing."
"That is a little on the slow side of learning moves."
The bell rings, good she can't pester me with anymore questions for today at least.
"Well we should head back out to class I guess. I wouldn't mind meeting this Martin if I get the chance, I want to see fully why you think he is so smart for myself." Rhea said.
"I can't promise anything, let's go."
Riolu Martin's Point of View
Just after Khione gets out of the car.
"Minato, how common are cars that are designed to accommodate Pokemon like you?"
We are currently on the way to my house. Minato briefly looks in the mirror as she answers.
"Well the van has not been changed that much, only the seat has been moved back, replaced and the seat behind has been removed. So ones like this are not too uncommon, simple changes are easy. If say the roof had to be raised, that would be alot more of a hassle. That is why I drive a van instead of a regular car." Minato said.
"Ok."
I am currently in a car seat and Khione was attached to the chair by a harness of some kind. Didn't look like the most comfortable thing. It is quiet for a few more minutes, until Minato scares me by saying.
"So what was the little fight you two had about this morning?"
"What are you…" I manage to shakily get out
"Don't give me that, I may have not heard that much but if you so much as hurt my baby it will not end well, human." Minato snaps
Don't cry, come out she didn't even yell. Tears threaten to come down my face and I look away from her. I know exactly how scary an enraged Kangaskhan can be. Her voice softens in tone.
"Do you really think those fake water works are going to work on me?"
At this point my mind just stops working, this should be simple, I can just talk my way out of this. Tears stream down my face, as I rub my eyes. The car comes to a stop and I hear two doors open, one after the other. Looking to my left, Minato is staring at me.
"Those aren't fake are they?"
I shake my head, after a few deep breaths I manage to get out.
"Would never hurt her, she help a lot, she reason have one weight off chest. This morning Khione frustrated as I was not being true to myself.
My speech has degraded a bit, is it because I am so upset? Minato appears to not take notice.
"What exactly do you mean?"
"Wanted ignore problems, became too much, thought had to deal with myself. She show don't have too. One step at a time."
Minato has become all motherly again with not the slightest bit of anger in her.
"Do you want to talk about them?"
"No time, maybe Anastasia. You need to get to work."
She looks at me with a worried face and gets back in the driver's seat.
"If you want to talk about it on the way there you can."
I don't, we are silent for the rest of the time. Thankfully my speech goes back to normal, I guess just another thing I have to worry about.
Author's Note: A slower chapter, but one that I feel is needed. See you guys next chapter.