Wade looked himself over in the mirror and shrugged. "I can't really dress up… maybe I shoulda bought a change of clothes. What do you think, Houndour?" He asked. The canine shrugged, he didn't get why humans wore clothing, since he had no need for it. It might be because silly humans get scared about showing their bodies off, which was also stupid to the Houndour. He didn't care if a female were looking over his private regions. Wade was getting worked up over nothing.
On the nightstand, Wade now had a decently sized fish tank, where Feebas was floating around. "What do you think, girl? You think the Professor's gonna be happy with me looking like this?" Feebas nodded at her trainer's question. She thought that Wade looked fine, albeit she wasn't human, and probably wasn't the best judge on how attracted a human female would be to her human.
"Wade's stressing too much about how he looks for a date. And too worried about what he's wearing to the date," Houndour sighed. "I'll never get you, Wade."
"Well, Wade is potentially getting a mate right? If clothing is a way to impress the Professor, then he should care about what he's wearing," Feebas said. "Though I will agree, he's worrying too much. There's no way his date's going to kill him, unless Professor Juniper is secretly a murderer, the worse that could happen is that he gets turned down. Though that would still probably sting," the fish shook her body, as she didn't actually have a neck.
"Sweet Arceus I can't wait to evolve… I'll have a neck," she giggled.
"Oh trust me, I wanna evolve too," Houndour mentally took note of how Wade had left his room's door open. Both he and Feebas's trainer just left for his date. It was likely so they could leave if they wanted to, without being cooped up in a room. He'd have to thank Wade for at least thinking about that before he left.
"So, how does it feel to be sold to Wade, like you're property?" Houndour asked.
"I don't care that much. I'm just happy to have a trainer, plus Wade knows exactly where to rub my scales… it sure beats sitting in a crowded pool with Feebas and Magikarp though… god are Magikarp stupid. One slammed its face into the side constantly and ended up with a concussion."
"So, how did you meet Wade? You're very clearly his starter. I saw how he was wrestling with you like he himself was a Houndour. So it must be interesting," Feebas asked.
"Well, I met Wade a couple days ago. This is the fourth day that I've been Wade's pokemon. I… kind of just started existing when Wade arrived, and I don't know how to feel about that. I have no parents, no origins, nothing. I simply knew that I existed, and now I was this grown man's dog. Despite how much I opposed Wade when I first met him, I love him now… it feels weird as to how quickly I started loving him, but he just treats me so nicely."
Feebas raised an eyebrow that she didn't have. "What do you mean by… just started to exist? Are you a clone?" Feebas asked.
"No. If I recall correctly, Wade said he's not from this world. And I met a trainer that smelled like him, who captured me. Next thing I know, I see a guy who smells like alcohol named Wade, and then me and Wade quickly become friends. I don't even know how mine and Wade's situation, or fully understand it. I'm just happy to have a trainer that loved me."
Feebas shrugged and decided to leave it at that.
"So, want to check up on Girafarig? From what I could hear, that guy wasn't doing too hot," Feebas asked.
"Yeah, I'm kinda worried about the poor guy. He's kinda… thin. He also looked and smelled malnourished," Houndour said.
"You canine-like pokemon and your sense of smell will always amaze me," Feebas said.
"And when you evolve, I'm pretty sure you'll be leaving me speechless," Houndour slyly grinned. "Who knows, we might even mate," he joked.
"Get your mind out of the gutter… we literally can't even breed," Feebas giggled at the weird, probably freakish offspring they would have if they could mate.
After Houndour dried Feebas a bit(so she wouldn't leave a trail of water droplets), the two of them headed out of the room. Much to their surprise, Girafarig was standing in the hallway, sniffing the ground, like he was looking for something. Houndour barked to get the giraffe's attention. "Shouldn't you be in bed? Last I heard, Juniper and Wade were trying to ease you into being able to eat full meals again," Houndour asked.
"Well, I wanted to see Wade. He's pretty nice, and I want to thank him for saving me from… my fate. Do you guys know where he is? My sense of smell is a bit off because of my current situation," Girafarig asked. "Plus I just want him to rub my muzzle again, it felt nice," he added.
"Well, for your information, you too Feebas, Wade was my trainer first. That means I get scratches, belly rubs, muzzle rubs and massages first!" He declared.
"You're such a child, Houndour," Feebas said.
"Yeah, but I'm only a year and a half old, and this baby says that Wade is his!" Houndour regained his composure rather quickly. "Anyways, Wade and Juniper, the woman that's helping you, went out for dinner. I think Wade wants to mate with Juniper, and Juniper seems attracted to him too. She even lets Wade call her by her first name."
"Humans have too many names. They have a first, sometimes a middle, a last, and sometimes another last name," Feebas deadpanned. "Just be happy with being called by one name." Both Houndour and Girafarig fully agreed with that sentiment.
"So, what are Wade's plans with me? He said he wants to leave me here with his girlfriend until I'm not a skin bag full of bones and organs. But has he said anything about taking me on his adventures?" Girafarig asked.
"Nope. He talks about how he's concerned about you, and even leaves the room just to find you. I'm jealous of that, by the way. What does he do with you when he goes to see you?" Houndour asked.
"Wade plays 'grab face' with me, where he covers my face with his hand, and pets me. Then I try to nip bite him. He's been kind of interested in my tail," Girafarig wagged his tail, which looked mildly irritated at being jostled a bit. "He even decided to dub my tail 'Chain Chomp' for some reason. That's pretty much all we do when he comes to visit me; he doesn't want me to exert too much energy since my body barely has any to waste of playing right now."
"That son of a bitch!" Houndour growled. "Playing 'grab face' was a sacred thing he did with me!" Houbdour grumbled while Feebas giggled.
"You really do get jealous too easily, Houndour. Wade loves you, but I think he doesn't want to leave Girafarig or me out, though he seems a bit hesitant in wanting to play with me," Feebas shrugged. "It could be because he doesn't even know what we Feebas like to play. Once I evolve, I hope to gain the ability to communicate with Wade, it would make things easier for all of us. I can translate anything to him, and he'll understand."
"I already know how to do that, but I haven't yet. I don't know how Wade will react to me being able to communicate with him. Though it would be nice to be able to voice my desires to travel with him," Girafarig shrugged. "I'll just let him know next time he comes to visit me."
"What are you three doing?" The three pokemon turned and saw White standing with her hands on her hips. "Girafarig, go back to your room and sleep. I'll pour you a bowl of food when I get these two back in Wade's room," White knelt down and patted Houndour on the head. "Can you go back to Wade's room? I know he probably wanted to let you explore the lab, but you could get hurt. You wouldn't want to see how Wade would react to that, would you?"
Houndour groaned. "Dammit kid, you know how to make a good bargin," Houndour licked White before turning around. "C'mon you two, we're gonna stay in Wade's room," he said. Before Girafarig could protest, Feebas gave the Giraffe a nudge. "You want to express how you feel about wanting to be Wade's pokemon, so you're going to sleep in his room, but you're getting the pokemon bed. Sleeping on the bed with Wade is off limits…"
"In other words, he doesn't want Wade to split the cuddles between him and another pokemon," Feebas giggled. "If Wade went and bought the Alolan Vulpix he saw at the marketplace, you'd be giving them hell, wouldn't you?" Feebas asked. "Because not only are they adorable, but they were also pups. And canine-like," Feebas grinned when Houndour began to look fearful.
"If Wade bought one of those things, I'd gut him. He should know that I'm his pokemon, and he shouldn't get more than you and Girafarig. It's already tough that I need to share a massage with Girafarig, and once you evolve, you as well, Feebas," Houndour said.
"Don't worry, those are all yours for the taking.
White surely wintered the room, teasingly scolded Girafarig for 'breaking out of containment' for Wade's room, and had brought the pokemon food. It was the cheapo-league branded stuff, which Houndour actually kind of liked. Feebas was handed hers crushed up and sprinkled into her tank, which was better for the fish. Girafarig's portion was small, but it was likely apart of the therapy he was being put under.
"Don't throw up this time, Girafarig! Professor Juniper's assistant did not look amused when you did yesterday!" White teased, not fully understanding why the giraffe couldn't stomach a meal. Apparently Wade and Juniper knew, but hadn't yet told her or her friends. It was likely a 'wait until you're older' thing that she kept on getting. She couldn't wait to grow up, then she'll be able to be told all the 'until you're older' stuff.
White petted all three pokemon before leaving the room, but still kept the room open. Houndour and Girafarig curled up on their respective beds, and dozed off. Meanwhile, Feebas was thinking about how she was apparently the eldest of their trio. "I'll probably have to watch over these two. I know Houndour's age, and I can assume Girafarig Isn't much older either. Hope the poor guy isn't scarred by what happened to him," she mused.
A few hours later, Wade came inside the room, and Houndour could easily hear Juniper giggling at a joke Wade probably told her. He sat up and stretched as he had' conveniently' ended up in Wade's personal space. "Hey bud, you weren't bored to death waiting for me, were you?" He yelped when Houndour nipped him.
"What was that for?" Wade slowly turned around to see Girafarig's sleeping form in the pokemon bed. "Did he tell you about how I was playing with him?" He asked. Houndour nodded before licking the spot he just nipped. "Bud, just because I play with another pokemon, it's not the end of the world. You'll always be my Houndour, you're my best friend. You shouldn't be jealous when I say… give Feebas some affection."
Wade chuckled. "Don't worry, I'll buy a frisbee and we'll play fetch. It'll just be me and you sort of thing." Houndour was happy with that peace offering. He then placed himself in Wade's lap, and fell asleep.
Wade's mood could not be any better. Not only did Aurea agree to another date, but she laughed at all of his jokes while they ate dinner. Despite the professor's insistence on drinking some wine, Wade only asked for a soft drink. He already had a bad experience with alcohol he'd excuse, and the Professor didn't push him further.
Professor Juniper, likely knowing that Wade couldn't dress up in anything fancy, took them to a simple bar where the food was pretty good. Albeit a bit greasy, but not too greasy. The professor wore a simple, blue dress(Wade could guess her favorite color was blue), and wore some high heels. Her hair was done in a ponytail as opposed to the usual bun o. Needless to say, Wade found her to be pretty.
This was the first girl Wade was dating, a nerdy girl, who happily nerded out over stuff Wade had no idea was. For instance, the Mystery Dungeon-esk TV show was the Professor's favorite show, and she gushed over how good the story was, and even some theories of her own. Wade felt like he had given her his full attention. He simply couldn't have given any less with how interested she was in that show.
He actually had a chance. 'I really hope this isn't a hangover or anything. I want this to be real.' Wade patted the sleeping canine in his lap. "I get the best pets, a pretty girlfriend, and I get to just explore and travel across the land? While being able to live the dream of the pokemon master 12 year old me had all the time?" He sighed.
"If I wake up in a hospital bed, then I'm jumping out the window. If this is what the afterlife is, then I would rather be dead." Wade gently moved Houndour aside, making sure the pup was still asleep, and wrapped a blanket around the canine. Sure, Houndour definitely didn't need the extra heat, but it put Wade's mind at rest.
Wade checked in on Feebas, who was happy to see her trainer, but was too sleepy to get out of the fish tank. So he went and sat in the pokemon bed, where he found Girafarig sleeping, or where he was sleeping. Girafarig had woken up after feeling the young man get in his personal bubble. Without hesitation, the giraffe climbed onto the man's lap.
"Great, I got a 90 pound lap horse, but the actual dog I have is only 23 pounds," Wade chuckled as he began to pet the giraffe in his arms. "So, how're you stomaching the food White brought ya?"
"Well, I can keep it down now. Probably not a proper meal yet, but I can stomach a snack," Girafarig said. He used his telepathy to relay what he had said, which made Wade just raise an eyebrow.
"Well then, I didn't expect to be experiencing telepathy so soon," Wade chuckled. He was too tired to question why or how. "Man this is cool." He looked Girafarig in the eyes, before looking serious. "So, you wanna tell me something, eh? You wouldn't show that you've got telepathy now, unless you had something you wanted to tell me," Wade said.
"Well, I would like to travel with you. I know you said you wanted to let Juniper take care of me, which I'll be happy with, I want to explore this region. I'm tired of sitting around all day," Girafarig said.
"Well, I could let you travel with me after a couple weeks of me heading out. I want Juniper to make sure you are a-okay before I have you walking around outside. I want to make sure you'll be able to run away or fight back if things start going south. So I'll leave you with Juniper for a week or so, and if you wanna travel with me, you can. Only after that first week's up."
"I'll accept that. Though, I can recover quite quickly from starvation, so I don't know why you'd want to keep me from traveling for a week."
"It's nothing against you, it's why I don't want to get into gym battling. It's fun and all, but I won't be able to have fun watching you, Houndour, or Feebas get beaten to a pulp before my eyes. Especially when I know when I threw you guys in the meat grinder to begin with. In other-words, a peace of mind. " Wade said.
"We can take a beating, you know."
"And I can't stomach, seeing you guys, taking said beating."
"Fair," Girafarig shrugged. He couldn't argue with that, plus he really didn't mind not having to battle.
"We will be training a lot despite that though. I've… got a hunch, and if that hunch is right, then we're gonna wanna be strong. We need to be able to defend ourselves if my hunch is spot on. So you think you can handle it?" Wade asked.
"Of course. I know that we should prepare for the worse," Girafarig answered.
"God, having a conversation with you is gonna take getting used to," Wade and Girafarig chuckled at that. "Well, let's hit the way, you need the rest, Girafarig." Girafarig let Wade up to perform his pre-bedtime routine, and went to sleep.