It was a crisp summer afternoon in the Hoenn region. Tailow and Swellow flew through the air in flocks as the sun beat down on all of the inhabitants of the region. Around this time, many humans and Pokémon could be found vacationing in towns such as Lilycove and Sootopolis considering the ocean was very close by from those two locations.
Another popular vacation spot was, surprisingly, Fortree City; It was quite a distance from the ocean, and had a relatively small population compared to most other towns. However, since the city was elevated high above the region, it was very windy, which gave cool refreshing air, as well as a view of most of the land. It also helped that it was connected to Route 119, which was a favorite among the people for housing the Weather Institute, as well as having multiple terrains for traveling and exercise.
One of the visiting trainers was a young man named Michael, who hailed from the Johto region. Every year, he and his Pokémon visited Hoenn during the summertime, residing at Fortree City's motel. They stayed in two rooms, one just for Michael and the other for his Pokémon. Despite only having about seven rooms, the motel was able to house some of the larger Pokémon.
The blonde haired man was relaxing in his room, sitting lazily on a chair as light was slowly dissipating into the room. In the room across from him were his Pokémon, some of which were excitedly buzzing around the tv.
Those Pokémon were watching an important battle between the current Hoenn champion, Steven Stone, and the newest upcoming challenger, Brendan. The battle was nearly down to the wire, with Steven having three Pokémon left while Brendan only had one, that being his starter Sceptile. It was fighting against Steven's Armaldo, trying its best for it's trainer.
"Man, this battle is intense!" A Lucario exclaimed, struggling to stay still in his seat.
"Ah, you say that about every battle Luke," a Leafeon softly said, laying down as she watched over a Snivy and Oshawott preparing a lunch of sorts.
"Besides, it looks like the challenger isn't even going to win. No way Steven loses a three-one lead."
Luke adjusted his seat to look back at the Leafeon.
"But that's what makes it so intense! You never know if the losing trainer could change the tide of battle or not. That Sceptile still has a fighting chance." Luke frowned a little, shaking his head slightly. "You always have to be such a downer, huh Petal?"
Petal scoffed at the statement, waving it off as she focused her attention on the other two Pokémon. "Nothing wrong with being realistic."
The Snivy and Oshawott chuckled at that, receiving a glare from Petal. They ceased their chuckling immediately, looking away as they were almost done with preparing their lunches. Petal sighed, softening her glare as Luke turned back around to continue watching the battle.
Steven had two Pokémon now, while Sceptile was still kicking, fighting against Steven's Skarmory. As the Skarmory went for a Toxic, an Alolan Vulpix could be heard cooing, causing Luke to look over to his right.
"Hehe, I tink Petal's wight," a young Pikachu said, wagging her heart-shaped tail around excitedly. She was sitting next to the cooing baby. "That Ska-morey is verry stwong."
Luke chuckled, his ears flicking back and forth as he looked back to the tv. "There's always a chance Pika..."
The Pokémon sat in near silence for a minute, as Luke and Pika watched the screen with bated breath. Only the sounds from the battle and the Snivy and Oshawott's rummaging could be heard.
After Brendan's Sceptile used a final Hidden Power on Steven's Skarmory, Luke and Pika shot up from their seats excitedly, causing Petal to flinch before looking over.
"Oh my gosh! Haha, what did I tell you guys!?" Luke exclaimed, pumping one of his fists into the air. "I knew that Sceptile could pull through!"
"Septile stwong!" Pika yelled, prompting Leafeon to get up and walk over to the Pikachu.
"Sweetie, you have to keep your voice down, we aren't outside."
"Oops, sowwy Petal..." Pika embarrassedly replied, keeping her eyes on the tv. Petal sighed, laying down behind Pika and the Alolan Vulpix. She looked back to the Oshawott and Snivy, who were talking with each other. The Leafeon smiled at the sight, swishing her leafy tail around in a quick motion before focusing her attention on the tv.
Petal noticed that every time they visited this region, Sasha and Aurora left together to have a picnic. Makes sense, considering they had been dating for a few years now, and apparently they hooked up during one of these vacations. They celebrated by going out for lunch, just the two of them spending quality time together.
Speaking of which, the two girls quietly slipped out of the room, making their way out of the motel. The wind hit their faces as they heard Luke and Pika yell in excitement from the motel they had just walked out of. They both sighed in response.
"Glad we're finally out of there," Sasha said, rolling her eyes as she readjusted the picnic basket in her right hand.
"Yeah... As much as I like Luke, he can be a bit... tiring sometimes," Aurora agreed, rubbing her arm.
"Anyhow... we should get moving now," Sasha said after a small silence, as she began walking west. Aurora quickly followed, keeping pace with her girlfriend.
They walked down the hill swiftly, but carefully as the incline slowly began to level out from beneath their feet. Once down, they headed past the Pokémon Center stationed at the base of the hill, and into Route 119.
"I wonder how much this place has changed since last year..." Aurora spoke up, taking in the familiar surroundings. The two slowed their walking as Sasha took a deep breath. She turned to look at Aurora, smiling. The Oshawott glanced over to Sasha's general direction, seeing that the grass snake was smiling and looking at her. She blushed a little, smiling back as Sasha chuckled.
"So, where do you want to have lunch this time?" The snake asked.
"Hm..." Aurora thought as she put a paw on her chin, looking around carefully.
"Oh, we could eat near the waterfall, don't think we've done that yet."
"The waterfall, huh? Sure, but you'll have to carry me over the water," Sasha remarked, smirking slyly at the otter. In response, Aurora blushed even harder, shuffling in her place as she thought about it. Sasha chuckled once again.
"Heh, you know I'm just teasing, right?"
"Y-yeah... I'll carry you over though..." Aurora mumbled, causing Sasha's eyes to widen in surprise as it was now her turn to blush.
"W-Well, if you say so..."
The two Pokémon looked away from each other as they started walking towards the nearby river, which separated the land near the waterfall from the rest of the Route's grassy fields. It was a short walk as they made it to the riverbank, causing both of them to stop walking.
"So uh, how are we going to get across?" Sasha asked, looking over to Aurora. The otter stayed silent, crouching down to feel the water. It was pretty cold, which was quite refreshing from the summer heat. She dipped her feet into the water, before jumping right in, floating on top of the water on her back.
"Um, this is p-probably the best way..." Aurora finally responded, gesturing to Sasha to sit down on her. Both of their faces turned red, as Sasha sighed, rubbing the back of her head with her free hand.
"Okay... you can carry my weight and the basket's weight, right?" Sasha asked, worried that the two might sink into the water and spoil the food.
"Yeah, it'll be fine, I've carried heavier," Aurora responded, reassuring the grass snake.
Sasha moved forward, trusting Aurora as she carefully climbed onto the otter's stomach, holding the basket high.
"Ready to go now?"
"Uh, yeah, good to go."
With that, Aurora began to swim backwards, carefully kicking her feet and tail as the two began to drift towards the other side. It only took about 10 seconds to get there, since the river wasn't that wide. Sasha gave Aurora a heads-up so the otter wouldn't accidently bonk her head on the land. They both got out of the water, with Sasha's feet and most of Aurora's body dripping water.
"I'm going to lay down the basket while you dry off," Sasha said, walking ahead as Aurora vigorously shook her body for a few seconds. Water flew from her body as she started to dry off a bit, which made her fur turn fuzzy and stand on end. She tried her best to stroke down the excited fur, but it still stood up.
Once the otter thought she dried up enough, she walked over to Sasha, who had the picnic fully set up.
"Wow, that was fast," Aurora commented, sitting down as Sasha looked at her with an eyebrow raised.
"You always forget that I have vines," Sasha plainly replied, sending them out one more time from the yellow prongs that protruded from her shoulders. Aurora chuckled, rubbing her head sheepishly as Sasha quickly put her slender vines back.
"It might help if you used them more often... Isn't it in your species' nature to use your vines more than your paws anyways?"
"Well, I guess so. I'd rather use my paws though," Sasha responded, adjusting her seat slightly.
Aurora nodded as the grass snake went ahead and grabbed a few berries to start eating, with most of them being dry. The otter decided to start eating too, grabbing some sour berries.
The pair ate in silence for a few minutes, finishing off all the berries they had before moving on to the Rage Candy Bars they had been holding onto for a while.
Both Pokémon were quiet and reserved for the most part, which was part of the reason they connected so easily. Of course, they were more talkative with each other than with Michael's other Pokémon, though they both cared for all of them. After all, after traveling with the group for years, one wouldn't be wrong to imagine that all the Pokémon would bond with each other.
"Pretty good lunch, huh Aurora?" Sasha asked as she crumpled up the Rage Candy Bar wrapper in her paw.
"Yep!" The otter said, before taking the final bite out of her candy bar. Sasha sighed, crossing her legs as she relaxed, letting the sun hit her. Aurora crumpled her wrapper, moving to sit next to Sasha. She shuffled before moving her paw onto Sasha's paw, causing both of the Pokémon to smile.
"You know... we could cuddle, if you want..." Sasha softly spoke, blushing a little at the prospect of it. Aurora blushed too, taking a breath as she moved right next to Sasha. The otter moved her head onto the snake's shoulder, laying it gently on the yellow prong. She then moved her arms around Sasha in a side hug, while the grass snake moved her left arm around Aurora's body. They leaned into each other, rubbing each other's backs as they cuddled.
Time seemed to stop for the two, and all was silent except for the rushing sounds from the water and waterfall, as well as the occasional chirps from Wingull that glided smoothly throughout the air. The two stayed like that for at least five minutes, before Aurora spoke up once again.
"You know that I love you... right?" She quietly said, moving her head up from Sasha's shoulder to level with her head.
"Of course... and you know that I love you too." Sasha also moved her head to look at Aurora, who's black eyes somehow gleamed brightly.
Both of their tails patted lightly on the grass as they looked at each other for a few moments. Sasha moved her right paw onto Aurora's left cheek as they both started blushing even harder. They both adjusted their seats to sit up straight as Aurora finally let go of Sasha, moving her arms up and around Sasha's neck.
The two Pokémon chuckled as Aurora tilted her head to the side, preparing for a kiss. Once in position, they slowly moved their heads in, closing their eyes as their lips met. Sasha adjusted her head to get her snout out of the way a little more, gently rubbing Aurora's back with her left paw. They kissed for about 15 seconds before pulling away, staring into each other's eyes happily. The otter put the snake back into a hug, nuzzling Sasha's face with her own as the grass snake returned the unexpected hug.
"Mm... Wish we could stay like this forever..."
"Me too, Aurora. Me too..."
"...We should probably get back to the motel now, huh?"
"Unfortunately, yeah..." Sasha disappointedly said, pulling away from the hug. "Michael might be worried about us," She continued, now getting up from her seat. Aurora nodded, also getting up as Sasha grabbed the picnic basket.
The two girls headed back to the motel, going across the river, drying off a little, and walking up the hill once more. They made it back after a few minutes, walking back into the motel, and then into their room with the other Pokémon. As they walked back, they held each other's paws, still holding on as they walked into the room, satisfied from yet another date...