~ These Creatures Are Friend-Shaped ~

"You turned my friend into a slug."

"A Pokemon, actually. A Dratini, to be precise."

Yennefer stared down at the wriggly little blue-and-white baby dragon that used to be Anica. Tissaia was still talking, but the young mage tuned her out until the rectoress pushed a broom into her hand and said, "Now push your friend into the pool, piglet."

Yennefer did not want to push her friend into the pool, and delayed by pushing the other two Dratini in first, while she tried to think of a way to smuggle Anica out of there.

As she stood next to the pile of green cloth on the rock that used to be Anica's clothes, Yennefer felt something wiggly slither under the hem of her skirt. Then that something wound itself around Yennefer's ankle, and she realized that it must be Anica.

Still not knowing what she was going to do to make Tissaia think she'd pushed Anica into the pool, the young mage glanced to her Pokemon.

Seeing that Tissaia's gaze was firmly fixed on the pile of cloth on the rock and the end of the broom, Mom cast an illusion of a Dratini slithering out of the clothing. Tissaia didn't notice the Grumpig's pearls lighting up with psychic energy as she watched Yennefer tentatively prod at the illusory dragon Pokemon with the broom.

The fake Dratini rolled over the edge of the rock and disappeared, and a moment later a faint splash was heard.

Once Yennefer got back to her room, Anica uncoiled from her hiding place around Yennefer's ankle and dropped to the floor.

"Well, now what am I supposed to do with you? I'll have to bind you to something to keep you hidden from Tissaia..."

Glancing around the room, Yennefer started to reach for an empty bottle, but then her gaze fell on a small wooden trinket box with a hinged lid, which still smelled faintly of the fire that Yennefer had rescued it from. She reached for the box instead, dumping out its contents (spell ingredients, since she'd had nothing more precious to keep in it), and holding out the open container toward Anica.

Yennefer wasn't sure how binding a Pokemon to a container worked exactly, since Mom wasn't bound to one, but the Dratini's body dissolved into white light and disappeared into the box, which closed by itself and locked shut with a decisive snap.

"Give me back my Igglybuff, Geralt."

"Booger is my Pokemon. He's bonded to me."

"You can't name him Booger. That's disgusting. You can't name a cute little Igglybuff after nose-pickings!"

"He's my Pokemon and he likes his nickname. Don't you, Booger?"

"Iggly."

"See?"

"But he's my Pokemon's baby!"

"That doesn't make him your partner automatically. He bonded with me."

"At least let me hold the baby..."

"Buff!"

"Booger says no."

Jigglypuff and Wigglytuff didn't seem bothered by the fact that their baby had bonded to Geralt rather than Jaskier, and after a while the witcher set the little bouncing ball of energy down so that Booger could walk with his parents.

"Iggly, Iggly~" the baby sang as they walked along.

Of course, Jaskier couldn't stay mad at Geralt or a cute pink singing baby Pokemon for very long, and by the time they made it to the next town, the bard had accepted the situation and was back to his normal self. (Although he was still a teeny tiny bit upset about the baby being named Booger.)

~oOo~

Pokemon team recap:

Yennefer: Grumpig (Mom), Dratini (Anica)

Geralt: Mudsdale (Roach), Honedge (Sword 3), Igglybuff (Booger)

Jaskier: Jigglypuff, Wigglytuff, Kricketune, Chatot