A/N: Yo! What is going on you guys, it's your friendly neighborhood DrPhill back again with another chapter for you guys to enjoy today.
Tyler: There's the doctor, how'd your trip to Alola end up?
DrPhill26: Dude there's so many cool Pokémon that I've never seen before in Alola! Like that giant ass beetle that can summon lightning? That thing looked amazing!
Wendy: Right, Vikavolt. He's pretty common there from what I've heard.
DrPhill26: Yeah! He was awesome, and then there was this like really old looking dragon that was super friendly. He reminded me of my grandpa actually. They kind of have the same hair style.
Wendy: Sounds like you found a Dranpa too. Man now you're making me jealous, I want to go to Alola again too.
Tyler: So you saw a lot of Pokémon while you were away. Did you catch anything?
DrPhill26: *frowning* I ran out of balls...
Tyler: Ouch, sorry mate.
DrPhill26: But I'm not gonna let that slow me down. So once again, here's a brand new chapter for you guys to enjoy. And I know I haven't said it for a while but...
Wendy: *gasps* Nomel Berry?
DrPhill26: Not quite... more like Nomel Zest. Nothing major, nothing particularly naughty, just a couple more innuendos and or naughtier conversation bits than normal. So go enjoy yourselves you guys and have fun.
"Here you go sir and ma'am, your Pokémon are completely healed." The nurse cheerily smiled at Tyler and Wendy as she handed them a tray with six Poké balls on it. "The top row are yours and the bottom three are for you ma'am."
"Thank you." Tyler said as he and Wendy picked up the balls and began attaching them to their trainer's belts.
"So Wendy was it?" Wendy looked up as the nurse addressed her. "Were you glad you decided to enter the tournament after all?"
"Oh definitely." Wendy nodded as she returned a smile to the nurse. "It's been nothing but fun since we started. Thanks for pushing me to enter it."
"Hey, I helped too didn't I?" Tyler pouted as he finished attaching Felix's ball to his belt.
"You did and I'm grateful to both of you." Wendy's smile shifted towards Tyler, adding a short hug as well. "Though I have to admit, I'm really glad we've got this week off before the next round begins."
"No kidding." Tyler quietly chuckled as he shook his head. "We've definitely earned a break."
"Oh, you two didn't mention that you'd advanced to the knockout rounds." The nurse perked up. "And to think, you didn't want to enter the tournament at first."
"Well… I'm not the most experienced battler." Wendy blushed a bit shyly at the unexpected praise. "Maddie did a lot of the work for me."
"Oh don't be so modest. You must have done some things right if you made it this far." The nurse continued, Tyler nodding in agreement.
"If you say so… I guess it just hasn't really sunk in that much yet."
"Well you two definitely deserve a break as well if you've made it this far. You got any plans?" The nurse asked as she handed Tyler and Wendy back their trainer licenses.
"Oh right! The barbecue! I almost forgot about that!" Wendy clapped her hands together eagerly.
"Doesn't seem like you forgot about it at all." Tyler cocked a half smile.
"Oh, now that sounds like a perfect way to relax." The nurse said as she typed up a few more things at her computer station. "Good food, good company, perfect day for it today too. Hardly a cloud in the sky… and yet I'm stuck here until sunset."
"I'm sorry." Wendy frowned as the nurse let out a sigh.
"Oh well, such is the life of a Pokémon Center nurse." The nurse's cheery disposition returned in an instant. "You two have a lovely day, and thank you for visiting the Hearthome City Pokémon Center."
"We will, thank you." Wendy smiled as she and Tyler turned and walked towards the exits.
"Okay seriously, does that not bother you?" Tyler asked with a whispered breath.
"She might be a little overly cheery, but that's never a bad thing." Wendy replied but Tyler shook his head.
"Not that; I mean how like every nurse looks exactly the same here!" Wendy and Tyler looked over their shoulders at the nurse who had already begun helping another trainer. A second one then appeared, virtually identical to the one next to her with the only noticeable difference from this distance being the color of the cross on their caps.
"I'm not bothered by it. Besides, why are you complaining? I thought you were the one with the nurse fetish remember?"
"That's… well that part is true." Tyler shyly scratched his chin as his face began to glow. "But still they look like they could be twins."
"Maybe they are twins."
"Maybe…" Tyler lamented, shaking his head in defeat. Maybe this was just something he'd have to get used to, even if it did creep him out how similar these particular nurses looked compared to the ones back home. "At least the nurses in Snowpoint are different."
"See, different… and way hotter too." Wendy sighed warmly at her memories while Tyler felt a shiver of jealousy tremble through his body. "That was such a good night."
"Yeah, you've told me."
"You're still bitter about that?" Wendy asked as she opened the door, Tyler and her walking through. Not hearing a response from him, she let out a sigh and continued. "Alright, next time we're feeling frisky, I'll go get a nurse costume and we can indulge in your fantasy together."
"Where are you gonna get a nurse costume?" Tyler asked as his face became a brighter shade of red.
"Oh don't you worry about that. You worry about how you're gonna hide that little bulge in your pants from everyone outside." Wendy giggled impishly as she jogged ahead of Tyler towards Will, Rose and everyone else waiting out on the sidewalk. Tyler glanced down and sure enough, saw he was pitching a tent in his trousers like Wendy had pointed out. With a sigh of embarrassment, he slouched over slightly to try and hide his eagerness from view of his friends.
"So are we on for this or not?" Wendy asked as she approached Will, who held a finger up to her and turned away.
"You don't need us to bring anything?" Will asked through the phone pressed to his ear. "You sure? Not even some beers or…" Another brief pause and Will starts chuckling to himself. "Alright dad, we'll be there by two… Yup, see you then… bye." He pulls his phone away and pocketed it. "Party's on."
"YES!"
"Hooray!" Both Wendy and Rose squealed in unison together, high-fiving each other for added measure.
"All we got to do is show up." Will added on to the growing high five train as Rose and Wendy both slapped his giant mitt of a hand. "Dad is headed to the Stone Cellar right now to pick up our the meat that Arty isn't already smoking, and our moms are headed to market for everything else."
"Wait, what's my dad doing then?" Wendy asked and Will's smile grew larger still. He opened his mouth, appearing to want to say something but stopped himself with a sneeze that to Tyler at least sounded fake.
"Oh, Arty has something to take care of with the daycare. One of the Pokémon had a tummy ache or something."
"Awww, poor thing." Wendy cooed for the apparently sick Pokémon.
"So, I don't mind standing around on a day like this," Jason could be seen tapping his foot on the ground as the group turned to him. "But I'd rather get on the move sooner than later. Especially if there's some good food involved."
"Right, we need to figure out the ride situation." Will replied, counting up the group members. "Let's see. Eric is still on shift with the Pokémon at Masuda U for another hour. But he said he has a way to get to Solaceon already so we don't need to worry about him."
"Um… are we gonna take a car or a cab or something?" Tyler asked as he looked around. "Because right now, I'm the only one with a vehicle and that can only hold two if we're pressed tightly together."
"Not that I mind though." Wendy quietly giggled to herself, her remark going mostly ignored.
"How many flyers do we have?" Will asked the group at large, which made Tyler look even more confused than he already was.
"What's a flyer?" He asked to everyone. Will heard him and unclipped a ball from his belt and tossed it skyward.
"Spread your wings Aquila!" At the height of the toss, Will's ball burst open and out soared a large avian Pokémon who stayed flying in the sky on the flaps of its large red and blue colored wings. Beneath its body dangled a pair of massive yellow talons and the bird let out a loud piercing caw as the lion-like mane of white feathers shook above its head.
"This is Aquila, my Braviary." Will explained to Tyler. "Now just go relax for a moment until we need you okay?" He said to the bird, but instead of taking off for the trees, it decided to swoop down towards him and started pecking at his mop-like head of hair. "Hey! Aquila no! Stop it!" Will protested but the bird continued to move its beak around the top of Will's head.
"Um… should we help him?" Tyler asked with a rising concern in his voice.
"Nah, that's just how Aquila always is with him." Rose replied with a laugh as Will continued to try to beat off the bird's advances to his hair. "He just doesn't like it when Will lets his hair be all messy like that. I like to think he was a hair dresser in a past life."
"He's like a mama hen trying to make her chicks look all nice and pretty." Wendy added on as the group now seemed to find the situation of a massive bird pecking away at someone's head a lot more playful than it had originally appeared. Eventually the fussy Braviary flew away from Will's head and back up to the sky above them. Though to Tyler it looked like Will's hair was even worse than before.
"Happy now?" Will asked as he brushed his hand over his hair, straightening a few lose strands himself. The bird made a muffled warble of a cry and started flying around the roof of the Pokémon Center. "I guess so." Will let out a sigh and reached into his pocket, pulling out a hair tie and making a quick ponytail so his mane wouldn't offend his Braviary any longer.
"So… flyer? As in Flying type Pokémon." Tyler asked, wanting to get back on track. Will nodded as he finished putting his hair in place.
"Yeah, you're the only one with an actual vehicle after all."
"Not a bad one too." Jason added as he looked over the parked moped with a low whistle.
"So why don't you and Wendy ride your moped-"
"Not you too…" Tyler groaned but went ignored as Will continued on.
"And the rest of us will fly to Solaceon on our flyers. So who's got one again?"
"I need a lift." Jason said.
"I will need one as well." Madison added on. "Tali isn't ze most comfortable with carrying me by 'erself, let alone two people."
"Um… I can take you if you'd like." Alicia shyly announced as she smiled at Madison. "We can fly on Icarus."
"Who's Icarus?" Tyler once again asked to a deaf audience.
"Oh this is easy then." Rose said as she walked over to her fiancé and tossed another ball skyward. Bursting forth from this one was yet another flyer, this one however having a streamlined and metallic appearance with red blade-like feathers protruding from its wings on either side of it.
"Skarrr!" The Pokémon cried out as it landed by its trainer.
"So Alicia and Maddie can take Icarus, Jay if you don't mind flying a Skarmory, you can take Gladius here, and then Will and I can ride on Aquila."
"Huh?!" Tyler's confusion reached yet another level.
"Sure that's fine. I've endured worse."
"Wai-wai-wai-wait." Tyler finally gained the group's attention. "You can fly on the back of your Pokémon?"
"Uh… yeah, they're called Flying types for a reason." Jason pointed out dully.
"No no no no, I mean… you can actually fly on the back of a Pokémon. Like the same as if you were in an airplane?"
"Well not as fast obviously, but yeah. It's doable."
"So any Flying type can do it?" Tyler asked for clarification, to which Will nodded. "So if I wanted to, I could ride Caelum all the way to Solaceon Town?"
"I wouldn't recommend it since you haven't tried before. But I suppose if you really wanted to you could just-"
"Oh we're doing this alright. Let's go Caelum!" Tyler tossed the ball with his Flying type skyward who let out a proud shriek of his own before landing by his trainer's side. "So how do we do this?"
"Tyler honey, he needs to know how to use Fly." Wendy said as she put her helmet on.
"Use Fly? Um… have you seen Caelum? He was just flying literally a few seconds ago." Tyler pointed out as the bird looked around at the other Flying types overhead.
"Alright, so tell him to use Fly and see if it works."
"You heard her Caelum, uh… use Fly?" The group watched Caelum who just stared blankly at Tyler before pecking at something in his wing with his beak. "Uh… he's not doing anything."
"Oh right!" Will smacked his forehead. "Tyler, Caelum can't use Fly because he doesn't have the HM for it."
"The hell is an HM?" Tyler asked looking completely perplexed. "Don't you mean TM?"
"Well it's kind of like a TM but not really. The difference is that it applies to every Pokémon of a certain type. You know like all Flying types can learn the Fly HM, or really big ones can use their Strength to push boulders, or Water types can Surf."
"That doesn't make any sense. Can't they already do that by default? I mean, Caelum was just flying a moment ago."
"Think of it this way then." Will offered instead. "The Pokémon are using their ability to Fly or Surf or show their Strength for the benefit of someone else instead of battling."
"That makes even less sense." Tyler frowned even harder than before. "If I have a Fighting type and want him to push a boulder or break it or whatever. I should just be able to say 'Hey, break that boulder with like Cross Chop or Seismic Toss or Focus Punch.' Why does he have to know this Strength thing in order to do it?"
"Can we not have this conversation now?" Jason grumbled as he walked towards Gladius. "We can explain it to you when we land in Solaceon Town if it still doesn't make sense."
"I don't think it ever will." Tyler groaned in disappointment. "Yeah fine, let's get going."
"Okay, saddle up." Will announced as he raised his finger to his lips and whistled for Aquila, who landed next to him.
"Icarus, we need your help." Alicia tossed her ball skyward and yet another Flying type burst out and landed by its trainer. This one Tyler at least recognized as a Pidgeot, it's red and yellow plumage atop its head and tanned body being hard to mistake.
"Wendy do you mind driving today?" Tyler asked as he picked up his helmet and put it on. "All this HM nonsense is making my head spin."
"Preaching to the choir hun." Wendy rubbed his shoulder reassuringly as the two of them got on the moped.
"Caelum you can just fly with the others I guess. I'm sure you'll like that." Tyler said to his bird who quickly took off to the sky above the others, cawing with excitement in his cries as he encouraged everyone else to take off as well.
"Alright, next stop Solaceon Town!" Will's booming voice was quickly washed out by the sounds of each of the other birds taking off with their passengers flying above the Pokémon Center.
Despite the initial confusion surrounding these mysterious and perplexing HM things, Tyler felt his troubles breeze by him on the ride to Solaceon Town. It was simply the most perfect day to hold a celebratory event like this. The clouds were bright white and fluffier than a Cinccino's fur, the sky a picturesque shade of blue, everything about the day just breathed and swayed with an air or relaxation to it. Really the only thing that would have made their travels more perfect for Tyler was being up in the sky with everyone else. Though having his girlfriend intimately bound to him on their own private ride had its own set of advantages.
Conversation was merry between the two as they traded stories, joked about, even played I-spy for a bit over the four-hour ride. Occasionally a few adventurous Pokémon would try to run alongside them on the roads of Route 209. It was a very care free time for the two of them, both glad to have earned a reprieve from the tournament mindset that had dominated their past week. One thing seemed constant for both of them in all of their talk along the way, they both couldn't wait to get back to the daycare and unwind.
Pulling into town once again the anticipation of this party began to build in the pit of both Tyler and Wendy's core. Their bodies were literally rumbling both from eagerness to enjoy themselves, and from knowing they would be able to gorge themselves on a home cooked feast upon their arrival. It didn't take them long to make their way through the western side of town towards the daycare and its sizable ranch. They pulled up through the gate along the dirt path towards the house where everyone of the flyers already had landed and their trainers dismounted.
"Finally." Tyler said aloud as he slowed to a stop and shut off the engine. "It's gonna feel so good to just sit down after that."
"You're telling me." Tyler looked to his left seeing Jason fall off of the Skarmory with a pained grunt and lay sprawled out on the ground. "My body is stiff in all the wrong ways right now."
"Sorry about that. Even I get uncomfortable riding him like that." Rose apologized, offering to help him up but the ranger seemed too immobile to reply.
"Jason aside, you guys have a good ride?" Wendy asked the group.
"Oh absolutely, being up there above the trees is just the best." Will proudly boasted. "Thanks for the ride Aquila."
"Madison actually was nice enough to let me take a nap." Alicia blushed shyly as she looked at the girl behind her. "It was very peaceful, thank you."
"You are too kind, ze pleasure was mine. I would love to do zat again with you." Madison smiled as she weaved her hand into Alicia's.
"How come I couldn't get a nice flight like the rest of you?" Jason groaned again, rolling onto his stomach, then quickly back again after feeling a stab of discomfort in his back.
"You're really not feeling so great are you Jay?" Will asked, crouching down to offer his assistance but the ranger brushed it off.
"I ain't getting back up unless I need to."
"Why don't I go off and get you some aspirin?" Wendy offered. A grunt and a weak thumbs-up from Jason was enough of an answer, so she trotted off towards the house. She jumped up the steps and reached to open the door, only for it to open in front of her and her parents to stand in the doorway looking at her. "Oh, hi mom, hi daddy."
"Well hi sweet pea." Arthur quickly wrapped his daughter up in a hug, his wife Julia joining in as well. "You guys just get in?"
"Yeah, a couple minutes ago. And Jason needed some aspirin so I was gonna-"
"Oh I'll go get some for him hun." Wendy's mom turned and headed towards a nearby bathroom.
"Yeah, you do that and I'll go say hello to our guests." Arthur called out with a laugh as he and Wendy headed back outside.
"Do you know when Papa Tom and Mama Carla are gonna get here?" Wendy asked her dad. "They are coming right?"
"Yes of course they're coming." Arthur laughed as they made their way towards the group. "Tom just called a while ago and said he was on his way with that metal pig of his and whatnot."
"Good because I can't wait to see them again!"
"Well just wait a bit longer sweet pea, they'll be here soon." Arthur gave his daughter a short side-hug. "Why don't you introduce me to the new faces today while we wait."
"Alright well let's get the easy ones out of the way. You already know Tyler from last time we were here." Wendy said pointing to him and the two exchanged a quick nod of acknowledgment with each other. "Well lying on the dirt here is his partner in the tournament Jason."
"Nice to meet you." Jason groaned from the ground. "I'd get up and shake your hand, but my back is killing me so I can't stand up."
"Well take it easy then soldier. Jewels is getting you something for that real soon." Arthur smiled at him, turning next to the girls. "What about these two lovely ladies then?"
"Oh well the one on the left is my partner Madison. On the right is Alicia, Rose's partner."
"Ah so you're the one keeping an eye on my daughter are you?" Arthur asked Madison. "I hope she's not too much of a burden."
"Non non, not at all." Madison quickly replied. "In fact she 'as made zis tournament quite enjoyable for me."
"Oh? A Kalos girl huh." Arthur nodded picking up on her accent. "You know I spent a couple years studying in Kalos back in university. Where're you from?"
"Santalune City."
"Ah, I was staying in Camphrier Town when I was there. Would commute to Lumiose each day on the trains and study at one of the research labs there. We should talk about that sometime today. And you are?" He asked turning to Alicia.
"Uh…. I'm – My name is Alicia." The smaller girl replied bashfully.
"Well it's nice to meet you too. Make yourselves comfortable while you're here, don't hesitate to ask for anything." Arthur smiled at the two of them.
"And what about us Wendy?" Rose jokingly put her hands in a fake outburst.
"Oh right, Will and Rose are here too." Wendy quickly added.
"Is that so? Wow I haven't seen you guys since Christmas last year." Arthur turned to the two of them. "What is it now, over five years now? When are the two of you settling down?"
"Sooner than you might think actually." Rose slyly held her hand out with the silver ring on her finger. "Will proposed back when we went to Kalos a few months ago."
"Oh? OH! Well it's about damn time you two! Hey Jewels, did you hear?"
"Hear what?" Wendy's mom asked as she exited the house with a glass of water in her hand.
"Will and Rose are finally getting married!"
"WHAT?!" Julia excitedly made her way over to the two. "Oh thank the heavens! I was worried you two were never getting together!"
"Well it's not like we weren't gonna get married." Rose blushed behind her rosy smile.
"Then maybe you should have been the one to propose, try to speed things up a bit." Julia happily wrapped the girl up in a hug, giving her a kiss of the cheek. "But I'm so happy for you two! You two are going to be very happy together."
"We know." Rose giggled herself as Wendy's mom let go of her and latched onto Will, giving him the same treatment.
"Okay now where's the Jason who needs some pills?"
"On the dirt." Jason moaned and Julia knelt down and gave him the painkillers and a glass of water.
"I guess we have another reason to celebrate today then." Arthur laughed as he gave Will a hug of his own. "All of you guys advanced in the tournament, Will and Rose are getting married too. We just need your dad to…" He trailed off looking towards a hill in the distance. "Nevermind it looks like they're here too."
Tyler and the group turned on their heels and saw a red jeep with a large tarp covered trailer behind it slowing and turning up the dirt road towards the main house. One adventurous soul in the jeep was waving at the group, their hand sticking out through the open roof. Another hand poked out above the passenger's side door while the driver beeped the horn to officially announce their arrival. This jeep certainly looked well-worn, as even from a distance you could see clods of dried dirt and mud clinging to the front of the vehicle. A moment later the vehicle slowed to a halt, the doors flinging open on both sides as the occupants began to file out.
"Hi!" The passenger's voice sang out first from the passenger door. "How is everyone?"
"Mama Carla!" Wendy squealed with delight as she ran over to the woman, laughing merrily as she wrapped her up in a hug and knocking the wind out of her... second mother?
"Oof! Well somebody's happy to see me." The woman called 'mama carla' replied, returning Wendy's hug with one of her own. "You haven't changed a bit at all, have you Wendy?"
"Nope!" Wendy proudly replied with a laugh as she released her acquaintance.
"Good, you're doing fine then?"
"Uh-huh! But better now that you guys are here."
"Wonderful. Hello Julia dear, so nice to see you." The woman now turned to Wendy's actual mother.
"Likewise Carla, I see we're as vibrant as always today." The two women shared a brief hug of their own, beginning to exchange pleasantries among themselves.
"You need a hand at all dad?" Will asked as he jogged over to the driver's side door, only to get a hand waved in his face.
"I'm fine." The man grunted a reply as he hopped out of the jeep, then reached back and grabbed a cane from inside the cabin and steadied himself against it. "I might be getting up there but I can still take care of myself."
"Okay, just wanted to make sure you were fine." Will replied, backing away from his dad.
"I know kiddo." His dad stood up fully with the cane under his right hand. "So where's my fellow grill-meister?"
"Right over here." Arthur trotted over and gave the man a hug of his own before an affectionate pat of the shoulder. "And I'm not losing to you today. You're on my home turf today. No biased judges who can't handle the heat today like last summer."
"You lost to me fair and square you son of a gun and you know it." The man laughed with a smirk curling on his lips, Arthur grinning as well. "How you doing old friend?"
"About as good as you look." Arthur teased again, but the man brushed it off. "Nah, it's great to see you again T-"
"COMMANDER WEILAND!" Jason's voice loudly boomed, the ranger snapping to attention despite the apparent pain that had been in his back. Everyone flinched in unison at the unexpected proclamation, turning towards the man seeing him standing perfectly upright, his hand raised in a salute to the man. A silent air stood over the group before Will's dad let out a low sigh and turned towards the ranger.
"Jason…"
"Sir!" Jason quickly replied, earning another sigh from the man as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"At ease you idiot." A faint band of blush filled Jason's cheeks as he relaxed his pose, his saluting hand falling to cradle his stiff back once again. "I swear I've told you a thousand times before, you don't have to salute me every single time you see me."
"I… Sorry sir. It's a force of habbit." Jason apologized meekly.
"One I wish you'd grow out of already." The man reached out and patted Jason's shoulder twice. "You only need to call me that at a base. Today it's just Tom."
"Right. It's just that-"
"I know Jason. I know." The man named Tom patted his shoulder again with a sincere smile. "I appreciate your dedication, always have."
"Yeah dude, just pull the stick out of your ass for one day." A third voice announced its arrival as a young man hopped out the back of the jeep and walked up to Jason.
"Oh shut up Alex. Like I need to hear that from you." Jason folded his arms over his chest and walked up to the younger man, the two of them staring intensely at each other for a moment. Tyler curiously looked at the two of them, unsure if they were going to back down or throw punches from how close they were standing. But before a punch could be thrown, both of them started laughing at each other and gave each other a fistbump.
"Alright, we have introductions to get out of the way." Wendy began ushering people into groups, standing them across from each other. Tyler got shuffled into a group with Madison and Alicia where the three new arrivals each got put across from them. "Sooner we do this, sooner we can start our party." Everyone seemed to nod in agreement with her.
"Right," Wendy pointed first towards Tyler and the two girls. "Okay from left to right we have Alicia, we have Madison and Tyler." Each of the three waved at the others when their name was called. "Alicia is Rose's partner in the tournament in Hearthome. Madison is my partner."
"I still can't believe you decided to enter the tournament." Carla, probably Will's mother by Tyler's guess said with a surprised look.
"Well you can thank this guy for that." Wendy cheerily wrapped Tyler's arm up between hers. "This is Tyler, my new boyfriend."
"Boyfriend?" The three said in unison, the younger male then looked a bit disappointed while the elder two peered at Tyler more closely.
"Well he's a step up from that last guy already, that's for sure." Carla pointed out and Tom nodded in agreement while Tyler blushed and Wendy rolled her eyes.
"I know, I know. Let's not bring him up again. But yeah, we've known each other for what, about a month now?"
"Sounds right." Tyler commented simply.
"Okay so you three, this is Will's extended family…" She now pointed at the rest of the Weilands who Tyler finally took a good look at. All three of them were wearing relaxed and casual looking outfits. The mother of the group actually looked really nice for what Tyler thought was her age, still sporting a mature and curvy figure beneath a simple maroon shirt with a second orange shirt tied up beneath her chest and cream colored jeans beneath that. Dad and the son on the other hand seemed to prefer darker colors to mom, as the former sported a simple blue and black button-up flannel shirt with jeans and boots beneath that, and the son with a black and white half-sleeve shirt with cargo shorts and a pair of slip ons.
"We have Mama Carla, Papa Tom and Will's brother Alex."
"Nice to meet you all." Tyler stepped forward, introducing himself.
"Nice to meet you three as well." Thomas replied with a gentle smile. "We'll save the bigger introductions for later. You wanna help me unload the goods Arty?" He asked, turning to Wendy's dad.
"Actually, I've got something I need to take care of real quick. Plus, I have to get out of these clothes." Arthur said as he pointed back towards the house. It was only then that Tyler noticed that the man was wearing what looked like a sky blue set of scrubs that you might see a doctor wearing at a hospital, and that there was a small spot of what looked like blood on his right hip. "If you could get somebody to drag my smoker out from behind the barn, I'd really appreciate it."
"I can do that." Jason and Will volunteered together.
"Thanks guys. Just be careful, it's loaded and pretty hot right now." Arthurs said to the two of them as they took off towards the large pull barn in the distance.
"Would you like some 'elp unloading anything?" Madison asked Tom as he walked towards the back of the jeep and the trailer. Alicia also stepped forward, wanting to offer her assistance.
"That would be greatly appreciated, all of you." Thomas smiled at the rest of the group as the two guys took off towards the barn.
The older man reached down and started undoing straps attached to the base of the of the trailer and pulled the tarp free to reveal a massive barbecue grill standing on the metal trailer. Tyler was absolutely floored seeing this thing. Even at the police outings dad would take him to back home, there wasn't anything remotely close to as impressive as this thing. Its body was a long but simple looking black cylinder made of darkened steel. At one end was a large metallic cabinet, possibly an oven. But the opposite end of it had a very ornate looking exhaust vent modeled like an Emboar's head. Further aiding the motif of the Fire type, a series of painted decals of the swirl on an Emboar's stomach as well as it's flames ran the length of the tube. Not to mention the entire thing had wheels beneath it, allowing it to be dragged around to wherever it was needed.
Thomas then reached for a ball at his belt and released the Pokémon inside that he called Venator. Tyler recognized it as a Drapion, having seen Wendy battle one in the tournament. With its two arm-like pincers, Drapion grabbed a metal ring in the nose of the Emboar's head that served as a handle and pulled, moving the grill off the back of the truck and starting to drag the monstrous looking grill effortlessly towards the front of the house. At the same time, Carla and the girls began removing a series of collapsible tables and chairs from the back of the jeep, setting up a picnic area nearby the grill.
A short while later, Jason and Will returned with another impressive looking metal contraption being pulled by Jason's Breloom and Kacela the Arcanine. This one too seemed to be modeled after a Fire type Pokémon, by a Torkoal by Tyler's best guess as it had a large dome covering the majority of its body with smoke billowing out from the top of the dome and another exhaust that could be its head. Already as this one advanced, Tyler felt his mouth beginning to water, smelling the unmistakable scents of charcoal and hickory wood chips smoldering away inside the Torkoal's back. His stomach rumbled in anticipation, and he could have sworn he felt Magnus' Poké ball wobble on his belt for what was probably the same reason.
"I smell my smoker." Arthur's voice called from the top of the steps. The man no longer wore his scrubs from earlier, wearing a simple navy polo shirt and matching shorts. "Now, before we keep going, can I have everyone's attention for a moment? I have an announcement to make."
"If you're going to make a toast, at least wait until we all have a drink in our hands dear." His wife Julia teased getting a chuckle from Arthur.
"Fine, give everyone a drink real quick. Soda, beer, whatever, just give everyone a drink." Arthur waited until everyone had pulled a drink from one of the coolers. His wife walked up and handed him a cold one as well, which he then promptly held high above his head. "So, as all of you know, we have a few things to celebrate today with this get together. Firstly, we have all our triumphant tag battlers here, who have each advanced into the knockout round of the Hearthome Tag Tournament."
"Yeah we did, woo!" Rose bragged loudly.
"And speaking of you Rosetta my dear, we can also celebrate the fact that you and Will are finally engaged. I think I speak for everyone when I say, it's about damn time." A round of laughter came from everyone as Will put his arm around Rose's shoulder in a loose side-hug. "But there's one other reason to celebrate today…" He paused seemingly for dramatic effect, but after a moment of nothing happening, Arthur looked back over his shoulder towards the door.
"That was your cue to come out. Go on. It's your turn to be celebrated." After Arthur's encouragement, a blue-furred head popped its head through the door, scanning the crowd as the floppy diamonds on its head looked around until they found Tyler and then took off in a blur of light blue fur.
"Glaceon!"
"Hi Yuki!" Tyler gasped with glee as he knelt down, letting his beloved princess run into his arms and wrap her up in an enthusiastic hug.
"Oh wow, so this is the famous Glaceon we've heard so much about." Will remarked as he watched Tyler twirl her around in his arms.
"She's gorgeous." Rose added.
"No wonder he's your new boyfriend huh Wendy." Carla smirked at her making everyone burst out into laughter yet again.
"Oh I missed you so much! I'm so glad to see you!" Tyler said as Yuki licked his cheek, sending a shiver down his spine. "You missed me too I bet huh."
"Glaeon Glae!" She happily mewled a response to him.
"What about me Yuki? I missed you too you know." Wendy pouted as she ran towards the Ice typed Eeveelution.
"Now hold up sweat pea. Let me finish." Arthur quickly interrupted, making his daughter stop begrudgingly in her tracks. "Now those of you who know my daughter know that she has the world's biggest love of all things Eevee."
"Understatement of the year!" Alex called out earning another laugh from the group.
"Right, we all know her love for the that adorable fluffball and all of its evolutions is limitless." Arthur continued. "Yet despite this unquestioned love and her desire to have one, Wendy currently doesn't have an Eevee to call her own…"
"Wait… wait…" Wendy's voice cracked with pure unhindered joy as she looked back and forth from Yuki to her dad. "Wait does that mean?"
"Until today that is." Arthur stepped back inside the house and came back out with a small glass incubator in his arms. Inside of the glass shell and resting on a bunched up blanket was an egg, brown in color with a cream colored zigzag pattern around the middle of it. He walked towards Wendy, who was completely frozen in place, her hands covering her mouth and tears already welling up in the corner of her eyes as she looked at the egg.
"Is that yours?" Tyler asked Yuki, nuzzling her cheek. "Are you gonna be a mommy?"
"Glae~cee." Yuki replied with what felt to Tyler like a teasing response, making him chuckle before kissing her forehead.
"Congratulations sweat pea, she just passed it this morning right after Will called." He held the incubator out towards her. Wendy's body trembled as she reached for the egg, finally gripping it and sitting on the ground just marveling at the egg. Nobody felt like saying anything, just letting Wendy have her moment with the egg until Tyler set Yuki on the ground and the new mother walked up to Wendy and sat beside her, mewling her name.
"Yuki. *sniff* Thank you so much!" Wendy choked out the words before the tears began streaming down her face. She leaned forward and gave Yuki a hug which Yuki was all too happy to receive, giggling gleefully with Wendy's sobbing against her.
"So… guess it's official now Tyler. You're an in-law." Will joked with a chuckling tone of voice.
"Wh-what?!" Tyler's face went up in flames from embarrassment. "Whoa-whoa-whoa what? What are you talking about?"
"Well think about it. Yuki is your Pokémon, Pulse is the dad, she's the mom. Technically that makes you a father in law to Pulse."
"HUH?!"
"I think that's right." Rose tagged onto Will's joke. "Which means you're stuck with her now. You can't leave even if you want to."
"Well I… I mean I would never…" Tyler shut himself off, feeling himself become light headed just from all the attention he was getting.
"Alright guys let's not gang up on the newest member of our extended family too much." Julia stepped in to defend Tyler. "But Tyler seriously, thank you so much for this. I honestly can't remember the last time I saw Wendy this happy."
"I… Me neither." Tyler meekly replied.
"Tyler." Wendy finally stood up, the egg cradled in her arms as she walked over towards him. She didn't say anything more than that before laying a kiss on him that quickly earned a set of catcalls from Jason, again making this large family laugh together. Wendy finally broke off their kiss, looking tenderly into Tyler's arms. "I don't know how I can repay you for this."
"Um… well there's the other half of our trade." Tyler pointed out.
"Well duh, of course there's that." Wendy smiled at him. "But you and Yuki have just fulfilled a dream of mine that I've had since I was a little girl. Just being able to hold this egg right now means the world to me."
"Well, I'm just happy that you're happy." This time Tyler gave her a kiss, wrapping his arms around her with the egg nestled between the two of them.
"I think we might need to consider planning for two weddings instead of the one huh Carla." Julia laughed as the group around them joined in.
"Oh no, we're not going to steal the spotlight away from Rose and Will." Wendy said as she broke off the kiss. "But let's leave the talk about weddings and the like for another day."
"Agreed. So let's get an actual toast and we can get some food on the grill already." Arthur held his drink up and everyone raised theirs as well. "To triumph, to love, to new life, we're here today to celebrate all of this and more with good eats and better company. Let us all raise our drinks-"
"We already did." Jason interrupted.
"So let's drink already. Cheers!"
"CHEERS!" Everyone raised their respective drinks to their lips and took a sip.
"GRRRAAWWHHHH!" Only for it to be interrupted by a loud bellowing cry from above the horizon. Tyler even spat out his drink in surprise as he scanned the sky looking for the source of the cry.
"That didn't sound fun." Rose nervously looked around as well.
"You guys seeing anything, because I still can't." Jason asked the group, Poké ball in hand and enlarged.
"We don't have any Dragon types here do we Arthur?" Julia asked her husband who shook his head.
"None, especially not one that can make that noise." He replied as the beast cried out again. Suddenly a black blur shot over the roof of the house, briefly blocking the sun overhead. Everyone turned towards the thing that caused the shadow seeing a large blue dragon with red crescent-like wings turning around above the grassy fields in front of the house. With a few massive beatings of its wings the creature landed and lowered its white underbelly to the ground. As it did, a man jumped off the back of the dragon's tail, stumbling a bit as he did. But as he was about to catch himself, the dragon flicked its tail and made the man trip and faceplant in the ground.
"Dammit." The man got up, dusting the dirt off his smoke-colored jacket and pants. "Really Fluffy, you just had to trip me like that?
"Its… Its name is Fluffy?" Tyler blinked in confusion as the dragon snorted at him. It certainly didn't look fluffy to him. It looked lean, streamlined and powerful. It looked about as far from fluffy as you could get actually. At least that guy's Clefable being named Marshmallow from the other day made sense. But this? This was very... interesting wasn't the right word but it was all Tyler could think of.
"Yeah yeah, real funny." The man grumbled at the dragon, straightening himself up before looking at the group. "Uh… hi."
"Heya Eric." Will stifled a chuckle as he walked forward. "Quite the entrance huh?"
"Yeah, unfortunately Fluffy here had other plans." Eric frowned at his dragon who once again huffed an indifferent snort of a reply.
"You didn't mention that you had a Salamence." Will said as everyone turned their attention to the dragon.
"You never asked." Eric replied bluntly. He then looked around at everyone already gathered. "I'm not late am I?"
"Nah, right on time actually. We were just about to fire up the grills." Will patted his fun-sized partner on the back, making him stumble forward again but kept him upright. "Guys this is Eric, my partner for the tournament. Eric, these are my parents, my brother, Wendy's parents and everyone else from our little group in the tournament."
"Well get him a drink Will and we'll let the magic begin!" And the magic did begin shortly after Arthur's announcement. Before long the smell of smoked meats, charcoal, spices and the sweet smell of barbecue filled the air. The two grill-meisters proved they were true artisans of their craft, turning out piece after piece of succulent goodness in rapid succession. Burgers, brats, hot dogs, kebabs with grilled vegetables, ribs, steak, everything sounding more mouth-watering than the last. The smell was intoxicating, so much so that Magnus could no longer contain himself in Tyler's ball and actually burst out wide-eyed at the display of food being prepared by everyone.
At Magnus' arrival, everyone else saw this as a chance to release their Pokémon to join in the festivities and soon the yard really took on a party kind of atmosphere. With all the new arrivals, stories began to crop up about how some of these Pokémon were all caught, most of them ending up being more hilarious than not. Will recalled a time when Kacela, his now Arcanine was still an overly curious Growlithe and found his camp when he was out washing in a nearby stream. She'd found his pack and was rummaging through it when her nose bopped an empty Poké ball by mistake and she got sucked in and captured without him doing a thing. Similarly, Rose had caught her Skarmory after it tried to steal food from her and Will when the two were eating lunch in Johto and she got mad at it. Jason and his Cloyster were first introduced after the latter as a young Shellder somehow ended up in a water park near Pastoria City soon after he started as a ranger.
The food finally being ready, everyone grabbed a set of plates and dove into everything as it was set out. Even before the first bite, Tyler could tell his eyes were going to roll back into his head and that's exactly what happened. He couldn't find the words to describe it all. The meat was falling off the bones, practically melting in his mouth with the absolute perfect balance of spice and sweet with a kick of smoke at the back end. Time moved on and so did the amount of food being eaten by all in each other's good company. The sounds of laughter filled the air, as the food continued to fill everyone's stomach. If this was a celebration just for advancing through the first round though, Tyler had to wonder just what kind of party would be thrown if one the eight battlers here today managed to win.
Eventually, everyone's stomachs could hold no more despite their desire to have more, and everyone began to sparce out and scatter from the tables of decadence. Tyler found himself walking over towards one of the small ponds, dipping his feet in the water and lying down to look at the clouds lazily drifting by above. He didn't want to move any more for the rest of the day, nor did he feel like he would be able to if he tried. He felt his eyes grow heavy and close briefly. He wasn't sure how long they were closed, but when they opened again, Tyler found a furry friend resting beside him.
"Oh, hey Yuki. How long have you been here?" Tyler reached out and stroked her side with his hand.
"Glaceon…" She replied quietly, sounding tired.
"You're tired too huh." Tyler chuckled to himself. "God damn we ate too much… It was good though huh?"
"Glacie." Yuki purred with content as Tyler moved up to her neck with his scratching.
"Yeah, so much food. And yet there's so much of it left. We'll be eating like kings for the rest of the week probably." Yuki stretched her legs beneath her, rolling on top of them and standing up, making Tyler sit up beside her.
"You know, I don't think I've said it yet Yuki, but I'm really proud of you and what you've done for Wendy." Tyler smiled at her and started scratching her under her chin. She started giggling at him before like she always did, took his finger into her mouth and gently gnawed on it, making Tyler laugh despite the prick of her teeth on him. "Right. You were great…"
"Me on the other hand…" Tyler trailed off with a bit of a sigh as he looked at his princess. He remembered the negative feelings that he'd had over the past involving this trade that they'd set up with Wendy for her future Eevee. The immediately angry reaction when she proposed it, his begrudging acceptance after Yuki had literally talked some sense into him. He thought he was okay with it at that point; but then on the night it came time for Yuki and Pulse to actually do the deed he ran off. It had been in the back of Tyler's mind for a while now, but with the tournament taking a break now there was nothing holding his emotions in check. A frown formed on his lips as he looked at Yuki who just continued to smile at him.
"Why'd I even do that in the first place?" Tyler's frown deepened as his thoughts turned inward. "I mean, I told myself that I got angry because I just didn't want Yuki to be hurt during all this. But that's bullshit. There was no way Pulse would hurther; how could I not see that right away? Was I… was I jealous of Pulse?" Tyler shook his head. "No no no, that's preposterous. What do I have to be jealous of a Pokémon for anyway? But… if I had nothing to be jealous of, then why did I run away that night?"
"Glaceon?" Yuki cocked her head sideways, noticing her trainer's confusion at something but she wasn't sure what.
"I said I didn't want to be there because the whole thing made me uncomfortable. But why? If I wasn't jealous of him, I should have stayed, but I didn't." He let out another sigh and shook his head. "I ran away like a coward. And for what good? Yuki and Pulse were still on my mind constantly that night. Try as I might, I couldn't escape the thought that they were back in that barn making a baby together."
"Glacie?" Yuki reached out and put her paw on Tyler's lap but he failed to respond.
"She even told you that she wanted to do this, in her own words no less! Yuki wanted to make Wendy happy… so why couldn't I respect that? Why did I have to get so angered by the mere thought of someone other than me being with her?" Tyler buried his head in his hands and gripped his hair through his fingers. "We did this to make Wendy happy, and you saw her earlier today. She broke down and cried when she got her egg. I should be happy for her; so why the hell am I so frustrated!"
"It seems as though something is troubling you Sir Tyler." A voice snapped Tyler's inner monologue and he looked around and saw Pulse standing behind him with a worried expression. That seemed to make Tyler even more apprehensive, as in all the times he'd seen Pulse he barely saw him openly display emotion on his face. For Pulse to actively show concern like this, Tyler knew he was definitely messed up by all this.
"Was it really that obvious?" Tyler chuckled weakly but an overpowering sigh drowned out the false laughter.
"Very much so." Pulse replied. "I could sense a sudden surge of negativity in your aura."
"Figures. I should have known you would pick up on that."
"If there is anything that I can do to offer my assistance, I would gladly do it." Tyler looked at Pulse, the source of all of his negative feelings of late and frowned yet again. He then looked at Yuki, hearing her mewl her concern for him with the same worried look in her pure arctic eyes. Tyler knew that this cloud of negativity was going to hold over him if he didn't address it soon. So he just patted the ground next to him and looked at the pond. Pulse took the hint and sat next to him, dipping his feet in the water as well.
"Pulse, am I a bad trainer?" Tyler asked as the Lucario sat beside him.
"I… I do not believe I understand." Pulse looked at Tyler curiously, seeing his expression sour even more.
"I mean… like the other night with Yuki. You know, when you two did the deed together. Which, I'm glad you guys were successful by the way. Congratulations on being a dad and all now."
"Yes, thank you." Pulse nodded. "I will admit, that is going to take some time to set in for me."
"Happens to everyone I'm told." Tyler briefly curled a smile at him. "Yeah well, this whole thing. Giving Wendy an Eevee egg, you guys giving us a Riolu egg in the future… *sigh* I know I shouldn't be saying it now, but I'm not sure if we should have gone through with this thing in the first place."
"What do you mean?" Pulse asked for clarification.
"Well to be perfectly honest, part of me has been against this idea since the beginning. Part of me is also glad, but the ratio is the opposite of what it should be. Like… Like back when Wendy first proposed the idea in Eterna, my first thought wasn't excitement. You know? I wasn't as excited as her; I wasn't happy, or eager, or anything like that. I was angry." Pulse stayed quiet so Tyler continued his confessional.
"It took Yuki to convince me to go through with it, but deep down I still felt guilty about letting her do it. I mean look at her; she's so young and pure and innocent. I didn't want her to be taken advantage of. But she told me that she just wanted to do it so Wendy could be happy. All the stuff swirling around in my mind? Never even once occurred to her. She wanted Wendy to be happy... apparently I didn't."
"Are you worried that your reaction has made you less of a trainer?" Pulse inquired.
"Less of a trainer, less of a man,less of everything!" Tyler's head sunk into his hands again for a moment before finally pulling himself free of them. "My selfishness almost cost Wendy her Eevee. I mean you know as much as anyone how badly she's wanted one. You know, since she was a little girl she wanted an Eevee, but never got one. And now I have a chance to give her one; but because I'm so stubborn and selfish and didn't want to give Yuki up even for a night, I almost crushed her dreams right in front of her... Face it Pulse, I'm a jackass. I'm a horrible person who can't make a small sacrifice of himself to make someone else in his life… No, not just someone else, his own fucking girlfriend. I can't give part of myself up to make her dreams come true? What kind of boyfriend am I if I can't do something as simple as make Wendy happy?"
"I do not believe those actions make you less of a trainer." Pulse said calmly as he placed a paw on Tyler's shoulder. "I believe instead; those actions make you human."
"Pretty shitty human at that." Tyler quipped back but Pulse shook his head.
"I may not be of the same species as you Sir Tyler. But I believe your reactions are similar to those of my own were I the one in your position." Now Tyler looked at the Lucario curiously. "You see, In the short amount of time that you have allowed me to spend with Yuki, I have come to understand greatly the amount of love you both share for each other. In fact, after we were um… finished, her immediate concern was of you."
"Oh for the love of..." Tyler felt his heart stab with the pain of sadness inside of it. "I really am a horrible person. I knew I should have stayed." He turned to Yuki. "Yuki I'm so-"
"I would prefer you hold your apology until after I have finished speaking Sir Tyler." Pulse interrupted, making Tyler turn back to him. "As I was saying, her concern fell to you and we started to talk to each other. And as Yuki continued to speak to me, I saw many parallels between the relationship you two share and that of Master Wendy and myself. They are the same feelings that I also sense between Sir William and Nyxx."
"Wait, Will is a Poképhile too?" Tyler asked in shock. "But he's getting married."
"And you have a girlfriend." Pulse pointed out bluntly, forcing Tyler to concede the point. "My point being, if any one of us were in your position, it would be a difficult decision to make."
"Yeah... but I doubt Wendy would leave you and run away if the roles were reversed like I did."
"May I ask a question Sir Tyler?" Pulse said after a silence hung between them. Tyler nodded. "If you were my trainer instead of Yuki's, and Wendy was her trainer and we were in the same scenario, would you still feel the same way?"
"Um…" Tyler scratched the side of his head in thought. "No? I don't think-"
"Now I understand. You were feeling jealous of me being with her. Am I wrong?" Pulse nodded knowingly. Tyler just grunted in agreement, not wanting to actually say it even if they both knew it was true. "There is nothing wrong with you feeling jealous about the events that have occurred. In fact, I would say that because you felt jealous of me being with Yuki, that it shows just how deeply you care for her. And I believe that would actually mean the opposite of what you think; that instead of being a bad trainer, it makes you an excellent trainer."
"I dunno… it still seems kinda scummy to me." Tyler frowned in spite of Pulse's praise.
"Allow me to ask you another question then."
"Alright shoot."
"Do you feel as though Yuki thinks less of you for what happened?" He leaned forward, turning his gaze and drawing Tyler's to Yuki. The Glaceon was quietly resting her head on Tyler's lap, apparently haven fallen asleep.
"It doesn't look like it."
"Then again, you have your answer." Pulse reached out and stroked one of Yuki's diamond shaped ears with his paw and she nuzzled deeper into Tyler's lap. "If she does not think of less of you, then you should not think lesser of yourself. We understand that you are inexperienced when it comes to intimate relationships, especially with a Pokémon partner. You felt as though my being with her was a betrayal of that relationship and this and that is perfectly understandable. After all, Wendy and I are what she calls 'swingers'. I am not sure what that means but I believe it means that we are more experienced with multiple partners and are therefore more comfortable with each other being with someone else. You being inexperienced with this relationship are more traditionalist in your viewpoint and you responded appropriately. I do not hold your actions against you, neither does Wendy and Yuki I know for a fact does not either."
"I guess..." Tyler mumbled under his breath.
"Besides," Pulse continued after another moment. "Even I will admit that I get jealous of you when you are with Wendy."
"What?" Tyler looked at the Lucario skeptically.
"It is true. After all," Pulse pointed his paw towards Tyler's lap. "You are bigger than I am."
"What... Wh-what the fuck?" Tyler immediately started snickering, completely caught off guard by Pulse's comment.
"It is true though." Pulse's lips curled into an impish smile. "I have seen your member before and I know it is larger than mine. And I could feel master Wendy's delight through our link when you and her mated on the cruise ship. As enjoyable as it was to watch, I was jealous I could not make her feel that way as well."
"Yeah... but you know for how tall you are compared to me, you've got nothing to be ashamed of in that department." Tyler continued to laugh, feeling his mood elevate with each giggle that left his lips. "Plus your dick is more… exotic than mine from what I remember."
"Exotic?"
"Yeah, like mine? All it does is get longer. You? Well from what I remember your shape is different. A bit more pointed and streamlined , easier to get inside of her that way. Plus, you can do that knotting thing she told me about."
"Then perhaps we have nothing to worry about satisfying either Master Wendy or Miss Yuki."
"No, I don't think we do." Tyler rolled his eyes, his mood back to that of before his bout of self-loathing. And all it took was to make a couple dick jokes with a Lucario.
"It seems as though you are feeling better." Sincerity rang through Pulse's voice. He was right, Tyler did feel a lot better now.
"Yeah, I appreciate this talk Pulse. I needed to hear a lot of that." Tyler held his fist up to Pulse.
"Good. I am glad to know you are feeling better." The Lucario pushed his paw into Tyler's hand, completing their fist bump.
"Aww, my two favorite boys are hanging out together!" Wendy's cheery voice sang out as she jogged up from behind and plopped down beside her Lucario. "Whatcha guys talking about?"
"Just a nice male bonding moment really." Tyler answered.
"We were comparing our members to each other." Both Tyler and Wendy's faces turned bright red, the former from embarrassment, the latter from arousal.
"You really didn't need to say that Pulse!" Tyler yelled, making Wendy burst out in laughter.
"Do I need to give you two some alone time, let you get a bit more hands on in your comparisons?" She asked with a devilish smile.
"NO!" Tyler yelled again, waking Yuki from her slumber on his lap.
"Glae… Glaceon?" She yawned, looking around a bit woozily.
"How's our new mommy doing?" Wendy asked as she pet the toque on Yuki's forehead. "Huh? How's mommy doing?"
"Glaceon." She smiled back at her.
"Well hey Yuki, I think these two guys need a bit of alone time away from us girls for a bit."
"No we don't!" Tyler protested but Wendy scooped Yuki up into her arms anyway.
"So why don't we go rejoin the party and you two can run off into the barn for a bit. I'm sure most of the breeding pens would be open for you two to continue your comparisons in private."
"I'm getting another beer. Tyler grumbled, his face completely red at this point as he got up and walked back towards everyone else in the party.
"Oohh, that's the spirit cutie-ty! Get some liquid courage in you and then see where the day takes you!" Wendy teasingly called after him.
"Shut up." Tyler groaned back at her. Pulse got up as well, walking after Tyler while Wendy got up and fell in line with them, cradling a Glaceon in her arms and making faces at Yuki to the sound of her innocent purring.
A/N: And with that, 39 chapters are in the books for this story. So, yeah, the sun and moon train continues to run wild huh? Like I said last time and will continue to say, as these new features are announced, they each have a chance to be featured in the story. Pokemon being much more likely than anything else by default, but maybe a character or two. Again, it just remains to be seen. Also I want to give once again a huge shoutout to the owners of the OC characters who have appeared in this story so far. AoK Berzerker for Shaq, PurpleIzLife for Liana, Pokemon Otaku for Eric and Okenuthanos for both Rose and Will and... really a metric fuckton of things of late in this story. I do owe a lot of thanks to him for helping me out a lot with the most recent chapters of this story as a creative consultant.
Okenuthanos: That's a weird way to say co-author considering all that I've done for you of late.
DrPhill26: What the? How did you get back in here again?
Okenuthanos: Uh... magical puff of smoke?
DrPhill26: Right... well since you're here, you got anything to say to everyone? I mean to be fair, you have kind of earned it.
Okenuthanos: Just that it's been super fun working with and along side you in the past few chapter. I just wish we didn't go overboard with planning because now I donn't have anything to do while you work on the next few chapters until the tournament comes back into play.
Will: Well good, then maybe you can actually get off your butt and work on your own story for a change.
DrPhill26: Wait, you have a story too?
Okenuthanos: Yeah, you know that... you've helped me write parts of it. Remember?
Will: And yet you haven't uploaded it yet.
Okenuthanos: I'm working on it! You know, I'm just...
Will: Too preoccupied with this story to work on your own, yeah I know.
DrPhill26: Wow... this sounds like it's going sour quick. I'm gonna leave before things get more... awkward. So for now this is DrPhill26 signing out, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter once again and that I'll get to see you for another one next time.
Tyler's Team: Magnus (Quilava, Male), Caelum (Staraptor, Male), Felix (Gligar, Male), Yuki (Glaceon, Female)
Wendy's Team: Pulse (Lucario, Male), Tess (Ampharos, Female), Yuri (Lilligant, Female), Evee-egg (unknown)