Author's note: I own nothing other than the original characters.
Language warning:
As Gardevoir left Violet City, feeling rather full from the lunch she had been given, she had to repeatedly duck birds that were flying out of control as men in overalls and heavy gloves chased them while carrying large birdcages. The frantic chasing seemed to leave the men exhausted before the birds tired out.
She soon found herself back on the road to Goldenrod, knowing as she walked that she'd likely have to stay there for the night before taking the train to Saffron. Even with the shortcut, it'd be a long walk, and by the time she got there it'd be dark again.
Suddenly, she heard a very loud engine coming up behind her. She turned, saw the truck speeding towards her, and dove for the grass at the edge of the road.
"WATCH WHERE YA GOIN', LADY!" yelled the fat, unkempt driver as he sped off out of sight.
Upset, Gardevoir picked herself and her luggage up.
I hope he gets a flat tire. FOUR of them.
She stormed off down the road in a huff.
There were not as many trees along this road as there had been with the others, meaning the hot sun beat down hard on her as she walked on to Goldenrod. The sweat caused her T-shirt to cling tightly to her skin, making her nipples stand out against the fabric. I think I may take a shower or something before I go to sleep tonight, she decided.
Ahead of her, a young boy and a Kirlia were playing in the grass. It was not quite hide and seek, because the grass was not quite tall enough for that, but they seemed to be having great fun huddling down before mock pouncing each other and giggling.
Watching the two play brought tears to Gardevoir's eyes. It had seemingly been so long ago since she was a Kirlia herself….
Micah sat and stared at Kirlia, who was morosely pushing a small ball (not a Pokeball of any sort) around.
It's been a couple of months now, he thought. I'd have figured she'd be over leaving him by now.
Sitting in the little blue plastic chair, Kirlia couldn't help but feel lonely. Sure, she and the other Pokemon spent a lot of time outside their balls so they could romp and play if they so chose, but she still felt out of place. To make matters worse, she still missed Karl a lot.
"Think fast!"
A big, furry paw suddenly appeared on the table and playfully swatted the ball at her. It flew off the table and nearly hit Kirlia as she had to react to the sudden action. She was able to grab the ball before getting struck, however, and she turned to see which one it was.
One glance up was enough for her to spot the strangely curved horn on the top of the Absol's head. He was usually very quiet, but always friendly, even to types he was strong against in his own party.
"So," he said, plopping down on his haunches next to her, "why so glum today, kiddo?"
"I don't know, I just…." Her voice trailed off.
"Just one of those days, huh?"
"No, it's not that, it's just…. I miss my old master a lot. I mean, nothing against ours, but I just don't feel in place here."
"Aw, it can't be that bad, can it?"
Kirlia sighed. "I'm just worried that he'll forget all about me. I mean, yeah, he was sad to let me go, but I still think he might forget me."
"Naw, he wouldn't do that. As bad as he-" Here Absol indicated Micah. "-said he sounded when he traded you, there's no way he'd forget."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Heck, master talks to him on the phone everyday, and they always talk about you. I can't hear the conversations as well as I'd like, but he sounds like he still misses you but wants you to be happy with us."
A tear came to Kirlia's eyes. "I-I-"
"I think I know what might help to cheer you up," said Absol as he walked to Micah and tugged on his sleeve.
"What? What is it, Absol?" Micah asked, startled by the tugging.
Absol went right for his master's pack, sniffing it and yipping. Micah got up, gave the Pokemon a strange stare, and then watched as Absol ran back and forth between the back and Kirlia, who was a bit stunned by his haphazard enthusiasm.
"Uh. OK, what are you trying to tell me?"
"SOL! SOL!"
"You want me to… you want me to give Kirlia something?"
Absol jumped up and down in agreement.
"Well, OK. Not sure what I can give her, but-"
As he spoke, he unzipped the pack, revealing a round object in a bluish wrapper. Absol instantly began sniffing at it and yipping.
"Now, Absol, you know how hard these things are to come by," admonished Micah. "I can't just be giving these out willy-nilly, you know."
Absol began trotting back and forth again, whimpering now.
"Oh, all right," Micah relented. "Hopefully I find another one of these soon, though."
He walked over to Kirlia, who was still sitting in her chair as she watched all of this transpire.
"Here you go, Kirlia," he said. "It's a Rare Candy. It'll help you out quite a bit, in more ways than one."
Kirlia took the candy from his hand and looked at Absol, who nodded.
"Kir," she said, thanking him.
She slowly unwrapped the candy and put it in her mouth. It had a strange sweetness to it as well as a softness, and she began chewing it, slowly so as to savor the taste.
Suddenly her chewing was stopped as her jaws were stuck together. The candy was perhaps too soft.
"Whoops," said Micah with a nervous chuckle. "Guess I left the pack out in the sun too often."
Slowly, yet surely, Kirlia was able to move her jaws once again and finish chewing the overly softened candy, finally swallowing it.
Heh, she thought. That wasn't so bad after-
Then she felt a strange yet familiar feeling come over her.
Oh great.
"Kirlia, get out of the chair!" Micah yelled as she began to glow, but he was too late as she was in shock over the sudden onset of her transformation.
Then there was a loud CRACK followed by a crashing.
She sat, dazed, on the floor, the little chair in pieces around her.
Shit, that hurts, she thought. Might as well try to say my name right now so I got it out of the way.
She opened her mouth to speak, and what came out was "Gardevoir?"
Micah felt something catch in his throat and gulped a bit louder than he had intended.
Gardevoir looked down to study her new form. She was now wearing a much longer gown than before, one which made her look much more graceful and elegantly beautiful. She felt around her head, but did not feel any horns there, although her hair had taken on a whole different style, covering part of her face.
Then she looked down and spotted the red thing protruding from her chest and realized that the horns just migrated. Surrounding the front horn, however, were two fairly large, round, soft things that felt like they were a natural part of her.
Well, hello there, she thought. Where did you two come from?
"Gardevoir, are you all right?" asked a nervous Micah.
"Yeah, I'm fine, I think. I don't think I have any plastic splinters in my ass."
"Wait, how come I was able to hear that?"
Gardevoir was stunned into silence for a couple of moments. "We-we must be able to communicate telepathically!"
"Th-this is wonderful!" exclaimed Micah. "I mean, I, uh, wow!"
All while thinking, That is the most beautiful thing I have ever laid eyes on. Am I in love?
Gardevoir had continued reflecting as she finally reached Goldenrod City. A short distance inside the city limits, she saw three hotels. One had a sign reading "FOR HUMANS ONLY," another had one that read "POKEMON MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY TRAINER," and the third read "FOR POKEMON ONLY." The word "VACANCY" was illuminated in neon lights.
She entered the third hotel and stopped at the desk. A Clefairy sat behind the counter, and she hopped up when she saw Gardevoir approach. "Need a room?" she asked.
"Just for the night. Nothing too fancy."
"Hon, ALL of our rooms are nothing too fancy, but they're not crappy, either. One night, forty-five bucks."
Gardevoir gave her the money from her bundle in her luggage, and Clefairy gave her the card key.
"Thank you," Gardevoir told her.
Clefairy, however, was already absent-mindedly playing with the money and whatever else was on the desk, so Gardevoir went up the stairs to her room, deciding that she would take a shower as soon as she got settled in for the night.