Taki sat above the peacefully sleeping Hisa, waiting for her to wake up. Eevee sat next to her, looking down at it's trainer. The girl was blissfully unaware morning had come, and despite the previous strange and eventful day, slept comepletely normally, as if nothing had happened. Smiling down at her, Taki poked Hisa's shoulder, causing her to stir a bit.
"Mm.." came the girl's sleepy voice.
"Wake up, Hisa!" Taki spoke in a soft, yet cheerful voice.
Hisa opened one eye at the sound of her voice. She yawned, stretched a bit, and then sat up, rubbing her head. "Hm..Who.. Taki!" she jumped in surprise, not expecting the Mudkip-girl to be right there, smiling at her. Hisa then came out of dreamland, remembering the events of the day before clearly. "Wait a second..who's voice was that?" she asked, looking around, though seeing no other person.
"Good morning!" Taki chirped.
Hisa stared at her. "W-wha? Did you just say something other than 'kip'?"
"Kip! Taki is glad to see Hisa is awake!" she replied, smiling brightly.
"...It's too early for this weird stuff. Taki..yesterday..you could only say 'kip'. Now, you're talking normally, what happened? What..are you?" Hisa asked, confused as ever.
"Kip? Taki is Taki. That's what Hisa said, right?"
"Right.. Last night, we decided to call you Taki. Since you can apparently speak now... Do you have another name?"
"No, Taki doesn't.. Taki is just Taki." Taki replied.
"Alright.. So, how are you speaking now?" Hisa asked.
"Kip? Taki does not know.. Taki closed her eyes last night, and when she did, she saw lots of little bright lights.. Stars, Hisa said they were! They made Taki feel calm..and she felt she could stare at them forever. Then, Taki suddenly knew...she knew how to say words like Hisa did. For some reason, Taki couldn't say them when she woke up..but now, she can! Taki opened her eyes this morning, and saw she was next to Hisa.. And she knew she had to say 'good morning' to her."
"I..see..." Hisa replied, still confused. What Taki said didn't make much sense, but at least they could communicate now. "Well..what do you guys say we pack up and get a move on to Rustboro City?"
"Vee!" Eevee agreed.
"If that is where Hisa wants to go, Taki will follow!" Taki replied.
With that, Hisa packed up, fixed herself up a little, and then they were off. They weren't very far out from Rustboro, they could make it there in a matter of minutes. And once they got there, Hisa could find someone to help her with Taki. Someone in there would be able to take her off her hands, and then Hisa would be free to continue her Pokemon journey in peace!
Eevee hopped along at his trainer's feet. The little Pokemon wasn't bothered by Taki; she might've been strange, but he could sense she had a good heart. She wasn't loud or anything, either. She happily followed along after Hisa, smiling the whole way. Eevee knew what his trainer was planning, and wondered just who would take someone like Taki? He also wondered if Taki would mind being dumped off, she seemed to like Hisa quite a bit. Oh well, though, the Eevee thought as the group approached Rustboro City's entrance. Whatever would happen there would happen..
A large smile appeared on Hisa's face as the three entered the city. "Finally!" she exclaimed happily. "Eevee, Taki, we're finally here! Isn't it nice?" Hisa asked, admiring the large city.
"Vee!"
"It's..very large.." Taki replied, she too, adiring the city before them.
Anyone passing by must've looked questioningly at the strange group. A normal teenage girl, an Eevee, and a teenage girl with orange things sticking out of her head, wearing only a white towel. In Hisa's excitement, she forgot about Taki's appearence completely.
"Look, there's the Pokemon Center, let's go there and get some information about the city!" she said, spotting the center.
Taki and Eevee nodded, following her into the Pokemon Center. Hisa turned to Taki once they walked in.
"Okay, i'm going to go ask Nurse Joy some questions, so you wait here. Alright, Taki?" Hisa informed her. The girl nodded in reply, and Hisa walked up to Nurse Joy's desk.
Waiting for a few minutes, Taki soon turned her attention outside. A man walked by the Center, pushing a cart of Pokemon-shaped taiyaki. Taki blinked at the cart, and she could then smell the taiyaki. The scent made the orange things perk up, and Taki found herself wandering outside after the cart. Eevee saw this, and became nervous. He went to Hisa, trying to alert her of Taki's leaving, but the girl was too wrapped up in her conversation with Nurse Joy, and ignored her little Pokemon.
"Vee..."
Meanwhile, outside, Taki followed the taiyaki cart. People stared at the strange, towel-clad girl, gasping as she walked by. A middle-aged woman and her son passed by, the child pointing at Taki curiously. The woman saw her, covered her son's eyes, and screamed.
"..Kip?" Taki said, looking curiously at the horrified woman.
"S-Someone get this crazy girl off the streets! There are children!" the woman shrieked. Soon, a crowd began gathering around Taki, staring at her.
Hearing the commotion outside, Hisa broke from her conversation to look over and see Taki gone. "Wh-WHAT!? Ugh..It better not be.." she muttered to herself, racing out of the Pokemon Center, through the small crowd, and up to Taki.
"TAKI! I told you to stay put! Why the hell did you go out here!?" Hisa questioned angerly, while glancing nervously at the on-looking people of Rustboro.
"Kip... Taki smelled something strange.. It was a good smell, and it made her stomache feel funny. Taki followed it..she couldn't help herself.." Taki replied, looking down a bit from the angry Hisa.
"Taki..."
"Excuse me, miss!" Hisa was cut off by the angry woman with the child. "Is she with you? Why in the world is she not properly clothed!?"
"U-Um... She.." Hisa was at a loss. She felt so embarrassed, and had no idea what to do. She quickly grabbed Taki's hand, and was about to make a run for it, when she was stopped by a voice.
"Hey! You there!" It called to her, and a woman emerged from the on-looking crowd. The woman looked to be in her twenties, had long, slightly wavy brown hair that was tied up in a messy bun, and green eyes. She was dressed in a long white lab coat, white skirt, and had on black high-heels. The woman walked up to Hisa, a smile on her face.
"Y-Yes..?" Hisa asked nervously.
"Pretty interesting girl you've got with ya, why don't you come with me?" she said, winking.
Hisa blinked, but nodded. "Okay.." she would rather be with some strange lady than where she was.
"Follow me." the lady said, and turned around to begin walking forward.
Hisa took Taki's hand again. "Come on!" she said, and Taki followed, along with Eevee.
"Okay, people! Just a little mix-up, nothing to see here! Go on!" the woman announced, making her way out of the crowd. Seeing her take Hisa and Taki away, the people decided to go back to what they had been doing. Hisa noticed, and wondered just who this woman who had saved them from embarrassment was.
The woman took the three some ways away from where the Center area was, until they reached a rather large building. It was white, and big; Hisa couldn't decide if it was a large house or some sort of office. The woman stopped in front of it, and turned to the group.
"Well, here we are! Please come inside." she said with a smile, opening the door and walking in.
Hisa blinked, but walked in after her, along with Taki and Eevee. Once inside, the three looked around. It wasn't a house or an office, it seemed to be a laboratory. All around were machines, papers, tubes, all sorts of lab things.
"Um...Are you a scientist?" Hisa asked, breaking the silence.
The woman smiled. "Pokemon professor is more like it."
"A professor! Oh wow, really? What's your name?"
"I am Professor Miho Sanada." the woman proudly stated.
"Hm... I don't think i've heard of you.." Hisa replied, after thinking for a moment.
"..Eheh, well, that's..understandable! I've just recently come out of training! I've had years of studying with Porfessor Birch and others."
"You studied with Professor Birch? Wow...so this is all your lab? It's huge.." Hisa remarked.
"Um, well, sort of... It's more my aunt's, actually.. She's away on business." Miho confessed.
"Oh, so you're watching it for her?"
"..Yes." Miho replied.
"..Oh! Your aunt...is she..Professor Keiko Sanada? Now that I think about it, I think my mother knows her... Never heard of a Miho Sanada, though." Hisa asked.
"Erm, yes, that is my aunt's name. But! Enough about that, what is your name?" Miho asked, changing the subject.
"I'm Hisa Miyazawa. And, um, this is Eevee..and Taki." Hisa introduced.
"Pleasure to meet you, Hisa." Miho said, patting Eevee on the head. She then walked up to Taki. She looked her up and down, studying her. "So.. Taki, is it? You are cute..."
"Kip? Taki is cute?" Taki said, looking at Miho with a curious expression.
"Quite." Miho replied, looking at the orange things. "Hisa... Taki isn't what you'd call normal, is she?"
Hisa blinked at the question. "Huh? W-Well...no..not really..." she replied, nervously.
Miho gently put her hand on one of the orange things, feeling it. "Don't be nervous. I'm not going to hurt either of you... What I mean is, Taki. She's got the appearence of a girl, but she's not exactly human, is she?"
"..No. She's not.." Hisa replied.
"Kip? Taki is not human?"
Miho chuckled. "You are cute. Taki.. Tell me, what are you? Who are you?"
"Kip? Taki is Taki!" Taki replied, blinking.
"That's..probably the best response you're going to get out of her.." Hisa said.
"I see... Interesting." Miho said. She then turned from Taki to Hisa. "Hisa, would you mind if I..took a look at Taki? I'd like to run a few tests.. I'm very interested in her." she asked, smiling. "Don't worry, though! She won't be hurt.. I promise you i'm not some mad scientist."
"Eh? Sure.. Go ahead, if you want..
"Hee, thank you! Taki, dear, please come with me over here.. Hisa, i'd like you to come, too. I have some questions.." Miho said, taking Taki over to a silver-colored table. "Taki, please sit up here for me?" she asked.
With a nod, Taki did so. Hisa stayed a bit away from the two, watching, curious as to what Miho was going to do.
Miho went over to a drawer and took out a few tools and gadgets, and then went back over to Taki. She put on a stethescope, and began moving around Taki's chest area with it. She then proceeded to examine Taki with a few other tools, much like a doctor would. After a few minutes of this, she spoke. "Hisa, may I ask, how did you find Taki? Was she given to you?"
"No, I actually just found her yesterday. I was fishing, and I thought I caught something..but what I caught was her. She..came out of this big tube thing.. I really don't know, it was weird. Then, she just kept following me. I didn't have much of a choice but to bring her along.. I was hoping I could find someone here that could help me with her. Yesterday, she could only say 'kip', today, she can talk like a normal person. But, she still doesn't seem to know anything about herself.." Hisa replied, recollecting the events of the day before.
"I see.. Is there anything else you could tell me about her?" Miho asked, Taki just looking on curiously at the strange gadgets Miho was using on her.
"Well.. She can use Pokemon attacks. She used Water Gun and Bubble, and fought off an Ursaring. I think.. She's part Mudkip or something, even though it sounds crazy.."
"Really!? She can use Pokemon attacks!?" Miho exclaimed.
"..Yeah, at least, I think so.." Hisa said, staring at her oddly.
"Oh my, how intriguing! Taki, could you please Water Gun me?" the woman asked, enthusiastically.
"Kip?" Taki stared at her, confused.
"Wh-Wha? Are you crazy!?" Hisa asked the woman, hearing her strange request.
"Oh, please! Hisa, can you get her to? Please?" Miho begged.
Hisa sighed. "If you really want it.. Taki, Water Gun Professor Miho!"
"Kip!" Taki nodded, opened her mouth wide, and out shot a blast of water, which hit Miho head-on, drenching her.
The woman stood there, soaking wet; a look of amazement on her face. "Oh..my..! You weren't kidding! That was a Water Gun alright!" she chirped joyfully. Taki and Hisa stared.
"Uh..yeah.." Hisa replied.
"Hehe, well! I've seen enough for now. Hisa, why don't you take Taki and give her a bath? She must be quite dirty. And, while you're in there, i'll get her some clothes." Miho offered.
"Um.. Okay. Er..but I have to bathe her?" Hisa replied.
"Well, you don't have to. But, do you really think she can do it herself?"
"..You're right. Come on, Taki! It's bathtime.." Hisa said, glancing at the Mudkip-girl.
"Kip? Hisa, what is bathtime?" Taki asked.
"It's what makes you clean. Come on, you'll see." Hisa replied, taking her hand and helping her off the table.
Miho directed them to the big bathroom, supplying them with some towels, and taking Taki's old one to wash. She then left, leaving them to bathe. Taki waited for a few minutes in the bathroom for Hisa, who was changing her clothes in another room. When she was done, she came in, wrapped in a pink towel. Shutting the door behind her, she turned to Taki.
"Alright.. I've never bathed someone else, but you are really dirty, so here we go!" Hisa announced, walking over to Taki. She turned on the water, letting it get to a good temperature before letting Taki climb in the tub.
The girl sat in there as told, looking curiously up at Hisa. "This is bathtime?"
"Yes, i'm about to give you what's called a bath. It makes our bodies clean, and makes us not smell bad."
"Kip! Taki understands... Taki should take baths so Taki does not smell bad."
"Right." Hisa replied, dumping some water on Taki.
At being suddenly drenched by the warm water, Taki blinked in surprise, shaking her head a bit. "Kip.."
"It's okay, this is how you get clean." Hisa said. Taki nodded, letting Hisa continue her work. Hisa took the shampoo, and rubbed some into Taki's hair. "Close your eyes, and don't open them until I tell you to. If shampoo goes into your eyes, it'll hurt."
Taki did so, and Hisa then continued washing her hair. After a minute of lathering, she dumped more water over Taki's head. "Alright, you can open them now." she informed her, and Taki opened her blue eyes once more.
Hisa then proceeded to take a soaped up loofa, and rubbed it along Taki's body. The girl tried not to blush, or look at Taki's body too much. She wished she didn't have to do something like this. However, she knew if she let Taki try it herself, the girl would end up blind from too much soap going into her eyes, or she would just sit there in the water for three hours. Either way, Hisa knew a mess would come from it. And so, Hisa continued on scrubbing.
It was so weird, though, Hisa thought. Taki's body was so human. Other the the Mudkip fins, or whatever you'd call them, sticking out of her head, her body was completely normal. Taki's breasts were even larger than Hisa's, Hisa unwillingly noticed.
Dumping more water over Taki, Hisa completed bathing her. "Okay, Taki! You're all done, come on out of the tub." Hisa said, helping her out. She then began drying Taki off, afterwards wrapping her in one of the pink towels. After drying Taki's body, Hisa took another towel and began drying Taki's hair.
"Taki is all clean now?" Taki asked with a smile.
"Yep, you are." Hisa replied, finishing drying her head.
"Kip! Taki is clean!" Taki chirped, hugging Hisa tightly.
Hisa blushed as the girl clung to her. Taki sure knew how to make her uncomfortable. "T-Taki! Off!" Hisa said, prying her off. Taki smiled up at her, and Hisa sighed. "Let's go get dressed."
She took Taki's hand, and the two left the bathroom. Hisa went back to the room she had changed in. It was a nice-sized bedroom, very neat and pretty with floral designs on the comforter of the bed. On the bed lay Hisa's bag and clothes.
"Did you two have a good time in there?" Came Miho's voice. Hisa and Taki looked over to see her standing there in the hall.
"Eheh, well, she's clean at least." Hisa replied.
"She certainly looks it." Miho said with a chuckle. "Taki, would you come with me for a moment while Hisa gets dressed? I have something for you."
"Kip? For Taki?" Taki replied, looking to Hisa.
"Go on." Hisa said.
Taki then went with Miho, who closed the door behind them, allowing Hisa privacy. Hisa opened her bag, and pulled out some new clothes. She put on a white short-sleeved shirt, which was orange around the neck and sleeves. Along with a red-orange-colored short skirt, completed with black boots. After getting dressed and packing her bag, Hisa left the room and went out into the lab. She saw Eevee, who was playing with a Pichu and Furret, but Miho and Taki weren't there.
"Ah, Hisa!" Came Miho's voice from behind her soon enough, though.
Hisa turned around. "Hey! Um..Where's Taki?"
"Taki, dear, come out!" Miho called into the hall.
Hisa blinked as Taki walked out. She was dressed in a pretty white dress. The dress didn't go much past her knees, had puffy short sleeves, and had straps forming an x across her chest. Hisa found herself blush slightly at the sight, Taki looked very cute in it, it suited her well. Taki smiled over at Hisa, and spun around once.
"Does Hisa like this on Taki?" Taki asked.
Hisa looked at her. "Oh, yes! It's very cute, Taki. It looks great on you.." Hisa said, smiling at her.
Taki's face lit up at Hisa's approval, and she flung herself onto her, clinging tightly. Hisa sighed at this, trying to pry the girl off once more.
"I thought she'd look good in that." Miho commented. "Hisa, I have some lunch waiting...would you two like to join me?"
"Would that really be okay? We don't have any food with us and are low on money..that would be great!" Hisa replied gratefully.
Miho led them to a large dining room, and then served the three lunch, which consisted of chicken, vegetables, rice, and riceballs. She also gave some Pokemon food to Eevee and the other Pokemon in the lab.
"Oh wow, Miho, this is delicious! Did you make it yourself?" Hisa said, after digging in.
"Taki likes." Taki agreed, munching on a riceball.
Miho smiled. "Why thank you. Yes, it's all my cooking. I have brilliance, beauty, and talent!" she gloated.
"Eheh..yeah, well, it's really good." Hisa replied.
"So, Hisa. I take it you're a beginning trainer?" Miho asked.
"Yep. I just started about a week ago." Hisa stated.
"Aha.. Is Eevee your only Pokemon? Quite an unusual starter.."
"Yeah, Eevee's my starter, and the only Pokemon I have so far. My mom is a breeder..she works with alot of Pokemon, and gave me Eevee." Hisa replied.
"Ooh, lucky you. Eevee is a great Pokemon, lots of potential. Which, i'm sure you have as well." Miho said, taking a bite of rice. "Since you're here in Rustboro, are you planning on battling the gym leader here, Roxanne?"
"Ah..no, I don't think so. Right now, I want to catch and train alot of Pokemon. I don't really care about badges much."
"I see. Well, I wish you lots of luck in that!"
"Thank you!" Hisa replied with a smile.
After they finished eating, the group went back to the lab. Miho sat Taki on the table again, and took out a needle this time.
"You're..giving her a shot?" Hisa asked.
"Kip..."
"No, just taking a bit of blood. I hope you don't mind. It will help me in my research in her.." Miho said, sticking the needle into Taki's arm. Taki squeaked a bit in pain and tried to get away from it. "Shh, it's okay! It's almost done.." Miho said, trying to calm her as she drew the blood. When it was finished, she took the needle out, cleaned the place she stuck it in, and smiled at Taki. "Good girl!"
"Kip." Taki said, not sure as to what just happened.
Hisa looked at the clock, and saw it was getting later in the afternoon. "Oh, crap! We should get going.. Right, Eevee?"
"Vee!"
"Oh, you're leaving? That's fine... I'd hoped to look over Taki some more, though.." Miho said, looking at Hisa.
"Eheh... Well.. Professor Miho, if you want, you can keep her. She's really troublesome..and i'm probably not the best to take care of someone like her. She'd be better off here.." Hisa replied.
"Oh? Really?" Miho asked, her eyes lighting up. She then looked back at Taki, who was staring at Hisa, concern in her eyes. "But.. What about Taki? She seems quite attatched to you.."
"..Taki gets to go with Hisa, too, right?" Taki asked Hisa.
Hisa stopped, and looked at her. Taki's expression was unsure, worried..almost sad. Hisa suddely felt bad. "I.. Uh.." She didn't know how to reply. What Miho said was right, even if Hisa didn't want it, it seemed Taki had gotten attatched to her, for whatever reason. They had only known eachother for a short time, but the look in Taki's eyes, like she knew what Hisa was thinking, it hurt Hisa to see. Taki was annoying, weird, and very troublesome.. But Hisa didn't want to make her sad.
"Hisa is taking Taki, too, right..?" Taki asked again. "Taki..doesn't want to be without Hisa."
The words hit Hisa hard, and looking at Taki, she knew she couldn't leave her there. "..Yes, Hisa is taking Taki, too." Hisa said finally, smiling at the Mudkip-girl. The words made Taki's eyes light up, and she lept off the table, running to Hisa and hugging her again. "Eheh..Taki.." Hisa said, though not prying her off this time.
Miho smiled. "It's alright. You're the one that found her, after all. If she is indeed part Pokemon.. She might feel a connection to you like a Pokemon does with it's trainer. Plus, I think it will do her good to be out travelling, rather than staying cooped up in a lab."
"I guess you're right.." Hisa replied.
"I'll keep researching her, though. And you can help me. I'm sure we can find out more about her.. Ooh, it's so exciting!" Miho mused.
Hisa nodded. "Alright. I'll give you the number of my PokeNav, and we can keep in touch?"
"Sounds good! I'll call you to check up, and see what you've found out." Miho replied. "Also, I think you should head to Mauville City sometime soon. There's someone you should meet, I think she could help with Taki. "
"Oh? Who?" Hisa asked.
"You'll see, just call me when you're close to there. I still have to call her and talk to her about this. She, um..isn't very fond of guests. But, i'm sure she'll be interested in this, so no need to worry!" Miho replied reassuringly.
"Okay.. Well, Taki, Eevee, are you guys ready to go?"
"Vee!"
"Yes, Taki is!"
"Alright! Well.. See you around then, Professor Miho. I'll be sure to keep in touch!" Hisa said, shaking the porfessor's hand.
The two exhanged numbers, and then Hisa, Taki, and Eevee were off. Hisa had entered Rustboro City aiming to get ride of Taki, but now, on their way out of it, she had to admit she was happy to still have her by her side. Hisa's Pokemon journey now had alot more to it than before, but that was alright. Whatever Taki was, Hisa was eager to find out..
"She's been spotted in Rustboro City. " said a woman's low, icy sounding voice.
"Got it. Going to check it out now." replied the voice of a boy.
"Use whatever means needed to get her." the woman finished.