Review shit; go!

Xavier: I totally understand that. It's something I try to avoid whenever I read fics too; if they go right out the gate with the dark shit and keep it just as dark the whole way through, it gets my mood all fucked up. I'll have a little bit of it in this story, but not as much as there would be in one of those depressing ass fics. TCG did it well though imo, and it didn't feel unnecessary. At least, later shit past like chapter 30 lol. Either way, I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far! Thanks for reading :)

Anyways! Aside from that, sorry for taking so long with this one, work shit has seriously wrecked my motivation for a lot of stuff. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up the two week max, but I do intend on keeping it up!

On to the rest…

More writing! More Pokémon!

XXX

{So, there I was, right? Moments away from capture, and then WHOOSH! I used Quick Attack to zip right by him! The little ball actually hit the wall and broke to pieces, and he started yelling! It was really funny!}

'Yelling? I get being frustrated you couldn't catch a Pokémon, but actually yelling about it? How old was this kid?'

{I dunno! I think he was, like, twelve?}

'...Huh. That makes sense. That tracks with how kids acted back where I came from. Are most of them like that?'

{Nah, just some of them. Most of them just get a really scary look on their face and try again, or just stomp off!}

'This isn't making me super hopeful to see people again…'

The three companions–Zack, Autumn, and Angel–had been walking for a couple of hours since they set off together. During these hours, Zack and Autumn were both getting to know the little Eevee that had joined them, said Eevee just now finished telling a story about a time they had almost gotten caught. She had also told them a couple more stories about her run-ins with other Pokémon, all of which greatly interested Zack. He still didn't have a good enough feel of this world to understand how everything worked exactly, but from what Angel was telling him, it was very close to how animals acted in his world. Territories, fights, and conversations; only the 'animals' in this universe were sapient, and had crazy powerful abilities that let them shoot lasers and fireballs. Hell, hearing about how Angel had to avoid getting captured and injured was giving him slight anxiety of his own!

{Hehe, if people are going to make you anxious Zack, then I can help you with that! I'll just make sure they can't make you anxious at all!}

'That makes me feel even worse! I don't want to be a murderer!'

{Pfft. Fine, fine–it was only a suggestion!}

'A bad one.'

{Oh, oh! If you start whacking those mean humans around, can I help?! I can knock them off their feet super fast!}

'Not you too! Cmon, I can't be wanted! I have to live my life not on the run!'

His conversations with the both of them also gave him additional insight into Autumn, and a ton of it for Angel. From what he can tell, Angel was super energetic, almost bordering on a kid with ADHD, but it was endearing. He could tell that her company was going to be nice, especially whenever times get a bit rougher.

As for the Gardevoir who's been with him the whole time so far, he knew she was a bit more reserved compared to her, but she was still plenty firm on her own actions and beliefs. The way she made sure that he was okay (and the grilling she's given him for almost hurting himself) shows that she cares a lot. That was par for the course for the embrace Pokémon. The one thing he did note though is how her personality is starting to shift a bit; from what he can remember of first talking to her, she was more reserved than she is now and a bit shy. Now, though, it was almost as if he was influencing her through their mental link.

So far, he can't tell if that's a good or bad thing.

{Even if you are Zack, I'll make sure to keep you away from those other humans.}

{Yeah! We'll keep you safe!}

{Er… right, we will.}

He considers the fact that his party is contemplating murder against those who wrong him, and tries to keep his cool. Maybe it's a bad thing his personality is leaking through to Autumn… the human nature has always been volatile like this, after all.

'L-Let's keep the murder and stuff on the down low, yeah? I don't want that on my hands.'

{Fine, Zack. I guess I'll hold myself back…}

The way Autumn says that makes him suspicious that she hasn't let it go, but it's as good as he's going to get for now. Angel doesn't even say anything whenever he projects his thoughts to the both of them.

On their walk, Zack has also been experimenting with this new… feature, of his. So far, he's found out he can 'disconnect' his telepathy to Angel, but only because their connection wasn't as permanent as his and Autumn's. From what he can tell, it's a strictly telepathy-based connection, as opposed to the psychic-soul-link connection he has with his savior Gardevoir. It's a slight relief to him, because he doesn't think he could handle having another constant visitor in his head observing all of his thoughts.

"...You know, if you want to, I can teach you how to block out the signal between us, Zack."

'Wait, really? You would?'

"Um… yeah, I would. I figure that you might not want to have me in your head all the time, and you might like some privacy every now and again."

'That would be… nice. I'd like that, but I won't do it all the time! I like talking to you, but sometimes, well… uh, I-I have some embarrassing thoughts, a-and uh…'

"Hehe, don't worry Zack. I get it. I'll teach you! Focus on our link, and I'll put up that block so you know how it feels, okay?"

'A-Alright.'

He does just that; his focus momentarily centers on the link between the two of them while they walk. For a moment, nothing happens until he can feel the connection dim slightly. His focus goes further up, basically looking into Autumn and he can feel where the connection starts dimming. It stays like that for a while (and he even notes the absence of her in his mind), until it opens back up.

"That… is a mental block. It might be a little bit taxing for you, because you're a human and most humans can't even uphold a link like this in the first place, but I think you'll be able to do it. So, first off, you want to focus on your end of the connection, and just… push it away."

'Got it. Let me…'

Instead of focusing on Autumn, he turns himself inward, focusing on their link where he meets it instead of her. Getting a feel for the connection and how different it feels from the normal telepathy he experiences with Angel, he tries to do what she said, and pushes. The pressure he feels on his mind right after he starts quickly builds up, and even starts to hurt, so he stops.

'J-Jesus, that hurt. I… yeah, I have to practice with this. You're right, it's going to be taxing.'

"Of course I'm right! I'm the psychic Pokémon here. I won't block myself off until you figure it out, okay Zack?"

'Okay.'

While they walk, Zack continues to focus on the connection and replicating that mental block Autumn had shown him. He only pays minimal attention to the action of walking, but otherwise he's simply following the two Pokémon in front of him. This gives the two Pokémon the chance to talk.

Autumn starts first, glancing over at Angel with a look of annoyance; the fact that she had come onto Zack and them without asking, nor even asking her about it, all of that on top of her being so damn smug about knowing the two of them are mates has her riled up.

{...Angel.}

{Hm? Yeees, Autumn?}

{I think we need to talk.}

{Yeah, we do! You totally need to get laid!}

{What–?!}

And immediately that irritation is replaced with surprise. The little Eevee was so smug that they were together, which made her think she was going to try and get with him when she hadn't even sealed the deal yet!

{W-What do you mean by that?! We're taking it slow! I told you!}

{Yup, buuut it's obvious that you need a wingman!}

{...a wingman?}

{Oh, that's a human term. Basically a wingman is when a human helps another human get with their crush, or love interest! I mean, you two are already together, but he's super hung up on smashing, so I'm gonna help!}

{Y-You–... no! I have to be respectful of his decisions, and if he's… uncomfortable, then I won't push.}

{Uh huh. Which is why you totally need to get him in the mood!}

{...in the mood? B-But he doesn't, uh, we… we have to go on dates! Get to know one another better!}

{This is basically a really reaaaally long date though! A nice, calming walk in the woods together, yknow?}

{But you're here!}

{As your wingman!}

The irritation was back. Autumn knew what she wanted, but she had to not rush things. She knew that this was a big deal for humans, let alone her human. The temptation was there, and she couldn't let this Eevee sweet-talk her into it…

{...F-Fine. Suppose I got your help, with you being my… "wingman." How would that even work? What would happen?}

{Oh, simple! I'll tell you all about how humans do it, and you can try to replicate that! Aaand I'll give you two super easy opportunities to be all lovey-dovey, and then boom! You'll be in the mood!}

{That seems… way too simple. Are you sure you're trying to help me, or sabotage me instead?}

{Nonono, I promise I'm not trying to mess things up. I… um, I think he's really nice, much more than I've seen of other humans, and if he's with you then he has to be good. Most Gardevoir are really good judges of character, so I think he deserves you! I know how some humans are, so…}

{Huh. That's surprisingly nice of you, Angel.}

{Hah! You haven't know me very long, so it shouldn't be super surprising! Plus, I totally intend on seeing if he's "down to clown" afterwards if you know what I mean–}

{W-Wha–Angel! N… not without my permission you're not!}

{Oooh, so I have to get permission, huh~?}

{Eegh?!}

'I GOT IT! Hey, Autumn, look!'

Thankfully, Zack provided a good distraction from the unusually energetic Eevee. Silently sighing in relief, she looks over at her human and focuses on their connection, to see it dim like she had shown him not long ago. It only lasts for a moment before returning to the way it was before, but it's more than she expected.

{Wow, already? You really got a good grasp of it…}

'You think so? Heh, maybe I was already psychic before showing up here, and I just didn't know it yet!'

{What's up? What'd he do?}

'Oh, Autumn taught me how to, uh, block off telepathic connections. I kinda figured out how to make and break ones like the one between us Angel, but mine and hers is a bit more permanent. She wanted to teach me how to block stuff out, just in case I wanted some privacy.'

{And you already figured out how to? Neat! You sure you aren't a Pokémon, Zack?}

'Haha, I don't think so. How I got here in the first place basically ensures that.'

{...um, how did you get here, actually? I've been super curious, cus you have all those scars and stuff, and Autumn has been healing you like, nonstop. Did you get blasted by Moltres or something?}

'Uh… no, I did not. I think that would have actually been better. It was more of an explosion, like a bomb going off. It hit me hard enough to send me here.'

{Huh?}

'Let's see… I'm not from here, right? Not just from this area, but from this world. I'm not a "native" human being like everyone else you've seen. Where I come from, there aren't any Pokémon.'

{That's… what? That doesn't make any sense! No Pokémon?!}

{Yes, Angel. I actually found him when he appeared here, and it really did look like he got hit with an extremely angry fire type. I… saved him from death, actually. Hence why we're bound in the first place.}

{I didn't know that. That's really… uh, cool? I know you almost died and all, but that's super interesting! I don't know how that happened at all, but wow!}

'Heh, yeah, I guess it is cool, huh? Threat of me dying aside, I've been wondering how the hell it happened too. My theory is that the explosion caused a rip in space, and literally launched me through it, to show up here.'

{Cool! I don't know what that means!}

'Uh… imagine a… uh… Well, shit. I don't know how to explain it.'

{That's okay! So, are you any closer to being fully healed?}

{I believe I'm almost done healing him to completion, but progress is slow going. Most of the initial injuries have been dealt with, so all that's left is the stuff that isn't obvious.}

Zack nods in response to Autumn's answer, as that had just about covered why he was still in this state. He didn't feel any pain when moving anymore, but he could tell that he was still straining against his muscles more than he used to. He wasn't fit, not even close, but it was still a bit jarring to not be as strong as he used to be. Perhaps he should consider actually developing more muscles for himself? He nods again, a ghost of a smile on his lips at the idea. With a new life, maybe he needed to make new habits to stick to; this can be the first one he tries out.

Or, he can whenever he can actually move freely again. Right now, he doesn't think he can do anything more than a light jog.

Deciding to forego the idea of getting ripped for now, he focuses back on the task of flexing his mind. He continues to practice the "blocking" aspect of telepathy that Autumn had showed him, hoping that he could at least be able to hold it for more than a few seconds.

As his focus drifts once again, the two Pokémon he's come to call his companions continue to walk ahead of him. For a little while, Autumn keeps track of Zack's progress with this newfound ability he's developed, seeing him continue to prod and poke at their telepathic connection. Once she's sure that he's totally invested into practicing, she discreetly turns her head to look back at Angel.

Who is already looking at her with a small, undoubtedly smug grin. Autumn almost gives in and gets flustered, but only a light pink appears on her cheeks instead of full-blown redness.

{...S-So, how do… humans do it, then? The, uh, dating?}

{I knew you would see it my way! Okay, so, usually humans eat stuff together and sometimes even feed each other too.}

{Feed each other?}

{Yup! Like, you could feed him some berries and stuff even though he can do it himself, and he can do the same for you!}

{Hmm… Okay, I guess that could be nice. What, uh, what else do humans do?}

The two of them trail off into their own conversation, Autumn giving in to to Angel offering her help in being her "wingman." She's not entirely sure if this is a good idea, let alone coming from this random Eevee who had just joined them, but she's interested in the advice she might be able to give. So far, it seems like the advice is pretty sound, so she's putting aside her own embarrassment for now.

They continue to talk on their walk with Zack zoning out with his practice. This continues on for about an hour, with Angel prattling on with various ways on "wooing her human," with Autumn paying attention in her own way. Sometime in the middle of one her tangents, though…

{–and usually it's a lot better to get the hot spa bath together, but if you don't then you can always peek? I think? Usually Pokémon are allowed to take baths with their trainers though, so I don't think you need to worry about that!}

{I… How did we get to this? Wasn't this supposed to be you being my wingman?}

{But I have to go over all the deets! If I don't and something comes up–}

Before Angel can go any further into her tangent, a sound from off in the distance makes itself known. It sounds far away, and it sounds like the bellowing of one very pissed off Pokémon. Angel goes ramrod straight the second it's heard, and the noises of the forest go still along with her. Autumn stops, causing Zack to bump into her which snaps him out of his testing.

'Huh? What's happening?'

{...Angel, is… was that the Pokémon you were running from earlier?}

{Y-Yes, I.. I think so. It sounds a lot closer than it should be… we've been walking for a while, so why? C-Can we, uh, move a bit faster?}

{Zack, do you think–}

'Yeah, yeah. I think I'm good to go. Angel, I'm going to pick you up now, okay?'

{O-Okay.}

Zack fastens the backpack on his back a bit tighter, pulling the front straps together to clasp them together, ensuring it doesn't jostle or move much. He moves closer to Angel, and gently picks her up, laying her in his arms as snug as he can. He looks up at Autumn, nods, then starts to jog forward, with Autumn deciding to forego normal walking in favor of picking the pace up.

{I… can sense it, I think, but it's a bit far away. It's moving closer though. I can't tell if it's trying to track something, or if it's just rampaging.}

'Damn it. If it's roaring like that, I think it's going to be a pretty big fucking problem if it catches up to us.'

{It definitely will. I might be able to hold it off, but I don't want to take my chances with you still not at one hundred percent.}

'Shit, me either. If we were closer to town… Hey, Angel, how far away are we?'

{U-Uh, I think we're a day out if we run a bit faster… if we get close enough, maybe the humans will help.}

'Got it. I'll… keep at this pace, then. I think that's our best bet.'

{Mhm. It'll also give us a good reason to show up the way we do. I don't think it would be enjoyable having other humans question why you're traveling with two Pokémon, without those… capture devices, and wearing something so different than they are.}

'Easy cover story, then. Being chased by a big scary Pokémon, got my Pokéballs crushed trying to get away, and maybe it's been a bit rough on my clothes.'

{...It needs work. But I guess that'll have to do for now.}

The two of them kept moving, the forest still quiet from the beast's sounds from earlier. They can actually still hear it, albeit the initial roar was the loudest. Angel is trying not to let it get to her too much, but her fear is definitely obvious. She's cowered in Zack's arms, pushing her head into his chest in an attempt to calm herself.

Zack notes that jogging feels… easier. Not easier than it had been for him walking, but it actually feels like he's jogging at a better pace than he would have even before he came here. His brows furrow as he contemplates this; was his healing already done? If so, then did that mean that his scars were staying?

At the same time, the pulling from the burn scars he has has definitely diminished in intensity compared to yesterday. His eyes look down at his arm, and sees that the scars that previously covered the entirety of his skin were almost unnoticeable. The only reason he knows they're still there is how he feels calloused, instead of the normally smooth skin he used to have.

'Did my scars heal that much already? I wonder, will my… will I ever be back to normal?'

"Of course you will! I only have to heal you a little bit more, but after tonight, you'll be as good as new. Uh… ignoring your voice, of course."

'That's good. I miss being able to move freely without feeling like a rubber man.'

"A rubber man?"

Another roar sounds out from the same direction it came from initially, at the same volume; this time, it's further away. Angel shifts around a bit before poking her head out of Zack's arms to look behind them. Autumn, too, looks over her shoulder for a second as well.

{I-I think it stopped moving…}

{It appears so. We should keep going, make sure it's not near us.}

'Agreed. Hang tight, Angel!'

Deciding that it feels like he's healed enough, Zack goes from a light jog to a full on sprint. This he definitely knows feels better than before; he wasn't fit nor athletic in any capacity back home, so strenuous effort like this was tiring for him. It felt tiring now, sure, but his muscles felt new, no doubt from the healing Autumn has had him undergoing these last few days.

Autumn, too, speeds up. There's a bit of psychic energy that leaks out from her changing pace, which makes itself known in a couple stray zaps of purple energy, but they don't damage or hurt anything. She makes sure that the way is clear for them; any stray bushes or branches are swept aside or cut apart before they can reach it, giving them a clear path ahead. The few obstacles they have that can't be removed are mostly trees, which they avoid by simply going around them.

After about fifteen minutes of running (and harsh, heavy panting from Zack), Autumn slows to a stop along with Zack. Angel's gotten her bearings back, and hops out of Zack's arms to let him rest. He does so with an unceremonious collapse to the earth floor, still panting.

'Fuck… I need to exercise more, god… that was…'

{You definitely do. You're already winded! Ugh, after we get out of this mess we definitely have to get you a workout plan of some kind.}

'Don't… remind me…'

{I already have. I'll make sure you won't get too tired out!}

{Y-Yeah, mister! You should get your muscles up. Even if you're human, you can use more meat on your bones!}

'F-Fine, alright! I'll figure something out with you later, but right now… are we far enough away?'

{We… should be. I don't sense them anymore. I don't want to take any risks, so we should keep moving after you get your breath back.}

Despite being able to communicate with the two of them in his head, that doesn't stop him from continuing to pant on the ground. He hasn't collapsed completely, but he's on his hands and knees for now, inhaling and exhaling heavily. A large amount of sweat has also built up on his skin, soaking his "clothes" slightly.

'Right… Okay, just… give me a minute.'

{Sheesh, you really are worn out!}

Angel steps a bit closer to him and looks up at his face with hints of concern, but also equal parts amusement. Zack shoots her a small glare with no heat behind it, which gets her to laugh lightly.

'I feel like you would be too, if I didn't have to carry you. You're running on your own next time!'

{Hehe, thanks for the ride~!}

'You little goblin.'

{I am not! What even is that?!}

If he hadn't had his vocal chords completely severed and burnt out, he would have laughed at the indignation that crosses her features. The most he can do is grin and leak through his amusement, which causes her to sputter a bit before turning away with a cute 'hrmph!'

'Adorable. Alright, I should be good to go.'

Shaking off the blush that had dusted her cheeks from Zack's acknowledgement of her cuteness, Angel set off trotting down the direction that had been going in before. Autumn began walking as well, with Zack not too far behind. The only difference was that all of them were distracted; in avoiding the beastly roars of the unknown Pokémon, they had become aware of its existence in the first place. Now, all of them were worried it would catch up to them.

For now, though, the three of them decided to distract themselves with idle conversation.

XXX

It had been hours since they ran away from the noises, and now the sun which had been high in the sky was setting once more. The trio decided to stop near a small clearing to break for the night, exhausted from the constant travel and being on edge. Their entire trip since then had been off, as the sounds of the forest continued to be silent or diminished, almost like the other Pokémon were aware of the beast from earlier as well as they were.

For now, though, the bird calls were audible now from around the trees, but quiet.

Zack had set himself up against a larger tree this time, looking out at the clearing from the edge of the treeline. It gave him a decent view of the dusk sky, as well as the two companions he has in the clearing, too. The both of them were talking to one another about something outside of his hearing range, something that probably involved him.

He hadn't been totally distracted earlier, so he caught snippets of their earlier conversation. It made him feel a lot of things, but it was primarily a sense of weirdness. He hadn't had this kind of attention in a long, long time, if ever.

What he heard was the important part that summed up what he thinks is going to happen; that Angel, his new Eevee companion, was going to be Autumn's "wingman." It took a decent amount of focus to keep his amusement (and painful laughter) from leaking out when he heard it, but he managed. With his training to keep that mental block up, he saw it as something to help him work on. Plus, it gave him an excuse to think about things without Autumn butting in–not that he minded her doing so, but he had lived alone to confide in only himself for so long, that it was second nature to isolate himself sometimes. Which is what he was doing right now, actually.

Currently, he had the mental block up, and was trying to hold onto it for as long as possible. His current maximum time is about twenty minutes, but he could see that he was improving. Without something to compare it to other than the literal psychic Pokémon who probably influenced his DNA to allow him to do this, he wasn't entirely sure if his progress was normal.

'Wingman… I guess that's fine, right? I mean, I did promise to go on dates and shit with her, so Angel helping that along might be… nice. It certainly helps me, I have no damn idea what to do. How the fuck do dates even work?'

For a moment, he feels his control on the blockage slip, but he quickly tugs it back into place. He was at sixteen minutes, so he had roughly four more to go until he had to take a break. The growing headache he was starting to feel began to convince him that he should probably take it easy after this round is done.

'Heh, I could just let Angel and Autumn take the reins. She sounded confident enough, but then what would I be doing? I should brainstorm too. That, or… maybe I should worry about it until later. That thing from earlier was fucking close, so I should be more worried about that than dates.'

The four minutes he had left come and go, and towards the end he can feel his grip slip, and the blockage dissipates away, once again letting his mind in to Autumn's, and vice versa.

"–makes sense, but what about costs? Isn't that expen… Oh, hey Zack!"

'Hey. I'm probably going to stop with this training for now, I'm getting exhausted.'

"Alrighty, take it easy. Don't want you giving yourself an aneurysm or anything."

He smiles at her concern, but mentally waves it off.

'Nahh, don't worry about that. If I did get one, I'd be fine. Probably.'

"You most definitely would n–ah, hey! Angel, what the hell?"

{You're getting distracted! Come on, come on!}

Zack sees the two of them approaching him, with Angel holding a part of Autumn's dress in her mouth, more or less dragging her over to them. His brow raises slightly at the… method of moving her over here. Once close enough, Angel lets go and bumps her legs towards Zack.

{Date night! Do things! Don't mind me, I'm gonna, uh… supervise?}

'...Supervise. What are you, a concerned parent?'

{N-No! I just wanna be sure Autumn, uh… does things right!}

Autumn crosses her arms with a huff, but relents to the small Eevee's pushy methods and sits down next to Zack. She quickly wraps her arm his shoulders, giving him a side hug. Angel watches for a moment, before trotting off towards another tree, opting to lay down against it similar to how Zack is. Her gaze moves a little bit, but she resumes looking at the two of them.

'Uhh… okay, then. Date night? I guess?'

"Mm. Yes, date night."

'Well, if this is a date night, I'm guessing you have some kind of plan?'

"Sure do! We're gonna relax, and look at the sky while talking about our feelings and shit."

'Pfft, alright! When did you start swearing so much?'

"Maybe hanging out with a lowly human with crass language has infected me with your tendencies?"

'Uh huh. Sure you haven't always been a hellion underneath that sweet and caring exterior?'

"No way. Certainly not."

'Believable.'

Zack huffs in amusement at her antics, and leans into the side hug she's giving him. For a moment, he's silent, just absorbing the feeling of having her next to him. For Autumn, it's much the same, but she's thinking about how to begin with their "date."

"...Okay, I have some stuff for you. Uh, one of the… tips Angel gave me, was about picnics? I got some food earlier when you were relaxing, but I don't have a blanket."

'Heh, that's fine.'

He gets an idea. His brows furrow in concentration for a second, before the give way to a small amused grin.

'It's too bad I'm too weak to lift my arms. I really wore myself out!'

"Whuh– really? Oh, no! I guess I'll have to help you eat again…"

'Guess so.'

Autumn pulled away from him to lean over on her side, to the backpack he had set down when they got here earlier. She rummages around for a bit, before pulling out the red handkerchief she brought with her earlier. In it, seems to be a bundle of those blue Oran Berries from earlier, enough for one of them. She scooches back on over to him, berries and red cloth in one hand, the other one plucking a berry from the top of the pile.

"Here, here."

She brings the berry up to his mouth, which he takes in and starts chewing. Looking satisfied, Autumn goes to grab one for herself, before Zack intercepts her hand, stopping her. She shoots him a questioning look (didn't he say he couldn't lift his arms?), but that fades to a blush whenever he brings one up to her mouth to eat, too.

'Here, here?'

"...Smooth."

As the two commit to the stereotypical "couple feeding each other" trope, Angel looks at the two of them, barely containing her amusement. It seemed like she didn't need to be too intense of a wingman from what she saw, what with Zack also pushing their interactions on.

{Guess I don't need to do too much, then…}

Her muttering is inaudible to the two of them, so she doesn't expect a response. Angel decides that she needs to eat as well (the growing pangs of hunger are starting to get annoying), so she gets up and walks over to where her and Autumn were in the clearing earlier. She had gone out and picked up enough food for all three of them almost as soon as they arrived to the clearing, so there was already some stuff out for her. She lays down to snack on her own food, still watching the two of her new companions laying against the tree.

The two of them continue to feed one another berries for a few minutes.

'Say, Autumn? What all can you do?'

"Uh, what do you mean?"

'Like… You said you can basically fly, and I saw you doing that a bunch earlier. If I remember correctly from what I knew back home, Pokémon have 'moves' and stuff, so I was just curious.'

"Hmmm. I can do a lot of things, a lot with psychic energy, but I can do a couple of other things, too. I can do Heal Pulse, which is what I've been healing you with, Magical Leaf, some different beam attacks, Teleport, Shadow ball…"

'Sheesh, that's a lot.'

"Heh, yeah. I developed a lot of them myself back home. I usually had a lot of free time due to… not being included in a lot, so I used it to practice."

'That makes sense. Were the others in your… home, as strong, or?'

"Not really. There were a couple who were a little bit stronger, but the only one who I could say was stronger than me was The Elder. Everyone else was content in their duties, so a lot of them never trained as much as I did."

'...Well, good. I think that would have given you a good leg up if any of them actually went after you. Seemed like a lot of them were stuck up assholes.'

"Y.. Yeah, that's uh, that's true."

Autumn stops plucking at the berries on the handkerchief, going still for a moment before turning to look at Zack. She seems conflicted, until she speaks up again.

"That… did happen. The night Angel showed up, I was awake because I felt someone following us."

'Wait, really? Why didn't you say anything about it until now?'

"I thought it wasn't important… I dealt with it when you were asleep, but uh, I guess I felt guilty about it when you reminded me."

'...Do you want to talk about it?'

She sighs, and starts to explain what had happened after he fell asleep. Zack listens to her attentively.

"No… but I suppose I should. One of the… one of my 'family' was following us, and she wasn't too happy with me getting out. Those back home just didn't like me, some of them hated me because of how out of place I was in the community. She was… one of them. We fought, I took her out, and teleported her far away enough so that she couldn't follow us any longer."

'...I think you did the right thing. I would probably do something similar–not that I could do much against a Pokémon–so I'm not mad. You should tell me before trying something like this, though. If you got too hurt…'

"Y-Yeah, okay. I will, I promise."

'Heh, plus it gives me a chance to see you in action. I didn't get to see your fight!'

"Wh–you're concerned about that?!"

'Why wouldn't I want to see my badass Gardevoir kicking ass with sick powers?'

"I-If you want to see me fight, then, um… maybe we can fight when we get to civilization?"

'Yeah, totally. I suppose I can try out being a trainer. With you being my main Pokémon, I doubt anybody could touch us!'

"Don't get too cocky! I know I'm strong, but I'm not invincible, yknow."

'Looks like I just have to 'train' you to be stronger, then.'

Zack made sure to redirect the conversation before it got too deep, as well as too emotional for him. The idea of someone he's gotten close too (regardless of how soon it happened) going out on their own to fight without him there to help rubs him the wrong way. If he's honest with himself, he's more concerned than mad, and he still feels that way… but he pushes it aside for now.

Autumn stands up abruptly after placing the handkerchief and remaining berries off to the side next to the backpack, and drags Zack up with her. She takes the both of them over to the middle of the field a bit closer to Angel, but not right next to her. She motions for Zack to sit (and he does), then sits herself.

"It's getting dark… stars are best seen on nights like this. There aren't any clouds to block them out."

'We're… stargazing?'

"Why not? Angel said it was romantic!"

'...She's not wrong. Alright.'

Zack lays down, with Autumn following soon after. Angel sees them doing this after they got closer, so she too rolls over so she can see the sky without needing to crane her neck harshly.

The rays of light that had once been cast out through the brush of trees and leaves were now gone, with the only remnants of the sun being the dull orange hues covering half of the sky. From where the sunset doesn't touch the sky, is the slow emergence of stars.

'Woah. I've never seen the sky like this… I never realized there were so many stars!'

"Huh? How? Did you not go outside during the night or something?"

'No, I did, but… uh, back home, we had a lot of big cities and technology. There was so much light on the ground that it literally drowned the sky itself out, so seeing everything above like this was difficult to do without traveling hours away from any city.'

"That's… strange."

For a moment, she's considering the new information Zack's told her, but then she speaks up using your actual voice.

{Angel, are there any spots that you know of that have so much light, that the sky can't be seen?}

{Whuh? Uuuhh… I don't think so? Can that even be done?}

{Apparently, from what Zack told me.}

{That's really weird!}

Deciding that Autumn would prefer for Angel to be tuned into their conversations, she bridges the gap between them to reform the telekinetic link between them all. Zack feels this happen, but doesn't do anything against it; he doesn't particularly enjoy leaving someone out of a good conversation, let alone when he's sharing about himself.

'...Maybe we just had way more people than you do here. Cities back home spanned for miles and miles across, with so many buildings and lights and roads, that sometimes there weren't even trees for miles, either.'

"That sounds… awful. No trees at all?"

'Sometimes a city would have specific areas for nature, but a bunch would go the route of being as urban as possible.'

"I can see why that would impact the sky's visibility."

{No kidding. I've only seen towns, and like, one city, but there wasn't so much of it that it ate up the forest completely!}

'I guess that's one more aspect in which my world and this one are different, then.'

The conversation ends on a comfortable note, and Zack makes himself comfortable. His arms are situated behind his head, while the rest of him is splayed out on the grass. The cloth that he's been wearing is slightly uncomfortable, but seeing as how it's all he has to wear, he doesn't pay it any mind and tries to ignore how it feels. He instead focuses on the sight before him as the stars become visible with the sunset acting like a curtain opening to a theater act.

As more stars become visible though, the more he's reminded that this is a different world, one that is perhaps infinitely far away from Earth. He doesn't recognize a single star formation, nor does the familiar shape of the Milky Way appear. Instead, there are bursts of red and blue, with white in the center and filling the rest of the void with stars both close and far away. It looks like, to him, that this planet is in a different galaxy.

'...Amazing. It's… It's beautiful. I thought I would see the same sky I've seen in pictures, but it's something completely different!'

"Different?"

'Completely. My sky looked totally different than this. Our planet used to be in a galaxy we called the Milky Way, but this is… obviously not it. If I ever need a reminder, I suppose all I have to do is look up, huh?'

"I hope it's something you can welcome. I rather prefer this sight over many others. It's one of the reasons I used to have an abysmal sleeping routine. Staring at this was far better than trying to interact with anyone else."

'Heh, really? That makes sense, and I definitely don't blame you.'

All three of them continue laying there, content to let the sights of the night sky enrapture them and their thoughts. The visage of stars, and the occasional shooting star being seen are more of a sight than most of what Zack's seen, even comparing it to a singularity being formed in front of him.

Before too long passes, he stretches himself out and goes to get up, calling out to both Autumn and Angel.

'Okay, I think that's enough for me. You guys wanna sleep, or–?'

Instead of a response and attentive gazes, he's met with the relaxed and sleeping forms of both his aberrant Gardevoir and the shiny Eevee. Autumn is positioned a lot like he was, with her arms held behind her head to imitate Zack, and Eevee has curled up around herself like a ball. Considering that the three of them have been out here stargazing for a while, it makes sense that they fell asleep.

Zack decides that he'll let them rest, and foregoes his own sleep until he's tired. Despite having run so roughly earlier, he doesn't feel exhausted enough to pass out quite yet. His old habits of insomnia are flaring up at this moment, so he has no choice but to stay conscious.

'...or you can be asleep already.'

He sighs, but puts up a mental block so he doesn't accidentally wake either of them up. His memory of Autumn waking up in the morning complaining lightly about how "loud" his thoughts are is enough for him to do this.

'Maybe I should try whispering or something? In my head? Do… do I even have a volume? Ugh, I have to ask later.'

With a bit more effort than he needs, he gets up silently as to not disturb either of them should he make too much noise. His limbs stretch out a bit, popping slightly as his joints adjust to being used after laying around for a while, and he walks back over to where he had been propped up previously. He notes the belongings left laying beside the tree, and gathers up the handkerchief into the backpack. The berries that hadn't been eaten before are in his other hand.

'It's… weird. Plants and fruit shouldn't have some kind of supernatural shit going on, but eating these makes me feel like they do. I wish I actually played the damn games back home so I understood why.'

Zack brings up his hand to look at the berries closer than he had before. The blue coloration reminded him of the blueberries that grew back home, but these were much larger and less shriveled than he would expect. He pops one of them into his mouth, but continues looking at the other two in his hand.

He's hit with another idea, this one unrelated to the biology of fruit here.

'If… If I can reach out, and do telepathy, then… could I do more? Surely not, right?'

He gulps (both in nervousness and to get the berry down), wishing that it would either not hurt too much or that it didn't work at all, then focuses on the last berry in his hand after he tosses the other in his mouth.

He's… unsure how to go about it, but he'll try.

'Going off on how I did telepathy last time, maybe it's like reaching out, but to an object.'

Giving it a try, he reaches out like he did with Angel earlier with all of his focus on the berry in his palm. He feels… something, but no connection. His eyebrow twitches, but it makes sense that he couldn't talk to a berry. Shaking off his momentary lapse in judgment, his focus increases even further. He imagines the berry in his hand getting wrapped up, either by his hands, or by some kind of invisible energy.

Nothing happens, but he can feel pressure start to build in his head.

'Am I on the right track? Shit, it feels like it. Okay, let me just… go further.'

He imagines that invisible energy lifting it up, but nothing continues to happen. He scoffs, tries again, and fails again, but continues focusing. The pressure in his head continues to build the more he tries, until it starts to hurt again.

Zack decides that it might not be a wise idea to keep going, so he stops by popping the last berry in his mouth and quits the whole experiment altogether, letting his mind wander to something else. Namely, the pain in his head that hadn't gone away despite his refusal to continue.

'...Uh oh. Fuck, alright, I just have to let it run its course. Is this going to happen every time I try to do something? It happened when I started understanding Pokémon, and it keeps happening the more I push to learn something. God, I hope this doesn't end up with me getting an aneurysm.'

'Okay, okay… I just have to keep the link closed, I d-don't want to wake up Autumn, or… God damn it that hurts!'

Zack pushes himself back up against the tree and slides down to the ground. Both of his hands are up holding his head in an attempt to lessen the worsening headache, but to no avail. The pain he's experiencing is sharp, a continuous imaginary spike pushing through his head from either side making itself known to his senses.

Regardless, he still focuses on keeping the block up. He wasn't sure if his mental muttering would wake up Autumn, or if the feeling of pain would, but he wanted to be sure it didn't.

For about ten minutes he sits there, with the pain constantly wracking his head in waves, coming and going in intensity until it finally starts to ebb off. He takes a shaky breath and exhales it, letting the cool night air wash over him now that he doesn't have to focus super hard on keeping the pain dulled. He sniffs a bit, and brings his hand up to his nose.

When he pulls his hand away, it comes back bloody.

'...T-That didn't happen last time.'

The cold ball of dread settles in his chest as he starts thinking about what it could mean, and why it had happened with this one instead of the other headaches. He thinks it might be because he tried to move something with his mind instead of something less intensive, like scanning his surroundings or something.

Zack considers waking Autumn up to help him with this, in case he actually was starting to give himself serious brain trauma, but shakes his head to ward off the line of thought instead.

'I can just have her heal me later. If it was serious, I would have had a seizure, the link would open up, and I'd be fine either way. This way, she can rest a bit.'

'...I'm sure she's been working harder than normal to keep me healthy, and away from harm. She needs it.'

He sighs again, and brings up his sleeve to wipe the blood away from his face. With a couple of experimental breaths in, it feels like he isn't bleeding anymore, which is an even better sign that it wasn't too bad. It lets him think more, and he almost considers trying again, but stomps that out before he can even start. If his headache was that bad the first time, he's not going to do it again in the same night.

Needing a distraction, he pulls the backpack from beside him over, and opens it up. He spots the handkerchief he shoved in earlier, as well as the small marble-shaped jewel at the bottom of the bag, among some other things which look mainly like cloth. Zack digs in for it, and brings it out gently to give it a once over.

It's about the size he'd expect of a normal marble to be, but the way it shone was unordinary. It had two distinct colors (three if you count the overall color of the marble), both of which looked exactly like most other Gardevoir he'd seen. The green of their features, along with the pink-ish red color of their crests. The rest of the marble was almost sparkling, a kind of white-ish blue in color.

To him, it looked like it could be used for a damn good necklace.

'I don't know why Autumn had this, but… I wonder if she'd let me commission someone to make it into something for her? It seems important to her if she's held onto it, so she might like that.'

'Geez, when did I start thinking about giving her presents? One date in and I'm already lost. Hopeless romantic. Ugh, I should try to sleep…'

He puts the strange marble back into the bag, zips it up and sets it off to the side again. His eyes find the sky once more from the treeline, and he traces the edge of what he can see of the galaxy above.

Before too long, his exhaustion catches up with him, and his eyes close for another hopefully restful sleep…

XXX

The sounds of Pokémon intermingling in the distant tops of trees is the first thing Autumn hears when she starts waking up. She raises one of her hands to wipe at her eyes before actually opening them.

"Huh… I woke up without Zack's thoughts doing it for me?"

She sits up and stretches a bit, letting the pins and needles dissipate from having laid on her arms for most of the night. After, she looks around to find Angel still asleep, but no Zack.

"Uh… Zack?"

{Z-Zack?}

Realizing he's not in the clearing, she quickly levitates to her feet and looks around as panic overtakes her.

'Shit, shit, I fell asleep! I have to find–'

Before she freaks out and starts tearing down the forest, she spots him nestled up against the trunk next to their belongings. The panic dies out, and she breathes a sigh of relief.

'...Arceus, that scared me.'

{Mmmrngh… Nooo… 'nother five minutes…}

Autumn turns to look at Angel curled up in a ball, but she's not curled up anymore. Instead, she's stretched out a bit like how she was, but with one of her forepaws covering her eyes in an attempt to block out the light. The Gardevoir chuckles at her actions, and steps over to her while prodding at her with her foot.

{Angel, come on. It's time to get up.}

{Noooo… Want more sleep…}

{Too bad! It's morning time, and we should be nearing the town sometime today.}

{Uuuugh. Fine, alright, blegh. S'whatever…}

The Eevee lets out a cute yawn as she stands up. She, too looks around after glancing at Autumn, momentarily confused before she sees Zack further off laying against the tree.

{Oh, I guess we fell asleep before him, huh? Why's he over there?}

{I don't know, I just woke up, too.}

{We should wake him up too!}

Autumn, unable to stop the already too-energetic Eevee in time, watches the white blur over to where Zack is. Despite her saying that they should wake him up, she stops next to him before trying anything.

{Uh… Autumn?}

{Yes, Angel?}

{I think Zack was bleeding?}

{What?!}

She quickly approaches the two of them, noting that the tiny fluffball looks concerned as she's gazing at a spot on Zack's arm. Autumn looks down where she's looking, and sees that the sleeve of the cloth she had made him is red. In fact, it has a lot of red to it, too… She looks up at Zack's face, and sees some residue around his nose from where he had probably been bleeding beforehand.

{A nosebleed? He had a nosebleed last night?}

{Um, maybe you can do that healing thing…}

Taking her advice, Autumn lifts her hands and the pink glow returns to both her hands and Zack's form. She furrows in concern as she feels out why he had been bleeding. For some reason, it seems like he wasn't hurt, but through the link she could feel that his mind felt different.

{I… think he tried to push himself when we were sleeping. You know he's not a normal human, right?}

{Uh, yeah. He did the whole telepathy thingie with me, and it was really cool, but…}

{Yes, precisely. I believe he's… psychic, in some way. Chances are, he probably tried to do something after realizing it himself, and gave himself a nosebleed. I remember him getting those headaches, so he probably just pushed himself too hard.}

{Is he going to be okay?}

{Yes, he'll be fine. Tch, idiot. He should've waited until I was awake.}

{Hey, he's not an idiot! He was probably just excited!}

{...Perhaps you're right. Still, he should have waited.}

By the time the conversation ends, the healing is mostly done. Actually, when she feels the last bit of injury mend itself in him, the energy cuts itself out. It's then that she realizes; he's completely healed now. Most of the scars he accumulated from showing up here have diminished greatly, the only signs of which being burn scars that are only noticeable due to the slight bumpiness it gives his skin.

{It seems that his healing is done! Finally, I've been doing this for days.}

{Hurray! Okay, wake up! Wake up wake up wake–}

Angel quickly shifts back into her default mode and starts ramming her head into his side. Each time she says "wake up" indicates another head bump, and by the fourth one Zack starts shifting around. Angel stops for a second while her head is pressed against him, thinking he's about to wake up… only for him to start snoring instead.

Angel pouts, before resuming her impatient headbutts.

{Wake up!}

{Angel, I doubt he's going to wake up from that. Heh, we need something more effective…}

{More effective?}

Wordlessly, Autumn approaches Zack on the ground, and steps over where his legs are laying on the ground. Angel watches from the side with a confused expression, but quickly shifts to mild embarrassment when the Gardevoir lowers herself down to saddle into Zack's lap. With a small grin on her face, she moves her head close to the side of his head near his ear.

{...WAKE UP!}

That does the trick. His eyes shoot open and he gasps in surprise at the rude awakening, even jumping a bit as well. He blinks a couple of times, but narrows his eyes when he sees Autumn in front of him and in his lap, her face close to his with a self-satisfied, smug smile.

'...You asshole! I was sleeping!'

{Hehe, it woke you up, didn't it?}

{Woo! He's awake!}

'Man, I… wait, did you wake up before me?'

{Yes, I did. And… you were doing something stupid without me first!}

'Wh… uh… no I wasn't?'

{Right, and the bloodstain on your sleeve and around your nose is just imaginary.}

'Shit. Alright, yeah, maybe I was, I just… what if I could move things with my mind, too? I can talk in your guys' heads, so what if I can do more?! It's fascinating!'

{Fascinating, yes. Stupid, also yes! You're lucky you didn't go into a coma or something!}

{That… does sound bad. Um, maybe I was wrong when I said you shouldn't call him an idiot?}

'N-No, you totally weren't! I had it under control!'

{Uh huh.}

Zack huffs in frustration as he fails to convince them. Deciding that he needs to distract Autumn, he brings both of his hands up to grab her waist, and pulls her closer to him for a surprise kiss! Her eyes widen, but quickly lid a bit as he kisses her with a smug smile of his own. It wasn't anything intense and ends after a few seconds, but it did the trick.

'...So! We should probably get going.'

{R… Right, yes, let's get going.}

{Hehe! Zack kissed Autumn to win the argument!}

{S-Shut up, furball!}

He chuckles to himself, and goes to stand. Autumn lets him and levitates off of his legs. He grabs the backpack and nestles it on his back, making sure the straps are tight once more before nodding to himself.

'Sorry, Autumn. I'll make sure to uh, wait for you until doing something like that again. I didn't expect it to cause a nosebleed, though…'

She's quiet for a little bit, but sighs after.

{It's… okay. I understand why you did it. It doesn't mean I enjoy knowing that it gives you awful headaches like that, though. I can, at least, help with the pain.}

'Of course. Still, sorry.'

{...did it work?}

'Huh? Oh, uh, no. It felt like it was going to, but I think I'm doing it wrong. We could work on it later, if you want.'

{Y-Yeah, I'd like that.}

{Ooooh, you're going to teach him Psychic!}

{N-No, I don't think it's Psychic. It's probably just rudimentary telekinesis.}

{Yeah! Rudimentary telekinesis!}

Zack chuckles while listening to how the two of them talk to one another, greatly enjoying their interactions himself. It feels nice to have companions like them around, especially now. He looks up and tries to remember which direction they were heading before stopping–

The forest quiets down again as the same Pokémon roar from yesterday sounds out, this time much, much closer than last time. Instantly, both Autumn and Angel stiffen and stop talking along with Zack. From the sounds of it…

"It's close! Come on, we have to move, now!"

Without prompting, Zack scoops Angel up again and starts running after Autumn, with her having gone back to zipping through the air with levitation. He casts a glance over his shoulder as the clearing leaves his sight, but no sign of the Pokémon.

He steels his nerves, and keeps running after Autumn, letting her lead the way ahead, hoping that the beast wasn't going to catch up to them anytime soon.