Nidorina and Nidorino

Juliet and Janet were twin girls, both Pokemon Trainers. They were fraternal twins, which suited them just fine because they would hate to be mistaken for one another. Even though they had grown up in near-identical lives, the two girls were different in nearly every way. Juliet had reddish-pink hair and acted so feminine and refined that people often thought she was older than she was. Janet had wheat blond hair and was such a tomboy that she always wore jeans and practiced often for the Pokeathlon.

Yet there was one thing that both the girls agreed on, and it was becoming a source of contention. They both agreed that a certain blue-haired boy named Keith was absolutely dreamy and they both wanted to be his girlfriend. However, he had shown no signs of special affection for them yet.

This was a bad thing, especially in the minds of the Nidorina and Nidorino the girls owned. Allison was the Nidorina; she belonged to Juliet and often wore a dark green ribbon around her neck. Between both teams, she was something of the caretaker, the one who encouraged new members and kept the peace. Venom was the Nidorino; he belonged to Janet and often wore a black band around his forehead which helped him train. He was looking to prove himself as the strongest of the girls' Pokemon as well as the natural leader, although he had competition in two others. As the girls had traveled together, their Pokemon had grown close.

Especially these two. "If either of them manages to get that boy, then the other might hate her," Allison said, worriedly hunkered down on the ground. "Then we won't be traveling together anymore."

As he munched on some grass, Venom considered that possibility. One of his rivals was on Juliet's team, so he wouldn't miss him much. But so was Allison, and he would miss her. "That would stink. What could we do about it?"

"I'm not sure." She pushed her nose onto the ground, smelling the dirt. Sometimes, that helped her think. "I've been trying to figure out something. I don't want to be apart from you."

The Nidorino twitched his ears. "Mmm… they like him because he's pretty, right? We could disfigure him."

"Venom, that's an awful idea," Allison cried, shuddering. "Then they would hate us, not to mention how everyone else would too because we hurt a human."

"Good point. Maybe we can find out something about him that they won't like, so that they don't like him anymore."

She considered it, but couldn't feel her heart in it. "I don't know about blackmail either. I mean, love is a special thing and it could hurt them."

"They're just at a crush stage," he noted, looking over at the two girls. Janet and Juliet were discussing about returning to the Pokeathlon stadium for a special event. However, both kept trying to sneakily glance at Keith, who was nearby lounging in a bench. They didn't seem sure about leaving the area when they knew that he was here. "It's not really love yet."

"Losing a crush could hurt too," Allison pointed out. "I thought about trying to dissuade one girl or the other, but I'm not sure which one to choose. They both like him, and I can't tell anything about him that would cause him to pick one over the other. But even that might get the girls to part ways." She sighed and looked over to Venom. "I love them, and I love you, and I don't want to think of what will happen if we're apart."

"I don't want to consider that either," he said. "If things get desperate, we might consider convincing them to trade one of us so that we stay together."

"That wouldn't be the same. Besides, I'm not sure you'd be happy being one of Juliet's Pokemon. She likes frills and cuteness and doesn't really like your rugged savageness. And then, I don't like to fight much and I like the frills, so I wouldn't like being one of Janet's Pokemon either. And the Pokeathlon, well, it's so competitive…"

"It's fun that way," Venom said. "But I see your point. We could just let them be."

The Nidorina sighed. "We probably should. Then again, I don't like seeing them on the brink of arguments all the time." She looked over to where Keith was. "Maybe we could find something about him that would solve the issue."

"He is right there," the Nidorino said, and started walking quietly across the park.

She hesitated, then came after him. "We have to be careful…"

"Shh."

The two Pokemon snuck over to the bench that Keith was laying on. After a moment, they could determine that he was asleep, using his baseball cap to keep the sunlight out of his eyes. On the ground, he had left his backpack partly opened. There could be something interesting inside. But if that thing would solve the issue or not, they wouldn't know until they looked.

A few feet away from the bench, Venom stopped, taking a deep sniff of the air. The poisonous barbs on his body began to stand on end and he growled softly. "One of his is standing watch," he whispered to his partner. "I'll fight it off. You grab his pack and run."

"The whole thing?" she whispered back, stunned. Wouldn't that make her a thief?

Before she could protest any further, Venom rushed for a patch of tall grass opposite the bench. A Nuzleaf jumped out of the way and attacked him. It tried to pay attention to her too, but Venom quickly had it turned about. Allison hurried over to the backpack. But she didn't really want to take it all.

Nosing the top flap off, she glanced in. A medicine sprayer, some assorted accessories, a random Pokeball… all normal Trainer stuff. There was also a photo album. That would do. She bit its cardboard cover carefully to pull it out, then ran off towards her girl with it. Behind her, the Nuzleaf yelped in pain. Venom must have struck with his horn, Allison guessed. He could break through many defenses with it.

"Venom!" Janet yelled, running across to the fight as Keith was startled awake. "No fighting in the park; the staff said so!"

"That Nidorino would fight anybody," Juliet commented, although her sister was already out of hearing. Then she looked down at her Nidorina. "Oh, what have you got there, missy? I hope you haven't been trouble too, Allison."

She put down the album. "I hope it's not too much trouble," she said, feeling a bit guilty. She just wanted to help. Besides, it wasn't like she really meant to steal it. Keith would get it back.

Curious, Juliet opened up the album to look. "Oh, this must belong to Keith." She flipped a page; her eyes went wide. "Huh? What's he doing?" She shut the album, turning a bit pink. "Weird."

Allison tilted her ears back. "Is it bad? I hope not."

The two of them crossed back over to where Janet was apologizing to Keith. "Oh, it's no biggie," he said, picking up his backpack. "Pokemon will do that… hmm? Aw, where'd it go?"

"Where did what go?" Janet asked, sounding eager to help.

"Did you lose this?" Juliet asked, handing over the album.

Grinning, Keith took it back. "Yeah, that's it! Thanks, I need it."

"I saw the first few pictures to figure out who it belonged to," she said, a bit embarrassed. "What was all that about?"

"It's from my LARPing group," he said. "We do medieval and fantasy battling. I'm trying to get in as an organizer in the Ren Fest coming up and this goes along with my application."

"Oh, you actually battle with swords and stuff?" Janet asked. "That's so cool! Can I learn?"

He laughed. "I could help you get registered for the classes even if I don't get the organizer job. You want to try?"

"Sure," she said, excited at the potential to impress him and win his heart.

"I'm not sure," Juliet said, reluctant. "I wouldn't like that kind of battling."

"There's some positions for the court ladies," he offered. "As long as you don't mind trying on a corset, I'm sure you'll do well with that. And you can get your Pokemon all dressed up for the period too."

She considered it. "Maybe. I could try it."

While they kept talking over it, Venom came over to Allison's side. "So did we make things better or worse? Or not do a thing?"

The Nidorina tilted her head. "I'm not sure. It will make things interesting, at least."

…

Nidorina Soul Silver entry: It has a calm and caring nature. Because its horn grows slowly, it prefers not to fight.

Nidorino Emerald entry: Its horn is harder than a diamond. If it senses a hostile presence, all the barbs on its back bristle up at once, and it challenges the foe with all its might.

It's rather late, but this was made for Valentine's Day.