Skye's eyes opened to a chilly, dark room, meaning she hadn't slept the full night. She had a slight headache and felt slightly disoriented. She pushed herself off her stomach and sat up, blowing a few strands of loose hair out of her face. Being cautious not to wake Ruki, she slipped off the bed and went to set the heater to max. She should have done it earlier to prepare for the night.
She could faintly hear what sounded like hoothoot hooting in mixture with kricketot rubbing their antennas together and kricketune rubbing their arms outside among strong breezes howling. It sounded uniquely melodic, which Skye found nice to hear since she was used to tropical pokémon singing and car horns.
Skye shook off her jacket and pulled off her arm sleeves. She also removed her shorts, which took extra wiggling to get past her upper thighs, and set everything on the floor at the foot of the bed. She'd keep on her high socks since they were comfy, and she felt she looked cute in them while in panties. She just as quietly got back into bed, but it was to no avail as it woke Ruki.
He lifted his head and eyed her groggily while stretching his hind legs. What happened? Ruki wasn't even a light sleeper.
"Sorry. Go back to sleep," Skye whispered and rested the back of her head on the pillow.
He would but first stood slowly and took a couple of steps, standing over her. He wanted to lie with her if she was fine with it.
"Yes?" she grinned. He acted as though he were her shadow, but that wasn't an issue. She would never turn him away and pass up the heat, especially when she was freezing. "Here." Skye raised her arms and held his body while guiding him to lie on her as he did yesterday.
He caught on and rested his stomach and chest on her, nudging her cheek. Ruki was happy to be held and always enjoyed being against her. Not only could he protect her from all harm this way, but looking at her while sprawled over every inch of her body warmed him plenty.
This time, Skye had much less clothing covering her lower area than before, and Ruki had laid between her relatively open legs. She ran her hand down the back of his neck and stopped at his lower back, just above his hips, upon feeling something. The light pressure from her hand was enough to push more weight from his body onto hers, resulting in a small bout of pleasure.
"Uh..." she exhaled and kept her eyes on Ruki, who didn't seem to notice. It wasn't intentional, but Skye couldn't deny that she liked how it felt. In this moment, she saw Ruki in a manner that she should never.
He leaned and gave her cheek slow licks to remind Skye that he loved her, and while he did, she pressed with additional pressure, biting her lip and taking a breath in while closing her legs against him while her ample thighs brushed against the fur on his sides. Her mind honed in and focused on the pleasure she felt. The morality of the situation was non-existent.
Ruki felt it but thought nothing of it. Skye was likely getting comfortable. He licked her nose and the corners of her mouth since she didn't like him licking her lips, working to groom her well. This was still more than she usually allowed, which was surprising, but he wouldn't stop while she appreciated it for once.
She pressed harder while rubbing his back and closed her eyes, grinning while he lapped at her face and coated it lightly with saliva. His crotch was rubbing her clitoris over her panties, which was lovely combined with what felt like sensual licking at the time. "Hmh..." Each one sent electrifying surges of pleasure up her body she couldn't resist. She began moving her hips against the motions she was in control of, feeling warmer and exhaling as what she felt grew in intensity.
Skye's breaths began to climb, as was her arousal to the point where she wished her panties were off. Her mind was full of lust and vivid, hot colors shooting around and pinging all the right spots. But after almost another minute passed, she began slowing her movement, and everything died as she came to a realization.
Skye faded her grin and opened her eyes, pulling her hand away and using it to rest his head by her neck. Her leg twitched from the present excitement her body still felt. Skye felt disgusting for using Ruki to grant her a few minutes of pleasure. She'd been sexually curious in recent years, being a teenager, and even more so as she matured with no option whatsoever to release or explore other than her own devices, but he wasn't one she should subject her desires to.
It was difficult to resist as he was bigger now, warmer, heavier, all combined with how strong their bond was, but he was her pokémon— her companion. Skye had never been a poképhile. She never once looked at pokémon and desired them sexually, so what could this be? There was no way.
Her friends used to make fun of people that were into that and chose to be with their pokémon instead of a fellow human, calling it an easy way out and kapu, meaning forbidden in her culture, among other foul remarks. It was strictly illegal on top of it in all regions except for a select few, such as Oblivia and the Unified Accord, due to a staggering increase in moral and societal degradation seen globally at an unacceptable peak when it was legal ten years ago.
It ranged from the subtle sexualization of pokémon in media, ads, and even commercials, sexual assaults committed in the wild and abuse in homes, and to an alarming decline in the human and pokémon population over time. It became a lustful addiction for many and less of a romantic, caring commitment as it was almost a hundred years ago.
However, more individuals of both species had still sought and chose each other as partners instead of their respective parties, which saw a decrease of almost a billion globally between both collectively over time. However, pokémon trafficking operations replaced it as a major widespread pandemic that regions were fighting.
Now, a person couldn't have sexual or romantic relations with their pokémon under any circumstances, no matter the pokémon's level of intelligence or how close it was to humanity's, and it wasn't the slightest factor in media under stricter than ever regulations. If someone witnessed or speculated and reported it, even if consensual, the victimized pokémon was taken from the owner forever and had a possibility of being put down after professors evaluated their nature and behavior after having been a victim of abuse.
The owner faced jail time and was put on a permanent registry. In Alola, the sentence was nine years, twice higher than it was in many other regions. After two offenses, they could never own a pokémon again. Other than acts with quadrupeds being outlawed because it was a big deal worldwide for several reasons, Skye didn't know how Sinnoh handled it and never needed to. She knew so much about the laws in the first place because of her friends and what she looked up at home once out of curiosity.
Skye was social and could now get a boyfriend if she desired. She just... she just loved Ruki. She swallowed, staring up at the ceiling while embracing his body.
Later that morning, she was dressing in light expedition wear she'd purchased in Alola before they left for Mt. Coronet. Skye had skipped applying makeup today since she'd forgotten to wipe it away last night and wanted to let her face breathe. Besides, the scarring wasn't bad, and she didn't know anyone in Sinnoh.
"I knew I'd need this stuff," she said while putting on a cream-colored safari shirt. "Maybe I should have gone for a size or two larger, though…" Skye looked down and noticed her breasts pushed against the shirt, which wasn't the type of girl she was— well, it kind of was. She wasn't too insecure in her body and enjoyed dressing with a bit of sex appeal, but not when her parents were around, which was often. It wasn't how they'd raised her.
While she put on matching safari pants, Ruki was busy nosing through her open backpack by their made bed for the malasadas he smelled.
"Ruki!"
He froze and pulled his head out, looking at her with a hint of guilt and fear. He didn't mean to invade her belongings. Ruki just wanted a snack, but he should have let Skye know in hindsight instead of going through her stuff.
She finished pulling her pants up and dropped her initial approach, remembering he hadn't eaten since yesterday evening. Skye just didn't want him disorganizing her clothes. "Are you hungry?"
"Nh..." He nodded subtly. He was used to Skye scolding him for any and everything, though she'd eased up a lot from when she was younger. She had even popped his bottom once or twice, like the time when she caught him halfway through two packaged malasadas she had left on her bed for herself and went to the restroom for a minute after specifically telling him not to eat them, but she felt extremely bad after her initial anger subsided and started taking deep breaths or solely scolding him instead from then on.
"Aw, I'm sorry for shouting at you, baby." She kneeled beside him, holding and rubbing his cheeks. Skye reached into her backpack and fished around until finding the bag containing their malasadas.
She pulled a bittersweet one out and unwrapped it, taking a bite before giving it to him and reaching back in her bag for her tan laced high boots. "I'll buy more snacks and water for us while on the way to the mountain. We're out of malasadas for days after that bag is gone." Maybe she'd buy a few pokéballs as well. She could, by chance, find a pokémon while exploring Mt. Coronet. Skye wasn't out to do so, but catching a pokémon native to Sinnoh would be a beautiful memory. "You finished?" Skye asked while getting into her boots.
Ruki nodded while licking his maw, a yawn following since he felt more tired than usual. Maybe it was from the ferry ride here, where he had broken sleep, on top of last night when Skye woke him after he was supposed to be catching up. He had swallowed quickly again and awaited another scolding, but she didn't seem to give it much attention. He had yet to choke after so many years, so it wouldn't hurt for her to ease up.
Skye transferred her money from the shorts she'd worn yesterday to her current pants, then zipped up her backpack and straightened her outfit. "All set."
Ruki followed her out the door into a more cordial climate than yesterday and looked at a bright and cloudless early morning sky. There were bound to be a bunch of different pokémon for Ruki to see on such a delightful day.
"Pastoria, Hearthome… Route 208." Skye had her eyes on her map. They had a long walk ahead of them and had to stop to buy essentials as well. She would do so when they got to Hearthome since she wanted to stick around and see that city in person through her research. It was one of the world's largest, had several landmarks and countless things to do, and was frequented by tourists.
"We're walking through Pastoria first. I saw some pictures of it online. It's an open city with choke..." she trailed. To this day, it felt abnormal every time she used a native Alolan term. It saddened her to know she was hardwired against it. "...A lot of green, so I know you'll enjoy it," she said as they left the grounds and turned right, heading west down Route 213. It was short, so Skye saw Pastoria's entrance less than a mile ahead in the clearing.
Ruki saw it as well but was busy watching a family playing in the beach's waves as they passed. He wondered how it'd feel to be around a kid since he hadn't before and if Skye would ever have one. If so, Ruki would watch over and help care for them to the best of his ability, but it felt odd to imagine. He knew she'd be a good mother, though. That child would be lucky to have her raising him.
They entered the city minutes later and took their time ambling through Pastoria. They were close to Route 212 after more than an hour since they'd stopped to eat at a cute outdoor restaurant with seating on top of grass by a forest's entrance. It was a vivid city with much greenery and a wonderful environment.
People walked its fields abundant with groups of rich trees while multiple pokémon frolicked in the open. Two elekid chased each other, a group of cleffa followed a clefairy, and a ralts was busy pulling and gathering berries from a bush to bring back to its mother before nightfall.
Ruki wandered far ahead to the clean, shimmering river that ran through and spanned the city with homes on one side and small worn markets and wooden stands on the other, where people congregated and conducted sales. They weren't dressed in modern attire, at least to a ninetales from Hau'oli. He was used to seeing extravagant designer clothes and business suits. These people were in tattered skirts and dingy shirts. It looked bland and casual, as was most of this city, which was boring to look at.
The shops sold general food, snack, and drink items from big corporations, while the stands specialized mainly in homemade or home-grown ones. A few sold items too, like detailed statues of pokémon carved from wood, such as porygon and milotic.
The rivers had bridges one could cross, and many were. People went back and forth, some with bags that their pokémon helped carry, and many more roamed the grass by the water, including a well-behaved pachirisu and azumarill. Others like wooper and quagsire occupied the water, swimming and splashing about.
Ruki looked around after hearing commotion and glanced at a squirtle and young girl playing in an automatic sprinkler in their yard, but he kept searching, and his eyes landed on a group of people working on top of a caved-in roof. He wondered how that happened. Maybe the house was a thousand years old.
Now that Ruki was focusing on roofs, he realized how pleasing their colors were to look at, ranging from blue to green and red. Okay, maybe it wasn't completely boring to look at, and he did like the nature Pastoria was based around.
Skye wouldn't call for him since she wanted Ruki to enjoy himself on their first trip. She was already. There was no curfew, no overly worried parents, and no limit to how far or where she could go. This was a dream come true, but the sudden amount of freedom almost overwhelmed her. Skye wasn't used to having the world open to her, but she would embrace and live this week to the best of her ability.
Ruki eyed the pokémon from a reasonable distance, and they seemed to be doing the same to him. He wouldn't approach, but they were interesting to look at from where he stood. Ruki had seen countless foreign pokémon due to tourism in Hau'oli, but there were so many around the world he hadn't gotten to. This was a good start.
"Maybe I'll catch you a friend while we're in Sinnoh."
He was taken from his light study session by Skye when she caught up to him, and he followed after she passed by. A kid was one thing, but Ruki had never thought about her getting another pokémon. He just knew it would take attention from him. He shouldn't feel that way, but he couldn't imagine having to share his owner. He felt the tension in his stomach while picturing some eeveelution lying across her chest.
He stayed beside her during the twenty-minute walk through Route 212 since there wasn't much to it that Pastoria didn't have, but when they entered Hearthome City, Ruki somewhat wandered past people to look at its modern homes down residential streets and shops that had a significantly different design and feel than Alola. The roofs of many buildings had a varied palette like Pastoria, and trees sprouted and were abundant around and between them.
Living here would feel unnatural to him, almost, and the air was even stuffier than Sunyshore's, perhaps because it wasn't cleared out frequently by oceanside breezes, giving ample time for smog to build and sit from so many cars.
He marveled up at tall businesses, offices, and stacked apartment buildings in the commercial district as they ventured farther into the city and could see a few people walking past their windows, along with someone on a high floor closing their curtain. They hadn't seen him peek, right? Ruki let his paws carry him while he focused on his surroundings.
He squinted at blue and orange posters hanging from streetlights, trying to make out what they advertised. There was a charmander and squirtle posing on them, and underneath read 'Flames and Waves at the Super Contest Hall' with a date. There must be some kind of live event showing soon at wherever that Hall was.
Children played in the fenced-off playground of an elementary school, hitting a tetherball at poles or playing basketball. Vehicles pulled out of parking garages in front of massive malls and department stores and joined traffic, and Ruki frequently noticed trash on the sidewalk and beside curbs and graffiti on walls, which all was odd to see. He rarely, if ever did in Hau'oli, especially to this extent.
He'd ought to call this city dirty. Maybe they weren't in a good area. The one he saw upon entering looked nicer. Sunyshore felt happier in a sense— not nearly as happy as Hau'oli, but Hearthome gave a more somber, unregulated vibe that seemed bent on proving that thousands lived here. Around him were people dressed in urban wear, like stylish jeans and logoed tees and jackets with unique designs, big earrings, and dyed hair.
Some teens and tatted young adults stood in front of marts either talking with others, texting, or smoking, and a security guard came out of one to tell them to beat it.
People flowed in stream, entering and exiting fast food joints and through the automatic sliding doors of grocery stores. Some cars passed by with bass strong enough to vibrate his being, and ranger sirens blared in the distance.
Ruki noticed some of those shady, loitery types double-glance at him and point out himself or Skye and snicker or exchange words with each other. They seemed to shift their eyes to a clueless Skye, however, and eye her or what she wore. Ruki couldn't tell what that was about, but it concerned him and made him slow down so he could walk beside her. He just hoped they'd be out of this area soon.
These cities made Hau'oli feel like a fantasy so far. Was this how the rest of the world was?
Off-topic, one sizable dome-shaped structure at the center of the city caught Ruki's attention in particular. Its entrance and surrounding area were populated heavily with people taking pictures or entering with pokémon, making him want to go inside and see what it was all about.
An older teen girl wearing bright colors knelt and was brushing her skitty's coat so it looked as classy and clean as possible, and another was feeding their purugly some kind of round bread while giving it a pep talk for the upcoming contest they were going to perform in within the next hour. Even the parking lot was full.
Skye stood by him once she did and pulled her backpack's straps onto her shoulders. "Oh, that's the Super Contest Hall. Your looks would do great in there." It looked even better than it did online.
She wished they had the time to attend a show. Skye always watched the contests on television and wanted to be in the audience. The visual, dance, and acting competitions would be adorable and entertaining to see up close.
He glanced up at her then back at the structure. Oh, that was the hall. He remembered the posters and put both together. That's where Flames and Waves would be. Ruki felt smarter now.
"This way now. We've still gotta stop at the Mart." Skye glanced at her watch. It wouldn't be daytime forever. They went south into Hearthome and crossed a couple of intersections for that, and Skye shortly saw the small blue shop surrounded by plenty of restaurants and businesses.
Whatever area this was, it felt calmer, with fewer people and cars around, trees planted symmetrically along cleaner sidewalks and seemingly middle-class residential streets. People jogged and walked with family or pokémon, and the restaurants and stores were upkept and more inviting too. No shady people loitered in front of them.
Skye even spotted a familar logo on a building a block away. It was a circle, light purple sign with a darker purple half-filled cup in the center with two berries inside it. That was Wikiblux, which was basically the world's official café built in good areas. She had a slight taste for their sensationally sweet wikibluk frapuccino but would pass. She had brownies yesterday anyway.
Skye entered the Mart after passing a couple more stores and looked at shelves holding junk food, drinks and ice creams in the refrigerated aisle. Skye passed the pokémon aisle that held chow and pokémon-safe food ingredients with Ruki and took two cold waters out of the refrigerators for their journey.
Then, she went to the older black-haired male cashier in a blue work outfit at the right counter and bought a potion and max repel that he grabbed off a shelf behind him, along with a wrapped purple candy bar made from a seviper on the front called 'Vippy's' she took from in front of the counter.
The company was founded in Hoenn fifty years ago and made one of Skye's favorite sweets she'd bought since she was thirteen. The purple bar's base is sweet micle berries and had a consistency that stuck to one's teeth, containing salty nuts.
Skye glanced at rows of encased poké and great balls on the same shelf and scratched the new pokémon idea as she didn't feel ready to raise another yet, and it would complicate the trip. Her parents may not even be okay with it. She wanted to focus on one thing at a time.
She watched the screen while the cashier rang everything up and noticed that the prices overall seemed cheaper in Sinnoh. Skye knew she hadn't been to nearly enough areas to make that assessment. Still, it'd make sense since Alola was overall one of the more financially demanding regions to live in due partly to an increase in foreigners buying property, and gentrification over the last couple of decades. It now boasted one of the largest economies in the world alongside Kalos, Unova, and Galar, with Hau'oli being one of the world's most expensive cities.
Alola was also one of the biggest exporters of berries in the world behind a few third-world regions like Alma, Oblivia, Pasio, and Fiore, where nature thrived best, and had a solid construction industry that constantly fast-tracked projects.
Oddly enough, Alola was classified as a first-world region due to having a powerful military allied with several other dominant regions. Alola also has had several military bases and embassies built in various regions from past wars but is divided heavily by class at a social level.
The government filtered money mainly into Melemele and Akala island while Ula'ula and Poni saw neglect in comparison. It's where most of the citizens that couldn't afford to live among Melemele and Akala's rising prices over the years were pushed if they didn't ditch the region, having a poorer quality of life and education while Melemele and Akala grew in both aspects.
Skye tried not to feel entitled by it, as many of her old friends and even adults had and did, looking down on the people from other islands. She sometimes saw snobby people discriminate against or treat them poorly in public. Even her father had toward their waiter from Poni while at a restaurant when Skye was younger, but he saw that she was watching closely, innocently, and he never did so afterward, at least not around her.
Skye lived in a high-class area and had access to a phenomenal education growing up. On the world scale, she was in the top 2% in overall quality of life, with Galar in first, but it wouldn't be without her parents' hard work. She was forever grateful to be as fortunate as she was and couldn't treat anyone differently due to their upbringing or social status. They were individuals with emotions and aspirations like everyone else, and it always warmed Skye to see them move to Hau'oli or Heahea City for a better life.
They needed to be lifted up and supported through their tireless work on the road to improvement, and they deserved respect and appreciation for giving years of their life to a job and serving a world that offered nothing in return, not beaten down.
"1,100. Need a bag?" he asked, watching a TV hanging from the ceiling that played a reality show.
Skye smiled and took the money from her pocket, counting and handing over exact change. She hadn't had to carry coins and wanted to keep it that way for as long as she could. "Oh, no thank you. I've got a big one."
"Good day." He raised his hand but didn't take his eyes off the screen.
"Hope you have one too." Skye put the items in her backpack and stuck a water in its side pouch. It would be noon soon, and Mt. Coronet was waiting. A part of her wished they could go to Amity Square, a large and controlled field with a fountain and benches at its center located in the city, but why do that when they were going to a massive forest with no restrictions? It'd be more fun, albeit technically not as safe, but she'd rather be around genuine nature.
Upon exiting, Skye noticed a small bright green residence with a darker green roof next to the mart's left that read 'Poffin House' on a sign standing next to it. "No way. I didn't even see this. Who knew we'd end up right on top of it?" She tapped Ruki's back, who was busy looking around.
He flinched, pulled abruptly from his focus, and looked up at Skye, yawning and closing his eyes for a second. He was getting sleepier by the hour.
"We're gonna take a quick detour. I want us to do something together I saw online," Skye said, walking and standing before the house with a blue open door, where she smelled a faintly sweet aroma alongside cooking bread. Poffins weren't in Alola, and she'd read while researching back home that the Poffin House here taught and allowed people to cook them. It'd be fun and usually took around an hour, so they'd still have time to explore Coronet.
Ruki had no idea what that meant. Where were they going, and why wasn't she telling him anything? He'd find out soon enough, but the suspense was killing him.
Ruki then sniffed the air upon catching whiffs of the same wonderful scent and noticed the sign she was reading, which displayed the name of the place they were in front of and its hours. What was a poffin, and why was this house called that?
"In here," Skye said, entering the warm residence and looking around at its soft green walls, counters with various ingredients on them, and a door likely leading to another room. There was no furniture present, so they must have turned a home into a business.
Four people in white aprons, teens and adults and two with their wartortle and clefairy beside them, stood at cooking stations, a low mini marble counter with large shiny bronze pots on hot burners, while the teen girl had a smaller one. They stirred thick golden-brown batter with long wooden spoons that bubbled with rising steam.
Two young adult female employees, a blonde and a redhead in white tees with stapled name tags, stood idle by the wall near the people cooking, conversing with each other since the customers were experienced. However, a male employee stood beside the girl and her wartortle, walking her through stirring motions and assisting her with cooking.
Ruki sniffed the air and licked his maw, ready to taste whatever these people were cooking. He couldn't see what was in the oven, but they smelled almost as appetizing as malasadas, and that's saying something.
"Over here."
Skye turned to the left and saw a pretty Accordian woman wearing a sweater sitting behind a counter. She was in her late twenties with short black hair and earrings. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you." Skye had been too busy scanning the interior.
"Happens more than you think…" she smirked. "Tourist?"
"Huh?"
"Tourist, right?"
"Uh, me?"
She nodded.
Skye grinned a little, "I am, actually. How'd you know?"
She leaned back in her chair and shrugged. "I'm a good guess." She then sat up and tilted her head at Ruki. "And the pretty ninetales mayy have helped a little. You've got a cute little accent too."
Skye glanced back at Ruki, who was still invested in the activity ahead, then briefly shut her eyes. "Ohh… I feel like an idiot now," she giggled. Skye was so not used to being a foreigner. "Yeah. We're out from Alola. I saw this place online and wanted to try it."
"Ah. The process is fun, and the taste can be terrific depending on the berry you choose." In her experience, people touring from Alola usually came carrying an irritating sense of entitlement and arrogance, but she tried not to generalize. This girl seemed kind. "And where are you two staying?"
"Grand Lake over by Route 213. It's very pretty and even more serene. It's just so cold down there, being at a beach." Skye would never get used to it. She liked sitting outside and watching the sun go down. She'd freeze if she tried that here.
"I've never been, but I have heard great things about it. I hope you two enjoy the stay. You'll never run out of things to do in Sinnoh," she said and held her chin. "No poffin case then, I assume?"
"Poffin case?"
"It's what coordinators use to store baked poffins in. These treats can boost a pokémon's mood and confidence, so many people come here before attending contests down at the Super Contest Hall." She put up a finger. "But since we get curious and eager tourists so often, we also have a discounted option that allows people to make two large poffins out of a decent amount of batter. That's what the woman over there with her wartortle is doing. Gentle one from Kanto."
Skye had heard of poffins being mentioned during contests on TV but never knew of their competitive advantages. That was interesting. "We'll do it. That sounds perfect."
"Alright then. That'll come out to n–..." She shot her eyes between Ruki and Skye and cleared her throat. "...Fifteen thousand pokédollars." The woman rang it up on the register and looked over at her two female employees. "Rish. Monica!"
They both looked over, as did Ruki and the customers from the abrupt call.
"One of you come help our valued customer make poffins. Small batch!" She turned to Skye and took a list from a stack of paper, handing it to her. "Go ahead and choose the flavor you would like the poffins to be from this list. Lansat is five thousand extra due to its rarity."
"Got it. Thank you. Give us a moment, please." Skye turned and crouched by Ruki, who met her. "I want you to choose the poffin flavor since I'll be the one cooking." She scanned the twenty options and looked at him. "I'll speak them off, and you can stop me when you hear one you like. Sound good?"
"Nin." Ruki sat. He'd listen closely. He wouldn't want to miss any of his favorites.
She took a breath and held the paper up. "Topo, drash, chilan, niniku… never heard of that one. Rowap, enigma, lansat–"
"nine!"
Skye looked up. "Lansat?"
He nodded. Those were one of the best berries in the existence of berries. They had a sweetly tangy flavor with a pinch of zestiness— the perfect blend.
"Bet." Skye stood and turned back to the woman. "We chose lansat."
After they paid, Skye left her bag with the woman, then she and Ruki were led by the blonde employee with a black headband on her head holding her hair back and freckling on her face, Rish, as stated on her name tag, to a counter a few feet from the Kantonian girl.
Monica went through the door and came out with an apron, medium-sized pot, and a spoon minutes later, setting them on the counter. "I'll put the apron on. Here." Monica unfolded and shook it out, standing behind Skye and putting the hole over her head. It rested loosely around her neck and draped down her chest.
"Thank you." Skye tugged the ends and looked at the door. "Is like… that a storage place back there?" she asked out of curiosity, glancing as the male employee helping the Kantonian girl jogged into the back and brought oil spray, a double-sided metallic baking pan, and two large ones for the other customers. Those had ten pockets to pour the poffin batter into perfect spherical dips.
"It is. Also where we clean dirty pots and store berries and ingredients in the fridge and cabinets. It'd clutter everything if it were out here," Monica replied. "And it's pretty cluttered back there, too, so I've got some organizing to do since Rish despises cleaning. Probably why she's still single. Happy cooking!"
"Awe, uh, thank you," Skye replied while watching her go back through the door. She looked into the pot, shooting Rish glimpses, who was standing awkwardly. The pot had a bag of flour, butter, a measuring cup, a closed plastic container of thick, richly red blended lansat berries, eggs, and other ingredients.
Rish swallowed. "...I'm sorry."
Skye smirked from the corner of her mouth, "best friend?" She hadn't expected the Galarian (british) accent. Rish wasn't from here either.
"Something like that." She sighed, shook her head, and went around to the other side of the counter. At least Monica felt out who she could make such remarks around. "...Alright. I'm Rish." She pointed to her tag. "I'll be walking you through how to cook perfect poffins, but if you have any experience with baking, it should come easy. You can take out the ingredients. What's your and your pokémon's name?"
Ruki hopped up and set his paws on the counter to get a better look, watching Skye empty the pot and spread everything out on the counter. However, his eyes were fixed on the liquified berries meant for the poffins. Ruki had never tried a lansat smoothie because Skye's mother never wanted to use an entire carton just for him to lap it all up in five seconds for some reason. He wouldn't ask to taste it, but his mouth watered.
"I'm Skye, and my boy's name is Ruki… The most I bake are cakes and cookies at home sometimes." Skye looked at her. "Is that good enough?"
Rish grinned, "oh yeah. You shouldn't botch it then."
In just fifteen minutes, Skye had measured and combined all of the ingredients inside the pot with Rish's help and mixed them into a smooth white batter. She'd been stirring it under the burner's heat for around five minutes, having to alternate between clockwise and counterclockwise often. Her right arm was tired from using it without rest, so she stretched it often, and sweat had formed on her head and cheeks that she wiped away often since she was standing over active heat.
The other customers had left minutes ago after receiving their poffins, although the girl with her wartortle was still by the oven, chatting with the male employee while her wartortle ate a warm poffin.
Rish leaned over and studied the batter, seeing it reaching a bubbly golden brown with aromatic steam filling the air. "Go ahead and switch directions again. It's got about five more minutes."
Skye stopped and went back to stirring clockwise. "What's the point of switching, anyway?" She didn't mind it but didn't understand.
Meanwhile, Ruki couldn't keep his nose out of the air. The aroma strengthened as the ingredients blended, and he couldn't see what Skye was stirring no matter how high he stood, which bugged him. The most Ruki noticed was steam rising from inside, and he could feel the heat the burner emitted. He wished he could jump on the counter.
"It brings out a stronger flavor in the poffins and evenly distributes the ingredients… or so they say. It's been tradition for as long as I can remember," Rish said.
"Better safe than sorry, then. How long have you been working here?" Skye had to switch hands and started stirring with her left.
She looked up for a moment. "Humm… my memory is worse than a goldeen's, but I wanna say around five years. My dad is good friends with the owner, so it was an easy land. Not a stressful job either. I like it, but i's not what I want to spend my life doing… Switch."
Skye stopped and began stirring counterclockwise, looking down at the golden and lightly brown thick batter that smelled deliciously sweet, then shifting her focus to Rish again. "At least you can enjoy stability until you decide to move on. What do you want to do?"
"Working here actually awakened a passion I may— just may have for teaching. I just... I don't know what I want to teach yet. You can cut the heat, by the way. It needs to sit for a while."
Skye turned the dial to 'OFF' and sighed, letting go of the spoon and stretching her fingers. She looked aside at Ruki with his front paws still on the table's edge and set her hand on his neck. "That's interesting. People find their calling through so many different experiences. Like teaching at a school, a cooking course, or?..."
Rish shrugged. "Noo idea. I guess I'll see where the wind carries me. I'm not the biggest on school, but I did have a knack for math. To lead a cooking course, I'd need to take a few myself first."
After the batter sat and the pot cooled, they transferred it into a double pan and slid it into the oven, waiting another fifteen minutes for the poffins to bake thoroughly before Rish pulled them out with an oven mitt from the back room.
"Andd here's your finished product. Looks mega." She turned off the oven and took the pan out, walking and setting it on a counter nearby.
Ruki had to see it. He paced after Rish while Skye followed and giggled, standing and setting his paws on the counter. The bread looked plump, soft, and slightly bigger than malasadas. It reminded him of the one that girl gave to her purugly at the contest hall. He leaned in and sniffed it, taking in its sweet scent and swishing his tails.
Rish grinned while watching Ruki admire the poffins. She'd only seen three alolan ninetales in her life. People rarely came in with them, and they were always a beauty. "Want to try them here or take them to go?"
"Hm." Skye brought up her wrist and checked her watch. It was a few minutes past noon. "To go. We're gonna go see Coronet, and I don't want us to be out after dark." Especially when she wasn't familiar with Sinnoh.
"That's an idea. Let me fetch a bag from the back."
Skye took off her apron with specs of hardened batter on it, folding and setting it on the counter. She looked at the cooling poffins, then at Ruki. "I was thinking we could eat these when we got hungry later, maybe in the forest."
"Nn…" He was hungry now, but he could wait. The hungrier he got, the better they would taste.
Rish returned with a white bag, white plastic box containing two dips to fit the poffins, and a slim wooden spatula. She set the box and bag down and slipped the spatula into the grooves beside the poffins, edging and pushing the bread gently so they wouldn't stick or break, then lifted and set them into the box, shutting it. "Let's go. You're all set," she took a breath and smiled.
"Thank you so much. You were a great teacher. Made it a really fun time." Skye reached into her pocket but stopped. "Am I allowed to tip?"
She chuckled, "you can, yeah."
Skye took out bills and counted 2,500 pokédollars, then handed it to her.
That was steep for a tip. She usually only got ones like this from Alolans, fellow Galarians, and a couple of others. Rish smiled again, "how sweet. I really appreciate it, Skye. I won't forget you two." Skye was about the nicest girl she'd met throughout her years of working here.
"Nor will I, and you're from Galar, right?"
"Spot on. I moved down here five years ago at nineteen for uni and decided to stay. I like the region a lot, but I'm due to return next month so I can help care for my mom. She's getting older."
"Do you think it'll put your life on hold? I know family and especially parents are super important, but how do you feel about it?"
"I guess I was a tad bummed at first, but I could never abandon my parents. I would feel twice worse if I stayed here and wouldn't be able to sleep at night. I'll return and get back on track when life allows it."
Skye and Ruki were out the door afterward, with Skye stopping and telling the woman at the front how much she enjoyed the experience beforehand and grabbing her bag. Skye held their poffin bag while strolling the pavement, feeling cool outside air hit her face and relieving it of heat, which felt nice. She wiped it once more with her sleeve. Rish and Monica must be more than used to working in that environment all day.
She noticed a bus stop a block down by several small shops a moment later. "Hey, why don't we try the bus? It'll get us there quicker."
"Nin." Ruki hadn't taken one before, as he and Skye never had to in Alola. She had a license and took her parents' cream four-door luxury car in the garage if she ever had to go to the inner city, and they lived next door to the strip anyway, but this would be ideal since walking through the city would take forever on top of them losing time from making poffins. Plus, this week was all about new experiences.
So they went and waited at it with a couple of others that gathered until seeing the large white and green vehicle approach from down the road five minutes later.
"Look, it's coming." Skye stepped closer and ensured Ruki stayed back. He knew better, but she could never be too safe.
The brakes creaked as it stopped and knelt in front of them with a tired huff, and the doors opened to let passengers out of the back while a monotonous male voice from the bus' speakers called out the route it took. Ruki boarded after Skye and looked down the aisle containing rows of occupied seats. It was like a train on wheels, which excited him. He'd never actually taken a train.
"Hundred fifty," the older male bearded driver wearing shades said with a sigh, keeping his gaze ahead.
He didn't seem friendly, so Skye fished in her pocket quickly and pulled out two folded bills, putting them in the bin. She barely saw what she'd inserted but was nervous in the man's presence on top of people waiting behind her. Hopefully, Skye hadn't overpaid by too much.
"C'mon, Ruki." She walked down, slipping past standing passengers, and found one available seat among a full bus of people and pokémon beside a brunette pre-teen girl in her school uniform: a navy blue skirt and a slim matching vest over a white tee. She had earphones in while on her phone watching a film with 'Hitz' in black letters at the top right, an outdated media streaming platform that stayed semi-relevant through exclusive titles. Her backpack was on the floor in front of her. "Excuse me, could my pokémon sit?"
The girl glanced at Skye and paused her movie, then pulled her earphones out and looked up at her. "Hm?"
"My ninetales, could he take this seat?"
"Oh, of course." She had a modest Fiorean accent. She cocked her head while looking at Ruki. "How is she white with curls on her head?"
Skye grinned, "he's Alolan."
"Huh." The girl sat back and put her earphones in again. She was still studying the national pokédex.
Skye held the bar above as the bus moved and swayed her body, looking around at cute pokémon occupying seats, such as a bulbasaur sitting by its male trainer on their phone, a delcatty lying halfway in an asleep older teen girl's lap who'd just gotten off of work, and a ralts standing next to its adult male trainer, holding his jacket to avoid toppling over. "Sit, Ruki."
He hopped up just in time for the passengers that got on with them to pass. Ruki looked out of the window at moving scenery while they drove and felt something touch his side. He glanced and saw the girl pull her hand away and look back at her phone.
"Nn." Ruki didn't mind. He knew how it felt to be curious.
After getting off the bus by the city's exit behind light traffic almost an hour later— a bit of nausea involved after their first experience on a bumpy ride, they arrived soon at Route 208. The girl got off about five stops before them, and Ruki took a liking to her along the way. She ended up showing him her list of favorite pokémon on her phone from what she's learned so far and even added alolan ninetales to it.
A tall and ominous mountain was visible miles ahead upon entering the route, and miles of vibrant sunbathing green trees were laid out ahead along a path, an expansive forest to traverse. Skye and Ruki enjoyed that sort of thing.
"Breathtaking," she said, gazing at the slow-moving, thin snow-white clouds looming by the mountain's peak like a gentle mist. She didn't want to spend the whole day watching the view, however, and the last place she wanted to be when it neared evening was deep within a massive forest.
Skye took off her backpack and set it down, kneeling and unzipping it to grab the repel. "Shut your eyes." She shook the canister and sprayed it over her clothing and limbs to avoid run-ins with wild pokémon.
He did and felt the cool mist layer his fur and legs. Ruki opened afterward and shook out his fur since it tickled him. He wondered if he could fight off a wild pokémon. They weren't that tough, but he wasn't exactly seasoned in combat. He wasn't clueless, so Ruki felt that he had a fighting chance.
"Stay by me." Skye began to walk. Ruki getting lost among miles of thick trees and bushes wasn't something she was up to dealing with.
He made an extra effort to listen this time while walking amongst the greenery in the dimly lit forest. Enough sunlight made its way through, so the environment was warm and visible for the most part. Ruki sniffed the air and was greeted by natural scents, too many to process individually but all fresh and exciting.
"We'll walk through the forest. It's big enough to host a full day." It had a limitless amount of nature and pokémon to offer. She could see several beautifly, bidoof, and an exceptionally cute buneary during the walk. It was almost safe to say that Skye didn't have to use her repel, but she wouldn't speak too soon, and it was better to be safe than sorry.
A part of Ruki wanted to stray after he caught a whiff of a berry bush he'd never smelled before. He'd be walking aimlessly since he didn't know where it was, but Ruki was confident he'd find it eventually. Skye told him to stay close, though. That was more important, and he didn't want to leave her alone in a forest, repel or not.
"Has a different feel than the tropical forests in Alola, huh?" Skye glanced at thin tree branches moving against passing light breezes while dry leaves and twigs crunched and snapped under her boots and Ruki's paws as they ventured deeper.
It did. Ruki couldn't put his paw on it, but it felt plain and straightforward in a way, although it was still nice to walk through. He liked how rich and unique Alola's were, and it had the best beaches to him too. Maybe it was bias. If he asked a pokémon from Sinnoh, they would probably say the opposite. They'd be wrong, but still.
In a little over five minutes, Skye sat on a dirt patch and leaned her back against a tree after studying its branches. She didn't want a caterpie to fall on her head. "We're getting far from our route," she said as Ruki sat in front of her. This break was more to take in nature and the ambiance than to rest— and to finally eat their poffins. "You want your poffin and some water?"
"Nine nini!" He nodded, shifting in excitement. He imagined so many different tastes, none of which could surpass malasadas. They couldn't, right? While she took off her backpack, Ruki indulged in their surroundings and watched dead leaves fall from trees after passing gusts shook them free. What made it better was that he saw little to no trainers throughout their adventure so far, which added to its serenity.
Burmy hung idly from tree branches that bent under their weight, swaying against breezes. They wore cloaks made of green and dead leaves they gathered from the ground. Wormadam hung from thicker branches and were larger in size, wearing plant cloaks covered in verdant grass with three white flowers on their upper section.
Wurmple climbed and clung to trees using the strong suctions on their feet, eating at bark or tearing leaves from trees that made audible rustling while chewing. Some concealed themselves within the leaves and branches while watching the skies and other trees to avoid taillow, swellow, and starly, which hunted them frequently.
But the most intriguing sight was a heracross standing before a thick tree far from the trails, clawing at its bark and sucking its thick, sweet sap. It looked around to watch for trainers, as heracross were statistically one of the most caught pokémon in Sinnoh every year, with eevee, pikachu, and porygon passing it this year. Heracross learned never to let down their guard over time.
"Ruki, here."
His eyes fell back onto Skye and saw the bread and bottle in both hands, yawning for the third time today. She held the poffin in front of his mouth that he could fit whole. He leaned in and took it, taking a moment to chew for once so he could feel out its taste. It was a plush, moist bread infused with lansatty goodness that about melted in his mouth. He could taste a deep sweetness sided with a bitter, spicy edge and aftertaste. Ruki shut his eyes to properly savor it.
Skye had taken a bite of hers while he was busy and found it to be more delicate and flavorful than malasadas. "It's good, right? Might have your donuts back home beat," she giggled a little while chewing.
He opened his eyes and stared at her, swallowing the snack. They gave it a good run, but no. Nothing beat malasadas. Ruki couldn't even consider it.
Skye giggled again, smiling, "here, silly. Wash it down." She next offered the bottle to him, popping the remaining half of her poffin in her mouth.
Ruki took the open top into his mouth, tilting his head back as her hand guided the bottle upward for him to drink.
After him, Skye took a few sips herself and wiped her mouth while lowering the bottle, put their empty poffin bag in her backpack, then checked her watch. "Guess we'll walk for a while longer."
They stayed for half an hour more before they had their fill of exploration for the day. Skye wanted to take them only a short distance since they had to walk that same distance back, and it'd be late afternoon by the time they got home.
When they made it out of the forest and neared Route 213 from Pastoria, it was a couple of hours after noon and colder than yesterday. Skye was exhausted all over again. They'd taken another bus through Hearthome to give their legs a rest. She wasn't a fan of public transportation after experiencing it, but it was helpful in covering long distances. Skye would stick to driving. "Good day, right?" She glanced at Ruki while they strolled.
"Nine!" He looked up at her while flicking his tails. He had a splendid time and couldn't wait to find out where else they'd go during the week. Ruki had been enjoying the restaurants and new food the most and wished they could dine at more, but he knew they were on a budget. He was used to eating out almost daily in Hau'oli.
"We'll do as much as we can, maybe explore close to a percentage of Sinnoh by the end of the week." Skye wanted to visit every city, town, and landmark, but not only would she die from fatigue— they'd also run out of money in a day.
They were eventually back on hotel grounds, heading back to the room, and a sylveon standing by the suite to the left caught Ruki's eye. He had only seen one in his lifetime at the mall and thought they were visually unique. Ruki adored their living ribbons, and they'd surely feel soft to the touch. Sylveon were stunning. Arceus did well by them.
"...Interested?" Skye rubbed her hands together and cupped them around her mouth, breathing into them to warm them temporarily. She was some feet ahead but saw Ruki stop to stare at the eeveelution. Shortly after, the suite's door opened, and the boy Skye saw last night exited while doing something on his cell phone. Upon closer inspection, he was definitely her age with short black hair and wore jeans and a thin red and white sporty jacket.
The first thing she thought of was how she had no makeup on, then how tight the shirt she wore was. First impressions were everything, but this wasn't too bad. It was just some cleavage, and she had to remind herself that her face looked okay. Skye had to remember that not everyone was her father.
"Oh… uh, I think I saw you yesterday," he said after noticing her and approaching, slipping his phone into his pocket. He refrained from instantly getting lost in her face up close. She was adorable with mesmerizing blue eyes, making him fight not to break a dumb, awkward grin.
His (American rhotic) accent sounded like one of her friends from school from the Unified Accord regions. "You did. I was drained from the trip here, though, so I wanted to collapse," she replied. "I'm Skye, you?" She approached him and extended her hand for a proper introduction. He was slightly taller than her with a slender but slightly toned build.
"Aaron. Where'd you come from?" He heard her equally as adorable accent as well, which he knew was Alolan. He took her hand and shook it while keeping his eyes on her face to ensure he didn't look at her shirt. It felt like instinct, and it didn't help that it was right in front of him, but looking at her face tightened his chest and threatened that grin, so he wasn't winning here.
"Alola. Just me and my ninetales." She glanced at Ruki taking a curious couple of steps toward the sitting sylveon watching him. "You're out from the Accord, hm?"
He knew it. "That's such a beautiful region, and yes, uh... Johto. My accent is an easy giveaway. I come down here about once per year or so and live in Kalos. Still learning the language." Aaron had always wanted to go to Alola, but it was expensive even to tour. That made him feel more nervous while talking to Skye.
People that toured from Alola were usually from a select two islands and had a certain demeanor that intimidated him. Although it had its neglected areas like any other region, it was generally luxurious from what he knew, funded mainly by a steadily increasing amount of tourism. That region developed and grew more powerful by the year. It was speculated by many to have one of the brightest futures in the world.
While they talked, Ruki closed in on the sylveon and eyed its sleek body. He leaned in, asking silent permission to sniff that it granted him with a grin. When Ruki was inches away, it raised its ribbons to the sides of Ruki's neck, feeling his fur's texture. The sylveon seemed shy, not too talkative, but they did just meet.
"Vh..." It had never been so close to an alolan ninetales and always had to resort to gazing at them from afar on rare occasions. They were a very pretty and intelligent species, and this one was a male, which the sylveon could tell by its build and features. It wasn't common among their kind.
The sylveon ran its eyes over this stunning pokémon's sides lined with defined light muscling, wide hips and strong legs, up to his icy eyes and silky tufts trickling down from his head and moving against breezes, and ending at his bundle of beautiful tails.
This was kind of weird. Ruki never had anyone rub him other than Skye and her mother, but he wasn't opposed to it. The ribbons felt as soft as expected, with a slight roughness. He used to wonder what their texture felt like, so this was something he could cross off the list he didn't have.
"They seem to be getting along." Skye watched the gentle interaction between both pokémon.
"I see that. Sylmi's usually timid... He must have taken a liking to your pokémon."
He? Ruki's ears twitched at the mention of Sylmi's gender, and his eyes widened slightly, although barely noticeable. Sylmi's ribbons were still curiously feeling his fur, and Ruki's face heated up.
Aaron and Skye chatted for a few more moments, and he soon bade her a temporary goodbye as they were going somewhere, walking toward the courtyard's exit.
Ruki was still in a state of minor shock while watching them leave. He'd assumed Sylmi was a female and had no idea how to feel about what happened. Ruki should have tried studying his features more.
Meanwhile, Skye had the door to their suite open. "Ruki, come on. I need to get out of this shirt."