Amara cuddled up to Penny as the two of them woke up in their hotel room in Levincia. She wrapped her arm around Penny and pulled her in close, planting a kiss on her neck and pressing their skin together. "Penny, I love you." She whispered. Penny gave a happy sigh.
"I love you too, Amara." She pressed her bare back into Amara's chest and felt the warmth radiate through her. "I've been having such a nice time on your journey with you." Amara relaxed into the pillows. Everyone, I love this woman. She announced into her mind. The sound of applause came in response. "Are you going to come with me to Medali?" Amara asked.
Penny gave a sigh and rolled to face Amara. "I can't. I need to head through the mountain and go north. There's another one of my friends up there." It was Amara's turn to sigh. "Can we not be the ultra-depressed lesbians who can't stand to be apart? It feels like we're going to be that." Penny nodded. "Some time apart will do us some good, I think." The two women hugged each other, then Amara climbed out of bed and tugged her clothes back on. "Second Respite is in two weeks, yeah? Let's do something special that week while we're back at school." Amara smiled at the thought. Penny voiced her agreement with fervor.
"Alright, my love. Do you want to get up and get dressed?" Penny groaned and climbed from the bed to retrieve her shirt and hoodie. "Baby, has anyone told you that you're breathtakingly beautiful the way your skin seems to sparkle in the light of the sun?" Penny chuckled and tugged her leggings up her legs.
"No, that's the first time." She wrapped Amara into a hug and kissed her. "Now, if you keep this up, our plan to split up is going to go as badly as a Magikarp who wants to be friends with a Pidgeot."
Amara nodded, and after a quick breakfast, Penny made her way northward, and Amara began the trek toward Mesagoza. She bumped into Arven about an hour into her journey.
"Arven, I thought you were in the desert dealing with the titan Pokémon." Amara asked as she pulled Arven into a hug. Arven hugged her back and the two fell into step with each other. Arven spoke next.
"I mean, full tilt I was trying to find a Flabébé to give to Allie as a gift for second respite. Keep that between yourselves, though, please?" Amara playfully tapped Arven's arm. "What, I like her. Get over it." He said, playfully indignantly. After a few moments, the duo had arrived at a secluded field of flowers. Amara sat among the blooms and pulled out her vape. She passed it to Arven, who took a huge hit, handed it back, and pulled out a Pokéball.
"Don't make any sudden moves. There's one sitting on a blue flower." Arven muttered before throwing the ball at the unsuspecting Pokémon. Amara slowed her breathing as the ball bumped once, twice, three times, then crackled as the Flabébé was caught. Amara released her breath as Arven happily jogged over and retrieved the ball.
"Good job, Arven. Blue flowers are her favorite I'm pretty sure." Amara high-fived Arven as he made his way back. Amara stood and the two were walking soon after. "Gotta admit, didn't really see you going for Allie. It's nice though; I think you'll be good for her." The two had made their way back to the main road, and after the two tossed Pokéballs into the air, they were riding happily along the road atop Koraidon and Miraidon.
"I'll admit it's kinda weird not being surrounded by a crew of friends." Amara called to Arven as they drove. Arven noted his assent, then Koraidon let out a roar as they wound through the cliffs south of Artazon. As they ground to a halt, there stood Allie, clothes in tatters, with scrapes and bruises adorning her limbs.
"Holy shit." Arven leapt from Koraidon's back and rushed to support Allie's wobbly form. "What happened?" Allie coughed in response, and Arven sat her in one of his picnic chairs. "Amara, grab my canteen from my bag, quick." Amara wasted no time in pulling the round container from Arven's bag and tossing it to him. After Allie had taken three long drinks and color started to return to her face, she spoke.
"The Treasures of Ruin are real. It turns out that the four treasures were some tablets, a sword, a chalice, and glass beads. They're Pokémon, rather than items, and they're ungodly powerful. I got my ass beat by a slimy thing covered in wooden tablets that were layered so it looked like the thing had a shell. I don't know how I got here without going through Mesagoza, I don't know how long I've been fucked up, and I'm pretty sure you can see my dick through the holes in my clothes."
Amara took the cue and tugged her spare uniform out of her bag. "I got you. You need panties too?" Allie nodded. Amara tugged a pair from her bag and passed them to Allie. Arven turned and led the party off the road and into a small canyon. He stood on one side and Amara stood on the other as Allie quickly dressed herself.
"Thanks, both of you. I'm going back to the academy to get nurse Miriam to patch me up. Do you want to come?" Arven nodded and bid Allie climb on Koraidon's back. Then the three were off toward Mesagoza's gate. After a short walk up the Great Staircase and through main campus, they reached Nurse Miriam's office. Nurse Miriam took one look at Allie and sighed. "Person or Pokémon?" as she took Allie into the nurse's office. Arven elected to stay with Allie while Amara made her way back to her room.
Yeah, let's grab a spare uniform, then make our way to Medali. We have a gym challenge to finish after all. Rhys echoed through her mind. She agreed, and as she popped into Dragontongue and waved to some of the members of the Goon Squad who were studying in the hallway, she smiled. "I think everything is going to be alright, you guys." As she reached her dorm door, she paused. "Something's not right." She muttered as she turned her key. She cautiously poked her head into her dorm room to find nothing out of the ordinary. "Fuck, are we jumping at shadows again?" she asked to the air. That's a maybe. We have PTSD, Amara. Melody announced from the back of their mind. Amara put another uniform into her bag and then sat it on the floor next to her bed. As she flopped into the sheets, the smell of Penny wafted to her.
"I hope she's ok." Amara muttered. After a few minutes, Arven and Allie stepped through the open door. "Allie, you look much better, and arm in arm with Arven. I guess y'all are a thing now?" Allie smiled wide and announced that yes, she and Arven were together and how happy she was about this fact. "Congrats, you two. I'm headed to Medali, but first Arven and I have an event in the desert."
"Yeah, the fourth titan Pokémon is waiting for us. Are you going to come with us, my dear?" Allie nodded again. "Wonderful, let's get a move on?" the trio made their way from Dragontongue and down the Great Staircase. After a brief jaunt through Mesagoza, they were mounted on Koraidon and Miraidon charging northward down the path. As they rounded a curve, Allie called out to Arven and Amara, "Yo, pull off to the right, I see something." Koraidon and Miraidon roared, and Allie climbed off Koraidon's back, and up a ten-foot ledge.
"Damn, she's fucking awesome." Arven muttered as Allie pulled a black stake from the ground. It disintegrated in her hand, then she smiled and climbed back down the ledge. "Treasure of Ruin stuff. That was the end of one of the shrine chains. When it comes time to battle them, can I get the Goon Squad at my back?"
"Yeah, we got you. I'm sure the others feel the same." Amara noted as Allie climbed back onto Koraidon's back and the trio headed north. "Do we know what we're walking into here?" Amara asked as the trio made their way into Cascarrafa and stepped onto the lift to the lower district.
"No idea. The notes from the book are really vague about this one. It's supposed to shake the earth as it stampedes." Arven recounted as they stepped into the desert. "Penny said it was over here. Let's go."
They made their way across the desert toward a stone pillar sticking out of the sand. "I'll be honest, if the titan Pokémon is a Regirock, I'll need to get a new pair of pants." Amara chuckled as they walked. Then the ground shook, and a massive Pokémon came charging from the sand. "Dodge!" Amara shouted as the trio jumped out of the way. Amara caught a better look of the Pokémon but couldn't make sense of it. It stood tall, on stocky legs, with tusks that looked bigger than Amara's arms. It was too furry, with a tail and tusks that were wrong, to be a Donphan, but the resemblance stuck in Amara's mind. As she stood, Amara's Rotom leapt from her pocket. "Amara, this is professor Sada. Great Tusk is a Pokémon from the Great Crater of Paldea. I need you to catch it and bring it back to me."
"Heard!" Amara called as she tossed Meowscarada onto the battlefield. Arven followed suit with a Rillaboom. "Where the hell did you get that?" Amara asked. Arven's response was a subtle smirk. Allie tossed a Seadra into battle, and the three locked into sync. Allie called for Seadra to launch a Bubblebeam, while Meowscarada pulled a flower from its fur and started a Flower Trick. Rillaboom launched a swinging downward punch as its arm hardened to wood. The three attacks struck firm, but Great Tusk shook itself and readied to attack. It charged Meowscarada, causing Amara to call for him to jump onto Great Tusk's back.
"Leaf Blade, Meowscarada, now!" Amara called, Allie called to Seadra to launch a Hydro Pump, then pulled a Scale from her bag, then she tugged a black cable out as well. Seadra jumped backwards and grabbed the scale. Allie held the cable with each end in one hand. Seadra leapt toward the end of the cable, then disappeared in a burst of light. After a second, a Kingdra burst from the other side of the cable. Allie called for Kingdra to launch a Dragon Rage at Great Tusk.
The attack struck home, and Great Tusk faltered. Rillaboom leapt forward and lashed forward in time with its drumbeat. The attack knocked Great Tusk onto its side. As Amara readied a Pokéball, Great Tusk roared. Energy began to flow from the ground into the ball, causing it to turn to crystal. "Here's hoping this works." Amara called as she threw the ball at Great Tusk. The ball bounced, then bumped, once, twice, three times. The crystal shattered, leaving the Pokéball steady, with Great Tusk caught.
"Have all of the titan battles been like this?" Allie asked as she recalled Kingdra. The trio made the rest of the trip to the stone spire in relative silence, and after poking around the base, Arven found a small opening just large enough to squeeze through.
"Here's to no repeats of the Cerulean Cave incident." He muttered as he took off his pack and pushed it into the hole before crawling in himself. Allie followed behind, leaving Amara in the desert by herself. Rotom began to ring again.
"Good job, Amara, now I'll open a Pokémon trade. I'll send you a Kabuto for your troubles." Professor Sada clicked some keys on her computer, and Rotom began to flash blue. After a minute, a Pokéball emerged from the screen. Amara pushed Great Tusk's ball through to the professor, who gave a brief farewell and ended the call. "By Uxie, the professors are strange." She muttered, then crawled into the opening.
"There you are. I have sandwiches for you." Arven announced as Amara stood inside the chamber. "What took you so long anyway? Arven asked as he passed Amara a sandwich, then tossed a half sandwich to Koraidon. Amara called Miraidon forth and passed it half a sandwich. Both Pokémon shuddered a moment, then power began to flow through them. "And this is for you and I, my dear." He said as he put two sandwiches between him and Allie.
"I was dealing with your mother. She wanted Great Tusk so she could return it to the crater." Amara said as she took a bite of the sandwich. "Arven, it's so good. I think I just came, fuck." Arven laughed and broke a piece from his sandwich before tossing Mabosstiff's Pokéball. The injured Pokémon burst forth and collapsed onto the cavern floor, where Arven offered him the sandwich piece.
Mabosstiff took the piece and swallowed it within two bites, then after a few minutes of gurgling, he let out a massive fart. "Nice, Mabosstiff." Allie muttered as she took another bite of her sandwich. Amara took the time to ask Arven if that was a good sign.
"I can't remember the last time he passed anything, so I'll take what I can get." Arven declared as Mabosstiff gave a weak bark and tried to stand. Arven recalled Mabosstiff and the trio began talking about how their independent study had been going. "Full tilt, I'm so excited for second respite in two weeks, like fuck I need a break and a lay." Allie sighed as she helped Arven pack up his picnicking supplies.
"I'm hoping to have our sixth gym badge before second respite, and then maybe we can get Arven's last titan Pokémon and Penny's last two friends to come back to school before the end of the term. How long do we have after second respite?" Amara asked. Allie noted there would be five weeks after second respite to deal with loose ends.
"I actually have a call with Ms. Raifort about the Treasures of Ruin. I'm going to need time, and a lot of help to bring them down. I was planning to call Nemona to see if she can help, are you going to lend a hand too, dear?" Arven declared his full support, and the trio climbed out of the cave and back into the desert sun.
"Alright, y'all. I'm off to Medali to get a gym badge, then I'll be in Alfornada for a couple days. Catch you later?" Allie and Arven waved goodbye and headed south, toward where Allie had gotten beat up.