The call came at about 3:00 the following afternoon. Amara and Penny were having a quick picnic lunch outside of Alfornada at the time, so when Rotom leapt from Amara's pocket and announced Allie was calling, the two girls answered without hesitation. As Allie came into view, the girls noticed she was surrounded by drifts of snow and frozen land. "Girls, this one freezes everything within a thirty-foot radius, and is super strong, just like Wo-Chien. I need help!" Amara and Penny affirmed they were on their way, then hung up, packed up their camping supplies, and set Rotom to navigate to Allie's location.
"You ready?" Amara asked as they climbed onto Miraidon, and Penny nodded. "Ice type should be decently easy to deal with, after all, we have Armarouge." Miraidon wasted no time making his way down the mountain, through the cave, and back on the path to Casseroya Lake. As they rode, they spotted Nemona and Trish about sixty feet ahead of them. "And Arven's coming from the other direction. Should we text Mr. Vaughn?" Penny called to Amara, who considered it, but then shook her head.
"I'm less worried about this one. Like you said, we have Armarouge." Amara agreed, then Melody echoed through their mind Not using our resources could end up being a mistake. She muttered, but after some reassuring Melody retreated into the back brain. Amara and Miraidon caught up to Trish, then, and the four pulled off to the side of the road as the ice grew thick.
"Fuck, it's made the road nearly impassable." Amara grumbled as she tossed Armarouge out of its ball. Penny looked to her own Poké Balls and tossed out Flareon. "Alright, you two, carve a path so we can get up this hill." Flareon and Armarouge began to unleash jets of flame that melted a path wide enough that the group could walk up the hill, and as they crested the top, they found Allie and Arven shivering, turning blue, buried to the neck in snow, and pinned down by a fanged, white Pokémon. "Armarouge, Flamethrower!" Amara yelled. Armarouge launched a powerful jet of flame toward the creature and caught it square in one of its shoulders.
The Pokémon turned and let out a growl "Chien-Pao!" and lunged at Armarouge. Armarouge drew its blade and narrowly parried the sword shaped fang that was flying toward him. He forced Chien-Pao back as Flareon leapt into battle and unleashed a powerful flamethrower of its own, causing Chien-Pao to stagger. Nemona took this opportunity to send out a Magmar, and Trish tossed out an Arcanine. Arven took the opportunity to wriggle his arm free and send out Charizard to dig he and Allie out of the snow.
"Let's buy those two some time!" Trish called as she and Arcanine moved in between Chien-Pao and Allie. Penny and Amara took their places and called for more fire. Nemona's Magmar lit another jet of flame, and as Chien-Pao let out a blast of ice that knocked all the Pokémon and their trainers back a step, Chien-Pao looked completely unharmed.
"This is getting stupid!" Trish yelled. "We hit it with five high powered, super effective attacks. What the hell?" Chien-Pao launched a powerful attack with the sword in its fang, knocking Nemona's Magmar out of the battle. Amara called for Armarouge to launch an Aura Sphere. "If it's dark type, this should really pay off." Armarouge pulled the energy from its own body into its hand, then hurled the sphere at Chien-Pao. The blow struck firm and Chien-Pau staggered hard. "Everyone," Amara called, "use fighting type moves!" Nemona tossed out her Hitmonchan and called for a Dynamic Punch. The blow struck home. Penny had Flareon start helping Charizard dig Arven and Allie out, and once they were back on their feet, she and Flareon guarded them as they ran out of the snow. Trish called for Arcanine to launch Close Combat, and the blow caused Chien-Pao to fall, still conscious, to the ground. Amara pulled out an Ultra Ball and let it fly. It bounced once, twice, then three times, and Chien-Pao was caught.
"Can we get out of here now? The snow is going to melt but right now you can see my nipples through my bra." Nemona asked as Amara picked up the Ultra Ball and sent it to her boxes. The group all turned, then, and jogged down the hill back to the warmth of the sun.
"Thank fuck you all showed up," Allie said, wrapped in a blanket at the foot of the mountain. "I was about to freeze my dick off." Arven huddled close to her and held two mugs of hot drink in his hands. He handed one to Allie and took a seat in one of his picnic chairs.
"New bottom surgery just dropped, huh, Allie?" Amara said as she wrapped the girl in a big hug. The rest of the group huddled around her and Arven as they all found their warmth. "Casseroya Lake next, then Penny and I head north to the lighthouse where her friend is. We've got nine days until second respite. I should be able to finish the league between second respite and the end of the term. Allie, do you know where the next Treasure of Ruin is?"
Allie nodded and pointed north. "Casseroya Lake. On the north end in the gold leaf forest. It's why I was going with Arven. That and, you know, the dick." Arven's face flushed and he sighed.
"Cool," Amara chuckled at her own joke, then continued. "So, Penny, I guess we go north across the desert. Nemona, are you and Trish coming too?" Nemona nodded.
"I like battling alongside you, Amara. I feel the adrenaline and it feels so good." Everyone gave Nemona a look and she scratched her head sheepishly. "I'm not horny, just, when I was a kid, I felt that shit all the time. Life was exciting, you know? Then my parents started going on trips all the time and I started to feel that joy less and less. The last time I saw them was when they left to spend Snowflake Day in Alola. I think they're touring Kitakami now." Trish wrapped her arm around her girlfriend, causing Nemona's lips to turn up for a second. "I miss that feeling of passion and that spark of determined energy. Outside of a Pokémon battle there have only been a few times I've felt it since I was six."
She hugged Trish and stepped away from her arm. "I don't want to go back to feeling like a husk, and so far, it's only possible for me to feel when I'm having a Pokémon battle, having sex, or working out. I hate it. I hate being so unfeeling. That's why I seem super horny when I talk about battling Amara. It makes me feel alive."
There was a long pause as Nemona's words sunk in. She stepped up to Nemona and pulled her into a hug. "I will happily battle you, my dear Nemona. I just need to get on your level first." Nemona hugged Amara tightly and a tear fell down her face. Amara just held her for a minute, then Trish took Nemona's hand, and the group of friends all let the sadness wash over them.
"Goon Squad, are we all severely traumatized?" Allie asked. Everyone replied with a sad "yes.", and the group looked into each other's eyes and sighed. "I was beaten and sexually assaulted on campus for being trans." Allie sighed. "It's been that way my whole life, really. I've been beaten, raped, thrown down the stairs by my dad once because "You're a boy, this won't hurt". It's been rough." Arven put his arm around Allie.
"If we're letting it all out, then I haven't seen my mom or dad in-person since I was twelve. They left for the crater eight years ago and haven't been back since. I spent my whole life alone after that since socialization isn't exactly my strong suit. I guess we have some more in common, Nemona." Nemona shot Arven a sad smile.
"Well, see I'm from Hoenn, and the homophobia there is really high." Trish muttered, Amara voiced her assent, and Trish kept talking. "When my parents, well, my abusers, found out I was gay, they let my older brother have his way with me until I came of age and ran. That's why I don't go home. Some of you know that part, but no one here knows about the conception."
Nemona gasped. "He did not." Trish nodded and spoke again. "He raped me every Tuesday for a year and a half, it was bound to take hold at some point. That's the only time I've ever been to Slateport City, to be forced to abort my incestuous rape baby." Amara's eyes were wet with tears as everyone gave Trish a massive hug. "That was right before I started at Uva three years ago. I met you eight days after, Nemona." The group let out a collective sigh.
"My story is about what happened with me and Garrett." Penny started. "I met Garrett as a first semester freshman. We dated for about a month before I realized I was only into girls. He didn't take the breakup well at all and started harassing me at LGBT events. Eventually, second semester I met Jessica, and we started a relationship. She was my first girlfriend. Garrett didn't like it, and one night we were walking back from a stargazing party, he and his friends beat Jessica unconscious and made me watch. Then they took turns using her unconscious body. Garrett raped me that night, and it was the first time I'd ever had anyone touch me." Penny's tears had been flowing the whole time, but she choked them back.
"Jessica left Uva after that. Eventually, her family found out the whole story of what happened, and they enrolled her in conversion therapy. She cried all night on the phone with me, then she said goodbye, and I heard her swallow. She killed herself while we were on call."
Everyone flinched at Penny's story, then there were hugs all around, then everyone looked to Amara. "My father is a criminal kingpin," Amara started. "So, when he had a daughter, he figured he'd try again to groom an heir, since my brother utterly refused. He strapped us down and subjected us to hours of psychic attacks to make our brain keep us plural. Then he groomed me to steal. Not objects, I was no pickpocket. I dealt in information. I stole secrets, ruined people's lives because he told me to. He would send me to places to sell drugs or Pokémon. When I was twelve, you all know that story, so when I was fourteen, I ran away. I was gone for three months, crashing in trap houses, and selling my body for cash. I figured I had already been defiled, might as well lean into it. Dad caught me and when he got me back, he locked Elaina into the front and modified her memory, so she'd forget me. I was trapped, able to see what Elaina was doing, but powerless to take the front back. It was like that for five years."
"Giratina's wings, we really are all horribly traumatized." Trish said as she sat on the ground. "I think we should all take a minute and just remember how much we love each other. I love each and every one of you." Then Penny said it. Then Allie, Nemona, and Arven said it.
"I love every one of you so much." Amara said softly. "We all do."