NSO Chapter 19
I don't own Pokemon.
That was how the Water and Dark duo spent the rest of the morning. Cleo had hosed him down, accompanied with a giant hydro hand to peel off the sticky sludge, with Zenith using Psychic to assist her. It was a slow and arduous task, but since Cleo had removed the sludge around the Umbreon's muzzle first, he had ample time to explain what had happened to him.
-Time skip: 10:30 a.m.-
"Well, that's everything!" Cleo's peeled the last of the sludge off Zenith, but that revealed another problem. The poison was not very strong, but it had only eaten through Zenith's fur and irritated his skin, leaving his body bare with red patches all over his body. Cleo knew that any other Pokemon in Zenith's paws right now would be in extreme pain, but her boyfriend just stood there, with a calm expression on his face. It was clear that he couldn't feel the pain at all, or at least, felt very little of it.
Cleo's first thought was to use Aqua Ring, but she worried that the little amounts of healing that the move did would not be enough to fully heal Zenith. Fortunately, the Umbreon acted first. Right before Cleo's eyes, the bright red patches on his body faded back into its original colour, and dissolved fur regrew. In the span of about of a few minutes, Zenith seemed to be back to his usual, healthy self.
"What move was that? Recover?"
"Moonlight, actually."
"It works in the day?"
"Yeah, but it's more effective at night."
"I guess that makes sense, in some way. What do you want to do now?"
"I should be asking you that question. I've had my fill of excitement for today. It's your turn."
The rest of the Sunday passed by in a blur. Still not fully accustomed to their new relationship status, they had read their way through Cleo's collection of blue-covered romance books, laughing about the unbelievable circumstances in the plot and blushing at more steamy scenes. The both of them had also spent way more time than expected with their backs on the cool bamboo floor, making out patterns in the wood grain of the ceiling.
After lunch, Julley showed Zenith a new video that was trending on Mewtube. It was the fight between Zenith and the two Poison-types, shout with surprising clarity. The cameramon had captured every detail of the fight, and even Zenith's words could be heard. The video was named "'Shiny' Umbreon teaches haters a lesson!' The username of the Poketuber was BugEyed, and since no commentary was given throughout the video, his or her identity was unknown. Zenith seemed somewhat happy about the video being circulated online, stating that 'with this, more Pokemon get the message and will stay the heck away from me.' But now he knew who the Vibrava was, and made sure to keep an eye out for her if he got into any more fights. Too much 'popularity' may lead to undesired consequences.
Zenith retreated back into Cleo's room along with its owner. There, they chatted about random thoughts they had. Whilst looking for more books to read, Zenith had accidentally stumbled upon Cleo's love for art when uncovering a few of her sketchbooks, Cleo hastily crumpling up sketches she had made of him in class while he was distracted by her landscape drawings.
Zenith looked at the clock that hung on one of the blue walls.
It's 6:48 p.m. already? Dialga, did you do anything with the time flow?
Me? Nah. I have a life, you know.
"Cleo, I have to go now. My mom's bringing over Mr Quill for dinner tonight, and I want to meet him. "
"Can't you stay a little longer? I'm pretty sure that your dinner starts at seven. Just five more minutes?"
"...I guess five more minutes won't hurt. But after that, I really have to go."
With a container of meatloaf between his jaws, Zenith reluctantly waved goodbye to Cleo and walked back to his home across the street, leaving the Vaporeon wondering why she desired his company so badly.
When the Umbreon reached home, his mom had already prepared dinner, and it was spread equally on four separate plates on the dining table. She was not on the ground floor at the moment, most likely in the bathroom freshening up.
Zenith was about to head up to his room as well and was halfway up the stairs when he paused in his tracks to look back at the dining table, noticing something off about it.
Four plates? Shouldn't there only be three? Maybe there's-
The sound of a doorbell reverberated throughout the entire house, cutting off Zenith's train of thought.
Well, I guess it's time.
Zenith headed for the door, but his mother was faster, somehow making it to the front door even before her son could take two steps forward. Opening the door with a rare smile on her face, she cheerfully greeted the new guests.
"Clint! You're finally here, and you brought her too! Come on in, I made dinner. Yes, I did make enough for everyone."
The Espeon stepped aside to allow Clint Quill to enter her house. He was a Decidueye, with the coat-like feathers, the green hoodie around his head, pretty much what Zenith expected. But what he didn't expect was the other Pokemon that Mr Quill had brought along with him. It was a Vibrava, flying into the house after Clint had entered. "This is my daughter, her name is Gayle." Mr Quill introduced the Vibrava. Gayle's eyes scanned the room nervously, and a look of surprise flashed across her face when she saw Zenith standing next to the dining table, although she did stifle a squeal this time.
Huh. I guess it IS the same one.
What a coincidence.
"Zenith, this is Clint Quill, and this is Gayle. Clint, Gayle, this is my son, Zenith."
Zenith shook Mr Clint's outstretched hand, and shook Gayle's hand as well, although somewhat awkwardly since none of then wanted to announce that they had met before in front of their parents. It would raise too many questions.
Dinner was lively, the atmosphere mostly contributed by the Clint and Kelli, who talked about everything under the sun. Zenith and Gayle just ate their meals and watched their parents talk. The meatloaf that Zenith had brought added extra flavour to the spaghetti that Kelli had made, and everyone enjoyed it.
Gayle had finished her food even before Zenith had finished his, which was surprising. But she stayed in her seat, looking on at the two adults as they chatted happily. When Zenith was done, he brought his plate to the kitchen to wash. Gayle followed suit, trying her best not to be a bad guest.
When she stepped into the kitchen, Zenith was already in the middle of washing his plate. Setting her plate on the counter next to sink, she waited for him to finish.
Why don't you say something?
I have no idea how even start talking to her!
"So..." Gayle tried to make small talk to cut the tension between the two Pokemon, which had become so thick it could be a Wailmer. "Today morning, huh?"
"Yeah, it was... let's say eventful. But I'm curious. Why were you there in the first place? It was so early in the morning."
"I was just checking out the school. I'm going to transfer there soon. But when I got there, there was the fight and all that..."
"Sorry about the fight. You recorded it, didn't you?"
"Uh... yeah. I saw the fight you had on Mewtube, so when I recognised you again I had to take the video. Sorry if you didn't approve of it."
"Nah, don't be. I think it sends a message to the haters. Also, sorry for cutting your school exploration session short. If you want, I can show you around sometime. I go there too. When do you start?"
"Tomorrow, I think." The volume of Gayle's voice dropped so low, only Zenith's hypersensitive ears could pick up her whisper. "I think my dad really likes your mom. I've never seen him this happy before." Zenith looked back at the dining table. Clint and Kelli were conversing enthusiastically, laughing at each other's jokes.
"Yeah. They seem to have pretty good chemistry for two Pokemon who just met."
Upon hearing Zenith's reply, a small smile appeared on Gayle's face, followed by a slight chuckle, causing Zenith to cock his head in confusion.
"Did I say something funny?"
"No. I just found it funny that you didn't know."
"Know what?"
"It's just that... my dad has been seeing your mom for quite a long period of time already. Normally it's Dad that takes your mom out."
"Wait... then why are they meeting here?"
Gayle spoke in the same low whisper as before. "They're meeting here to discuss my father moving into your house."
Zenith's head spun as his brain tried to process this bit of information. Moving in? That could only mean...
Before Zenith could fully comprehend his thoughts, his mother's voice rang out from the kitchen.
"Kids! Mind coming over here? We have something to tell you!"
Zenith sighed. It was going to be a long evening.
-Time Skip-
Zenith lay on his bed, staring at the night sky through his window. He respected the decisions of both Clint and his mom. After all, his mom had been single for so long, and with Clint, she looked the happiest she had ever been in years. Zenith did not want to ruin that for her.
So, what did I miss? I fell asleep.
So the silence didn't mean that you were listening, huh?
Fine. Don't tell me. Accessing your memory banks... got it! So Gayle's taking your guest bedroom, and Clint's sharing a bedroom with your mom. They're also going to stay here from now on. Did I get that correct?
Wow. The entire conversation took 3 hours, and here you are, summarising it in two sentences.
I'm awesome like that.
Well, you'd better be awesome and quiet, since I'm going to sleep now. It's been a long day, and I'm exhausted. I really need this rest.
Okay then. Good night, Zenith.
Good night, Dialga.