I open my eyes to see Fidel's cherry-red horn. It's normal sized and there are no cracks on it. Perfectly healthy as it should always be. Before I have any more to say, he has sat up to see me.
"Good morning, Fidel."
He smiles when he hears my voice and comes to cuddle with me. I pat his head as he does so, but not for long. It has been a hectic time, and I'm only newly informed that the competition is coming in two weeks. There have already been more and more people and Pokemon waiting outside before I even opened my shop.
"Alright, we have to start our day now," I lift him into the bathroom and we do our regular morning routine. I have Fidel wear a long-sleeved set for today, the yellow shirt he is wearing has a long red multi-fabric stripe stitched on all parts of the shirt starting from the left sleeve to the right. He finds this shirt fun as he can trace his thumb along the stripe. Whereas his jeans only hold simple segments that start hard from the hem and gradually become softer toward the waistband. It should be comfortable for him.
After I placed Fidel on the bed, I went back to the bathroom to quickly finish up my morning routine, so he didn't have to wait too long on the bed. He could see me later when I put on my facial creams by the cabinet.
I chose to wear a white tunic for today, it's a type of clothing from the old days that many have modernized. The one I am wearing is already used with the painted vines pattern a bit washed out giving it a lighter color, but I also added my touches to it in fabrics and flowers anywhere I see fit. I keep up with the theming by wearing green culottes with leaf patterns and finally, I tie a pink ribbon around my waist to finish up the set.
Coming out of the bathroom in fresh clothes, I saw Fidel hitting the bed with a book. I find it sounds…interesting, but that's definitely from him. The soft slapping noise on the fabric should be able to keep him occupied a little, while I put on the cream. Once done, I turn away from the mirror to see him. Fidel immediately raises the book he was holding for me to read to him. It is the alphabet book I bought last Saturday. Is he ready now? Or does he just want to hear my voice in different sounds? I think it's probably the latter.
Getting on the bed, I have him on my lap as I open the book. There is an apple on the first page. "A,... ah, apple" I look at him as I say. Fidel only looks at me with that cute smile of his, he wants me to say more. I sigh and flip to the next page, it shows a human boy. "B,... buh, boy," We start to giggle when he hears that. I simultaneously understand and do not understand why it's funny, but it's definitely one of the strangest things only I can experience with him.
"C,…-" We are both interrupted by my phone vibrating before returning silent. ' Right, I have commissions to deal with.'
"Alright, you can read the book by yourself. I will be back to you later," I lean over and grab my phone. Fidel dragged on my arm, wanting me to continue. "I promise I will read it later," I pat his head and turn him around to have him cuddle me.
[Is Gio's clothes done yet?] last sent by Amose, 10.34 a.m.
[Yes, it's done.] I then sent him the picture of the drilbur's outfit I had taken last night. Before I move on to the rest. There's one for Gary the lumineon, which is made with polyester and Lycra, because it's a fish, obviously. There is Dozer the Garchomp, with its several pieces of clothing. The large beast would terrify Fidel. Kyle the hypno and his fancy suit for magic tricks.
When I finally scroll down to Lana's contact. I'm still surprised that Pokemon can have their own device. It's surreal. I mean she has a selfie of herself wearing a hat at the beach. As if the difference between everyone never existed. Anyway, she has been texting me for the past few days just asking when her dress is finished and today's the day so I sent it. [Here it is] attached to the photo of her large dragon dress. The 'scales' of the dress start dark pink from the top and fade into red at the bottom. The end of the right sleeve has the head of a dragon opening its mouth as wide as the sleeves allow, while the left sleeve is a tail, which I left the opening hidden so she can still use her hand when needed. Behind the dress are a pair of wings that still follow the color scheme of the dress, and can be compressed into a very small size to stay hidden during the damsel phase. She can flap the wings by using telekinesis if she desires.
Lana replied in an instant.[OMG! IT'S WONDERFUL! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHH! THANK YOU!] She even spams emojis of hearts and another of nails getting painted. Something I could never imagine any of the settlement folk or even me would do.
[Alright, no need to overreact, just tell Ethan to bring you to the shop today.] I replied.
[I will, thanks a lot. You're the best!]
[See you soon]
[Later] With her last reply, I turned off the phone. Today is going to be rough like the last few days. I tilt my head to look down at Fidel, he is still cuddling. I simply put my phone away and continued the book for him. We giggled together as we read it.
After the nice read, I have to get ready for the day ahead. I really want to make lasagna, but I can't because I'm so busy… Just two weeks later, alright? And then I can make it. Putting that away, I prepare our normal meals. Fidel's happy laughter as he plays behind me is enough for me to make it through.
Soon, Fidel has eaten his breakfast and we have to go now. I pack all the clothes and roll all of them on both of my shoulders. Dozer's outfit is the heaviest as it's made with Kevlar so it doesn't get torn apart. So is Lana's dragon dress because of the metal framings and the rest joins together to make it quite heavy, but I can do it. Grabbing the recyclable bag with all of Fidel's stuff I called him over.
From the living room, I can see him toddling towards me with a toy shaker in one hand and a toy amaura in the other. The amaura also comes with an aurorus, it's mom. Which I have already packed into the bag along with some other toys and books. I slowly lower and collect his toys into the bag. And then I realized I couldn't hang the bag on my shoulder because I already carried the clothes.
With a groan, I put everything down. Hang the bag and my handbag first, then the heavy clothes before finally my child. When I carry him in my arms. I know how uncomfortable he feels since he is squished in between the clothes but I can't do anything else.
"It's going to be like this for a bit. I can bear it alongside you," I rub my cheek into his, and that makes it better for him.
—--
The trip to the shop isn't as exhausting as I think, but it is hotter than I think. I swear my sweat is dripping down my face as I walk and the area under my armpit is drenched. Meanwhile, Fidel is bawling throughout and I can't bear to hear any more of his suffering. I started to groan along with Fidel as I tried to wave my hand to help cool him down.
"Excuse me, ma'am, do you need help?" I heard someone beside me. I can't tell whether it's left or right but I say. "Yes, can you help carry the largest one you see?"
When the word left my mouth I can feel the entire weight from my left shoulder is gone. Finally, Fidel doesn't have to be wedged in between some clothes. I have his head rest on my left shoulder and he stops bawling now.
I looked to my left and saw that it was… a trainer, from the Pokeball on her belt. I groaned, but I knew I couldn't let this continue for the sake of Fidel.
"Are you okay, ma'am?" she asks.
"I would like to not talk about it with you," I make sure to distance Fidel from her. He even tried to look at her, but I softly turned his head away. Do not look at a trainer. They took your original family.
"...Okay, Your ralts are cute by the way."
"You don't get close to him. Or else."
"What did I do to you?"
"You didn't. I don't want to talk with you anymore."
We walk the rest of the way silently. Fidel also rubs his cheek into mine on the way. It's adorable. When we finally reach the shop, there is already a group of people and Pokemon waiting outside. And thankfully some of my commissioners are also there, but the garchomp is there too.
"Alright, Fidel stay behind me." I slowly place him on the ground and he looks up at me. Good, don't look in front. I slowly take some steps forward and make sure he is hidden behind me. "Several of the largest shirts you are holding are for the garchomp ahead. Help me give it to his caretaker," I tell the trainer.
"Okay, they can be scary for a small Pokemon like yours."
"Just do as I said, alright?"
With that, we slowly walked to the shop. Everyone looked at me and Amose there said. "Hello, you must have the clothes."
"Yes, here you go," I took off the pile from my shoulder to find the right one for him. I can feel Fidel walking around my culottes, so I lift my leg so he doesn't get any further. I can hear him pout a little and walk to the other side.
"Is your ralts behind you?" he says as he takes out his wallet.
"Yes, I don't want the garchomp to scare him," I lift my leg to block the other side before turning to look at the trainer. "Why are you standing there? Just give it to the garchomp."
"Aren't I supposed to wait.?"
"Just…," I look at Amose and say. "I have to serve someone else first. Terrance!"
I shouted and he came forward with Dozer following him behind. "Collect your stuff from the trainer next to me and give me the 800," I lunge to the side when I feel Fidel running faster.
Terrance is frightened by my sudden movement but he quickly sifts through his wallet and gives me the money, which I quickly stuff into my sleeve. I have to lunge again to stop Fidel. I can already hear him whine. It was indistinguishable from a human child.
"Can I have him try it at the shop?" he asks while holding the clothes. I turn around to see that the trainer must have left by now.
"Sorry, no," I blocked Fidel again. "I don't want Fidel to be frightened. You can try it at home, I need you to leave as soon as possible."
"What? The ralts are only getting scared for a bit so you can comfort the little guy."
"You don't understand what is going on," I try to catch Fidel with my leg and I have to look around for another solution. This guy is not moving. I do find the hypno with the crowd. "Kyle, get over here. Do some magic tricks for Fidel he is behind me," Kyle is dumbfounded and so is his caretaker, Amy.
"Yeah, something is definitely wrong with you," Terrance says.
I ignored him and finally got Fidel by stepping on his sandals. It's only a matter of time before he realizes he can take it off himself. I look at Amy and Kyle. "Please, just do it!"
They reluctantly walk behind me and get Fidel's attention before finally I grab the stick to lift the roller shutter, ending with a loud bang. I was supposed to be ready for it, but I jumped from the noise instead. I turn to check on Fidel. He was indeed frightened by the sound but he is fine.
I unlocked the door and turned on the lights before everyone went inside. Finally, things have calmed down, I turn around to see Fidel delight in the spoon-bending trick by Kyle. I check back into the shop to make sure the garchomp is out of sight before going back to them.
"Thank you so much for taking care of him."
"Yeah, this has been chaotic. What is even going on?" Amy asks and Kyle looks up in question too.
"I will say this: Fidel and I are heavily linked together. If he gets frightened and freezes on the spot I will too and I can't help it," I tell them before returning attention to my child "Come on, Fidel," he turns around from Kyle and walks back to me. I hold him back in my arms and rub my cheek into his.
"Let's go,"
They both nodded and we got inside.
In the shop, everyone is already waiting in line and isn't too happy to see me so I have to apologize. "Sorry, everyone for the inconvenience I caused. It should be smoother moving forward."
Finally, I settled Fidel on the mat with his toys out from the bag and all the clothes on the table. "Alright, I need those who commissioned from me to come first."
Amose came first and he asked. "Can't you bring your Pokemon to the daycare?"
"I'm not going to leave him anywhere if I can help it. Just get your stuff and go."
"Okay, okay, jeez this is terrible customer service."
"I know…"
I help everyone with their purchases and it only leaves Lana's dragon dress on the table, it's kind of inconvenient that they haven't come yet but they could be busy with anything. Checking on Fidel, I make sure he doesn't turn around to where everyone exits from the changing room. The garchomp is there after all. He is still playing with the toy Amaura and even tried to have it ride on the car, although he is pushing things around more harshly than he usually would, it's actually a quick back and forth. Fidel also doesn't touch the aurorus for some reason. Maybe he intends it for me. But before I can even think about being with Fidel, I have to finish up my work first.
After I finish taking orders from someone once again, filling the counter back to five as if I haven't done anything. I sigh and slouch in my chair. I know it's bad for my spine, but it's just this occasion alright. I'm tired of the things that have happened, yet my body is so giddy and energetic even when I don't want to move. It's like it's preparing for something, anything. It makes my body feel heavy and light at the same time.
I have been through this plenty of times already and all I have is to just let myself do my own thing which is just letting my hand make whatever pose it likes. It feels nice doing this. Suddenly, I can hear a loud knocking sound. I turn my head to look at Fidel. He is hitting the toy car with the amaura. That's not how he would regularly play. Is there something wrong?
I lower myself next to him and he doesn't respond to me even when he sees me. He is hugging his legs as he plays and… no… Why does it have to happen to him?! No no no no, why can't this leave him alone?! It has already made my childhood as hard as can be and now it has to hurt Fidel?! My child?!
' No, stop, don't do anything you will regret,' I remind myself and have Fidel on my lap. I put his toys away for the time being. But before he starts to whine, I hold both of his hands in mine and clap them together silently and then clap them on his lap, back to his hand, and back to his lap. A simple rhythm to let everything out. It's fun for both of us, a nursery rhyme may even be fitting although I couldn't recall a suitable one for now, but he is soon soothed enough to have his milk.
While I feed Fidel his milk, I hear someone saying. "Awww," I look up to see a gal has already entered the shop along with her masquerain. It hovers all around to see the shop.
"A moment please," I continue to feed Fidel until the milk bottle is empty.
"Alright, Fidel, I have to work now," I slowly placed him on the mat and I didn't forget to give him a little pat on the head, but he already saw the masquerain and stood up to run after it. I find this pretty endearing. I think the bug is also playing along with him.
Back to the gal, "Hello, is there anything you need?"
"Hi, what you did there with the ralts was kinda cute and uh I need a commission."
"I am sorry it's full," I show her the counter. "Five is my max. Maybe you can come tomorrow or buy something else. I remember a few of my customers told me they won runner's up just by buying one of my clothes."
"I'm not just participating, I'm there to win, can you cram in one more for me please?" She prays with her hand.
"Sorry, I will be very exhausted if I do so and I have to take care of Fidel," I look behind her to see he is still running throughout the shop as the hanging clothes get pushed around a little and the masquerain flying above.
The gal also turns back to look at me. "I have a very tight schedule as a college student and I need this ASAP."
"Please, you don't understand how much I have to put into weaving. It can get exhausting and takes quite some time."
"How about I pay extra?"
"No,-" I say halfway when I see someone. He has Pokeballs on his belt. Not again! ' Do not shout or do anything extreme, you can properly tell him to leave,' I remind myself.
"Excuse me for a moment," I tell her before walking to the trainer.
He looks at me confused and asks. "What's going on?"
"I need you to leave the shop. I do not welcome trainers inside."
"What the f-" I cover his mouth.
"No swearing," I held his collar to get his face closer. "And you better leave, right now. "
He sighs and walks away. "You're crazy."
With that out of the way, I get back to the gal and she asks. "What was that for?"
"I would like not to talk about this. Look, I can offer you a 10 percent discount on one shirt for the masquerain in the bug-type aisle."
"Nope, I demand something custom-made. Is it too much to add one more?"
I breathe in."Yes."
"What are you even doing besides that? Taking care of the ralts? You can send it-"
"Him."
She sighs. "You can send him to a daycare."
'I am not going to. He needs me!"
"Then why does he need you that much? They are known to be clingy but not that clingy."
"...I'm his mother."
"What?! A Pokemon is your child?" she starts to scoff. "What is wrong with you?"
"I have been wrong in so many ways. But I don't care anymore. Can you buy it from the bug-type aisle?"
"Screw it," she raises both her arms. "You're insane! Trellor come back," The masquerain came back to her with Fidel following behind.
"Fidel!" I call out to him.
He turns around to see and I hold him back in my arms. He watches as Trellor leaves, but he still wants to play. I bring him back to the mat where his toys are and he is fine with the masquerain gone now, but more people and Pokemon are entering the shop now. It has been rough.
It was noticeably more non-stop, with how everyone came and went. Fidel still finds it hard to do anything by himself since… he is still affected by me, so he is on my lap at all times, so I can help deal with it together and subsequently catch the attention of anyone who sees him. It can get annoying.
Soon, he has to eat again. I have lost track of time until then but we are going to take a nap soon afterwards. I take out his container and feed him while I work until I eventually slow down with my movement and I must tell everyone about my predicament. "I apologize to everyone who has come here to shop, but I need to take a nap."
"What?" I hear from the customer and the eyes staring from the line, but I ignore them and get the white from the cabinet behind.
"Taking a short break is fine, but with a nap, you're going to be out for a while."
"I know and I'm sorry," I say as I yawn with Fidel. "I can't… help… it," I have Fidel lay on me before I cover him with the blanket and let myself fall asleep.
—--
"Mommy, wake up," I heard a little boy's voice and I opened my eyes. "Fidel? Are you-" I immediately saw Ethan standing beside me with a smile on his face, but that was not important as I unraveled the blanket to check on Fidel. He vocalizes upon seeing me and gets up to cuddle.
"Did you just speak to me?" I ask my child.
"Yes Mother, I love you," I heard the same voice again and it was from Ethan who chuckled after he knew successfully tricked me.
"Why would you do that?!"
"Sorry. If you have a life like mine these little opportunities are pure gold. It's not appropriate, I know, but It was worth it."
"I have been waiting for Fidel to be ready to talk and you just did this to me. Please, don't do that next time, alright?" I told him before turning around to see Lana and a gardevoir wearing a beige blouse and a pair of diamond earrings.
"Hello, Lana, who's that gardevoir?" I say as I keep the blanket back into the cabinet and turn Fidel around. He cheered upon seeing them and repeatedly slapped on the table with both hands which made me chuckle a little.
The well-dressed gardevoir also smiles upon seeing Fidel and waves to him.
Before I knew it, I heard Ethan tell her. "Remember that she's used to the voice of psychics."
And the gardevoir's voice enters my head. " Greetings, it is a pleasure to meet you- Achoo!" she suddenly sneezed. "So sorry for that," she sniffled. " I haven't been feeling well lately. As you should know, My name is Natalyn."
"Hello Natalyn, my name is Anselma Pallibrica. You can call me Ansel."
" I know, Ethan has told me about you and I was curious to meet you and your child."
"Oh you mean Fidel? He was only recently hatched a little over a week ago. He is cute isn't he?" I hold Fidel back in my arms and hug him tightly. He holds my arms as we both lightly giggle. I tilt my head to check there are customers behind them.
" I'm... Sorry. Hatched?"
I look back to Natalyn. "Yes, I still have his eggshells at home."
"Yeah, remember that few of your species still possess the egg-laying genetic," Ethan told her.
"That's right, I remember some do still give birth."
"Actually, the majority does. Those who still lay eggs are a rarity for most of the world. It's... quite a treasure for a lot of people," Ethan replied to me.
I was stopped momentarily when I heard that the majority of the gardevoirs at the settlement must have been a very rare group, that would make them a bigger target... "Anyways, are you here for anything Natalyn?" I asked her before remembering Lana and checking on her. She is still silently staring at the dress of what I assume is in absolute shock. "You can try it out in the changing room, the white dress is under the dragon dress."
Lana's ears raised upon hearing what I said before she grabs the dress and rapidly ran to the changing room. Leaving a loud bang when she got into a room, which made me and Fidel jump in the chair.
"Are you okay?" Ethan asks.
"Yes, I am," I say as I check on Fidel, who is counting the knuckles on my hand.
"Alright, to answer your question for Natalyn, she follows me wherever I go, despite how much I insisted on her staying to rest…" he sighed before mumbling. "Sometimes it does worry me."
"That's expected of them," I suddenly felt Fidel trying to get off so I placed him back on the mat. "But, do you want anything here, Natalyn?"
" Not necessarily, I like to keep myself simple. I don't consider myself someone of trends and multiple clothing, most of the time both Ethan and Lana help me choose, like with what I am wearing right now, Ethan chose it for me."
"Aww, that's so sweet of you Ethan."
"Thank you," Ethan says.
" Yeah despite his intimidating presence or the fact he barely seems to have more than one expression he's a dedicated person," Natalyn replied.
"Hello, little guy," Ethan suddenly looked down and said so I stood up from the chair to check. It was Fidel pulling at his trousers. Ethan puts his hand in front of Fidel and closes Fidel's hands, which makes my child cheer and he tries to do the same as Uncle Ethan. Yes, I'm calling him that now.
Uncle Ethan then releases Fidel's hand from his and moves a finger in front of his eyes to attract his attention. Fidel seems to find this intriguing and tries to grab it before he moves it around making Fidel give chase.
I got so caught how adorable Fidel was as he toddled around Uncle Ethan, that I almost forgot about my job.
"Try and lead him back to his toys, I have to serve the other customers," I said before looking at Natalyn. "You too."
They both nod their head and he lets Fidel catch his finger before Natalyn lifts my child up and takes a closer look at him. The way she looks at him doesn't concern me, there's some sort of admiration for him, the same way I looked at other parents with their children. Before I thought about it anymore, she placed Fidel back on the mat and left to the bench with Ethan.
With them out of the way, I serve the next customers. Some just came to buy one of my clothes and some are still asking for commissions even though the counter had reached its limit. One of them even got down on their knees to beg, which is just… Why?
It was going normally until I heard footsteps from behind. It must be Lana coming out of the changing room. I turn around to see it is indeed her. She looks majestic in the dragon dress. The hot pink wings were greatly expanded and it made her look large like a dragon should. It even catches the attention of her customers as he says. "Woah, you made that for the delphox?"
"Yes," I answered.
Lana smiles a bit awkwardly, but when she takes another step forward she falls face forward to the ground making Fidel laugh and subsequently me, but I quickly kept my jaw shut together to the best of my ability.
Ethan and Natalyn immediately came running for her.
"LANA! What happened!" Ethan shouts before he helps her up and checks on her while Natalyn helps apply a healing pulse on her friend.
Lana looks up to say something to him by telepathy
"And people said I don't have compassion. Can you get up Lana?"
" Yeah, it's ok thanks," I can now hear her voice in my head as she turns her head to look at me. " Ansel, this thing is squeezing my waist."
My laugh dies down and I can answer. "Yikes, I may have to loosen it. You need to change back."
Lana sighed and got back to the changing room.
"Well at least it's nothing serious," says Ethan before going back to the bench with Natalyn.
With them away, I lifted Fidel onto my lap and told him. "Don't laugh at others, alright?" I rub his hair as I do so, he giggles when I do that when he suddenly holds my hand down to hug it. I only sigh when he does that and I bring his toy car from the mat to him before continuing to work.
I managed to notice Natalyn wandering around in the pants section as I helped someone make their purchase. After I keep the money in the drawer I ask her out loud. "Do you want anything?"
She turns around to see me. " Oh! Yeah, I was just... Looking around. I'm not very used to this stuff, as you see this blouse and bracelet are all I wear. Unlike Lana, I prefer a modest appearance"
"I do have clothes made for your species. It's near the aisle made for humans and the like."
" I see, thank you very much."
"You're welcome. Do you want me to help you pick something for your taste?"
" If you can, then sure."
"Alright," I helped another customer before getting up to lead her to the section. As I put my hand through the clothes, I feel out the shapes until I reach the small part that has the clothes made for her. "So tell me what's your taste in detail?"
"I don't know, it's usually Lana and sometimes Ethan who pick clothes for me, so I don't know what to choose. I… I think I prefer soft colors to the blouse I'm wearing. Lana told me about skirts and pants, but I'm unsure. So I simply stayed with this blouse, but I do like to put on make-up."
I take a closer look at her relatively young face. "You did use makeup? Anyways, I do have something you may like," I then back off and flip through the clothes. I can't help but think about how she looks compared to Lesteh and Novia. It's just different looking at her, not in the sense of facial recognition like recognizing a different face among their species. Is it age? Maybe.
" You just noticed now?"
"Yes."
" It's fine."
Eventually, I picked out a light blue blouse with a large fluffy ruffle. I put my hand through the blouse's hole in the chest to prove to her it was meant for a gardevoir.
"What do you think?"
" It's really pretty, Is it ok if I try it on now?"
"Sure, there should still be empty changing rooms."
"Thank you so much," says Natalyn while bowing for me.
I bow back in return and return to the table, where I can finally see there are fewer and fewer people and Pokemon entering inside. It leaves me enough downtime to sneakily play with Fidel and I pick up the toy aurorus and pretend to be the mother of the toy amaura that Fidel is playing with. Even though he doesn't know how to roleplay he is smiling because I'm here with him. That's all I need to see from him.
Soon, I saw Natalyn coming out of the changing room and she walked over to ask Ethan about it, followed by Lana holding her dragon dress and placing it on my table. She seemed upset., but she already walked all the way to sit on the bench with them and pulled her phone from her sleeve. I wonder what she is doing with her device but that's none of my business because my real business is the dress on the table.
Patting Fidel's head, I let him play by myself and work on the dress. The fix for the tight waist is actually pretty simple. All she has to do is cut open the dress to reveal the waistband and give it two snips on both sides and it shouldn't be too tight anymore. I make sure to stitch it back together before calling out for her. "Alright, Lana it's done."
Her ears immediately point upward once again and her eyes widen in excitement, she stands up and quickly walks to take the dress and try it on again.
I found her behavior kinda endearing, she is acting kind of like a child.
I also didn't forget about Natalyn and asked out loud. "Are you going to make your purchase?"
She flinched before quickly turning around to answer. " I… am not sure, there are so many good options. I have to be honest, wearing clothes is still very new for me, so I'm not sure about what would be 'my style'"
" Yeah, it's hard to talk with her about this stuff since I have to essentially school her from zero about every subject," Lana interjects from the changing room, she must have picked up her friend's telepathy.
"So she is new to just about everything here? Anyways, I would say to start simply to have one and then gradually try on more."
" That's just the idea we have in mind. You see, she only wears that same blouse. We hoped you might be the one to help her."
"She wore the same blouse every day?" I quickly reply, there's no way anyone should do that.
" No, just when she wants or remembers that she has it. She doesn't wear anything at all usually."
"Alright, that's more normal. Are you going to buy it?" I put my attention on Natalyn.
" I just… don't know," she said as put her two fingers together, which is when I saw Ethan getting up from the bench to her.
"Alright take your time," I saw a customer enter inside. "I will be helping the other customers while you decide."
" Hmm, thank you."
I walk back to help with their purchase, but I can't keep my eyes off her. She is just not doing well at all since she has been quite shy throughout the day. I then saw her groan much to my surprise. "Are you alright, Natalyn? You don't seem to be doing well."
" Oh! I'm sorry I didn't notice you, sorry yeah, and I... I'm struggling to choose since it's a special occasion. We don't get many vacations, so I wanted to make uh-a nice thing for Ethan." Natalyn replied and I could see her blush a little from how white her face is.
"Aww, that's sweet of you, but if you ask me, you don't need to make the best choice as it's too hard or even impossible sometimes. Simply good enough can be enough most of the time. Like how I simply told my late husband to marry me while we were just sitting together on a sofa," I held up my left hand to let her see the ring and for me to look at the metallic shine once more, it never had a diamond and is relatively cheap, but the only thing a ring has to do is to tell others you already have a mate that you have already dedicated your heart and soul to someone.
We were both somewhat lost in our moment before Natalyn spoke up again. " Oh so sorry, I got lost for a moment. It's been hard. You know, but I'm glad I still have this kind of chance. I'd… I would like you to help me, please. It'll be an honor to learn from you."
"Sure, although this is only quite simple. There is no 'right way' to do it, just the way you're happy with, but if you do insist I would recommend another two sets of preferably different types of clothes to wear on rotation to get used to it."
" I see. Please teach me."
I sigh a little. How could she still not understand? "Follow me to the aisle again; this time, I want to see you choose for yourself," I gently say to not alarm her.
Natalyn takes a short breath before answering. " I'm ready to go. It would be helpful if you could answer a few questions first. You see he and I haven't had the best of relationships. It's nothing bad or like he ever insulted me or hit me or anything like that. It's just that when we get out it's never a very serious thing and one day he mentioned he has had some encounters in the past with other women." Natalyn paused for a moment before saying. " Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry I shouldn't have said that. Forgive me if I went too far."
"It's fine, you must be feeling jealous of someone taking Ethan away. It's normal for you to be very clingy."
" I see… But isn't it weird that I feel this particular feeling when we are from different species after all? For most, I would be just a servant"
"No… you don't mean, " I looked around the shop and saw a few customers picking their clothes before going back to Natalyn and shushing her before I realized it was all telepathy. I groan as to why I'm so forgetful.
"Does Ethan know about this?"
" What! What do you mean? About my plans? No! This is meant to be a surprise!"
"Oh, you worried for a second there. Anyways, are you ready to choose?"
" Yes, what do you have?"
"I have many, but I recommend something simple like a long-sleeved set and another dress should suffice."
" I see, but… thing is that I don't want to look so out of place since we aren't going to a fancy place. And I don't want people to look at us weird."
"Alright, I can bring out some of the simpler ones. You've never worn jeans before, right?" I said as she sifted through the pants and found a pair of jeans that revealed the knee. "This one is like the ripped jeans you may have seen before but cleaned up. It shouldn't attract too much attention. However, you may need to wear a belt since your waist isn't wide enough to fit well. I also have this pink blouse with a longer-than-normal hem to go along with the jeans."
" As I said before, I don't usually wear… any clothes, so I apologize beforehand if it took me a moment to fully understand or get to choose or make any weird comment."
"It's fine, so what do you think?"
" I see, but I don't think these pants are for me, this broken style is a little weird."
"Alright, how about culottes? I have this light grey one with very simple detailing at the end."
" Yeah, they look nice."
"Alright, this set then," I take them off the stand, fold them, and hand them to her.
" Thank you so much for your help. Also… I don't want to sound repetitive. But doesn't all of this seem weird to you? A Pokemon wanting to be seen as a woman by her trainer?"
"Trainer? Ethan is… your trainer?!" I raise my voice. What is going on? The trainers I know don't do what Ethan does. What if there have always been trainers who hide the balls to enter here and does that mean… no. no! I have let them get away! I start to pull but I look at my child on the mat, his play got a little harsher now. ' Don't do anything stupid, you know what you should do,' I tell myself.
" Yeah… I thought it was obvious. We don't usually have our balls though, we aren't used to being inside them." I heard Natalyn but not now.
"Get Ethan over here."
" Why?... What's wrong?"
"I do not like trainers in my shop," I grit my teeth as I speak before I check on Fidel. His play got a little harsher, so I breathed in and out.
" B-but I-oh okay," she took some steps away from me and I saw Ethan walking over, I assume she talked to him through telepathy.
"Natalyn told me what happened. Is there something wrong with it?" Ethan asks in front of me.
"Yes, I have big issues with them and it's what you do as one that confuses me. You are different from everything I know about them. Still, I do wonder whether or not you capture others," my hands have formed into fists.
"Do you know what a Pokemon ranger is? To be honest I won't blame you for not knowing."
"No, then why did Natalyn call you a trainer?"
"Because I am. The difference is that we are an international force for the preservation and protection of all natural life, mainly Pokemon. We are trained to be capable of providing all kinds of aid. Some are assigned to specific parts of regions, and others like me are assigned to freely travel around the world providing all kinds of help. It's not very usual for rangers to have more than one partner, since the vast majority are provided with a device that allows Pokemon to know they require help for a moment. It is the same technology as a Pokemon, but this one only lasts for as long as the ranger needs help, then the Pokemon continues its life, and the ranger who has one partner, only has it as a way of support," he after explaining. "Sorry for that. But my division is required to have one good team."
"Oh, so you don't capture others and force them to battle," I release my hand.
"More or less, I am the type of trainer that likes to 'earn their trust'. For example, with the fighting types, I had to win against them with my own hands. As you can see from the injuries in my arms I take my job seriously."
I checked his arm again before saying. "You fought a fighting type by yourself?"
"Multiple. And I am not just fighting but almost all types from many species. And part of my morning routine is training with the members of my team. Now that we're talking about it, that's also how I got Natalyn to join me. I remember I had to fight her father to show I was strong enough. I think I was around sixteen back then. Anyways, as you see, I take my job very seriously," Ethan said and I noticed Natalyn tilts her head slightly and makes a tiny smirk.
" Sometimes a little too serious I must say," adds Lana while I can her scrolling through the screen of her phone over at the bench. " You might as well show her your scars and burns."
"Lana!" he replied, a bit upset.
"...I never expected we could do that, just fighting with them like true equals."
"You sure do have lots to learn. But anyway, why did you call me? Did something bad happen? And why are you so upset about it?"
"I can say something bad did happen," I look at my child again. He is still playing by himself and that's all I need to see. "Alright, Natalyn, your dress."
I sifted through the clothes and picked a red dress. It's not scarlet to be specific and it has three layers stacked on each other.
I saw Natalyn gesturing for him to go back to the bench before turning back at me again.
"Alright, do you want this dress?"
She gasps when she takes a closer look. " It's beautiful!"
"I'm glad you like it. So that's everything, right? Including Lana's dragon dress."
" Erm… I'd like to know where the… underwear…is," She awkwardly said.
"The underwear? It's at the corner over there," I pointed for her to see. "I do remember Lana looking through them before with a weird look on her face. I do not modify those." I then think to myself. ' Please, don't tell me they don't wear any of it.'
" I see, thank you."
When she finally left for the section, I went back to the table to work and serve the customer until it was the next in the line. Natalyn and Lana placed their clothes on the table and I counted in my head before saying. "It's a total of 2,345 dollars."
"Thankfully, it's not too expensive," Ethan exhaled before asking. "Weird that you don't use any calculator or something to ensure you don't take the wrong price. Do you accept cards?"
"I count a lot on a daily basis, and no, I don't have the machine for that."
"Okay, do you know where the closest ATM is?"
"Hmm, from my shop go right, you may pass by some shops and apartments before turning right again at the end, and the ATM should be visible. It's the same one I go to when I have too much money."
"Okay, I'll be back soon."
Natalyn and I saw him leave so we both had to wait. Thankfully there are no other customers for now, so I should have enough time to start small talks with them.
"How is it like living with him?"
" It's… Quite a unique thing," says Lana as she squints.
Whereas Natalyn says. " Hmmm, despite his tone, I agree that it's unique every day with him and it hardly feels like it's going to be boring," Natalyn says I saw her blush slightly. " He always attends to us and tries to make all of us feel secure, he talks to us, and makes all places comfortable."
" Okay, we get it. He's awesome now calm down, your saliva is coming out," Lana then says making Natalyn quickly cover her mouth. I also leaned in to check her mouth but it was too late.
"Alright, you two have your phone right?" I then ask.
"Yeah, we both do." Answered Lana.
"Alright,"
Ethan soon comes back to the shop with money in hand. "Okay… there you have it," He checks the bill before handing it to me.
"Thank you," I stuff it into the drawer and they walk away back to the bench, where they all take out their phone instead of leaving the shop. I found this odd, but new customers are coming in, so I have to work.
They ended up being the last ones to stay when everyone else was gone. Why are they still staying? I don't know, maybe they have something to tell me? With that away, I lifted the mat Fidel was on and had him slide around. I loved the cute giggling he made as he rolled around before I put the mat back onto the shelf.
After packing everything, I walk over to them and ask. "Why are you guys staying behind?"
"Ansel. We need to talk with you about something. Do you remember when we first met? I told them that we were looking specifically for someone like you. And what they have told me makes it more clear that we made the right decision," Ethan was the first to say.
"What?"
"Do you remember when we told you that in a few weeks, me and Lana will be in a local Pokemon contest? It's a small event destined for starting talents to show their potential and we wanted to formally invite you and Fidel."
I paused for a moment before saying. "No, I don't think you'll tell me you want to invite me there."
Then he asks. "Yeah we wanted to formally invite you, and… tell me, where did you find Fidel? You hate trainers, you said earlier that he was recently hatched, and the trading and selling of eggs are a thing exclusive for trainers at least. Sure you can get an egg without being what is taken as the "average trainer" but he does not have a Pokeball for sure."
"I- Why do you want to know?" I take a small step back and tightly hug my child. I make sure I'm ready to run away.
"I'm a Pokemon Ranger. I'm basically a guardian of all Pokemon, it's my job to care for these kinds of stuff, and from what I'm seeing, he's mostly fine… For now. Also Ansel, do you have any friends, pokemon friends to be specific."
I think about what I should say. Ethan has already proven to me he cares a lot about them and treats them right, but why does he have to be up in my business like that? "I'm glad you are concerned for Fidel's safety, but I really don't want to talk about this to anyone and what are you going to get from knowing what kind of friends I have?"I felt Fidel become restless in my arms and I shut up.
"Look, I get it, there are a ton of prejudices in the world, I do. All you need to know is that all I'm doing is for the sake of as many lives as I can help. I need to know this for, let's say certain plans I have, and you will be a very valuable asset to it. So yeah don't worry about me. Better worry about how YOU behave with "those kind of people" you hate so much and with a child of a species so different from ours."
The way he said 'those people'. Is he thinking what I am thinking? "What are you talking about?" I lied.
"You know what I'm referring to. From what I said earlier maybe you are the one who needs to know what it's doing if you get that erratic about knowing I'm the trainer of these two despite knowing how they live and act. I have to say 'You're the mother of the year'. We'll discuss this later on." Ethan says as he walks a little away, stopping for a moment to look back at me. "Just don't be surprised when that backfires on you or your child, especially from your hand."
I couldn't look at him in the face after what he had said and I stared at the ground. I just put him in the same group as the trainers even though he has allowed Lana and Natalyn to live the way they do and I ask. "What exactly will happen?"
Ethan's gaze pierces me, delving into the depths of my being. It's the same thing Fidel must have felt when we first encountered him. He speaks gravely. "Think about what could have befallen his parents, or any other Pokémon and humans alike, that means you and me." He gestures to himself and then to me. "The dangers we face are not limited to just Pokémon. Poachers, murderers, kidnappers, and various gangs lurk in those shadows, hungry for their share of the spoils. Do you believe only Pokémon suffer? No, no. If we can't anticipate what's going to happen in that forest, we're woefully screwed for what lies ahead."
I take a moment to pause and I can feel Fidel moving around uncomfortably in my arms from what's happening, before finally speaking. "What are you saying?"
"That depravity of human behavior you know, has no bounds and is not limited to us. The horrors unfolding even now, and those yet to come if we're not alert, are beyond imagining. Evil transcends species. You may have resentment towards trainers, but they're not the sole lovers of slavery and exploitation."
"Do you mean that other species do so as well!?"
"Yes…"
I almost puke at the inevitable thought of fighting type holding one of my kind in chains to be their thing or a psychic mind controlling them to do their bidding. I quickly retreat myself to a corner of the shop.
I heard Natalyn's voice in my head as she tries to calm me. " Ansel I know how you feel about me and Lana. The same goes for how you care for your child, despite not being the same species as you. I mean I would be scared as well… But you have to understand that we just want to ensure that you are aware of all the dangers this might lead to… We are here if you need help."
"You all promise you won't do anything bad with what I say?" I gave in, they already knew a little too much about me. Ethan walks back in.
"We promise." They all say at the same time, their voices going into my head and ears.
"You'll see, it will probably be some kind of love novel or something hehe."
"Alright, what is it do you want to know again?"
"Where and how did you get Fidel from? And if you have had any kind of personal relationship with his kind, like the one you will have with any other human. And as you mentioned this 'love novel?' we need to know everything."
"...I got Fidel when he was still an egg after my… closest friend and his family was… gone. Fidel originally belonged to him and now I take care of him as my own," I look into my child's eye and pat his head.
" Oh my…" I heard Natalyn's voice in my head.
"He was my first ever friend I had when I was very little. He took me into his life and showed me everything and how alike we are at the end of the day. It was the first time I felt… like I meant something to someone like I was a person to him back when I was alone in the park sitting by myself and crying because I'm so different from my peers that they can't understand me and shoo me away... He was the only one there who wanted me to be happy, who wanted to… be my friend. I take care of Fidel in honor of Rippegio Battuta!" I finally vented everything out and I tightly hugged my child who hugged back just as tightly. "Was that everything you all wanted to hear?!" I raise my voice.
"Ansel, tell me. How many more are like 'Rippegio' and his family…," he was a bit unsure of pronouncing his name. "You know, groups, their species is not exactly one that stays in such small groups if they can avoid it."
"He introduced me to them and they are now a hundred-something of them living their own life with other species too. Who knows! There could be thousands or millions living their own life in the woods worrying those closest to them may be taken on a whim."
"Hundreds hmm? Tell me, they are formed by an agglomeration of multiple species, right?"
"Yes," I simply answer and check the time. "I have to go now, see you all at the event. And do not tell anyone about this. I put this trust in you because of Natalyn and Lana," I look at the two Pokemon gals and then at the human.
"That explains it. Their species is a very social one with a strong sense of union. But it's weird for them to survive with that kind of numbers. *sigh. Well, see you at the event. Bye for now. Bye Fidel~," He smiles and waves to my child.
I help to raise Fidel's arm to wave back. "That's what you're supposed to do when someone waves to you," I tell him and release his hand and he waves by himself and giggles.
Everyone chuckled a little and left the shop. I get my muffin from Toby's and off to the settlement I go to.
—--
After giving Aria and Rowan their muffins, I'm off to Lesteh and Novia once again.
As I walk through the settlement, my leg trembles with each step when they look over at me. It's the same as before, disdain, but I can't shake off being reminded they have the potential just to be as bad as the scum who broke the laws for their selfish sake. I can feel Fidel shivering in my arms and whimpering to himself as I hug him tightly. I keep my head low and walk faster. Only tilting back up to check where the tallest gardevoir is as that will be Lesteh.
" Ansel!" Lesteh's voice entered my head when I saw him from afar. He waved both hands for me to see and I ran towards him and he hugged me when I reached there. " What happened? You are full of fear and anxiety."
"I was told about certain and I can't take it off," I pull my hair with my free hand. I can hear my child whimper occasionally.
" Please sit down with us. We can talk about that," Novia lays her hand and has me sit down with Fidel on my lap.
"So what happened? Start from the beginning."
"Well, it's busy like yesterday and the day before, but I do meet some particular customers today. There was a delphox, a gardevoir, and a human that came to the shop today. That human actually seems to see you all the same way as I do. Which I actually forgot to tell you about him and the delphox some time ago," I say as I take out the container and feed Fidel since he was tapping on the bag when I was talking to him.
" So far that sounds fine, but what happened?" Lesteh asks.
"It was when I was about to leave when he told me all sorts of stuff that put me off and he even told me that other species," I look over to folk in the background. "Joining up with the scum in my society to do these… abhorrent acts… It was kind of too much for me, but he does truly see things the way I do. Although, I'm not sure what to do with him since he and his friends want something from me." I tell him as I feed Fidel a scoop.
"That explains, but I do notice you let the fear of the newfound knowledge cloud your judgment. What really is going on is that the folks around here have certainly never worked with these low-life and their behavior at worst is just someone unlikable. All of them here hate the bad your species did to them and even you, which should make it impossible for them to join, The main thing I want to take from them is that they are not those lowlifes and are still the same people you saw the first time you returned" Lesteh explains to me.
"Alright, thanks for reminding me." I then move to lie by his side and I can see his smile to comfort me. I decide to raise my hand to check his face.
" What are you doing?"
"I want to check something," I finally softly placed my hand on his face. It's very smooth, but I can feel a very subtle dent in it. "You're… getting older."
" Of course, no one lives forever," he said nonchalantly before leaning his head to be level with mine." I know you are worried about losing me in the future, but like with my son and your mate. I will always be here," he lays his hand on my chest, where my heart is, and smiles.
It's warm and I can't help but smile as he does so. "Thank you, dad," and I rub my cheek into his, which he gladly accepts.
" Ansel, I have something to say, I think he may want you because you and him are two humans that share the same belief. Am I right?" Novia asks.
"I'm certain it is, but he is hiding something. Everything he did is so… deliberate and is creeping me out," I have my free hand grab onto my shoulder and I pay a bit more attention to the eating sound of Fidel.
Lesteh gently pats my head and I still like it. " Did he do anything bad to you?"
"No…, they're are just…. odd like that. They didn't endanger me or Fidel. They just want to protect all Pokemon and they want me to tell them certain things," I said before needing to reaffirm. "I swear I didn't reveal where everyone here is!"
They both reel back a little but he still pats my head. " Don't worry, I believe you won't do that. What did you talk about?"
" It's about my past and how Fidel is with me now. There is nothing else other than that as far as I know," I looked down at my child and saw he had a bit of the pulp on his cheek and helped to wipe it away with a tissue.
They both nod their head to my answer. " That's all, right?" he asks.
"Yes."
With the last words, everything turned to awkward silence and we could only hear the chatter from the background and Fidel eating his pulp. I don't mind it too much and I adjust how I sit by Lesteh's side a little.
Novia soon spoke next. " Has Fidel developed his psychic yet?"
"No, he hasn't. He doesn't even seem to want to," I tell them as Fidel stops opening his mouth for food so I keep the container back in. "Should I be worried about that?" I then take Fidel's toys for him and I can hear his cheering upon seeing it.
" Oh, no you don't have to. It happens to other ralts as well. It's just that you should plan some activities to encourage development. Has that ever crossed your mind?"
"No, I just took care of him like any other human newborn, a human newborn that is over a winter old to be specific."
" Why do you need to specify that Fidel is the same as a human newborn that's over a winter old?"
"Well, because my species' young start off their life very helpless. Their legs aren't strong enough to walk, and they can only cry to communicate what they need, they don't even have teeth so they can only drink milk until they have teeth, which can last for two seasons and they need milk very frequently and that also means the mother has to wake up in the middle to feed them multiple times."
" How did your species raise a child like that?"
"We just take care of them no matter how tired we may become. Our young change their parents in all the ways and massive sacrifices must be made. Raising Fidel didn't change how I live to a large extent, but if he were a human. I wouldn't be able to do anything else other than taking care of him."
They were dumbfounded upon hearing that.
"But of course, we still have nannies to help make things easier," I added. "And… that's the beauty of being a mother."
" What?!" Lesteh exclaims into my head which hurts a little.
I start to giggle because of their reaction and Fidel does so with me.
" You're joking right?" Novia asks.
"No, I'm dead serious."
I let the silence linger for her to know I genuinely meant it and she eventually covered her mouth.
"Alright back to Fidel, what should I plan for him," I pat my child's head as he plays with his toy car.
Novia shakes away from her shock. "For telekinesis, you should put things just out of his reach to maybe trigger it as his desire will manifest it, although do make sure it's not too far away because he will overdo it and hurt himself."
"Oh," I started to take out my notebook and write it down. Fidel also leaned in to watch and he placed his toy car on it. "Hey, don't do that," I picked up the toy car and gave it to him before I took out his storybook from the bag, which works like a toy to him anyway, and that stopped him from interrupting me.
They also giggle upon seeing that, then Lesteh says. " For telepathy, his only option to learn it is here with other psychics so he can familiarise how it works. He could not learn that from you."
"I know, but he can learn to talk like I do. I'm still trying to teach him to do that."
" Why? Shouldn't telepathy be enough?" Novia asks.
"...Yes and no, he can still communicate with others using telepathy, but it's still not pleasant to the head of many others who don't listen to it as much as I do. From my doc-healer's diagnosis: my head has literally adapted itself to listen to telepathy after hearing it for such a long time."
" But the headache only appears for a brief moment."
"I know, but I haven't finished yet. If Fidel can speak like I do, which you all have the potential to do as well. It will help break down the differences between everyone, and although he will definitely gain unwanted attention initially it should subside one day. Next, the process of learning to speak also requires him to learn a language which is what these symbols are,' I pointed to the words in Fidel's book. "Which will be needed to unlock his further potential as a person within my society as I want him to be able to find his passion and greater meaning in life."
" But what is there to find out there" Isn't it enough here?"
"There's… so much more than just contently living out a simple life. In there, he can discover talents and skills he could never learn here and it can be pretty fulfilling as I saw many of my kinds that strive to do something bigger than themselves. It can be daunting to know how much they change the lives around them."
" And you?" Lesteh asks.
"I'm just happy with my life as a weaver and a mother… I will never be a good example of what my species is. If Fidel desires to live here," I point to the ground. "I will abandon my life in the city with no hesitation."
They were taken aback.
"What am I anyway," I groaned. "I keep going from one world to another and then back again over and over… What will be of Fidel?" I look down at him to see he has stopped playing. "I'm sorry my child."
I found myself being dragged into a warm hug by lesteh along with Fidel. " It's alright, you are fine just the way you are. You might even be the most unique person because you came from two worlds. You hold a perspective that no one else has."
"Mmm…" I hugged him back.
—--
Soon, I have to go home with Fidel and I bid them goodbye. I work on the commissions with Fidel by my side as I weave away until it's bedtime for the both of us. May tomorrow be merciful.