Super Effective on a Single Brick Brain

by D3stiny-Sm4sher

A couple years after the events of Area Zero, Penny has found herself becoming smitten with recently graduated Nemona, who has gradually become a dear friend, but struggles to figure out how to deal with these feelings - while Cassiopeia has plans. Nemona grapples with her own self-doubts about her future and her obsessive tendencies, while Penny has become very precious to her.

11. Chapter 11

p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"The sky was just about dark when they arrived at a spot Arven deemed fit for a campsite. All of the stars had come out to greet them – to no-doubt congratulate Penny, even though it had been Nemona who had really done the hard work./p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Nemona passed out about as soon as they set up camp, taking a well-deserved nap as Arven cooked. Penny took the opportunity to let her 'mons get some fresh air, and their assistance helped Arven's meal prep go smoothly – Umbreon scouted the area with Mabosstiff just to make sure no wild 'mons would interrupt their meal. Vaporeon helped wash ingredients, Vivillon gathered kindling for the campfire, Flareon helped get the campfire fire going, Jolteon helped recharge their Rotom Phones, and Sylveon helped lay out Penny and Nemona's sleeping bags./p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Penny at first admired Nemona's slumbering – she'd just kind of collapsed herself onto her open sleeping bag and conked out, comically spreading out her limbs and snoring a bit loudly, sprawled on her back. It was... incredibly adorable. But Penny wanted her strongnew girlfriend /strong(emUgh, /emshe still wasn't use to it!) to be given some space – they'd have plenty of alone time soon enough. So she ended up playing with the Pokémon for a bit as Arven wrapped up his /br /"emBlimey, /emthat smells emso /emgood," said Penny, as if stricken by Sweet Scent./p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Thanks. It'll taste even better." Arven shifted a little, his knees bent. He glanced up to the clear, dark hues of deep navy blue. "Nice night to sleep under the stars, emI'd /emsay," Arven said with a slow, bobbing nod as Penny approached the campfire./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""You-... You're not joining us, are you?" Penny checked. She didn't want to be rude, embut /emthe entire point here was for Penny and Nemona to have a night out alone./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Nah," Arven gently shook his head, knowing full-well what the score was, here. "You two will have the whole dang Paldean countryside to yourselves, here. But I picked a nice spot for ya, if I do say so, myself."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""... Cool." Penny let a wave of relief and gratitude sweep over her, knowing she shouldn't have worried in the first place. "Uh, and yeah. Thanks. I'm chuffed with the spot you found."br /br /"You're emwhat, /emnow?" Arven teased, giving her a wry /br /She shot him a snarky look back, sticking out her tongue quickly and retracting it./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"He knew full well what 'chuffed' meant – Galar slang that meant you were happy./p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Penny watched Arven poke and prod carefully at his wok, which was full of veggies, spices, and sauce. It snapped and popped, and her Flareon eagerly watched. She sat down beside him and ran her hand across that bristly but soft and fluffy mane. Flareon yipped gently, his sign of affection, and nuzzled into Penny's side before plonking down into Penny's lap – the boy wasn't as light as he'd been as a baby, and the weight knocked a little air out if Penny, but she couldn't help but smile./p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""So, uh-..." Arven cast a glance to Nemona, and the two of them noted the snoring. 'Mona's snores were audible beneath the campfire cooking when you listened for it. Arven resumed his food-tending, avoiding Penny's glance, but he spoke solemnly and quietly. "Look, it's not my business what emexactly /emhappened between you two. Frankly, I'm just glad you worked it out. Congrats on hooking up, and everything. I mean it." Penny nodded to this, but Arven quickly moved on. "emHowever./em" Penny had been waiting for that. He cleared his throat and shifted his position, hunched over the fire and /br /"... However...?"/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Arven went on. "I don't know if she's... emtalked /emwith you? About what's going on? But, she, um...-" Arven double-checked for Nemona's snoring again. "I don't know what was on her mind? But she... kinda broke down on me earlier today..."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Broke down... ?" A pit formed in Penny's stomach./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Full-on emtears,/em" Arven recanted, swiping his fingertips down his cheek while he sifted frying veggies with his other hand. "emNever /emseen her like it before. Like it came outta nowhere. I could tell it emfelt /emout of nowhere, too, she seemed... emsurprised? /emThat it happened?"/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"And then Penny remembered that comment from Nemona's 'Mother,' about seeming off lately. And her indirect references to 'stuff' that she 'didn't want Penny to worry about.'br /br /"That... kind of lines up with stuff I've seen and heard lately," Penny mumbled thoughtfully./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""It was embizarre, /emlemme tell you," Arven went to explain. "We were just... shootin' the crap, she started venting about stuff – not even stuff with emyou, /emjust... emlife /emstuff. We get on the subject of you two, ya know... possibly dating, and everything... Then she kind of blanked out for a bit – I got wrapped up in my cooking – and next thing I know, emwaterworks. /emThen, she wipes her eyes, blows her nose, and carries on, like it's no big deal. You think that was just this crap with emyou /emtwo?" Arven asked./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Penny shrugged, stroking her Flareon as he contently watched the campfire, occasionally leaning his nose in to sniff at the smoke, or spit an ember in. Wasn't reassuring, the idea that Nemona suddenly had some emmeltdown /emover the thought of... dating Penny... Was it because Penny was a 'replacement'? Mm, no, Penny didn't buy that. Something else was definitely up./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""I don't... emthink /emso," Penny /br /"emMmn, /emyea, same," Arven agreed pensively. "Seems like she's had a lot of her mind lately."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""W-Well, there's always hormones to consider, too," Penny pointed out /br /"Hormones?" Arven murmured, shooting her a baffled look. The look of someone who had never done any research on hormones, which... Penny suspected that was true of emmost /empeople, but emmost /empeople didn't have emreasons /emto research them like she had...br /br /Uncomfortable at Arven's confusion, Penny pivoted /br /"A-And me embarging /emin with my... inconvenient feelings, that... probably didn't help..."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Maybe not in the short term," Arven conceded. "But if you two have figured that out, means you can maybe help her work through... whatever's up. That's, uh, what a good girlfriend would do. I assume." He smirked and shrugged, trying to convey a casual tone, but she could tell he was concerned. And there was this passive vibe she was picking up of em'You put her through some stupid Tauroscrap, now make it up to her.'/em/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Which, again... fair play./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""You know, Arven," Penny pointed out primly, "this isn't my emfirst /emtime dating someone..." As she said this, she adroitly grasped her eyeglass rim between her thumb and index and readjusted it./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"He blinked widely at her, his mouth arcing in a funny way to show just how surprised he was./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""emUhh, /emright! Then." He awkwardly fussed hair over his shoulders, prodding at his still-frying vegetables. "I wasn't... meaning to emassume, /emor nothing."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""I know, emhah. /emMy point is, I'm going to do whatever I can for her. She's done so much for me, after all."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""That's what it's about, you both learn to rely on each other where and how you can, and-"br /br /Nemona's loud yawning slowed their chat to a stop. She was sitting up, slouching, with a drowsy gaze in their direction. Nemona gave them bleary-eyed looks before her sight landed on the wok./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Smells good," she mumbled, her eyelids sinking back closed before snapping open again./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Be ready in a few," Arven said, giving the pan a shake to toss things around./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Nemona made funny noises as she clambered to her feet, stretched a bit, scratched her hip, rubbed her eyes, re-tightened her ponytail, and gazed off toward the river a little ways down./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"As she began to saunter off, she sniffed and grunted out, "Gotta leak the Rayquaza..."/p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Arven snorted a stifled laugh, watching her beginning to wander off like a zombie./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""emUhh, /emyou don't... emhave /ema 'Rayquaza' to emleak, /emdo you?" he balked./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Penny felt an immediate, shocking emgrip /emof discomfort, and did emnot /emwant to be part of this conversation at all... especially after the previous remark about 'hormones'.../p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""em¡Cállate la boca!/em" Nemona whimpered back over her shoulder as she continued her slow march in search of a spot to piss. "... Just a saying..."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Penny didn't like the idea of letting a half-asleep, mildly injured Nemona wander around in the dark wilderness. But she emreally /emdidn't want to insert herself into this conversation, either. And besides, Nemona didn't need a babysitter to take a piss, she just... could do with some bodyguards, just in case./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Umbri, Sylvie," she called out, clapping her hands. Her 'mons obediently rank-and-filed. "Keep an eye on her, please?" Penny requested quietly. "N-Not a emclose /emeye, but...-" Her fuzzy buds exchanged confirming glances with one another, then nodded and trailed behind Nemona, staying silent all the while./p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"After soaping his hands (Arven carried a bar with him everywhere) and rinsing off with a trickle of Vaporeon's water (who seemed to have fun with the task), Arven began taking his fried vegetable concoction and applying it as the base of sandwiches – because, of course./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"As he did so, he brought up another topic of interest./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Hey, so... run me through what she did? Exactly?"/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Penny tilted her head sideways at an angle, raising her brow./p
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p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Arven clarified, "With-... With the Tera Orb."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""O-Oh, she-... She let it suck in energy like usual, and then, uh... let a lot of it spill back out? And then she... emused /emit. On herself."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Arven's expression contorted skeptically as he dipped the faces of slices of bread in the liquid at the bottom of his wok. He then set the slice onto a plate, wet side up, and wriggled his fingers around the other wrist./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""And you're saying it... Terrastallized her emarm/em? Seriously?"/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Seriously," Penny insisted, going slack jawed as she re-played the image in her mind's eye. "It was... emamazing. /emShe was... emso /emcool... A-And beautiful, and...-"/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Right." Arven seemed less interested in the aesthetic of it (his loss) and was hung up by something. "My parents... emdid /emhave some research notes on Tera energy's effect on humans, but... it didn't seem like they'd drawn any real solid conclusions about it. They seemed to dismiss it as not really worth the risk. In their experiments, it sounded like it just... never really had much effect, other than maybe an increase in adrenaline. But they seemed worried it could be unsafe. Unstable, at emleast./em"/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Penny shrugged, not at all wanting to dwell on this idea. It wasn't like Nemona would have any reason to do something like emagain/em... right?/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""It doesn't harm Pokémon," Penny pointed out. "And-... And Tera energy is all emaround /emus. Like, constantly. All of Paldea is emfilled /emwith the stuff, that's how the Tera Orbs even emwork./em" Penny considered the whole concept of micro-plastics, which was itself something worth wondering, but if that was a thing, there was no emway /emliving creatures in Paldea weren't absorbing Tera energy in miniscule quantities all the time.../p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""And we emdid /ementer Area Zero way back when," Arven murmured contemplatively, dipping more bread. "We must've gotten exposed to a emton /emof Tera energy that day. Can't say I've experienced or heard of any side-effects..."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""I think it really drained her, is the thing," Penny theorized. "Humans don't have the same kind of stamina Pokémon do. I mean, emI /embloody well don't. Nemona's... always worn herself out easily to begin with, and-... and her mentor's had her doing a lot of stamina training exercises, I guess."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""She emdoes /emhave trouble keeping up with us on long walks," ruminated Arven. "And she complains about the stairs at Mesagoza all the time," Arven recollected, seemingly confused by that. Of course that enormous staircase was no big deal for emhim/em, Mr. Hiker.../p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""So do emI/em," Penny objected. "They're proper emawful./em"/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Heh. It's not a emmesa /emif it's not on raised ground, is it?"/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""A-Anyway, she just tuckers out easy, is all. She's fine," Penny insisted. "Or, she emwill /embe, after she's had a long rest, and... and those bruises I gave her heal up..."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""emPfff.../em" Arven blew hot air, shaking his head. His long hair wibbled to and fro as he kept shaking his skull. "Can't decide what's harder to believe: that Nemona Terastallized emherself/em... or that emyou /emactually embeat her up./em"/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""emI-... /emI did not embeat-her-up/em," Penny cried softly in defense./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Arven just laughed, but the way he was still shaking his head and raising his brows showed plainly just how bewildered he was by the whole /br /"Look, just-..." Arven leaned forward slightly, levelling his hand out. "Make sure you two keep that whole incident to yourselves. All right? Between the Tera stuff and commanding your 'mon to attack a human? That-..." Arven took a deep breath, running his hand back through his thick, bouncy mane of multi-toned hair. "I mean, I'm pretty sure both of you broke Academy regulations, if not... Paldean law? emInternational /emlaw, even?"/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;"span style="font-weight: normal;"Penny grit her teeth, her jaws clenching tight. Of /span/spanemspan style="font-weight: normal;"course/span/emspan style="font-style: normal;"span style="font-weight: normal;" Arven would bring that up... But it was a valid point. Humans were never supposed to use Pokémon to knowingly and willingly harm other people. Self-defense was one thing, but... obviously Penny had not done so in self-defense. In a court of law, Nemona would at /span/spanemspan style="font-weight: normal;"least /span/emspan style="font-style: normal;"span style="font-weight: normal;"have that backing up her own reckless /br /"Don't worry, I'm not gonna /span/spanemspan style="font-weight: normal;"fib /span/emspan style="font-style: normal;"span style="font-weight: normal;"on you or something," Arven assured her, having picked up on her nervousness. "Just-... Gira's sake, Penny, you just really need to stop treating rules like guidelines, is all I'm getting at. The pranks you pulled on her – and even got others wrapped into? Because, what, you /span/spanemspan style="font-weight: normal;"like /span/emspan style="font-style: normal;"span style="font-weight: normal;"her? Stuff like attacking her with your Pokémon..." Arven sighed in this way that put a heavy distance between the two of them, and he shook his head slowly – she could feel the disappointment and wariness oozing out of his wavy mane of peppered-gray hair. Unable to look at her for a moment, Arven cited, "What you did? It was... kind of messed /span/spanemspan style="font-weight: normal;"up. /span/emspan style="font-style: normal;"span style="font-weight: normal;"Forcing her into vulnerable situations like that? You... could've crossed some serious boundaries." br /br /His solemn glance offered a question: /span/spanemspan style="font-weight: normal;"'/span/ememstrongDid/strong/ememspan style="font-weight: normal;" you cross serious boundaries?'/span/emspan style="font-style: normal;"span style="font-weight: normal;"br /br /"But... But I /span/spanemspan style="font-weight: normal;"didn't,/span/emspan style="font-style: normal;"span style="font-weight: normal;"" Penny was quick to defend. She knew to a critical eye, some judgment was warranted. Nemona was a bit air-headed socially, but lacking in malice. Penny's behavior, well... that could be seen as less than savoury. Not malicious, either, perhaps, but inconsiderate in its pursuit of her goals. A 'Dark Tera Type,' indeed, just like Nemona had pegged.../span/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Penny burned into Arven's skeptical stare her resolve: that she knew what she'd done could've been worse, that it could've been better, but that she had control over herself. And more importantly, that she was going to maintain that control./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""I apologized for what I did," Penny pleaded solemnly, keeping her voice low. "I-... I know I was being selfish. I stepped on a line, maybe, but I emswear /emI didn't cross it. I was in complete control the whole time, of my 'mons emand /emmyself..."br /br /Arven seemed at least content with Penny's words, and he gazed into the campfire for a couple seconds to let himself move forward, much to Penny's relief./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""All right, then. I'll drop it. But just because 'Mona and I don't mind – since everything worked out – doesn't mean you couldn't get into major trouble for it. emOr /emher, for that matter. Tera energy's no joke. My parents lost their emlives /embecause of that stuff. There's a reason use of Terastallization has limits and rules in place..." He sighed to himself and added in a mumble, "Not that Clavell seems to emcare /emso long as handing our Tera Orbs gets students in the door...br /br /"... Right." Penny swallowed the lump in her throat. "I emknow /emTerastal stuff is serious."br /br /Arven grunted with exertion as he rose up from his sitting position, slapping his hands against his thighs./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Gotta hand it to you, though," he said, dissolving the tension, "she emwould /embe exactly the type to be turned on by that kind of thing..." He gave her a raised brow and a smirk, then shook his head slightly as he rolled his eyes. "Getting knocked around, I mean."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Penny felt her face ignite and hoped that between the Flareon in her lap and campfire in front of her, it would just appear that she was warm. She was too embarrassed to say anything in reply. But she had to admit to herself that she'd figured the same thing. What had really caught her off guard, though, was how attractive it had been when Nemona had pinned her down... And how attracted emNemona /emhad clearly been by being roughed up... Almost like they both seemed to like being on the back-foot. Or the 'bottom,' or /br /But ultimately, it had been their emotions pouring out through all of their adrenaline which had clinched things. Nemona's silly talk of 'the heart of battle' or whatever had turned out to be true./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"em'Just like in one of my Johto animes...br /Love really strongcan /strongbloom on the battlefield...'/em/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""You've managed to get that crazy girl's undivided attention," Arven pointed out, stacking ingredients with care, like tucking baby Pokémon into bed. "And that is emno /emsmall task, Penny."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""emTell /emme about it," Penny chuckled. "What do you think we're doing out here? I've... got to enjoy her attention while I emhave /emit..."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""I didn't quite mean it like emthat, /embut... yea, that's fair." Arven scratched his chin, turned around, and went to double-check on his food prep. "Honestly, though, the more I've gotten to know her, the more I've realized that once she gets a passion for something – I mean, a emreal /emliking to it – it's practically impossible to tear her away from it... That girl doesn't give up easy."br /br /Penny nodded, hoping he was right. She was already feeling pretty attached, she had to admit. Arven went /br /"And hey, at least she's gotten better – heck, I hope emall /emof us have! Look at emyou, /emeven: you challenged her to a fight, yourself. You're out here, roughin' it with us in the great outdoors... I think you've gone camping more these past few months than the entire time I've known you combined. And it feels like it's taken the better part of two years emjust /emto get Nemona to learn how to read the room, you know? I think back to – you may not remember this – back in, uh, Area Zero? Right? When those two Kiraidon were sizing each other up, total embad vibes /emgoing on."br /br /"Mm, I sort of remember that..." Penny vaguely recalled how scary it had been, seeing these two ravaging dinosaur-like 'mons /br /"Well, this emone /emdetail really sticks out about it," Arven recalled. "It totally emsoared /emover Nemona's head that they were being hostile! You know what I mean?"/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Oh, emright. /emThat was-..." Penny's thumb twiddled together. "I was kind of emworried /emright then, that she might do something, uh... not-smart?"/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Let's be frank, if she'd gone down into Area Zero on her own, I'm... not sure she would've come back emout/em..."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Penny swallowed at Arven's dark theorizing, and yet... she couldn't disagree. The girl had tried engaging a single primeval Pokémon with her bare emfists /emat practically first shout just a couple months ago, or so. Nemona of two emyears /emago would've been two years less wise... And Penny did have vague memories of the group needing to keep her tethered with the rest of them, because every mystery 'mon she saw, she'd been eager to pick a fight with... The memories of that place were hauntingly bittersweet. A place of wonder and beauty, where the group had properly met, really become friends... and yet, Area Zero also haunted her in dreams, now and again, like it was hungry to swallow her back up...br /br /"I'm not sure emany /emof us would've made it out of Area Zero alone," Penny contemplated. "I think your parents' computer systems could calculate as much, and it's why it had us all stick together."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Sure. But at least the emrest /emof us had basic survival instincts..."br /br /"Mm..." It was a little tough for Penny to admit Nemona's weaknesses, especially ones that entailed actual emdanger, /embut her logic couldn't argue against his, only agree./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""At least she seems a bit smarter emnow/em, anyway," Arven conceded, seemingly with some relief. "And I think that's on account of us, at least in part. I know emI'm /ema lot happier and healthier, having you guys in my life..." He gave Penny a timid smile over his shoulder. She knew he wasn't the most outwardly mushy type, but he wanted what she and Nemona did: companionship. It was how a certain emsomeone/em had united them all together... ironic as it was, given that someone's lack of penchant for social aptitude./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"br /Speaking of which...br /br /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Hey, um... Arven, that reminds me. I've been... meaning to ask...-"/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Yeah?"/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Penny looked around to confirm Nemona still wasn't within earshot before she fired her question./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Was there ever... like... emsomething/em... going on between Nemona and... uh, a emcertain someone?/em"/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""strongScarlet, /strongyou mean?strong"/strong/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Penny choked on her tongue. Arven had just emsaid their name /emlike that!/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Nemona's not here, it's fine," Arven dismissed, flicking a wrist between forming ingredient piles. "I emknow /emshe's gotten sensitive about hearing that name, but... maybe now that you two are a thing, she'll get over it pretty fast."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""...Maybe so," Penny acknowledged. She realized she'd internalized Nemona's weird feelings about her Rival that even she herself had been 'self-censoring' Scarlet's name. "I just... am trying to figure out what, exactly, emhappened /embetween them."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Arven sighed deeply. His back was to Penny as he worked, and she saw his whole body expand and contract when he'd sighed./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Honestly?" he said. "I'm not sure, emmyself. /emLetty told me that not long after that Area Zero stuff, Nemona 'tried to make a move,' which... whatever that even emmeans /emfor her. But Letty emalso /eminsists nothing romantic actually emhappened /embetween them, and even if something emdid, /emI can tell you they've gotten over it a long time ago, for sure..."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"'emLetty./em' br /br /That had been the nickname Nemona had come up with for them. Such a sap./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Not that Penny had any right to judge, /br /And Penny was vaguely aware that Nemona had gotten 'rejected' in some way, those two years ago, but she didn't understand the context. And it wasn't really her business (not that this normally stopped her)./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""But... emclearly, /emNemona was shaken up a bit by whatever happened this past spring," Penny pointed out, referring to something more recent, something unknown. "And... the two of 'em emdid /emstop talking for a bit, didn't they? I... kept out of it, I didn't want to get in the middle, but that was the point 'Mona really started clinging onto me more..." br /br /em('Which was why I felt like I was a consolation prize...')/em/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Makes sense," Arven acknowledged, now slowly pressing bread slices on top of his creations. "Not really my place to comment on it, but... I mean, emI assume /emthey're both fine? More or less?" He was using tall toothpicks to seal the ingredients in place./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Watching Arven add that finishing touch to his food prep was making Penny a little nostalgic. When emNemona /emtried to make sandwiches, Penny was horrified – it somehow emnever /emcame together right, just... an awkward, uneven empile /emof foodstuff that left Arven in quite the tizzy./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"em'WHY are you trying to strongdrop /strongthe ingredients from so high above the plate?!' /emspan style="font-style: normal;"Arven had berated her. /spanem'Are you a strongMORON?!'/strong br /br /emspan style="font-style: normal;"If there was one thing that got /spanemhim /emspan style="font-style: normal;"fired up and angry, it was defiling food./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"em'It's like a fun stronggame /strongthis way, don't you think?' /emspan style="font-style: normal;"Nemona had rebutted, sticking her tongue out at him./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"em'A strongstupid/strong game that you are strongterrible /strongat! Now, stop strongdropping all the boiled eggs!/strong'/em/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"em'Jejejeje...! Boing-boing...!'br /br /'Not the strongpickles!/strong'/em/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"emstrong'PLOP. /strongspan style="font-weight: normal;"Jeje.'/span/em/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;"embr /emspan style="font-style: normal;"Gosh, what an adorable idiot... Penny found herself swooning a little just thinking back on it... /spanemDamn, /emspan style="font-style: normal;"that had been... probably a couple years ago, now...? But the memory had solidified. For all Penny knew, that was the moment she started developing an earnest curiosity about Nemona. She couldn't say at that point, just that whatever feelings she'd harbored hadn't come to attention until /spanemNemona /emspan style="font-style: normal;"had started seeking /spanemher /emspan style="font-style: normal;"out so much.../span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;""span style="font-style: normal;"Far as /spanemI /emspan style="font-style: normal;"know," said Arven, pulling Penny back to the present, "Letty was feeling... uh... let's say, /spanem'overwhelmed?'/emspan style="font-style: normal;"" Arven's expression clenched into an awkward, narrow-eyed smile./spanem "/emspan style="font-style: normal;"Nemona kept expecting them to battle, like, /spanemevery day. /emspan style="font-style: normal;"Some days, for two /spanemhours /emspan style="font-style: normal;"at a time, even. Letty started to dread showing their face around the Academy because they just /spanemknew, /emspan style="font-style: normal;"as soon as they did... /spanemBam. /emspan style="font-style: normal;"She'd be right there, eager for a fight." He looked down at the fire and some of his wavy bangs fell over his eyes. "It was getting to be too much. I mean, /spanemsure, /emspan style="font-style: normal;"they became a Champion and everything, they /spanemliked /emspan style="font-style: normal;"battling with Nemona, but I think they've always wanted more out of life than just... Pokémon battling. They definitely /spanemneed /emspan style="font-style: normal;"more, for sure."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;""span style="font-style: normal;"Is /spanemthat /emspan style="font-style: normal;"why they're just... not /spanemaround /emspan style="font-style: normal;"lately?" Penny prodded, a bit concerned as to how Arven could even /spanemlive /emspan style="font-style: normal;"so long without his partner around. Penny had barely lasted the 40 minutes it had taken to go shower, get her stuff from her dorm and meet at Nemona's place./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Arven silently stacked his sandwiches, seemingly hyper-focused on this task. Penny decided to give him the space to answer, and as her Jolteon asked for a scratch behind the ears, Penny obliged, careful as always not to snag on his /br /"Heya," she quietly said to her old friend as she gave those ears a nice scratch./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"At last, Arven responded, continuing to talk about Scarlet./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;""span style="font-style: normal;"Honestly, I'm not even /spanemsure /emspan style="font-style: normal;"what their long term goals are, besides just... making a living. They're still working things out – guess /spanemthat's /emspan style="font-style: normal;"something Letty and Nemona share in common, at least. Scarlet's been travelling a lot, though – I mean, /spanemyou /emspan style="font-style: normal;"know, you're in the group chat."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Mm." Penny nodded. "They don't... talk much, though, and they never replied to the my latest text. I don't think Nemona's heard back from them in a long while, either – at least, she hasn't mentioned it."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;""span style="font-style: normal;"Well, apparently," Arven cited, "just this week, Nemona sent them a freaking /spanemessay/emspan style="font-style: normal;", and I think that... kind of intimidated them. /spanemYou /emspan style="font-style: normal;"know Letty, they can't stand walls of text..."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;""span style="font-style: normal;"Heh. /spanemOr /emspan style="font-style: normal;"long lectures on how amazing my Veevees are..."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;""emTss. /emspan style="font-style: normal;"It's hard to get them to stay in one place for too long, and I mean, I'm kind of the same way! Which has worked out really well, mostly."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;""span style="font-style: normal;"You've gone on a few trips together," Penny remarked. "I remember feeling kinda jealous. Makes me wonder... where Nemona and I would go..." Penny's mind wandered to the Lake of Rage. She'd never been, and she couldn't get that logo from one of Nemona's T-shirts out of her head. Johto was probably beautiful in the autumn... Or what about the sakura blossoms in the spring time? /spanemUgh, /emspan style="font-style: normal;"it felt like such a fantasy to picture the two of them, dressed in kimonos, tourist-ing it up in a place like that.../span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;""span style="font-style: normal;"At least her family's loaded," Arven remarked, rather bluntly. "You could probably go /spanemtomorrow, /emspan style="font-style: normal;"do a round-trip from here to... /spanemCastelia /emspan style="font-style: normal;"for lunch/spanem, /emspan style="font-style: normal;"grab dinner in Wyndon on the return trip, and be back in your dorm in time for classes on Monday."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;""emPff, /emspan style="font-style: normal;"I dunno if her family's /spanemthat /emspan style="font-style: normal;"rich," Penny scoffed. She never really heard them talking about all travelling around, just Nemona's 'Father' and sometimes older sister. Then again, they had /spanemhouse servants /emspan style="font-style: normal;"or whatever.../span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;""emAnyway/emspan style="font-style: normal;"," Arven rerouted the topic. "Nemona's keeping herself tethered to the Academy. She /spanemacts /emspan style="font-style: normal;"like a free spirit, but you know as well as I do how loyal that crazy girl is." br /br /spanem'And what kinds of obligations she must have,' /emspan style="font-style: normal;"Penny added in her head, considering the family and school alike. It was no wonder Nemona was getting a little stir /br /"I bet the Academy'll have her around their finger for a good while," Penny theorized, assuming that Geeta herself was no-doubt wanting to keep the girl close at hand as a potential replacement. It was /spanemdifficult /emspan style="font-style: normal;"to picture Nemona filling /spanemthose /emspan style="font-style: normal;"shoes, however. Being La Primera was /spanemso much /emspan style="font-style: normal;"more than just battling.../span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;""span style="font-style: normal;"Letty, though," Arven concluded, "they come and go as they please, and I've made my peace with that. My parents loved each other through /spanemtime and space, /emspan style="font-style: normal;"I'm pretty sure I can handle some long distance."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;""span style="font-style: normal;"Well said," Penny sighed tiredly, "You're stronger than /spanemI /emspan style="font-style: normal;"am..."/span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""And that's why you want to date someone whose wavelengths match your own."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;""span style="font-style: normal;"Yeah..." Although now Penny was letting her mind wander to thoughts of /spanem'What if Nemona actually wants to go out and see and do things in the world? Would I have the courage to follow her...? Would I be holding her strongback /strongfrom doing that kinda stuff...?'/em/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""As far as things between Letty and 'Mona," Arven said, pausing as he craned his neck to look into the distance. His voice lowered and he spoke a bit quickly, so Nemona was obviously coming back. "I know emotions ran high for a bit early on, but the way Letty talks about it, 'Mona kinda scared her off in emthat /emsense, so-..." He trailed out with a shrug, then unassumingly lifted a hand to wave at Nemona./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Penny nodded silently, knowing the topic was off the table now that her girlfriend was back./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"But as Nemona approached, Penny thought to herself, em'And that's all assuming Nemona even /ememstrongliked /strong/ememLetty that way to begin with. Let's say she /ememstrongdid: /strong/ememit's not like /ememstrongI'm /strong/ememstill pining after /ememstrongmy/strong/emem ex from Spikemuth, I barely even think about her anymore, and we haven't talked since I came back to Paldea. Things change. Feelings change, too. That's how we got here in the first place, after all – me, Nemona, Arven; the three of us wouldn't have touched each other with so much as a ten-meter Steelix before Area Zero. And look where we've ended up. I have to trust that if Nemona says she likes me, and wants to be with me, here and now, that it's how she feels. So there's that, done and dusted. And I have to make sure she comprehends how genuine /ememstrongmy/strong/emem feelings are, too... But I still think I ought to ask her about it, just in case /ememstrongshe /strong/ememneeds to talk about it...'/em/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Nemona arrived, making grubby gestures with her fingers as she approached Arven and his finished foodstuffs./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Kyogre's emwaves!/em" Nemona cried, patting her tummy. "I'm so hungry, I could eat emall /emof that stuff by emmyself!/em"/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Please don't," Arven flatly commanded./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""I would emalso /emlike to eat some," Penny cited dryly. She reached out to pet her Umbri and Sylvie for jobs well done, reminding, "And I think our pals here have been patiently waiting, as well..."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""emJeje./em" Nemona bent down, looking at least a lot less worn out now, and joined Penny in petting her 'mons. "emAy/em," she quietly winced, having pricked herself on Jolteon. As she flicked her wrist (a bit of static electricity sizzled off), she seethed a little and clutched it, realizing her hand still hurt a bit from their fight. Penny lamented how such a clumsy girl could be such a battle whiz... But then again, Nemona kinda hated being called a 'whiz,' because she'd had to put the work into it. Guess that same effort had yet to be put into things like 'dexterity.' Not that Penny was any better... At least Nemona was able to resume her Pokémon playing, giggling as Vivillon tickled at her back and Sylveon brushed up against her black leggings./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Nemona and Penny's Pokémon had always gotten along, and everything – the healing power of Veevees was immense – but they seemed to have picked up what was being put down: that Nemona's importance had just skyrocketed even higher. And so they were being even more friendly to her than usual. Penny was at least relieved she hadn't experienced too much of that the other way around – getting slobbered and coddled by Nemona's... less aesthetically empet-able /emPokémon wasn't something she was looking forward to, if she was honest. They were so battle-trained, it might not have even been something to worry about. The fact was, Nemona looked at her Pokémon more as... fellow members of a sports team? And Penny viewed hers as empets, /emas family, like Arven and his Mabosstiff. It was something she and Arven had bonded over back in the earlier months of their friendship. Arven barely had a single team of 'mons, and Penny pretty much just had her Veevees, along with the handful of 'mons she'd captured more recently. Nemona, though, had at emleast /emthree full teams, maybe even more. And she 'wasn't even good at catching Pokemon,' she insisted, which Penny believed – it was hard to imagine just how much effort it had taken to amass that many emand /emget them /br /It was also kind of impossible to have that many and treat each of them with the individual care and attention they needed to form a meaningful bond with their trainer. Nemona emtried, /emof course, seemingly always with the incentive of emtraining, /emnot so much socializing. But now, over two years later, Penny had finally gained emsome /emsemblance of Nemona's pursuit of strength... Having strong Pokémon who you worked well with certainly had benefits, on top of being friends./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"But before too long, the human hands petting Pokémon found their way to petting humans, and Nemona had playfully scooted Flareon out of Penny's lap so she could use Penny's cross-legged lap as a pillow. Penny ran her fingers through Nemona's hair, which had been washed since their fight that afternoon. em'So soft...!' /em/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""emBow-WOWF!/em"br /br /"You emsaid /emit, Pal," chastized Arven. "Just emlook /emat these two Chatots-in-a-tree, singing their sappy emlove song /emright in front of all of us, when they're gonna have the whole place to themselves soon enough!"/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Why wait when my emsuper pretty, darkly powerful girlfriend /emis right stronghere /strongin front of me~?" Nemona scoffed in a sing-song voice, mimicking a Chatot's melody with the final words of her sentence. She reached up her hand and ran a fingertip along Penny's chin. It tickled and caused Penny to snort-laugh, retracting her head into her neck like a Shuckle into its shell. But it was the good kind of ticklish, because her stomach felt empty and giddy, like riding the giant wheel at Wyndon./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Well, I guess I'm glad you both worked things out," Arven said. "Even emif /emI now have to deal with this PDA." em('Not as P. as I'd prefer, honestly!')/em "Not everyone gets that chance. But the details aren't my business, so don't bother filling me in. I can just strongtell /strongfrom the way you're suddenly latching onto each other like mushrooms on a Paras – I'm guessing you two are an official couple now, huh?'/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"They nodded stupidly, probably looking as giddy as kids in a candy shop as their eyes remained locked on each other./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Arven smugly bobbed his head up and down a bit./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""I expect you two to remember this the next time you doubt my judgement. Unless you forgot that emI'm /emthe reason you met up today?"br /br /"Yeah, yeah, you were right," Penny had /"strongNO, /strongdon't strongtell /stronghim-" Nemona had /"Obviously I was right! And almost always, emhaha/em!" Arven chuckled /"emUghhh!/em" Nemona groaned in a comically low register, tightening her fists against her chest./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"After enjoying their 'celebratory meal' as Arven called it, together with the Pokémon present, they wasted away the time letting the campfire peter out, swapping tales of past memories and current goals./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"They'd dished plans for the future, exchanged ideas on potential dates two girlfriends might take each other on... They'd come up with the loose plan to meet as a trio – or a quartet, should Arven's partner ever be around – once every weekend. The stability would slot into people's schedules and give them an excuse to continue deepening their bonds. And if they missed a weekend here or there, no big deal. This had all been Nemona's idea, and she'd cited she needed things to be scheduled or she'd forget, but it was something she felt was important./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""emFriendship is a lot like training,"/em she'd mentioned. em"You gotta keep at it, keep pushing your limits bit-by-bit, if you want it to get stronger!"/em/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Penny wasn't big into forcing social interactions, but then... in moderate doses, it really was proving to be good for her, she had to admit. She was too shy and awkward to handle regular in-person contact with her old Team Star friends, but she could manage regular contact Nemona, Arven, and the occasional Scarlet appearance. As long as she had enough space to recharge inbetween. And if at least some of that recharging time was going to be with her real, actual, amazing girlfriend, well... she was pretty sure she could brave more consistent social encounters with Nemona at her side./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Dinner had been tasty, conversation had been bearable – even empleasant. /emPenny couldn't recall the last time the three of them had all gathered in the same spot for more than half an hour span style="text-decoration: none;"with nary a Pokémon battle to distract anyone. She'd treated her Veevee-lutions to some of Arven's tasty sandwiches, let her Vivillion catch some fresh air, and began feeding the Vivillion some berries, as the sandwiches didn't seem to take./span/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"br /"So Penny actually trained a Scream Tail that gave Nemona a real taste of defeat, huh...?" Arven was musing in the background, feeding his own ' /br /"emFirst off, /emthat ancient Jigglypuff beat me in a fistfight, which I had emnever /empracticed before," Nemona protested, bursting with defensive prickly. "Got me with some emcheap /emstatus ailments, too! And emsecondly, /emI defeated emher /emthe second time we fought, emalso /emin a fistfight, even emafter /emsome cheap hits! So emtechnically, /emwe're one-to-one, I haven't emlost!/em"br /br /Funny – when it was just Penny and Nemona, she didn't seem so fussed about 'defending' any kind of title, but when Arven was teasing her, it was full-cannons-loaded with any ammo to big herself up...br /br /"Heh," Arven fed his Mabosstif a chunk of sandwich. "She gets so snarky about those win-loss ratios, huh...? And here I thought she was all 'it doesn't matter if you win or lose'..."br /br /"emIt-! /emIt emdoesn't /emmatter!" Nemona sputtered. "I'm just emsaying/em, if you give me some time to adapt, emthat's /emwhere I shine. Take your gimmick troll wins all you want but when it's best of three, like for emreal, /emthat's when you emreally /emgotta watch out..."br /br /Penny didn't care. Whatever battle score there was between her and Nemona, the result was 'astounding victory' now that they were a couple. She kept holding up a Sitrus berry aloft so the Vivillion could eat comfortably./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""emOhhh, /emI emget it /emnow!" Nemona spat out suddenly, redirecting her attention back to Penny. "emVivi-/emllion, like... like emVeevee!/em" She pointed her fingers back and forth between the butterfly 'mon and Penny's 'Veevee Fam.'br /br /"Th-... That's empurely /emcoincidence," Penny dismissed, gently feeding. "I got it because it can fly, and knows Sleep Powder. emAlthough... /emthat emis /ema pretty cute coincidence, now that you mention it..." She smirked at Nemona's childish grin./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Nemona beamed back at her, eyes squinting. The glow of the campfire drew attention to Nemona's freckles, which Penny had noticed were getting a bit darker and increasing in number over the time they'd known each other. Not that she expected anyone else was paying attention to such things.../p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Either way," Nemona pointed out, waggling a pointer finger as she grinned all the while, "it shows that you're willing to break outta that comfort zone, am I right? Training new 'mons, picking up new tactics... That's what being a trainer's all about!"/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""A embattler, /emat least," Penny was quick to assert. Training wasn't emall /emabout just fighting, as far as she was concerned./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Right," Nemona conceded, her smile shrinking a little as her previously finger-wagging hand ran against the back of her neck./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Taking some time emoff /emfrom battling and just emrelaxing /emis part of being a trainer, too," Arven pointed out, having picked up what Penny had been putting down./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Well," Nemona shrugged, getting a little defensive. She folded her arms and she cited, "My schedule's emsuper /emtight these days, and if I wanna keep multiple teams in circulation... emAnd /emtrain my emown /embody? emVenga, tío... /emI've gotta make sure I'm not wasting any time..."/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Penny swapped glances with Arven around Nemona's shoulder, and she knew they were both wondering the same thing: em'Is this girl ever going to slow down?'/em/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Penny opted to change angles, here, while they were on the subject. She swallowed her own awkwardness and reached out, taking grasp of Nemona's hand, sandwiching it between her palms. Nemona looked visually swept off her feet, for just a fleeting second, before sifting her bangs out of her eyes and returning Penny's gaze./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Is... emthis /emwasting time?" Penny asked solemnly, trying her best to put on baby Baby-Doll /br /"N-emNo, 'course/em not," Nemona cooed out instantly, her form bending on its knees slightly as she clasped her open hand on top of Penny's wrists./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""emSpeaking /emof time," Arven grunted. The clanging and clattering of cookware could be heard as he began packing his things. "Think now's the part when me and my dog oughtta leave you two love Chatots to it, eh?"/p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;""Oh!" Nemona pried herself from Penny's grip (to Penny's dismay) and rushed over to him. "Guess it emis /emgetting pretty late, huh?" The moon was out, nearly full, and the stars were showing up in the sky. While Penny eagerly anticipated the stargazing that was to come, Nemona began helping Arven tidy things up./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Penny's Sylveon brushed up against her, and as she began stroking her from head to tail, Arven's Mabosstiff trotted over, eager for pets, too, apparently.../p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"Penny cringed a little, afraid to get slobbered, but hesitantly gave in. The pupper was too much of a sweetheart for her to resist at that point. Thankfully, he didn't slobber as she instinctively feared. He'd become well accustomed to Penny over the past two years, well-trained and Very Good Boy as he was. So he knew to only give her nuzzles, and gentle licks. It made Penny wish she had a Veevee so big, but alas, the greatest weakness of Veevees was their diminutive size. Not unlike herself, she /br /Penny watched as she pet Pokémon – she watched Nemona awkwardly fumbling with haste, eager to be useful to Arven, and in turn, Arven's subtle ways of masking his wariness at her overflowing energy. Guy was probably about as socially tuckered out as Penny was, but, of course, Nemona could just keep going and going... Until she physically passed out, anyway./p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" /p
p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"And now, Penny realized, emshe /emwas going to be that focal point of Nemona's boundless energy. And it thrilled her to her core. It had taken so much out of her, including bringing out what she felt were her worst traits, but... like she had said herself, Nemona had taken it all in stride, was still standing, and didn't even seem that emfazed /emor bothered. Love really emhad /em'blossomed on the battlefield,' and Penny was giddy with confused delight by the reality of it./p