Months had passed since Plasma's attack on Unova. Winter had come and gone, and while there was some snow still hiding in the shade of the buildings and covering the mountains of Unova, spring had returned.

As had Sabrina. Nicholas had returned to their hotel one night a few short days before the first snowfall of winter to find his fiancé in their bed. It had been a wonderful few months together. A true winter vacation. Trips to the mountains, resorts, great week-long activities with their harems and, as the snow fell outside, many glorious days spent just being together, curled up underneath the sheets or in front of the fire. Whether that fire was in a fireplace or belonged to one of Nicholas' pokegirls.

But, with spring, came responsibility. Test showings of the Wonder Fighters movie had begun, and Sabrina was expected to attend. And, when Nicholas had estimated the time to be right, he had told her of Karen's words.

As he had fully expected Sabrina's initial reactions had been negative. Cussing out the Houndoom, cussing out him for even giving Karen the time of day. But Nicholas had remained patient. Steered the conversations away from Karen to instead the Houndoom's advice, and over the many months he and Sabrina had come to the same conclusion. She had been right.

Which was why he now sat in a small outdoor café with a number of resumes scattered across the table in front of him. But… even as he read them, he couldn't help but consider one that had never been submitted. He couldn't help but think of Karen. Perhaps it was because she was a pokegirl. He was much more sympathetic to her situation than of any of the humans whose information sat before him. But also, he couldn't help but compare what he had received to what he had experienced. To what Kalmiya and he had discovered about the Houndoom. Compared to her, the perfectly acceptable candidates he was reviewing were worthless.

Nicholas let out a sigh and dropped the latest resume he had been reading. It was unfair. To everyone. To Karen, whose only true crime was being born a Houndour. To Sabrina, who couldn't help but be afraid of her. Even to him, though his grievances were much less of an issue. He'd recognized Karen's worth as a pokegirl very quickly but had been forced to ignore it and now – now, whenever his thoughts turned to her, he couldn't help but wonder what could have been.

He abruptly slid all the papers together and shoved them into his bag. He needed to talk to Sabrina.

Unfortunately, she wasn't available. He'd known that but his feet had brought him back to their hotel anyways and now he spun, interacting with the pokegirls and wandering aimlessly through the halls for a few hours until she returned from the latest screening.

"Hm? Oh!" Sabrina exclaimed when she entered the lobby and was immediately set upon by Nicholas, her laughter smothered by his affectionate kisses. "Hi, honey! I thought you would be out!"

"I missed you," Nicholas chuckled, hugging her tightly as he continued planting kisses on everything he could find. "How was it?"

"It went really really well," Sabrina gushed happily. Kali chuckled behind her when Nicholas' kisses came twice at fast at that and Sabrina squealed. "NICHOLAS!"

"Details!" he cried, finally letting go of her only to snag her by the hand and begin dragging her towards the elevator. "I want details, right now."

"W-Well, this was a focus group screening," Sabrina stammered out between laughs. "A LOT of really hardcore fans of the Wonder Fighters franchise, and almost all of them gave positive reviews! They even- hey!" She laughed when the door opened on their floor and Nicholas just about ran them down the hall. "WHOAH! SLOW DOWN!"

Nicholas spun them into their room, Kali pausing outside when she noticed him give her a meaningful look in between the affection and the door closed to leave the two alone. "They even what?" he asked.

"So, I'm playing the big villain of the movie, and I heard a few of the focus group discussing something," Sabrina gushed. "They said; 'I wonder if they're setting up the new main villain?'."

"And that's… good, I assume?" Nicholas asked.

"YES!" Sabrina squealed. "So, Wonder Fighters is this super massive franchise, right? There are comics, and movies, and all sorts of things. Spinoffs… porn… you know, all that," she laughed. "But a year or so ago, they wrapped up the last really big storyline. The last movie was kind of a… monster-of-the-week cleanup kind of thing. Just a bunch of action without any real story behind it. And, well, this movie was kind of going to be the same, right? It's not an adaptation of any of the comics, and my character exists in this completely other dimension, so it's more of an alternate universe kind of thing, right? BUT!" Sabrina said excitedly, "If it's popular enough, then who knows what could happen?"

"Oh, I get it!" Nicholas exclaimed. "So the focus group was wondering if this is actually more than what it's being billed as, but is rather setting up for the big new storyline in the franchise. Which would mean YOU are the big new thing!"

"EXACTLY!" Sabrina just about screamed in joy. "I can't believe it, when I heard them talking about that I nearly couldn't contain myself in the theater."

"Oh honey I am so proud of you," Nicholas gushed. "And filming is done? If screenings have started it's in the final steps of editing, right? When is the release?"

"Late summer," Sabrina replied excitedly. "YOU are coming with me to opening night, I guarantee that."

Nicholas laughed and found her lips in a massive kiss. "You know I wouldn't miss it for anything," he said when they finally broke apart. "This is so wonderful. I couldn't be happier for you."

Sabrina kissed him back just as hard and Nicholas lost his balance, sending both to the ground as they burst out in uncontrollable laughter.

"S-So, late summer?" Nicholas laughed, letting himself lay out on the floor while Sabrina wiggled her way into a more comfortable position on top of him, her arms wrapped around his body. "What's the plan until then? More screenings and stuff I assume, but what else?"

"Actually, I might not be attending many more screenings," Sabrina explained. "From here I think they send it off to final editing and then the next time it's in a theater it'll be for the advance critic screenings. Not too long after that will be the premiere."

"Well, then what's the plan?"

"Don't have one," Sabrina giggled and kissed his nose. "Well, I do, but maybe I don't want you busy anymore. I'm too excited."

Nicholas chuckled. "Oh?"

"I want to shove you into a gym."

Nicholas blinked. "Er…"

"Don't 'er' me," Sabrina huffed. "I know you've heard about the Pokegirl League announcements. The new Victory Road should be finished later this year."

"Well, I mean, yeah, I had," Nicholas stammered. "But your premiere is this summer, right? You want me to be off in the middle of a badge challenge when it happens?"

"You won't be off anywhere," Sabrina retorted. "You'll be right here in Unova. I know you'll be able to take a few days, weeks maybe to be there. And in the meantime, I get to follow along as you train a new harem! I've never been able to do that before, the closest I got was meeting your girls back in Johto."

"Okay, let's just assume that's what happens," Nicholas soothed. "Let's say I do start a badge challenge here. I'm not saying I'm against it. If it's what you want, I'll gladly do it. But. I have no idea how it would start. At all. I haven't considered anything related to a badge challenge since arriving here last year. It was all you, honey." He raised a hand to cup Sabrina's cheek. "When I promise you something, you should know that I mean it."

Sabrina quickly blinked away her suddenly watering eyes and clutched her hand to his. "I know," she whispered. "And you're leaving your thoughts open, letting me know for myself, too. I am so thankful you do."

Nicholas smiled up at her. "So. Is it really what you want me to do?"

Sabrina closed her eyes. "I, I do," she whispered. "I do want you to." Her face flushed. "Damn it, you always do this to me. I'm babbling."

Nicholas grinned to himself and reached up with his other hand to pull Sabrina against his chest. "I think you're just practicing," he teased. "When the day comes, I hope those two words are still the only ones you're able to find."

"OH!" Sabrina cried as she realized what he was saying. "Oh, h-honey…"

Nicholas chuckled again and kissed the top of her head. "So you want me to start challenging the Unovan gyms," he said. "Alright. Since it's what you want. You're sure we couldn't just find other ways to pass the time until your premiere?"

"None that would be as exciting, I think," Sabrina murmured into his neck. "Watching you in action… When I watched the recording of your battles at the PWT I kind of understood why Nikki sought you out."

Nicholas laughed. "Please don't tell me you got hot over it. It's weird enough for Nikki, even if with her it makes sense."

"Got-?" Sabrina squeaked. "Oh, crap. She gets like that?" Sabrina cleared her throat nervously. "I mean, I guess she's a pokegirl… And that's her entire thing… N-No, nothing like that, I promise." Nicholas felt her pressing her face deeper into his skin. "I was just saying you do it really, really well," he heard her muttering in embarrassment.

Nicholas chuckled again at her reaction. "I'm flattered," he teased. "Right. Starting a badge challenge here." He hummed as he studied the ceiling. "Kanto, Professor Oak invited me and Michael to enter the starter program, Johto I went to Birch… There's probably some researcher here in Unova who I could find, right? Or I could just walk outside of Pokestar and scare something up in the woods, there's a decent feral population around here from what I've seen." His lips thinned. Maybe this was a good opportunity. "I'll need to do some research, I think. Kalmiya's pretty busy these days hunting down Plasma's escaped sages so I'll need to do it myself, or find someone around here to do it for me."

"Oh, right," Sabrina stuttered, picking herself up and ducking her head to hide her blushing face from him. "You were, um, talking about doing that, right? Did you get any applications?"

"I got a few," Nicholas replied. He let go of Sabrina and sat up as the woman got to her feet. "Most of them seem decent enough."

"Nobody really good though?"

Nicholas watched her. "Maybe we should change the subject."

Sabrina was wiping her face. "Huh? Why?"

Nicholas sighed. "You know why," he said quietly. "I'm pretty sure I know the best candidate I could ask for, and she's not an option."

Sabrina visibly flinched. "No."

Nicholas lowered his gaze to avoid her eyes. "Do you ever want to work on things?" he asked softly. "I know you say you want to get better, but… Do you think, for the rest of your life, you want to be afraid of them?"

"Why do you have to ask it like that?" Sabrina asked in a tortured voice. "Of course I don't. But she's… even if she WASN'T one of them, she's HER!"

"Do you trust me?"

Sabrina stared down at him. "I… How could you ask that?" she choked. "Of course I do."

Nicholas raised his head again to look at her. "If you really want to get better, and it's okay if you don't," he added, "then you'll need to be around Houndoom at some point. Until you can be around them without immediately feeling afraid. I don't think that will ever happen with a stranger, and that's okay," he affirmed. "If you never manage to be able to see a random Houndoom somewhere without wanting to avoid her, that will be okay. But what if she was a friend?"

Sabrina released a barking laugh. "That bitch? A friend?"

"I'm never going to bring a random Houndoom into my harem," Nicholas replied. "I swear that to you. It would be completely unfair to you. So, there would have to be a reason for her to be near us. There's no other good reason I can think of."

"But a friend?" Sabrina asked incredulously. "Her? Are you insane? I don't think that pokegirl knows what a friend is."

Nicholas toyed with his shirt. "You're right," he eventually said. "Of course you're right. But maybe that would be better for us? If the only relationship she ever had with you was professional?" He shook his head. "No expectations that way. She'd just be an employee. If something ever became a problem, you're always the one in control."

Sabrina sat on the edge of the bed. "You have no idea what she put me through before you arrived."

"Wouldn't it be nice to know that she was on your side instead?"

Sabrina gazed at him. "She really won you over in that meeting, didn't she. You really believe this will work."

"Tell me that it will never work and I'll drop it. Forever."

Sabrina fell on her back with a drawn-out sigh. "I've already tried to tell you that," she murmured. "I couldn't. Because deep down… Deep down, I know you're right. Despite everything she's done, it was never personal." Silence. "I never want to see her face. Hear her voice."

"Never?" Nicholas asked. "Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of having her be a way to help you recover?"

"…Never without you being there too," Sabrina conceded. "Because… Despite how much this makes me want to scream… I trust you. You think this will work. You think it will help." She shuddered. "But I don't know if I can handle it before the premiere."

"That's perfectly fine," Nicholas immediately replied. "How about this. I'll put Karen through a trial run. Hire her on as my… public relations representative, we'll say. Have her take over most of the things Kalmiya does for me. Filter email, screen calls, you know. Things that she might do as an agent." He got to his feet and walked over to take her hand comfortingly. "Most importantly, as part of her hiring contract I will forbid her from doing any other work, or from going beyond what work I give her while she's under my employ. I'm sure I can offer her enough money and benefits to make that acceptable, which means that once I get her to sign, it's done. You never have to worry about her appearing against you ever again. Then, if everything is going well, I'll make a more permanent offer and, eventually, if you want her to, she can take over more responsibilities too."

Sabrina gazed up at him. "Okay."

Nicholas squeezed her hand. "I promise you, I would never suggest this if I didn't think it could actually help you."

"No, I know it could," Sabrina whispered back. "My therapist has mentioned it herself. She called it 'exposure therapy'."

Nicholas blinked. "I wasn't aware there was a term for it."

"Ha. Of course you didn't." Sabrina let her eyes drift shut. "It terrifies me. She said it would, and it has, but over the last year with you here beside me… Things have felt less scary. I haven't needed the rescue meds in a while, did you notice?"

Nicholas smiled and gave her hand another squeeze. "I noticed you hadn't gotten a refill in a while."

"So… if my therapist mentioned it as an option, and my loving man in all his efficient wisdom has discovered a way to make it worth the pain…" Sabrina shivered. "…then I'm willing to give it a try."

"But not yet," Nicholas repeated. "You are so close. I want the next few months to be wonderful for you, without any chance of something going wrong. As wonderful as any could ever be. Because you've made it. You're here. In just a few short months, you are going to premiere to the world as the most amazing and beautiful actress they have ever seen." His lips twisted into a wicked smile. "I told you before that nobody, not Karen nor ANYBODY else was getting through me. This is just going to be me being more… proactive in removing her as a threat."

Sabrina opened her eyes, brimming with happiness. "I love you."

Nicholas grinned and fell on top of her, pulling her with him onto the bed as their hands began pushing beneath their clothes.

.

.

Karen tiredly ran her hand through her hair. Three fifty-five. Where was her four o'clock? She needed to try and catch the Grouse twins' agent before he left for the day. At least this meeting was just supposed to be a pitch. Those usually were easy to cut short.

She yanked her arm down at a knock on her door. "Enter," she called and shuffled the papers on her desk. She didn't look up until the door had opened and the two figures outside had walked into her office. "I'm afraid I just have a detail of your business today, Mister or Miss…?" As her eyes rose she shot from her chair and sent it clattering against the wall. "WHA-!"

Nicholas motioned for Cathy to shut the door. "I must say, that's a rather surprising reaction to see," he said with a chuckle. "The reputation of the talent scout I was expecting to meet didn't make it seem as if she would be so exuberant."

"Uh, I-" Karen quickly found her chair and dragged it back into place before sitting down. "Mister Topolski. I am just quite surprised to see you. Why didn't you sign your reservation with your name?"

"My sincere apologies," Nicholas replied, hiding his grin. "I must not have been logged in to the scheduler you use."

"No, it…" Karen trailed off. "Hem. I suppose that doesn't really matter. I, believe you are here for some kind of pitch? It is still my understanding that you only represent Miss Natsume, who is already within my catalogue."

"Mmm. I wasn't thinking that kind of pitch, no," Nicholas replied as he settled into a chair and propped his bag on his lap. "Tell me, what is your current availability for contract work?"

"…Well I am unfortunately quite busy at the moment," Karen replied. "In fact, if I had known you were not an agent looking to submit their client to my catalogue, I would have likely declined your reservation."

"Well that would have been quite unfortunate," Nicholas replied. "I suppose it's a good thing I forgot to sign my name." He popped the top on his bag and pulled out a sheath of papers. "I ask, because I am quite interested in your ongoing contracts. Specifically, any that may relate to my client."

Karen swallowed. "I am afraid all contracts I enter are strictly confidential, Mister Topolski."

"Oh, I'm not asking for any details," Nicholas chuckled back. "No, I am just here to present you with an alternative." His eyes were intently holding hers. "You see, the winter season has given me time to think." He placed the papers on Karen's desk and spun them around to her. "I would like to hire your services, Miss Karen. If you would please take a look at the first page of this contract, you will see that the opening clause lists rates of compensation for any and all conflicting obligations accepting my offer today may cause you to break." He gave her a smile. "I am quite an impatient man, you see. I am not interested in waiting for your contractual obligations to expire. I want your services now."

Karen slowly picked up the papers and began reading. Nicholas waited; she flipped through the pages and when she got to the end she let them fall back together and cleared her throat. "I am afraid this contract is incomplete, Mister Topolski," Karen said in a voice that barely reached his ears. "There are no defined values here. For period of employment, or for pay, beyond the opening clause."

"Oh, I assumed you could fill in those blanks," Nicholas said dismissively. "You will also notice my signature is not yet applied, of course. I will have to review whatever values you choose."

"Of course," Karen whispered.

"My only question for you, Miss Karen, is whether what I am presenting today is acceptable?"

Karen was clenching the papers so hard her hands were trembling. "The opening clause… is very generous," she managed. "Offering twice the penalties I may accrue for the contracts in question could become very pricey for you, Mister Topolski."

"I think I can afford it," Nicholas replied with a smile. "I do hope you also saw that the… let's call it, an 'advance', for your coming services, would be provided immediately upon signature. All you need to provide is an estimate. I will not demand you to accrue any additional penalties by providing me with copies of the contracts in question."

"What is stopping me, then, from naming a price above what is fair?" Karen asked.

Nicholas chuckled. "Well. I suppose a grain of trust would be required, wouldn't it Miss Karen?" His eyes glinted. "However, I promise you. If you decide to cheat me, I will know about it."

Karen slowly looked back down at the papers and, noticing her trembling hands, quickly dropped the stack on her desk and shoved her hands back together on top of them. "I see."

"I would not dream of breaking the contract as written, however," Nicholas said quietly. "You would be free to walk away with whatever sum you chose. The only thing you would forfeit… is your future."

"I believe… that the terms are more than fair," Karen choked out. "Would you allow me to review this… offer… in greater detail, before presenting you with my answer?"

"As I said before, I am quite the impatient man, Miss Karen," Nicholas replied. "I am happy to grant you a reasonable period for review, but I am very anxious to make use of your services as soon as possible."

Karen nodded. "I understand. Is this all for today?"

Nicholas smiled and rose. "I merely ask for you to consider my offer, Miss Karen. Do be in touch." He turned, Cathy opening the door for him and closing it behind her to leave Karen sitting motionless behind her desk.

Cathy grunted as they exited the shared office building. "Why was she so flustered?"

"Do you know the term, 'writing a blank check'?" Nicholas asked. When Cathy shook her head he continued. "It essentially means to be willing to grant someone whatever they ask for, before they've even asked for it. Being willing to do whatever it takes to obtain something without worrying about what you will have to pay." He smiled. "The contract I just handed Karen was a blank check. There are a few small pieces in it that keep her from doing something stupid, as well as limit the term of employment if things don't work out, but that's all more to cover my ass than anything I might expect her to do. What I expect is within… oh, probably a day, I'll be receiving a message from her with the signed contract and it will be perfectly reasonable."

"All this to get a new pokegirl in your harem, Nicholas?" Cathy rumbled. "You didn't have to do that with me."

"It's not at all to sway a pokegirl to my bed," Nicholas replied. "It's to eliminate a threat to my mate. It just so happens that there will be some added benefits to the arrangement." He grinned. "Besides, didn't I, miss bull? You and I have a contract of our own, or have you somehow forgotten?"

Cathy blinked before beginning to laugh. "That's right. We do. I had forgotten, because it stopped being important to me."

"As I hope this contract will someday stop being important to Karen," Nicholas replied softly. "But right now, it is the most important thing in the world to her." He turned to give Cathy a sideways grin. "She's efficient. You ready to set out on a journey with me, my bodyguard? I have a feeling Karen will have set something up for my badge challenge by the end of the week."

Cathy chuckled and slapped her hands together with a deafening crack. "Aye."

.

.

It hadn't even taken a single day.

Nicholas listened in amusement as Karen outlined who she had gotten in contact with. She even sounded… almost less stiff, than he had ever known the Houndoom to be. Relief he was sure was a major part of it. There was some kind of moral compass beneath Karen's unfeeling exterior or she would have never approached him and revealed what she had in the first place. But also relief because even though the contract he had handed her had been precisely for what he had agreed upon with Sabrina, basically a short trial period of Karen's services as his public relations manager, he had remained true to his word – and to the value he had originally placed her at. He was certain that he was paying this pokegirl what she was worth for perhaps the first time in a long, long time.

And she was worth every penny she asked for. Less than a day and he was listening to her outline a full three-week schedule that would have him touring one of Unova's most respected tamer's educational facilities and, if all went well, walking away with not just a pokegirl to start his badge challenge but an enormous boost to his public perception. He could make his speeches and he could help take down criminal elements, but it all meant nothing without the more mundane gestures. Karen understood that quite well.

She would have done extraordinarily well as a political advisor, he realized, before smiling when he thought about what she had been doing for a living in the first place. She basically had been a political advisor. Merely one who specialized in the politics of the famous.

"…unfortunately the junior professor would not be able to meet you for the trip to Aspertia City until next Friday," Karen was saying. "Nuvema Town is all the way on the other side of the League, so travel will take quite a few days. Unless you were to perhaps respond to the invitation and offer to cover teleportation services…?"

Nicholas chuckled. "All the way on the other side of the League, huh. Well, I truly dislike public teleportation services. At least not the one here at Pokestar. Please respond to the invitation with my offer to provide one of my own pokegirls for the junior professor's traveling comfort. Please make sure to stress that she can be available at any time on this Friday and that there will be no need for special teleport arrangements on the junior professor's part."

"You have a teleport-capable pokegirl that has been to Nuvema Town?" Karen asked.

Nicholas smiled. "Not yet."

Karen blinked. "How about the travel to Aspertia? It could also take a full day by conventional means."

"Just let the junior professor know that she will not have to worry about conventional transport during this trip," Nicholas replied in amusement.

"…Very well," Karen replied. "I will send your response. How many people and pokegirls will you be intending to visit Aspertia with? I will have to notify the tamer's school."

"I intend to be visiting with… let's say, one, two… the idea is that I will be making a demonstration for the students, correct?"

"That is correct."

"Then let's say… eight people, for now."

"And how many pokegirls?" Karen asked.

Nicholas raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh. They were included in the eight. Pokegirls are people, after all."

Karen's fingers tightened on the pen she was holding. "O-Oh, right, my mistake. Sir. Um. I should have specified – the school is requesting to know how many humans and how many pokegirls will be in attendance."

"Two humans. Just myself and my fiancé," Nicholas replied. "Then six pokegirls. Each of my Alphas as well as the pokegirl who will be providing teleportation – she's also very interested in science – and then my personal bodyguard. She never lets me go anywhere without her."

"Very good," Karen hurriedly replied. "Should I let the school know that you may change those numbers if necessary?"

"I think I can manage to keep them the same," Nicholas replied. "I don't want to have my entire harem overwhelming their facilities."

"Of course." Karen flashed a smile. "Then I will make those responses right away. I do apologize, but the school has already been told that the earliest they should expect you is late next week. Even if you are able to provide an earlier timeframe, it will be unlikely to work for them."

"That's fine," Nicholas breezed. "Thank you. Please keep me updated."

"Of course." Karen bobbed her head and the call ended.

Nicholas let a grin slip over his face as he listened to the amused chuckles starting up around him. "You tamed her well," Marin said with a grin. "Was that really the bitch who was going after the Mistress?"

"She sounded so contrite," Elizabeth rumbled. "You certainly tamed her well, Master."

"I haven't even tamed her yet," Nicholas chuckled back. "I'm just that good."

"Oh, for sure," came a sultry response before Galina was climbing past Elizabeth and treating him to a show as she pantomimed lifting her mask from her bronzed skin. She was just reabsorbing it but she had perfected the illusion to a point where it really looked like the Marowak was stripping the last stitch of covering from her naked body. "Next week? We're going to lose you next week?"

"None of you are losing me ever again," Nicholas replied fondly, catching her when she fell into his arms and humming happily as Galina hooked her arm behind his head and pressed her breasts to his skin while she nuzzled his cheek. "I hope you're all ready for one wild road trip."

"Oh? But didn't you say only we would be joining you?" Dahlia asked as the rest of the harem began drifting inwards to join Galina in starting the orgy. "The Alphas, I mean."

"Oh, the road trip comes after that," Nicholas scoffed. "I mean once I'm left to my own devices and start going after badges. Sabrina has said how she's never had the chance to participate in one of these adventures from the start but I've never brought my harem along either! I think it's going to be an awesome time. And you get to meet the new girls as they come along!"

"Well," Cassidy laughed, hovering over the rest and leering down at where Nicholas was slowly vanishing under a pile of naked pokegirls, "right now, Master, we have you to ourselves."

Nicholas winked at her before he was completely smothered by a moaning Hana. "What a wonderful problem to have."

.

.

A week later Cassidy waited patiently in front of the Nuvema Pokegirl Research Lab. The young woman she was supposed to be transporting was late, but she didn't mind. Her antennae were twitching like crazy as she basked in the thoughts flying all around her.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Cassidy brought her attention back to see a young blonde woman in an orange travel jacket stumbling out of the lab as she struggled to stuff her bag shut. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't expecting you so early!"

"It's not a problem at all, Miss," Cassidy replied kindly. "You can have all the time you need. My Master is perfectly happy to let you take your time."

"No, no, I'm ready, I am," the woman laughed happily. "And, please, call me Bianca. I know, pokegirls and being respectful and all those things, but I try not to even let the girls in the lab call me anything besides Bianca or sometimes Professor." She giggled. "And Professor is supposed to be Professor Juniper."

Cassidy smiled. "Then I will refer to you as Bianca. Are you ready to go, Bianca?"

"Yep!" Bianca adjusted her red rimmed glasses. "Um, I think the message said something about not needing to prepare for teleport travel? What did that mean?"

"My Master had to make use of some public teleportation services while he was here in Unova," Cassidy explained. "They had to take him through some kind of process to do so. I will simply be taking you to Pokestar Studios."

"Oh, probably because of multiple jumps," Bianca nodded. "That's okay, I'm used to them."

Cassidy's eyes twinkled. "Ah. No, no. Multiple jumps will not be necessary today. If you would please just take my hand?"

"But teleportation-" Bianca was starting to say when she placed her hand in Cassidy's and the world jumped around them. "-takes… Huh?"

"Welcome to Pokestar Studios," Cassidy said smugly.

Bianca blinked. Then pulled her hand from Cassidy's and whirled to take in the gaudy sets around them. "But… But…"

"I am a proud member of my Master's harem," Cassidy chuckled behind her.

Bianca whirled back. "Wow."

"If you would please follow me?" Cassidy motioned for Bianca to enter the hotel and led her towards a conference room. "I will also be taking you, my Master, my Mistress, and the others of the harem who will accompanying us to Aspertia today. I hope that teleport will be as seamless for you as this was."

"What level are you?" Bianca blurted out.

Cassidy turned back with a slight look of surprise. "Level?"

"Like, what is the measure of stress against your energy matrix?"

That brought Cassidy to a complete halt and she stared at Bianca. "I… apologize, I have absolutely no idea what you are asking me. And that is… very surprising."

"I thought your Master was a pokegirl researcher?" Bianca asked. "The message talked about it and said I would be teleported by a pokegirl who helped him with his work. Is that not you?"

"I- Well, I-" Cassidy stammered. "I certainly try, but my Master is an evolutionary researcher who has been unfortunately very busy being a tamer recently."

"Well if he's an evolutionary researcher then you should definitely know about all this!" Bianca cried. "So, pokegirls, like you, are creatures of energy, not matter like humans are. That's why pokeballs work, and the transport system, and the storage system… Your energy is just translated and transported as electricity! It's so much easier to do that for a pokegirl than a human, though we've figured it out. Kind of. Over short distances," Bianca conceded. "The signal starts to degrade a bit for a human if you try sending them too far… Anyways, you're energy in a physical form. What I'm asking about a level is how much of your energy is maxed out. Because, every pokegirl's energy matrix has a theoretical maximum, a maximum amount of energy that she can be composed of. One to one hundred, so if we were to take that maximum and place it as a ratio to your current energy magnitude, then the percentage defines what level you're at!"

Cassidy was completely wide-eyed as she listened to Bianca go on and didn't notice the man standing behind her until he began to chuckle. "To be fair to Cass," he said, causing Cassidy to whirl towards him, "I didn't really learn about that concept until a few years ago myself. I barely graduated before being thrust into the life of a tamer; research is something I sorely miss."

"You must be Nicholas!" Bianca exclaimed, diving past Cassidy to eagerly pump Nicholas' hand. "Do you know? I assume Cassidy's pokeball has a proper reading on her level, but tamer profiles are actually surprisingly private. I could read all about the names and breeds of the pokegirls I might be meeting but none of the actually interesting information!"

"Not off the top of my head, but I can make an easy estimation," Nicholas replied. "My pokegirls, barring perhaps a few exceptions, are all above level seventy."

"SEVENTY!" Bianca exclaimed. "Well no WONDER she teleported over here so effortlessly. A level seventy Alakazam with world-class training like hers could probably teleport herself across the Unovan League ten times over!"

Nicholas chuckled at the look on Cassidy's face. Her ears were standing straight up and he knew by the way her antennae were twitching that she was absolutely enraptured with this young woman. He didn't blame her. "That's probably pretty fair," he laughed. "So! Professor Bi-"

"Just Bianca, please," Bianca interrupted.

"…Bianca," Nicholas amended. "Won't you come sit down? I'd love to talk about the plans we have."

"Absolutely!" Bianca exclaimed, following him into the conference room and waving excitedly at the others seated inside. "Hi! I'm Bianca!"

"This is the, uh, junior professor who was coming to meet us on our way to Aspertia," Nicholas explained to the waiting group. "She prefers to just go by Bianca."

"A pleasure, Bianca," Sabrina said with a smile and a wave of her own. "I'm Sabrina Natsume, but I also would love if you just wanted to call me by name."

"Sure!" Bianca exclaimed. "You're, uh, well you used to be a gym leader in Kanto, right? I think that's what popped up first when I searched your name."

Sabrina laughed. "Yes, but I'm retired now."

"And wait, wait," Bianca said, swiveling to the pokegirls. "Um. Okay I know the Miltank is Cathy, she was mentioned in the message as being Nicholas' bodyguard, and then I remember it saying he was bringing his Alphas. So…" she hovered between Dahlia, Miyuki, Bea, and Zisela. "I'm lucky you're all so unique! That must make you the Venusaur Dahlia, you're the Glaceon Miyuki, you're the Metagross Bea, and you're the Garchomp Zisela!"

Laughter and smiles greeted her guesses. "That's us," Dahlia said with a smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Bianca."

"It's mine, really!" Bianca cried. "I love meeting powerful pokegirls, did you know I actually tried the badge challenge myself some years ago? That's why I'm so happy to be a part of the starter program here in Unova, I never made it all the way, but that doesn't mean I didn't try!"

"Then, you have a harem of your own?" Nicholas asked, taking a seat and motioning for Bianca to do the same.

"Oh, I do!" Bianca said. "Well, not really a full harem, exactly, but I do have three pokegirls who work with me and who are technically registered to me."

"You should have brought them along!" Nicholas exclaimed. "We would have loved to meet them just as much as you."

"Oh, well, Bella is probably much too busy at the lab," Bianca stammered. "But, um, maybe you can all visit there one day?"

"That's a wonderful idea," Nicholas replied. "Well, I guess we should focus on this trip first. Would you like to explain to my pokegirls what we'll be doing in Aspertia?"

"Absolutely!" Bianca grinned and threw out her arms. "We're going to put on a show!"

Scattered chuckles met her words. "And what kind of show, Miss- I mean, Bianca?" Bea asked.

"We'll be going to the Aspertia Tamer's School," Bianca explained. "It's one of a few secondary schools for aspiring tamers before they take on their first pokegirl. You don't have to go to school to be a tamer here in Unova or in the World League, but every League has some kind of education system after normal human schooling. We're even getting ready to build our own advanced tamer's school!" Bianca exclaimed. "That's going to be so cool when it finishes. I think they're saying in the next ten to twenty years."

"But for now, we're going to Aspertia," Nicholas said to gently steer Bianca back on track. "You said we'd be putting on a show?"

"Right! So, the idea is to have a demonstration for the students," Bianca said. "A real-life application of some of the lessons they're taught. Battle strategy, type matchups, command styles, pokegirl tactics – I just know you'll all make a great impression on the students!"

Nicholas nodded with a smile. "We'll absolutely do our best. What else are we going to Aspertia for?"

"Oh! Right." Bianca flashed him a grin. "We also have a small sister lab on the grounds of the Aspertia Tamer's School, where I manage things with the starter program for the students. I have a bunch of really awesome assistants working there. Since we always try to keep pokegirls in the starter program grouped into proper type advantage trios, sometimes we just have a number of tamers that doesn't match the number of waiting pokegirls. The ones who don't match with a tamer right away become my assistants at that lab, and I try to work them into new proper trios for the school's valedictorians. I'm sure you'll find an awesome pokegirl among them for your badge challenge!"

"I know I will," Nicholas laughed. "Well girls, that's the plan," he said to the others. "We'll probably be spending a full week or so in Aspertia. The original plan was somewhere around three weeks, but that was including travel time before. Thanks to Cassidy we get to cut well over a week of boring driving from the schedule."

"Sounds excellent," Dahlia replied fondly. "When do we leave?"

"Well I thought we could get lunch, maybe talk about some more things that interest us?" Nicholas asked Bianca. "Then once we're all set Cassidy can teleport us to the school?"

Bianca clapped her hands together. "That sounds like a wonderful idea! What's this place got to eat?"

.

.

"If you would all place your hands on my arms?" Cassidy said. The others were in their pokeballs and safely stowed on Nicholas' belt as the three humans each took hold of the Alakazam. "Excellent. Teleporting in three, two…"

"I just can't get over how easy you make this seem," Bianca gushed when they appeared outside of a large ornate building. "Three passengers this time? Probably half the distance but that's still what, at least four times the energy as when you brought me to Pokestar?"

"I will admit, I felt that one," Cassidy laughed.

"Well we're here!" Bianca threw out her arms towards the building. "Welcome to Aspertia City and the Aspertia Tamer's School!"

"What's our first activity?" Nicholas asked as they spread out from where Cassidy stood. "You're our guide here, Bianca."

"So, uh, from what I remember the school is expecting you to give your demonstration Friday," Bianca said. "Since, well, I wasn't exactly sure when I'd be ready to travel, haha. Whiiich means there really isn't anything planned for today! Or… tomorrow. Oh. I could maybe give you a tour of the lab?" She asked. "Introduce you to a few of the pokegirls even. Or, we could go visit my friend Cheren! He's the gym leader here now."

"A tour sounds excellent," Nicholas replied, looking to Sabrina. "What do you think, honey? I know I don't need to ask Cass what she thinks; I can see her excitement from here."

"As can I," Sabrina laughed. "Diana gets so embarrassed when her ears do that. Sure, a tour sounds fun."

Nicholas waited for them to pass through the main gates before releasing his other pokegirls. "Welcome to the Aspertia Tamer's School, girls," he said, gesturing around as they walked across the grounds.

"Off to the left is the elemental testing facility," Bianca said, pointing at what almost looked like a pile of precariously stacked rubble. "That's where students go to see the interactions between various pokegirl attacks. Then on the right you can see the main school building, and off in the distance are the dorms, and the building you can see just barely peeking over the main building is the gym! It's brand new. It used to be a big auditorium for the school but after Leader Lenora stepped down Cheren managed to become the new Normal-type leader! He has an arrangement with the school where the graduation tests have been replaced with a gym challenge. Win or lose, it's a great way for the students to show off what they've learned."

"That is an excellent arrangement," Nicholas replied. "Like, I'm shocked no other league has thought about something like that before."

"Cheren is super smart!" Bianca exclaimed happily. "He's actually also a teacher here! He does it both, runs the gym while still continuing to teach. I'm so excited to see him again, it's been… wow, it's been at least months since I last visited Aspertia and I can't even remember if I managed to say hi the last time I was here."

"So he's your friend, but how did you two meet?" Nicholas asked as they turned down one of the paths towards another building in the distance. "Childhood friends?"

"Yep! We actually both started our badge challenges together," Bianca said. "I dropped out, though… Cheren kept going! He has all eight badges. Well, I mean he has to, to be a gym leader. He never went for the champion title, though. Champion Alder talked with him about it back then and Cheren decided he wanted to decide what being strong meant to him before he challenged Champion Alder. And, well, I guess he decided being strong to him meant being a teacher, because he took a job here soon after."

"It's honestly really nice to be reminded how my experience isn't the norm for most tamers," Nicholas said. "Now here I go, getting ready to meet yet another harem of pokegirls for my badge challenge here in Unova." He chuckled. "I wonder if I'm the tamer with the most pokegirl partners in the world."

"Maybe!" Bianca said. "Here, this is the lab, come on in."

The first thing Nicholas saw when they stepped inside was a diverse group of pokegirls in lab coats all standing in the lobby. "Welcome back, Professor!" the pokegirls chorused when Bianca entered.

Bianca was immediately dashing from girl to girl in a tizzy. "Oh! You! You!" she was stammering out, the girls squealing and laughing as Bianca grabbed at them only to immediately move on to the next with nothing more than a quick pinch on the cheek as their punishment for the greeting. "EVERY TIME!" Nicholas and the others were laughing at the scene before them and Bianca gave up halfway through the girls to whirl around indignantly. "OOOH! Look at what you've all done, our guests are laughing at you!"

"They're laughing at you, Professor!" a voice cried from within the group and the entire collection of pokegirls scattered when Bianca spun back around and dove into the crowd in pursuit of the culprit.

"WHO WAS THAT! WAS THAT HALEY?" Bianca yelled as she pursued a part of the laughing group down a hall. "HALEY, GET YOUR TAIL OVER HERE RIGHT NOW YOUNG LADY!"

Nicholas had fallen against the wall he was laughing so hard and even the normally stoic Bea had a massive grin on her face. "She is loved," Miyuki gasped out in between laughs.

Nicholas caught his breath. "Woo! She certainly seems to be. If only more humans were like her." His fingers curled. "That is the world we dream of. It will come."

That sobered the group and they all shared nods.

"Hey! You're the uh, big champion dude… It'ssss…?" Nicholas turned to see one of the pokegirl assistants poking her head back into the lobby and squinting at him, a pair of small blue-furred ears quivering atop her head. "I know I saw the news. Um. Oh, geez, I'm sorry. I keep thinking about the jokes everyone was making about your name. Topple over."

Nicholas nearly choked as he involuntarily let out another laughing snort. "Oh! Shit. Yeah, close enough. Topolski. It's a weird name, so you can just call me Nicholas."

"Yeah! Nicholas. Cool." The girl flashed a grin. "Hey, the professor said something about how you might be looking for a partner?"

"That's part of why I'm here, yes," Nicholas chuckled. "Are you one of the ones who I'll be meeting?"

"Oh, all of us are," the girl replied cheerfully. "We're all part of the starter program. Hey, once the professor calms down, you should come back and see what stuff we've been doing! Her message said you would be interested, right?" The girl's head swiveled and her eyes widened. "Uh oh. Gotta go."

She vanished as Nicholas began to hear Bianca's shouting coming from the hall she had vanished down and a few moments later the woman skidded into the lobby again, casting about wildly. "IT WASN'T HALEY! IT WAS TALIA! TALIA!" She spun to the group. "WHICH WAY DID TALIA GO!"

Nicholas forced himself to keep from laughing. "I have no idea who was who."

"They all have nametags!" Bianca exclaimed. "I can barely keep them straight myself since girls come and go every single year. But I know Talia! She's one of the Oshawott and if I didn't like her so much I'D WRING HER CUTE LITTLE NECK!"

That broke Nicholas again and he slammed a hand to his mouth to stifle his laughter. "Oshawott," he gasped out. "What do they look like?"

"White and blue fur. Paddle tail," Bianca described. "They're the Water-type of the trio."

"Oh." Nicholas grinned and pointed the way the girl that had been talking to him had gone. "It just so happens an Oshawott was chatting with us a few moments ago. I never saw a nametag, but she went that way. Very quickly when she saw you coming."

"I guarantee that was Talia," Bianca snarled as she spun towards the hall Nicholas indicated. "TALIA! GET OUT HERE YOUNG LADY!"

The lobby was silent after she stampeded down the hall, but only for a moment. Then the silence was broken once again by laughter as the entire group collapsed together on the floor.

.

.

"Professor, I've got that experiment you wanted me to run over here." "Professor, could you take a look at my calculations? My products aren't changing when I change the reactants." "Professor-?"

Bianca was a whirlwind of activity as she flit between each pokegirl calling for her. Once Nicholas and the others had recovered they had cautiously wandered the lab until they'd found Bianca chattering away in a small room with half a dozen of the pokegirls, seemingly having completely forgotten that she was going after Talia the Oshawott. When Nicholas had hailed her she'd begun happily introducing them and then continued the tour as if nothing had happened. Now they'd wound up in what seemed to be the main experiment room with most, if not all, of the pokegirls he'd seen in the lobby. Including Talia. He'd seen the Oshawott ducking around her compatriots as she kept a healthy amount of space between her and Bianca.

Cassidy had already broken off to begin pestering the pokegirls about what they were doing and Nicholas and the others were doing much of the same, though as Nicholas talked his way around the room he understood that for him there was a different meaning here. He was easily the human with the second most eyes on them, second only to Bianca herself. These pokegirls were all working as professor's assistants while they waited for their chance in the starter program, and here he was. A chance.

There were three distinct breeds comprising the pokegirls here. The Water-type Oshawott, as Bianca had already described, which Nicholas was now identifying as a sort of otter pokegirl. Then he had spoken to a number of porcine girls with curly tails and orange and black skin patterns, making them the Fire-type breed. Tepig, he believed one of them had identified as when he'd asked. Finally, the Grass-type breed seemed to surprisingly be a kind of lamia, and not the kind that had multiple forms, like Vika or her mother Kary had been as Dragonair. Just the one legless form like a Dratini, which made some sense if they were each first-stage pokegirls. Would they become metamorphs after evolving?

"Snivy," he muttered to himself as his eye drifted to one of them nearby. "That's what she said you were. Snivy." He studied the girl his eyes had settled on. She was turned mostly away from him, poring over some notes, until she lifted her head and began speaking to a Tepig on the other side of her table. Before he knew it his feet had brought him over. "Um, hello."

She completely ignored him for just long enough to finish speaking to the Tepig before glancing over. "Yes? Oh, the tamer." She quickly flashed a warm smile. "Sorry about that. I didn't want to lose my train of thought."

"That's perfectly fine, I was interrupting," Nicholas replied. "What are you working on?" His eyes flicked to the nametag hanging from her coat. "Adalinda?"

"I am currently working on a small pet project of mine," Adalinda replied as she turned back to her notes and picked up a sample tube. "I'm testing my saliva against various substances."

Nicholas blinked. "Your… saliva?"

"Yeah." Adalinda raised the sample tube to the light as she swirled the contents around. "I'm a pure Grass-type, and as far as I know I'll never become part Poison-type, so then why do I have these?" She tilted her head back towards Nicholas and opened her mouth to display two small gleaming fangs among her lower teeth. "They're not hollow. I'm not venomous. But my saliva seems to act as a neutralizing agent," Adalinda continued, closing her mouth again and returning her focus to her sample. "I want to understand why my body is built the way it is. The Professor talks about how every pokegirl breed has evolved over many years to fill a specialized niche. So what's mine? What makes me unique, and how can I use it to fight?"

Nicholas had heard almost nothing after Adalinda had glanced back at him and opened her mouth. The way she had done it had brought only one eye around to look at him, and it had been halfway obscured. Showing only a thin slice of pupil cutting down the middle of her iris, as if her eyes were slit. Fangs bared in his direction.

His instincts had recognized a dragon.

"Sorry, em," he stammered as his mind raced to catch up. "Gotten… any good theories?"

"That's what I'm looking for now."

Nicholas waited for her to elaborate but Adalinda had gone silent again. "…I'll leave you to it, then?"

Adalinda wasn't turning away from her sample. "Sure."

Nicholas awkwardly looked around but when Adalinda made no moves to continue the conversation he just sighed to himself and moved on.

It was many hours later that the group exited the lab again, Bianca looking up at the setting sun with a groan. "Oh, dangit. I took too much time with the girls, now there's no way Cheren will be at his gym…"

"That's perfectly fine. I had a wonderful time talking to everyone," Nicholas replied with a smile. "Besides. I'm going to be here for a week – I am certain we'll find time for you to introduce me to Cheren."

"That's true!" Bianca exclaimed. "So, did you get a chance to speak to everyone? Did anyone stand out? Find anyone you like? Anyone find you?"

"I definitely hit it off great with a few of those pokegirls," Nicholas replied. "Was there going to be a specific time or process you were thinking for me to actually invite one of them to be my partner?"

"Just before you leave, really," Bianca said. "It's not as if you're going to be partnering with one of them as part of your graduation from the school or something. You're welcome to visit the lab whenever you want to!"

"Even without you?" Nicholas asked in surprise.

Bianca waved her hand. "Oh, I don't think I'll be anywhere other than there, really! Not while I'm here, at least. There's just so much to do!"

Nicholas chuckled and nodded. "Okay. I'll keep that in mind then. Right!" he addressed his harem. "Friday. Big showcase display thing. I've got ideas, but we'll need to go over some plans tonight." He looked back to Bianca. "I think we'll retire to a hotel for the night, if that's okay with you?"

"Absolutely!" Bianca exclaimed. "Though, I think the school had a place for you on the grounds?" She hummed. "Yeah, I think so. Don't go anywhere. Let me go find the headmaster!"

Nicholas watched her run off towards the main building. "Well. That would make things easier."

"You must have been having so much fun in there," Sabrina giggled. "I think almost all of it went over my head, to be honest."

Nicholas laughed and reached over to draw her into a hug. "Oh, you don't have to be ashamed of that, honey. Whenever you come back chatting about measures and flow all I can ever think is of weighing things and flowing liquids," he said. "But I know you don't mean anything like that. I'm just as clueless about your performance stuff as you are about my research!"

"Did you really 'hit it off great' with some of those pokegirls?" Cassidy asked curiously. "I wasn't paying any attention, I'm sorry."

Nicholas chuckled. "We've finally found something that keeps you from snooping through my head? I should have found research for you to do years ago." He grinned when Cassidy's eyes lit up. "As a matter of fact, I really did. There was a Tepig that seemed nice, but I was finding a lot of those Oshawott who resonated with me. That Talia girl made a great first impression and the others of her breed were just as fun to talk to."

The other girls were talking amongst themselves but Dahlia was watching Nicholas. "No Snivy catch your eye, Master?" she asked.

Nicholas made a face. "Not really. None of them seemed interested in me."

"None of them?"

"Not a one," Nicholas said with a shrug. "It's fine, though. I don't think any of the ones I met really stood out to me in the first place."

A frown crossed Dahlia's lips. "Master. You only met a single Snivy."

Nicholas blinked. "Eh?"

"Just one," Dahlia repeated, "and not only was she the only one you approached, she absolutely made an impression on you." She folded her arms with a scowl. "I was watching."

"Eh… No, I definitely met more than one, didn't I?" Nicholas muttered to himself. "There was the one with the two Oshawott… well, I mean she was there, but she didn't say much… Or the one with the…" A frown. "No, none of them were interested, I definitely was around a couple."

Dahlia shook her head. "I don't understand. It can't be because she was more focused on what she was doing than the small talk. I would think that would make her more interesting to you, Master, not less. And the look on your face when she turned to you…"

"Look, Dahlia, all I can remember Snivy being are uninterested," Nicholas said. "I'm not going to worry about it too much."

"You don't remember her?" Dahlia pressed. "She was holding sample tubes and talking to a Tepig."

"Sample tubes, Tepig…" Nicholas snapped his fingers. "Yeah, that's the one I mentioned. She definitely was trying to ignore me." He gave Dahlia a bemused smile. "Why on earth would you think I like that in a pokegirl?"

"Because of Bea," Dahlia immediately replied. "Because of Elizabeth, Kary, Marin. Because of a dozen more of my harem sisters who are all just as willing to stick a hand in your face as they are to give you a kiss." Now her eyes narrowed slightly. "You love that in a pokegirl. Those of us who aren't afraid to talk back. Who don't hang on your every word. So why would you try and make me believe you disliked it in that Snivy?"

"Dahlia, there's a difference between the relationship Bea and I have and a pokegirl who's straight up trying to ignore my presence," Nicholas chuckled. "I didn't interest her. And that's okay."

"Master, the problem isn't whether or not she was interested in you," Dahlia said tiredly. "I'm wondering why you tried to claim that none of the Snivy interested you. When I know that just isn't true."

"I just said! I wasn't interested because she was just trying to ignore me."

"ARGH!" Dahlia threw up her hands with a frustrated shout. "Master, I KNOW WHAT I SAW! Why are you denying it? Why?" She froze. "Wait… No. That would be stupid."

Nicholas placed a hand on his hip with a sigh. "What, Dahlia."

"Do you… actually believe that you weren't interested?"

"I'm trying to tell you that I do," Nicholas replied patiently.

"Master." Dahlia had lowered her arms and was now staring straight into his eyes. "Why am I your only Grass-type pokegirl?"

Nicholas frowned. "Huh? You've asked this before, I have Sammy as-"

"Sammy is not remotely the same thing," Dahlia interrupted. "She has a Grass-type form. She is not a Grass-type pokegirl. I am the only one in your harem. So why?"

"I dunno," Nicholas shrugged. "Haven't met any others I liked?"

"You just did."

"And I'm telling you I didn't," Nicholas replied, starting to feel a bit impatient with the Venusaur.

"You looked at that Snivy. And what I saw in your eyes was something I saw for the first time over ten years ago," Dahlia growled. "What I saw, Master, was the same look as the one you gave me during our first taming. Minutes after the first battle I had as your pokegirl. You looked at that Snivy and you wanted her. Her own feelings be damned."

Nicholas stared back. "There's… There's no way. You're mistaken."

"I know I'm not," Dahlia said. "I know my Master. You looked at her like you looked at me."

"No, Dahlia, there's just no way," Nicholas chuckled nervously. "There's no way I'd look at some random pokegirl the same as my first."

Silence. Dahlia let Nicholas' words hang on the air for nearly a minute before she spoke again, her voice barely a murmur. "Is that it?" she asked. "Is that the reason?"

"W-What?"

"Is that why there has never been another Grass-type?" Dahlia asked him. "Is it because of me?"

"Because of…?" Nicholas trailed off. "Dahlia, you're incredible. How could it be because of you?"

"You tell me." Dahlia's eyes had lost most of the ferocity but she maintained her gaze on him. "Why can't you bring yourself to admit how infatuated you were with that Snivy?"

"I…" Nicholas tried helplessly. "Dahlia, I…" His eyes pulled away from hers, wandering as he struggled to figure out what to say. None of the Snivy had interested him. They just hadn't… had they? He'd just been approaching them to be courteous, but none of them had… had…

Dahlia waited. Watched as Nicholas' expression shifted, confusion creeping in until he looked back at her. "The one with the sample tubes. Her name was Adalinda."

"So you do remember her," Dahlia said.

"I… I don't remember approaching her," Nicholas said, still with confusion coloring his words. "I swear to the creator, Dahlia, I don't remember wanting to approach her. But I did, I must have, because I talked to her. But she wasn't interested, I know she wasn't! I'm not misremembering that, am I?"

"I never said you were, Master," Dahlia replied gently. "She definitely was more interested in her work than in the human who was interrupting her."

"So…"

"So what I am asking you, Master," Dahlia said, reaching out to take his hand, "is why you are denying what I saw in your eyes when she looked at you."

Nicholas stared at her. After another few minutes he spoke. "I… I think that might have been the entire problem, Dahlia."

Dahlia raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"I looked at her, like I look at you," Nicholas whispered. "And that… That just couldn't be allowed to continue. Because… Because then there might be the risk of another pokegirl outshining my wonderful first."

Dahlia sighed. "It's because she's a Grass-type."

"Because she's a Grass-type, and I liked her," Nicholas spelled out in shock. "When in the world did I start believing this?"

"Miyuki?" Dahlia called to catch the Glaceon's attention. "Did Master ever consider a Grass-type for your harem?"

"Um… Not that I can remember," Miyuki replied.

"Bea?"

The Metagross shook her head. "There weren't really all that many we met, but no, he definitely did not."

Zisela was answering before Dahlia could ask her. "None at all," she growled. "But there was one he appreciated. One of Candice's pokegirls, an Abomasnow. We were only five, then, and about to head for the Elite Four. He could have sought one out. But he didn't."

Dahlia looked back to Nicholas. "An Abomasnow?"

"A big, beefy, furry Ice and Grass-type pokegirl," Nicholas muttered. "I did appreciate the look of Candice's girl. But no. I never felt an urge to look for one to join us." He shook his head. "Damn it. That's not the only one, either. When I first met Sohn she talked about the Grass-type starter girl in Sinnoh, Turtwig. Every time I heard them mentioned, every time I saw one later… I just kept comparing them to you."

"You're such a massive idiot sometimes, Master," Dahlia chastised gently. "You have been from the very beginning."

"And you've been there from the very beginning to scold me for it," Nicholas whispered back. "I can't believe I've been doing this. What am I supposed to do now?"

Dahlia grew a massive smile and her vines shot out to spin him back around towards the laboratory. "You walk back in there, find this Adalinda, and GET OVER YOURSELF!" Nicholas felt Dahlia give him a shove and he stumbled through the doors with the Venusaur's laughter ringing out behind him.

.

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POKEDEX UPDATED

Tamer: Nicholas Topolski

Badges:

Harem:

Non-Com Harem:

Kalmiya, Porygon-Z – Level 35
Cathy, Miltank – Level 72