Avery's Pokémon

Eevee (?)

Nature: Rash

Gender: Female

Ralts (Lady)

Nature: Modest

Gender: Female

AN: A serious chapter, but fun is coming soon. Don't worry, guys.

Anton Pine was interesting. Jack and Juliet were certainly right about that.

He was much younger than I expected. When I hear "Chairman" or "Mister" I picture old men in their late forties; Graying hair, receding hairlines, pronounced wrinkles etc. Anton barely looked twenty-five. He could have been my age, or he could have been younger. His hair was long and blond, barely falling to his shoulders, and slicked back. It was a real mess, and his eyes were tired yet full of restless energy.

The people he was sitting at the table with were exactly what I expected the Chairman of a Pokémon Fanclub to look like. A bunch of withering old rich men with Pokémon, including a few from other regions. There were only three men sitting with Mister Pine, but their Pokémon took up most of the spots except the ones near the Chairman.

One was a red-faced, immensely overweight man with a deeply receding hairline. His entire face was dripping with sweat and he had to wipe it off with a handkerchief every few seconds. The source of the apparent overabundance of heat was the Pokémon leaning against him, smiling and eating poffins. It was a Magmar, I'd never seen one before.

Another was a man so skinny it was almost horrifying. His face was deeply sunken in, he had a handlebar mustache, and he was all skin and bone. His eyes were as cold and blue as ice, and it was clear just looking at him that he had way too much money. Ten thousand of my shirts probably couldn't pay for what he was wearing. An exaggeration, but his suit was such an amazing quality. I owned one dress shirt, I couldn't imagine wearing something like that. He also had a Pokémon; This one was sitting in his lap, a Sneasel that could not have cared less about what us humans were up to.

The last guy was a bit strange, too. His hair was very long and gray, so long it reached all the way down his back and he was so buff he looked like he was going to burst out of his white suit at any second. And some parts of him were. Namely thick, white thatches of chest hair that poked out of his pink, unbuttoned undershirt. He was gently stroking a sleeping Mienshao and had a big smile on his face.

Quite the ensemble here…

"A new face! Just when I was thinking I could use some new eye candy," Mister Pine beamed, brushing his hair behind his ear and standing. He wore dress pants and a button-down shirt.

"Jacky-boy told me about you! Mister Higgs, was it?"

His flirtatious tone weirded me out a little, but I smiled awkwardly. "Yes, Avery Higgs. Please, don't call me Mister Higgs. I really hate that."

Anton rubbed his chin, which barely had any facial hair at all, chuckling. "Hmm. Avery...why don't you have a seat next to me? I have a few questions." What kind of questions was I about to be asked? And was Mabel asked the same ones? When we still just stood there, Anton gestured toward the cushion beside him. "Well?"

Hesitantly, Jack, Juliet, and I all moved to take a seat. The Chairman shook his head. "Just Avery is fine. Come on you two, you know how this works."

Juliet sighed, "Whatever." Almost immediately, she stood up and sauntered away.

Jack met my eyes, as if asking if it was okay for him to go. Maybe he sensed my nervousness. I've never really been part of a club, or any group social thing other than class. Knowing most of the people here "shared a special interest" made this even more awkward for me. But I didn't need him to hold my hand.

"I'll be fine, Jack. See ya later."

"You sure?"

I was getting a little impatient now. "Yes, obviously… I'd just kind of like to get this over with."

Honestly, I wanted to go home. The experience with Red Ebony and Vanessa, as well as Jack's sister Marissa, had me all shaken up. To top it off, I had this strange jealousy when it came to Omar and Mabel. She felt nothing for him, I know that, but it just irks me. The way he looks at her... or maybe that's all in my head? Either way, I don't like him. I don't like them hanging out. Especially when I can't even see her. She and her new little buddy were hidden by clusters of people.

This seemed more like a damn party then a Fanclub meetup…

"Alright. Catch me when you can, Avery." Jack gave me a little nod and walked away. He looked back a couple times. I sighed heavily, leaning back against the couch and rubbing my temples.

"Avery, would you like a drink? Coffee, tea, soda?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm good. Again, kind of want to get this over with."

"You youngsters are always in a hurry to be some place. Would it kill you to just sit down and relax?" A gruff voice muttered. I glanced at the source: the wrinkly old man with the handlebar mustache. I grimaced and opened my mouth to respond when the large, buff old guy cut in.

"They have no respect, either. Can't even have a conversation with his elders!" I didn't expect his voice to sound like that. It was shockingly high-pitched and feminine.

I sighed. "I didn't come to the club tonight to be roasted by a bunch of rich old guys who clearly have too much time on their hands," I muttered and crossed my arms, "and I definitely didn't come over here to have a conversation with you three. I came here for Mister Pine."

They appeared quite shocked by response. I couldn't help but feel a little smug about that, a smirk slipping onto my lips. It fell away quite quickly when Anton hastily put an arm around my shoulders, laughing nervously.

"Well, Avery. These three are my board members. They're the ones who determine whether you can become a member of the Fanclub."

My eyes widened. "W-what? But…you're the Chairman."

"Hmm well…the Pokémon Fanclub used to be just one chairman in every region. He made all the decisions. In the last decade that changed. The Pokémon Fanclub started making more money. It became an organization rather than a small gathering of people and of course, more people started coming. On top of that, because we…embrace love, which Jacky boy told me you are interested in, we've started being very careful about the people we let in." Mister Pine swallowed as he explained this, smiling nervously. "I'd love for you to join, and I have a vote too, of course, but…hmm. Well…I listen to my board members. They're here for a reason so what they decide as a group is what I go with."

Then why even have a vote in the first place? The influx of knowledge left me a little dazed, but apparently it wasn't over. The entire table and couch shook as the fat man leaned forward, gazing at me with a nasty smile on his thin lips.

"You can, of course, linger around the club even if you aren't a member. You just don't get to join in on the fun."

I stared back at him, eyes wide. "The…fun?"

Mister Pine coughed loudly. "Ahem! Another new visitor, I think Jack mentioned she is your girlfriend, was denied membership today. Or rather, she wasn't given the option. So, it's not some horrible thing. You can still hang out here with your friends, anyone who loves Pokémon can, but like Stu said you will not become an 'official' member and you don't get to join in on any of the extra fun activities we have planned."

I immediately understood what they were saying. They were talking about the Poképhilia part of the membership. I felt a flood of relief when I heard the news about Mabel. She was relatively shielded from that part of the Fanclub, then. I'd been a bit anxious about that.

I scratched at my jaw and met each man's eyes in turn. I didn't know what to think of this situation. A part of me didn't a want membership, but a much bigger part of me wanted it desperately. It was in my best interest to say I wasn't interested in this anyways and be a "non formal" member, but I didn't want to shut this part of the world out. I didn't want to be like Mabel anymore, and pretend that this topic was black and white: automatically wrong or inherently right.

Anxiety flooded me. Why didn't the others tell me about this!? I suppose Jack's behavior made a lot more sense now…

"I didn't mean to be disrespectful," I managed to force out, swallowing hard, "sorry."

The fat man, Stu, crossed his arms and hmphed.

I ignored his response. "May I ask a question?"

Anton nodded enthusiastically, tucking his blond hair behind his ear. "Of course! I encourage it!"

I sighed. "Well…is Jack a member?"

The Chairman smiled and chuckled. "Yes, but only 'formally' recently. Juliet, however, has been a member for…a year, was it?" He glanced at the skinny man, who shrugged and nodded. "Er, anyways. Any other questions?" His smile was warm, a contrast to the frigid stares I was getting from his elderly companions.

"What about Omar?"

"Nope," Anton smiled. "Part of the reason why we didn't invite Mabel is that she didn't receive an 'invitation' from another member. Jack, and Juliet, both invited you. We have reason to believe that you are a very trustworthy source when it comes to this sort of thing. You're responsible enough to be a full-fledged member."

I raised an eyebrow. "Just because I know some people who are…into this?'

The muscular man spoke up now, giggling. "No silly! Because of your sister, of course. Quite a few people here are big fans of her. Including Stu here."

My blood went cold as ice. I swallowed. "Is…my sister a member of this…group?"

"I wish," Stu chuckled.

"And you say I have no respect for you. That's my sister you're talking about!"

Anton rubbed my back. "Heyy, place nice. Stu didn't mean that offensively."

I didn't like his tone. Like I was being irrational. I clenched my fist and glared at Stu. This fat fuck thinks he had the right to apparently masturbate to my sister? I tried to relax anyways.

Stu's smug grinned knocked all the self-control out of me.

"I know you fuck Pokémon, but can you have some basic fucking morals," I snapped. "My sister is thirteen years old and you are at least fifty. I know you have five chins but fuck man, you're an actual Emboar aren't you? No basic morals."

My angry, sharp words were met with silence. Other than Stu, who was stuttering. His face was still red, but this time I knew it was from anger and not the heat. He swallowed, throat jiggling.

Anton sighed. For the first time since I'd met him, the Chairman's smile had washed away. In fact, his face was cold and stern. "We don't talk like that here."

The skinny old man spoke up now. "I think we can all agree that Mister Higgs here is not Pokémon Fanclub material. A shame, considering he got along so well with Vanessa and Red."

I shrugged and stood up. "I don't want to be a part of your child-fucking, Pokémon-fucking brigade anyways." I got up and moved to walk away when a hand grabbed my arm. A strong hand. I turned, teeth grit. "Can I help…you?" I was stunned into silence by the sight before me. The muscular man was standing now, at his full height. He was terrifying, his shoulders squared and face dark with anger.

"We don't talk like that here. I believe you heard the chairman. Make that mistake again and you won't even be allowed to linger."

Honestly, I was terrified. This man could pummel me into a pulp if he wanted to. Even so, I was still pissed. At Stu, and at myself. Every time I thought about Zoey doing things like that, I felt like I failed her. I failed her as an older brother. A fat old man was jerking off to her and her Static and she didn't care. So, I just nodded.

"I understand. So, let me go."

He let go immediately.

I wanted to be alone after that, so I went out for a breath of fresh air. It was Jack who found me.

"Hey dude. Heard about what happened."

I sighed, leaning against the wall and glaring at him. "Your girlfriends looking at you. Why don't you go bother her instead of me?" I nodded at the woman from earlier, Natalie, who was in fact staring at him. She wasn't doing a very good job greeting people.

Jack smiled wryly and shook his head. "You know what? I was going to be nice but honestly? This is getting boring."

I nodded absently. "Yeah, whatever Jack. "

My best friend was completely silent. He just stared at me with a blank expression. "Not whatever, dude!"

I was his best friend. I knew how to push his buttons. I chuckled. "What makes you think I care about what you have to say, Jack?"

He snapped. In a second, Jack grabbed my shirt and shoved me backwards. I didn't even have time to react. He was breathing heavily, and he had the strangest expression. Like he knew he was about to say something he'd regret, but he had to say it anyways. "I-I'm so sick of your snobby, angry, selfish attitude! You want to know about what happened between Zoey and I? Congrats, your shitty personality is the reason why Zoey felt like she couldn't reach out to you about…about anything. All you do is judge other people! You have a right to judge me, what I did was shitty. I took advantage of your little sister when she reached out to me in a time of need…but that's just it. Avery, your sister reached out to me. About everything. She can't ask you anything. Not about boys, not about Pokémon. Cause you always have that mopey, angry wall you call a face on! She's afraid of you! Your sisters not even a virgin, bro, but I bet you don't even know that! And I don't mean in a Pokémon way, I mean with humans, too!"

I inhaled deep, desperately trying to process this bombardment of accusations, information, and insults. I opened my mouth, but apparently my former best friend wasn't done.

"I always forgive you. For everything. You judge me for wanting to be with Juliet, but here you are with Mabel and you didn't even tell me about it! You fucked around with my sister, dude. Yea, I know about you and Lucia. Marissa told me all about your little fun, and I just let it go because you're my best friend! Cause I love you, and I figured one day we could talk about it but I'm so…I'm so tired of this, man! I'm tired of you acting like I'm the biggest, most worthless scumbag on the earth. I'm the one who has saved your family's ass countless times when you were behind on bills, I was the one who comforted your sister after her first breakup, and I am the one you have never- never once said thanks to."

I didn't even have to ask him to, Jack just let me go. And with one last shake of his head, he was gone. I didn't even have time to process that information before another familiar voice chimed in. "I find it endearing, personally."

I sighed. I had a throbbing, piercing migraine. My best friend had essentially just called me the biggest asshole on the planet, and people wouldn't leave me alone so I could have a damn moment to think! And that just pissed me off even more. He was right. All I ever did was get angry and judge other people. But how can I stay positive when people like him and Stu wanted to prey on my little sister? My little sister that hated me.

My body began to shake. I felt my eyes burn with the threat of tears.

My little sister that never approached me because she was afraid of me. And here I was, about to snap at someone who was trying to comfort me.

Who was I to judge Jack? Who was I to judge anyone?

"Juliet. My sisters had her heart broken and I never even knew. She wants to talk to me, and instead she…she talks to a guy like…" Jack was right about that, too. All I ever did was slander him. Call him a douchebag, a slime ball, a pervert, etc. I treated him like trash. I was jealous of him because he had the money to take care of my family when I couldn't. I couldn't hold back a few tears. I pushed my glasses up and wiped them with my forearm. "Instead, she talks to Jack."

"Ugh, you are just the worst, Four-eyes. Crying over this shit? Are you serious? Your girlfriends in there with some random guy and you're out here crying because you got into a fight with your friend?"

I chuckled. Somehow, her sharp retort helped. "It's…a combination of things, Juliet. I failed my sister. I have to pretend to be some crazy skank's boyfriend next week, even though I said no. You forced me to lose my virginity to a P…to someone I didn't want to lose it to. The list goes on. And the worst part is…"

I turned to her, shaking my head. I lowered my voice. "Juliet, I…want to fuck Pokémon. I'm disgusting. I don't even know what to do with myself anymore. No wonder why Eevee hated me when she first met me."

"Then do it."

I sighed. "Do what?"

"Fuck a Pokémon."

I snorted and turned away from her, crossing my arms. "I don't think of my Eevee like that. I don't think I can think of any of my Pokémon like that."

"What about mine?" Before I could respond, I felt something get slipped into my hand. A Pokeball. "Angel misses you. I told her you'd take her home tonight, that's the only reason she even agreed to go into her Pokeball. I made assumptions, of course, but…Avery. If you make the decision to do it with her on your own it will help. I…hurt you."

I glanced at Juliet again. Her expression was twisted. "I hurt you the way I was hurt. It…it bothered me so much. The way you looked at me. The way you talked about people like me. Like my sister. Even before you knew about what I did, you always stared at me like I was filth. You think I want you cause I want what I can't have? It's not like that. I want you because for some reason…"

My heart was hammering. I didn't want her to finish that statement. But I did. I swallowed, wetting my lips, grasping the Pokeball in my hand. "I don't…Juliet I-"

"Because for some reason I want you to smile at me. To wipe that smug, nasty little frown off and just…be happy. With me. With Angel."

I grasped my head, rubbed my temples. "Fuck! How do you expect me to respond to that!? I'm dating Mabel! I told you...I'm not interested in you like that, Juliet!"

"I know, Avery. I know. Anyways... I want you at my house in two days at three. That's your first shift. I'll pay you ridiculous amounts of money, obviously. Just take care of Angel, okay? Bring her with you when you come." She started walking away.

"Wait, where are you going? Juliet, I don't want Angel. Take her back!"

"I'm going home," she called back at me, then waved. I watched her walk away, shocked and anxious. Terrified.

I stared at the Pokeball in my hand. Angel. The girl who took my virginity. Memories of my first time with her flooded my brain. The feeling of her soft, wet insides. Her warm fur against my skin like velvet. The way she mewled and begged for me, her beautiful ruby-red eyes.

I attached the Pokeball to my belt. Maybe it was time I stopped holding myself back.

I had a lot to think about.

I found Mabel inside easily. She was talking to Omar and a group of other people. She saw me coming and smiled, then frowned when she noticed my probably "mopey" expression. "What's wrong, Avery?"

"I'm heading home. I want you to come with me."

Mabel blushed, seeming nervous. She glanced at the people she was with. "Um, to…your house?"

I chuckled. "Of course not. I want to walk you home."

I expected her to agree. She was my girlfriend. Instead, she frowned. "Well…I don't mean to be rude, but you weren't even supposed to be here tonight. You were supposed to be here tomorrow. I have plans. I'm hanging out with Omar because he's leaving on his journey soon. Sorry, Avery. I think I'm going to stay here."

I frowned. "I'm…I just… would like to talk to you, Mabel."

Mabel bit her bottom lip. "Anything so important that it can't wait til tonight when I get home? Or tomorrow? It's ok if it can't but I'd feel bad just leaving…."

If Omar kept staring at me, I was going to punch him in the face.

I tried to relax. I was just wound up from earlier. It wasn't Mabel I was mad at it. It was Jack, it was me, it was Juliet, it was my bad luck . I shouldn't take it out on her. "Sure," I sighed. "I get it."

"W-what? What does that mean? There's nothing to get."

"I'd rather hang out with a nice, handsome guy like Omar instead of myself if I was you, too."

"What? Avery!"

I left it at that, because if I said anything else, I'd regret it. I already regretted saying that. I walked away, hands in my pocket. And Mabel didn't come after me.

I resented her for that.

My mom wasn't home when I got there.

Lady was watching cartoons in the living room, playing with some toys. She appeared to be having fun, but I couldn't even find joy in that. I asked my mom for one thing. "One thing," I whispered incredulously, hiding my face in my hands. "Why? Why did she leave you here like this? You could have been hurt!"

Lady heard me and turned around, a big smile on her face. "Ralts!" She walked towards me on her tiny feet and immediately hugged my leg. Then, she pulled away, and immediately started bouncing up and down and pointing at her mouth. "Ralts, Ralts, RALTS!"

I laughed at her enthusiasm, leaning down and rubbing her head. "Are you hungry? You have food right there, Lady!"

She pouted and backed away. Her sad expression reminded me of what I said earlier. I promised her I'd get her ice cream. I wasn't going to let her down. "The ice cream? Yeah, I figured I'd come pick you up. You, me, and Eevee are going to go out together. Sound good?"

Her reaction was immediate. It was so simple to make her happy. One moment Lady was nearly in tears, sad, and the next she was smiling like the happiest Pokémon in the world. It was adorable. I rubbed the top of her domed head, enjoying the way she squirmed and leaned into my hand. "Alright, hop on, no more pets." I gently pushed her away with a grin. I held my arm out to her and she immediately climbed up it, waddling her way up to my shoulder. Next, I released Eevee.

She yawned as she appeared, shaking her body. Apparently, she'd been napping. I chuckled. Sleepy Eevee was ridiculously cute. I was surprised she wasn't pissed at me for waking her up.

"Hey sleepy head. I was thinking we could go out for ice cream. I want you to come."

Eevee cocked her head. "Eeevee eev?"

I get what she was asking. "Ice cream is…this delicious little treat. There's a Pokémon version, so it's not unhealthy. It's this cold, creamy deliciousness. Want some?"

I expected Eevee to be reluctant. Much to my shock, she literally started to drool. I laughed at the sight, and she turned away when she noticed what was happening, apparently very embarrassed. My Pokémon were ridiculously cute. "No need to be embarrassed. Just climb up."

Eevee hopped onto my arm and took her seat on my other shoulder, tail swishing.

"Alright, girls. Let's get us some ice cream!"

I think I needed this more than they wanted it.

AN: PM ME FOR A LINK TO THE GOTTA KISS EM ALL DISCORD!