Lights flashed, the crowd roared. A camera panned past the pokegirls standing in a massive arena, a Mega Lucario, a Mega Lopunny. They struck, clashing in a blast of energy that expanded across the screen before glowing red scythes slashed it apart, a Mega Garchomp lunging for the camera with her mouth open in a soundless roar before another surged forwards from behind the camera to meet her. As the two fought in the background words began to appear on the screen, an announcer coming in over the top of the flute and drum medley. "This Friday!" the female voice cried. "Do you think you can stand with the best? All comers welcomed! Champion Nicholas Topolski wants YOU!" Red once again filled the screen as one of the Garchomps' twin scythes cut through both her opponent and the slogan on screen before slashing out to either side, scattering the image to fade into Nicholas standing posed, his eyes narrowed at the camera slowly zooming in towards his face. "Registrations open at 8am in Lumiose's Magenta Plaza!" It was just Nicholas' slit eyes filling the screen now and the announcer was replaced by his own voice while his glare turned down even more intensely.
"Be there."
"So you're going, right?" a stony grey-skinned pokegirl lounging over the side of the couch asked excitedly while the television moved to the next commercial. "Right, Nia?"
The lanky, light blue-skinned girl seated properly next to her slunk back into the cushions with a grumble. "I don't know…"
"Isn't that just down the road from where you've been working?" the other girl asked. "Magenta Plaza is the western one, and you're in the southwest of Lumiose, right?"
"I mean yeah it's kind of near the lab but that doesn't matter," Nia replied. "I'm barely out of my egg, Gloria. There's no way a human like THAT is going to want anything to do with me."
Talons dug into the back of the couch as an avian pokegirl with blazing orange plumage hopped up between the two. "Didn't some breeder magazine have him on for an interview last month?" she asked with a tilt of her head. "He's got a bunch of pokegirls in his harem who are the daughters of the others."
"Yes, Floris, but there's a reason you don't see them in the battle reels," Nia replied. "Because they're not strong enough."
"Because they're not strong enough yet," Gloria stressed. "You think all those gorgeous ladies popped out of their eggs like that? No! He's a tamer! They're as big and powerful as they are because he's helped them be!" She shivered when the show came back on and the narrator began speaking over images of Nicholas and his pokegirls throughout the years. "Creator, if I could get my hands on that Nidoqueen for just a moment I could die happy."
Nia just groaned as Gloria began happily stroking herself. "Can you not? For the fourth time since we turned this on?" she snapped. "It's disgusting."
"Having her breed me," Gloria whispered blissfully. "Oh what I would do to feel her inside… YEEK!"
Nia had lifted her foot and pushed it against Gloria's outstretched leg, shoving the Rhyhorn back to tumble over the arm of the couch and onto the floor. "Why couldn't I get someone who's less of a pervert as my best friend?"
"Because we're all perverts here, Nia," Floris said with a chirping laugh. "We're pokegirls!"
"I'm not getting myself off in the common room!" Nia cried. "Don't you lump me in with that sex fiend on the floor!"
Nia pointedly rolled her eyes away when Floris hopped down into the space Gloria had just vacated and began pressing up against the Froakie with her feathers puffed out. "Come on, we've seen you!" the Fletchling teased. "YOU were the one who was sooo intent on claiming the couch before anyone else could. YOU turned on this channel! Admit it, Nia," Floris tittered as she nibbled on the tip of the Froakie's ear. "You're just as hot for those pokegirls as we are."
Nia sighed and Floris squawked when a hand appeared in her face. "No," she stressed. "I'm not. I think they're incredible. Yes. But not because I want to fuck one of them. Or be fucked by one." She shoved Floris aside so that she could get back to watching the documentary. "I think they're incredible because just look at them. Just look at that." Nia shook her head, a smile pulling at her lips while her eyes stared through the television. "Can you imagine what it feels like? To be like them?"
Gloria popped back up. "Find out on Friday."
Nia snorted. "Don't be stupid."
"Come on. I know you want to. Floris knows. You know." Gloria threw her elbow over the arm of the couch and turned with the other two to watch the tv. "As your best friend I'm telling you to try."
"I'll be knocked out in the first round."
"Won't know until you try."
Nia fell silent for a while. "I'm supposed to be in the lab all day Friday. Professor said he needed as many of the program girls there as possible."
"Tell him why you can't be," Floris replied. "He'll understand."
"He'll say no."
"Then go to this thing anyways," Gloria said. "What's he going to do. Take one of your non-existent vacation days?"
"Kick me out of the starter program, that's what he could do."
"Hah. What would you care about that?" Gloria grinned and gestured at the tv. "You'll be off with your new tamer."
Nia curled her legs up, tucking her face behind her knees as the back of her neck and shoulders began to froth. "There's no way he picks me," she mumbled, bubbles growing up the back of her head and swallowing her hair until the Froakie was curled up with what was essentially a white hoodie pulled over her eyes. "I'll fail."
"Just go until they kick you out," Floris chirped, her cheeks pushing her eyes shut as she beamed at the hiding pokegirl. "What's the worst they can do in the meantime. Knock you down? If you're actually wanting to find a gym challenger for a tamer that's going to be happening regardless."
"Yeah, that's a great idea," Gloria chuckled. "Stop letting you psyche yourself out, you big bubbly baby. Have you tried yet?"
"No," Nia muttered, her voice muffled through the bubbles covering her.
"Then how do you know you'll fail?"
"I don't," Nia mumbled.
"Well then." Gloria whooped when Elizabeth appeared on screen alongside the rest of Nicholas' Kantonian harem. "Sounds like you better try."
.
.
"Have fun!" "Keep in touch!"
"I'm just taking the bus to Lumiose!" Nia screeched, her face glowing red as she whirled from where Gloria and Floris were hanging over the fence of the bus station with shit-eating grins and their hands - or wings, in Floris' case - waving goodbye. "I do this every week!"
"We'll wait for the Saturday afternoon bus before celebrating!" Gloria called. "Since you said you'll be back on the Friday overnighter this week."
"I WILL BE!"
"Hope you're not!" Floris called with a laugh.
"Stupid… annoying…" Nia muttered to herself, hunching up while she adjusted the straps of her bag and stomped towards where a line of other pokegirls were making their way onto the bus. She was still muttering to herself when she stepped up into the vehicle and was broken from her thoughts by a light voice clearing her throat.
Nia immediately went from sulking to coughing and finding a hurried respectful smile that she slapped on her face and began bowing her head to the figure waiting in the entry. "Miss Wanda. Hello, good morning."
"Your friends are always here to see you off, Nia," the vulpine figure chided gently. "It is no reason to hold up everybody else."
"Sorry. Sorry," Nia mumbled, hurrying to an empty seat and sinking low in the middle. She remained there as more pokegirls and a few humans began filtering in, the bus lurching into motion after a few minutes and she didn't lift her head until the driver began announcing their arrival to Santalune hours later.
There was Wanda, the Delphox smiling and greeting the others as they clustered in, the excited chatter she had grown accustomed to around the lab, so many of them, so few as young and inexperienced as she was. Even the other Froakie leaping from seat to seat in defiance of a disciplinary bark from Wanda to tumble in beside her giggling friends was an object example. She'd never been able to take a point over Megumi in a practice battle. There was no reason for the visiting champion to pick her over another Froakie she couldn't beat.
The bus was moving again and Nia was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the figure walking towards her until it had stopped next to her seat. "Mind if I sit down?" Wanda asked, smiling when Nia's eyes shot up to her in shock. "This seat's not taken, is it?"
"N-No, Ma'am, it's not…" Nia stammered, pulling her bag to the side and squirming over to allow the much larger pokegirl to comfortably sit down. "I-I'm sorry, it-"
"Just a few months now, hasn't it been?"
Nia's half-formed excuses faded from her lips. "I- I'm sorry, what is?"
"Just a few months since I first saw you on this bus," Wanda replied with a smile. "Every single time that Rhyhorn has been there to see you off. Gloria, I believe her name is? And now that Fletchling too? What was her name again?"
Nia glanced away. "Floris," she mumbled.
"Yes, Floris, that's right," Wanda laughed. "What wonderful friends for a young pokegirl like yourself to have. Their presence has always given you nothing but joy. But not today. Why are you unhappy with them?"
Nia didn't respond at first. "I'm not," she finally mumbled, shying away from the soft gaze beating down on her. "I'm not!"
"Was it something that happened?" When Nia barely shook her head Wanda continued. "Something that was said? They seemed quite happy."
"They're being stupid," Nia muttered, yanking her head around to stare out the window at the land flashing by. "We watched the documentary that aired this weekend. On WCPN."
"Ah, the one on Nicholas Topolski," Wanda chuckled. "Can you imagine? The World Champion Programming Network has had that name for decades without there actually being a World Champion of the World League. They might have to change their slogan soon."
"Nah. 'Bringing you the highlights of your next World Champion' is solid. Even if we get one they can just spin it as showing the challengers."
"That's smart!" Wanda laughed. "Are you wanting to go into entertainment, Nia? Produce those shows?"
"No," Nia muttered. They were on the open road now and she could see the land rising in the distance. Towards the mountain caldera that housed the Kalos League. "I want to go there one day."
Wanda leaned over her to see what the Froakie was looking at. "Oh, I see," she said with a smile. "You don't want to be producing those documentaries. You want to be in one."
Nia closed her eyes and pulled her head back forwards. "Of course I do. Everyone on this bus does, don't they? I'm not special."
"Maybe, though I wouldn't say all of them have a chance to," Wanda replied. "Just about all of them are planning on going to the event on Friday, but I doubt many will be there long. It's exciting, though, isn't it? Aren't you excited to experience something like this?"
Nia ducked her head slightly. "I'm not going."
"You're not?" Wanda asked in surprise. "Why not?"
"Professor said he needed as many of us as could manage to stay at the lab all day Friday," Nia mumbled. "So I can't."
"You know why he said that, right?" Wanda asked. "We're expecting the whole place to empty in the morning. What if a tamer came by? There would be nobody to meet them! He was just asking anyone who wasn't at the event to stick around the lab instead of wandering the city or whatever else they do. He wasn't saying that to try and stop anyone from going to the trials."
Nia blinked. "He wasn't?"
"Of course not. In fact, Champion Nicholas will be visiting us in the next few weeks," Wanda said. "Can you imagine what he'd say if he learned the Professor was keeping hopeful pokegirls from meeting him? Oh, but don't tell anyone else that," Wanda hurriedly whispered. "We don't know when he's going to show up yet and we don't want anyone getting too overexcited."
"So… if I wanted to go," Nia muttered, "then I just… could?"
"Absolutely," Wanda replied. "I think you should. You obviously want to, and now you have no reason not to. Right?" Wanda began getting back to her feet. "You have good friends, Nia," she said, smiling down at the silent Froakie. "You should listen to them."
Nia let out a shuddering breath, her eyes glistening with tears as Wanda began walking the length of the bus, the Delphox's ears flicking while she used her psychic abilities to monitor the dozens of chattering pokegirls. "Thank you," Nia whispered, her face scrunching up as she began to cry and a slight smile grew across Wanda's face when she felt the turmoil behind her easing. "Thank you, Miss Wanda."
.
.
"AND IF YOU INTEND TO STAY OVERNIGHT…" a man's voice was shouting from within the general quarters of the Sycamore Pokegirl Laboratory, but the stream of excited girls tuned him out. Nia spilled out into the street alongside the crowd and let the flow push her to the side, taking a few steps to focus before sprinting down the road to join the others breaking free of the horde.
Half past seven. Thirty minutes to go.
"Keep moving around the plaza! For all looking to join the Champion's Showcase please proceed to Rouge Plaza via Centrico Plaza! A secondary screening center has been established there for applicants not approaching from Autumnal Avenue! Please do not block Estival Avenue! If you are found to be disrupting traffic you will be barred from entry!" Nia followed the flow around Centrico Plaza, watching as a few of the more daring darted past the cops providing traffic control and went straight for the near exit towards Magenta Plaza. "Once again, all applicants looking to join the Champion's Showcase, please continue to Rouge Plaza via Centrico…!"
"Look at all those idiots," a voice near Nia chuckled as another handful of pokegirls broke from the crowd and sprinted towards the entrance to Estival Avenue. "Less for us to worry about, huh?"
Nia turned but the voice belonged to a towering ursine pokegirl with shimmering golden fur who was speaking to a shifting blue and red golem pokegirl beside her. "Seriously," the golem chuckled, her spiked body granting the pair a healthy amount of space. "What do they think this is, the bells' return?"
"Um, excuse me," Nia called, getting the gold-furred pokegirl's attention. "I'm not going to try and cut the line, but why are you saying anyone who does is an idiot?"
"You hear what they're yelling about?" the girl replied. "Estival is the fastest way from here to Magenta, but it's also the street the center's on. Can't be having it as clogged up as this. Anyone who thinks they're better than the rest and tries to flaunt the rules are going to find themselves having their dreams shattered the moment they try to sneak in."
"But how could they know who broke the rules and who didn't?"
"You kidding? Any half-decent psychic could figure that out," the girl grunted. "You're a young one, aren't you."
Nia flushed. "Maybe."
"Hey, you're dreaming big. That's good." The flow of the crowd was starting to draw Nia away from the pair. "Keep your chin up in there, girl! See it through!"
Nia looked around again. So many big pokegirls. Fully evolved. Almost so. What was she even doing here?
"Please continue this way…" With a start Nia realized that the crowd was turning down a side road and soon she could see the telltale signs of one of Lumiose City's many plazas up ahead.
"Please hold." A uniformed pokegirl was taking information from the girl in front of Nia and a few moments later it was her turn, staring beyond into the plaza while the crowd behind her filtered into the entrance stations blocking the road. "Identifying information."
"Um, my pokeball," Nia stammered, pulling it from beneath her shirt and presenting the orb to the official.
The girl gave it a quick scan and nodded, tapping at her pad. "Nia, Froakie, hometown of Aquacorde, is this information correct?"
"Um, yes."
"Your designation is B872," the girl said, slotting a thin metal circle into her device and pressing a button. There was a thunk and she was pulling it back out and handing the badge to Nia. "You are designated within the flyweight division. Please proceed to the light blue signs for formal registration. NEXT!"
Nia stumbled forwards with the badge in one hand and her pokeball in the other. Eight hundred…? It was barely eight o'clock and already there were eight hundred…?
Her breath caught when she stepped out of the entrance and got her first real look at the plaza. The area itself wasn't anything new. She'd been exploring Lumiose City through the months. But she couldn't believe what was waiting for her.
"Keep things moving, girls, no I won't sign an autograph, no I do not care that you're flirting with me, keep it moving here!" Marin barked, standing posed up beside yellow signs advertising the middleweight registration in her full outfit, her eyes glaring out from beneath the rim of her cap. "If you're fully evolved you're likely in my line or to my left, if you're not you're in my line or to the right! Find your signs! They told you at the door! Let's keep it moving!"
Nia tore her eyes from the Sharpedo and hurried to the side, faltering and stopping to stare a moment when she saw the smaller figure at the green signs. "Lightweight here!" Miyuki was calling, a cloud of frosted air billowing around the Glaceon. "Lightweight class registration here!"
"Featherweight registration down this way!" A barking voice echoed and Nia found herself scampering in its direction without really intending to. All around her she could see other small and unevolved pokegirls, Eevee, Fletchling, Dwebble, an Abra doing her best to stay awake as she kept slumping against the others around her. "I'll need your badge when you get to me," the voice crashed out again and the entire crowd seemed to straighten when it spoke. "Have it ready, girls. Everyone's looking down on you. Be better than all of them!"
Nia blinked. Encouragement?
"You can sleep once you get into the plaza!" the voice snapped and the dozing Abra shot to attention with a squeak. "Yes, you! Get up here, give me your badge." Nia slid forwards, searching for the source of the voice as the Abra began stumbling ahead of her. "Here. No, don't apologize, it takes a lot to be here this early. You're doing well." Nia blinked when she saw the hulking mass of fur and claws perched on a tiny chair in front of the stammering Abra. "B839. You're checked in. Go on through." Kiana leaned over as the Abra stumbled past. "There's some soft grass under the trees over there," she murmured, pulling the Abra slightly so that the girl didn't have to expend energy turning herself. "Get some rest. I'll have them call you later."
"Hey, I'm 751!" a voice yelled and Kiana glanced back towards the crowd to see a girl with a glistening red and white carapace shoving past the line and waving her badge angrily. "What do you mean that was eight hundred something? Why does she get to cut the line, huh?"
"Because I said she could," Kiana replied. "Please step back; you'll be in shortly."
"Hell no! What, all I have to do to skip the line is act the right sob story? This shit's favoritism!" the girl raved. "I traveled four whole days from Shalour to get here, and you're pulling this? Who said you get pick and choose who gets in, huh? You don't look like Champion Nicholas to me!"
"Please step back, and I will process your registration shortly," Kiana repeated calmly. "If you continue to make a scene you will be removed from the plaza."
"Oh I'll be removed by the ticket girl!" the Corphish yelled. "Please! I want to speak to your Alpha!"
Kiana was giving the Corphish a flat gaze and Nia found herself taking involuntary steps back along with the rest of the crowd to leave the belligerent pokegirl standing alone. "You want to speak to my Alpha." Before the Corphish could make a retort Kiana swung her legs forwards, hopping from her chair and straightening to her full height to reveal a heavy spiked collar sitting around her neck while her ears and tail popped into view. "You really didn't want to say that, girlie."
"Isn't that-?" Nia heard someone gasp before a crack snapped past her ears. The Arcanine was… she'd gone from standing at her chair to towering over the Corphish faster than she could blink.
"These fine ladies will show you to the pokecenter," Kiana growled, uniformed pokegirls hurrying up to grab the Corphish by the shoulders when her legs gave out. "I'll let them decide whether you need your pokeball."
One of the girls leaned over and whistled softly. "Yeah, exoskeleton's dust here. She's unconscious on her feet. North center, Ma'am?"
Kiana turned and walked back over to her chair, wrapping her tail back around the back and hunching up as the medics found the unconscious Corphish's pokeball and recalled her. "She's out," she growled low. "North center and send her on her way, if you would."
"Not a problem."
There was a murmur running through the crowd that went silent when Kiana called out again. "Reform the line, girls. I know you're all better than she was."
Nia stepped forwards when the line brought her to the front, and Kiana was taking her badge when she paused. "You alright?"
Nia blinked before whipping her hand back and grabbing it with a nervous chuckle. She was shaking. "S-Sorry, um, y-you're Kiana, right?"
Kiana smiled at her. "That's me. I'm sorry for scaring you all like that. I don't like bullies." Her eyes moved to the line behind Nia. "Master didn't have many choices to help with the featherweight lines. But I love seeing how many young and excited pokegirls are here to give things a shot." She looked back at Nia, her smile reaching her eyes as she grinned without revealing any of her fangs. "You're going to do great."
Nia slowly reached back out to hand Kiana her badge. "Thank… Thank you."
"I'd give you a kiss to make up for the scare but then everyone would want one and we'd be here all day," Kiana growled playfully, handing Nia back her badge along with a small slip of paper. "Head on over to arena three. They'll tell you more when you get there."
Nia nodded and stepped through into the plaza proper. It was surreal. So many pokegirls, and so much activity. Everywhere she turned she saw something new.
"Excuse me, I was told to come to arena three?" Nia said, getting the attention of a nearby uniformed pokegirl. "That's this one, right?"
"That's right! Can I have your slip?" Nia handed over the paper Kiana had given her and the pokegirl gave it a read. "Okay, we'll get you in shortly. Do you need a battle uniform provided for you?"
"Do I need one?"
"No, but if you decline and choose to remain in your personal garment then we will not be responsible for any damage done." The girl shrugged. "You can also fight nude if you'd prefer. We have a gear check for your convenience."
"I'll take a uniform," Nia hurriedly replied. "Thank you."
"Of course. You'll want to head over to the east side of the plaza," the girl said, pointing in the proper direction. "Once you've changed come on back and I'll get you in the arena."
It took a few minutes for Nia to make her way through the lines but soon she was standing naked next to the gear check with a stretchy leotard in her hands.
She shivered as she stepped into the cool material and began tugging it up her body, slipping the shoulders over her arms and twisting about to settle the fit before finding her button and pokeball and attaching them to the loops at her breast and hip. When she took a step the air blew over her and she shivered again. It wasn't as if her normal outfit was all that modest but this was… she was covered, but it was like she was wearing nothing at all.
Nia shivered again as she stepped back into the plaza. She… kind of liked it.
"Hey, 872! You're back." Nia fidgeted while the arena organizer turned to peer about. "I had someone for you to spar with… uh, 641? Is B641 still at arena three?"
"I'm here!" A voice called, a brown-furred pokegirl with a shock of red hair pushing out and hurrying over. "Hi!"
"Great! Okay, let's have the two of you hop in. The ref will take your pokeballs," the organizer said. "872, this is your first match so I'll explain a bit for you. These are the way for you to showcase what you've got, so give it your all. If you get smacked too hard and need a healing cycle don't panic – you'll find yourself waking up in an area where you can get your bearings. Okay?"
"Got it," Nia replied nervously.
"Perfect. Head on in! Clear arena three!"
B641 skipped in and tossed her pokeball to the referee before turning to grin at Nia. "Good luck!"
Nia nodded and raised her hands while the ref took a few steps back and began to count. "You may begin in three! Two! One! Begin!"
Okay so the best thing I can do is try and- Nia's thoughts began when she realized the Litleo was already sprinting for her. Wait wait wait-! Nia slammed backwards when the other pokegirl impacted and cried out in pain as her head hit the dirt. Water, she thought with a wince, the plaza already spinning around her. Pull water and-
The Litleo vanished when a weak pop sounded and a small water projectile smacked into her side, leaving the Froakie to roll to her side and attempt to get back up. She'd pushed herself up on one arm before she noticed the Litleo coming straight back in. There was the start of a bruise creeping out of the Fire-type pokegirl's fur but it didn't seem to be hampering her movement at all. Before Nia could do anything more a knee was pushing into her nose, stars exploding across her vision until the staticky darkness chasing them ballooned out and she thought no more.
.
.
"B872!" Nia materialized and groaned, rolling over before stopping to blink at her surroundings. "B872, you hear me?"
Nia sat up. The voice calling her was a Chansey in a nurse's outfit. "Y-Yeah, I do."
"Good. Go ahead and take possession of your pokeball and head out of the pavilion once you're ready."
Nia caught the ball the Chansey tossed and sat there for a few moments while her thoughts caught up. The Litleo's knee, smashing into her face… she winced. She hadn't lasted a minute.
Why was she even here?
"Um, excuse me," Nia called to one of the nurses as she walked past. "Where do I go?"
"You're on the north end of Rouge. Flyweight arenas are southwest," the nurse replied. "Closest exit is to the north but there's no reentry."
"I can just go back to the arena?"
"Wherever. If you've got gear to pick up that's southeast," the nurse grunted and moved on to the next pokegirl.
Nia stayed sitting there for a while. A nearby clock read eight forty-two. She'd been knocked out less than an hour after the event started. What was even the point?
She headed towards the arena again.
"872, 989!" Nia stepped into the arena to see a petite plant pokegirl nervously wringing her hands together. "Ready? Begin!"
Nia punched. The Budew wilted. And then her fingers snagged Nia's arm and the Froakie felt it go cold.
"I'm not-" Nia began, kicking at the girl clinging to her before she felt the cold spread to her legs and she tripped, crashing to the ground as her energy was slowly drained away. "I…"
"B872!"
Nia shot upright and bobbled her pokeball. The nurse was already walking away. She was back in the medical pavilion. The clock read nine oh four.
She went back to the arena.
"B872!"
Nia gagged, pressing her fingers to the holes in her throat as a Zubat excitedly winged away.
"B872!"
Nia felt something snap as a rabbit pokegirl's feet sank into her back and suddenly she felt nothing at all. Nothing at all…
"B872!"
Foam sprayed from Nia's mouth as she collapsed, seizing while a Weedle lowered her stinger.
"B872!"
Nia slumped back. The blue-skinned pokegirl across from her trembled, the feathery pink gills waving from her neck pulled back defensively along with her short tail. "Did I do it…?"
Nia screamed, pushing back to her feet and charging forwards, swinging wildly before a hand caught the side of her head and Nia slammed to the ground beyond the Wooper to go still.
"B872!"
"B872!"
"B872!"
"B872."
Over the course of the day the lines to enter had dwindled. The plaza was still full, but it was no longer an even mix. The pokegirls catching their breath around Nia now were mostly evolved forms. Some who'd come with their own battle scars. She slowly sat up with a groan.
"B872, right?"
Nia blinked. There was someone other than a nurse here this time. "Uh…"
"You are, aren't you?" the towering figure asked again. Nia had to crane her neck to see this pokegirl's face even though she was seated on the ground. "I'd like to speak to you, if you don't mind."
"Who are you?" Nia asked, groaning and rubbing her head when the tent swam. "Ugh. Bit dizzy."
"My name is Morgana," Morgana replied. "What's yours?"
"Nia."
"Pleasure to meet you, Nia," Morgana said kindly. "How are you feeling? Other than a bit dizzy."
"I'm fine," Nia groaned, glancing at the clock behind Morgana. Three fifty-eight. "Are you one of Champion Nicholas' pokegirls?"
"I am," Morgana replied. "I'm a Gardevoir."
"Yeah, what am I thinking, of course you are," Nia muttered. "Who else could you be… the Hoennian harem. Massive Gardevoir. It's all Gloria would talk about."
Morgana smiled. "Gloria?"
"My friend," Nia replied. The wooziness was fading and for some reason she really felt like opening up to this pokegirl. "She's a Rhyhorn, and she's been there ever since I hatched… always nagging me, pushing me." She pulled her legs up and rested her chin on her knees. "I wanted to come to this thing but there was no way I could get chosen, right? I was going to give up until Gloria convinced me to give it a shot. Even though I knew I'd fail she said… I won't really know until I try. That's what she said. And she's right." Morgana was just listening. "She always says… always says I shouldn't let myself be my own worst enemy. It's hard. I'm nobody, nothing compared to any of these other pokegirls, compared to you… I don't belong here."
"But you are here," Morgana replied with her smile. "Would you rather leave?"
Silence. Nia ducked her head down. "Are you… telling me to?"
"I didn't say that."
"Floris made me promise," Nia mumbled into her legs, her bubbles starting to form from her neck. "Another one of my friends, a Fletchling, she… she said I can't leave until someone tells me to. No matter how hard it is. How much I want to run." Nia sniffled. "I, I can't do it. I'm just wasting my time here. But I promised."
"You don't have to keep trying to fight."
"If I don't then why am I even here?" Nia cried. "I don't want to keep losing but if I don't keep trying then that's the same as giving up and if I give up I break my promise and-!"
"You have been knocked out in seventeen of your seventeen battles," Morgana interrupted softly. "Most of the girls who showed up quit after losing two or three. Some of the more stubborn hung on for five. Some tried to stall and not fight at all." She glanced around them. "Nobody else in this plaza has a record like yours. It's why I wanted to talk to you." She turned back to Nia. "I wanted to know why you're still here."
"Because I promised," Nia choked out. "I promised them I wouldn't quit, no matter how hard it got, I'd keep going until someone told me to leave… and nobody ever did, so I couldn't quit, I had to keep trying, even though- even though every time," Nia hiccupped, fresh tears beading in her eyes, "every time it was harder, and harder, and harder, and HARDER!" Morgana said nothing. "I just wanted to try!" Nia wailed, slumping down onto the padded bed as her bubbles shot up her head to hide her crying eyes from the Gardevoir still watching her. "I'm sorry," she choked out. "I'm a stupid pokegirl. I don't belong here. I never should have come. I'm just wasting your time."
"What are you going to do now?"
Nia sniffled. "I… I guess I have to get back to the arena."
"Going to make it knockout number eighteen?"
Nia flinched back. "If… If it has to be."
"It doesn't," Morgana replied gently and rose. "Come with me."
"Come with…?" Nia coughed, stumbling to her feet when Morgana left the pavilion and began purposefully walking away. The Gardevoir's stride was so long Nia had to start jogging just to keep up. "Wh-Where are we going?"
"Gear check," Morgana replied, and Nia felt her stomach drop. "I assume you have something there, at least. Since you're wearing the provided battle clothing."
"B-But I-"
"You can go home, Nia," Morgana said, and though her voice was kind Nia could only feel as the words twisted into her heart. She'd failed. It was over. "There's no need for you to keep suffering here."
Nia didn't respond. She was numb as Morgana led her to the gear check, as the Gardevoir casually walked past the lines to speak directly to the attendants. She only barely moved to take hold of her things when Morgana pushed them into her arms.
"It's a bit late, and you must be exhausted," Morgana said, her voice still warm, and kind, but it was falling on deaf ears. "Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?"
"I would… take the bus," Nia muttered, her expression struggling to hold together as she slowly squeezed down on the clothing in her arms. "I…"
"I think it would be better for you to have somewhere here," Morgana replied. "I can get you a hotel room?"
The question broke Nia out of her stupor slightly and she shook her head. "I'm part of the Professor's… Professor Sycamore's program. I can stay at the lab but…"
"That's perfect," Morgana said happily but Nia couldn't hear her again. She was too focused on the despair welling up inside. "I'll walk you there. Okay?"
Tears leaked from the corners of Nia's eyes as she squeezed her eyelids shut. "Okay," she replied in a tortured whisper.
She didn't feel the walk to the lab. Barely acknowledged anyone as she stumbled inside, Morgana pausing to chat with the assistant that had met them at the door before moving off to follow them. She didn't even hear the excited words of the others, as she pushed past into the common areas, blinking rapidly in an effort to see past the screen of tears that were flowing down her face and missing how every single pokegirl there was cheering for her. She was too consumed in her grief and the sobs erupted as she shoved her way into her room, collapsing face down on the bed and lying there until she had cried herself to sleep.
.
.
"They told me to go home."
Gloria gave the camera a hesitant smile. "Nia, you tried your best."
Nia sniffled. She was still in bed despite how the late morning sun was beating through the hastily drawn blinds. "I wasn't good enough."
"Nia…" the flickering hologram of Gloria said, gazing at the despondent Froakie.
"I'll catch the next bus back," Nia choked out, shoving the holo caster aside and rolling over to bury her face in her pillow. She could hear Gloria's concerned voice from the floor and yanked her pillow around to cover her ears, alternating between sobbing and screaming into it until there was a knock at her door.
"Nia? Is Nia in there?"
Nia rolled over. "NO!" She screamed, hiccuping slightly. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"
Whoever was on the other side of the door hesitated before Nia heard the handle click and she flung herself back against the wall, curling up and doing her best to ignore the shapely orange-skinned pokegirl that peeked inside. "Go away," Nia said, her voice muffled by the linens. "Leave me alone."
"But don't you want to…?" the girl began, gasping when she saw the state Nia was in. "Oh! Oh this just won't do!" Nia felt something wrap around her arm and she protested, resisting as she was pulled from the bed. "We need to get you cleaned up…"
"I DON'T WANT TO!" Nia screamed, resisting the assistant's pull as she was dragged from the room and towards the showers. "Just leave me alone, please!"
"You can't be going out looking like that," the girl huffed. "Come on. A nice warm shower will make you feel much better."
"But I-!"
"In!" the assistant barked, pushing Nia into a stall and turning to give her privacy while still blocking her escape. "Or do you need me to help you undress too?"
Nia began miserably peeling off the battle one-piece she was still wearing and turned on the water, letting it splash against her face and wash the salt of her tears from her skin. She wasn't sure how long she stood there. The tempo of the water beating against her body helped soothe her thoughts and eventually she reached out, slowly switching the water off and gazing at the bathroom tiles.
"Cleaned up? Here you go." Nia turned to get a face full of towel and sputtered, juggling it before looking up to see the assistant staring at her patiently. "Go ahead and dry yourself off and we can get you dressed."
"I can take care of myself," Nia mumbled, dragging the towel across her body until most of the water still beading on her skin had been absorbed.
"The Professor sent me to fetch you. I'm not letting you go out there until you stop looking like you dragged yourself through shit. Even though I know you did." Nia made a noncommittal noise as she followed the assistant back to her room. "Come on. What's your favorite outfit?"
"I dunno."
"Let's decide together." Nia wandered over to the least dirty corner of her bed and sat down as she watched the assistant flick through her closet and check the dresser. "You've got to have some underwear in here somewhere…"
"In the, um… bottom drawer."
"Well why on earth are they there?" the other girl asked as she pulled the drawer open and began sorting through the untidy mess inside. "Not even folded! What, do you just shove all this in here and forget about it?"
Nia glanced away. "Sort of."
"Oh." The assistant straightened. "Do you not wear underwear?"
Nia shrugged. "Sometimes."
"Well do you want…" the girl began, turning to see Nia looking away from her. "Come on, help me out here!" Nia grumbled when the assistant grabbed her by the arms and pulled her to her feet. "Just pick something and you'll be done with me, Nia, I promise. What do you want to wear."
"Ummm…" Nia let her eyes drift over the drawers before she reached down to pull out a crumpled blue and white trimmed puffy blouse. "This."
"That's your favorite."
"Uh huh."
"Girl I can clearly see that you haven't worn that in weeks," the assistant snorted, plucking the blouse from Nia's fingers and tossing it back into the drawer. "Please, you need to be at your best. They're waiting for you."
Nia sighed and turned to another drawer, pulling it open and withdrawing a black tank top and pair of matching leggings. "This."
"Now that I can believe," the assistant said, turning to the closet as Nia began getting dressed. "Anything else? I know I've seen you in those pants before but you usually have a different top, right?"
"The purple jacket."
"Right! This one here." Nia took the light purple and cream jacket from the assistant and slipped it on, only zipping it up to her sternum so her tank top remained in view. "There we go." The other pokegirl beamed at her. "You ready?"
"For what?"
"Oh the Professor wouldn't tell me. But he was very excited for you," the girl said happily. "You don't know? Really?"
Nia just shook her head. "No. I hope it doesn't make me miss the afternoon bus."
"Well then you should have moved a bit faster, huh?" the assistant teased, gently pushing Nia out the door and back towards the main building. "They're in lab three."
Nia blinked as the two made their way through the halls. "They? It's not just the Professor?"
"Oh he said something about a visitor but wouldn't tell me who that was either," the assistant remarked brightly. "I think it's part of why he wanted you. Maybe it's a tamer? A few tamers? Do you think today's the day you get paired with your tamer?!"
Hope, the palest flicker of the hope that had been ground out the day before leapt into Nia's breast before she forced it back down. She couldn't think that. It couldn't be true. It wasn't true. It couldn't be him.
"Well here we are!" the assistant said, stopping in front of the door of one of the labs. "You're almost free of me. Professor!" She rapped at the door. "Professor, I brought the Froakie Nia!"
"Do I hear Julia out there?" Nia heard Professor Sycamore call from inside the room. "Come in, come in!"
Julia opened the door and stepped through. "I brought Nia just as you asked, Professor…" Nia heard the other pokegirl gasp and slipped in after her, beginning to look for the reason when her eyes froze on the figures sitting at one of the side tables.
"Nia!" Professor Sycamore exclaimed, standing from his chair and extending his arms towards the wide-eyed Froakie. "Thank you, Julia. Would you go let the other assistants know that I will be giving our guest a tour of the labs in a few hours? You may leak the secret, but only if you and the others think you can handle everyone's excitement!"
"Oh, I will tell them right away, Professor," Julia said excitedly, bobbing her head multiple times towards the smiling man still sitting at the table with Morgana just behind him. "Mister Champion, Sir, hello, it is an honor to meet you in person…"
"You are very kind," Nicholas replied, watching Julia back out of the lab while continuing to bow over and over. "She's a Gourgeist?" he asked Professor Sycamore as the door clicked shut. "I could see myself finding one of them here in Kalos."
"That's right! A Ghost/Grass-type pokegirl." Professor Sycamore grinned and beckoned Nia to join them. "But Nia! You are the special pokegirl the esteemed Champion wanted to see. Come on over! Introduce yourself!"
Nia's eyes flicked towards Morgana but all she got from the Gardevoir was a calm smile. "U-Um, h-h-hello," she stammered, shuffling forwards and staring at the man. "I, I'm, um, Nia, but why…?"
"Oh, I've been visiting all of the finalists from yesterday's event today," Nicholas replied, holding his smile as Nia's eyes stretched even wider and she began to silently work her jaw in shock. "Morgana here thought very highly of you."
"M-M-M-Me?" Nia stammered, feeling her legs begin to go weak and catching herself on the edge of a counter so she wouldn't fall. "B-But I… I didn't… I couldn't…"
"From the entry records I believe you showed up right when the second plaza opened at eight? Is that right?" Nia nodded dumbly. "Morgana said she met you sometime around four in the afternoon, just before we shut things down for the day. She also said that you were prepared to go right back out and fight some more." He chuckled. "Must have been some good battles to keep you going that long, huh."
"…No," Nia mumbled. "They weren't."
"Nia's record when I found her stood at zero and seventeen, Master," Morgana said gently.
"Well, it takes guts to-" Nicholas began before he really processed Morgana's words. "I'm sorry did you just say seventeen?"
"Yes, Master."
"Wuh- Was there even another pokegirl out there with seventeen battles? Since eight, fighting all day, that would be… that's more than two an hour? And you lost every single one?" Nia felt her face burning. "How do you even manage that?"
"I'm sorry," Nia whispered.
"No I don't mean- I don't care that you kept losing, I'm more interested in how you managed to rack up that many," Nicholas explained. "For you to have had seventeen losses in the eight hours you were in the plaza, including time waiting, time getting in in the first place, the time it would take for the med team to get you healed up… what were you doing, materializing and immediately going right back into the arena?"
Nia winced. "Yes."
"Without pause."
"No."
"Even though you kept getting knocked down."
"Yes."
"You kept getting up again."
"Yes," Nia barely whispered, her face screwed up as she fought back both the bubbles beginning to foam from the base of her neck and the tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm just a waste of your time. Miss Morgana should have thrown me out sooner."
"Nia, you are not wasting my time," Nicholas said gently. "The entire point of this event was to provide an open invitation to Kalos. To every pokegirl who lives here. No matter how big or small. You had just as much of a right to show up as one of Champion Diantha's own."
"But… I… I LOST!" Nia sobbed, tears dripping down her cheeks to her shame. This was the man she'd wanted to prove herself to? And she was here crying her eyes out in front of him? "I'm worthless…"
"You are far from that," Nicholas said, and Nia's shaking sobs slowed when she heard the pride in his voice. "Seventeen losses in a row. Aren't you curious why none of the staff ever threw you out with that kind of record? Even though you apparently think Morgana did."
Nia hiccuped, using a hand to dab at her watering eyes. "I, I didn't," she croaked. "I didn't want to stop and ask. And didn't she…?"
"No. She didn't," Nicholas stressed with a smile. "She told me she had to stop you. That there had been a young pokegirl who was so set, so utterly driven, that she refused to stop on her own, even though she was long past the point of exhaustion. That she had to force you to rest, because otherwise I might not have been able to meet you today." He chuckled. "I wanted to meet that pokegirl. Ask her why."
Nia swallowed in an attempt to clear the lump in her throat. "Because I… Because I promised," she whispered. "My friends… they made me promise. I wanted to try. To try and meet you." Her shoulders shook as Nia fought back the sobs. "They made me promise. I wouldn't give up. I wouldn't run away. I wouldn't stop. Not until someone told me to leave."
"A promise is worthless if the one making it doesn't have the strength to see it through." Nia blinked as she listened to Nicholas speak. "None of the attendants were ever going to tell you to leave, Nia. You were the kind of pokegirl I wanted there." Nia looked up to see that he was smiling at her. At her. "The only ones I told the staff to eject were the ones who made trouble. The ones who weren't there for the same reason you were. To prove themselves to me."
"But as the day went on…"
"They all left on their own," Nicholas replied. "They quit. They decided they weren't good enough to win. Even though there was nothing yesterday for them to be fighting over." Nia was lost in his smile, the warmth of his words, his eyes. "There was no prize. No trophy. I was never going to appear and whisk any of them off to their fantasized wonderland. The only thing I wanted to see from the pokegirls who answered my call was what they would do when they failed. Nearly all the rest of them gave up." He leaned out of his seat. "They gave up. But you, Nia. You got up. You got up and you. Kept. Fighting." He was grinning now, his eyes dancing as they gazed into hers. "I'm a tamer, for goodness' sake. I don't care how strong or weak you are right now; my entire job is to help you become as strong as you can possibly be. I care about who you are. You are a pokegirl who does not give up. Who keeps her word, who strives to honor the trust of her friends. Who is afraid. But does not let her fear stop her." He held out his hand. "And you are precisely the kind of pokegirl I was looking for."
Tears were beading in Nia's eyes again as she slowly lifted her hand towards Nicholas', but these were for a much different reason than the rest. "Y-You don't mean…"
"Morgana?" Nicholas kept his eyes on Nia while he addressed the Gardevoir. "I don't think I need to meet that Pangoro anymore." Nia felt her breath catch when he caught her hands in his. "I've found the pokegirl I want to start my journey through Kalos with."
"I'll get the paperwork," Professor Sycamore said happily, dancing from the lab to leave the two with just Morgana as a witness.
"I'm… I'm dreaming," Nia choked out, feeling as Nicholas' fingers squeezed down when she spoke. "This isn't real."
"It's real," Nicholas murmured. "You've made it." He gently pulled her forwards. "I know you're exhausted. You can rest now."
He was expecting the Froakie to do something intimate, go for a kiss, a fondle, something, so when all she did instead was to stop just before entering his space and beam up at him it took a moment for him to react. "It's real," she whispered, her eyes brimming with happy tears. "It was a dream, a fantasy, but it… it's really come true." She took a shuddering breath. "What happens now?"
"Now, a number of things could happen, actually," Nicholas replied. "We're not leaving Lumiose for at least a few days, though. I'm not just here for you – the Professor also invited me to assist with his research and I have a lot I want to talk to him about. It'll give you time to let things sink in. You can meet my harem. And I'm sure, in between, you and I will get to know each other too." He smiled. "Then, once we're ready, you and I will set out on a journey across Kalos. Where that journey starts I will leave up to you. I'm sure those friends you talked about will want to say goodbye." He cocked his head. "Are they here in Lumiose? Or in the place registered as your hometown, Aquacorde."
"They're in Aquacorde."
"Then I assume we will travel there once I'm done in Lumiose and our grand adventure will begin," Nicholas chuckled. "How does all that sound?"
"It sounds…" Nia breathed. "It sounds perfect, um, Master."
"That's something I want to make sure you learn right away," Nicholas said. "I don't care what you call me. Nicholas, Nick, Master, or anything else. The only thing I care about is that you call me what you want to call me."
"O-Oh."
"And Augustine is back!" Nicholas exclaimed when the door swung open to admit the man. "Got whatever paperwork you needed?"
"Yes, I have the paperwork here for Nia, withdrawing you from the starter program…" Professor Sycamore breezed, fast-stepping over to Nia. "I apologize, it's all still legally written with your other name."
"Other name?" Nicholas asked curiously while Nia took the papers Professor Sycamore handed her. "What other name?"
"I was hatched by a pokegirl breeder," Nia muttered. "The name I was assigned was okay, but I wanted to be my own pokegirl. So I made my own." Nicholas peeked over her shoulder to read the forms. "My tamer is supposed to name me anyways, right? It didn't matter what I was called until I found one."
"Hina?" Nicholas murmured. "That's what you were known as?"
"Yeah. But I liked Nia better."
Nicholas had a wistful smile on his face. "Hina is a special name in my culture. The name of a goddess, the goddess who gave us our greatest hero. The goddess of the moon, she who watches over our fishermen, who nurtures the fish in the seas on which we survived. And that is the name you were given." He shook his head with a light chuckle. "Incredible."
Nia's eyes had gone wide. "Um…"
"You liked Nia better. Nia it is," Nicholas said. "It will be official once your registration into my harem is complete."
"And speaking of that harem," Professor Sycamore interjected, "I would like to discuss the main reason I invited you here, Nicholas."
"Right. Mega Evolution," Nicholas replied. "I've heard from Steven Stone that you're the man at the forefront of that research."
"I'm getting very close to being able to publish. But unfortunately finding actual subjects to observe has proven difficult. As you are well aware, I hope, this process is dangerous."
"I am. I'm uniquely qualified to hold a Mega Evolution with my pokegirls but even I still can't keep it active for an extended period of time," Nicholas said. "The two short bursts that I displayed in Unova were… well, I'm not going to lie and say it was a struggle, but I certainly felt the strain."
"Quite. However, it is still far more than most. My observations of the elite tamers across the World League suggest that even they can usually only hold a single transformation for a moderate period of time before being forced to rest." Professor Sycamore gave Nicholas a pleading smile. "It is impossible to study a transformed pokegirl when your only subjects are active Gym Leaders and Elite Four - or Champions! Even if I could convince them to give me their time and energy they can't abandon their duties. But you?"
"It's much less of a problem for me," Nicholas mused. "Okay. It's an interesting request. But I intend to be traveling Kalos in pursuit of Diantha's title. I can give you some time here at the lab, sure, but I'm not going to leave what I'm doing for you either."
"I would be perfectly happy if you just dropped by whenever you're in Lumiose," Professor Sycamore replied immediately.
"Then sure. I can help."
"Wonderful!" Professor Sycamore exclaimed. "You are a lifesaver. I don't have much to offer in return for your help but I do have another scientific mystery you might be interested in."
Nicholas frowned. "Oh?"
"A little while ago the breeders we work with reached out to us. The ones Nia came from. Two of their Charizard had had an odd egg in their latest clutch," Professor Sycamore said. "They asked me to help and ensure it would remain viable."
"Well I'm not really a breeder, so where are you going with this?" Nicholas asked.
"The pokegirl that hatched from that egg is, I believe, the first of her kind," Professor Sycamore explained. "Or if not the first then she is the first to have survived. She wants a tamer. She wants to leave the lab. But there has simply been nobody who I believed could properly take care of her. Could monitor her as she grew, as she evolved. I've heard these things are your specialty."
"I mean it's what I studied, but all of my experience has been hands-on since graduation…" Nicholas blinked. "Huh. I wonder if I could use the last decade as evidence for my PhD dissertation."
"From what I have heard of you, you already have quite a bit to contribute to the fields of pokegirl biology and human/pokegirl studies," Professor Sycamore replied. "While I believe there are others, myself, my mentor Rowan, who could properly monitor and document this incredibly unique opportunity in our field, there is something you are that we are not." He smiled. "A world-class tamer. It is my hope that by sending this pokegirl with you you will be able to discover far more about her than we ever could in a lab."
"Consider my curiosity truly piqued," Nicholas said. "So she's a Charmander? Or some other taxonomy that was somehow conceived by a Charizard pairing."
"A Charmander, yes. I had a feeling you would be interested, so I already sent Alain to fetch her. And here she is!" Nicholas turned to look when the door opened. What stepped through, however, was not one pokegirl, but two. A pair of Charmander who were so uncannily similar that it was unnerving to watch as the two approached in perfect step.
"I thought you said 'a' pokegirl…?" Nicholas began, a young man with dark black hair stepping in behind the Charmander and closing the door behind them. "They're twins? Pokegirl twins aren't all that uncommon."
"Fraternal twins aren't, no," Professor Sycamore replied, the Charmander coming to a halt in front of Nicholas and it was like there was a mirror standing between them. He couldn't see a single difference between the two. "Even though pokegirls only conceive a single egg at a time, the same as humans, they can have clutches of up to ten eggs in extreme situations. Any single clutch of more than one egg is likely to have some instances of fraternal twins among it, and there have even been a few recorded instances of identical pokegirl twins whose eggs split after conception, resulting in two eggs from a single… well, you know. Impregnation." Professor Sycamore chuckled and patted the shoulder of the Charmander closer to him. "But that's not where Sierra here came from. She came from one egg. She is, for all intents and purposes, one pokegirl."
"A conjoined pokegirl…?" Nicholas breathed. "You're correct. That is unheard of." He frowned. "But conjoined how? I see two separate Charmander."
"And that is how I believe Sierra managed to survive," Professor Sycamore said excitedly. "Show him your tail, Sierra."
The motions were entirely in sync as the two girls looked to their side, their tails flicking out to show how they had wrapped around each other to form one linked tail with a single strong flame flickering at the tip. "You're going to make me split again, aren't you, Professor?" they said in perfect harmony, the voices melding together into one sound. "I don't like being your parlor trick."
"This is Champion Nicholas," Professor Sycamore soothed. "He's the one I think can be your tamer. He'll need to know everything about you, right?"
Sierra's tail flicked back and waved behind her while the Charmander thought. "Okay," she eventually whispered.
"Sierra sees herself as one pokegirl. One body, despite what we looking in would say about her," Professor Sycamore said, gently pulling one of the Charmander's tails to the side to ease it free of the other. Both girls shivered as their coil was unraveled and the flame began to flicker. "It is because she is a Charmander that I believe this miracle was able to occur," he murmured, drawing the two tails apart. "Here we go, Sierra."
As he continued to separate the two the flickering flame between them dimmed and split. "I hate not being able to hear my… her," each girl said, their voices beginning to drop out of step instead of chorusing together. "It makes me feel empty."
"There we go," Professor Sycamore said. He was holding one of the Charmander's tails up while the other girl's tail was flicking about on its own, the motions almost… frantic. "It's because she's a Charmander," he said excitedly to Nicholas as the two found each other's hand instead of their tails and grabbed on tight. "It has long been known how the Charizard line displays their vitality through the flame of their tails, but there was also the theory that the flame is more than that, that it's an actual representation of the pokegirl's essence. Sierra was conjoined at the flame! Two bodies, one pokegirl!"
"One pokegirl who you are hurting," Nicholas replied, his voice even. "You've made your point."
"It doesn't hurt her at all, that's what's so incredible about it!" Professor Sycamore exclaimed. "Separate them and they become individuals, begin to deviate, and who knows? If they were kept apart long enough they might become two unique pokegirls!"
Professor Sycamore blinked. Nicholas had somehow stood and left Nia on his chair in order to stand face to face with Sierra beside them. "You want me to be her tamer?" he asked softly.
"Well, yes…"
"I accept." Nicholas reached out and firmly grasped the tail Professor Sycamore was holding. "Let go of my pokegirl."
"I was only demonstrating…" Professor Sycamore grumbled, letting go to allow Nicholas to bend down and catch the second Charmander's thrashing tail before bringing both back together. The instant the two flames touched Sierra's tails jerked out of his grasp, winding themselves tightly together again as she let out a strangled gasp.
"A Charmander's flame is linked to her essence. Her vitality," Nicholas replied, watching to make sure the flame returned to its original strength. "When you pulled them apart, their flames dimmed. You were hurting her." He looked back to Professor Sycamore with slightly narrowed eyes. "Sierra is apparently too kind of a pokegirl to stand up for herself. Or you've taught her not to. You will not hurt her again." A barely audible growl was coming from Nicholas' chest. "Am I clear?"
"Yes, this is why I wanted you in the first place! Be a tamer!" Professor Sycamore turned away with a wave of his hand. "I'm not a monster, you know. I only separated Sierra's tail when necessary."
"And I'm saying it isn't necessary anymore," Nicholas replied, stepping around so he could lean down to smile at the Charmander still with her fingers digging into the opposite hand. "So you're Sierra, huh?" he asked kindly. "Do you need a potion for your hands?"
Sierra blinked at him before abruptly letting go, wincing as blood welled from where her fingernails had cut into her skin. "Thank you," he heard her breathe.
"Yes? No?" When Sierra nodded he turned to go back to where his bag sat under the table. "Let me get you one. Come on over." He gestured as the Charmander shuffled over. "This is Nia, she's going to be your harem sister."
Sierra's eyes moved to the Froakie. "Hi, Nia."
"Actually, I think… it's Hina," Nia blurted out, causing Nicholas to straighten and turn to her in surprise. "That's what, um, all the papers say, right?" she laughed nervously.
"Sure, but I thought you liked Nia," Nicholas protested. "Once I register you to my harem-"
"I always knew there was the possibility my tamer named me once I found one," Nia interrupted, nervously squirming as she spoke. "And… And you said Hina was special." She ducked her head. "I want to be special to you," she mumbled. "I want to be Hina."
Nia squeaked when she felt Nicholas' hand ruffle her short dark blue hair. "There's no way I'm going to argue with that," he chuckled. "Especially not with how hard you've fought to be here. Welcome to the harem, Hina. Sierra."
Alain had sidled closer while the three were talking and he stuck out his hand as Nicholas turned. "Thank you," he said quietly when Nicholas took it for a handshake. "The Professor is not a bad man, but he often will only look at the final result of an action without considering what happens in between." Alain glanced at Sierra. "I can tell that she'll be in good hands with you."
Nicholas nodded with a smile. "I'll do my best."
"I appreciate that."
"So, Professor, about that tour?" Nicholas asked.
"You sure you still want it?" Professor Sycamore grumbled before letting out a sigh. "Yeah. If you would come with me?"
"Morgana?" Nicholas asked over his shoulder. "Would you take Hina and Sierra to meet the others? I'll rejoin you once I'm done." He looked back at the pokegirls. "Where are their pokeballs?"
"I have Sierra's here," Alain said, withdrawing a pokeball from his jacket and handing it to Nicholas. "Nia- I mean, Hina? Is yours in your room?"
Nicholas was looking at the single pokeball in his hand while Hina responded to Alain's question. "One pokeball."
"Yes. One pokeball," Alain said. "She is truly one pokegirl. One Charmander, in two bodies." He looked at where Sierra was introducing herself to Hina. "I don't think the Professor is wrong to be excited about her," he said quietly. "One day she might even choose to split her flame. Become two. The kind of bond those two pokegirls would share… It's truly exciting to think about." He looked back at Nicholas with a smile. "I'm a bit jealous, to be honest," Alain confessed. "Maybe I should see about meeting a Charmander of my own."
Nicholas chuckled. "What's stopping you?"
"You know what? You're right." Alain grinned and bumped his fist against Nicholas'. "Thanks, Champion. Good luck out there."
"Same to you, Alain." Nicholas handed Sierra's pokeball to Morgana and walked over to join Professor Sycamore. "Where to first?"
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POKEDEX UPDATED
Tamer: Nicholas Topolski
Badges:
Harem:
Hina, Froakie – Level 5
Sierra, Charmander – Level 5