I hoped no one in this inn would complain about noise. Because this little room was getting pretty rowdy with the four of us, and I anticipated it only getting noisier as the night progressed.

Jarque had prepared a small feast with some of the money we had earned in the gym earlier this morning. Winning a gym battle apparently pays really well! He was a pretty decent cook, even though he had only learned how to cook in the past few years. While I enjoyed one of my favorite berries — Cheri! — I looked around the small, cheap room. Everyone looked so joyful! Diamie was doing a cute little dance, and she occasionally let out a sweet hum. The Brionne was always smiling, but she was smiling so wide right now that it had to hurt. Jarque also looked very content as he sat at the room's only bed, although his smile was more temperate.

And then there was Valentine, practically rubbing her body against Jarque as she sat on the same bed, purring as the human caressed her head that she rubbed against his shoulder. I wasn't jealous. I wasn't jealous. Virtually all pokémon liked affectionate physical attention in the form of petting and massages, and this was even truer among us starters. And Jarque had already petted both me and Diamie a few times through the night, so it's not like he was ignoring us or anything.

But Valentine was trying really hard to hoard all of his attention, and it was so obvious. She hadn't left his side ever since we returned to the inn like an hour back. And she had been constantly trying to draw his attention and accentuating her presence by nuzzling against him and hugging him, subtly at first, but she was getting a little too bold for my tastes now. What irked me the most was that Jarque was humoring her, stroking her head, scratching the underside of her ears and even kissing her forehead. And, again, it's not like Diamie or I were getting disregarded, but Valentine was clearly the one in the spotlight. It didn't look to me like Diamie thought much of it. She was just dancing and singing around and enjoying the food, and occasionally coming up to Jarque for a quick headpat. So maybe Diamie didn't care too much.

I, however, did. Immensely.

I get it. That victory at the gym we owed to her. I was not so blind not to see. And I could understand Jarque feeling specially thankful to her for her contribution. It's not like I wanted the Braixen to receive no pats whatsoever at all. But wasn't this a bit too much? I was the ace here. I was the one Jarque loved the most. When was she going to leave his side? It's not like I could just up and tell her to get away from him, tempting as it was to do so.

"A-Are you proud of me?" Valentine asked the human with her natural voice, which was a stupid thing to do since he couldn't understand her. Realizing her mistake, she placed a paw against her temple as she looked longingly at my trainer. Sure, rub it in my face that you can use telepathy and I can't.

"Of course I am!" he nearly yelled as he began to stroke her head with more intensity. "You fought really well and endured it until the end, Valentine! Uh, but sorry for putting you through that. Fighting poisons cannot be a nice experience." The Braixen nodded, reclining her head on his shoulder. Hey, I'm the one that's a grass-type! I should be the one receiving compassion for having fought mons I'm weak to! Jarque turned to Diamie and me. "And you two did excellent too, of course! You all did great!"

Diamie began to applaud herself, which was weird, but it was a very Diamie thing to do. I knew that Jarque was only trying to make us feel good, but his forced praise nearly had the opposite effect on me. It felt like pity. Like a consolation prize. Like a 'she did all the heavy lifting, but I guess you two were around too'. But could I really complain? At the end of the day, Valentine was the one to defeat each and every single one of the pokémon we battled. She was the one to deliver the finishing blow against the Tentacool, and then she took care of the other two alone after I fell defeated. Valentine had told us that she was bred specifically for competitive battling, but it had not dawned on me just how vast the difference in skill between the two of us was.

It was clear Valentine was enjoying the attention immensely by how her tail was wagging, and I didn't resent her for it or anything but… I kind of wanted to receive some special kind of attention from Jarque right now. But it wasn't because I was jealous and I wanted to remind everyone that at the end of the day the one that turned him on the most was me.

I sat on the bed by his side, such that he now had a female on each arm. He almost immediately began to caress the underside of my chin, although he never stopped patting the Braixen. "Jarr — Darling, um…" I suddenly grew nervous for some reason. What was there to fear? He had never said no to sex, and he was ecstatic right now. "Do you want… time alone, us two?" My sentences were improving, but I hated that I still at times sounded like a child that had just learned her first language.

"Oh…" He looked for a moment at Diamie, then at Valentine by his side. "I don't know. Tonight we're kind of celebrating all together as a team, no? So maybe some other day?"

He looked at me with that considerate gaze of his, awaiting a response. He would probably comply if only I insisted. I knew he would. I knew he wouldn't say no to his first pokémon. But, as much as I wanted it right now, I just shook my head as I left his side. "Another day, then." I would hate to look desperate. I wanted to look suave and sexy, someone he would desire. Not someone needy. I wasn't needy.

I smiled, but his response hurt more than I had expected. I had already gotten my hopes up that we would be having a wild night on this bed. It wasn't just because I was pretty horny and I wanted sex, although that too. It was the rejection that hurt the worst.

Well, it wasn't, like, a rejection. It wasn't, right? He had never agreed to having sex in a human city, so this didn't mean anything. Although he had spoken as if he would have agreed if I had insisted a little more. Why had I assumed that sex was guaranteed if we won? I had imagined that my teammates could just return to their spheres, or maybe take a night stroll or something. I had even dared fantasize that he wouldn't care they were around, and he would take me in front of them to show them I am his female. But maybe this was fairer to all of us? I wondered for a moment — if I had been the one to take down all of our foes instead of Valentine, would he have wanted to have sex with me then?

Another thought crossed my mind. If Valentine had been his first pokémon instead of me, would he now be rewarding her by taking her on all fours on top of that bed while we watched? I had spoken with the girls this morning about how a teenaged boy like him was probably interested in every sexy female, not just me. As I noticed Jarque sitting with his legs conspicuously crossed, I couldn't help but wonder if he was trying to cover an erection caused by the Braixen. I wouldn't even blame him because Valentine was starting to get a little too aggressive, cuddling up to him in a way that made her press her decently-sized breasts against his side. Thank goodness they were covered by the fuzzy white fur collar on her chest. Bah! They were only a little bigger than mine anyway! I wondered if she was doing it on purpose or if it was just an innocent affectionate thing, because coming from her, I could believe either.

I was happy that we had won another badge, for sure. It was no doubt a motive for celebration. But this celebration party felt awkward to me for some reason. I kind of just wanted it to be over.

That night I slept cuddled up to Jarque as had become habitual. But for the first time ever the Braixen also slept cuddled up to him, with each of us hugging one side of his body.

A few days passed. We kept traveling and working out and battling other trainers as usual, since there were more gyms to challenge on the horizon. But there was something off. Valentine spoke very little to me, and when she did so it was in a very matter-of-factly kind of fashion. The Braixen had never been too effusive or anything, but there was always a kind of warmth and natural curiosity in all of her interactions that was now lost whenever I was involved. And it wasn't that she had changed either. She still acted the same way around Diamie, and I would swear she had become warmer towards Jarque, smiling a lot more and getting worryingly more touchy-feely whereas in the past the slightest brush of his fingers would fill her with nearly paralyzing embarrassment.

I was now alone with her and Diamie in this forest clearing, as Jarque had gone out to do one of those boring human things he had to do at towns sometimes. Could this be a good chance to talk it out with her? Maybe she was still angry with me for messing up during the poison gym battle at the Chalice Coastline. Me screwing up the timing of my attacks had resulted in me accidentally hitting her with a copied Surf, then making her steal a poisonous item, and lastly falling defeated for failing to trust her and forcing her to end the battle as a one-on-two. They were all mistakes and I never intended to hurt her, and we won in the end anyway. There was no way she was still stuck up on that, right?

"Hey," Valentine's voice brought me back to reality. Oh, I had been staring at the Braixen for a while without realizing it. "Is something the matter? Is there any reason why are you glaring at me like that?"

I was taken aback by her response. Not because her tone was aggressive or rude, since it wasn't, but because it was odd for the Braixen to be openly confrontational at all. She never acted this way with anyone else. She never used to act this way with me either. "What is your problem?" I asked her. As these words left my mouth I wondered if maybe my wording was a little too combative. Not my intention. I just wanted to figure if there was something ailing her.

"What is my problem?" she repeated in a raised voice. Yep, that was bad wording on my part. "It's in front of me."

Uh, wasn't her gaze aimed at me? I took a quick look behind me, confused. Was I missing some extra meaning in her words? Some contextual clue? She couldn't possibly have gotten this openly aggressive with me. "Are you angry about my mistakes during the last gym dance?"

"Mistakes, uh." She said no more words, but kept staring into my eyes in a way that made me a little uncomfortable.

"Mistakes, yes." Well, some of them were at least. "It wasn't on…" What was I meant to say here? That it wasn't on purpose? But some of my blunders had occurred because of hubris or because of me wanting to take down foes myself so that our trainer would praise me. Not exactly accidents. But at the very least I didn't do any of that with the express intention of hurting Valentine. "I wasn't trying to hurt you or anything, you know."

"Had me fooled."

"Geez, grow a thick skin, will you." Those words came out of my mouth before my mind got a chance to determine whether they were appropriate for the situation or not. This was about the opposite of what I should be saying. Shouldn't I be trying to make peace with her? Should I apologize, maybe? Would that help? But it felt kind of awkward to apologize now all of a sudden, days after the dance. Perhaps I should have apologized after the fight or during that night, but it felt awkward there too, like it was too soon, besides things didn't seem that bad between us back then. Since then, I've been letting time pass, thinking this was just a tantrum she would eventually get over. I really should have apologized at some point but no time seemed appropriate, plus I had no idea what to say.

I noticed Diamie looking at us with a troubled expression, subtly moving between us. She turned to Valentine. "I'm sure the chief didn't mean to do any of that, Valentine. We all commit mistakes. I've certainly committed my fair share myself, hah! But I know the chief never meant to trouble you, and feels sorry about it." She glanced at me. "Right, chief?"

Yeah, that's true, I never meant to hurt Valentine. Why couldn't she get it through that thick vulpine skull of hers? The Brionne bobbed her head up and down as her nose pointed towards the Braixen while looking at me, as if motioning me to do… something. I stared perplexed at the Brionne for uncomfortably too long until it hit me that she was probably signaling at me that this was a good time to apologize to Valentine.

Looking down, I scratched the handkerchief draping over my chest as I turned to Valentine. "It's not like it was my fault or anything since it was just a bunch of accidents, but…" I couldn't believe myself. Just say sorry. It cannot be that hard. That would be the best way to placate the Braixen. "Uh, insofar as I am involved in all the things that happened… um, I'm sorry." There. Finally. That was a weight of my chest. Now things would go back to normal at last.

I looked up to Valentine, expectant. I was struck by an uncomfortable feeling when I realized that her expression had barely changed. "You haven't thanked me either," she said. What? The fox wanted me to butter her up more? "Diamantina congratulated me first thing as soon as the fight was over since she's a darling, and of course master has been nothing but grateful. But what about you, Clover? I haven't even heard a sad 'thanks' from you. I won us that battle, you know."

I felt like groaning but managed to contain myself. Azelf, please give me the willpower to resist hurling colorful expletives at her. I really didn't like this attitude the fox had been showing around me ever since we won that gym match. She won us that battle? I couldn't in good faith deny that we had won only thanks to her, but… "Um. Thanks," I said, curling my lip. Whatever. Best to just get this over with. If that's what she wanted to hear, I just had to reward those long ears of hers.

Valentine crossed her arms and stared at me for an agonizingly long time as if checking me out, frowning. Did that not appease her? That chilling glare of hers… It's as if she wanted to say something hurtful but ultimately didn't. I knew she was mad at me, but I might have miscalculated just how much.

I crossed my arms too, and returned her glare. I didn't stare at her with hostility or anything, I just wanted to make it clear that I wasn't intimidated. Honestly, I was starting to get a little fed up with her attitude. Sure, I made some dumb mistakes. Sure, some of those dumb mistakes had ended up hurting her. But it's not like she was perfect either! During the last gym match Valentine had let it slip that Jarque wasn't her first trainer. How come she had never told us? And she hadn't mentioned it again since then either. Shouldn't I be mad at her too for keeping such a big secret from us?

Diamie held her flippers clasped together against her body, eyeing the both of us. "So… all good now?" I didn't need to look at her to knew she was uneasy just from the shaky tone of her voice.

"Sure," I said, staring down to the grass. I didn't bother putting much conviction into my voice, since I knew it wouldn't be believable.

Valentine opened her mouth as she pointed at me with a frown, but then stopped herself from saying whatever she was about to say and mellowed down. "Right," she said, waving an arm at me dismissively.

I furrowed my brow. What the hell. I've had it up to here with the stupid fox. "Spit it out," I said as I approached the Braixen. "It's obvious there's something you want to say."

"Well, I…" She threw another accusing finger in my direction, but her accusation didn't manifest this time either as her hand ended up on her waist again. "It doesn't matter."

"Show some courage for once and tell us what's going through your mind, will you?"

Valentine sunk her claws into her waist. "Oh, for the… Very well." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, they gleamed with an intense fire. "Clover, I think you are an arrogant and self-centered prick, and honestly kind of a burden on this team."

"Wha." I almost jumped back. I didn't expect such brutal honesty from someone who used to be so demure as a Fennekin. "What's your issue, fox? That's rude!"

I took a single step towards the Braixen, and that's all it took to make Diamie hop in front of me, placing herself in between us as she faced me with an awkward smile. "Whoa there. Let's, uh, maybe all calm down a little?" She twisted her body to look at Valentine behind her. "Valentine, maybe that was kind of out of place? Figure we could all maybe tone it down a notch, darling?"

Valentine seemed to hesitate for a second as she looked at Diamie's pleading face, but didn't relent. "Sorry, but I stand by what I said. Clover's attitude not only hasn't improved since she evolved, but has actually gotten worse. She puts nearly zero effort towards teamwork and unity, and cares only about looking good in front of our trainer, even if it is at our expense."

I moved closer to Valentine, nearly shoving Diamie away. "What are you even trying to…?"

"I think you are unfit to be our team's leader."

I stood perfectly still, surrounded by an eerie silence as I blinked my eyes at her. What? What was all this? Of course I was fit to be the leader of Jarque's team. What was she even going on about?

"I am his oldest pokémon," I said in a hastened tone as I placed both of my hands on my chest. "I am Jarque's most trusted pokémon. We've known each other since we were little. What do you mean I'm unfit to be the leader? There's no one in this world Jarque trusts more than me!"

"All true," Valentine said, making me let out a small breathe in relief. "Also not necessarily relevant. What about us?" she said as she pointed one hand at Diamie and another at herself. "For all your faults, I would never doubt your dedication and loyalty towards our trainer. But do you care about either of us in the slightest?"

Her question caught me by surprise. "What nonsense are you talking about, Valentine? Of course I care about you two!"

"Really? So you wouldn't rather travel alone with master, just the two of you? I sometimes feel like you don't want us around."

That was… kind of true. If it were a possibility, then yes, I couldn't deny it, I would prefer it if it were just Jarque and me. The thought of having all of his caresses and kisses go only to me, and then getting to spend every night alone with him with no reason not to get saucy… Damn, that would be the dream. Just me and my male. But that was all it was at the end, a dream.

A pokémon team wasn't a pokémon team if it was composed by a single member, and this region's obsession with double battling only made that even more relevant. Even if begrudgingly, I had already accepted that I would need to collaborate with other pokémon if I wanted to bring triumph to Jarque. Their assistance would allow us to go further, which would in turn make Jarque and I shine brighter, much brighter that if we were on our own. I needed strong teammates that wouldn't hold me back and make me look bad before Jarque, and both Valentine and Diamie had proven their mettle. They were not as strong as me, of course, but neither of them was a burden on the team as I might have initially feared.

"Of course I want you in the team! You are both really strong!"

Valentine scrunched her nose. "Is that all…?"

Not at all! Our threesome also resulted in a competitive variety of typings — grass, fire, water — which would only become even more exhaustive after we all evolved once more. This made it unlikely that Jarque would need to add more pokémon to the team any time soon, which meant less competition for his affection! So of course I wanted them around. "I do care about you! We can hit a lot of weaknesses between the three of us. Don't think I don't appreciate that!"

"What is wrong with you?" For some reason Valentine furrowed her brow and pointed at me with an open palm as she looked to Diamie. "Are you hearing this? What kind of leader speaks of her teammates like that?"

"I-I'm sure she means well," Diamie said as she placed a placating slipper on the waist of the taller Braixen. "But the chief sometimes, uh, doesn't quite have a way with words? I'm sure she was just trying to, uh, to compliment our teamwork."

"That's right!" I said, giving a violent nod that made my ears sway. "You are great fighters! I'm good, but I understand Jarque and I cannot win all battles alone. It's thanks to your presence that we can have a chance at earning the championship at all!" I crossed my arms, honestly a little bit miffed. "See? I do appreciate you! I'm a good leader!"

Valentine closed her eyes as she tilted her head and rubbed her white chest-fur, not looking much more convinced than before. "It rubs me the wrong way, the way you speak about us. I mean, I like a good battle as much as the next pokémon, don't get me wrong, most of us do, but it's not like that's all there is to life." She opened her eyes, giving me a strangely wistful gaze. "And I actually take no issue with you caring more about our trainer than about us. As Jarque's starter, it is understandable that he would be your first priority. Most pokémon have a very special relationship with their human. It's in our nature, specially for us starters. Nobody would blame you for it. I'm, um, probably in the same camp."

I wasn't even surprised to hear that from her at this point. That Valentine had taken a liking to Jarque was obvious. What wasn't as obvious was what I should think or do about it. "So if we're in the same situation, what's the issue?"

"Well, I care about master, I care immensely about him and I want to see him reach victory, but I also care about you two. But not just because you can help him reach his goals. I care about you two simply because I do. Because you are, or I thought you were, my friends."

Diamie rubbed the Braixen's leg with gentle motions. "Of course we are, silly!"

Valentine smiled to her. Hadn't seen her smile in a while. "I know you are, yes. I take no issue whatsoever with you, Diamantina." She petted the Brionne's head, making the pinniped giggle. Then she turned to me right as the smile faded from her face. "But you… Well, I had heard horror stories about humans that thought of us pokémon as nothing but tools, using us only to achieve their goals with total disregard for our wishes or individuality. I'm thankful that Jarque isn't like that, and I thought I had lucked out after meeting him. But what I would have never imagined was finding a fellow pokémon that thinks of her brethren in such a way."

"What are you…?" I took a hasty step back as I placed my arms in front of me defensively. "Whoa there. Now hold on a second. What in the world are you suggesting right now? I don't see you as tools! That's silly! I'm a pokémon myself!"

"You see us as a means to an end. You only value us in so far as we can help master further his goals, but you don't seem to care about us as individuals."

Her words made me raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Don't we all want Jarque to win the League's challenge and be crowned champion? Is that not why we are in this team?"

"Of course a pokémon wants her trainer to raise to glory, but we are also supposed to care about our fellow team members." Valentine pointed at Diamie, whose forced smile was looking more and more awkward each second. "Why did she join us, Clover? Why is she in this team?"

I stared at the Brionne for a moment, fidgeting with the leaf-handkerchief covering my chest. Was that a trick question? "Diamie wants to evolve to become stronger, uh, and she wants to be in a champion's team. Isn't that it, Diamie?"

"Ah, well…" The Brionne began to rub the back of her neck with a flipper as she leaned her head on the other one. "I have nothing against Jarque and I wish him only the best of lucks, but I wouldn't consider this whole gym challenge thing one of my priorities, no. Although I do like fighting a lot." Uh? What? I thought we were all focused on the same goal.

Valentine nodded with a knowing smile. "Other than evolution, she joined us because she wants to travel to expand her horizons beyond her small pond, and meet new interesting humans and pokémon." She placed her hands on her hips and leaned forward towards me, accusatory. "That is why she is with us. You would have known this if only you had asked her, as I did. As our leader, should you not know this, Clover? Should you not be keenly aware of what makes each of your teammates tick?"

"U-Um…" I raised a paw as I thought of something to say to defend myself, but nothing came to mind. It didn't even cross my mind that my teammates could have different goals than Jarque and I, so I saw no need to ask anything.

"And what about me?" Valentine said next, placing her paw on the white fur covering her chest. "Why did I join master's side? Can you tell me, Clover? We have been together in this team for like a year and a half now. You should know."

I spoke slowly to give myself time to carefully pick my words. "You, uh… As a pokémon raised in a lab, you have always wanted to join a human." I waited for a bit, and she nodded. So far so good. "So, um… Yeah. That." I waited for another nod, but none came. "A-And you want to impress him. And you want him to pet you."

"I won't say that's wrong but…" Valentine faked a cough, then looked aside. "You are describing yourself, Clover. You are in love with master, so you want to become the center of his world. I won't deny I want him to acknowledge me too, but my motivations aren't quite as simple-minded as yours." She took a few steps in my direction until she was right in front of me, looking down on me from her slightly taller frame. "So as I was saying you care only about yourself. You care only about your own goals and assume everyone in this team exists only to help you further them. As such, I stand by what I said earlier. You should not be our team's leader."

My first instinct was to claw at her face or at those infuriating tits that taunted me with their slightly bigger volume. Luckily, I retracted my claws before I got around to doing anything stupid. "I'm the best leader Jarque could have for his team!"

Diamie tried to say something, but Valentine interrupted her. "Absolutely not. You have no leadership skills, and lack empathy towards those you are supposed to guide. This isn't a role that was given to you due to any merits. You just lucked into it."

"Hey!" It was true that it was only due to luck that I had been the one to meet Jarque first, but so freaking what? I was still the one that understood him best! This stupid Braixen was starting to really grate on my nerves. "No one gets along with Jarque as well as I do!"

"Because you always monopolize his attention! Have you stopped to consider what he wants?"

I hissed at her, and she responded with a low growl. Diamie pretty much jumped in between us, holding me back. Why me? Valentine was the one that started it! Diamie began to pat my legs in a futile attempt to calm me down. "We all know Jarque likes you the most, chief. Nobody is arguing against that." She turned to Valentine before she had a chance to respond, because it seemed like the Braixen had every intention to. "Maybe the chief has areas where she needs to improve, but she's putting a lot of effort into it, and at the end of the day every pokémon team needs a leader, right?"

What did she mean I need to improve? Was that even a defense? No, that had to be a defense. Plus she was right. A team needed a leader. I faced Valentine again. "Yeah, if you're so hellbent on me not being the leader, care to tell us who should take on that mantle then? Who could be a better leader than me?"

Diamie gave a few rapid nods as she glanced at Valentine. "Fair point! I know I'm the eldest one here, but the whole leading thing isn't really my forte."

"That's okay," Valentine said, then raised her head and nose high and placed a proud paw on her chest. "I will be the team's leader."

Silence followed. I needed a moment to take in her words, and Diamie seemed to be in a similar situation. In retrospect, of course she was leading the conversation in this direction. She didn't merely want me to stop being Jarque's right hand. She actually wanted to take my place.

"You?" I sneered at her with the most incredulous voice I could muster. "Do you have any idea how wacky you sound? Do you think you're close to Jarque just because you have known him for over a year? I have known him for nearly a decade! Don't let it get to your head! Don't think you're special in his eyes just because he pets you and tells you sweet things!"

My words seemed to have an effect, as the thief of affections hesitated for a moment. But only a moment. She didn't take any longer than that to regain her audacity as she went back to shouting. "I would make a better leader than you! I am a better battler than you are, surely even you must have noticed by now! I was bred specifically to be powerful and skilled and bring my trainer victory!"

"And yet they rejected you and sent you to a lab." My words made her wince, which almost made me regret uttering them, but she wasn't pulling any punches either. "What point are you trying to make here? That you have superior genetics? Do you think that's all it takes? Besides, fighting prowess might be important, but that's not what makes a good leader! A leader acts as an intermediary between a team and its trainer, and I am clearly the one that's more familiar with Jarque!"

"Oh? You want to argue who's better at communicating with master? Do you really want to go there, Clover? Remind me again, who of us is the one that can use telepathy to hold entire conversations with our human, and who is the one that can barely babble broken sentences that make her sound harebrained?"

"Bah! We've been communicating without words for years! Those broken sentences you're chiding are just an extra help. We don't even need them! But if something blocked your psychic powers, you would be all grunts and howls." I closed my eyes as I scratched my ear, trying to look indolent and cool and totally nailing it. "As for me, the only howls escaping my throat are the ones that Jarque coaxes out of me when he buries his dick deep into my pussy. Because, at the end of the day, you can throw all the childish arguments about genetics and telepathy you want at me, but that won't change the fact that Jarque only has one mate and that is me. So why shouldn't I be the leader?"

Valentine chuckled, which was about the most annoying reaction possible in this situation. "You still think that just because you're letting him fool around with you, he sees you as a significant other? How hopelessly naive. You're the one that's childish! As a young developing male, he probably would have accepted sex from any moderately attractive female that offered. Or what? Do you think that if I had been his starter instead of you he would not have wanted sex out of me too? Do you think you're special in that regard?"

"T-That's…!" I wanted to argue back, but I hated that the thief of affections was probably right. If it had been Valentine and not me that Jarque had met nearly a decade ago, they would probably be mating by now too.

"Or do you perhaps think that you're the only one he fancies?" Valentine began to trace her hands along her curvaceous body in this very premeditated fashion with an uncharacteristic sultry grin that would have made any watching male pop a boner. "Do you think I don't notice the quick peeks he steals at this developed, evolved body sometimes? It's probably his subconscious betraying him, but I wouldn't blame him in any case. I mean, my body is more titillating than yours after all."

"What…?"

Valentine puffed her chest out as she grinned wide. "I have this suspicion that the daycare center where I was born aimed not only to breed pokémon that were good at battle, but also pleasing to the eye. After all, that would probably be an advantage to help us bond with our humans. I am taller than you, my fur is tidier and warmer, and my body is more curvaceous." She placed one arm on her waist above her fur-skirt and the other right under her chest to support her breasts, bringing attention to both her fleshy thighs and her enviable bust, slightly larger than mine. "If given a choice between playing with my body or yours, I wonder which he would rather pick?"

Keep your calm. Don't bite. I looked aside as that made me look aloof and collected and not hurt at all by the words of that stupid dumb vixen. "We already know the answer. Argue all you want, but that won't change the fact that I'm the one he's nutting into every few nights."

"Has he ever initiated?"

"U-Uh…" Think of something. Think of something smarty to say. "I can just tell when he wants it. Our connection runs that deep. No words needed."

"See? You are always imposing your will on others. You act in the exact opposite way of how a leader should act." Valentine turned to Diamie, who was looking at us with tired eyes. "You agree with me, don't you, Diamantina? I care about the team more than she does. I would make a much better leader than Clover!"

I stomped on the ground. "Nuh-uh! I'm the one that's closest to Jarque, and the role of a leader is to be a link between the trainer and the team! I'm clearly the best fit for the role, and I'm sure Diamie agrees!"

Diamie lowered her head and let out a drawn-out, exasperated sigh in a tone far less cutesy than what we were used to, then turned to us with frustration wearing down her eyes. "Let me make this point crystal clear: I am not picking a side. Don't drag me into this. I will accept whatever decision you two arrive to, but you have to sort this out among yourselves. You cannot stay like this."

Valentine began to scratch her neck, fluffing out her tail as she looked behind. "That is fair. Sorry about that, Diamantina."

My head and shoulders felt heavier as I dodged Diamie's gaze. "Yeah, you're right, Diamie. We should deal with this ourselves." I raised a paw to point at the slightly taller Braixen, the sudden gesture making her ears stand at attention. "Let us dance. Whoever wins gains the right to be the leader of Jarque's team."

With a hand on her hip and another on her chin, Valentine narrowed her eyes. "A dance? As in a dance of skill? A battle?"

"What else could I mean? A dance of love?" I grabbed my yo-yo flower with my left and pointed my right threateningly at Valentine. "If you best me I will cede the title of team leader to you, but if you lose you will stop this nonsense and acknowledge my leadership."

"How barbaric," the thief said before stretching her neck, using her arm for support. "But if that's what it will take to convince you, if that's the only language you will listen to, then I will do it." She began to roll her shoulders up, back, and down, making her large chest bounce a little, which I assumed she was doing on purpose. "Diamantina can act as the referee, if she doesn't mind."

"Cool with me," I said.

We both turned to the sea lion, and although she didn't look what I would call enthusiastic, she wasn't one to often argue. "Okay, okay. I will be the judge. I will intervene if things get, uh, a little too heated." She pulled herself back with the help of her flippers, giving us some space. "Who knows. Letting out some steam with each other might actually be a good idea."

I glared at that damned thief of affections. I was in the right. I-I was in the right. I would shut her pretty mouth up and show her who of us truly deserved Jarque's warmth.