I sat upon the gigantic, dead white tree in the center of Santalune forest, waiting for my friend to come. I didn’t know her name; We hadn’t needed it in the few years we had spent together. Her emerald eyes and hair dark as night were all I needed to identify her, so I never asked.

I started getting excited when I felt the telltale sign of someone entering the depths of the forest. I wished to tell my friend all about how I had met a Pichu just a few days previous, how though we hadn’t agreed on anything, I felt a small connection form with it. She always listened to my stories, yet, she didn’t just do that. She’d chime in to ask questions, delving deeper into details I hadn’t considered important.

I heard rustling in the brush, so I leaped down from the tree, rushing towards the noise. As I got closer though, I ducked into a bush when I realized it’s not who I expected. Instead of my friend, a man more than twice my height emerged, his fiery orange hair flaring out like a Pyroar’s mane. His black suit was lined with orange, a cravat surrounded by the fur of his coat. As he stepped past me, He grinned widely and raised his left hand, the rainbow ring upon his middle finger shining in the faint light of the sun.

“Ah, my information was correct.” The man walked forward, placing his hand upon the tree’s X shaped hollow as he examined it. “How breathtaking… I’ll need to reward Xerosic for this.”

About a thousand warning bells went off in my head at that guy, so I carefully moved till I was also hidden behind a tree. From my new spot, I watched as he sighed, taking a step back while staring long fully at the ring on his hand.

“Soon, Amore, we will have a beautiful world where no one can get between us.” He raised his fingers to his lips, kissing the rainbow ring. “A world where we will be the eternal kings, a world where no filth can taint us.”

He reached into his coat, pulling out a spherical device before sticking it into the tree hollow. At first, nothing happened, until he snapped his fingers. The device began to spin, emitting a deep, crimson energy into the surroundings. A huge wave of pain overtakes me, and I yelp as I fall to my knees.

“Oh?” The man turned towards me, walking over to look at me with his shining cerulean eyes. They made me want to run. “Well, hello there.”

The man kneeled down, a deceptively warm smile on his face as he offered me his hand. Not wanting to offend the madman, I put my trembling hand into his. He gently lifted me to my feet, looking me in my eyes like an equal.

“If you’re here, I assume you are the new child of Santalune Forest.” He reaches over with his large hand, making me flinch, but he simply pats me on my head. “I apologize, but I will be borrowing your tree friend for a bit. It is the key to the restart of this cursed world.”

He stood up to loom above me, walking back towards the tree as a faint engine noise echoed through the skies. I looked up in awe to watch as a huge ominous dark orb approached. The orb fizzled away to reveal a gigantic plane, its two jets shifting to a vertical position as they began to hover directly above us. A hatch opened on its side, revealing a woman with magenta hair and a large Houndoom.

The man snapped again, and the device shifted dramatically, expanding out into a large ring. It suddenly drops, sinking into the ground. Three large chained hooks completely smothered in that dark energy from before sink into the ground around the tree, a deeply unsettling clunk resounding from the chains as they go taut. The giant man walks over, standing beside the tree as the plane begins to rise, the earth rumbling as it does.

Then, the world trembled.

As the tree is forcibly lifted, its roots strained with all their might to keep it anchored in place. The very air around us began to warp, right before something shattered. A deep, all encompassing pain begins to throb in my heart, right before a deep rainbow light is emitted from within the hollow. The last thing I saw before I passed out was a small orb of that rainbow energy about to hit me.

I gasp as I come awake, soaked in sweat.

“Gross…” I mutter, standing up slowly to not bother PiPi, Dart, and Essentia. They’d grown a bit spoiled recently, piling on top of me as I slept. Adorable little dorks. Walking to the window, I pull back the curtain to reveal the city beyond. Lumiose, the shining crown jewel of Kalos.

The winding streets of the city are never dim, the beautiful Prism Tower the symbol of innovation. Even in the light of dawn, the city is ever active. High class ladies walk their Furfrou, a taxi screeches past with a Herdier sticking its tongue out in the air. A woman in a trenchcoat walks past, the Meowstic by her side looking up to match my stare. I shiver, shutting the curtains as I walk to the bathroom.

I dump my clothes into the laundry basket, then eye the shower, taking a deep breath as I step inside. After that night in Santalune, I found myself a bit afraid of the water. The emotions it reminded me of, the anguish filling me entirely. I had found a decent way to get around it though; I flick the water on, not bothering to increase the temperature. I squeak and shiver, but I don’t acquiesce, getting through the quick rinse before I rush out to change into warm clothes. Wiping my neck with a towel, I step back out into the room, pausing to look at the second bed where a small girl sleeps.

Blaine.

Arceus, I’m so glad she was willingly spending time with me. When we first met back in Aquacorde, I immediately knew it was her. The verdant emerald eyes, the shiny ebony hair, the beautiful dimples that appear when she smiles. She was the same as she had been a decade ago. I was the one who had changed.

Doesn’t mean my heart will ever calm down around her.

She was excruciatingly adorable to me, but not for the reasons you might expect. She wore a mask most of the time, hiding her true self away from the world. She was cold, calculating, even manipulative at times. But when it came to me, that mask slipped oh so often.

While her bubbly, ditzy persona is being presented, she’d be all caught up in the act only to pause and stare at me for a moment when we locked eyes. She tries to hide her power to heal from everyone, but when she visited me that night in Santalune, I know she used it to heal the slight burns I had accumulated. She then forcibly declared that we should travel together to Lumiose the next morning, doting on me the entire way. The girl blatantly was trying to get close to me, but I adored it all the same.

I shake my head, then move over and sit beside Blaine on her bed. Berry is cradled in her arms, Tart snoozing on the bedside table. I chuckle as the girl releases a faint snore, her small face scrunching a bit at something in her dreams. I lightly push her shoulder, whispering in her ear:

“Wake up, Blaine. Otherwise I’ll do something.”

The girl’s eyes shoot open, turning to match mine. She frantically reaches up, cupping my cheek with her hand. My heart begins to slam, the noise blocking out all noise but this small girl’s voice.

“C-Celine?” Her drowsy voice is ever so quiet as she shifts her hand a bit, brushing her thumb against my cheekbone. “I-I couldn’t find you. You weren’t in Viridian, or-or Pallet or Pewter. Anywhere. You were gone.”

I freeze, my blood running cold as I reach out and take my friend's hand, tears welling in my eyes.

“It was the same for me, Blaine,” I whisper, my voice trembling, “I searched in Aquacorde and Santalune, but no one in Vaniville would talk to me besides Sofie. It’s why we were friends. I was- I was looking for you. In fact…”

I take a deep breath, then lean down and kiss her on her forehead.

“I never stopped looking,” I whisper, a small smile appearing on my face as a tear begins to roll down my cheek, “So thank you for finally showing up.”

Blaine entirely stops moving for a second, her jaw falling open. About a thousand emotions go through her face, but it eventually just ends up turning her into a Pecha berry.

“I-I-I, um.” She slowly sits up, her entire body a shade of pink, wiping the tear from my cheek. “I’m gonna go take a shower!”

She puts down the still drowsy Berry as she stiffly stands, awkwardly walking a few feet away before she pauses. She peeks back at me, her face full of confused anxiety so I give her the widest smile I can. The girl stumbles midstep, almost falling over her own feet. I close my eyes as I start giggling, my heart burning in my chest.

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When I open my eyes again, Blaine suddenly steps towards me, pecks me on my lips, then rushes into the bathroom and slams the door.

Now very sober, I slowly put my hand on my heart. Her lips were so soft, and when they touched mine, it felt like I was on a cloud. That flame in my chest? It’s now raging across every single inch of my body, all other emotions burning to a crisp when devoured by its heat. I fall backwards on the bed, my mind completely blank.

[Took you two long enough, Celine.]

I peek up at my Ralts, who is smugly leaning on her hand.

“Shut it,” I mutter, reaching up to gingerly touch my lips, “We got there eventually.”

[Now the question is, how long are you two going to hem and haw over asking the other out after that?]

“I… Good question.” Standing up, I walk over to the window, resting my head against the cold glass to try and cool myself down as a firestorm of thoughts rampages through my mind. What the hell do I do now? I very much had not gotten this far in my daydreams, it felt like such a pipedream that I hadn’t truly considered it. I stand there for what feels like an eternity, taking deep breaths to calm myself down.

[Oh.]

I start to turn towards Essentia to see what she was reacting to, when I feel two small arms wrap around my waist. I look behind me to see a um, barely clothed, soaked Blaine firmly attached to me. That heat I had just almost gotten cooled off from surges back with a vengeance.

“Celine…” Blaine whispers, then looks up towards me, her eyes full of tears as she softly asks:

“Please… Please be mine.”

All my reservations entirely gone, I fully turn, picking the girl up in my arms. She yelps in surprise, and I chuckle as I close my eyes and put my forehead against hers.

“Only if you’ll be mine as well.”

Then, I tilt my head so her lips match mine. Fireworks begin to go off in my heart as we kiss, the cloud from before now burning as it lifts all of me up into the sky. I pull back to take a quick breath, then dive back in once I hear my girl do the same. I carry us to my bed, sitting down with Blaine in my lap as I shift to kissing her neck. She gasps, running her hand through my hair as I slowly begin to shift lower, reaching towards the clip of her bra.

[Sorry to rain on your parade, you two, but you do know we have things to do today right? You can mate later.]

Blaine and I both freeze, turning to look at our Pokemon staring at us, a mix of emotions among them. Me and my… girlfriend awkwardly untangle from each other, doing our best to ignore the looks our friends were giving us. As Blaine shuffles to her bag to get some clothes, I find my eyes locked upon her petite form as she moves, unable to look away from her swaying hips until Essentia pokes me in the arm.

[I stand corrected. Your collective desire boiled over so hard that you shattered that uncertainty period entirely into pieces. Congratulations.]

I groan, covering my face in my hands. “Remind me to put all of you in your Pokeballs next time, please.”

Snickering, Essentia leaps off the bed, then tosses my bag at my face with her Telekinesis.

[I’m hungry. Let’s go eat.]

I throw the bag over my shoulder, then walk over to Blaine, who had nearly finished dressing for the day. I lean down as she tosses her hair out from beneath her shirt, hugging her and resting my head on her shoulder. I peck her on the cheek, then say:

“Breakfast, dear?”

Blaine stares into my eyes as she turns red again, then slowly nods. I chuckle and take her hand, slowly leading my girlfriend out of the building. We leave the small apartment the professors had lent us with our Pokemon trailing behind us, walking down the street to the Café Soleil. We sit down inside, order our normal meals for us and our small friends, then sort of… sit there processing what had just occurred.

I… was going out with her now.

With Blaine, the girl I had a crush on a decade ago. The girl that had disappeared and left a scar in my heart, only to reappear the moment my life was about to begin. The girl I really, truly loved.

I was ecstatic.

Our drinks arrive alongside our meals, and as we start to eat the server looks at their watch, then grins as he gets out a phone, swiping upwards to send something up to the large Café holo-tv. What pops up is a looping gif of a Mawile running, something that was undeniably adorable, at least to me. The screen soon shifts, displaying a somewhat pretty platinum blond girl regally sitting with her hands in her lap. A large box scrolls with text on the side of the screen, so fast that it’s quite hard to follow.

Littleroot223: Back in my day, things like this were advertised at least a day in advance!

Deliriousspark: Awa!

Seventhverse: @Littleroot223 old man, let her talk before you complain.

santaGoon: I bet I know who the interviewees are!

Silverbow: @santaGoon you’re not allowed to make bets, shoe eater.

santaGoon: iwrogmagaaerionaovcadmc

Silverbow: cute

I take a sip of my drink, watching as the woman begins to address the viewers. “Good morning, everyone,” She says in a somewhat elegant voice, “I’m sure you’ve seen the title of the stream, and yes, we do in fact have special guests here today for you to ask questions to.”

She raises her palm, looking at someone behind the camera as two pixel pokemon appear on the screen beside her. An Absol and a Minccino.

“I-I’m Morgan Brandt, and this is Sofie Meier.” That all too familiar voice stutters in her usual Paldean accent.

“Hiya!” My blood runs cold at Sofie’s voice, and I feel my breath hitch. “This is all kinda sudden, so forgive us for being a bit camera shy.”

Blaine reaches over and takes my hand, a concerned look in her eyes as she looks at me. “Do I need to ask them to turn that off?”

I shake my head, giving my girlfriend a small smile. “No, I wanna hear it. Maybe… They’ll talk about it. Us.”

“We really don’t have very long to chat, so, let’s begin the interview.” I look back up at the screen at those words, finding the streamer with a small smile on her face.

santaGoon: NOOO I WANNA SEE THE ABSOOL

Silverbow: suffer

hawkSam: Sara ask why blindfold?

Seventhverse: yeah whats with the blindfold?

“That’s a good question,” the streamer mutters, then repeats, “Why did you wear a blindfold during your battle with Viola?”

“I-I um…” Morgan stutters, a bit of panic obvious in her voice.

“She’s deathly afraid of bugs,” Sofie chimes in, “It’s why I let her hug Cappuccino during the battle.”

“S-Sofie?! You can’t just say that to everyone!” The paldean girl screeches, getting a chuckle from Sara.

Delirioussprite: CUTE

santaGoon: afraid… of bugs…

teddyfluff: lol

Comfyofy: What did Morgan do to train her Absol?

“Oh, I was wondering about this one myself,” I mutter as the streamer asks about the training, then take a bite of my food.

“I met her two years ago,” Morgan says, “We sorta roamed around Paldea for a while, then about two months ago we left the region to go to Kalos over the mountains.”

I pause, letting that information process for a moment. “Okay, that adds up.”

santaGoon: over… the mountains?

Autoseed: that's absurd

Seventhverse: things i wouldn’t do for five hundred

Nyananne: Does your Absol actually cause disasters?

I flinch as the sound of a slam comes through the stream, Morgan’s voice higher pitched and louder then I had ever heard it.

“NO! She’s just a normal Pokemon,” Morgan quiets down a lot as she speaks, taking a deep breath before continuing, “We just both have… unfortunate circumstances.”

“I’ve spent a little over a week with her, and the only disaster we’ve had happen near us was because of corporate greed,” Sofie growls out.

I blink.

“Corporate… greed?” I mutter, thinking back to that night. A spark of uncertainty flickers in my chest as Sofie continues.

“Turns out you can’t trust everyone in authority positions!” Sofie chuckles, the sound of cracking knuckles coming through the stream loud and clear. “Who woulda thunk!”

“Oookay!” Sara claps her hands. “Let’s move on. Next question, please!

Deliriousspark: waah

Littleroot223: clipping that

santaGoon: i uh, am not going to comment on that

Silverbow: @santaGoon Good girl

santaGoon: airgokapomgaomvav WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS TODAY

Silverbow: heh

Shadelang: how’d they meet?

Unable to shake myself out of my uncertainty, I squeeze Blaine’s hand. “Do you… think we messed up?”

The girl I love shakes her head immediately, giving me a warm smile.

“We did what we thought was right at the time, they didn’t try to give us the information themselves.” Blain rubs her thumb against my knuckles. “If anything, we’re all a bit dumb for having such hot heads.”

I nod in agreement, then look back up at the stream.

“My mom dragged this dirty, travel worn girl into the back of our salon,” Sofie explains, “I was tasked with rebirthing her into someone new, and now we have cute little Morgan to share with the world!”

“T-thats!” Morgan mutters, and I roll my eyes as I take a sip of my drink.

Emeraldeve: wow these two…

Silverbow: do they even realize they’re flirting?

Seventhverse: @Silverbow you’re one to speak…

Silverbow: ??? what does that mean

Deliriousspark: ARE THEY GOING OUT?

Sara snickers, then asks, “That’s a good one to end on, are you two a thing?”

Morgan loudly hiccups, but it’s Sofie that responds, in that incredibly smug tone she makes when teasing someone.

“Not just yet. Ask again later.”

I spit my tea back into my cup, looking up at the streamer as she breaks out laughing. What- What does that even mean?! My girlfriend begins to laugh as well, probably both at my reaction and the sputtering coming from Morgan through the stream.

Sara pushes her forehead with her hand, shaking her head. “What a way to end a stream. I know it’s short, but I’ll see you all again tomorrow anyways. Have a good day!”

The stream fades to a quiet piano song, an Emolga snoozing upon a pillow. I take a deep breath, then finish my tea. As I do, the door to the café opens, Albert stepping inside. He looks at me and Blaine holding hands, then tilts his head.

“Did I… miss something?”