“Aahhh… damn, that is niiiice~” Pikachu and Salandit were settled together in a bathhouse hot spring, the two relaxing among a few other Pokemon in the steaming, soothing waters.

“Mmhh, could be a little hotter if you ask me.” Salandit snickered, flicking his tongue at the water and sinking all but the top of his head and snout into its bubbling heat.

“Of course you’d think that, you’re a fire-type.” Pikachu retorted, getting an unseen shrug in response from the lizard. “In fact, you’re the only fire-type here today.”

“No I’m not.” Salandit pointed over to a Cyndaquil standing over the spring with towels beside them and occasionally blowing a small, consistent fire stream into the water to keep it steaming and hot. “They’re here too. Sexy thing~”

“Okay correction. You are the only fire-type [I]patron[/I] here today.”

“Mmm… looks like it~ Although I wonder if that cutie might wanna make an additional fire-type with me~” Salandit licked his lips, eyeballing the feminine looking Johto starter. His tail wagged beneath the water, the perverse fire lizard doing what his species does best; being sex hungry and mischievous. Pikachu decided he’d humor his friend’s sex drive; maybe it’s better if he gets others involved in fucking rather than his mind going wild. He’s always felt a lot less deprived when watching it happen rather than imagining it, maybe because he has no involvement as a spectator whereas his thoughts are always about him fucking someone. It felt a lot easier to maintain and control himself this way so… maybe if Salandit struck gold and got lucky with that Cyndaquil, he could get set up to watch or something. Or just… not and let Salandit do his thing. But then again… [I]if I watch him have sex, that’s a lot less chance I’ll see some other hottie and end up in the same situation I don’t wanna get into. Yeah, I’m gonna hook him up.[/I]

“Why don’tcha go for it, eh? You’ve got charm and you’re a Salandit~ If that Cyndaquil has any drive in ‘em then a bit of that Salandit scent and they’re as good as yours.” Pikachu encouraged his aroused friend, giving him a pat on the back.

“Oh wow you really think so? I mean, females of my kind have a much stronger, more effective aroma than the males but I can try to capture her with my sweet scent and style~” With Pikachu backing him up, Salandit felt a lot more confident in actually having a shot at seeing that sexy Cyndaquil behind the walls or in the staff only room. “Yeah, I got this, I just gotta hit her buttons right and I’m gettin’ another tally on my record~” Pikachu had to hold back a laugh. Salandit was always a bit of a dorky one when he got all confident in his sexual prowess and charisma. Truth be told, Salandit actually was quite the charmer… when he acted more like himself. It was kinda why Pikachu and Flaaffy never actually hyped him up, he’s a lot better at this being modest and normal rather than running on cockiness or confidence. But hey, maybe he’ll still get lucky regardless. He could use the sex after what happened to him on their vacation.

But also Pikachu had to wonder if Salandit really didn’t know. Did he really think the Cyndaquil was female? “I don’t think Salandit realized this bathhouse is umm… more [I]traditional[/I]. This is the males only side. His best chance at putting his dick in some pussy is if that Cyndaquil is a cuntb--...ahem, [I]intersex[/I], almost slipped... or trans male without bottom surgery…” It wasn’t really much of Pikachu’s concern though, if anything it’d be funny to see the poor guy crumble apart like a rejected anime character after realizing that he’s about to have gay sex again. [I]The big handsome straight snake, foiled again by a cute boy that look like a girl~ Or something like that.[/I]

“Pikachu!” Salandit came running over, looking a bit too happy for his attempts to be a failure. “Pikachu guess what!

“You scored and now you’re gonna lay pipe in the staff room?” Pikachu guessed with full honesty.

“Actually no! Although that was the plan…” Salandit blushed a little then looked back at the Cyndaquil for a moment who waved at him. “I actually got… uh… I got… [I]his[/I] number…” Suddenly getting a lot more bashful and reserved, Salandit presented a small piece of paper with digits on it then clutched it against his chest like a cherished possession. Pikachu was absolutely taken aback. [I]His[/I] number? A [I]male?[/I] Getting Salandit [I]this[/I] excited?

“Who are you and what happened to my heterosexual friend?” Pikachu teased the giddy and flustered lizard. Salandit simply huffed and pouted, face getting more red.

“Sh-shut up! I’m still… I mean I mostly like girls! But… but he looks so much like a girl and he was laughing at my jokes and pick up lines and—and—and he said I was cute! I mean… I don’t wanna sound like I’m just attracted to him because he looks like a girl… i-it’s… it’s complicated, alright!?”

“What’s so complicated about that? You were attracted to him because of his looks, that’s normal for a start. It’s the only thing we have to go off of at the start of connecting with someone that you gain a romantic or sexual interest in. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“But it [I]is[/I] wrong! I.. I don’t know why but I can’t—my brain is like—what I mean is I… even though I [I]know[/I] he’s a male, my brain can’t stop thinking of him as a female and I don’t know why! He’s so feminine in every way, even his voice was soft and girly! It’s like—is this normal?? I’m… straight, right? But that’s not right to just.. deny someone’s entire gender, that’s fucked up! Pikachu I don’t like this feeling—I don’t like my brain forcing me to think [I]he[/I] is a [I]she[/I] but… but I also like the way [I]he[/I] made me feel! Something about her—[I]HIM!![/I] Something about HIM is different than other ‘mon I’ve flirted with. He—he laughed at my jokes but it was like… it felt [I]real![/I] It wasn’t just those pity laughs or in the moment giggles. Pikachu how do I make my brain stop thinking this way?? He—he wants to meet up after he gets off of work and go to his place together and I’m really excited but I’m scared! What if I accidentally misgender him or what if I get grossed out or can’t go through with it? Why did I accept even though I know he’s a male?? I’m not… Pikachu I’m not into guys like that! [B]Pikachu, why did I say yes!?[/B]”

“SALANDIT.” Pikachu near slapped some sense into the poor lizard. Instead, he grabbed the frantic fire-type and held him firmly by the shoulders.”Dude. You’re going to be OK. You’re just… going through a phase in your life where… I’ll say [I]certain events[/I] are beginning to make you question yourself. It’s OK to be this way. There are just things about you that you thought you knew that, maaaybe you didn’t know as much as you thought you did. This is… let’s say, you’re rediscovering yourself. Are you truly, absolutely sure you’re straight? That you have no sexual or romantic interest in other males? Do you truly only want to involve your sex life with women?”

“...I… I don’t… y-yes—no!… Pikachu… being gay is… okay, right..?” Pikachu could see it in Salandit’s eyes, a look he’d never seen in him before. The confident and cool Salandit, always knowing what he wants, flirting with any girl he sees attractive, taking his strike outs with stride and respect, taking his lucky streaks with pride. Every decision he’d make, he’d always be so sure of, that it’s what he wanted to do, that he knew what he wanted and needed in life. He was impossible to break under almost any circumstance. Emphasis on [I]almost any.[/I] The one time, his one moment of true vulnerability, taken advantage of in a way undeserved. And it exposed all of the cracks in his self, confidence that was used not as a personality but as a cover up for his uncertainties. Cockiness that masked his self-doubts and curiosities. A whole facade crumbling right before Pikachu’s very eyes.

Salandit had no idea who he really was.

“Pikachu…” Pikachu’s ear twitched, he’d been lost in thought for a moment until heard Salandit’s voice. Salandit’s snivels. “Pikachu… am I a bad Pokemon..?” Pikachu was caught off guard. Why would he ever think that of himself? Sure, he’s a pervert and all but being willing to act on his sexual attraction to others doesn’t make him a bad Pokemon. He was a respectful male, he never pushed anyone who denied him and he didn’t objectify others despite his desires. He may be a freaky guy but he’s certainly no bad guy.

“Salandit, of course you’re not a bad Pokemon. Why would you say something like that?” Salandit sniffled again and Pikachu finally saw it. A first time for everything, he’d never seen the lizard like this before and he now had a feeling that this was about more than just being straight or what happened on Savanna Style Isle. “Salandit… is this… about something other than Luxray?” He didn’t want to ask, he had a feeling it may be sensitive if it were. But something in Pikachu told him that this level of emotional distress was not normal for just finding out that you may be gay or bisexual, especially with how Salandit had quickly come to terms that being raped by Luxray was their best escape plan and that there was nothing wrong with him enjoying the pleasurable experience that was given to him out of it despite the humiliation. It was an extremely mature moment out of the otherwise often immature and dorky male so this, seeing him look so vulnerable and hurt over something like possibly dating another male…

“Pikachu… did I ever tell you why my dad isn’t with me and mom anymore..?”

“You… haven’t, no. Umm… hold that thought.” Pikachu gently took Salandit’s paw in his own and walked him from the hot springs. Although they were talking quiet to each other, they were still in a public place, not really the place for something this private and sensitive. He brought them quickly to a storage closet, a little small but decently spacious and no one to bother them.

“Okay, this is a much more private place. Salandit, is there something you… something you need to get off your chest?” Salandit sniveled and nodded. He looked down for a moment and started to tremble. It was like he locked up entirely, his mouth opening but nothing coming out, repeating several times before he took a deep breath to calm himself.

“Pikachu… I don’t talk about my past much because… well there’s not a lot I remember but what I do is—i-it’s not great… But you know how we didn’t meet until high school right?”

“Yeah, you were a transfer student. But nobody seemed to know where you transferred from.” Pikachu recalled the day Salandit was first introduced to his class.

“That’s because I’m… not from here… from this [I]world…[/I]  Pikachu, I used to be a human and—and my dad, he…” Salandit started choking up. He was trembling again and now his tears were running, unable to be contained any longer. “Pikachu, m-my dad, he… I-I was conceived… from rape… h-he recently learned that human and Pokemon DNA… w-we’re more compatible than humans first thought—th-that humans could mate with Pokemon and he… he wasn’t a good man, Pikachu. He drank a lot and one night after he got fired, he was really angry and plastered—he.. he took all that anger out on my mom, on [I]his[/I] Pokemon partner, his best friend, Pikachu! He raped her… he bred her against her will and she—she couldn’t escape, he literally owner her as a trainer. He did it… again and again, he did it, constantly telling her that the world is unfair and he didn’t deserve this, he deserved better. He used her as an outlet and… and one day she was going into season and it couldn’t be avoided… dad, he… wanted to keep the egg, they both wanted to. I don’t know why he chose to keep it to this day, maybe he was hoping they’d hatch a daughter for him to use next. But he… despite the terrible man he was, he actually tried to raise me and be a father. But his life lessons were… misguided.

“Pikachu… I don’t remember too much about my past, becoming a Pokemon and being taken away by that bright light one day, I just… so many of my memories were lost. But mom always reminded me of what he did to her, that she would make sure I never become like he was. I was lucky the light took her with me, maybe it was a blessing, a means of escape from him… that story, mom’s history with dad has stuck with me even through my amnesia. And dad’s one biggest lesson he’d keep repeating again and again like some sort of religious preacher… I don’t know why it bothered him so much and I never will but… dad always said… G…” Salandit stopped again. Pouring his heart out like this to Pikachu, it hurt a lot, having to relieve those thoughts and memories, the stories, the visuals that would play in his head of his mother, his dear, loving mother, used and abused… every time those thoughts plagued his mind, he could almost hear his mom’s screams, her cries and pleading for mercy. The smacks and punches of his father abusing the Salazzle day after day, all the ‘life’s not fair!’ and the ‘I don’t deserve this!’.  But what he could always hear, every time clear as day in his father’s gruff and disgusting voice…

“G..God hates fags…” Salandit shook his head. “Being gay is a disease… an illness that plagues our world. Men love women and women serve men. He’d say it time and again… Like it was supposed to be the most important lesson I would ever learn, but… b-but he’s wrong, right? He’s not right..! God… A-Arceus… doesn’t hate fa—g-gay people… Gods, Arceus, no matter your species or race… deities love us all, r-right? Because...because if they didn’t… wh-why would gay people, bisexual people… why would we exist? Dad always seemed to want me to shun and hate gay people and Pokemon but… but there’s nothing wrong with it, love is love! I… just couldn’t bring myself to dislike someone for being in love with the same sex. But something in my brain always told me that… that it was okay to be gay as long as [I]I’m[/I] not… like it was wrong for [I]me[/I] to like boys… Pikachu… is it OK if I think… if I like boys too..?”

“Salandit…” Pikachu grabbed the lizard and hugged him hard. He embraced him, hugged him, nothing else. He held him tightly, gave Salandit his warmth. For their first time, Pikachu’s body felt warmer than the fire-type’s own. “Arceus loves you no matter who you love… We all love you. And we always will.” He rubbed the lizard’s back gently, no more words, just being present for the fire-type. He hugged him and kept hugging, never letting go. He felt the trembles, the sniveling, Salandit’s weakened grasp struggling to hug Pikachu back, but he didn’t mind. He was there for him. He made sure Salandit knew that through and through. Salandit felt safe, he felt loved and understood. Something he never realized he needed the most. And now he had it. He felt like he could truly be his honest self. No more faking it, no more masking it. He let it all go.

Salandit hugged Pikachu hard. And he cried.