Chp 7: Gardenia

	"Rotom." Seth said. 

	"Excuse me?" The receptionist asked. 

	"The pokemon is rotom." Seth told her.

	"I see. I'll inform Gardenia. She'll be with you shortly." The receptionist left. And returned a short time later, with the gym leader in tow. 

	"So you found little old rotom? And is that the leafeon? Wow, color me impressed. Let's do this." Gardenia said with a smile. She led him further into the gym, through what seemed to be a hedge maze, and into the arena. There were spectators, but not as many as in Oreburgh. "How many pokemon you got?"

	"Three." Seth said.

	"And based on your record, you're pretty tough. This'll be fun!" She said, sounding chipper as ever. She took three balls off her belt. "Absol, espeon, and leafeon... For saving that leafeon, I'll tell you my own team. Torterra, Trevenant, Roserade. Now let's go!" She tossed out a ball, releasing a huge green turtle pokemon. 

	"Drew? You wanna start it?" Seth offered.

	"If I have to." The leafeon groaned. He stepped onto the grassy field, which was surrounded by a 'fence' of large flowers. 

	Gardenia turned and released her other two pokemon. "The rule here in my gym is that it's a equal fight, with all pokemon out during the battle. I've always hated keeping my pokemon cooped up in those balls. And we don't have a judge. It's more of a friendly thing. Now go!" 

	"Alright, Drew use..." Seth's face went blank. "Shit." He said under his breath. "I don't know any of your moves." He said quietly.

	"I'm not some baby who needs a guide to fight." He said without looking back. He licked his lips, pursed them and let out a sharp whistle, that dipped into a cheery sound, almost like wind and chimes. The eyes of all pokemon drooped, including Seth, but Torterra was in the direct line of fire, and his head went limp as he fell asleep. He remained standing though. Drew smirked, and charged forward. Two vines grew from his neck and swung. They left a thin red line in the air, in a X shaped trail. Torterra flinched from the attack, but didn't do much else. Drew then spun around, using his leafy tail to slash at Torterra. 

	Torterra's eyes snapped open. The grass turtle roared, stomping a foot to the ground. Cracks shot out through the ground, a chunk of ground under Drew shaking, and jostling him. Drew ran forward, but the shaking caused him to fall flat on his face. Torterra shook his back, leaves scattering, before they launched at Drew, slashing at him as he stood back up. Drew resumed his charge, running to Torterra's side, where he couldn't see, and jumping onto his back. Torterra could feel him, but could do little. He shook violently, but Drew was too nimble to be knocked off. He did scatter a few sharp leaves, but they couldn't hit Drew. He used two more vines to deliver another X-Scissor, right at Torterra's head. He roared again, and bucked fiercely, forcing Drew off. He managed to twist around in the air and land on his feet, but Torterra charged forward, smashing into Drew and knocking him back. Torterra took a couple of stumbling steps before collapsing, as did Drew. 

	"So you can battle without commands too?" Gardenia asked as she recalled her first pokemon. 

	"Yes, I can." Seth explained as he walked onto the field to pick up Drew and carry him back. He set the unconscious leafeon down behind him. 

	"That's impressive. I used to not be able to, until I met this guy." She pointed to the Trevenant. "See, I used to be spooked by ghosts, till I met him over by the Chateau. Ever since then I've been closer than ever to my pokemon."

	"Yeah. Sky, your turn." He said, motioning her forward. 

	"Speaking of, Trevenant, go get her." He let out a creaking groan as he stepped forward. 

	Sky opened with a ball of ghostly energy, blasting it into the tree spirit. He grunted and brushed off his bark, but otherwise seemed unharmed. His red eye glowed, and a trio of ghostly trees appeared around Sky. A few vines sprouted from her body, and wrapped around her. 

	"What is this?" She asked worriedly as she tried to remove them. 

	"We don't have time to worry." Seth told her. "As long as it doesn't hurt, just beat him quick!" 

	"Right." She responded. She charged and fired another shadow ball. Trevenant reached out with his long arms and raked at Sky with shadowy claws. Sky crunched her face, but remained strong, lifting the large tree with psychic, tossing him back. 

	"Trevenant, come back!" Gardenia called, recalling the ghost tree. "You did it." She said to the ball. "Now get ready for round two." She motioned for the last pokemon out to step forward, her Roserade. 

	"Get her Sky!" Seth called. 

	Sky's gem glowed as she prepared to launch her psychic assault, Roserade vanished from sight, appearing behind Sky, and delivering a powerful jab, dripping with poison. Sky cried out and collapsed. 

	"What...?" Seth asked, his mouth agape. He looked down to ask Soul if she was ready. She was already on the field. Seth recalled Sky, and Gardenia switched back to Trevenant. "Soul, do not get hit by that move." 

	Soul said nothing. She charged forward, swinging her horn with two night slashes, back and forth. Before Trevenant could even try to fight back, his eye faded and he fell back. 

	"Wow, saved the best for last?" Gardenia complemented. "So did I! This'll be fun!" Roserade stepped forward, brandishing her flowers at Soul, taking an almost fencer like stance. 

	"We won't lose." Soul said.

	Roserade smirked, but said nothing. When neither pokemon moved, Gardenia said, "Uh, you can start now." Still neither moved. Soul was the more impatient of the two, and made the first move, dashing forward while swinging her horn to launch a wave of psychic energy. Roserade sidestepped it gracefully, and a thorny vine emerged from her flowers, which she whipped at Soul, forcing her back. Now knowing that she could not approach, Soul opened her mouth, and fired a beam of ice. 

	Roserade spun her whips for a moment, and began lashing them accurately through the air, cutting and deflecting the ice beam. Soul kept up the beam as long as she could, but none of it hit the intended target. Roserade arrogantly brushed her hair back with one of her hands after the attack ended. Soul was panting, but Roserade was seemingly fine, or at least hiding it well. 

	Seth was biting his lip. He was worried she would have to mega evolve to take on this foe. After she had swallowed a mega stone, she had been capable of doing it on her own, but there were consequences. As much as he wanted to do something, there was nothing he could really do to help. Giving her orders now might distract her.

	He couldn't see it, but Soul was beaming with joy. She was having the time of her life. As much as she would love to keep fighting, she knew Seth was getting anxious, so she had to wrap this up. Her train of thought was broken as Roserade moved onto the offensive, using her thorny whips, tipped with poison, to control Soul's movements, and to chip away at her stamina. Soul roared and charged straight forward, receiving sharp stinging slaps from the storm of vines, more sprouting as she got closer. Just before she got to Roserade, she received a jab with the speed of a bullet, the same more that had taken out Sky, right to the face. 

	She grit her teeth, forcing her body to move despite the venom in her body. She pounced onto the smaller pokemon, pinning the grass type under her. Flames licked her lips, and she opened her mouth wide to fire a point blank fire blast into Roserade. She did this twice more, Roserade squirming fiercely under her, vines thrashing at Soul to get her off. This did not work, and after the third blast, Roserade went limp. Soul rolled over onto her side, lying there and panting. "Antidote!" She called.

	Seth reached into his back, took out one of the cures, and rushed over to her, spraying it liberally over her body. "You did great." He said, rubbing her head gently. 

	"Yeah, I'm awesome." She said, before her head dropped, as she was too tired to keep it up.

	He looked up to see Gardenia next to him. "I'm glad we fought. Not very often that I see pokemon so close to their trainer. You've earned this one." She took a badge from her pocket and gave it to him. 

	"Thanks." He said. "I hate to run, but I've gotta get to the pokemon center."

	"I understand. One other thing, you can always rematch a gym leader if you ever wanna." 

+++
 
	"That wasn't half bad." Drew said once they were back in the hotel room for the night. He had already claimed part of the bed for himself. "Gym leaders are a lot tougher than the average pokemon and trainers in the woods."

	"We knew that." Soul said. "I only have one question for you. Are you a rapist? Cause most males we've met are either assholes or rapists." 

	"Uhh, wow. Shit. That's a heavy question to ask me right after we met." 

	"Well, we are offering to help you out, and you won't tell us anything, and we're letting you stay the night, so some answers would be great." She explained. She hadn't even looked for the remote, so she was serious. 

	"Alright. You all seem like nice enough people." Drew said, standing up. " No, I'm not a rapist. In fact, I have a mate. That's why I want to go to Snowpoint. We met in Hearthome, then she went on an adventure to go visit her family in Snowpoint, and we promised to meet up in Hearthome, at our den. But our backup plan was to meet where we evolved. But that's the problem. I evolved in the woods here, and she evolved in Snowpoint, so I was waiting here, and I think she's waiting there. It's been about month since then and I haven't seen any sign of her." 

	"And what if she were to show up here?" Sky asked.

	"She's at least as strong as me. The issue is that snow and grass doesn't really agree. I just need some help getting there. If she's not there, I can handle myself afterwards."  

	"And so what do we get out of this?" Soul asked. 

	"Jack shit." Drew said plainly.

	"Well, I guess we can get some experience." Sky offered. 

	"I really don't care." Seth said. "It's something to do, so we're gonna do it." He was laying on the bed in his usual spot, with his arms resting behind his head. "If we keep going full blast like this, we'll just beat all the gyms, and then what?" 

	Soul smiled. "There he is." She said. "Good to have you back." 

	"Good to be back." He said.

	Now that the business was out of the way, Soul walked over to the nightstand, carefully plucking the remote off and holding it in her mouth as she went over to the foot of the bed. Once there, she turned it on and skimmed until she found something to watch. 

	"What is this?" Drew asked. 

	"TV." Soul said. 

	"The similarities are terrifying." Sky commented. 

	"It's called a television. It's a thing that shows videos for humans." Seth said.

	"Oh, that's dumb." He said, sitting down on the bed. 

	"You're not sleeping up here." Seth explained.

	"Ah, I see. Take the soft thing for yourself and the guest gets the floor." He complained, looking defiantly at the human. When Seth didn't relent, he looked away and left it at that.

	About an hour later, Seth stood up. He was still dressed, and he reached into his pack to grab a few things. "I'm going to get dinner. I'll be back." 

	"You sure you want to leave us here?" Sky asked, sounding a bit nervous. He kneeled down and pet her head. 

	"I'll be right back. I'm just gonna go find some takeout." He leaned close and whispered in her ear. "Soul's right there and you outnumber him. If he tries anything, you have permission to go all out." With that, she felt better, and he stood back up. Sky and Soul were in their usual spots, on the floor in front of the bed and on the foot of the bed respectively. Drew was sitting further up, on the right side of the full size mattress. The rest of the pokemon center room was exactly the same as always. A TV on the wall opposite the bed, on top of a dresser. Next to the bed, on the left, was a nightstand. On the far side of the room was the window, a chair and desk, and a mini PC with a transfer pad. Between Seth and the door was a closet and the door to the bathroom. 

	"So, you leaving or not? I'm starving here." Soul said. 

	"Yea." Seth said, as he turned, made sure he had his things, and left. 

	"So..." Sky said. She got onto the bed and looked at Drew. "Care to say any more?" 

	"Like what? I told you why I wanted help, and that's all you really need to know." 

	"I don't know. That's something civilized people do. They talk about things, and explore ideas to understand each other." 

	"We're pokemon." He said.

	"We're not so different from humans." 

	"How about no. I'd rather just watch the TV." 

	"Okay... Uh, hey Soul, how come you know so many TM moves?" 

	"My old trainer taught me a ton of them."

	"Oh..." Sky said, sounding a bit dejected. She wasn't much of a fan of Soul's comedies, and now she didn't have any other options. 

+++

	Seth made it out of the pokemon center, and looked around main street. He didn't see any obvious restaurants. He looked both up and down the street, and decided to go for the northern side of town. As he rounded the pokemon center, he began to doubt his choice. All that he saw was a large office building and what seemed to be a park in the distance. At risk of looking like a stupid tourist, he turned around and went the other way. Along the way, he spotted something down one of the side streets. It was a sign with a sandwich on it. 

	He went inside, the door ringing as he opened it. A young girl was behind the counter.

	"Hello, can I help you?" 

	"Yes, I'm looking for dinner."

	"We serve pokemon sandwiches as well." She explained.

	"Great, one person and three pokemon."

	"Hold on a moment!" An old voice said. An elderly man stepped out from the back. "You are a kind trainer to buy your pokemon dinner. We have a special offer for-"

	"Grandpa!" The girl said. "You can't keep doing this!" 

	"It's my shop!" He shot back. "Now, what is the name of the pokemon we have a statue of in this town?" 

	"Grandpa..." She complained.

	"Uh... I have no idea. I just got into town." Seth said.

	"Now, care to listen to the story of it?" 

	"Well, I..." Seth started. 

	"You see, here in Sinnoh, we have two pokemon that we revere. Legend has it that Arceus created two pokemon to oversee the universe. Dialga, god of time, and Palkia, god of space. The statue is a combination of their attributes." 

	"First of all, it was a trick question then. Second, how do people know what Dialga and Palkia look like?" 

	"Ahh, a good question. You see, a long time ago, the gods were present here in Sinnoh. One could go to the peak of Mt. Coronet, to the Spear Pillar, to commune with them. They seem to have left though. I wonder why..." 

	"Okay, so can I get some food?" Seth asked.

	"Yes, allow me." He said. 

	"Gramps, aren't I supposed to be learning to run this place?"

	"You can help." 

	"Uh... so do I make my own sandwich or...?" 

	"You can, but I'm going to make you four special ones." The man said.

	"I still think we should just put it on the menu." The girl said. 

	"Nonsense. History is important, no matter what you damn kids think." 

	"Grandpa!" 

	Seth just kept his mouth shut as they argued.

+++

	"I'm back." Seth called as he entered the room. He was carrying a bag with him. He came further in, and set the four sandwiches, wrapped in paper, on the desk. "Alright, no eating on the bed." He reached into his backpack, and took out a pair of bowls for the girls to eat from. 

	Soon, they were all eating. The girls had their sandwiches awkwardly placed in their bowls, keeping the food off the floor, and Drew had his spread out on the floor, on the paper it came in. Seth had his in hand as he sat at the desk. 

	"What is this? It's really good." Soul said. 

	"I have no idea." Seth said. "It's some special thing." He opened the bread, to find a strange multicolored paste along the top and bottom. "Doesn't look good." He took another bite. "But damn it tastes good. Probably a berry paste mix." 

	"I had no idea human food could be this good." Drew said. "Is it okay for pokemon to eat?" 

	"Yea, pokemon can eat anything a human can." Seth told him. 

	A short time later, and nothing but crumbs remained. Seth disrobed, and got into bed. Soul hopped up beside him, laying facing the TV, with her rear towards his head. He reached out and rubbed over her rump and the sensitive spot at the base of her tail. She couldn't help but purr and push into the strokes. 

	Out of the corner of his eye, Seth noticed Drew giving them a strange look. Sky soon joined them, lying on the other side of Seth, and now both his hands were occupied caressing his lovers. Seth suddenly lunged forward, grappling Soul, and pulling her onto him. He rubbed his head into her silky fur as she struggled for a moment. 

	"Yeah, alright, I love you, now let me go. I'm gonna miss the show." She complained, struggling weakly. 

	He released her, satisfied with the cuddles. "I love you too." He said. His gaze then turned to Sky, who was eager to snuggle. 

	"Wait just a minute!" Drew yelled. "What the hell is this?!" 

	Seth raised his head, looking over Soul's body and down to the floor. "What?" 

	"You love them?! Like real love? That's disgusting! How can you mate with a human?" 

	"Oh yea?!" Soul growled, getting angry. "He's not just a-"

	"Soul." He put his hand on her head. "It's alright. Yes, I'm what humans call a pokephile, and these girls are my mates. If you have a problem, you can leave now." 

	Drew grumbled, but did little else. 

+++

	I headed down the stairs quietly, avoiding the squeaky one. Sky wasn't awake, but Seth was. I turned the corner, and went out into the back yard. I had already checked everywhere else. He must be training or something. I opened the pokemon friendly sliding door, which was covered by a tarp as the glass was broken, and exited into the yard. I heard something, it must be him. I went through the grass, around the large tree in the center of the yard, and then I saw something... 

	It looked like... something... it was certainly humanoid. It had blue and black fur, with rings, stripes and patterns of white. It was growling and panting loudly. On its hands-

	It suddenly vanished in the blink of an eye, and it was in front of me. It wrapped a hand around my neck, and started lifting. It held me a foot off the ground, choking the life out of me with its powerful grasp. 

	"S...eth?" I whimpered with all the breath I could muster. Suddenly the grip vanished, and I dropped to the ground, coughing. The growling stopped. When I looked up, Seth was human and on his hands and knees, gasping for breath and tears dripping from his face. 

	"What... what happened?" He asked quietly. 

+++

	Soul's eyes shot open. She shivered as she realized she was awake. Her head rested on Seth's sleeping forearm, his hand wrapped around her and lying on her rapidly breathing chest. She looked over, her pokemon eyes seeing well in the dark, and stared at him for a moment. Had that really been him so long ago? It only happened that one day, and neither of them knew what it was. From what he told her, he was training that morning, and then... he blacked out. She drew in a deep breath, trying to calm down. While she did like having a strong mate, that... thing... was not her mate. That thing was not Seth. It had barely been human or pokemon.