We're back in the hotel...
"It feels empty now, doesn't it?"
"I know, right?" Dawn tosses herself on the bed. "I'm going to miss them both so much. Did you know Marley is very cuddly while she sleeps?"
Is that from trauma? She looked a little younger than us but she went through so much already.
"I didn't know. I wasn't allowed to experience it."
Her head tilts down to peer at me. She's looking at me through the valley of her boobs.
"When are you going to wear skirts again? They suit you."
A glare appears on her face before it transforms to a teasing smile. "'They suit me', he says. Despite being an engaged man. With a second girlfriend. Are you planning to get in trouble?"
Salandit chuckles on my shoulder.
Buneary stays quiet. Nurse Joy fixed her up as much as she could but she is still passed out.
She's currently sharing the sling that Akari made me with Lucario's egg. Hugging it in her sleep. Or her? I already know Riolu is going to hatch as a girl.
"They wouldn't mind."
"Well, if they wouldn't mind, then I'm sure you can start sleeping in the bed, instead of the couch."
Is... Is she serious? Flirting? Definitely teasing.
"Well. My back does need a little rest from the uncomfortable couch."
"Well... Right. It's better for your back. And they wouldn't mind. And there's nothing wrong with a sleepover, right?"
"Right."
"... Right."
"Alright. I'm gonna do it."
"Alright! Ahem. I mean, alright. Cool. Nothing special." Dawn says.
At this moment Buneary starts stirring awake and I quickly shush Dawn.
She's not allowed to ruin this.
First, Buneary's muscles just twitched a little but then, slowly but surely, her eyes creep open.
"Hey, you. You're finally awake?" Ha! Never gets old.
Oof!
Her punches will never hurt any less either.
"What are we going to do now?" Dawn asks.
I'm trying to think of something that's left to do, but nothing really comes to mind.
We need to wait for the Pelipper deliveries, or we can just receive them in the next pokemon center.
I got everything I needed from the library. We still have over a week's worth of food each. I got my gym badge. I don't know when the next Canalave City contest is.
"Akari, Marley, do you still-- Oh. Never mind." They are off to their own adventure now. "Dawn, when is the next contest in Canalave City?"
"2 weeks. Not worth staying. Did you bet on your wins already?" Her legs are dangling down and she tries to bait Prinplup into coming closer for petting.
"Yeah. Managed to do it before they televised my fight too... I'm a little insulted over how bad my rates are..."
"Haha. Look at the bright side, more money when you win it all."
"Welp. I guess there is nothing left to do. We can just take the M.S. Anne to leave Canalave City, when she arrives."
Weird how the most economic solution ended up being the M.S. Anne to redistribute the refugees.
Don't we have our own marine?
Or maybe it's some politics with Kanto. Who knows.
"When does the ship arrive? And do we need to pay for tickets? Reservations?" Dawn asks some good questions.
We can neglect the prices for the tickets but if there is no space left on the ship, we might be fucked.
And for all we know, it could be tomorrow!
"We should ask about that in the pokemon center."
"Really? But we just came from there!" Dawn whines in disbelief. "Can't we take a break first?"
"You're asking for a break, as if you did anything today besides starting fights with the gym grunts."
"I'm just looking out for you... And I did a lot the past few days! My muscles are all in pain, you know?"
"Huh... You did actually work out a lot with me." All her workouts were lower intensity training than mine and she took longer breaks, but she pretty much matched my training schedule. "Alright. We can take a break. But if we miss the ship, it's your fault."
"Yeah, yeah. We're not going to miss the ship anyway."
She says that now. But I bet some cosmic garbage is going to come in our way again. And it will be Dawn's fault for tempting fate.
"Anyway, with Buneary finally awake, I think I'm going to get us cleaned up."
"Sure. See you later. Oh! And don't forget to write your girls. Wink." She said the last part out loud, so she doesn't have to strain her neck again to actually wink in my direction.
I head off towards the bathroom and just before I close the door, I hear Dawn's frustrated voice once more.
"Come on, Prinplup! Just get over here! Look at Mawile, she doesn't think cuddling and petting is uncool!"
... And now I'm waiting for something very specific to happen.
"Ouch! Stop biting Mawile! Hey! Come on, let go of my arm! ..." And on and on it goes.
Cute.
---
The door shuts closed behind me. I place Lucario's egg aside for the moment. And Salandit has already run off to huddle in fear in a corner.
"You big baby. It's going to feel nice." I say as I remove my clothes, piece by piece.
Even my underwear. It's unhygienic to bathe with clothes on, as Salandit correctly pointed out last time. And she learned not to mess around with me too much.
I set the water faucet to very hot and add some of Buneary's bathing oils.
I also mentally note down to get Salandit her own stuff... How often did I note that down already? My mental notepad is full with that note!
Before Buneary can jump in the water, I give her a quick scrub-down to get rid of most of the blood and dirt in her fur.
Then I get into the tub with her and Buneary immediately relaxes in the shallow hot water.
... And then I get back out again. I forgot some people-- I mean pokemon.
I pick up Salandit who is shaking like a leaf and the egg; Heat is supposed to be good for them and unlike normal eggs, there is no risk to accidentally start cooking her.
Since their eggs are less biological and more magic, slash energy. Nobody knows, I guess would Barry say.
Finally, I also place my phone on the edge of the bathtub.
Salandit clings on painfully to my chest as I lean back in the bath. "Stop struggling. Just enjoy the ride."
"Sa! Salandit." The first part was a laugh, but I didn't get the second part.
To calm her down at least a little, I stroke my hand gently over her back. At first, my wet hand just made it worse, but after a few soothing motions, her claws finally relax and retract from my skin.
That's honestly the only good part about the end of the universe. I can't imagine how bloody and in pain I would be after doing anything with either of my pokemon.
I pick up my phone.
Barry had sent me the most recent message just a few minutes ago.
... We have started writing directly with each other and stopped using the group chat...
Barry: "Dude! Bruh. I saw your gym battle on TV. How fucking cool was that? How did you do it? They even gave me lines to say but I kinda messed them up... And how did your pokemon become so strong!?"
Heh. I'm just better Barry.
Swole: "Confidence is key, Barry."
Swole: "LMAO, jk. I just let my inner edge-lord out. I loved it!"
Swole: "And lots and lots of training. What's your training plan right now?"
After a moment he starts writing.
Barry: "I didn't know you had an inner edge-lord in you. I thought for sure you were a nerd through and through."
Right after, he sends me an image that shows his schedule for the week. Ending with Thursday evening.
He's training 6 hours per day right now. A lot of time is spent on cooking, 'fun activities' and 'Team Rocket'.
Right now he's taking his scheduled lunch break.
Swole: "You have Team Rocket in your schedule?"
Barry: "Yeah. They attack us like a clockwork right now. Like, every day at the same time, they challenge Ash and me to a random battle."
Swole: "I had a few days with 14h training. Dawn cooked for me on those days and 4 to 6 hours is a usual day for me. You need to keep up."
Barry: "Bruuuuh! What do you even do for fun?"
Swole: "What's that? Some kind of super-food?"
Barry: "Lol."
Barry: "Do you think Zoey would cook for me?"
Swole: "She's got a boyfriend."
Barry: "Huh? I know that. What do you mean?"
Good grief, Barry. You innocent soul. Never change.
Swole: "Was just a joke. I'm not sure if she has the time for that. She told me that she wants to take her career more seriously."
Swole: "What about Brock? He doesn't seem like the kinda guy who's traveling for the gym challenge or for contests."
Barry: "He wants to become a pokemon breeder or doctor. He's on the fence, I think. But he only makes pellets for his and Ash's pokemon. He 'swears they have the same nutrients'."
That's an issue. Without love and care in the food, they won't grow as fast. I believe.
Swole: "Get a portable kitchen and cook while your pokemon train?"
Barry: "I guess I will need to do that..."
Swole: "Well, good luck. Don't take too many breaks. TTYL, still need to write my mom about Akari."
He sends a salute emoji.
I turn off the water. Salandit's legs and stomach are now submerged in the water, despite having the highest spot in the bathtub beside my head.
Buneary is lying on my legs now to relax since the water is too deep for her. A slight clouding of blood and dirt surrounds her in the water. I didn't get everything off with the scrubbing.
I open the chat window with mom.
Swole: "By the way, remember when we talked about Akari? Or rather, when I avoided talking about her? Well... Guess what. Looks like we are getting married one day. She proposed to me. We are engaged right now."
I wonder what her reaction will be--
Huh? Did I just hear the door open up?
"Hey, what do you want for dinner later?" Dawn casually asks as my eyes widen in disbelief.
"What the hell? A little privacy?"
She just waves her hand to dismiss my demand. The hand sports a few obvious bite-marks.
"You're always wearing a swimsuit. And you didn't lock the door. Besides, I'm bored; Prinplup doesn't want any petting and Mawile is banned from petting for the rest of the day."
Her Mawile is standing in the entrance of the bathroom with a sorry look on her face.
"I'm not wearing swimwear in the bath anymore. It's unhygienic."
Dawn takes a step closer.
"What are you doing?"
"I-I don't believe you. So I'm checking." She says as a blush grows on her face.
She takes another step closer.
"Don't be a peeping Tina."
"That doesn't exist. Only guys can be perverts." Her blush grows deeper and she takes one more step.
I'm not so sure about that statement.
Pretty sure Salandit is a pervert. And Dawn might be too.
"Hey, put your hands away." What?!
"What? No."
"Oh come on. You peeped on me when I was naked plenty of times already."
Heh. Yeah. Fun times. "That just means you need to get better at it. I'm not in the business of giving out free handouts. Work for your rewards, woman."
"Snort Alright. Keep your secrets." She turns around and starts walking off. "For now."
My eyes are fixed on her slightly swaying butt; The lengths of her skirt are directing my eyes until the door closes again to hide her away.
~"Ahhhhh! That was so embarrassing!" I hear her scream through the door.
Wait, was she wearing a skirt just now?
Was... she actually flirting?
Is it because I'm not a free man anymore? Are the internet memes real, that women are only attracted to married men?
... Or, she might have just played a prank on me. Revenge for all the peeping I did in the past.
No way. That's ridiculous... As insane as it is, nothing else really makes any sense. I think she was actually trying to flirt with me.
But I know Dawn. She wouldn't be shallow enough to do it for that reason.
Does she actually have a crush on me?
That-- That would be awesome!
But I'm biased. I need to make sure it's not wishful thinking. I don't want to risk the friendship we have by assuming wrong things again.
I got lucky with Akari when I thought it was a date. I'm not risking that again.
"Psst. Buneary, what do you think? Do you think she likes me?" She shrugs her shoulders.
"Salandit? What about you? Any insights?"
~"She wants you to f--" I stop listening to her.
Mom would probably know best. But I just wrote to her that I'm getting married. I don't want her to think of me as some kind of cheating scumbag.
... If Lucas was still around, he would know what I have to do... Even though he would have been an ass about it.
But he's dead.
Good grief. What a mess.
Let's just let Future-Swole solve that conundrum.
---
Narrator-POV:
And so, the hero of our story finished his session of relaxation and reflection.
A clean and fluffy Buneary, a clean and horny Salandit and a clean and conflicted man leave the bathroom together to group up with Dawn and her team.
They stroll through the city.
They buy what their pokemon need and what they want: Food supplements for fire and steel types, grooming equipment and some more steaks.
They get to the pokemon center and pick up a Pelipper delivery addressed to Swole.
They enjoy the rest of the day as much as they can.
And with no more homeless around, the city is finally starting to look enjoyable again.
Where have they disappeared to, you ask? With the arrival of Cynthia, the city had finally enough manpower to reclaim law and order.
With order restored it was no issue to round the homeless and destitute up and deliver them to the harbor for temporary storage and further processing. Processing, as in human resources; Not meat, of course.
The few perpetrators who caused or abused the chaos in the first place were all arrested and punished with forced labor for the foreseeable future: Slavery.
A few of them are even standing around as guards right this very moment, wearing Team Galactic grunt uniforms, ensuring that the homeless do not leave their designated waiting areas until the M.S. Anne arrives to ship them off.
And finally, this night, the ship arrived and the guards have gained a different task.
...
"Hurry it up, Dawn!" It is early in the morning and Swole Solo is dragging Dawn Berlitz by her hand through the Canalave City streets.
Prinplup has been returned to his pokeball because he is too slow and Mawile can just barely keep up with the humans while Buneary and Salandit are riding on top of their trainer.
"I can't run any faster!" Her heart is thumping loudly and her breaths come out unevenly. Once again, Dawn is at her physical limit.
"I knew we shouldn't have taken that break! I knew some cosmic garbage was coming for us, because we just haaad to take a break."
"Oh, come! Huff. This has nothing to do with our break. The alarm was simply too quiet!"
"Yeah, right. On the day we need to wake up early, we all oversleep. You. Me. Buneary. And it's a pure coincidence."
"Stop exaggerating. You can't summon weird cosmic stuff, just by thinking about it."
He cannot.
They simply were unable to fall asleep because of how nervous they were about sleeping in the same bed.
Combined with the exhaustion of the gym battle, not even Swole and Buneary's instinctive habits to wake up early managed to rouse them up in time.
"Urgh! Why does the M.S. Anne even leave so early in the morning!?"
"If you have the breath to complain, then you still have breath to run!"
After running through a few more surprisingly clean streets, the pair rounds the final corner leading to the deepwater port of Canalave City, reserved for international freighters and cruise ships, supporting a depth of up to 18 meters.
Since around 3 AM, it is the home of the Kanto high-end cruise ship: The M.S. Anne.
Since 3:30 AM, around 1000 tired refugees have been roused and steadily herded inside the ship like cattle.
As Swole and Dawn get closer, they see a short line of trainers still outside of the ship, waiting to board.
The captain of the ship greets each of the trainers in the line and gives them short instructions before the trainers are allowed on board.
Our heroes get in line.
As they wait, their thoughts drift along like the wind.
A breeze picks up a spring flower petal, of a plant that managed to break its way through the concrete street. And starts its own journey through Sinnoh.
The breeze, like their thoughts, eventually lands on Akari.
The young and alert woman notices the flower petal.
She points it out for a freshly hatched Goomy to look at.
The round, pink, slimy, snail-like pokemon watches it in wonder from within the safety of her mother's arms.
Akari's attention switched back to the fight she is involved in right now.
She is watching from the sidelines as Quilava, Zorua and Marley's Growlithe fight in unison against a small horde of wild pokemon.
They are currently acting as one of the vanguard teams of the research task-force, which consists of various high ranking Team Galactic members, professors and Cynthia herself.
Their job is to reclaim route 218 and to find out what exactly happened. For some, it is an opportunity to make a fortune.
The father of our hero - The man who took the wind out of our hero's sails and the man who split the group of heroes apart - He is the direct superior to Akari and Marley.
And he is hovering near them, ready to intervene in a worst case situation with his Kricketune and Bronzong.
His job is 3-fold now: Train his assigned trainees. Conquer route 218. And getting to know his future daughter-in-law.
As the breeze travels further, it visits the Tree of Life and the grave of Lucario, where the flower petal comes to rest for just a moment before returning its flight.
It blows through an abandoned fishing village, where once a ferry used to land.
Further and further the breeze blows.
Through an open window, past an old ice cream merchant on his deathbed, waiting to die in his sleep.
Past a school filled with memories of legends.
Past an annoyed, red headed girl who busies herself with rescuing a familiar Buizel and a Chimchar from the clutches of a familiar trio of troublemakers.
It ascends Mount Coronet...
And then... The petal is gone.
A tiny crack in space and time heralds the end of everything.