"Wait, Tulip is paying for this?" Dishon asked Dendra as he looked away from the Menu of the small Cafe at the corner of Kiln Street.
"Sadly yes," the purple-haired girl said, her tone and posture far different from last night, "Dendra pulled me into this as payback for 'Sleeping with you'"
"Huh, Great!" Dishon said as he looked back at the menu, "I think I'll be having an apple strudel with a Motostoke Roast, What about you two?"
"I'll be having an iced tea with a Parmesan Bagel," Dendra said before her hand reached to her belt and she released her team of Pokemon.
Four different Fighting-types appeared around the table, immediately crowding the street.
"Falinks Falinks Falinks Links!" Her Falinks yelled as the large Fighting/Water Tauros almost stepped on them.
"Dendra! Put them back!" Tulip yelled in alarm as a Hariyama tripped onto a flower pot, sending it flying onto the floor.
"SORRY!" The Fighting-type specialist cried in alarm as three of the four Pokemon returned to their balls.
"Medicham," The last pokemon nodded her head at her trainer before jumping onto the roof and running in the direction of the Gym.
"It's too late now," Tulip sighed as she took out one of her own Pokeball's and released the 'mon inside.
"Flittle Flit!" A Small and frilly Psychic-type popped out of the ball, her little eyes looking around for her trainer before she spotted her sitting at a table with two other people.
"Hey Cleo," Tulip smiled softly at the little Flittle.
"Flittle! Flittle flit!" The small Psychic-type levitated to sit on her trainers lap.
"Aww, She's adorable," Dishon said as he looked at the tiny Pokemon.
"Flit!" The Pokemon in question preened at the attention she was getting.
"Ahem!" A voice cut into their conversation, everyone turning to look to an unamused Waiter. "I'm going to kindly ask you all to leave," He said, pointing at the potted plant that Dendra's Hariyama knocked over.
"Oh..." Dendra said, before she looked at the two other people sitting with her. "Right away," She quickly bowed in apology before dashing away, leaving Tulip and Dishon behind.
"That'll be 500 Pokebucks, by the way," The waiter said as he looked at the two remaining trainers.
"Ah yes, Of course," Dishon nodded at him before he quickly turned to Tulip, "You do have 500 bucks with you, right?"
"Who do you take me for?" Tulip bit back as she took out her trainer card to pay, "I'm a region famous model and makeup guru, of course I have the money."
"You're famous?" Dishon tilted his head.
"Wha- Of course I'm famous! Have you been living under a rock?!" Tulip yelled at him.
Dishon shrugged his shoulders before standing up from his chair and heading to the street, stopping to wait for Tulip to catch up with him before they walked away from the Cafe.
..........
"Hey you!" Fanny hissed from her place around her trainers waist, "Yeah I'm talking to you!" She glared at the tiny Flittle levitating along between the two trainers.
"Yes?" Cleo the Flittle asked as she looked down at the Poison/Fire type.
"Stay away from my Human! He's mine!" Fanny hissed, her claws tightening their grip around her trainer.
"Oh?" Cleo tilted her head, "And what will you do if I do... This?" The small Psychic type asked before levitating herself upwards and landing on Dishon's shoulder, her small eyes looking down at the Shiny Pokemon.
"Oh..." Fanny whispered as she looked at the Psychic-type, "This means War..."
.........
"Where the hell did Dendra go?" Dishon asked after ten minutes of walking down the street with Tulip, looking around for any signs of the energetic trainer.
"Flittle flit!" Cleo chirped from her rest on Dishon's right shoulder, her small body turning to look at her trainer before she chirped some more.
"Salandit!" Fanny snapped at the Psychic-type before turning her head in the other direction.
"And what's up with these two?" Dishon asked.
"They're just playing," Tulip said, "You'll understand after enough time working with Pokemon."
Dishon nodded at her response before he turned into the Alfronda Park, an idea in his head.
"So, Where are we heading?" Tulip asked as she walked beside him down the path going through the park.
"To a very special bench," Dishon cryptically replied as he kept walking, stopping to let a small family of Tarountula to pass in front of him before the duo kept walking.
"And why are we looking for a Bench?" Tulip asked as she flicked some strands of hair off her face.
"Because that's where Dendra and I first met," Dishon smiled at Tulip, reminding her of a Pawmo with how he was acting right now, a far difference from his actions last night.
What Pokemon did he remind her of last night? A Beheeyem perhaps?
"Hey watch where you're going!" His voice suddenly cut into her thoughts as she felt an arm wrap around her and pull her back.
"Swablooo!" A chorus of Swablu chirped loudly before flying away.
Tulip widened her eyes as she looked at the cloud-like feathers on the ground and at the flock of Pokemon flying away from where they were previously sitting.
"Oh... I wasn't looking," Tulip whispered as she looked at the cloud of Swablu flying in a circle around the park before they floated down and landed on the other side of a the park, away from the trainers.
Tulip looked away from the Swablu and to the surprisingly fit arm holding her, her hands slowly creeping up to grope it.
"OH! I'm so sorry!" Dishon quickly exclaimed, pulling his arm away before Tulip could grab hold, "I tried calling to you but you weren't listening,"
"Fittle Flit!"
"I see..." Tulip straightened her back and wiped some dust off her dress, "Let us continue," She said before she resumed walking down the path, looking away from Dishon.
"Sal?" Fanny questioned from her place before Cleo levitated off Dishon's shoulder and went after her trainer.
"I don't know, girl," Dishon told Fanny as he scratched the back of her neck, "Is it something I said?"
Fanny rolled her eyes at her trainer before climbing higher up his body and wrapping herself around his shoulders like a scaly scarf.
.......
"Flittle?" Cleo asked as she landed on her trainer's head.
"Cleo," Tulip whispered as she walked down the park path, "I don't know what to do,"
"Flit?"
"You saw him, right? He's basically my type, but he's also dating Dendra, I can't stand him!" Tulip whispered loudly, sitting down on the nearest park bench as she leaned back, "And then Dendra invited me over to her date with him, and acts as if that's totally normal?!" Tulip grabbed the Flittle on her head and held it in front of her, "What am I supposed to feel?"
"Maybe try going out with him?"
"But Cleo, He's dating Dendra, I can't just steal her boyfriend like that," Tulip told her Flittle.
"So why don't you try dating Dendra too?"
"D-Date two people at once?! Cleo how scandalous! What will my fans think? Dad will kill me if he finds out!" Tulip squished the little Psychic-type between her hands.
"Flittle?" Cleo chirped, her eyes looking at something behind Tulip.
"Just don't let him find out," Tulip turned her head and screamed as the face of her best friend jumpscared her.
"Yosh! I see my plan was perfect!" Dendra shouted with a smile as she jumped over the bench and landed next to Tulip, "I like you, but I also like Dishon, Dishon likes me, But you also like Dishon. All I need to do is get Dishon to like you, and you to like me, And everyone is happy!" Dendra said as if it was the most basic thing in the world.
"DENDRA!" Tulip screamed, her hand quickly slapping Dendra in the forehead and knocking her back.
"Ouch!" Dendra yelled as her hands held her forehead quickly, a small line of red trickling from between her fingers.
"Wha- Dendra you're bleeding!" Tulip screamed and took a bag of tissues out of her purse.
"Hey, I heard yelling and- OH MY GOD DENDRA YOU'RE BLEEDING!" Dishon screamed as he saw the two trainers, quickly running to grab water from a nearby fountain.
"Guys, It's not that bad, Just a scratch," Dendra tried to calm the two trainers down, something that was clearly not working thanks to the stream of blood flowing down her face from where Tulip's fingernails scratched her in her slap.
"Farigiraf, Come out!" Tulip yelled as she threw a Pokeball out, a tall Giraffe appearing in the park.
"Raf?" The Normal/Psychic type asked as he read his trainer's thought, nodding his head before levitating the bleeding trainer off the bench and taking her back to the Battle Hotel.
........
"Everything seems to be fine," Orchid said softly as she cleaned the injury on Dendra's forehead, "It might leave a scar, but it's nothing serious,"
"Rabsca," A small Bug/Psychic type said as he levitated tools around the room, cleaning up after his trainer as she left.
Now with Orchid and her Pokemon out of the room, Tulip pulled Dendra into a tight hug.
"Don't scare me like that!" She yelled, pulling away from the hug to look at the cloth covering Dendra's new scar.
"Why did you run away?" Dishon asked in a softer tone as he grabbed a chair and sat down next to the two girls.
"Umm, I don't remember," Dendra said awkwardly before quickly holding her hands up, "Wait! I can explain!"
"We're listening," Tulip said and Dishon nodded, the two trainers looking at Dendra.
"Okay, The truth is... I have a crush on Tulip!" Dendra yelled, and Tulip quickly jumped towards the door to close it, making sure nobody heard her.
"So why did you accept to go out with me If you like Tulip?" Dishon asked, a frown on his face.
"Because I also like you!" Dendra explained as if it was the simplest idea in the world, "So when I had the chance to go on a date with both the people I like, I took it!"
Dishon looked at Dendra before he stood up and walked away, passing Tulip as he opened the door and exited the room.
"I have work to do," He said as he left the two trainers behind.
"Did I do something wrong?" Dendra asked as she looked at her second best friend walk away.
Tulip sighed in exhaustion as she turned to her best friend, a weak smile on her face as she tried to think of how to explain in the nicest way possible that she messed up.
............
Closing the door to the computer room behind him, Dishon turned on the main computer he worked on, and started typing.
Documents were passed along, messages were answered, calls were returned, and meetings were arranged.
But most importantly, Dishon worked hard. Harder than he had during his time on the job. And in just two hours of sitting in front of the computer, he finished a week's worth of work.
"Sal?" Fanny asked quietly as she crawled onto his lap, her smoky purple eyes looking up at him.
"I'm not the smartest guy," Dishon told her, his eyes not leaving the computer as he kept working, "Computer software? I'm a genius. People? I'm as dumb as a brick," He told her, his legs starting to move as he lifted his heels up and down repeatedly, giving Fanny a makeshift massage.
"But what Dendra pulled?" He paused and looked down at his Salandit, "It's not cool," he grabbed Fanny and pulled her into a hug.
"You don't agree to go on a date and just bring another person, Nobody wants to third wheel," He told her as he rubbed his hand across her white-scaled back, his finger passing over the fire line.
"Salandit?" Fanny quietly started rubbing her tail across his back, something she already learned calmed her trainer down.
"Yeah, Maybe I shouldn't date Coworkers," He smiled weakly as he hugged his partner Pokemon.
"Maybe once Cave Story kicks off and I get enough money to go on a trip around the world, I'll meet someone who likes me," He said as he let go of Fanny and returned to work.
"So until then, Romance is off the table," He said with a smile, his fingers already moving like lightning as he moved.
"Sal?"
"I'll send Orchid a message, This is still me working overtime," Dishon said as he pointed at the computer.
"Salandit..."
"Yeah, It sucks, but that's life," Dishon smiled down at Fanny, "Sometimes things Suck, But sometimes things are wonderful," He scratched Fanny near the bottom of her Bandana, "For every Gorgeous Shiny Salandit I find, there's going to be a shitty date and bleeding foreheads,"
"That's the beauty of life," Dishon smiled widely at Fanny, "And no matter how ugly or sad things get, They'll always get better later,"
"Because That's what life is,"