Roleplay logs: Hashtag-#ATP (NSFW, interspecies, fandom: Pokémon)

[NestorAjax]

This is a roleplay I’m having with a person going by Myzy on Discord. It is set in an alternate universe for the Pokémon fandom, in which many pokémon (though far from all) can speak and are more or less on the same level of sentience with humans (though not necessarily always self-sufficient), yet still retain their canonical forms, without being further anthroified, so to speak. It is pretty much inspired by a piece of fanfiction labeled ATP (currently available on AO3 website, among others), you could consider it being sort of its spiritual successor.

Pokémon evolution is rather separate from age, meaning, a pokémon can easily be aged up while staying in their unevolved form.

Interspecies/poképhilia warning — if you don’t like the idea of a human getting with a pokémon (either any of them or non-humanoid ones in particular), you should probably not be reading this.

I’ll also point out that I’m using an AI service to assist me with coming up with stuff — but by no means without a meaningful effort on my own part, either.

Text colored in blue is posted by me (NestorAjax), text colored in orange is posted by Myzy.

(Also please excuse us if you happen to be a fluent speaker of Japanese, or any other language we might use later for that matter, and the wording of what the characters say sounds ridiculous to you; we’re translating stuff with Google. )

---

#ATP​

A beautiful day with bright sunshine and a gentle breeze was had in the vibrant city of Slateport. The warm air filled the lungs of many people and pokémon alike, as they enjoyed a peaceful stroll through one of the several parks that dotted the urban landscape.

As people went about their daily lives, some decided to spend their time relaxing in the lush grass or lounging under the shade of a majestic oak tree. Others ventured towards the colorful flower gardens, where they watched as pokémon busied themselves with their own activities.

Some pokémon trainers and caretakers could be seen exercising alongside their pets, as they took advantage of the wide-open spaces provided by the park grounds. While others used the nearby ponds and streams to fish or swim with their aquatic companions.

A guy in his twenties was seen sitting on a bench scrolling over smartphone screen with his fingers, apparently browsing some novelties on a video hosting platform. He looked around casually at the activity of other passerby at times, while also keeping track of a few particular pokémon enjoying their time, which one could deduce from observation were his. A swablu was circling in the air nearby, meanwhile a rattata seemed to be playing tag enthusiastically with other people’s pokémon on the ground. And a skorupi just relaxed on a sunny rock near the bench, not caring much for all the commotion.

At some point, the young man received a notification from the Lookout app, indicating a person named Kyle with similar interests passing nearby. The tag was #PokemonLifeQuality, and following a tap on the stylized sentret icon he saw a rating of 4.5 stars associated with this tag on the said person’s page. Which meant he had received plenty of positive recommendations as a knowledgeable user who enjoys interacting with pokémon and improving the quality of their lives. Just what he was needing, the man thought.

He looked around to see if this Kyle was anywhere close, then noticed another guy having long blond hair. Then he recognized his face from the avatar. The man stood up from the bench, signaling towards him with his hand, hoping to catch his attention.

“Excuse me? You must be Kyle, right?” he asked him as he hastily approached in his direction.

In the man's arms was a pikachu who looked up at him both lovingly and happily. Hearing his name be called, the man named Kyle and his pikachu both turned to see who was calling out for him, where he saw a guy with short black hair waving at him. Kyle had no idea who he was or how he might have known him. "Yeah, that's me. How can I help you?" he asked back.

The pikachu climbed from Kyle's arms and onto his shoulders. "Probably someone else with Pokemon troubles," the pikachu spoke quietly. Kyle reached up and gently pat her on the head.

“Yeah, she’s kinda right,” the man with the black hair said when he heard the pikachu speak. Then he pulled out his smartphone and opened the Lookout app again. After a moment of scrolling on the screen, he showed him an image of himself along with the name Mert, and added, “Basically I’m looking for a quality advice. So I checked your page and you seem like you might fit the bill.” He spoke the last part in a calmer tone, seeming to have relaxed a bit since he rushed towards Kyle first.

Kyle and Melody locked eyes before turning back to face Mert. "Advice about what? I can only really give Pokémon advice..."

"Kyle's not a people person. Need girl friend help? Wrong guy. Need help looking for a Pokémon? He's got you covered," Melody told the guy.

"Pretty much. Nice to meet you, by the way. How uh... Did you know I'd be here? Or just right place right time?" Kyle asked.

“The last one, I guess,” Mert replied, seemingly not having really caught on with implications of the ‘looking for a pokémon’ part the pikachu had mentioned.

“Anyway, as I was saying. I’ve got three pokémon with me myself, and I’d really like to provide them with the conditions they deserve. Now here’s the problem… I’m not a local guy, I’m renting a rather small apartment that isn’t really the most comfortable for them to stay in. I’m also kind of tight on budget right now, so just moving to a better apartment is kinda out of question too. Maybe you got a better suggestion on what I can try?” He asked as he shifted his eyes nervously from Kyle and Melody towards the three pokémon that were loosely accompanying him not far away.

"I actually have a friend who runs a little daycare service if that'd be what you're looking for?" Kyle suggested.

"Should I go get Nala for you?" Melody offered. Kyle nodded and jumped off his shoulder. She ran a short distance away before calling out for the aforementioned name. Not too far away was a large, feline Pokémon that was laying on its back. It had a long, flowing red and orange mane that was almost as long as it's body. The pyroar instantly rolled over and looked around worriedly. It saw Melody waving it over where it dashed over to the group.

"Oi! Dō shita no? Daijōbudesuka?" the Pokémon asked.

"Yes, yes, we're fine," Kyle told her. She sighed a sigh of relief. "Do you know if Jay has any open slots at his daycare?"

"Ō. Hai, kare ni wa kanari no kazu no aki-waku ga arimasu. Kare wa sore o ireyou to shite iru nodeshou ka?" she then asked.

"Three."

"Oh... Uh..." She looked up at Mert and spoke the best she could, "Hi. Uh... You... Need help three Pokémon? Long stay or short?" she asked him.

“Yeah, for a month or two at least. Just got a new job,” Mert explained. He leaned in and gave the Pyroar a curious glance for a moment, having recognized the language itself but not being able to understand anything specific from what she had said before.

“How many languages does she know?” he then added, addressing Kyle this time.

"My girl here can mostly speak one. She's now learning ours," Kyle answered. He pat her on the side, making her lean into him.

"Eigo wa watashi ni totte totemo muzukashīdesu. Iroirona iikata ga aru node…" she mumbled.

"She basically said she's trying to learn ours but since there's a bunch of ways to say things, it's difficult for her," he explained for Mert.

"So... You want your Pokémon stay Jay whole time? Or get when night? Important to know," she asked Mert next.

“I mean, most of the time, at least while not out on a walk with me,” Mert clarified. “Would it be considerably more expensive? I’d really like to take a look at the rates, just so I know it’d really fit into my budget. Probably should, but still…”

"Jay works around budgets. He never has had a flat rate. Like me, he's really devoted to Pokémon. So he offers help when he can, and that falls under the whole daycare thing. Plus he's sponsored and any money help he needs, he gets from another source," Kyle explained to the guy.

" Would you like us to get in touch with him for you? Maybe we could take you?" Melody offered.

“Well, I guess it’s about time we’d be heading out anyway, so yeah,” Mert said with a nod. “It’d probably be best if I could take a thorough look at the place too, won’t you think?”

Meanwhile he looked over to his Pokémon and saw how his Swablu was starting to relax next to his Skorupi. They seemed to be content with the way things were, and he didn’t want to disturb their routine all too much, although he had to admit, there’d certainly be another time for him to take them for a real vacation. And right now, there were other matters he needed to settle for their sake ASAP.

"Sure, we can do that. Want me to give a rundown of it? Or do you want to wait and see for yourself?" Kyle asked him.

"Big Pokémon? Small?" Nala asked him right after.

“Small,” Mert replied to the Pyroar, pointing at the rock where his Swablu and Skorupi were resting, then towards the playground where his Rattata was. He then switched his attention back to Kyle. “Also, a rundown would be nice, though I suppose I’m gonna be seeing it for myself anyway. It’s not that I’m not trusting you, it’s just, I want to make an educated decision based on everything I see. Sorry if that sounds too nit-picky,” he told him apologetically.

"Sure, I can give you a rundown! Not an issue! Nala, could you go ahead and give Jay a headsup that we're on our way, Love?" Kyle asked her. The pyroar smiled and nodded at him. She jumped up and put her paws on his shoulder then hugged him. Kyle graciously hugged her back. She jumped back down then dashed off, leaving Kyle and Melody with their new friends.

"Do you need to get your pokemon or do you want to leave them here? They should be fine if you want to come back. Though I'd recommend taking them so they can see it themselves," Melody suggested.

Mert watched Nala hug Kyle with some degree of curiosity, also taking note of how he called her Love. He didn't make any comment on it though, even though the trio would definitely seem to him like a rather interesting bunch now.

“Yeah, I’m taking them with me,” he then added, turning towards his own Pokémon afterwards, and whistling three times in a particular way. The Swablu flew back to his shoulders, followed by the Rattata that scurried from the play area nearby. The Skorupi came closer as well, as Mert carefully picked it up in his arms.

"Rattata are so cute!" Melody squealed happily while smiling at the purple rodent that stood nearby.

"They sure are. Come on, I'll lead the way," Kyle told him. Melody climbed back into his arms as they began walking. "The best part about the Daycare is how much work Jay's put into it. Jay had the area he built it on kind of... terraformed around the idea of the daycare to give them the best kind of experience that he can. He blocked off a portion of the water that filters in the water from the ocean so the water types get consistent, clean, fresh water. He had some trees planted for the flying types. The entire area is safe for pokemon to explore to their hearts desires."

"It's an entirely fenced off area. No pokemon can get in or out... unless you're a flying type, I suppose," Melody cut-in.

"But Jay has other Flying-types employed there who keep a watchful eye. The pokemon have areas where they can sleep comfortably outside and inside. Meals are always provided, obviously, and Jay will do anything to make a pokemon's stay much better."

The group kept walking until they passed the Pokemon Center. Kyle pointed it out just so he had a reference of where it was from there. "Nurse Joy is always a call away, too. It takes her no time to get the Daycare, should things ever happen. You can also call him around the clock if you'd like to check up on your Pokemon. I also believe you're free to come and go as you want. And... I think he offers adoptions to pokemon who've lost their homes and need trainers? I'm not sure, you'd have to ask that part."

“Sounds like the kind of place my Pokémon could get used to pretty quick,” Mert said after listening to the rundown with some attentiveness. He already seemed satisfied enough with the overall outlook. “Often takes a lot of time and care before a Pokémon grows self-sufficient enough to look after oneself and interact with the wider society in a healthy way at the same time, you feel me?”

The Rattata meanwhile followed behind the group, occasionally running up to them or speeding off ahead. It seemed like the Pokémon was full of energy, which didn't really surprise Mert at all. The presence of this new group next to Mert apparently was causing it to get particularly excited.

As for his Swablu, it kept on hanging around him, chirping or letting out quiet noises every now and then as it flew close by.

Kyle watched the rattata continuously run around with all the energy it had. If Mert was going to drop them off with Jay, he knew he'd be the best one to take care of them. "I feel you. Jay is the best in the region. There's another daycare between Mayville and Verdanturf but they are kind of..." Kyle paused to think of the right words to use without sounding rude.

"They're kind of dated and old school. They're an elder couple," Melody answered.

"Yeah, that. They're also specifically endorsed by the Elite 4. Jay isn't. But Jay just has a certain thing about him that let's Pokémon easily open up," he told them. Not too far out in the distance was a larger building that kind of resembled what the safari zone looked like. It was fenced off and had a giant wicker basket for a sign on the top. Kyle never understood what that had to do anything with the daycare but that was what Jay wanted. Sitting at the entrance was Nala. "That's it over there. Big place, huh?"

“That it is,” said Mert after the place was within his field of view. He admired the large garden-like space outside, spotting a few Pokémon hanging around there, as well as some staff members tending to them. “Kinda strange that I’ve never heard of the place before, even though I’ve been looking up options for at least a few weeks online…” he noted out loud.

He then looked over to his own Pokémon, whose moods had seemed to perk up a little as well upon the prospect of getting a new home. The Rattata still looked energized and ready to bounce around everywhere, while the Swablu was happily twirling through the air a little, and the Skorupi just relaxed contently while being carried in his arms.

"Well about that..." Kyle chuckled kind of anxiously. "You have to be referred. You don't really get to just... walk up and request your Pokemon to be taken care of. But you seem like a good guy and I kind of have a soft spot for rattata so... I thought I'd help ya out!"

"You and your soft spots for little pokemon..." Melody giggled at him. "You should see him when he sees something like a teddiursa! He goes bonkers!"

"Shut up," Kyle told her jokingly. "So yeah, a little more info. Like I said, it's referral only. I'll put a good word for you. But in return, when you see how good Jay is, I'd like if you could give me and him a bit of a good recommendation or review or something. All I want is to help pokemon so having my name out there with good reviews means so much to me. Could you do that for me?"

“Sure, sounds good to me,” said Mert. He realized it did make sense that someone who specialized in caring for Pokémon had to maintain a certain reputation and image in order to appeal to referred customers. And in the case of this guy and the friend who ran the daycare, it clearly mattered to them that they were providing the best possible living conditions for their charges, which he couldn’t but admire. “Is it also on the Lookout app? What tags do they go by there?” he added curiously.

As the group got closer and closer, the pyroar walked back in then back out. Next to her was a guy who looked like he was dressed to work outside, which made sense, given the job. He had on jeans with a tucked in button-up shirt. He was clean shaven with brown, slicked back hair. "He is on the Lookout App, yes. Anything pokemon, really, for tags. He's... not the most tech savvy so I had to kind of handle it for him. I also am really bad with tags so I just put things like #Daycare and #PokemonBonding since Jay really devotes time to getitng to know the pokemon left with him. I should probably go back sometime and redo the tags or have someone do it or something..."

"Gotta be kind of vague nowadays, though. But even the few he does have help a lot! Especially with him being a smaller name, he's done so incredibly well. He can show you reviews once you get to know him," Melody told Mert.

“Fair enough. I mean, even in a place like Slateport with all the touristy stuff, you gotta rely on personal recommendations for things, right? Can’t rely on big brands all the time… Anyway, let’s take a look at this place, shall we?” Mert replied as the group approached the gate leading inside. His Swablu descended onto his shoulder as the distance between them and the fence lessened, and he got to observe the area further as the ground staff tended to their respective tasks.

His eyes scanned the landscape from side to side, noticing all sorts of pokémon out there enjoying themselves. There was a playground for the small ones, a pond or two for water types, plenty of natural light to grow plants, and plenty of room to run around for everyone, even for much larger pokémon than the ones Mert had with him.

“Looks like they’ve got a lot here,” he commented as they walked along. “This place is really huge, man. Must take a load of work to maintain it all, I imagine.”

"It is so much work but it's worth it. I had to do a lot of the labor with him but I knew it'd make the Pokemon happy," Kyle told him.

"Fun fact, Kyle met Nala here! He's one of the few who know her language and can communicate with her, so that made everything better," Melody told him. As if on cue, the duo consisting of Nala and Jay approached.

"Naze watashitachi ga deatta no ka o min'na ni hanasanakereba naranai nodesu ka, Melody?" Nala spoke up as the got closer.

"Because now Mert knows he can adopt any pokemon that doesn't have a trainer if he stays a while!" she smiled in response. She turned to Mert and said, "Nala just asked why I told you how Kyle and her met, if you were curious."

"Which isn't a ton," Jay now spoke up. He looked really sweaty, as if he'd been hard at work. He took a rag from his back pocket and wiped his face and hands then held one out to Mert. "Hey Kyle, Melody. You must be Mert, yes? I hear you're looking to house a couple pokemon for a bit?"

“That’s right. And you must be Jay?” Mert replied in greeting, shaking his hand afterwards. “Great to meet you. Your daycare sounds like just what I need for them, honestly. Kyle here has told me a lot of good things about it, and I’m really curious to see the place for myself…”

Meanwhile his pokémon, including the Skorupi that was still in his arms, were watching the whole interaction unfold with some interest and curiosity as well. The Rattata especially seemed particularly keen on listening in, standing on its hind legs as if to reach higher and get a better look.

"Yeah, that'd be me! We have a few spots available right now for housing. Jay looked down at the purple rat pokemon that seemed interested and smiled at it. He slowly bent down and held a hand out to it. "I assume this is one of your pokemon? I think Nala mentioned three of them? Is it this three you're looking to leave with us? And would you be picking them up at night or would they be staying with us entirely?"

“Yeah, these are them. The Rattata’s name is Rin. This Skorupi here,” Mert explained as he slightly lifted the scorpion-like critter upwards, “She’s Sage, and the Swablu is Koto.”

The blue cottony bird chirped in greeting, while the purple rodent sniffed at Jay’s hand before suddenly jumping up on his arm and crawling up towards his shoulder, where it tried to smell him a little too.

“I’m thinking entirely for now. I mean, I might pick them from time to time on overnight trips and the like. But most likely it’s just gonna be an indefinite stay here until I find a better arrangement for them. I’m thinking I might be able to rent a really suitable apartment in a few months, if I’m lucky with my job,” the man added in response to Jay's last question.

"That's not an issue!" Jay said. He smiled as he reached up and gently pat Rin on the head. "She seems super friendly so I'm sure she'll find some friends to get close with pretty quickly."

"Okori eru koto ni tsuite genkyū subekideshou ka?" Nala asked while looking up at Kyle then Jay. The two very quickly shook their heads.

"No, we don't talk about that. So, a tour sounds like something you'd be interested in, yes?" Jay asked him. "Oh! I also forgot! I think Nala may have mentioned something about budgets you may have. That's no issue - our goal is to keep those bonds trainers have with their pokemon while also being affordable to everyone. If everything checks out for you, I'm confident we can work something out. So yeah, anyways, ready for a tour?"

“Sure, let’s get this started,” Mert nodded in agreement. “Where do we start? Any particular spots to get a feeling for? Or anything else I should know beforehand?”

Rin seemed to enjoy the attention from Jay, pressing into the touches and squeaking softly at him. It seemed like she just had the penchant for being adorable and playful with people, at least with those she felt comfortable around.

"I suppose we can start out here," he answered. Jay waved for them to follow. They began to walk around the outside, where there were all kinds of pokemon enjoying themselves with staff of the daycare playing together. There were little benches and seats everywhere, where some people and pokemon were sitting and holding pokemon. "A cool thing about the Daycare we offer is the adoption process. The pokemon you see in the front here are the ones who don't have trainers. We let them out here in the front so anyone passing by can see and potentially become interested."

"That's how Nala and I met, more specifically. It was one of those... bonds at first sight moments," Kyle told him. He pointed out to a swingset that pokemon were swinging on. "I was over there swinging by myself. She came up and started pushing me. It was so quick how we bonded. I know you've got three Pokemon but you should seriously come hang out sometime. It's so fun."

"Feel free to interact with any pokemon you want to, as well! They love it!" Melody told him. "Jay also have poffins we give pokemon. They're little treats he makes on his own with his own recipe. Safe for both pokemon and human!" As if on cue, a little zigzagoon came running up. It stopped at Kyle's feet and jumped up with its front ones on his legs expectantly. Kyle laughed as Jay reached into a little bag that was attached to him by the waist and passed Kyle a poffin, where he gave it to the brown pokemon. It graciously took it and gobbled it up.

"Have your pokemon ever had poffins before?" Jay asked him.

“So far, only factory-made ones,” Mert replied. “Would you mind passing me a pair as well? It might make a good treat for Sage and Koto here, I reckon. We’ll see how they react to it!” he added quite enthusiastically. “Oh, and don’t forget about Rin too. I can totally see her liking you a lot better after having tried these tasty things!”

While his words sounded light-hearted and somewhat amusing, he meant it as a way to acknowledge Jay’s skills in cooking, understanding that he was likely able to provide a lot of comfort and variety to everybody around him in his everyday life.

“And, well, I’ll consider hanging out here as well. It might not be as bustling as the park, but I can already feel the atmosphere of openness and happiness that everyone here radiates. Just feels like there’s a connection in the air, you know what I’m saying? Which I bet works perfectly for making my pokémon feel at home here, too, I suppose,” Mert then continued in a more thoughtful tone.

"You'd be completely correct," he told them as they continued walking. He then stopped in front of one of the little ponds and looked into it. Various water pokemon were swimming in it. "All we want is the pokemon happy. We'll do whatever it takes. Even if you don't adopt, spending some time with them would be great."

"Hitotsu moraemasu ka, Jay?" Nala spoke up. Jay laughed and nodded then gave both Nala and Melody their own poffins, who very happily took them. Melody took small bites while Nala swallowed it almost whole.

"You can have as many as you want, you know that," he told them. He then reached back into his bag and held one up for Rin while also passing some to Mert for his others, as well as have a few spare if he wanted to give some to the pokemon. "Building bonds is one of the easiest things you can do when you're in a safe environment like this. With battling, it's a fight then forced friendship. This way feels more... natural. Some pokemon like the fight, but not all of them. We encourage people to be close to their pokemon when they leave here, and after leaving the Daycare, pokemon tend to take those bonds to the next level. That's what we like."

“I can totally see that,” Mert remarked with a smile. He took out three of the poffins and handed two of them over to the Swablu and the Skorupi that were still with him, while trying the third one himself. He noticed how different their reactions were, with Koto happily pecking and munching on his share, while Sage picked it into her claws and slowly nibbled away at it in her own careful manner while holding it.

“These are actually pretty good. Not the same as store-bought, that’s for sure. I’d say you’ve got talent,” he noted after sampling a small bite of the one he got for himself. It tasted sweet, but not overly so. Rather, just right, giving the snack a refreshing and nourishing sensation that wasn’t overwhelming or too sickeningly sweet.

Meanwhile, Rin had finished her own treat in a matter of seconds, and after licking her snout clean of the remaining bits of it, she nuzzled Jay’s neck and chin quite affectionately as a way of thanking him.

Mert meanwhile looked in the pond’s direction, seeing plenty of activity in it. However his attention got quickly drawn to one particular aquatic pokémon which suddenly stopped in place as soon as its own gaze ended up on himself. The rather exotic seahorse-like creature just floated there on the surface, flapping its spiky fins while staring right at him with a rather piercing, almost enthralled expression. There was some quality of grace in the way it posed itself, scantly suggesting it might be a female, though Mert couldn’t really tell for sure.

“I wonder what this is about,” he quietly mused to himself as he stared right back at the peculiar Seadra with some intrigue. It was almost as if the pokémon sought out something from him specifically. Maybe it reacted like that towards every new person who happened to be in its vicinity, or maybe he happened to be a special case for some weird reason…

"Wanna know a fun fact?" Melody asked Mert after watching try Jay's poffins.

"They no Jay! Kyle create!" Nala told him, trying her best to speak so Mert understood. Kyle chuckled and scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Yeah, I can't take full credit. Kyle came up with the recipe and I tweaked it," he told him. Jay saw Mert was looking off into the pond so he followed his gaze. There he saw a pokemon looking at him, and one he wasn't expecting at all. "Oh, hey, that's Asuka," Jay told Mert. He put his hands on his hips as he spoke, "She's not much of a socialite. She kind of likes to keep herself. I haven't seen her look at anyone this way before like she is with you. Maybe you should offer her a poffin!" Jay suggested.

Mert blinked three or four times, seemingly processing that information for a moment. “Uh… I think it might be a good idea. Maybe it’d encourage the Water-type to open up more afterwards, who knows. Let me grab a few then,” he replied with a nod, also making a mental note of the other pokémon nearby who might just want a treat as well.

Asuka kept her eyes on him throughout, observing him with what looked like curiosity mixed with caution. The Seadra seemed to be waiting for something to happen, perhaps expecting some sort of interaction from the human. She looked really mysterious about her actual intent, whatever it might be, however, which made Mert look sideways with an awkward faint smile, as he scratched his head as well.

As Jay handed more poffins to Mert, the latter carefully headed out towards the edge of the pond, leaving his pokémon to their own devices. The Seadra suddenly tilted her head downwards shyly as she moved slightly away from the spot where she had been floating so far, still keeping her eye on Mert’s movements, but avoiding direct contact this time. Seeing that, Mert slowed down a bit, stepping carefully so as not to make any abrupt moves that might scare the pokémon or put her off even further. Nonetheless, no matter how he tried, Asuka plunged into the water when he was still about halfway there.

Pausing for a moment with a sigh, Mert continued his approach towards the edge. Other pokémon nearby seemed to be observing the unusual interaction, though as he sat down on the grassy bank, they looked at him expectantly, although in a more straightforward way, their attention being mostly focused on the poffins he was holding. There was no mistake they were interested in the treats he looked like he was going to hand out.

“…Asuka?” Mert called out cautiously in a soothing tone, however, figuring the Water-type would likely still be able to hear him from underwater. The other pokémon apparently recognized that he was addressing the Seadra directly, as their attention now shifted downwards into the pond as well, curious about how this was going to turn out. Mert could almost swear he saw a Buizel grin in amusement while doing so, as if it knew something that he didn’t.

The Seadra soon resurfaced, apparently somewhat hesitantly, as if she hadn’t actually expected the man to have approached her right away. She looked rather shy in a girly way, covering the muzzle of her snout with her coiled tail as she glanced at him sidelong.

“So, um… Wanna try a poffin? I bet you'd like it!” Mert said, trying to sound cheerful and encouraging, as he held up the treat towards Asuka, who, after a brief moment of hesitation, cautiously skimmed towards him to receive it. She seemed hesitant and suspicious, but after touching the pastry with the tip of her snout, she quickly sucked it up into her mouth and gulped it down without much trouble.

Her expression brightened somewhat once she tasted it, though she still looked a bit wary. At least she didn’t seem to have any qualms about staying near him this time. Meanwhile Mert noticed that the Buizel was grinning again in a somewhat mischievous way, having been watching the interaction unfold all this time.

“…Thanks… mister?…” the Seadra then uttered suddenly in a rather cute voice. It felt kind of surprising, even though Mert wasn’t really holding any expectations on how a creature like this would sound, if at all.

“…Hold on, you can talk?” he asked back in slight shock. Asuka nodded slowly, still maintaining her distance.

“Somewhat…” she replied, pausing before adding in a quieter tone, “…My dad taught me to speak since I was young…”

“Ah, interesting. Do you miss him?” Mert inquired back curiously, starting to relax a bit as he observed her reaction.

“Kind of… He’s with a trainer now, so is my mom. Sometimes they visit but not always,” Asuka responded, having also calmed a bit.

“And why would you be here, rather than together with them in the first place?” Mert pressed on, hoping to gain a bit more understanding. The Seadra looked away briefly, her fins seeming to slow down somewhat. “I’m sorry if that came out rude, just wanted to make sense of your situation,” Mert apologized when he saw her reaction, realizing how sensitive the subject was for her.

“It’s okay… Our trainer thought it’d be best for me to have my own space here. I didn’t really click with the rest of her team,” Asuka explained, sounding a bit sadder. “But now I’m alone most of the time…”

“Oh. That’s still kinda harsh though. Have you had any success making friends at all?” Mert inquired with a sympathetic tone, offering another poffin to the Seadra who gratefully took it and ate it this time with more confidence.

“Well, not really. I didn’t feel like making them, to be honest…” Asuka admitted somewhat bashfully.

“What gives? Is being alone more preferable than getting to interact with others, or are there deeper reasons?” Mert queried with genuine interest. “If you don’t feel like getting into that right now though, that's fine, it’s none of my business after all.”

“Oh, no, no, it’s alright,” Asuka reassured him with a polite tone, as if she appreciated that he asked. “It’s just the way I am, I guess. It simply didn't feel interesting enough for me to really bother. Well…” she trailed off, looking at Mert with renewed curiosity. “It might be a little different with you, though…” she added with a slight tilt of her head, as if she was contemplating something while eyeing him continuously.

Mert felt like she was leaving something out intentionally, but if there was something she wasn’t comfortable with sharing with him right now, it wasn’t his place to press further anyway. He could relate to feeling like one had no desire to interact with others though, so it was understandable to some extent.

“…Hmm. Guess you could say I get the gist of what you’re saying,” the man replied thoughtfully, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly while glancing at her. “Sometimes I feel like being by myself is better, you know what I'm saying? People can be kind of overbearing and draining sometimes.”

“Yeah, definitely!” Asuka agreed wholeheartedly. Her mood seemed to brighten a little, as if she was glad to hear that someone else understood where she was coming from.

The Buizel was still watching the whole exchange with keen interest, as if waiting for something to happen. Suddenly, it pulled its forepaws onto the edge of the pond and leaned towards the pair with a cheeky look on its face.

“Are you gonna be Asuka’s friend? Aww, isn’t that nice, she needs friends too!” it teased in a rather cutesy tone, which made the Seadra blush in embarrassment. “She just won’t admit it herself, will you?”

“Ugh, not cool, Vess. You know I’m not that sociable,” Asuka complained, lowering her head and shifting closer to Mert, who she was beginning to appreciate more. The Buizel grinned and waved at them before ducking back underwater, leaving the Seadra with a grumpy expression.

“Do they often bug you like that?” Mert asked her sympathetically. Asuka shook her head, calming down a bit.

“…Not really. They just have that kind of playful attitude sometimes. Still, it’s kinda annoying,” she admitted quietly.

Jay and Kyle both stepped forward before kneeling next to the edge of the pond, next to Mert. The quietly observed for just a few moments before Jay jumped into the conversation, "That's what friends are like sometimes. We can be a real pain in the ass. Right, Kyle?"

"I agree one hundred percent. But you still should be thankful you've got someone who's probably got your back," Kyle told the seadra next. "We've barely interacted, Asuka and I, but it's refreshing to see her take an interest in someone. That's good to hear and it gives me even more reason to think I made the right choice by bringing you here, Mert."

The seadra once again covered her muzzle with the coil of her tail, looking rather awkward as she overheard that statement. Although everyone else could perhaps imagine that part of her did find their exchange a little amusing.

“Well, maybe so,” Mert mused with a shrug, thinking about the advice Kyle and Jay were giving them. “I suppose being lonely and introverted can get old after a while. Speaking of which, do you mind if I pet you?” he said the last part addressing the pokémon.

“...Go ahead,” Asuka approved, bowing her head slightly towards Mert.

In response, he slowly pulled a gentle hand towards the pokémon’s sleek forehead, taking some caution to avoid the tips of her spikes that lined backwards along the top of her head. The seadra closed her eyes and relaxed her posture as she let the man pet her, leaning into his touch with a soft coo. She found herself liking this a lot, which made her wonder if this was the start of a brand new friendship.

"You'll fit in nicely with us," Jay told Mert with a happy smile. He was so happy to see the seadra finally making some friends. He'd tried to approach her on countless occassions but she just didn't seem interested - and that was okay. It's okay to not be sociable and watch from afar. So seeing her finally make some friends, even if one, was reassuring.

"You should come visit her more! You look like you're already friends!" Melody told Mert excitedly.

“I’ll keep that in mind then, I guess,” Mert replied with a casual nod. He felt relieved that the pokémon in this place were seemingly comfortable with their conditions, and around him as much, despite whatever earlier reservations he had been having about finding a temporary home for his own pokémon here.

Meanwhile Asuka opened her eyes and looked at him curiously, as if she wanted to say something, but was still hesitant to do so.

“…Something on your mind, Asuka?” he asked her gently. The seadra’s eyes widened for a moment, but otherwise she still seemed unsure. After a brief pause however, she decided to speak up, her tone timid yet sincere.

“…Hey, um, I mean… If it’s not too much trouble for you, maybe… Would you like to give me a hug?” she finally blurted out, not daring to look him in the eye while saying so.

Mert paused for a second, taken aback by the sudden request. Though upon gathering his bearings, he realized there was no harm in accepting it. In fact, he couldn’t help but sympathize with the pokémon and want to comfort her a bit, so he nodded, reaching his arms out towards her, picking her up very carefully from the water surface, and holding her close. Asuka nestled her head into his chest, seeming to melt into his embrace, as if this was something she hadn’t experienced in a long time. Her tail uncoiled and soon wrapped around Mert’s back lightly, as if she really appreciated him personally, as well as the feeling of closeness that she’d effectively missed out on until now.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, closing her eyes and enjoying the warmth of Mert’s body, “I think I needed this…”

“Awwwwww!” the voice of the buizel named Vess cooed from underneath somewhere, which made Asuka narrow her eyes in annoyance. “Told ya you were just too shy to admit it!”

“Again with this, seriously?” she exclaimed out loud, but quickly regretted her tone, as she looked up at Mert apologetically. “Sorry, they can be a bit… Annoying…” she mumbled sheepishly, but the man smiled in return, patting her on the back between the fins to comfort her.

“Jay, could you please just give them the poffins already? This is becoming embarrassing,” Mert then joked at him half-seriously, figuring it would help a lot to get those pokémon down there to a more tame disposition at last.

Jay laughed at her but nodded quickly. "Alright everyone, let's not push her boundaries. We have to keep in mind that she isn't normally like this, so let's appreciate she has a friend she seems to want to open up to and not ruin it, yeah?" he told the pokemon, Vess specifically, in the little pond. In return for them listening, he was more than happy to pass out poffins for everyone. He was glad he always made so many of them.

"So do you want to continue on with the tour?" Kyle asked Mert.

"You could bring Asuka if you like. Most Water-type Pokemon can go a little bit without water, so maybe her getting away from all the teasing could do her some more good," Jay suggested.

“If she doesn’t mind, then sure, sounds like a plan,” Mert nodded back, still holding the seadra in his arms, who appeared to be clinging to him even more now with her tail wrapped around him.

“I won’t,” Asuka responded with a slightly determined tone, and with some degree of relief. She was glad that someone took her feelings into consideration in this case. It made her feel welcome and secure in Mert’s presence, and she evidently enjoyed that a lot more than one might have imagined she would. She certainly didn’t mind the idea of spending more time with him, even as a friend or companion of sorts.

Meanwhile Koto was once again seen circling around Mert and Asuka curiously, while Sage remained on the ground near his feet, as if guarding them.

"Cool! Then let's move on, shall we?" Jay told the group. Kyle and Jay both stood back up and were about to begin leading Mert to more of the tour before a new pokemon called out.

"Hey, Kyle?" the voice called. He turned to the feminine voice and saw it was a zangoose with an apron around its waist. Like Jay, it had a bag clipped to it filled to the brim with poffins.

"Hey! Unity! What's up?" he asked her.

"Can I borrow you for a second? A pokemon inside needs your help," she asked him. Kyle and Melody looked at each other before Kyle smiled to Unity.

"Sure, what with?" he asked her.

"I dunno. Something personal," she said back. The white pokemon reached forward and gently gripped his hand and began to pull him to the main facility.

"Oh, okay. Melody, Nala, can you both continue on with Jay and Mert? I'll catch up in just a few minutes," he told them. The two nodded, where Melody jumped from Kyle and over to Jay's shoulder. Kyle then reached up and gently sat Rin on Nala's back before gently patting her on the head.

"Come on, let's go," the zangoose said slowly. She grabbed his hand with her other paw and continued to lead him away. Melody and Nala heard her giggling as she left.

"Sorry about him. A lot of pokemon like him and like opening up to him, so he's kind of... known and popular here for it. He'll rejoin us in no time at all," Melody told Mert.

“No worries, I’m just glad I get to observe all this in the first place,” Mert reassured her with a smile, while cradling Asuka in his arms. She wiggled a little to readjust herself comfortably, but was overall content to remain where she was.

The swablu, Koto, meanwhile, decided to perch on Mert’s head, tilting his head slightly to the side and chirping softly at Asuka as if to communicate with her in his own way. She let out some cooing sounds in response, showing that the two seemed to have some sort of mutual understanding over something.

“Honestly I can already sort of imagine what it means to receive constant attention from pokémon everywhere and have to deal with their antics and personalities,” Mert then remarked with a chuckle. “Never a dull moment, huh?”

"It can get really hectic when you have all these pokemon to watch but having so many willing to help makes it all the better," Jay answered. He looked around for a moment but waving his arms toward the building. "Well, anyways, I suppose we should continue."

"Kanojo wa kare no koto o son'nani sukida to omoimasu ka? Soretomo tada no tomodachi to shite?" Nala asked while eyeing Mert.

"That's not your business," Melody told the pyroar quietly. She slowly nodded.

"So, yeah, anyways, the tour. In the back are a bunch of places for the pokemon to sleep if they like to be outside," he began to explain as he led them inside. Inside was very modern, much like the inside of a Pokemon Center. There was a large receptionist desk right in the middle with a lady working behind it. People and pokemon ran around together, some working and some playing. "The rooms we offer on the inside are off to the right. Would you be interested in seeing?" he asked him.

“Sure, why not? The more I know, the better I can make a decision here,” Mert nodded back, walking with Asuka held securely in his arms, her tail still being wrapped around him.

Meanwhile Koto was still perched on top of his head, holding onto his hair a little, looking around with interest while keeping himself balanced. The swablu seemed rather at ease even indoors, despite his avian nature, although he still would probably prefer a bit more space for an everyday environment.

"Cool, right this way. I already have rooms opened up and available to them if they'd like to all stay together," Jay said. He led them off to the right of the building, where the wall opened up into a long hallway. A few doors down was an opened one. Jay then held his arms out to the so they could take the first look. "They're closer to the front. Every room has beds for the pokemon and around the clock access to the front desk, should they need any help with anything. There's also a phone for you to call them with if they ever want."

“Well, that’d be handy. The only issue is that Rin is the only one who can really speak, even though she’s not much of a talker, preferring instead to pounce around all the time,” Mert remarked with an amused tone, looking at the energetic Rattata, who just stuck her tongue out at him cheekily. “Koto only really chirps in Pokémon, and Sage, well… she’s just kind of a mute couch potato. Even though other pokémon still seem to be understanding her somehow.”

He paused for a moment as he headed into the room along with his pokémon, looking at all the neat furnishings and amenities available. Right next to the entrance inside they were immediately met with some curious looks from a pair of pokémon sitting on nearby cushions, a jolteon and a scrafty. Both were wearing the same black hoodies, even though one of them was a quadruped.

“Yo!” the orange lizard-like pokémon greeted them with a friendly tone while making a V-sign with his fingers, as he was chewing a bubble gum. The yellow electric fox just eyed the company with a wacky smirk. Overall they gave pretty much the impression of the funky dudes they were.

“Oh hey! New people coming in?” another voice exclaimed in the background, sounding female, but it was hard to tell, given that it was slightly muffled. Suddenly, a vulpix poked its head out from the side of a nearby bunk bed, looking at them with big, sparkling eyes, seeming to be incredibly excited over something. Mert figured that maybe it was just in love with being social, as opposed to Asuka’s shyness towards getting attached to anyone.

“Hey there,” he greeted them back with a smile, looking around some more while still cradling Asuka. Rin meanwhile dashed around the room, looking for a comfy spot to settle into, while Koto and Sage seemed content with staying near Mert, though Koto hopped off his head and fluttered towards the ground level where he could get a better feel of the surroundings.

The scrafty blew and popped a bubble of his gum, then stretched lazily. “Sup man. I’m Miguel. And this here’s my homie Darius,” he introduced himself, pointing his finger at the jolteon next to him.

“Aye,” the Electric-type replied with a wave of his paw.

“You new here? Didn’t see ya around here before,” Miguel added in curiosity.

“Yeah, my name is Mert, nice meeting you both,” the man responded. Meanwhile the scrafty pulled a fist in his direction, expecting a bump, to which Mert did in acknowledgment. “I’ve been trying to find a suitable place to house my three pokémon temporarily, and so far this place seems to be a promising option.”

“And I’m Isolda!” the vulpix jumped in, appearing suddenly right next to the group with a cheerful smile, startling everyone, including Mert. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir! Your pokémon look so cute, can I play with them?” she squealed in an adorable way, like a little kid.

“Um, sure, why not,” Mert laughed back with an indulgent tone. “I doubt any of them would have any objection to it. Though the skorupi, Sage, isn’t really that active, and she might be more difficult to get along with at first glance.”

“What about your seadra? Can I play with her too?” Isolda inquired eagerly, glancing up at Asuka who suddenly became rather uneasy about the whole suggestion, retreating into Mert's embrace and almost hiding her face into his chest.

“Well… she isn't exactly my pokémon, actually,” Mert responded somewhat awkwardly. “She came along after I offered her some of Jay’s poffins, and somehow we bonded a bit over our mutual preference for peace and quiet, I think. So I doubt she’d really be interested in much socializing anyway.”

“Aww, that’s a shame. She seems to be fond of you, you know?” the vulpix pointed out with a slight pout. Asuka seemed to become really flustered over hearing that statement, her cheeks blushing intensely while she looked away bashfully. She then lifted her gaze back towards the human, eyeing him as if she had something to say to him in private.

“Guess you’re just a natural charmer, dude,” Darius cracked up, seeming to get a kick out of the interaction.

"I'm sure you all know how it feels to meet that one human you feel a sense of trust with," Jay spoke up. The last thing Jay wanted was for Asuka and Mert to get overwhelmed by the comments and unintentionally push each other away from what they had forming together. "Also, Ron, Koto, Sage. Don't forget you don't have to stay inside. You're entirely able, allowed, and free to be outside if that's what you'd prefer. Though I'm sure Rin might stay in," he chuckled.

“Actually, Sage is the one who prefers to stay in most of the time,” Mert responded, referring to his skorupi who looked up at him blankly after hearing her name. “Rin, however, likes to jump around nonstop and do stuff with other pokémon, so she might spend some time outside as well.”

“Hey dude, pass me an Energy Burst and a straw!” the jolteon suddenly called out to the scrafty.

“Coming right up, bro!” His companion promptly reached into the bag he was having next to his cushion, and tossed him one of those brightly colored energy drink cans, while passing him a drinking straw as well, which the Electric-type promptly used to drink from it once he managed to open the lid with his teeth. Not having proper hands and all, that was all he could do with it.

“Anyway, I think I’ve almost made a decision, I just need to check out the remaining facilities to be completely sure,” Mert stated thoughtfully, nodding to Jay and Kyle’s pokémon that were hanging around him. “That, and also ask my pokémon if they happen to have any complaints themselves.”

"For sure! I can show you one of the things Pokémon like to do when they are bored. Not all Pokémon obviously but still," he told them.

"Oh, hey, you're already inside," Kyle called out. Melody and Nala turned to the sound of his voice and saw him leaving the room right next door. In his arms was a poochyena who looked up at him with longing and loving eyes. "I take it you like the room? What's next on the agenda?"

"Of course it's Trixie who needed you," Melody teased. The canine Pokémon looked down at her and playfully smirked.

"He knows just how to make me feel better! Being here is rough when you're alone and trainerless. But he makes me happy. You're both lucky!" the poochyena told Melody and the pyroar.

"I'm always happy to help you," he said while hugging her tighter. "So, how do you like it so far? Everything up to your standards? Anything you're concerned about yet?" Kyle asked Mert curiously.

“No, I think everything’s pretty good so far. It’s quite impressive how you’ve got plenty of room for so many pokémon and all the necessary facilities for their daily care and entertainment,” Mert responded thoughtfully. “Oh, and the poffins, they’re just delicious, you know! I can totally see it being so easy to get used to having them daily.” At this point he pondered Jay’s words about what pokémon like to do exactly when they’re bored. Would that be something he’d rather observe on his own? That would be interesting to find out.

Asuka, meanwhile, leaned closer towards him again, feeling a little uneasy, evidently having something on her mind that she however would not dare to bring up in front of everyone else. Maybe she perceived something about Kyle’s sudden reappearance with yet another pokémon, or maybe something that must have preceded it. She seemed nothing if not vague about the true reason for the tension she apparently experienced now. As of Mert… he just seemed to have made a decision to himself that he would have to figure it out at a later time.

"Can we go see my cousin?" Melody asked Kyle. He looked up from the poochyena in his arms and nodded to his pikachu.

"Sure, let's finish the tour first," he answered. "Her little cousin is a pichu that lives here. He's like... the daycare's entertainer. Normally you can hear him blasting music in his room. He's... Umm..."

"He's kind of a party animal. He's got charisma like nobody has ever seen before," Jay now began to tell Mert and his team. "If you're ever feeling scared or lonely or anything, go to him. He'll cheer you up instantly. I don't know how he does it but he has this kind of like... way at pulling at your heart in the best ways possible."

"I love my team more than words can describe but her cousin, his name's Dj, is special. I think you'd like him. So, what were you showing him next?" Kyle asked Jay.

"I thought it'd be a good idea to show him our kitchen," he answered before turning to Mert. He couldn't help but eye the seadra and be in awe of how she took to this human so rapidly. It just wasn't like her, but he wasn't going to question it or ask why. All that mattered was she found someone she can open up to. "One of the things a lot of pokemon here like doing is helping around the daycare because it keeps their mind off of where they actually are. A popular one is helping in the kitchen. A lot of pokemon here are from trainers who are on journeys and, I'm sure you're aware, you have to eat. Well on journeys, it's kind of hard to think of meals to have while out in nature. So we teach them all kinds of meals they can do while out there! The pokemon love it because they can surprise their trainers with things they've learned from our chefs! Would you like to see and meet them?"

“Certainly. Though, to be honest, I can’t really see any of my own pokémon doing any of that, if not for the inconvenience of their shapes for the task, then for their utterly carefree personalities,” Mert shrugged with an amused chuckle. “Although I might just happen to know of a certain… cooking enthusiast, who might be interested in checking out just that. But that’s probably a bit too early to worry about. Let’s get this over with first!” he concluded with a friendly tone while gesturing at Jay to lead the way.

Jay gave an understanding nod to Mert. It wasn't for everyone, but at least he wanted to meet them. Leading them from the room, the group headed further down the hallway. Towards the end was a set of swinging doors. A faint aroma wafted through the air of the food they were preparing for lunch. Jay was the first one to go in, where he held the door open for the others. "Huey! Duey! Luey!" he called out. A simisage, simipour, and simisear all looked up from their respective stations.

"Yes, boss?" the simipour responded. All three had aprons around their waists. "Oh, someone new?" he asked.

"Yep. Mert, this is Huey," he said, pointing to the simisage who barely looked up, "Duey," he then pointed to the waving simipour, "and Luey," he pointed to the remaining pokemon. "They're our in-house chefs. They were all professionally trained and have certificates of authenticity to prove it."

"It's nice to meet you!" Duey exclaimed as he quickly ran up and held out a hand to greet Mert.

“Likewise!” the young man responded, shaking the simipour's hand with a pleasant smile. “So, mind showing me around, what you’ve got going here and all?”

Asuka seemed to have perked up somewhat upon smelling the delicious aromas from the kitchen. Although still timid, she seemed curious as well, although she didn’t come right out and ask about it. Mert, however, saw her reaction and had to wonder if maybe she’d like to sample some of the various foods being made there as well.

"Sure!" the simipour told him, that huge smile never faltering. "Let's start with the poffin station." Duey led the group not too far away where a group of Pokémon were working alongside Luey. He watched as they mixed and made all different colors and flavors of poffins. "Luey is in charge of the poffins. We go through so many all the time and have to keep making them."

"They also let us try out our own recipe ideas!" a Pokémon exclaimed. It was a meowth that told them that. "I like salty things, so I wanted to try and make some as salty as I could."

"Bjt let's not overdo it," the simisage told the little cat Pokémon. It looked up and nodded. "The key is to balance out the flavors. What did I say we add if we want to balance salty?"

"Add sugar?" the meowth asked. Luey smiled and nodded the pat the meowth on the shoulder.

"Good job. You guys want some fresh poffins?" asked Luey. "You can't beat when they right out of the oven!"

“I hope you don’t forget about the tang as well,” Mert added with a chuckle as he overheard their conversation, “But anyway, fresh poffins surely sound great!”

“How do they taste?” Asuka now piped up curiously, her tone clearly indicating that she was hungry and also eager to try some of those baked treats.

Mert glanced at her in amusement and asked, “Shall I hand you some over, hmm?”

“I’d like that…” the seadra whispered back shyly, her tail still wrapping around his back in a gentle hug. There was an air of slight anticipation to her demeanor now that seemed to indicate she was really looking forward to the experience, even if she wasn’t ready to express it directly to the full extent right then.

"How do they taste?" Luey asked jokingly. He held out a platter of them they already had laid out. "What do you like? Sweet? Salty? Savory? Take your pick!"

"If I can recommend, the savory are the best!" Melody told the seadra.

"No! Spicy!" Nala exclaimed loudly. "I have one spicy please?" she asked. Luey nodded happily and held a bright red poffin down for her, where she quickly gobbled it up. "Yummy!"

"So, ma'am, what would you like?" Luey asked her.

“Umm…” Asuka seemed a bit uncertain at first, as she glanced up at Mert and then back at the poffins. She then looked at him again as she seemed to gather her thoughts, and finally announced, “One savory, and then one sweet, I guess… I’m not sure about spicy, maybe because I’m too sensitive to that… Maybe if a little piece, just so I know if I like it?”

“Well, I’m just gonna try all three myself,” Mert added on his own part, figuring it would be a really enjoyable and fun experience. He carefully petted Asuka on the head, seeing her fins just fluttering delicately a little. He then reached out towards the platter with one hand and took a red, spicy one as well. Making sure the seadra would not fall off while at it, he carefully placed it into his other hand, the one on the arm that was holding her, and used his free hand to tear off a small piece for her to try out.

Asuka, meanwhile, eyed the treat curiously for a second before tentatively poking it with the tip of her snout to feel if it was too hot for her. She touched it a few times, then carefully took it into her muzzle and held it there for a short while before swallowing it. After that she blinked, seeming to contemplate the taste before finally voicing her opinion.

“…Hmm, not bad. I think I kind of like it,” she admitted softly, as her face flushed with excitement. If anything, it appeared to be rather appetizing to her, despite her initial wariness.

“Think you can handle the rest of it?” Mert inquired, noticing her interest. Asuka looked up at him and slowly nodded, blushing more while Mert passed the remaining portion over to her. She slowly felt around it with the tip of her tubular mouth, before finally sucking it up inside, albeit at a slower pace so as to get more of the taste out of it.

“Well, they’re not bad at all!…” the Water-type remarked in satisfaction, looking up at Luey with an expression of approval and appreciation.

Luey gave her a thumbs up, happy that they weren't too much for her. Spicy food was typically rough on water-types but hearing her approval made him happy. "I'm so glad! If you have any ideas or want some, I can always bring you them!" he told her. "Oh! Kyle!" Luey turned to Kyle. "I made these as a special request for someone. I can't tell you who but she said you'd love them and wanted them made for you!"

"Oh?" Kyle hummed. He watched as Luey ran off to the side and grabbed a pink box that was tied with a red ribbon. He took the box and was filled with curiosity. A little card was tucked away. "Is it from someone here?"

"It was! Someone you've not met yet!" he answered. He took a step back and put his hands behind his back. "She said when she gets the courage, you'll know it's her."

"Someone has a secret admirer..." Jay hummed teasingly. Kyle laughed and nodded. "Would you want some more poffins to take with you?" Jay asked Mert curiously.

“Sure, just after I’m done exploring, okay?” Mert responded, figuring the fresher they were, the tastier they would be. He took a pause to consider the exchange about Kyle’s secret admirer. As he remembered, Melody had earlier mentioned that Kyle was not a ‘people person’. So, ruling humans out, it had to be a pokémon, right? What would it feel like having an admirer who was a pokémon? He wondered.

What if he actually had one right here?

And what if he also had one elsewhere?…

Soon Mert figured there would be another time to properly consider such questions. But at least he knew he didn’t feel opposed to the idea itself. He had heard multiple times that a lot more… libidinous relationships between humans and pokémon weren’t that uncommon, and even had got fully legalized in many cities and regions by now. Of course there were also people who were disgusted by the mere thought of it so much that they actively fought against it being practiced altogether, but in the end, it wasn’t the majority’s concern as long as consent and mutual enjoyment were present, at least in most cases…

Slowly, Mert reached for a yellow, savory poffin on the platter and brought it towards Asuka to sample it as well. She noticed him do so and repeated the process, carefully feeling around it with her tubular mouth before taking it in whole, also trying to be slow enough to get a better taste. Her fins shivered lightly as she let out a content coo at how tasty the morsel was.

"Sounds good to me! Was nice--"

"Uhh..." the mewoth's voice said loudly. Luey turned to the sound of it and saw it trying to pipe out some more poffins but it was instead coming out of the top. "I might have packed this wrong..." Luey laughed and turned to the group.

"I gotta go. Nice meeting you!" he said before rushing back over to the meowth to help it with its meal.

"Well, that's Luey for you. Come on, I'll introduce you to other brother, Huey. He's... a bit of a hot tempered pokemon. Please, please, please don't take him serious," explained Duey while walking the group over. Huey was slaving over a hot pan with others working next to him. "Hey, Huey, do you--."

"What? I'm busy. Can you go away?" the red monkey pokemon asked without turning around. "Hey, Dazz, flip that before it burns or else I'll flip you," he grumbled to a marshtomp standing not far away.

"You might not get an interaction out of him..." Jay told Mert. "He means well but he's super focused on cooking. Looks like it might be--."

"Burgers are the main course tonight. Can't go into too many... Dazz!" Huey yelled louder.

"Yeah, on it chef!" yelled back the marshtomp. The food on the grill immediately got flipped, just as requested by the simisear.

Seeing they wouldn't be doing anything with Huey, Duey continued on. "This last station is the prep and service station. This is my forte! I plate, take the calls for food, and get them out the doors," he explained. Compared to the other stations that were hard at work and messy, this one was more clean and tame. It was significantly less chaotic.

"Duey's the most... outspoken of the three so him manning this was a no-brainer. While we have a set menu we change every day, the team will always acommadate special diets and requests," Jay began to explain to Mert. He looked down at Nala, "For example, Kyle's pyroar. She has to be safe with sugar because of a medical condition. Which means..." he trailed off while eyeing her.

"Kyō wa mō yamete…" she mumbled sadly. Kyle laughed and bent down slightly to pet her head reassuringly. She huffed but knew it was for the best. "Do... pokemon you... have diet?" she then asked, looking up to Mert quizzically.

“Thankfully, only basic precautions to ensure that the food isn’t spoiled, is pretty diverse and all that,” Mert responded, looking at the pyroar with a soft, sympathetic smile. “Of course, I’ve been taking them to regular check-ups at a nearby Pokémon Center and the like, and they have been generally healthy all the same. But then… Oh boy,” he added, turning towards Duey, “have I been hearing some frenzied rants from someone lately about people ordering stuff for their pokémon they shouldn’t really been ordering at all, like, especially when that was too obvious from the beginning… Like, an order’s an order, she says, but at the same time she’d never stomach herself being part to compounding someone’s health issues knowingly. Meaning she had to be very inventive with ingredients in such cases, so as to minimize the harm while still trying to cater to their capricious tastes as much as she can. See where I’m getting at?”

He continued petting Asuka as he talked, to which she seemed to appreciate and nestled closer to his touch while keeping a timid eye on their surroundings.

“Like, don’t get me wrong, that’s quite something she naturally enjoys, what with her keen sense of flavors and such — and yet, the whole extra load of responsibility that comes with that is an entirely different matter… I kinda agree with her on that wholeheartedly, and at the same time… Dang, you won’t believe how inflamed the very air around her becomes even before she starts venting on it… Like ionizing flippin’ radiation… I should probably bring a dosimeter next time I visit her,” he explained to the simipour, saying that last part as a joke to lighten the mood. “Oh, and I also forgot to mention that technically she’s a pure Water-type, like you and Asuka, so that’s really something uncharacteristic.” He shifted his glance to the seadra he was holding as he spoke her name, while she in turn looked up at him with a faint spark of curiosity in her eyes.

“I um… Can I have something to drink, please?” Asuka suddenly whispered, apparently a little parched from the recent culinary adventure. “Just clean water could do, nothing too fancy.”

As far as Mert was aware, fully aquatic pokémon such as the Horsea evolutionary line would normally absorb all the moisture they need from the surrounding water. But since he was carrying the creature on land, there was very little moisture in the surroundings if any, so she had to resort to drinking similarly to how land dwellers normally do. And luckily they were at the place where it looked like she could have her thirst easily sated.

“Hey Duey, can I get her a glass of water or something?” said Mert, nodding briefly towards the seadra in his arms. “She’s been out of the pond for a while and is probably dehydrating.”

"Oh goodness, sure!" Duey answered. He quickly ran over to where a bunch of tall, clear glasses were stacked up. He grabbed one and ran it over to where he had all the water filted to have it as clean as possible for the pokemon and poured some for her. He then went back to the group. "I can't imagine what it's like being like your kind on land. I'm lucky to be a water-type that can survive pretty easily out of water," he told her, trying to make small talk. He then held it out to Mert.

"That's pretty much the kitchen. Since yours have no special diets, then everything should be good. I think the only thing left is to talk about your budgeting and a couple little details I need to get you aware of," Jay told Mert. He then faced Kyle who nodded. "Anything else you want to ask the chefs while you're here?" he asked Mert.

The latter meanwhile held the glass for Asuka in such a way that she could easily take sips without spilling too much water, taking into account the shape of her mouth and lack of own hands. Pretty quickly, her thirst got satisfied, and she breathed out with relief as she leaned back slightly against his chest.

“Well, um… Not really- oh, wait,” he cut himself off as he was reminded of something. “Actually, do you guys have any good advice on dealing with tough customers? Like, really tough ones?… It’s not for me, it’s for a friend, the one I mentioned right before to be exact,” he inquired curiously, glancing up from Asuka and towards the three simian pokémon in the kitchen.

"Tell 'em to fuck off!" Huey yelled loudly.

"No, no, don't do that," Duey very quickly said back. He waved his hands to show how serious he was about that. "My best advice is to take into consideration what that customer is going through. They could be having a bad day or say things in a way that's not intended to be meant a certain way."

"You have to just listen, while also being assertive. Be understanding, but not a pushover," Luey now said. "I can't stand complicated and annoying customers but that's just how some are. The sooner you give them what they want, the sooner you can move on."

"All in all, just turn your brain off and ignore the attitudes is the best piece of advice to give," Duey told them.

“Heh, I think I’m more or less getting the picture. Well, good to know. Maybe I can find the right words to pass it along to my friend, see if it helps her out a little bit,” Mert replied, giving a thankful nod to all three chefs. “That reminds me, though. As far as my budget goes, would you prefer to discuss it here or in another place,” he addressed those words to Jay specifically.

"We'd go back to my office. Would you want to grab your pokemon along the way or do you want to leave them? You sound like you have decided they're going to stay but I think getting their own opinions would also be nice. Your call, though," he asked Mert.

“Oh, yeah, I was thinking of checking on them,” Mert stated thoughtfully. “I’m not really seeing any of them getting into any sort of trouble or suddenly feeling like they couldn’t stand being here, though let’s just be sure to ask them anyway.”

Asuka was meanwhile seen almost as if nuzzling him with her snout in a rather cute and somewhat affectionate way. She seemed to have already taken quite a liking to him, for some reason, and her shyness was slowly disappearing in his presence to allow her to get emotionally closer to Mert while also somewhat opening up to interactions in general.

"Okay. I'll be back later to help with dinner," Jay told the three head pokemon of the kitchen. They all waved as they left the kitchen.

"Hey, Kyle? Are you gonna stay a while?" asked Trixie, who had been silent in his arms the entire time.

"I dunno, why?" he asked her.

"Just wanna spend more time with you is all," she said while nuzzling into his arms. Kyle smiled and laughed at her. Soon the group got back to where they'd dropped off Mert's Pokemon earlier.

"Want some privacy to talk to them?" Kyle asked Mert.

“Why not. Gotta hear their opinions without potentially concerning others with them. Even though ‘hear’ might probably not be the right word, in case of Sage and maybe Koto,” he shrugged with an amused chuckle.

Rin was seen rather engaged in a playtime with Isolda and a couple of other pokémon who also lived in the room. Sage just hung around Darius and Miguel instead, listening to their chit-chat, to which they didn’t seem to mind in the slightest. Meanwhile, Koto was found on top of one of the bunk beds, perched on the railing, looking around curiously until he spotted his human companion enter, at which point he immediately hopped off into the air and slowly fluttered over to him. He landed onto Mert’s shoulder, and started rubbing his head gently against his cheek, apparently to show that he missed him.

Mert gestured to his other two pokémon, waiting for them to approach him. “A word?” he asked while facing Rin’s direction, catching her attention. Sage just slowly crawled towards him, having been not very far away from the entrance to begin with.

Soon as his pokémon got near him, he turned his attention to Kyle and asked him, “So, where can we go so we won’t have to worry?”

"Probably Jay's office," Kyle told him. He turned to his friend, who gave a single nod. "I'm gonna go drop off Trixie and meet you back there."

"Aww, do you have to? I wanna spend more time together!" the poochyena exclaimed sadly. Her pointy ears drooped down sadly at hearing him say he was leaving her. Kyle felt sad she said it like that.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure I leave with you happy," he told her. Her ears instantly perked up, where she followed with a loud giggle. "Deal?" he asked her, to which she nodded frantically. Kyle gave a quick wave before saying he'd be back soon again. Jay then motioned to have Mert and his team to follow, where he led them back into the main lobby area of the Daycare. Heading towards the back, there was a room right by the exit of the building where Pokemon could stay outside if they so chose. He opened the door to the room and held it open for Mert and his team of Pokemon.

"This is my office. You can talk in here. I'll wait out here. Take all the time you need," he told him.

“Alright,” Mert started, then shifted his gaze towards Rin, leaning over a little towards the ground she and the other two stood on. “So, how was your time here so far?”

“Good!” the purple rat squeaked enthusiastically. “Met a lot pokémon. They are friendly, playful!”

“Any trouble?” Mert questioned. She shook her head.

“Nope, all good!” she confirmed.

He then turned to Koto. “Now, what about you, little guy. What did you think of the whole experience?”

Koto chirped a couple of times with apparent satisfaction, hopping around a bit as if he wanted to emphasize how enjoyable it had been.

“And you, Sage?” he then asked the skorupi. The creature just made a gesture with a claw and looked sideways for a moment.

“She says she’s good! No problem. No one cause trouble,” Rin translated. Mert chuckled and pat everyone on the heads gently.

“Are you all honest about it?” the young man inquired. “If there’s anything concerning you, I’d really like to hear it out now.”

Rin and Koto both nodded, while Sage simply stared blankly ahead.

“Nothing at all?” Mert raised an eyebrow, as he noticed her still standing perfectly motionless. She gave a slight shrug-like motion with her claws, which then he knew meant she had nothing to tell already without a translation.

“I guess that means everything is settled,” he concluded. Then he returned his attention to Jay and added. “Well, except for one more thing, I presume. About the budget thing we talked about earlier… Let's see, right now I can afford, I think… like four or five grand for the first month or so, without risking running into a situation when I have nothing to cover unexpected expenses with. I mean, it’s probably not much, but if it helps, I expect to be able to afford more at the start of the next month. Depending on how my new job goes, we’ll just have to see,” he gave him an explanation of his situation in a nutshell.

Jay stepped back into his office, Nala and Melody following suit. Once everyone was in, he shut the door behind them all to give them privacy. "So we're going to house three pokemon," he began to say. In his office was a desk he sat at with a computer on it. He reached into a drawer next to him and pulled out a bunch of forms. "With how your budget sounds, I think we could meet on an even ₽50 per pokemon, coming to ₽150 a day. That should be... ₽4,500 a month. This would include everything they could need. Food, emergency visits from Nurse Joy, should the need ever rise, and... well, literally everything else. How would that sound?"

"Matte, Jay, tamago ga okoru ka dō ka ni tsuite kare ni kiite kudasai. Kare wa kidzuku hitsuyō ga aru!" the pyroar exclaimed loudly to Jay. He nodded and chuckled, kind of shocked he forgot about that.

"Good point, Nala. There is also one thing I need to ask about. This is a daycare, and breeding does happen here. Not to say your pokemon are active in such a way, but things happen, especially when we can't keep an eye on the pokemon every second of the day. In the off chance an egg happens with one of your pokemon, what would you like to happen to it? Would you like to keep it or would you prefer to leave it here? Again, not saying your pokemon do that, but I have to just ask to be sure," he asked him next.

“Hmmmm… That’s indeed a good point,” Mert responded thoughtfully. “About the eggs, I think it’s usually a matter of what the pokémon themselves would want to do about it. Although I’d personally prefer to have them reserved for myself too, though I’m not sure I’m gonna have what it takes to help properly nurture a newborn. So what I suggest would be, I’d trust your staff to take care of it, together with its parent, and once the maintenance becomes easier, I might take them both in then. How’s that sound?”

Meanwhile he could almost swear the seadra he’d been holding in his arms was starting to blush and get a little tense again. It could be that the topic was uncomfortable for Asuka, but it also could be that she was having a… different kind of thought on the matter, at least judging by the way she kept averting her gaze.

Jay looked at Melody and Nala to see how they felt. He took a deep breath and thought for a moment where he then saw the two nod that it was okay. "Yeah, I suppose we can do that. Normally we would have to have it one way or another as we have to register the eggs with the Hoenn Pokemon League and that pokemon needs to stay with someone, which means we typically keep them here until they're adopted but... I suppose this is realistically the same thing."

"And again, it's all hypothetical! We actually see less eggs here than the daycare that's by Verdanturf!" Melody told Mert.

"Osoraku, pokemon wa ningen yori mo ningen to issho ni neru koto ga ōikaradeshou..." Nala said with a playful giggle.

"Hey..." Jay said to Nala who only grinned wider. "Anyways, yeah, we should be fine with that. If it ever was to happen, we'll contact you immediately and provide them with the best care we can. Our sponsor is extremely generous when it comes to pokemon health and safety. So you don't have to worry about that. Now about your budget. Would ₽4,500 a month be fine for all three? We can do a payment plan, all upfront, or at the end of the month. However you'd like."

“I’d say I’m okay with paying half of it upfront now, and another half in two weeks,” Mert suggested, after making sure he didn’t have anything else to add on the issue of the eggs. “I don’t really like leaving a negative balance anywhere, it just makes me a tad nervous for some reason, which isn’t really good in the long run. Also, do you accept cards here? I mean, I can go to a nearby ATM quickly, if you’d prefer the good ol’ cash instead."

"That totally works fine! so long as you're at least communicating if you're going to be late on a payment, we have no issues. Again, I want to emphasize how important it is to us to work with the trainers who bring in their pokemon. We can definitely take card, check, cash, I even think we take crypto now?" he mumbled. He then shrugged, unsure of the last one. He then slid over the forms which just asked for the information about Mert, like his name, age, trainer ID number, and the likes, as well as all the information about his pokemon he'd be leaving. "Just fill these out and then we'll be good to go!"

“Ah, sure thing,” Mert acknowledged, taking the blank forms and the pen he was handed. He paused for a moment to read through them before proceeding to write down the required information. While filling them, he could feel Asuka adjusting herself against him slightly, as if she was growing a bit impatient with having to hold herself still in the same position.

“There, done,” he announced, handing back the paper with the filled sections. He then reached for his pocket and took out his wallet, where his plastic cards were, including the debit card to make the payment with.

Jay took the forms and gave them a quick look over. Everything was in order. He then took the card from Mert and wrote down the information before he charged the half amount like discussed. He then passed it back to Mert and smiled brightly. "There we go, all set! Your pokemon are officially staying with us! Whenever you're ready to come take them back or if you want to take them for the day, you can contact me or Kyle. Nala mentioned you found us on Lookout so you can get ahold of us there. Alternatively you can get ahold of us through our private numbers here," he told him as he slipped Mert a business card. It had all the contact information for both Kyle and Mert." Is there anything else we can do for you?"

“Well…” Mert replied thoughtfully, giving the seadra in his arms a brief glance. “How do you feel, Asuka? I’ve been carrying you around for a while now, so if you’re starting to feel fatigued, I’ll understand,” he addressed her then.

“Umm…” the creature looked up at him, seeming a bit surprised at the mention of her name, before quickly glancing aside and answering, “Maybe a little tired. Just not used to staying out of water, really. Don’t worry about me.”

“Would you prefer to take a rest back in the pond, or you’d like to stay with me here for a little longer?” he then inquired, wanting to give her a choice.

“I dunno really… I guess I could use a rest,” the seadra admitted softly, feeling a little bit overwhelmed with all the changes she was going through in just a short period of time. “Though I… I also wish we could spend more time together like this, away from prying eyes…” she added in a shy, slightly flustered tone. She looked like she was still having something in mind, something she couldn’t get entirely comfortable voicing.

"How about this then, I plan to visit the daycare again in a few days, and once I do, I’ll meet you then,” he offered in a reassuring and inviting tone. Asuka blinked, clearly not expecting such a response from him, and then slowly began nodding in agreement as her blush grew more pronounced. Meanwhile Mert continued, “I’m sure something can be arranged to make it more comfortable and less draining for you the next time. Sound good?”

“…It does,” the aquatic pokémon confirmed, relaxing visibly in his embrace at the thought. “Just please, don’t forget about me. ’Cause I’ll be waiting…” She seemed to finally find the courage to stare him directly in the eyes with intent. It was clear that she was becoming attached to him already, even after only a short time.

“Alright,” Mert acknowledged, then shifted his focus back onto Jay. “Onto the topic of contacts. Kyle also mentioned you would appreciate a nice online review, so I thought — how about I take some pictures on the inside and outside for it, on the way as I bring Asuka back to her pond?” he asked him. “I reckon nothing beats a proper showcasing, won’t you all agree on that?”

"Sure! That would be lovely!" Jay exclaimed happily. He got up from his desk and headed to the door where he opened it for them. On the other side was Kyle, who stood patiently while everything was finished. Upon seeing him, Nala quickly ran over to him and leaned her leg into his thigh affectionately.

"Torikushī wa dōdesu ka? Kanojo no kibun wa yoku narimashita ka?" the pyroar asked him with curiosity in her voice.

"She's doing good now. I'll probably have to check on her again later but we'll see when the time comes," he answered. He looked up just in time to see Melody run up, jump up on Nala's back, then leap to Kyle, who caught her with reflexes he didn't know he had. She instantly ran up his arm and took her place on his shoulders.

"Oh, hey again," Jay said to Kyle. The two shook hands. "You're free to explore. I've got some work to do since your Pokémon are here now so how about you explore on your own and Kyle can walk with you?"

"What's going on?" Kyle asked curiously.

"He just wants to get some pictures along the way while dropping his new friend off," Jay explained.

"Oh! Yeah, sure, I can walk with you. I'll follow you," he told Mert.

Meanwhile the latter was seen saying goodbyes to his pokémon, as they all nuzzled into him one last time before they separated ways for now. Asuka meanwhile still remained in his embrace, as her destination was on the way back. Mert took his phone into a free hand, tapping on the screen as he was preparing the camera app. “Guess we’re gonna see each other pretty soon,” he said as he waved at Jay as well the pokémon he was leaving now in his care, before making his way towards the bedroom one more time.

“Hey guys, would you mind if I took a picture of you?” Mert asked the scrafty and the jolteon, who were still remaining in the room.

“Not at all, fam!” Miguel exclaimed. “If you need a pose or anything, just say it. Darius and I can come up with something.”

“Nah, it’s cool. Just pretend I’m not here and you’re doing your thing," Mert laughed. He directed the camera to the two of them, adjusting the angle in his hand as he snapped the shot. It was clear the two of them had a unique friendship and bond, the kind of which he figured one could only have from early childhood. It kind of warmed his heart.

After having made enough of pictures of the bedroom’s interior and its inhabitants, he headed out outside with Asuka still in his arms, ready to make some of the outer areas as well. He didn’t take too many photos, though, not wanting to take up too much of everybody’s time and keeping them away from their playtime and other activities.

Once he was finally next to the pond, he knelt by the edge, carefully holding onto the seadra he’d been carrying all this time. He couldn’t help but feel a slight pang of sadness in his chest at having to part ways with the little creature for now.

“Well... Guess this is where I let you off, Asuka,” he mused, not sounding particularly excited either, as he gently lowered her into the water. He watched as her body submerged slowly, until she had completely sunken under, her back fins being the last thing to be seen passing through the surface. As he did, he recognized the buizel, Vess, watching the whole thing with an understanding smile. Something told him that she wasn’t going to bother Asuka with any questions about what happened, at least for the time being…

Mert then made sure to wave farewell to the seadra, noticing her face looking up to watch him from below, its appearance slightly distorted by the little waves on the surface, before he slowly walked away and out of her sight.

“Okay, let's see…” he then spoke out, glancing for a moment towards Kyle who was following him, and then opened the Town Maps app, finding the daycare on the map, and started typing a review on the go…

Now this is exactly the kind of place I was looking for, one that offers genuine, personal service, quality food and a warm, welcoming atmosphere. All that without compromising the basic necessities needed for the happiness of the pokémon they care for. I should also mention they’re flexible with rates and payments for those who may be short on cash, making them the perfect option for trainers starting out or otherwise financially struggling. Great job, guys!​

With that, he attached the photos he had made earlier and submitted his comment. Then he copied the text and opened the Lookout app, finding Jay’s account by the #Daycare tag, and submitted the same review to his tag ratings.

Afterwards Mert opened Kyle’s account, however before he would have begun writing a new review, he noticed that several tags were shown on Kyle’s page despite Mert himself not having matching ones. Which meant one had to specifically enable them to be viewable regardless of the match. Among those was one tag marked with a thick red border, which he knew meant it was an adult-only tag, likely a ‘not safe for work’ one. It just said #ATP, so he couldn’t tell what it was supposed to imply yet. He took a pause, as the curiosity got the better of him, and decided to tap on it and check its description…

ATP — The Regional Home of Everyone Attracted to Pokémon. Now on Lookout!​

As the actual meaning behind those words settled in, Mert suddenly stopped in place and blinked a few times, then wiped his forehead with his forearm as he stared at the screen with a skeptical but intrigued look. Did that mean Kyle actually…?

“Hey, um… I’ve got a… question, of sorts. Are you actually being open about things like this?” he inquired as he turned towards Kyle, showing him the screen with the tag’s description and feed page. “’Cause that’s certainly a first, from where I’m standing.”

Kyle leaned in to look at what Mert was talking about. There he saw one of the tags that definitely stuck out more than the others. Kyle pulled away but nodded nonetheless. "Yes, I'm very open about it. I've been this way for a long, long, long time... truthfully, since I was born, I think," he admitted. He looked up at Melody who nuzzled into him and then to Nala, who did the same as her pikachu friend. "I hope that doesn't change your view of me or of the daycare."

“I’m seeing you’re being sincere about things. Including towards your own pokémon,” Mert responded, observing Melody and Nala’s reactions. “Funny thing is, if someone less considerate and mutually affectionate with their pokémon was highlighting such an interest, and they also suggested me to bring my own pokémon somewhere, I might’ve thought they likely were some sort of creep trying to lure them in just for their own ulterior motives. But not with you. You seem to truly have their best interests at heart, and you genuinely care for them too. I’ll honestly admit it’s kind of refreshing to know this much about the extent of your affection, actually.”

He paused for a moment, before adding, “I’m curious though. Has anyone who has left their pokémon in the daycare, and then learned about this interest of yours, returned and withdrawn them immediately? I suppose it might be a somewhat common reaction to this, or am I wrong?”

"Um..." Kyle paused and thought intently. He couldn't lie but had this actually happened? He sighed before inevitably nodding. "Yeah, only one time though. It was this cute vulpix..." he answered. He tried to keep going but struggled.

"This guy dropped off a vulpix," Melody began to say for Kyle. He looked up at her thankfully. "The trainer knew breeding typically happened at daycares so he wanted to put his girl in here to... You know, get an egg and add a mystery Pokémon to his team. The only problem was how hard Kyle and her hit it off. She's always been into humans, never Pokémon. Kyle the opposite - always Pokémon and not humans. He gave it two weeks and during that time, Kyle and her grew like... In love. Rapidly. The trainer found out a week in by random chance and pulled her out."

"I miss her so much. I'm scared to think of where she is now. But yes, that's the only time it's personally happened with me..." he finally finished explaining.

“I… I think I can imagine how that must’ve stung in the heart, for the both of you,” Mert commiserated sympathetically, looking down for a moment. “Especially with you not knowing what happened to her afterwards, like, how her life had changed and all that… At least I’ve heard self-sufficient pokémon would have it easier, what with being able to challenge their trainers’ custody rights or whatever. Can’t say for certain though, I’m not really a lawyer. I just wish you the best of luck with everything going forward.”

"Thanks... I'd give anything to see her again just to know she's at least safe..." he mumbled quietly. HE then sighed and shook his head. "The best I can do is hope. I can't actively seek her trainer out and ask to work something out with him and I so her and I can be together. That's... you know, kind of illegal. So I have to hope I run into her or him. Until then, all I can do is hope. He was about halfway into his journey so he will probably pass by at some point."

"Until that day, he's stuck with Nala and I," Melody said aloud.

"And he Trixie now!" Nala also said.

"Exactly! That poochyena from earlier that he had to vanish with a few times?" Melody began to tell him. "Same exact situation as that vulpix, just Trixie is obsessed with Kyle. Her trainer knew how she was and put her here to see who she'd bond with. Guess we found who, huh?"

“Oh, I totally see it now!” he exclaimed, slapping himself lightly on the forehead for not noticing it sooner. “Well, I did notice that she looked pretty ecstatic around you, but I thought it was just the way she was normally… Good to know that at least some trainers are pretty open-minded to see their pokémon’s true needs for what they are.”

He paused for a moment before turning his attention back to the Lookout feed of the #ATP tag Kyle had a subscription to showing up in his profile.

“So, I’m seeing like, tens… no, heck, even hundreds of profiles within a half mile radius area… And two thirds of them seem to belong to pokémon, curiously enough…” Mert stated as he scrolled through the list, eyeing through the profile cards and pics of the people and pokémon on display. “Heck, it seems there’ve even been some events centered around this interest… The rabbit hole runs deep here, I’d say,” he added in a soft mutter, a little impressed. “You know, it feels almost like, browsing the darknet, but at the same time unlike drugs and stuff it’s pretty legitimate. Guess I can see why such activity still needs to be hidden from wider public, huh.”

"It's to protect everyone," Melody told Mert with a heavy sigh following after. Her little head shook side to side because of it.

"It's all legal. Pokephilia has been legal for a while but that doesn't mean it's accepted by everyone. A lot are accepting, but they just stay silent for obvious reasons. Thankfully we've never been threatened or anything at the daycare but it's still a safety precaution," Kyle explained as well. He looked around at the Pokémon and couldn't help but smile. They looked so happy as they all played with each other, as well as with the staff of the daycare. "You can't look at this and tell me the Pokémon hate it. They're amazing creatures and want to be loved by us so badly."

"And it's never forced. If you want me to be as real as can be--."

"Kyōmi o shimesu koto ga ōi no wa watashitachidesu!" exclaimed Nala. Her smile was huge to show just how happy she was to be able to be open when around Mert.

"Exactly!" Melody said next. "Basically she said it's the Pokémon who show interest way before humans. You don't seem to hate the idea, so in the most polite way I would like to ask, are you curious about it? Or do you have a Pokémon you're already interested in?"

 

[NestorAjax]

“Well… to be honest, I might be a bit curious probably. Like, in a way that can be summed up as ‘you won’t know unless you try it’ and all. But then… I can’t really see myself just approaching a pokémon and making some sort of advance, honestly, even if she looked very interested,” Mert admitted with a slightly embarrassed shrug. “I mean, it’s simply not something I’m conditioned to be casual about. Even though I could possibly end up enjoying it in the end if it did happen somehow, who knows…”

He paused for a moment, his glance shifting towards Kyle and then back to Melody, as he was getting a feeling that she might have a clue regarding this.

“And as of a specific pokémon, well…” he then continued, “Can’t really say I’m seriously interested in pursuing that, but… just between us, perhaps I happen to know one I might be quite open to exploring things with a bit. She just has this sort of charisma, you could say, which I can’t quite explain… Then again, I have no idea if she really is that way herself. She did seem pretty happy every time she saw me, though, and sometimes I’m not entirely sure if it’s just her way of being friendly or if there’s a little more to it… Like, some of her interactions, when it’s right impossible to say whether she’s being just casually impish or actually flirty towards me…”

Melody, Kyle, and Nala all looked at each other. It was like they were on the same wave length. They all knew what the other was thinking. Together they nodded then turned back to Mert. "I have to make a guess, based on what I saw today. Was it Asuka? I wouldn't entirely be surprised. She seemed to really open up with you. I've tried to get close to her but she hasn't been interested. So she'd be my guess who. Or is it another you know?"

“Actually, it’s another one I’ve known for two or three months now,” Mert began explaining in response. “I haven’t really thought much about Asuka in that way so far, to be honest. I’m not even sure if me and her would even be compatible, at least from the physical perspective. Although I probably wouldn’t be surprised if she wanted to try something out with me. I did see how she was looking at me, so I’d say it’s pretty plausible to imagine her having a thing for me like that… But also no, I wouldn’t really call her actions ‘impish’, even though she does also seem to have her own brand of charisma,” he added with a brief laugh, as he got a bit flustered at the thought.

Kyle nodded. He felt kind of bad as that wasn't really his business to ask, but he couldn't help his curiosity. HE was thankful that Mert didn't take it in a bad way. "Understandable. At least you're not opposed to the idea. Also, I think I should emphasize that the daycare isn't around so we can sleep with the pokemon. In all actuality, most of the staff don't even do that. Just me and a couple others, but only if the Pokemon asks... usually."

"Yeah, don't you dare forget about Kiki..." Melody said with a playful giggle and grin. Kyle chuckled and nodded.

"Trust me, I'll never forget her."

"You want her to come back, don't you?" she asked him while gently poking him in the cheek with one of her fingers. She knew how much he was into this pokemon and loved to tease him about it.

"So, Mert, more of me being curious. Do you mind if I ask what species the pokemon is?" Kyle asked, completely ignoring the laughing and giggling pikachu on his shoulders.

“Well, she’s a dewott,” Mert answered hesitantly, but willing to share with them, given that he was becoming more comfortable with their own openness. “I met her on a jumping tower at the seashore, not far from the docks here in Slateport. She basically helped me get over my fear of heights somewhat, and we had plenty of fun jumping into the water together.” He paused as he looked around, as if wanting to make sure no one was eavesdropping. “Then I learned she could also cook. Very well, I must add. So she was usually at a sushi spot during working hours, and soon she started inviting me to free dinners she’d be treating me to. I hesitated at first, though I saw she wasn’t very happy with me not coming over, so I ended up giving in after all, and… Well, it turned out to be a great time. At least when she wasn’t venting about customers being dumb and such… Or maybe even when she was. I’d say there was something kinda adorable about her making those very passionate speeches, too…”

"Aww, that's so sweet! And she's cooking you free food? Sounds to me like you've got a keeper in the future!" Melody said jokingly to him.

"Anata ga kanojo to kekkon shinainara, watashi wa kanojo no tame ni watashinootoko o nokosanakereba naranai kamo shiremasen!" Nala also yelled out loudly. She leaned even more into Kyle after saying that, who just rolled his eyes in response.

"Whatever. I cook you food all the time..." he said with a grumble. "It's good you've got something you can bond over, though. And, to me, it sounded like you might be a little interested in her, regardless of her being a dewott. Perhaps you should ask her to hang out sometime when she's not working! Go and out and do something!"

"Oh! Me idea!" Nala said so Mert could also understand. "You ask friend and double date us go?" she suggested to Mert.

"That's a great idea! A double date with someone who's already open about that could relieve a lot of potential tension you may have!"

“Ummmm…” Mert mumbled as he considered their words. “You know, I’m not really ready to tell her I wanted to invite her to a date specifically. It’d just feel too awkward to me then, regardless of how she responds to that… Maybe I’d ask her to hang out, but not explicitly mention the ‘dating’ part, just that I’d bring along some friends, and if she asks, I’ll mention then that they’re a couple?… So if that would be alright with you, then that might just work, I guess.”

"Yeah, sure! That's completely fine! Kyle, would you be okay with that?" Melody asked Kyle hopefully. She paused and thought for a second before smiling widely. "Maybe you could ask Trixie?" she suggested.

Kyle hummed and thought. They had a point. Trixie would really like that, and it could help Mert with how he may feel. "Yeah, sure, I could do that. As long as you give me a date and time, I could talk to Trixie and see if she'd be down... which she probably would be..."

“Well, I’m thinking tonight, about 8 or 9 p.m. or so?” Mert asked them. He was still feeling a little nervous, but overall hopeful as well. “I think my friend at least should be available by then, too. I could call her now to confirm, but she’s probably busy now, work hours and all that… How about I send her a message, and then I let you know later, once she has a break or whatever to check it out, so we all can agree on the details?”

"Yeah, sure, that's fine. I doubt I'll have to convince Trixie," he said with a chuckle.

"Trixie asking weeks now you!" Nala yelled at him. Kyle nodded once again.

"You're right, she has been... Anyways yeah Mert, whenever you're free. I'm always available! Just let me know!" he told him.

“Oh, for sure. Just a second…” Mert began replying, taking his phone back out, opening Kyle’s Lookout page and finding the linked Chatter account there.

“I’ve sent you a request on Chatter, mind adding me as a contact?” he asked him. After a second or two, he looked at him and added, “Oh, and what about the place for this? I mean, that sushi place could also work, it’d even be all more convenient for my friend, actually. The only downside is, I don’t know what their policy on public shows of affection is like. Say, I haven’t ever seen humans kissing with pokémon there, or in almost every other place I’ve been to, for that matter. So if it’s your kinda thing, maybe it’d be best to pick a different one? What do you think?”

"The thing is is that PDA towards Pokémon is legal. It's not illegal to be that way anymore. I don't hide how I feel. If people have an issue they can talk to me or get over it," Kyle told Mert seriously. For his whole life he struggled with those feelings and now was the time he was allowed to be open, and nothing was stopping that. "I'm sure the place she works would be great, but don't you think she may want to get away from it? I don't know about her but I like being able to separate my personal life with my work life. But otherwise, I don't have a suggestion. I always eat here or another place but I don't think that's... A good idea for a first date."

" Or even a date in general," Melody said with a mischievous giggle.

“That’s quite a good point, actually,” Mert admitted, as he’d never really thought of that. “Also, PDA is legal, sure, and so is a private establishment’s right to refuse service to folks they don’t like, usually. I’m just saying, I haven’t really seen anyone kicking somebody away over this particular reason, but theoretically… I just believe it’d be best to avoid the possibility of such issues.” He then gave them a bit of a reassuring smile and added, “Anyway, how about we look up some place which is nice enough, and is openly inclusive towards our kind of… populace, you might say?”

Kyle thought intently on the best places to offer. But nothing came to mind. "I mean, if you're really wanting privacy and acceptance, there's no better place than cooking a meal yourself. We could always eat at the Daycare, since they're the most accepting for where you are with your curiosity."

“Well, if you believe it’d be a suitable place for this sorta thing we’re discussing, then sure, I’m not against it at all,” Mert responded as he was starting to sound a bit more optimistic. “I can see my friend being pretty curious, too, though I feel I should point out that she does have a strong preference for seafood dishes, if those would be available there. Which I suppose she’d probably have to, given her species and all…”

He then looked up thoughtfully as he pondered one more detail, adding, “Oh, also, if things do end up taking a more, um, frisky turn afterwards… Would they have a separate room ready and available for that? Or maybe there’s a love hotel or something I can book for me and her nearby?… Really wouldn’t wanna be hanging in that traffic jam on the way back to my place, all while the mood fades away, won’t you think?”

"Jay is extremely accomadating when it comes to this kind of thing. Huey, Duey, and Luey would also love to cook a special meal for the occasion. So yeah, the daycare works out for it!" Kyle told him enthusiastically.

"Though that second part I'm not so sure," Melody said with a lot less enthusiam.

"I do agree," Kyle nodded, "that the daycare might not be the best place if things were to turn a bit... physical."

"What about the convention?" Melody suggested. Kyle was very hesitant on suggesting such a thing.

"I mean... that's probably the absolute most accepting spot he could go..." he admitted. Kyle took a deep breath then faced him. "There's a convention that's always ongoing for people like me, and possibly you, that's... much more... adult themed. Meaning, sex happens between pokemon and humans. It's kind of like anonymous hook-up sex... usually. People from all over come to it."

"Heh, get it? Come!" Melody giggled innocently.

"Shut up, Melody," Nala grumbled, with that being one of her best English-speaking sentences. Fitting it would be to tell her friend to be quiet. The pikachu just giggled harder.

"There's always rooms available as long as someone can refer you. And I'd get you for that. I have my own room there so you're free to use mine if that happened, though I'd very strongly personally recommend against that. I don't think it'd be good for a first look into the pokephilia world and could very easily scare you away," Kyle explained to him. He took one more deep breath. "Again, if you do need it though, I got you."

“Noted, will keep that in mind,” Mert replied, sounding quite appreciative of Kyle’s and his pokémon’s effort to accommodate him. “In any case, I suppose we’re pretty much all set, all that remains is for me to message my friend and see if she’s down for hanging out tonight.”

He then remembered one last thing, however, and added, “Oh, I forgot to ask, but are we going to pick her up together? I mean, I could do that myself, too, but that’d probably make for a better impression to show up with friends right from the go. And I haven’t really invited her pretty much anywhere before, so she’s probably gonna be rather curious about what I’m having in mind and start asking questions and such, and that just wouldn’t be easy for me… I’m hoping it’s understandable.”

"Yeah, sure, I don't mind driving us all," Kyle said with a confirming nod. "The only thing I'd need from you is a location to pick you up from and then a time and I'll be ready. I get how awkward it can be when you're first getting into a relationship but I personally think that those are the best times in the relationship. You make so many memories during that time."

"Kyle almost peed himself the first time he kissed Nala, fun fact!" Melody told him.

"You told her?!" Kyle yelled at the pyroar. She looked away, trying to hide her expression which was her trying to not giggle. "Of course you fucking did. Ugh. Scratch that Mert, most are good memories..."

Mert tried hard to hide his amusement, yet the corners of his lips still curved upward slightly at the revelation. “Hey, that’s a fair one. Honestly, I can’t say I’m not a little anxious myself,” he confessed, with a somewhat bashful shrug. “But anyway, that’d be perfect. Lemme message her now, then I’ll forward you the info you need for the time and place. Just a few moments…”

With that said, he picked his phone again, opened the Chatter app, swiped through several profiles before finding the right one, and started typing messages:

Hey, whaddya think of hanging out later this evening?

I just met some new friends, they're picking me up, and you as well if you like​

Having done that, he showed the screen to Kyle, so he could read the texts as well. “That alright? I figured that’d be more casual, and I hope it doesn’t sound weirdly pushy or anything like that…”

On the screen Kyle could see the contact name being Hana, and the avatar showing a head closeup of a dewott facing directly leftwards from the viewer, having a side braid of sorts going backwards and right above its black ear, with the hairs being locked into beads of an intense scarlet shade closer to their roots. Overall its fur had that indigo hue which went closer to violet towards the edges of its silhouette, quite matching the peculiar coloration of its irises, or rather the iris of the eye on the shown side, with a lively, somewhat kindled look towards the direction it is facing. One could say that it was quite an energetic yet also flexible critter, based on the style and expression, as well as something less describable about its aura. A photo done with virtually no tension, just in a natural flow, to sum it up.

"Hey, Mert, you need to relax," Melody told him. She jumped from Kyle's grasp and stood in front of her new friend. "It's fine to be nervous but you don't need to be so worried. I'm sure she'll think you're doing fine. All you did is ask if she wanted to come hang out. It's not like you're asking for pictures of her p--."

"He gets it, Mel'," Kyle interrupted the pikachu. He swiftly bent down and picked her back up before covering her mouth. "But she is right. You just asked to hang out. I'm sure, more than anything, she'll be happy you thought of her. Pokemon are a lot more receptive to advances, even if it's just a friendly hello. So yeah, you did fine. And she's really unique looking for a pokemon. Not too many go as far as she does to stand out. I see why you may have an interest in her!"

“Sure, sure, I get it,” Mert answered, looking alternately at Kyle and the pokémon accompanying him, albeit still sounding a bit tense. “I guess now we’ll just see how it goes. Worst case, I suppose, she’d just tell me directly that she isn’t interested, and then I’d have no reason to feel this awkward anymore. I mean, remaining just friends is fine by me too, you know. And I might try my luck elsewhere someday… Um, probably wouldn’t go so far as trying the convention thing you mentioned straight away just yet, but who knows…”

He looked down at his phone, seeing the messages hadn’t been answered yet. Then he opened the calendar app he had there, and checked a couple events he had noted down for the meantime.

“Anyway, I’m gonna have a conference call in, like, fifty minutes or so from now, and I gotta be by my computer to share my screen as it goes, so… think I’d better start heading back home, just to be prepared,” he said as he got his thoughts together. “I’ll let you know when I get her reply, whether it’s a go or a no go. Please keep in touch so we can arrange everything properly in time, yeah?”

"Yeah, will do. I've always got my phone around for... you know, obvious reason," he said, nodding to the daycare with a little chuckle. "Whenever you find something out, let me know. I'll plan around it happening, but if things fall through, still do let me know. You can always come back to hang out as well, if you'd like."

"We'd always love your company! Not just me or Nala or whatever, but us pokemon here in general!" Melody said next.

“Oh right, I remember seeing it first hand with how Asuka got like around me. That was quite an interaction, really,” Mert mused, feeling a bit calmer as he looked back on the memory. “And since I promised to visit her in a few days, perhaps something’s gonna come out of it, too. Who knows really, but I’m not giving up the thought, yet… Okay, I’m gonna bounce then, thanks again, guys! Take care, and hope to see you soon!” he then concluded before giving them a warm smile and waving at them, and then started to walk away.

⁂​

About two hours later, Kyle would receive a few messages from Mert, saying:

Hey Kyle, Hana's just called me, she seems super excited about the idea

I almost heard her squeal when she went like, "yis ohmygosh-ohmygosh!" can you believe it

So yeah, I guess it's a go then

Lemme send you my coordinates as well as hers, she's gonna be waiting there at 8 pm as I said​

Below the last message followed an attachment with his own coordinates marked on a map app, and a second one following it with Hana’s. It would seem that things were finally coming together…

"Mel'!" Kyle yelled loudly. Music boomed in the room he was in. Pokemon of all kinds danced and sang to the song a little pichu was playing from the television in front of them. One of the pokemon poked its head up from the crowd and turned to Kyle. "Go get Trixie!"

Melody jumped over the crowd of singing pokemon and landed gracefully in front of Kyle. Even while focused on him, she still bounced to the music where she stood. "God DJ is so talented. I can't believe we forgot to introduce Mert to him! Maybe another time, huh?"

"Yeah, your brother is. Anyways, can you go get Trixie for me?"

"Is the date happening?" she asked him. He gave a singular nod. The little pikachu's eyes lit up excitedly. "Oh my gosh! Wait, did you even ask her?"

"Nope. You know I wouldn't need to. Just go tell her I wanna go on a date with her and some friends. You know--."

"She'll fucking cry. Got it. How long till you go?"

"Well soon. We're having it here, remember? So I just have to go pick up the other two. She'll want to go so... just tell her get ready. Him and I will figure out exacts."

"Got it! I'll go get her now!" she said before dashing off from the room.

As soon as Mert received an acknowledgement from Kyle, a brief text conversation ensued, with the final arrangement being for Kyle to pick him up around half past seven, to leave enough time to arrive to Hana’s place by eight.

⁂​

At quarter past seven, Mert headed outside of his apartment, looking fairly well dressed for the occasion with a clean shirt, freshly washed hair and face, and even a nice wristwatch he rarely wore. He brought a small bottle of drinking water with him as well, figuring it would be nice to have a short stroll outside and catch a breath of fresh outdoor air before his scheduled pick-up would arrive.

He walked several circuits along the sidewalk, passing by the occasional passerby, petting the neighborhood’s pokémon whenever he saw one hanging outside, and taking little sips of water every now and then, until he received a notification from his calendar app about five minutes remaining till the scheduled time, at which point he headed back towards the agreed upon spot, where he then took a seat on a bench and began waiting, taking note of the cars passing by…

Kyle had his eyes glued on the road. It was hard to just because of Trixie constantly wanting physical contact from him but she had to contain herself. She knew she'd get all she wanted when the group all got back to the daycare. She looked up with eyes that showed just how attracted she was to this specific human. Her paw gently sat on his leg as she sat in the sext right next to him. "You know this is dangerous, yeah?"

"Don't care. It's not illegal and I love it so much!" she told him while not looking away. Kyle rolled his eyes.

"I know you don't care..." he chuckled. He kept looking for the apartment complex that Mert describe in the message. Finally he found them. Turning into the entrance, he kept an eye on where he was going. The complex had to be more than five stories up.

"So he's new to dating pokemon?" asked the poochyena with curiosity in her voice. She cralwed beneath his arm and put her front paws on the wheel as gently as she could so she could see out and help look for Kyle's friend.

"He is. This is his first date. So no talking about sex!"

"But you're so good at it and I like when we--."

"Trixie..."

"Okay, okay, I promise. I won't this time. But next?" she giggled innocently. Kyle sighed and rolled his eyes once more before patting her on the top of the head. Soon he finally saw his friend who was standing patiently on the sidewalk. Kyle pulled over and rolled down the passenger window and waved to his friend.

"Hey Mert!"

The young man stood up from the bench as soon as he heard his name, looking towards the sound and identifying his ride in a matter of seconds. He gave them a little wave and headed along the sidewalk towards the car, greeting Kyle and then Trixie as he slid into the rear compartment, putting his seatbelt on as he got comfortable there.

“So, you got here alright? No problems with traffic or anything?” he inquired, taking a sip from the bottle he carried. Assuming now they wouldn’t get into a jam on the way to Hana, he figured, they should get there on time, perhaps even somewhat earlier, if they were lucky.

With Mert in the car, Kyle began to drive off. He periodically had to glance over to his GPS to see exactly where they were going. "Nah, nothing to complain about. We'll, except how you won't get out of my lap while I drive!" he yelled at Trixie. She looked up at him and sat down but had a huge smile on her face.

"Because we're fine! If it was as big an issue as you make it out to be, it'd be illegal!"

"What if we get hit, huh? Then what?" he asked her.

"You'll protect me! You've got muscles. I'll be fine!" she giggled. She looked up a second time and saw him roll his eyes. "Okay, okay... I get you're really concerned. Do you want me to actually move over to the other seat?"

"And buckle in, yes, I really do. I don't want you getting hurt. You and I both know you'll sit in my lap when we get there anyways..."

"Will you still hold my paw if I do?" she asked him hopefully.

"Of course I will." Trixie got up and jumped over to the seat next to Kyle. It was weird and a bit uncomfortable but she strapped herself into the seat, just to see him happy. As part of his deal, he reached over and gently grabbed her paw with his hand. "Thank you... So, how you feeling, Mert? Nervous at all?" he asked him.

“A little, but it’s kinda easing away, bit by bit,” Mert answered, visibly relaxing a bit more at Kyle’s reassurance. “What’s the plan, though? We go pick up Hana and get to the daycare, and then, um, how do we go about this whole thing?” He paused for a second as he tried to imagine the scenario in his mind. “I mean, like, just friendly hanging out is one thing. But uh… Imagine if she’s got the message across and is already having some expectations on myself and the thing we’ve planned at large? Don’t get me wrong, I’m certain you’ve prepared everything properly, I just wanna be sure I’ll manage to play along is all.”

"Trixie? Can you?" Kyle asked her while focusing on the GPS and road simultaneously. The poochyena nodded ecstatically. Though difficult because of the seat belt, she turned around the best she could and smiled widely at Mert.

"Hey! I haven't met you yet but Kyle's told me a bit about you! My name's Trixie! A little about me is I'll beat your ass and dick at the same time! I can be the most girly girl out there and the most guy-acting guy you will know. Depends how you are as a person!" she told him.

"You have literally no filter, either."

"Nope! So Kyle tells me this is your first date with a Pokémon, right?" she asked Mert.

“Yep, that’s right on the money,” Mert nodded, now looking forward to the conversation as well. “Got any tips on, you know, making the move when the time is right? Like, without being pushy or whatever? Because I’m kinda expecting her to have understood everything from the get go, but instead act all teasy and make me squirm with her antics while I have no clue which responses would even be appropriate…”

"Oh I've got plenty of tips for you! But right now, I think only a few are important," she told him. She went serious because she knew that this wasn't a time to joke. She could tell he was nervous and wanted to reassure him it'd all be fine. "First, don't go and expect to get lucky. This is a first date. If that is what you were after, I hope you specified that kind of interest in her before, whoever she is. Because if you're coming here as a romantic and partner-seeking date, like I am with Kyle, then you need to stick to that. Obviously whatever happens, happens, but if you're here for an actual date, stick to that. I need to ask now, we're you going on this date with that in mind that it'd happen?"

“I mean, that’d really be preferable. Would make a lot of things easier for me, if anything,” he responded with a small shrug. “I dunno, I suppose it all depends on what kind of ideas she might be having, however. And lemme tell you, she does have some interesting sense of humor when it comes to sticky situations… But yeah, I haven't told her anything, just that I found some nice and cool friends, and we’re gonna check out some particular spot of interest and chill out. Because I’d rather it not sound too assumptive or anything, seeing as there’s also the possibility that she isn’t really interested in all the other aspects, if she genuinely expects just a hang out and that’s all. Still though, why would in that case she react like she did, then…”

"You don't know what she wants until it happens. And the most important thing to remember is to always set your boundaries. It you're not comfortable with what's happening, you need to say. If she's a good Pokémon, she'll understand. But, to answer your question, if things lead in that way at all, there's always rooms available privately. Just tell me or Kyle and we can tell you where to go when it happens. How's that?"

“Alright, but somehow that’s not my primary concern,” Mert spoke up to clarify a little. “More than anything I’m worried about, you know, like, what to say, how to respond, and such. Especially if she decides to be teasy and torture me over my answers a little, which, knowing her, I wouldn’t put it past her for the life of me…”

"You just have to be yourself is all," she told him with a smile. "Don't lie or act a different way to try and impress her or anything. If she's teasing, she's probably really comfortable with you, which is a great sign. She trusts you. Be open to it, but if it gets too far, don't be afraid to voice it. Like how Kyle asked me to sit here even though I really wanted to stay in his lap. You have to be vocal about how you feel, especially this early into a potential relationship. That'll make it that much stronger!"

“Good point, thank you. It’s just… the whole emotional aspect of it. You know how it is, right?” Mert admitted to her with a slight nervousness. “Kind of, like, watching a movie you already know the ending of. The little interactions in the process can still be thrilling to the bone, even though you know deep down there’s already a finish line ahead and nothing could really change it from its intended path… Making any sense when I put it this way, I hope?”

"Sure! When I look at Kyle, I see our end goal. I know what we'll both be, no matter how much he fights it! But that's why it's so great. I assume you've dated before, but dating us pokemon is so different," she continued to tell him.

"Getting into it was the best decision of my life, that much I'll say," Kyle spoke up while peaking into the rearview mirror. He looked at his GPS and saw they weren't too far from the spot where they'd be picking up Hana.

"Being nervous is fine. A lot of us girls think it's cute, if anything. Just be yourself and you'll do okay. That's all us women can ask of you. The more "you" you are, the more us pokemon work to keep that side around and smiling!"

“I suppose that makes it sound more fun than one might expect it to be by default, in any case,” Mert commented thoughtfully. “I’ll try to keep your advice in mind as we approach this evening. Really clears a lot of things, thank you Trixie.”

He then looked outside, also recognizing the district they were now approaching, and continued, switching the topic as he shifted his attention to Kyle. “I see we’re arriving closer to the neighborhood… So, like, there’s gonna be a row of these prolonged two story houses, just four apartments each. Only one of them has a tree next to it, a Pecha tree I think, but I might be wrong. You’re probably gonna see light in some windows there, and one of them on the second floor has this huge Noctowl plush toy on the windowsill. It’s normally being lit by this time of day. So when you see the building, you’re gonna know that’s the one…”

Kyle nodded and kept an eye out for the place in question. No more than a few minutes later, he found it. He pulled into one of the closest available parking spots. "I'm not sure how you're gonna do it, if you're gonna walk up and get her or text her, but I'll be here."

“Lemme check if she’s out already,” Mert announced to them before opening the door and getting out of the vehicle. He stretched his arms and legs a little as he walked by the car, taking a better look at the row of identical two-story buildings in front of him. He then took note of the Pecha tree he mentioned and headed towards the building’s entrance concealed behind the corner, from Kyle and Trixie’s point of view…

In a minute he returned and opened the car door again. “Nope, not yet.” He then got back onto the rear seat, got comfortable, and took out his phone, beginning to open Hana’s contact and messaging her:

Hey, we're already here, check out the parking lot to the south​

There was still around ten minutes before eight p.m. on the clock, so he figured she might not have expected him to arrive just yet, but maybe he could motivate her to step out anyway, just in case…

I'm coming, just a minute pls​

The incoming message said in response.

“She’s on her way soon,” he then informed Kyle and Trixie…

In a minute, the three would see two pokémon going out of the corner, a sneasel and a dewott. It wasn’t easy to tell due to the lighting, but it appeared that the dewott was wearing a dark shirt or a pullover of sorts, as well as a fedora-like hat which suited its head size, and also carrying a crossbody bag. They seemed to quickly notice the only car with the headlights on, as they exchanged a hug, before the dewott was seen approaching Kyle’s car, while the sneasel turned around and headed back into the apartment complex, disappearing behind the corner…

Mert opened the door next to him, and everyone in the car could immediately see the dewott looking up at him from outside with a warm smile, its mouth slightly agape, as it was holding cutely onto its delicate looking hat with both hands.

“Hana, hey! That’s a pretty nice outfit you’ve got there, if I may add,” Mert complimented the critter, sounding enthusiastic enough to hide his nerves a little bit. He then helped her climb into the car, then vacated for her the seat he used, placing himself onto the one next to it. “Um, guys, this is Hana!” he introduced her to the other two. “Hana, this is Trixie,” he pointed at the poochyena on the front seat, then added, “And this over here is Kyle,” as he pointed towards the driver.

Hana waved her paw as she said “Oi, nice to meet ya all!” in a cute voice with a characteristic, softly resonant timbre, which could well be a shrill were it sharper.

What had seemed like a shirt on the dewott turned out to be more like a blouse of sorts, of deep violet shade with a velvety shimmer, having a bow at the chest level. It kind of underlined the sleek, elegant style she seemed to be going for, as well as some kind of rebellious, youthful attitude which Mert knew made her stand out all the more. It wasn’t exactly a luxury piece, but it looked unique and different, and more than anything, it served her well.

Kyle and Trixie turned around in their seats and smiled brightly at the dewott. Trixie immediately took note of how she dressed similarly to humans, and that fascinated her. "Hi! You're really, really pretty in that. I haven't ever seen another Pokémon wear clothes like that before..."

"Can't say I have. Pretty fitting for her species, in my humble opinion," Kyle added. "Nice to meet you, as well. You ready to go?"

“Yeh, ready when you are!” Hana said enthusiastically, taking a brief look outside through the window next to her, seeming curious about the surrounding area. Then she glanced at Kyle and Trixie in front of her, and smiled as she leaned back against the seat she was in.

Mert was relieved to see that his dewott friend was taking it pretty well so far, without any anxiety or tension or anything. Which was very helpful on his end as well. He figured he’d let Kyle worry about driving them back safely to the daycare, and focus on taking care of Hana in the meantime.

“So, how was your day, Hana?” he asked her, hoping to get some small talk going on until they arrived at their destination. “Anything interesting happen at work?”

“Eh, pretty much just the usual. The old man gave me a warning or two about some tiny mistakes, but nothing I couldn’t handle, right?” she said in her typical bold tone, as if she was completely unbothered by it. “I think at this point he’s just got into a habit of nitpicking or something, y’know what I mean? Like, how you’d expect that all he’s gotta do is chill out and actually see what’s best for his business… On a brighter note, there was this one customer who left me a tip which was like triple the cost of his meal! So that’s really cool.” She paused for a second and added, “Well, at least now we’re going somewhere with our own thoughts and not just having to serve others all the time, so yay for that! Anyways, what’s the place you guys are taking me to? It sounds exciting…”

“Actually, I think Kyle or Trixie could explain it a lot better than myself,” Mert said, gesturing towards the two sitting in the front, so they could pitch in with more details.

Kyle was about to speak up but Trixie instantly perked up. She undid her seatbelt and jumped on the center console, almost as if proudly. "Hey. Sit," he told her.

"I'll tell you all about the daycare! It's where me my hot boyfriend met!" she exclaimed while facing her.

"Trixie! I'm not your boyfriend yet. Now sit. If you at least lay down, you can stay there," Kyle told her seriously.

"Ah, see? He's not my boyfriend yet. That's the trick!"

"Trixie!" Kyle yelled louder. She sat down but leaned against him affectionately.

"I'm stubborn and annoying so he has to yell a lot to get my attention. Please, don't get mad if he yells. If I annoy you guys, just yell. Anyways! The Daycare!" she said, finally getting on topic. Kyle just rolled his eyes. "It is where Kyle and I met. The food is amazing and can cooked by anyone who stays there. They're overlooked by three of the best chefs I've ever met. They're a pokephilia-friendly place that's supported and funded by--."

"Hey, sh. Not now," Kyle interrupted. She looked up confusedly but then back at Mert and Hana and nodded.

"It's where I also Mert earlier. I live there myself, and Kyle works there a lot. So we know pretty much everyone. Everyone's incredibly friendly so I'm sure you'll even make a friend or two while you're out!" the poochyena explained more.

Hana's attention first got piqued when she heard Trixie call Kyle her boyfriend, and then again when the poochyena referred to the place being poképhilia-friendly. It was hard to tell what she was thinking right now, however her expression turned slightly mischievous, barely noticeable unless one paid close attention, when she then teased her hosts playfully.

“Oh yeah? So… you’re like, ‘that’ type of folks, huh? And you’re bringing me to your lair to recruit me as your newbie harem member?” she said jokingly, shooting glances alternately at Trixie and Kyle as she spoke, with a hint of a smirk in the corners of her lips.

“Not unless you’re looking for a lucrative career change… probably,” Mert then replied in just as a joking manner, although he seemed somewhat unsure as to how his dewott friend would take the joke. But then again, it wasn't like he really had anything to lose from it at this point…

“You…” the dewott then snorted and giggled at his comment, finding it hilarious in its ridiculousness. “And here I thought it was going to be just some normal and chill hangout with you, Mert!” she then stated between chuckles. “But no, guess ya couldn’t resist messing around a little at my expense. You can be such a dork sometimes, you know?” She shook her head in disbelief, yet she seemed more amused than actually annoyed at the joke.

Mert simply shrugged, his smirk never fading. He figured that at this point he may as well keep a light-hearted attitude, to ease the tension a bit as Kyle drove on towards the daycare.

“That’s one of the many reasons why I love him, though,” she then whispered, giggling quietly to herself. It would seem like she didn’t mind the jokes at all, or even saw them as a way to break the ice for all of them…

“Well, glad you are enjoying my comedy stylings,” Mert replied, his cheeks starting to blush a little. But then he cleared his throat, and asked her a little more casually, “So, uh, how long have you lived there, anyways? I mean, you seemed pretty settled and all in your little corner upstairs…”

“Just been there for a few months, really, ever since I came here from Lilycove,” Hana answered. “Been less than a month when we first met at that tower, though, and that was a wild ride!” she added with a nostalgic yet playful smile on her face. “Still, it’s like I kinda felt this is the place I wanna be, you know what I mean? And I kinda wanna settle down as much as I can with some job and shit, too. What about you though, Mert?”

“Same, more or less,” he responded, also with a reminiscent expression. “I’ve been sort of a digital nomad for the past few years or so, traveling around a couple of regions. Hoenn’s been quite nice so far, though, especially for people like us, you know?” he remarked with a smile, then shifted his attention towards the front seats. “How about you two? I’ve never heard your stories, or at least not to that extent, anyways.”

"I have a degree in Pokemon Psychology and Behavior, so that was what I did in my earlier years. Got excluded from every kind of party there was but when a Pokemon had a get together, I was always welcomed. Now I work for the Daycare, partially, and travel a lot where I'm needed," Kyle answered Hana while peering in the rear view mirror to try and make eye contact. "Slateport is my real home, though. Born here!"

"I was born in Oldale Town and have been with a couple trainers," the poochyena then began to tell her story, "See, I'm very vocal about what I like, what I don't, and think honesty is the best quality in a person. So I'm always as honest as can be, which is also a bit of a fault. If me and a trainer aren't working out, I tell them, which is what happened a few times. Been in the Slaterport Daycare for a while and Kyle and I took to each other on the first day when met. Been almost inseparable since..."

"Because you tell everyone you want to cry if I'm not around..." Kyle mumbled.

"N-No! I do not!" Trixie yelled back. She looked between Kyle and the others, trying to play it off. "Don't listen to him. He's just being weird... A-Anyways... Yeah, that's my story! Thought a double dat esounded fun and here we are now!"

“Waaait a sec, so this is a double date thing, then?” Hana inquired curiously, her eyebrows raised slightly, and a look of intrigue showed on her face. She shifted her attention towards Mert, as a hint of mischievousness creeped into her features once more. “And here I thought it was gonna be just a little gathering to get to know each other. Guess I should’ve been more perceptive of your true intentions after all, eh, Mert?”

Mert tried to ignore the blood rising in his cheeks as she talked. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Well… Y-you know we’re gonna enjoy this evening regardless of how it turns out, right? Or else we wouldn’t have planned it in the first place. Just a nice, chill out time, nothing too crazy or whatever.”

“Sounds like an excuse for the flusteredness is all,” she smirked with satisfaction. “You’ve been doing fine so far, so relax already. Sheesh!”

“So, uh… that means you’re gonna be cool with it if anything were to happen in the end? Nothing too specific, but just a general question of how you might react if anything unexpected were to occur?” Mert inquired, trying his best not to sound too anxious about it all.

“I don’t understand what he’s on about half the time, but that’s okay. We make it work somehow,” the dewott then commented as she looked at the two on the front seats, before shifting her attention back to the man sitting next to her. “As to answer your riddle of a question, Mert, I’ll have ya know that I am a very adventurous lass, so I’m not gonna give ya any hints about my potential responses if anything were to go down. Let’s just say… you can expect the unexpected from someone like me,” she added, winking teasingly in Mert’s direction. “Not that I’m saying anything will happen tonight, though. Just to let ya know.”

“Right back at cha, Miss Inscrutable,” Mert smirked in reply, seeming to appreciate her playful nature and confidence. Even though he didn’t quite know what reactions to expect from her, he guessed he’d find a way to make it work like Trixie and Kyle did… He then asked the latter, “So, you mentioned Melody having a cousin who’s a DJ before, right? Or was it his name, not just his profession? I forgot which…”

"His actual name is DJ, but he's also a bit of a professional in the field," Kyle began to explain to him and Hana, "He's always got people and Pokémon flocking to him. You'll almost always see him trying to make some kind of music, by the way. If we ever get some time where I can introduce you to him, that is."

"DJ is wild. It's so hard to predict what he's gonna do next," Trixie added to the conversation with a single nod coming after. "He's a lot of fun to be around. He's actually the key to what introduced me and Kyle to each other. I was having a lot of trouble in the early days of being at the daycare. Even though I'm an honest Pokémon, I was super shy. It was such a new environment to me, the daycare, and I had a hard time adjusting. DJ saw and took me in to his room for a few days. He instantly transformed me and showed me it's fine to just... Not care. Completely changed how I am."

"Now she's fucking obnoxious," Kyle teased.

"And yet you're here on a date with me!"

"And I wouldn't have it any other way."

"By the way, you don't have to think of what you two are doing as a date. Me and Kyle have some pent up feelings so--."

"You mean you do. You're the one who's been begging for a date, not me. I was just playing hard to get."

"You did a poor job, then. It was super easy to get you whenever I wanted..." She said with a playful grin. Kyle knew exactly what she meant. But in the end, he couldn't argue. She was very persuasive. "But for real, don't think of it as a date if you don't think it is! This is, of course, just a couple friends hanging out! One group just happens to be on a date at the same time."

“Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. I guess it’s kinda silly to assume otherwise, after all,” Mert reasoned, seeming to have calmed down somewhat as he settled more comfortably in his seat.

“You know what’s kinda silly?” Hana began teasing him again. “The fact that you’re still playing it like I wouldn’t have expected anything like this from ya at all, Mr. Sneakthief. Guess ya thought you were being clever, huh?” she smirked at him, playfully poking him with a finger.

“No idea what you’re talking about,” Mert said innocently, pretending that he truly didn’t understand her statement. “Must be something else going on in that head of yours, Hana. Really, now…”

“Oh, please! Don’t play coy with me,” she poked him again, “I knew full well you’d try to pull some kind of stunt like this someday, and yet I still went along with it! Guess ya fell right into my trap, didn’t ya?”

“So what are you trying to prove now?” he chuckled softly.

“That I’m smarter than you, dummy!” she retorted in good humor. Then she giggled playfully, and leaned against him, hugging his arm in a friendly fashion.

“Alright, alright, you win. At least now I’ve learned how you might’ve figured out everything so fast,” Mert conceded with amusement, patting her head below the hat gently with his free hand. “And thanks to you and Kyle and Trixie, I’ve got this whole experience to look forward to, and it seems it’s gonna be a blast. Isn’t that right?” he added, looking up briefly towards the front seats again to include them into the conversation.

"It'll be great! The food is super good and there's always other Pokemon wanting to interact. You'll make tons of friends, as long as you're cool with them coming up," Trixie told the dewott. She had such an excited smile on her face as she thought about what the night would bring. "Maybe if you'd be willing, I could introduce you guys to DJ? Like we hang out for a little bit after dinner? He's even got a new song he's been wanting to show off!"

"I did want to introduce Mert to him with Melody earlier..." Kyle mumbled, seemingly in agreement with Trixie. "Mert? Hana? What would you two say to that?"

“I mean, sure,” Mert replied with a shrug, looking more calm than ever at this point. “If he’s got some spare time to grace us with his presence, I can certainly meet the guy! And you all know that I trust you guys and your judgment, so I’m sure he’s gotta be quite something.”

Hana too seemed to agree to the idea, nodding in Kyle’s direction. “Yes, absolutely! The more the merrier, as they say! Besides, if Mert is able to get along with me and vice versa, then there’s no way he’s not gonna get along with DJ!”

“And what are you implying by that now?” Mert retorted, nudging her gently with his elbow. “Seems like you’re still having way too much fun messing with me, and I gotta admit, I’m totally cool with that, no matter what you throw at me.”

“I’m just getting warmed up, believe me. There’s plenty more where that came from!” she warned him mischievously, then snuggled closer against him, wrapping both her arms around his arm she was hugging, as if staking claim on it. “Guess you’re just lucky that you’re so cute, that's all…”

The last statement caused Mert to blush again, but he simply leaned back against the seat, enjoying the company of his friend while also paying attention to Trixie and Kyle upfront. Then his gaze returned to the window, as he realized that they were passing through the city center, with all its tall buildings and bright signs, as well as various pedestrians and pokémon wandering about its streets, filling the place with a vibrant, electric energy…

“Looks like the traffic’s not bad tonight,” Mert commented to no one in particular. “Hopefully we won’t have to wait long before we get to the Daycare, then.”

“It’ll be fine if we do,” Hana reassured him with a soft squeeze around his arm, and rested her head on his shoulder as well, adjusting her hat slightly so that it was comfortable for her. “Just means we get to enjoy more of this relaxing atmosphere with you all. Don’t you think so?” she asked him, looking up at him expectantly, with a warm, inviting smile that lit up her entire face.

“Long as you’re having a good time, that’s all that matters to me,” Mert said sincerely, giving her a fond smile in return. “Besides, even with whatever comes of it, I know we’ve definitely gotten closer in what little time has passed since we started the ride, and that's always worth it in the end…”

“Hey, Mert…” the dewott suddenly addressed him in a softer, quieter voice, “I know it’s probably gonna be a little weird for me to start with this, but here ya go…”

Before he had a chance to respond, Hana took off her hat, putting it down next to her, as she pulled herself up to Mert’s level, then closed her eyes, and planted a brief kiss onto his cheek, nuzzling it a little afterwards.

This took him a bit aback at first, and he blushed furiously, but he soon found himself smiling from ear to ear. He looked down at Hana, her eyes meeting his own, and he couldn’t help but wrap an arm around her and pull her slightly towards himself. “Damn, you really do like me, huh?” he asked teasingly, chuckling softly as he petted her head again.

She simply gave a lighthearted giggle, not saying much else at this point, but seemed to melt at his affection.

“Well…” Mert then mumbled, relaxing in his seat as he glanced out the window once more. “Seems like I’ve been pretty lucky today so far. Who knows, if I hadn’t met you guys earlier, none of this might’ve ever happened…” he continued, addressing Kyle and Trixie up front. “I certainly wouldn’t have had the courage to arrange something like this by myself, that’s for sure… So thank you, guys. From the bottom of my heart. You really made this possible.”

"Hey man, we did nothing. We're barely even here," Kyle told him.

"It's all you, big guy. I'm sure you two would've given it a shot without me or Kyle here, that much I'm sure of," Trixie then said. She looked between Hana and Mert and smiled happily. Seeing them both get what they wanted made her so happy. Knowing there were humans, and even Pokémon, who hated people like them made her confused. What they felt was natural. Thankfully they were in a safe space. "But if it'll make you feel better, then you're welcome! We should be back to the daycare in just a few more minutes, right?" she asked Kyle while looking up at him. He nodded. "Cool. Oh, and question! Why don't you kiss my cheek like she kissed his? Huh?"

"You know exactly why..."

"Oh yeah! You kiss my other--."

"Trixie, for the love of God, shut up. For once."

"Nope! I want a kiss on the cheek!"

"See what you did?" Kyle said in a joking tone to Hana more than Mert.

The dewott simply shrugged and replied with an amused smile, “Not my problem this time! Not when it’s between you two lovebirds and I’m just an innocent observer to this exchange, as well as your fellow guest who you’ve invited out to this lovely evening of bonding.”

“You sure do have your way with words, don’t you?” Mert commented playfully, glancing in her direction. “And one of us probably gotta admit, you seem to be doing much more than just watching the spectacle, with your little trickster hands all over me at every turn! Still, guess it is their business to handle, isn’t it? So we shall just have to sit back and watch them sort it out…”

“If this was a movie, they’d totally get married!” Hana whispered to him with a giggle. He couldn’t help but chuckle with her, as he shrugged in response. “Do you wanna get married?” she then asked him as her head tilted a little.

“W-well, I mean…” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, hoping his blush wasn’t too noticeable in the dim lighting. “Wouldn’t say I’m completely opposed to it, but uhh… Dunno if there’s enough momentum here to be getting ahead of ourselves like that just yet. But we’ll see, maybe. If you’re really into the idea, that is.”

“See, I only asked a general question, but now you’re assuming things yourself. That’s adorable!” the water-type yet again teased him a bit, seeing how it affected him. In truth, she liked him this flustered. It was cute to see someone as cool and collected as him getting all worked up because of her. “For now though, I guess I’m content with just making ya blush like the cutest kid alive! What about you? Ya like that?”

“I mean, hey… It’s the least I can do for the little mischief maker, right?” Mert smirked back at her, feeling rather confident in his ability to match her wit with some of his own. “What can I say, though? I’m only here to make my friend happy. And if that involves blushing and squirming a bit on occasion, so be it. Anything to make her day better, and all that.”

Hana rolled her eyes and smiled. “Yeah, that sounds more like it,” she replied, nudging him gently. “But I’m glad ya gave me a chance to prove my sass skills to ya all the same. Guess we might actually make a decent pair if we put our minds together.”

“Or at least we’ll have a ton of fun while trying,” Mert nodded, grinning a bit as he petted her head with his fingers, caressing the tufts of fur on the top. “Speaking of, I could really do with some grub now, as in, ASAP. Hope we get to arrive at the Daycare real quick, like, or else my stomach might end up doing a somersault or two, hah…”

⁂​

Once the car had stopped, Mert looked around, quickly realizing that they had finally reached their destination. “Thank Arceus, I can already smell the food from here!” he exclaimed with relief.

Hana picked up her hat and put it back on. She then unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door rather deftly, despite having small paws her species possessed. She hopped out and stretched a bit before turning back to the others.

Mert stepped out of the car as well, stretching his limbs, as he looked around, taking in the familiar sight, as well as a breath of fresh air, from outside the daycare establishment. “So, are we all set?” he asked curiously, directing the question mostly towards Kyle.

Kyle got out of the drivers seat with Trixie jumping out right after. The two nodded excitedly before the poochyena jumped up and put her paws on his legs. Kyle knew instantly what she wanted from him, so he bent down and picked her up and carried her. He felt her fluffy tail wagging side to side excitedly from his contact. He led them inside and had Mert and Hana follow him to where they were going to eat. Soon, they got to a little stand with a grovyle behind it. The Pokemon was looking down at the podium and was mumbling to itself until it saw the group approaching. The grovyle instantly lit up excitedly. "Hi, Kyle! Welcome to the Slateport Daycare and Diner! How many?" the pokemon asked.

"Just us four, please," Kyle answered with a smile. The pokemon grabbed four menus and motioned to follow it.

"Private or okay with interactions from the pokemon here?" it then asked.

"We don't mind if they do," he told the pokemon. It smiled wider then led them to a table in a new area. Other tables were filled with others who had the same idea as Kyle and his group did. He watched as pokemon would periodically jump up with the customers to say hi before running off happily. The grovyle waved before leaving.

"Just so you know, this isn't a super fancy place. Have to remember it's a daycare and the onwer's wanted to give the pokemon things they could do. The food may not be perfect but they love doing it and put the effort in. That said, it is still really good. I hope that's okaym" he told Mert and Hana as he began to look over the menu. Trixie sat right next to him and looked at the menu with him, deciding what she wanted to eat.

“It’s all good, dude. As long as we can have a nice meal together and take it easy, I think that’s more than enough for now,” Mert said, nodding in appreciation at the overall atmosphere of the place. He then turned his attention towards Hana and asked her, “What about you? Do you think you’re gonna be cool with this place and all?”

“I mean, yeah, of course,” the dewott replied in a light, somewhat careless tone, looking over the menu as well while holding it in her black paws. “For one, I’m pretty certain I’m not gonna get bored here. It’s obvious they’ve taken care to make the environment as lively and exciting as possible for all the guests. And not only that, but I think the food smells good enough from where we’re sitting, which is definitely something to look forward to…” she remarked with a faint smirk at the edge of her lips, seeming to get a little playful again. Then, as if opting to change the subject on a whim, she asked, “By the way, what’s that poké’s name, the one standing at the register earlier? The one with the leaves all over its body and such?”

“It’s a grovyle, if you’re asking about the species name,” Mert said, being the first to respond. “As of their actual given name… Might be worth asking for an introduction, I guess. Or maybe not now, if they’re too busy for that… Kyle, what you say?” he prompted, seeking a second opinion from the man sitting near them.

Kyle looked over at the pokemon in question and couldn't help but chuckle. He turned back to them and gave a shrug. "I have no clue who that is. If I had to guess, it's a girl, just based purely on build. Or a really feminine guy, but I'd bet on the former. Really curvy, but that's not including the voice. They might be new because I've never seen a grovyle here."

"I think her name is Aino?" Trixie told them all. "I think she may have gotten here a weak or so ago. She's been in her room most of the time but started to get out like... yesterday or something. She wanted to do some kind of work here and thought doing what she is would help her get a new trainer. Guess she thinks you're cute," Trixie jokingly jabbed at Kyle. He chuckled a second time.

"Guess it's good I've got an insider, huh? Never heard of her. Good thing I brought Trixie, right?" Kyle told them.

“D’awwww…” Hana cooed in adoration at the exchange she had just heard. She couldn’t help but tease Kyle a little. “Seems like you’ve got quite an entourage following after ya, pal. Not sure if I can keep up with the likes of them!” She giggled, probably meaning that last part as a joke, considering how often she loved messing with people.

“I mean, if you know your own worth, I’m sure you can find your own way in as much as he does, just saying,” Mert encouraged her with a nod and a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “We all got our own charms, so to speak. Just gotta keep a close eye out and use them wisely, when the opportunity arises…”

“Oh, I’m totally gonna keep that in mind, you see!” the dewott responded with a smirk, giving him a quick glance that spoke volumes about her thoughts on the matter, as well as a subtle wink that she almost seemed to be making sure that Mert noticed. Then she turned her attention back to the menu, trying to decide what she wanted to eat, while also waiting for the others to finish choosing their orders…

“At any rate… How fancy we talking?” Mert inquired the blue otter pokémon after a quick but somewhat awkward pause. “Just in case you feel like picking a bigger meal for the two of us to share. Knowing your tastes, I’d bet it’d be a sushi set or something like that. I mean, I’d certainly go along with that, but just wanna know if you decide to give a try to something different for a change…”

“Actually, that sounds like a good idea,” she nodded, pointing at one of the options available to her. “Aye, check this out! This looks pretty tasty…”

“That’s actually not half bad,” he agreed, peering at the menu to see what she was looking at. “And it looks like a pretty good deal for a company of two, as well.”

He then pressed the bell on the table to alert whatever waiter or waitress might be around them. Shortly after, a rather bouncy sylveon with a tray carried above its head came skipping towards them. “Hi there! What would you like to order?” it spoke in a girly, cutesy voice, clearly excited to meet new faces in the establishment.

“One Lumiose set for two, please,” Mert told the server, pointing at the option he had referred to earlier with Hana. “I trust it’s enough for the two of us, right?” he then asked her with a smirk, prompting her to nod back in a somewhat playful manner.

“Sure thing!” the dewott grinned back at him.

“Gotcha! And, um…” the sylveon then shifted its attention towards the other man sitting together with the poochyena. “What woul-… Oh hey Kyle! Been a while! And Trixie too, how neat!… So… what would I be getting for you two tonight?”

"Hey there, Evie," Kyle said back with a friendly smile.

"God, you're such a whore," Trixie joked to Kyle. He rolled his eyes and did his best to ignore her. "But hi! Didn't know you worked here. Can I decide for us? Lemme see if I know you," the poochyena asked with confidence. Kyle gave the okay to her and she began to point things out on the menu. "Can we get the Slateport Slam?"

"God you're perfect," Kyle told Trixie, who smiled widely at him. He looked up at Mert and Hana, "I fucking love seafood. Fish is just the best... Except sushi. Can't stand that."

"Whore..." she said again quietly.

"Not what I meant!"

“Y-you can't stand sushi??” Hana inquired, staring at Kyle with a genuinely surprised look for a moment or two. “Well… I’d raise an elaborate objection right now, but, eh… a bit too sober to argue this one, so I guess that’s your loss,” she added jokingly, shrugging with amusement as she glanced sideways at Mert with a sly grin.

“Well, no sushi for him, then,” Mert said simply, nodding with satisfaction at his and his partner’s choices, “But really, sounds like we’ve all got some pretty balanced meals, if you ask me.”

“Yup!” Evie piped up again, hopping onto an empty chair and placing the tray on the table in front of her. She then started scribbling down their orders on the notepad she had in it, holding the pen with one of her ribbon-like feelers. “So, one Lumiose Set, and one Slateport Slam, coming right up!” the sylveon said cheerfully as she skipped away towards the kitchen, gently carrying the tray back using two of her feelers, and swinging the other two free ones in tune with her step.

“Coming right up? Sounds like we won’t have to wait long,” Hana commented, sounding impressed by the efficiency of the kitchen. “Bet they know their craft, huh?”

“To be fair, I could say that much about your own cooking skills, too,” Mert reminded her in a calm tone. “It’s hard not to be envious of those kinds of talents.”

“Eh, it’s all just a matter of practice, y’know? Especially when you’ve got this much energy running through ya, you gotta channel it into doing stuff somehow,” Hana replied modestly, yet still seemed rather pleased with the compliment nevertheless.

“Well, that, and your extremely keen sense of smell, too. Not every species can have that kind of edge to their abilities, and that’s always gonna make you stand out, especially when it comes to hunting down the best food choices,” Mert added, seemingly with genuine appreciation, and not just teasing like he had before.

“Ah, shucks! You’re just making me blush here,” she said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly, yet still flashing him a proud grin as she caught the man’s eyes.

Then, almost out of nowhere, a tiny litten showed up at their table, perking up with interest as it realized who were sitting in front of it. “Ey, it’s Kyle and his poochyena friend! Where ya been, dudes?” it asked them, jumping up into one of the free chairs.

"Oh, hey, Dexter," Kyle said to the litten. He gave it a warm smile as he answered, "Had to go pick up some friends for a date. Dexter, this is Hana and Mert," he told the little pokemon while waving to the two aforementioned guests. "I dunno if I've ever introduced her or if you've met her, but this is Trixie."

"Hey," she replied back, seemingly less interested in the litten than she was with Kyle. She couldn't stop looking up at Kyle with affection filled in her eyes. "Sorry, lemme try again. It is nice to meet you," she said to the litten before smiling in a friendly way to it.

"You joining us or something, Dex?" Kyle asked the pokemon.

“Perrrrhaps… Depends if I’m allowed to have the rest of your fries…” the little flame cat purred half-punningly at him. “Kidding! Only kidding… sorta. Nah, just wanted to come say hi, ’cause you guys look like a cool crew and all. Besides, my trainer’s busy with a bunch of new pokémon around here right now. Like, a whole lot. It’s insane!”

“So um, are you saying this trainer of yours’s working at the daycare, or…?” Hana asked, seeming slightly curious about what the litten was implying.

“Not exactly at the daycare itself,” Dexter corrected her in a playful tone. “Also not exactly working either, if you know what I mean. And I’m not supposed to talk about where specifically, but… you could say that he kinda keeps himself busy, yeah,” he winked at them.

The dewott giggled into her paw as soon as she had put two and two together. “Well, that explains a lot, don’t it? I mean, what with the kind of people this place seems to attract so far. Even when they’d be as reluctant to admit it as someone in here,” she remarked, casting a side glance with an amused smirk at Mert, who just shook his head and laughed a bit, realizing that she did have a point…

“Oh, by the way. Are you two, well…” Dexter ventured, glancing between the two of them. He looked very much like a gossip hound, ready for more news and juicy details to feed his inner fire.

“Y-yep!” Hana replied rather mischievously, not missing the opportunity to mess around with Mert once again. “Totally banging right now. Can’t you tell? We’ve been fucking all week, like lopunnies in heat!” she quipped in a willy-nilly way.

“Oh, for God’s sake…” Mert shook his head in disbelief as he chuckled at how ridiculous she sounded with her answer. “That’s just not true, so please don’t listen to her, little dude. She’s just a prankster, you see.”

“Well, whatever floats your boat, man,” Dexter shrugged, sounding amused at the whole situation, although he didn’t seem fully convinced. “And besides, it’s always nice to see people enjoying themselves however they want to. So like, good for you two, yeah?” he said in a friendly tone, before turning towards Trixie and Kyle. “And how about you two? Or rather… Probably shouldn’t even ask, right?” he then remarked with a smirk in his face.

"What a stupid question!" Trixie joked to the litten with a playful giggle following after. "Obviously we fuck. Raw, too! But--."

"Jesus fuck, Trixie. At least control yourself a little infront of others, yeah?" Kyle told her. Hearing her so blatantly say such a thing didn't surprise him, but it baffled him how she could just do that.

"I'm kidding! Well, I'm not, because you do, but just joking around. This is a first date is all. I've been begging since I first saw him and he finally gave in so I'll, in his words, 'shut the fuck up about it' but he's just as into it as I am!" she answered with the same happy smile.

"I sure am. What about you, Dexter? Find anyone?" Kyle asked the pokemon curiously.

“Funny you should ask, actually!” the litten began to explain, stretching himself out proudly as if to illustrate his point. “There’s this cute and very shy human girl who does work at the daycare. And I think she’s got nobody at the moment, not completely sure of that, but still. She’s been really nice and soft and cuddly towards me whenever I met her, however… I’m still trying to figure a best way to ask her out, like, without coming off as gross in case she isn’t into this whole thing, but yeah…”

“So you wanna to know what she’s like, in terms of her preferences?” Mert asked as he followed where the conversation was headed. “How about you just start slow, then? Make little pleasant surprises for her every now and then, just to show that you care, and maybe see what happens after that. You might hit it off quite nicely with her if she turns out to be willing to give you a chance. It’s a solid approach for getting to know someone, I think. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, and all that… Anything to add maybe?” he then prompted the rest of the table.

“Oh, oh. Just remember to be considerate, that’s the key. Know the person before jumping headfirst into anything,” Hana reasoned, giving him a thumbs up from where she sat. “It’s important to respect people’s boundaries and limits, especially for stuff like this. It’s best to take it slowly and let things develop naturally, rather than force things and push the other person away. Trust me, I’ve had my fair share of experience with this sorta stuff.”

"It also isn't bad to just walk up and be friendly. Being honest is the best policy," Kyle told the litten.

"That's what I did with Kyle," Trixie told them, "and look at us now. I just sat with him once. Nothing more. Give her a chance to pet you. Guarantee it'll work after that for you."

“I can also attest to that!” suddenly Evie’s voice chimed in from the distance as the sylveon returned with their orders in tow. “Just do whatever your heart tells you to do, and it’s likely to pay off in the end, at least when it comes to romancy thingies.” Once she approached the table, she proceeded to distribute the plates to the respective customers.

“Man, that was fast!” Hana commented as she grabbed hers and Mert’s plate, placing it onto the table in front of them. “Thank you! That was great timing,” she added with a smile towards Evie.

“It’s no problem! Glad to help! Let me know if you need anything else, okay?” the sylveon addressed the crowd, pausing her glance on the litten in particular. “…You got any room for ice cream, Dex? I heard you’re quite the big fan of ’em!”

“Thanks, a bit later, perhaps,” the tiny furball said happily before returning to the conversation. “By the way, have I mentioned that she's really cute? I mean, like, really cute. I just love how her hair falls over her eyes sometimes, and how she smiles so sweetly and gently towards everything in sight, you know? And, well… Oh boy, I’m blushing here. For real…”

“Sounds like she must really be loving her job here, whatever it might be,” Mert said, chuckling softly at how obvious the litten was being, as well as how adorable it made him appear.

“She’s a gardener, and I think she really does,” he admitted. “She works with some of the other workers here at times, but mostly she tends to be in the fields behind the daycare, watering and planting stuff. She also adores cats like me, although I can’t really speak for the way I’m hoping she would. But, you know… It’s still worth a shot, yeah?”

“Well, if you feel strongly about this, then why not try being there for her more and act like she’s got a special place in your heart? You gotta start somewhere, right?” the otter pokémon told the feline one, nodding her head in appreciation at the overall vibe of the conversation. “Besides, it’s not like being shy means she doesn’t like you or anything. There might be plenty of other things that ya haven’t figured out about her yet, but you can discover them along the way. And as I said, always respect boundaries. That’s always the most crucial part in relationships.”

“Well said. Well said, indeed…” Mert couldn’t help but feel a hint of pride welling up inside him as he listened to Hana talking, noticing the spark in her eyes, and her strong, decisive tone of voice, indicating that she truly cared about what she was saying. He hadn’t seen her acting so unselfishly passionate in a while, and it made his heart feel lighter knowing that there were people who were able to bring out the best in each other, regardless of species and circumstances…

Meanwhile the dewott moved in a bit closer to Dexter, and patted him lightly on the back with her paw. “Good luck, buddy!” she encouraged him with a wide smile that seemed oddly fitting for the blue otter. “If ya ever find yourself struggling with your feelings, or just wanna talk, you can definitely count on us to help out!”

“Aw, thanks so much guys!” Dexter replied enthusiastically, standing up on the chair to wave his tail excitedly. “I promise I’ll do my best to keep you all updated on how my pursuit with… Ugh, just thinking about her already makes me so damn happy!”

“Right. You never told us her name, by the way. What was it again?” Hana asked him out of curiosity.

Dexter looked around a bit timidly, seemingly making sure if he could confide in them without others overhearing. “She goes by the name Holly. Just please, don’t tell anyone just yet…”

Both Hana and Mert nodded. The latter then looked at Kyle and Trixie and asked, “Got me wondering… Do you happen to know anything about the one? Like, could it be workable?”

"I think I've seen here here and there. Maybe said hello but not really had much of a conversation with her," Kyle told Dexter while thinking. "She always seemed really interested in her work."

"I've heard a couple pokemon talk about her. I think I heard she is a lot more comfortable with us pokemon than other humans... not sure why..." Trixie mumbled that last part quietly. She shook her head then shrugged. "She's very... not sociable. At least, from what I hear. That is also until someone makes the move. Maybe if you tried saying hello, she might open up with you?" the poochyena suggested.

"Yeah, that's what I'd do. I think I've heard she doesn't like to be the one to approach unless it's, like, mandatory," Kyle also said.

“In that case, I’d say, chances are better than ya might think at this point. Worth a try, right?” Hana pointed out, smiling cheerily at the little fire-type cat. “Just stay positive and determined, and hopefully it won’t turn out to be as difficult as you’d imagine.”

“True enough,” Dexter nodded, taking in the advice with deep thought, almost as if considering different paths of action he could possibly take from there. “Then again, I’ve always been up for challenges. Like, that’s how I teamed up with my trainer and got used to living around him and other humans, instead of just being content with the life of a wild critter that runs amok in the forests and mountains. So maybe I just gotta follow my instincts on this one, too…”

“Now that’s the spirit, man!” Hana remarked with a wider grin, clapping the little cat on the back gently. “Just keep at it and don’t give up, and I’m sure things will turn out fine for ya.”

“Thanks, friend!” Dexter purred with pleasure. “Anyway, I guess I gotta be going guys. Maybe I’ll stop by later again for an ice cream, or maybe not. Be seeing ya," the litten added as he jumped off the chair and made his way towards the other tables scattered all over the area, keeping an eye out for whatever new morsels of curiosity awaited him.

Meanwhile Mert had been feeling the blood rushing up to his cheeks somewhat, as he was still getting over the awkwardness of the kind of joke Hana had pulled out earlier. He let out a little sigh as he slumped back in his chair. “Whew, what a rollercoaster this evening has been so far. I wasn’t prepared for that…” He then looked upwards at the ceiling for a moment or two, as if deep in thought…

Suddenly a small black paw showed up in front of his eyes, waving around as its little fingers snapped a few times to get his attention. “Yoo-hoo… Mert, are you in there, buddy? You’re not spacing out on us now, are ya? The meal isn’t gonna eat itself, y’know…”

He blinked in surprise before looking back down at Hana, who had her head tilted with slight concern as she stared at him. “Whoops. Sorry about that, Hana. Guess I got kinda lost in thought, that’s all,” he apologized, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“What’s the matter, big guy?” the water-type inquired him, resting her paw on top of his arm as she looked up at his face. “Did ya get overwhelmed with all these lovey-dovey discussions? Or is it because of what I have said to him before? I promise it was just a joke! Don’t tell me I scared you off with something like that!”

“Well, um… It’s not that I got scared or anything, if you’re worried about that,” Mert tried to reassure her with a faint smile. “It’s just that… I dunno. It’s probably a silly thing to say, but my mind just keeps dwelling on some… implications of the message you gave him. Like, just hypothetically speaking, if there was a purpose beyond just messing with me…”

Hana looked up at him with a knowing smirk, giggling a bit in amusement. She could already see where he was going with this. “Ah, I see… You wanna know if you should be expecting something from me tonight, huh?” she quipped cheekily, clearly having fun with the direction this exchange was heading. “Or were ya considering taking the lead yourself? Either way, I’m not gonna blame ya if you’re curious,” she admitted, winking playfully at him before leaning closer to the side of his cheek, whispering, “Just don’t overthink it too much, alright? ’Cause all it does is ruin all the fun.”

Mert’s face was glowing with embarrassment yet again as he averted his gaze, trying to collect his thoughts for a proper response. However, before he could open his mouth, the dewott added aloud in her normal tone, adjusting her hat while she spoke.

“Anyway, since we’re here and we can afford to chill out, why don’t we enjoy our meal and take it easy for a bit? Ain’t nothing wrong with that, right?” she said to him, seemingly with genuine sincerity. She gestured towards the Lumiose Set they had ordered, suggesting that they should start digging in while it was still fresh.

As he proceeded to unwrap his pair of chopsticks and pick a piece of pickled ginger with them, the dewott quickly followed suit. The two chewed on the appetizer, clearing their taste buds in preparation for the main course.

Soon Hana picked a maki roll with one of the simpler stuffings and sniffed on it thoroughly, visibly enjoying its flavor. She then dipped it in sauce and placed a tiny bit of wasabi paste on it, before popping the entire thing into her mouth and starting to chew with much satisfaction. Before she even finished, she nudged Mert with her elbow, then pointed at another roll with the same stuffing, nodding and giving him a thumbs up while she continued to savor what was left of her own.

After Mert had tasted the sushi, he couldn’t deny that it was as delicious as she had described it to be. It was perfectly seasoned, and the texture of the fish and rice blend was just right. The scent of a clear sea breeze filled his nostrils as he ate, and he found himself smiling at the pleasant warmth that spread through his chest.

Once they both had swallowed their first bites, he said, “This stuff’s actually pretty awesome, you know. Kinda reminds me of what you made for me back then, albeit different. But still pretty damn good.”

“Oh, yeah. This is like, the perfect tuna, as it should really be,” Hana agreed, nodding appreciatively at the texture and the flavor. “This kind of stuff is kinda tricky to source, but well worth it anyway, which is something my boss has been dismissing, despite my best efforts to convince him to look into it. So yeah… It’s great to have something reliable and consistent like this on hand, even if it’s not my own cooking.”

“Sounds like a good idea. Would love to come back here again and sample more, seems to be worth it just for that,” Mert commented. Then he looked in Kyle and Trixie’s direction, and questioned them, as he wondered how things were going on on their end. “So, how about you guys? How is this Slateport Slam holding up?”

Kyle stayed silent as he watched the poochyena inhale piece after piece of the fried fish. They were small pieces, so they're was a ton, but watching her go to town on it was hilarious to him. "I think she can answer that for you. Or she would if she didn't stuff her face," he said. She looked up at the others and smiled brightly. With her pause to eating, Kyle reached onto the plate and ate one of the pieces, enjoying how it tasted. "Good as always. It's perfectly seasoned, the breading is nice and crispy, and it's incredibly moist."

Trixie didn't answer. Instead she took in more of the fish. Kyle rolled his eyes at her once again. He looked off to the side and a Pokémon he'd never seen walked by. It was a green, bipedal, feline Pokémon. As it walked by, Kyle saw it playing with something that looked exactly like a yo-yo. The Pokémon walked up to one of the other tables, where it looked like the people greeted it happily.

He saw the Pokémon trying to make small talk but the people didn't seem too interested. It performed a trick with its yo-yo, where it twirled around the Pokémon elegantly. The Pokémon manipulated the item and made it look like it was floating, which looked really cool to Kyle. When the people hardly reacted, it sighed, making Kyle sad for it. "Poor thing..." he mumbled to himself.

"Eat!" Trixie yelled at Kyle. He looked back over to her and saw a piece of fish in her mouth. Kyle smiled and reached for it but pulled away and shook her head.

"No! Kiss for it!" she told him.

"Come on, Trixie. Not in front of them. Don't wanna weird them out or anything," he told the poochyena. She still shook her head. Kyle ignored her and reached onto the plate, but she stopped him by pushing his hand onto the table with a playful growl coming after. "Try me..."

"I 'ave! Am hou' an' a hal'--." Kyle was not letting her finish that sentence. To silence her, he gave her what she wanted and leaned in before kissing her quickly. As he did, he took the fish from her.

"You never shut up..."

"Come on, surely a kiss isn't that bad. Right, you two?" she asked both Mert and Hana.

The blue otter giggled into her free paw like she often did, amused at how funny it felt to watch the two of them interact in that way. “Of course a kiss can’t be bad! And you guys were totally cute doing it, too. I for one actually felt bad interrupting your moment with, like, squealing like a schoolgirl or anything, though gotta admit, it was tempting,” she shrugged playfully at them, flashing a smile of acknowledgement.

Mert just rolled his eyes in a lighthearted manner. “Don’t sweat it,” he assured her, pointing towards the plates with a smile. “Just focus on enjoying the food as much as you can for now. That’s all that matters for us at this moment, doesn’t it?”

“Hmph, very true!” Hana nodded, as she sniffed on another piece of maki she had selected for herself. She had picked a more creative filling this time, involving bits of sliced bell pepper and carrot as well as sesame seeds that gave it a distinct aroma. “Would you like to try some of this?” she asked Mert, offering a slice portion of the same kind towards his end of the plate.

He reached forward with his chopsticks and grabbed the piece she was referring to, dipping it a little too before bringing it up to his own mouth. The texture of the vegetables wasn’t as crunchy as he had expected, which was a pleasant surprise, and the flavors blended together to create a uniquely tasty combination.

Hana repeated after him with the piece she was holding herself, nodding approvingly at the results of their tasting experimentation. “Woah, that’s quite nice as well. Gives a little kick to this whole seafood and vegetable combo! If you ask me, the ingredients complement each other pretty well, like a true masterwork. Love it!” she stated with appreciation. Then she looked back at Kyle and told him, “Gosh you’re so missing out, dude! This sushi set is something else, lemme tell ya.”

Kyle shook his head and make a face at the sushi. Trixie giggled at him as he grimaced to show how much he didn't like it. "Shit's gross. It's raw fish. No thanks. Texture's disgusting, it smells like dirty socks, and tastes like it, too. You can have it all for all I care."

"How do you know what dirty socks taste like?" Trixie asked him with both interest and curiosity. "Surely you've not eaten dirty socks before..."

"Eaten? No, definitely not. But I can't say how I know... other than truth or dare can get wild," he told her before popping another piece of the fish he enjoyed in his mouth, followed by a couple fries.

"You're a freak for pokemon, dude. I guarantee a pokemon said if you did that they'd sleep with you and your dumbass did it, right?" she asked him with a pretty unamused look. Kyle's eyes darted back and forth.

"Uh... no..."

"You're disgusting. I can't believe I put your--."

"Trixie, seriously, what's it gonna take for you to like... shut the fuck up?" he asked her. She faked being hurt he said it that way but just grinned because she knew he was just playing around.

"I'll shut up if later we can..." she paused as she jumped up and began to whisper in his ear. Kyle's cheeks grew red and his eyes went wide. A couple seconds later, she sat back down.

"Deal!" he yelled loudly. She smirked at his enthusiam. "I mean... sure, deal..."

"I hope you guys don't mind my comments. I'm..." she paused to think of the words for Hana and Mert then continued, "a bit new to the whole socializing thing. Where I came from, it was entirely normal to be vocal and say what I do to our potential partners. Where I was from, we were honest about what we wanted from our partners, so I'm still stuck in that mindset. I know it's good to be open, but sometimes I just get a bit too into telling my favorite human how much he means to me, ya know?"

⁂​

While Trixie explained how she felt to Mert and Hana, Kyle's eyes drifted back to that green cat pokemon. It tried over and over to get a human to notice it and pay a little attention but it got let down over and over. Without saying a word, Kyle got up from his seat and walked over to the pokemon. "Excuse me," he said as he gently tapped the pokemon on the shoulder. It turned around as he squatted down to be eye level with it.

"Hey..." it responded while looking down sadly.

"I saw you showing off your tricks. Can I see some?" he asked it. The pokemon slowly looked up at him with uncertainty.

"You want to see?" it asked.

"Yeah! But first, I have to say, I've never seen a pokemon like you. Can I ask what species you are? And if you have a name?" he asked the pokemon. He saw the tiniest smile form on its face.

"My name's Kikay. I'm a floragato. Since you didn't know what I am, you probably want to know where I'm from. I'm from the paldea region..."

"I've heard of that region! I just haven't had much time to do my research on it. It's super nice to meet you, Kikay. My name's Kyle."

"That's okay, Kyle. So do you want to really see?" she asked him hopefully. Kyle nodded againd took a step back to give her space. And just like before, she began her tricks, showing him what she could do.

⁂​

Both Mert and Hana watched things unfold curiously as they took a pause after tasting yet another maki sushi piece each. As they saw the kinds of impressive yoyo tricks the bipedal green cat was able to pull off, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe and wonder.

“Wow, now that’s really fascinating!” Hana remarked with excitement as she tracked the floragato’s movements with her eyes. “Now they say the yoyo craze was so last decade and totally out of fashion, along with fidget spinners and such, but this is like, some next level stuff. Way to push the envelope there!”

“Tell me about it,” Mert joined in, equally impressed by the demonstration. “That must have taken a lot of practice and patience to pull off, but the payoff is obviously worth the effort. Looks like a real art, if you ask me!”

“Not only that, but that Kyle guy is being really considerate to her as well. Like, he literally came over and just talked to her when nobody else was willing to. That’s so sweet of him!” Hana commented with a hint of admiration. “It really shows how thoughtful he is towards other pokémon, too,” she added as she looked back and forth at the two.

“Right? Plus, that pokémon looked so lonely, it’s honestly kinda sad. Now look at her, she looks so happy and proud of her skill,” Mert pointed out, nodding with satisfaction at how things had turned out. “Now that’s what I call a beautiful outcome.”

"Totally! Wonder if there are any more of the floragato here in this place. Like, more of their kind of pokémon,” Hana mused thoughtfully. “Would be neat to find out, wouldn’t it?… Do you happen to have heard of any, Trixie?” she addressed the poochyena who meanwhile remained in her spot.

Trixie shook her head. "None. I didn't even know she was here. Maybe she just got here?" she wondered out loud. Trixie watched on from a distance, her smile growing bigger by the second. "I make jokes about pokephilia and all that, but look at him. He is why pokephilia is good. Seeing her smile is why he went up to her. That guy cares about Pokémon more than anyone I've ever met. And I love it so much. I could never love a Pokémon like I do him. And I only met him recently!"

⁂​

Kyle clapped for the Pokémon after each of her tricks. As she performed, he gradually sat down on the ground to watch her. Every trick made her smile wider and wider." These are so cool! How long has it taken you to get this good?"

" Was just born this good," she answered playfully. "Nah, it takes about a month for a floragato like me to get decent with our vines and buds."

"Wow. Only a month?! Insane!" she heard him compliment. Kikay slowly pulled her vine back and finished her tiny show.

"Yeah. It's pretty easy, really. So uh... Are you a trainer here for dinner? Or do you work here? I'm new so I'm sorry for not knowing..." she told him sheepishly.

"I volunteer here to work with the Pokémon. But right now, I'm here on a double date with that poochyena and our friends," Kyle said, pointing out to the group he was with. Trixie smiled happily at the two.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I had no idea you were on a date! Please, go be with them! I'll leave you alone!" she told him, instantly feeling bad for pulling him from the date he was on.

"You didn't! This is why I volunteer here. My job is to help you feel welcome. Would you like to meet my friends? The poochyena actually stays here so you'd have someone you can go to!" Kyle offered her.

"Oh no, no, it's okay! Really! You're on a date and I don't want to ruin it!" she said with a thankful smile coming after.

"Come on, please? It's not even an issue. That's why we came here - to spend time with the Pokémon. Come, sit with us for a bit. What's it gonna hurt?" he asked her. The floragato hesitated. Kyle slowly reached a hand out to her. She looked up and reached to his, where she nervously grabbed it." I promise it's okay. Come on, they'd live to meet you!"

"...Okay..." she said. Kyle let the floragato back to the table.

"Hey guys, this is Kikay. She's new here and is looking for some friends. Kikay, this is Trixie, Hana, and Mert," he told her while pointing each of them out one by one.

"Hi..." she said quietly. Kyle ran over to one of the other tables and pulled a chair over that wasn't being used and held it out for her. She slowly sat down and Kyle pushed the seat in.

"She's gonna join us for a bit! I hope you guys are cool with that!" he said to them before taking a seat between her and Trixie.

"I'm cool with it! It's nice to meet you! Sick tricks, by the way!" Trixie complimented, making the floragato smile happily.

“Took the words right out of my tongue!” Hana said while gesturing cheerily. “Also have I heard that correct? It just took her one month to get this good? Wow…”

“About as much as it took you to make those sweet pastries from my people’s cuisine, remember?” said Mert in response, making a point. “I’d assume it’s natural for some pokémon to pick up particular things at otherwise improbably fast paces. Oh, and also your own species are generally known to take dedication and hard work seriously, right?” he said with a warm smile directed towards her.

“Well, that is true!” the dewott replied in a modest manner as she nodded in agreement. “Work hard, play hard, and all that jazz! Can’t deny that these skills can certainly bring a lot of joy and entertainment to the table. Just look at how delighted Kyle seemed while watching the floragato, right?”

“I imagine I looked the same way when you introduced me to that special baklava of yours! Remember? You even joked about it being the ‘unlikely miracle in a dessert’ or something like that,” he reminded her with a faint grin forming on his face at the memory.

Hana’s face lit up slightly as she beamed back at him in appreciation for the mention, making her tail swish a bit excitedly at the recollection of her baking achievement. “Right! How could I forget? That was actually a tough recipe to master, so I felt really proud that ya ended up enjoying it,” she told him in a more relaxed tone, as she proceeded to rest her arms on the table and lean forward a little. “So, Kikay, is it?” she then addressed the floragato. “Care to share some more of your story with us maybe, hmm?”

Kyle took another piece of fish and popped it into his mouth before doing the same for Trixie, who smiled appreciatively. Kikay looked around nervously but nodded. "I uh... sorry, I'm not normally outspoken. I'm... trying to be, though. Um... a little about me... I just got here about three or four days ago. When I lived in Paldea, I wasn't... abused but I wasn't given the best care. Me and my trainer were decent friends, but he was pretty immature. I don't hate him or anything, but he just... not failed but..."

"Didn't come up to the standard?" Trixie asked her. The floragato nodded rapidly.

"Exactly! He was super nice but he just couldn't really keep up with everything. He heard this place was one of the best places for pokemon, so him and I saved money to get me here. We mutually agreed it's best we part ways," she continued to explain. Her tone was both sad sounding while also sounding relieved. "Like I said, he never abused me. It really came down to wanting different things. He wanted a life of constant partying... I didn't. I wanted friends but not the kind he had. They weren't reliable friends. So we got here and said our good-byes and... well, here I am..."

"Well you've got great friends here, now!" Trixie exclaimed. The poochyena stomped over Kyle, making him grunt as she did. She then leaned her head into the floragato's side affectionately. "I stay here so you're always welcome to come hang out with me! Kyle's always around too, so you'll have him around!"

"Thanks... It means a lot... Sorry, I hope I'm not putting a dampener on your date... He said you guys were on one so I hope my story wasn't too depressing..." the green pokemon told them all nervously.

“Hey, you know what they say?” Hana pointed out with a reassuring tone. “All’s well that ends well, right? So don’t beat yourself up over it! Sometimes, it’s better to move on and find a new beginning somewhere else, like you did. And now you’re here, making new memories and hopefully having the time of your life!”

“Well, it’s certainly nice to know that she seems to care about the quality of our own time, too,” Mert remarked in addition. “Perhaps she might be worrying about it a bit too much, but still. It’s admirable that she cares enough to check on it.”

“For sure! And hey, not only that, but she’s also a freakin’ awesome pokémon with crazy skills and talents,” the dewott quipped in agreement, waving a paw with enthusiasm. “Like, you were pretty spectacular back there, girl! Honestly, seeing that made me wish I had such a neat hobby for myself. Like, I guess I’m good at cooking, swimming, and maybe battling, but that’s all I can really brag about. And maybe singing a little, too, if I’m in the mood!”

 

[NestorAjax]

Kikay looked away bashfully. She'd been so used to not getting compliments like this that she had no idea how to handle others showing her interest, even though she herself sought at that kind of attention. "Come on, you're gonna make me blush... It's just natural for us to be able to do these tricks. A lot of floragato master these tricks to battle. They help with battling a lot since it's hard to predict where I'm gonna throw my vine."

"It could look like it's going one way but suddenly go another, I bet," Kyle said. She looked up at him and gently grabbed his arm and leaned into it. Kikay then nodded he was right.

"Yeah... But I don't really want to battle. I will, but it's not me. I like contests, more. I thought of trying out for one when I was a sprigatito but... eh, we see where that went," she said with a little scratch on the back of the head following. "So... Hana, I think your name was... You said you cook? What do you like cooking?... If I may ask, of course..."

“Well, usually it would be something seafood-based, as I tend to enjoy the flavor and texture a lot, much like the rest of my family,” Hana began to explain, running a few possible recipes through her mind as she folded her fingers one by one before she continued. “Lately I’ve been trying to diversify my palate a bit, so I’ve been experimenting with all kinds of veggies and berries and such, and that’s been turning out pretty darn well. Speaking of which, you should totally stop by sometime and check it out, yeah? I’m sure ya won’t be disappointed,” she concluded, winking with playful flair towards the floragato.

“Don’t leave out that your desserts are also pretty radical,” Mert interjected, nodding approvingly towards his dewott friend. “Like, I personally haven’t tried out your sweet tooth very much, but what I have tasted has been truly remarkable. Your specialty in baklava could’ve been a big hit in my home region, for sure!”

“Well, thank you! Always nice to hear that my food is being enjoyed by both humans and pokémon alike,” Hana chuckled in appreciation. “But anyway, back to you, Kikay. Tell me, which other hobbies have ya tried out so far? Any other hidden talents we should know about?”

Kikay thought hard about what else she did. Eventually she let out a sigh. "No... Not really... I'm kind of your run of the mill floaragato, but that's okay. I know if I got a chance, I'd be able to win someone over. I tend to get... overly attached quickly, so it's hard to maintain a friendship because of clingy I get."

"Well have you met Kyle?" Trixie asked in a playful way. The green Pokémon looked up at him again. "No attachment is too much for him. From my own experience, he can be your best friend, your lover, and your most annoying friend all at once. But he'll never leave you in the dust."

"Gee, thanks," he said with a roll of the eyes. "I'm always around, Kikay. We can hang out whenever you want. Just come find me."

"Promise?" she asked him. Kyle wrapped an arm around her reassuringly. The Pokémon was excited to finally have someone who seemed like they were genuinely interested in her. "I believe you... Do you live here by chance, Hana? I've never seen you before. Otherwise I'd love to come try your food some time."

“Actually, I live in a different district, and work too,” Hana clarified to her, sounding slightly apologetic as she twirled one of the longer strands of her fur somewhat nervously. “But it seems that I’m gonna appear here quite often from now on. Maybe I’ll try something out in the kitchen here too at some point, who knows!”

Mert’s expression brightened as he heard this, visibly pleased by this information. “In that case, perhaps I could offer myself up to taste test any new dishes you come up with? What with all the quality ingredients they seem to get shipped in steadily, it could be quite an interesting experience for us both!”

“Sounds like a plan to me! And you’ll be welcome to join the effort itself as well, y’know! Just as long as I get to pick the ingredients, though, and maybe assist with the preparation steps!” the otter told him with a grateful nod, looking forward to the upcoming collaboration. “Speaking of which, got any particular food preferences to keep in mind until then, Kikay? That way I can make sure to incorporate it into the recipe if it fits with the overall balance of the combo,” she then added in a questioning tone.

Kikay looked at the blue otter and thought deeply about the question. Only one thing came to mind. "Well, you may look at me and not believe it because of my figure, but I eat fried foods all day, every day. It's incredibly unhealthy for me to but it all just tastes so good! If it's fried, I'll most likely love it."

"Like our dinner?" Trixie asked the pokemon. She nodded to her. "Well have some then! We've got plenty!"

"No, no it's fine! You're on a date. Please, I'm just here for the company, nothing more. Thank you so--." Kikay didn't finish her sentence. While trying to convince them, Trixie picked up a piece of the fish in her paws before tossing it at the floragato, where it miraculously landed in her mouth. "Di' you just..." the pokemon mumbled.

"Yep! Welcome to me! Now you have to eat it because it was in your mouth! Or make Kyle eat it. He's a freak and--."

"Hey! You promised!" Kyle told Trixie.

"Aw, you're right. I did... Sorry, babe. But for real, please, help yourself to me and Kyle's dinner. The reason me and him chose here, aside from them," Trixie said, nodding to Mert, "is to share our time with you guys. Please, enjoy yourself. We won't be upset."

"I'm fine, really. But thank you," the cat said to her with an appreciate smile. "I'm not really hungry anyways. But it was good! Oh! Hana!" she exclaimed suddenyl when turning to Hana, "I also love sweets. Brownies drive me nuts! I'd love to bake some with you sometime if you'd be willing to swing by?"

“Oh, of course!” Hana replied, perking up slightly at the proposition. “That sounds like it could be fun! Though we might need to schedule another time to work on it, considering my current living situation and all that. Right, Mert?”

“You told me as much. Yeah, we’ll work out a good time for that later,” he assured her in acknowledgement. Then he looked at Kikay with curiosity in his eyes, and asked her with a hint of idea in his voice, “So, brownies are your fave sweet treat so far? I mean… I’m not an expert on them in particular, but what I’m saying is, I may be aware of some exquisite small cake variations that do have a penchant for blowing people’s minds, so perhaps we could add it to the mix at some point, if you don’t mind,” he suggested with a tone of intrigue. “And maybe try out some of the more exotic sweets that would be incredibly uncommon around here otherwise.”

“That sounds awesome!” Hana said to Mert. “Just give me enough time to do some research on what you’ve got in mind and whatnot, and maybe I’ll surprise ya all with it one day! Would that work for everyone?”

“I’d probably suggest the two of us keeping in touch with Kyle and his companions on Chatter, so that way we could plan things out in advance, at least,” Mert added in response, smiling back at the dewott, then addressing the other man as he continued. “Would that sound good, Kyle? As you obviously are gonna be the most up to date with Kikay’s presence here and possibly other pokémon who might like to join us as well, so…”

"Chatter?" Kikay asked quizzically. Kyle pulled his phone out of his pocket to show her so she'd understand.

"It's just how we stay in touch, see? We make a profile and then exchange information to stay in touch."

"I see..." she said, looking down at his phone. "If... I mean... He doesn't have to but... I'd like to stay in touch. It's... it's hard to make friends so having help doing that would be awesome."

"Sure, then I can do that. I assume you have Chatter, Hana?" Kyle asked her as he pocketed his phone. "Well, I guess it wouldn't matter depending on what happens between you two. I also guess that's way down the line anyways... Regardless, if you have it, we should exchange information, Hana, just so I can help set things with Kikay."

“Oh, sure, one second!” The dewott reached towards the bag she had brought with her, pulled out her own phone, which seemed to have a custom casing designed to make it more suitable for the pokémon’s smaller hands, and then tapped on the screen a bit with the free hand as she searched for the right app to open. Soon enough she had found it and handed it over to Kyle for him to input his own information on.

The username in her Chatter profile said @hantastica, and there was a tiny lotus flower emoji after her display name, making it instantly recognizable. “I’m on there pretty often so I can definitely catch up with any message from either of ya sooner or later,” she assured both Kyle and Kikay as she gestured cheerily towards them. “Can’t guarantee I’ll reply immediately ’cause, ya know, work can be crazy and all, but at least I won’t be ignoring it or anything like that! So no worries!”

"Thank you, Hana. I really appreciate it. It's... hard to get out and make new friends in a place like this," she admitted with a heavy sigh. "Like, everyone here is great and all but so many come here for the sex. I haven't been here long and I see that... which isn't really an issue, but it can be if you're like me where you really do want just a friend that isn't after the sex, you know?"

"That's kind of how it goes with a place that openly supports and endorses pokephilia, sadly," Kyle told her. She sighed once more and leaned against his arm. "But Hana has Mert and I have Trixie, so you won't have to worry about any of us seducing you."

"You will with me because you're pretty cute. But I'll still be your friend!" Trixie told Kikay with an innocent smile. Kikay did smile at her.

"Thanks... You guys are pretty nice. Thank you for... you know, letting me join you. It means a lot."

Hana giggled in her own manner once again, and for a moment it seemed that she was going to say something in response to the exchange, but then changed her mind and just gave everyone a silly look of sorts instead.

Meanwhile Mert had taken another piece of pickled ginger and was chewing on it for a few more seconds. He then thought about which piece of sushi to pick next, as he looked at the platter somewhat hesitatingly. Soon though, Hana reached with the chopsticks towards a more fancier roll herself, picking it into them and dipping it a little, but instead of putting it into her own mouth, she raised it towards Mert’s own lips with a playful expression. After seeing the piece getting moved like that in front of him, he traced back to her face and couldn't help but smirk faintly at the gesture.

She stuck her tongue out giddily as she said, “You wanna bite or what, ya big softie?”

The man looked at the piece thoughtfully, then at her again, before accepting it, as he opened his mouth and allowed her to pop it in. After he took the sushi piece, he chewed it thoroughly before swallowing and licked his lips slightly. “Uhm… quite flavorful indeed. Thanks, I guess?”

The dewott kept her head facing him with a wide smile as she closed her eyes cutely, then pulled away from the plate while giggling lightly. “My pleasure, Mr. Mert~! Glad to know you like it, though! No biggie!” she replied with an air of innocence, as she grabbed a piece for herself too and nibbled on it with much enjoyment.

“Heh, you’re welcome,” he thanked back, nodding at her before looking back at the floragato sitting in front of them. “Anyway… So basically you’re saying that so far pretty much everyone else you’ve met around here either sought you out for some sexual interactions or hasn’t exactly shown any genuine interest altogether, until now that is. Am I right, Kikay?”

"Yeah, pretty much..." she mumbled. "I get it. Times are changing so this is pretty normal; the whole thing about people wanting pokemon so they can experience pokephilia, I mean. I'm not mad at anyone for it. If anything, I'm happy to see people get to be that way. But... I dunno. It's hard to find a genuine interaction nowadays."

"At least you've got us!" Trixie told her. Kikay looked up and smiled then nodded. She was happy about that. Someone showed her a little interest and now she's made four new friends she felt were genuine people and pokemon.

There's plenty of people here who'd love to meet you and be your friend without the whole pokephilia thing. You just gotta keep trying," Kyle told her. "It's tough but I promise you'll find someone. I have a friend who--."

"Well look who it is!" a voice squeaked loudly. Kyle sighed and shook his head as a little yellow pokemon jumped up on the table in front of the group. "What's up, my guy? How's it going?"

"Well it was good until you got here," Kyle told the pokemon. It blew raspberries at him in response, making Kyle chuckle. "It's good. On a date with some friends. Dj, this is Trixie, Hana, and Mert," Kyle told the little pichu. It waved to them all. "Everyone, Dj. This is the pokemon I was telling you about earlier... the one that Melody thought you should meet."

"What's up, homies? Friends of his are friends of mine... and who's this pretty lady?" Dj asked, eyeing the floragato up and down. She blushed at his compliment.

"And that's Kikay. She's new here," Trixie told him.

"A new girl, huh? Awesome. Stop by sometime, I'd be happy to get to help you get accustomed to the whole daycare life," he told Kikay. She stayed quiet and nodded shyly. "So, date, huh? You guys should stop by my room after and hang for a bit. I can turn this boring date into an exciting one!... no offense on the boring part..."

“None taken, buddy,” Mert chuckled good-naturedly in return, seemingly unfazed by his antics. “Also… I hope you won’t mind me wondering, but just in case… The way you talk and act kinda betrays the impression your unevolved form would normally give off… So, if I were to hazard a guess, I’d say… everstone?”

“Ha! I bet he uses one!” Hana exclaimed, pumping her tiny fist in the air. “You rock for having one, bro! I’ve got one as well, in one of my pockets,” the water-type added, as her paws stroked down along the blouse she was wearing on the top of her body.

“Didn’t you say that, like, you still had some way to go before you’d start evolving into samurott anyway?” Mert questioned her with an intrigued expression.

“Yep, I did. But you never know when that threshold happens to be crossed, especially considering the kind of lifestyle I’m used to, so it’s always better to be prepared for it than not,” the blue otter pointed out with a shrug. “In any case, evolving further spontaneously would be more of a hassle than it can be worth, at least in my opinion.”

Dj listened to the two before he shook his head. "You'd both be wrong. Pichu to Pikachu is through friendship. I've got friends but nobody to call my trainer to really... push me into that final stretch to evolve."

"Not like you want to anyway, I hear," Kyle interjected. The pichu nodded that he was right.

"Why would I want to evolve? Being tiny is awesome. People look at me and shower me in compliments. I get to sit in anyone's lap. Do I have to mention I can also be carried?" he asked them all with a smirk.

"I gotta say, being carried was one of my favorite things before I evolved. Kind of wish I didn't," Kikay added to the conversation.

"Don't listen to Dj. He's a spoiled brat," Kyle jokingly told everyone.

"Maybe. Maybe... but at least everyone likes being around me. Nobody has a boring time when I'm around, and you can't deny that!" Dj retorted. "So... Mert, Hana, poly or open relationship? Not my business obviously but... respectfully, don't care. Gotta get to know my friends friends, who will probably become my friends too."

“Uhh… This is actually our very first date, if you could call it that… S-so we haven’t really talked about that sort of stuff yet…” Mert acknowledged in response, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. “Although I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of things going in either of those directions, knowing Hana’s personality at least… Mind you, she can get some properly crazy ideas from time to time, so I honestly can’t predict what may happen.”

“That’s why I went along with his own idea for this date thing to begin with, even though I could smell it coming from a mile away!” she continued with an amused tone, her black ears visibly flapping a little under her hat from the sheer excitement and thrill of everything they had gone through so far.

“Actually, the idea itself was Kyle’s — or, rather, Nala’s,” Mert pointed out, trying not to take too much credit for the endeavor. “I met the two earlier today, along with Melody, as I recall. They basically helped with accomodating the three pokémon that I had with me in the daycare for a month or two. I won’t lie, that really took a weight off my back.”

“O-oh! So, like… Does it also mean I get to meet Rin-chan here tonight?” the dewott suddenly remembered out loud. “How’s she doing? Everything alright with her?”

“Last time I checked, she seemed pretty elated about this new place. Apparently they’ve got loads of options for different activities, so that’s been a highlight for her. And Jay treated her very kindly, so there’s that too,” Mert told them with a slight sigh of relief as he looked back on the memory fondly. “Anyway, that rattata must’ve probably made plenty of new friends and playmates by now, so I can imagine her being really involved right now… Or really tired, for that matter.”

“Tired is right, but she always bounces back like it’s nothing!” Hana replied enthusiastically, already making mental plans to check in on Mert's pokémon later. “By the way, have you seen her yet? Um… Dj, was it?” she then addressed the pichu on the table.

"A rattata named Rin?" Dj mumbled, thinking about if he'd seen her. Ultimately, he shook his head. "I can't think of a rattata, honestly. But I have so many pokemon coming and going from my room that it's hard to keep track. Someone has to be able to entertain those who're still adjusting, am I right?"

"Coming from one pokemon like that, I appreciate that," Kikay told Dj. The pichu looked over to the green cat and smiled at her.

"You're free to come by sometime if you'd like," he offered to her. Her smile grew bigger as she nodded.

"I'd like that... thank you," she said shyly. Dj walked over to where she was sitting and sat in front of her while still facing the group.

"You said you had three pokemon, right? What pokemon are they? Maybe they've been by and I could let you know how they are," Dj asked Mert.

“Alright, so I had Rin the rattata, also Koto the swablu, and Sage the skorupi. Koto is like, mildly curious, not quite as much as Rin is, but still. He can get quite clingy and sit on people’s heads sometimes, too. Thankfully the bird hasn’t that much weight on him, so it shouldn’t be a problem for most. Oh, and as for Sage, well… Sage’s just a couch potato, period. She might move from place to place at times, but don’t expect any sort of significant activity from her. If anything, it’s usually just to get some food or water, or relax under the sun. Nothing else, really,” Mert elaborated with a slight laugh at the end.

“Ey, I’ve got a hunch actually,” Hana suddenly spoke up while stroking her chin in a pondering fashion. “See, last time I saw that skorupi, I think I’d picked up that she was undergoing something. Not an evolution, but likely a heat, or something of the sort? Might have been just an odd mood, though, since I saw it happen only once. I wasn’t able to bring myself to ask her about it, since it seemed too sensitive a topic, but maybe you might have an idea what it could have been, Mert?”

“Hmm, that’s quite possible. I honestly have no idea how those cycles actually go for bug-types, but it does make sense to me that her behavior would change somehow at a certain time during the year. Could be something worth checking on, for sure,” Mert replied thoughtfully while tapping on the table in a contemplative manner. “…Um, do any of you know anyone among the staff who could tell that for sure perhaps?” he then questioned Kyle, Trixie, and Dj directly. “Since you guys seem to be more familiar with the workings here than me, at the very least.”

"I assume you mean someone who can tell you if she's in heat?" Kyle asked Mert, wanting to be sure that was what he meant.

"Actually, if I may interject," Kikay said as she nervously raised a paw, "You should talk to her yourself. As a Pokémon myself... obviously... What I would want is for my trainer to know so they're aware of what's going on with me. I would trust my trainer to help me in whatever way he or she would be willing. Obviously I do not mean to throw yourself at your Pokémon, but ask if there's anything you can do to help her."

"I agree," Trixie spoke up next, "This isn't the horny me speaking, either. During heats, a lot of us females can feel... vulnerable. Having someone who can remind us they're there for us if we need means so much to us. I would honestly also recommend talking to her instead of having someone else do it. Ask her if she is and, if she is, ask what you can do to help. That bond you've got will be so much stronger. That's how I actually connected to Kyle so quickly! He was there when I needed it the most!"

“Welp. I guess you two are right. Though usually I’d avoid getting too invasive into any pokémon’s personal space, even if it were my pokémon, so to speak… In this case I guess I should at least try asking her about it, and see where it goes from there,” Mert conceded with an unsure tone, though he knew that as far as communication goes, it was definitely worth a shot. “But again, I know very little about bug-type pokémon, so, um… if Sage really is in heat, I’m not entirely sure what kind of solution I’d be looking for to begin with…”

“Oh, but you never know if she happens to have some relevant experience to help you with that already!” Hana remarked with renewed cheer. “Like, unless you ask her directly, of course! I mean… I know she won’t say a word, literally speaking, but you also got me by your side! I’m sure I can interpret her body language pretty accurately, or at least I’d like to believe. And then, maybe between the two of us we can figure out how to assist her in the best way possible, yeah?”

“Sounds like a plan,” he chuckled softly at the dewott's enthusiasm. “But then uhhh, what if she turns out to be specifically interested in… ahem… you know,” he continued in a half-joking, half-serious tone, “as opposed to the other solutions that might come up, that is?… Just thinking about it weirds me out a little.”

“Hey, no judging! We all have our kinks!” Hana replied in a somewhat scolding manner while pointing a finger upwards. “Like, as long as she’s comfortable with it and no harm comes to her, that’s all that matters.”

“I uhh-- I wasn’t going to judge. I’m just…” Mert took a pause and gave a small cough as he attempted to regain his composure. “Well, uh, if she actually wanted to express that kind of a desire, then… I’ll certainly respect her wishes and all, but… you know, consent is a two-way street, and uhh… I’m just not sure if I…”

Hana giggled at Mert’s response, amused by his embarrassment and inability to finish his sentences in this instance. She then leaned forward a bit towards the man, looking him in the eye teasingly, and remarked, “Oh, c’mon! I mean, you’re free to think what ya want about it, obviously. Even if it’s about a threesome kinda thing, with y’all together, you, Sage, and me…” She made a few exaggerated winking gestures with her furry eyelids at him. “Don’t tell me it doesn’t sound intriguing to ya already, now~.”

Mert blinked with surprise for a second as he processed Hana’s suggestion. “Uhhh… Geez, somehow that feels even weirder now to think about…” he finally stated bluntly with a slight chuckle. “…How about we change the subject before my brain starts melting from the mental image? And probably not just my own. Don’t want to scare away these poor pokémon at the table, do we now?… See what I meant when I said she gets some properly crazy ideas sometimes?” he said the last part to the others in a joking manner as he looked at them with an incredulous grin.

"Is it a crazy idea when you didn't really say no?" Trixie asked him with a mischievous smirk on her face. She reached onto the plate and grabbed the last piece of fish that was there. She rolled it around in her paw before looking up and holding it out to Kyle. He graciously took it, bit it in half, then gave the rest to Trixie. She was super happy to take it, evident by the sound of her tail smacking the seat beneath her as it wagged.

"You also don't have to do anything, Mert," Kyle added to the conversation after swallowing the fish, "How you feel is just as important. If you're not into her in such a way, be honest but also make it clear you're around to help in other ways for her. Like, me personally, I'm not really into the bug Pokémon. I'm actually kind of scared of them, if you want me to be completely honest..."

"If my trainer told me they'd help me find a solution to my heat even when they're not into me, I'd be just as happy," Kikay mumbled quietly. "The best thing you can do is talk to her. That's all I can tell you."

“Well, I guess that's that, then,” Mert replied with a brief smile as he looked back to the green cat in acknowledgement. “Think I’m gonna stop by soon on one of these days to check up on her, and maybe take things from there… Hopefully it won’t be as awkward as I’m expecting it to be,” he chuckled softly at his own expense while nodding slowly in agreement with the sentiment. “Also, Hana, it seems that I gotta take you on that offer… N-not the threesome one, if that was an offer really, I mean the other one. When you said you could interpret her body language and all that… I feel I’m gonna need someone like you to help me navigate this potential issue, because frankly I’m kinda lost with the whole thing.”

“Awesome! Well, maybe you can text me whenever you have the chance, and I’ll be right here to assist ya, then, assuming I’m good to take a leave from my job, or it’s a day off for me anyway,” she cheered in a giddy tone, throwing her arms upwards with enthusiastic energy. “Not to mention, there’s still that idea of baking sweet treats together in a collab sorta thing.” The dewott then looked at the others with a warm expression, and continued, “Perhaps the rest of y’all might tag along with me at some point, and we can have you on board as well. It’ll be fun either way!”

“I think it would help to bring along some of the local pokémon who are just as enthusiastic about learning how to cook stuff, too,” Mert suggested, trying to envision the event in his mind. “Case and point, earlier today I visited the Daycare’s kitchen and saw plenty of engagement happening with the chefs and their companions who were helping out, so I can kinda imagine how it could play out.”

“Sounds great! So, shall we stay in touch while figuring out who else’s gonna be on board, before we set a date for this whole shindig?” the blue otter pokémon questioned with a hint of eagerness in her voice, trying to gauge the reactions of the others. “Who else here wanna join in and give it a shot? Or any of the rest of you can also pitch in some of your buddies, if they’re game for it!”

"I'm sure Trixie would love to have me take her, so I'd be happy to join," Kyle told them with a slight nod. "I'd actually probably bring another friend of mine as well. Her name is Nala. She's a sucker for baked goods."

"If it's an open invitation I'd be happy to join and make new friends. That's kind of what I'm good at. Being the life of a party comes with that responsibility, it seems," DJ also told them.

"Why not have a daycare-wide baking day? Maybe some kind of competition or something?" Kikay suggested to the group. She looked unsure of the idea but continued on, "Involve everyone here at the daycare? Could even advertise it and maybe end the day with some of the Pokémon here with no homes being adopted!"

“…Amazing idea! I love it,” Hana exclaimed excitedly as she listened to Kikay. “Count me in any time! But just to be safe, I’m gonna need a week or two to clear my schedule beforehand. Let me know in advance, ok, everyone?”

“Sure, if I get a word from them, I'll certainly let you know ASAP,” Mert replied with an appreciative tone. “So, uhh, with that settled, how about we get back to our meal, Hana? Our friends over here have already finished theirs, just so you know.”

“Well, that’s alright! I’ve got more than enough to work with anyway, so no biggie! Just enjoy your delicious sashimi, buddy, and don’t hesitate to help yourself to my leftovers,” she assured the man, placing the platter of pickled ginger along with a few smaller dishes full of various sides and sauces in front of Mert.

“Sure, thanks. I could do with some extra pieces to really fill my tummy, anyway, so…” He proceeded to grab a couple more bites from the food at hand, chewing and swallowing it leisurely and somewhat thoughtfully…

Less than a minute later, two new pokémon seemed to be approaching the gathering. The first one was a totem-esque bird-like creature who looked no taller than 3 feet, yet its posture and demeanor was distinctly confident and strong. Its body had patches of white, green, and red, with what looked like green feathers hanging from its wing-like arms. The other one was a noticeably taller salamander-like creature whose entire body was a mix of purple and yellow, with lightning-like spikes on its back giving off an electric yellow glow particularly drawing attention. The latter one was also seen carrying a star-shaped stringed instrument in its hands, and both of them seemed to be sharing a rather friendly conversation between each other.

“Looks like we’ve got some new company coming in,” Hana said out, being the first to take note of the pair’s arrival.

“Ey ey ey, if it isn’t the man himself,” the toxtricity spoke out in a masculine voice first with an air of familiarity as it approached the table, waving a big-fingered hand at everyone there. “How’s it been, Dj? I see you’re mingling with some new folks tonight, huh?”

“Ah, of course it’s our dude being socialistic as usual!” the hawlucha then followed up in a feminine one, poking at his shoulder playfully with a wing while chuckling heartily. “Didja see me and Ohm nailing that gig at the convention yesterday? Those humans couldn’t resist our tunes, and they tipped us hella well too, haha!” she added, looking at the pichu in the center.

“Aye, there were plenty of pokémon in the crowd too as I recall,” the purple and yellow bipedal lizard added with a nod towards them. “At least the ones that weren’t too busy getting themselves, well, busy, if you get my drift,” he then added with a snicker.

“Guys, guys, please have a seat or something! Make yourselves welcome here! Y’all know how it goes, don’tcha?” Hana cut in, gesturing cheerfully towards the empty seats in front of them, and at the same time motioning for Mert and the rest of the table to scoot a little bit aside. “Any friends of Dj’s are also our friends, so consider yourself at home!”

“Well well, who’s this pretty thing? I assume you’re on a date with this man right here? Or… maybe he’s yours, too? Ooh, how exciting,” the toxtricity exclaimed with interest, his eyes glancing back and forth between them. “Name’s Max, by the way! And this is my pal, Amara! But we usually go by nicknames, so, feel free to call us Ohm and Raptor!”

“Aww shucks, aren’t you cute yourself, eh?” the dewott complimented with a playful tone before proceeding with her answer. “And, umm… I g-guess you could say we’re on a date?” she added a little sheepishly while twirling the ends of her fur. “But not like, an exclusive or official relationship or anything like that… Heh heh… Anyway, I’m Hana, and my sweetheart here is Mert!” The man just rolled his eyes a little in response to her choice of wording, but he wasn't really that against it.

“What’s up?” he acknowledged, raising a hand in greeting as he flashed a friendly smile towards the pair. “Nice to meet cha both!” He then shifted his attention towards the pichu, and told him, “Say, Dj… Hope I haven’t missed anything interesting that you guys might be planning, seeing as you’ve probably been up to a lot around here by now… So, feel free to share if you’ve got something!”

"Funnily enough, I have been! Kyle, his pyroar Nala, and I specifically!" DJ responded to the Pokémon.

"Wait, you do music?!" Trixie asked her date in shock. Her eyes were filled with excitement from learning that but Kyle quickly answered that.

"No, I don't. But DJ has been bugging me to do a song with him but I'm the opposite of musical, so it was hard. We figured something out and we've put a song together, and he's coached me through a second I've done almost on my own. It's... Not very good."

" They're both certified bangers and hood classics," DJ said with a smirk on his face. "He actually wrote the lyrics himself!"

"DJ shut up before you say too much. You know you will," Kyle told the pichu both playfully and seriously. The pichu looked over and nodded before giving a tiny thumbs up to him. "You play anything Mert or Hana? I've wanted to learn guitar but that's way out of my league."

“You know, I used to think the same, once upon a time,” the human guy replied thoughtfully, “Then I slowly found out that confidence comes with practice. Like, even a tiny bit of it matters, as long as it’s regular. At first I could only get myself to do this much; but what I did was, I tried to do it every day no matter what, even if it’s for just three or four minutes of awkward strumming before I get bored or tired. And it’s been a pretty long journey from there, but uhh… I think I’ve finally made some real progress in it, sooo…”

Meanwhile the dewott placed both her paws on his arm and nodded several times, as he was speaking.

“Ey dude, that sounds great and all, but like, care to show us what you’ve got?” the toxtricity insisted eagerly. “We don’t have anywhere to be right now, and this might actually be the perfect chance for you to put your skills on display, am I right?” He then pulled the instrument he’d been holding towards Mert.

“Well, uh… I’ve only played acoustic guitar before, didn’t try my hand with electric yet,” he mumbled as he took the offered item carefully and gave it a tentative strum. “I mean, like… I’m sure it’s gonna sound cool once plugged, it’s just that I’m not even sure how I would improvise with one. Might end up messing it up, which would be… awkward, I’d imagine.”

“I gotcha, fella… Hey, Dj, bro, got any acoustic ones lying around somewhere? Think that one would be more suitable for this guy’s style,” Ohm then suggested in a laid-back tone to the pichu.

"Have I got any acoustic guitars, he asks," DJ said, mocking the toxtricity jokingly, "Of course I do. Well, not me, but Zaps does. I'm sure he'd be willing to let my new friend use it if he ever wanted, so long as he's respectful towards it. It was passed down from his grandfather, to his father, and now him. So as long as he respects that and treats it well, he should be fine!"

"I'd also love to see what you've all been cooking up with Kyle and his persian woman if you'd be down!" Kikay also added on.

"I don't mind that, but I don't really want to interrupt their date. How about you guys swing by whenever your date is done? Gives me a second to run it by Zaps and make sure he's cool with it, unless you're good now!" DJ suggested to Mert and Hana.

“Oh, don’t ya worry about it,” the dewott told him with an unconcerned air. “We’re out here to have fun anyway, so it’s no big deal! Again, the more the merrier!” she stated with a cheery smile in DJ’s direction. “Isn’t that right, Mert?” He shrugged with an unsure smile in response.

“Waaait, you mean… the Zaps?” the toxtricity suddenly perked up as he heard the pichu mentioning his friend and mentor. “He’s around here now, for real? It’s been such a long time since the last time I saw the big guy himself!” he exclaimed with an air of nostalgia. “Come to think of it, he had mentioned to me that he was looking for new apprentices to work on a project he set up with some other pokémon… Is that the one you’re talking about, DJ?”

The pichu turned to the toxtricity and nodded once again. He took a second to look up at Kikay before scooting closer towards her and leaning against one of her paws that was on the table. "Yeah, him. Him and I go way back, not sure if you knew. Him and I started a little group when he was just a toxel, and he took the whole music industry by storm. He's a natural when it comes to music, that's for sure. Heard he may want new students in the not-so-distant future, as well."

"Shit, maybe that means I take a stab at it again and see what he can teach me as well," Kyle spoke up.

"He'd love to teach, especially when you've got the basics, which it seems like you do. Plus guitar is he favorite instrument, so even more bonus points if you're ever interested as well," DJ told Mert with a tiny nod. "Oh, and he loves singing. Him and Nala have that way in common, but it took a bit of coaxing her to give it a shot. Dude's obsessed with her voice, I tell you what. Anyways, you two go back a long time?" DJ asked the toxtricity quizzically.

“Oh yes, certainly!” the electric lizard replied enthusiastically. “Funnily enough, I was a toxel myself when he first took me in, too. Even back then, he seemed like a good tutor for me and several other pokémon who'd joined us… Granted, he never stuck with the group for long after we hit it big, but the bond we shared remained, nonetheless.”

“I was among them too, by the way,” the hawlucha then spoke out after listening silently for a few seconds, with a faint sense of reminiscence in her voice. “It was my first time being part of a band, and even though we didn’t stick together for much longer afterwards, those memories were still special to me in the end. My dear Vina is probably the only other person I ever felt as close to in my life as I did to that group of pokémon at the time.”

“Huh… so it sounds like this reunion might be something special indeed,” the blue otter mused to herself while scratching her chin ponderously, before looking at the group with renewed enthusiasm. “Which means, we’re definitely gonna each gain something from going along with this. Who knows? Maybe we might even get lucky and be able to play along with the master himself, huh? Wouldn’t that just be crazy!”

“Sure that it would,” Ohm agreed with her in an amused tone. “Also, you didn’t mention which instrument you play, miss Hana. So, what can you play, or at least make an attempt at it, anyway?”

“Ooh, well… I could say I’m pretty okay with panpipes and blues harps, actually!” the dewott responded to the toxtricity. “But that’s about it, I’m afraid… On a brighter note, I like to think I can also sing quite well. Oh, and Mert also thinks so too, isn’t that right?” she said as she nudged her elbow teasingly at the man sitting beside her, and giggled as she saw him blushing faintly in embarrassment at her remark.

“I mean… the way you hit the notes on pure instinct, I can only imagine what your voice can do when put to actual proper training,” Mert finally spoke out, addressing the dewott directly. “She’s definitely got a knack for it, that I’ll attest to with full confidence!”

“Well, hey, there ya go! Looks like you’ve got a nice combo going on there,” Ohm remarked, nodding approvingly at them. “Maybe you guys should form a duet or something, or join one of the bands around here, depending on how it plays out!”

“Thanks, I’ll consider it!” she said with a soft smile, gently wrapping her furry arm around Mert’s own. She then leaned in and whispered something to him, to which he blinked briefly with a surprised expression. However, a subtle smirk then crossed his face shortly afterwards.

“Welp. I just got two pieces of my meal left, and then I’m good to go," he said in a casual tone, while turning towards DJ, and telling him, “You’re on, buddy! Hope that Zaps doesn’t mind us paying him a visit. Should I bring a snack or anything else for him as a sign of gratitude for the opportunity? I guess it’s better to be prepared than not.”

Dj laughed at Mert's gesture and shrugged. He stood up from where he stood up on the table. He kept inching closer to Kikay, who seemed to pick up on his interest in her. She was happy to reciprocate by picking him up and standing up soon after with him in her arms. "I'm sure he'd appreciate that if you'd be cool with it. If anything, a drink would be something I know he'd appreciate. The man's always working his voice, so I'm sure something like that would go a long way."

"And he won't mind, especially if it's one of his old students showing up!" Kyle told the toxtricity with his own excitement. It wasn't often he'd get to see reunions so this wasn't one he was going to miss at all. "You okay with that, Trixie? That we go hang out with them for a bit?"

"Duh! Are you two sure you're cool with it?" asked Trixie to Mert and Hana once more. While a date, she didn't wantto do things they didn't, so she had to be as sure as she could be.

“Hey, what makes ya think we aren’t?” Hana teased back with a grin, giving her a playful wink. “At least for me, I’m up for exploring more stuff around this place as long as we get to have fun! And honestly, I find this whole thing pretty intriguing!”

“Sure, I can roll with it too,” Mert affirmed as well with a quick nod, trying to seem less embarrassed from the prospect of meeting a legendary rock star up close. “I didn’t exactly have a plan for tonight’s date anyway, so why not? As long as it turns out to be interesting and enjoyable for everyone in the end, I’m okay with whatever happens!” He then paused for a moment, and added, “Also… what kind of drink would be best for him exactly?”

"Homie loves water. He's one of the most hydrated non-water type pokemon I've ever met," DJ told Mert. Kyle stood up and walked next to Kikay. Trixie jumped up in her seat and waited momentarily.

"I'll catch up in just a moment! I want to grab a dessert real quick! Don't wait for me!" she told the group. "Actually, is Nala already there?" she asked DJ. The little rodent shook his head. "I'll go grab her for you then, Kyle."

"Thanks, Cutie," he told her, making her smile like mad. "You two good to go?" he asked Mert and Hana next.

“Absolutely!” Hana exclaimed eagerly as she stood up onto the chair she’d been sitting on and stretched her paws outward. “Think it’s gonna be quite the adventure, if anything!”

“Just one last cup of tea for me, and I’m good,” Mert responded, pouring himself some of the hot beverage from the teapot, then proceeded to finish the rest of it gradually before placing the empty cup back on the tray. He then looked up and smiled faintly at everyone around him, and said, “Shall we set off then, everyone?”

"Yep! Kikay, you'll just--."

"I actually know where to go, DJ," the floragato interrupted DJ with a slight bit of embarrasment. He looked up at her confusedly. "I have thought about coming to say hi to try and get used to being around others but I was too shy."

"Aww, well that's okay! You're always welcome!" he responded with a warm and inviting smile to her. She nodded and motioned the group to follow. Once they were up, another group of pokemon headed to the table they were at and began to clean the mess from their dinner. Heading across the main lobby and down a hall towards several bedrooms, the sound of booming music became more and more prominent. "That music is my room. We're the last room to cause the least bit of disturbance we can. Like said, we're kind of the... party room, so you'll hear music almost all hours of the day. Never know when someone's going through something and needs help getting their minds off everything."

"Which is why DJ is so good at his job. Dude's got such a welcoming vibe to him!" Trixie also added while smiling up at the little pichu who smiled bashfully. The door to the room was wide-open. Once in, Kyle and the group saw several people and Pokemon, just hanging around and talking amongst each other with loud music still playing. It wasn't as loud as it seemed, giving people the ability to still talk without much issue.

"Ay! Dj!" a purple pokemon yelled out. It grabbed a remote and turned the music down a tiny bit before running over to the group. "How's it hanging, my guy?"

"Same old, same old. got some people to introduce. Zaps, this is Trixie, you know Kyle, Kikay, Mert, Hana, Raptor, and I think you know this last one, yeah?" DJ said, introducing them all to the toxtricity. He looked the same pokemon up and down before smirking.

"I'll be. Ohm, surely that's you, right?" the toxtricity asked in disbelief.

“In the flesh. Good to see you again, dude. It’s been too long,” the other one responded, bowing slightly in front of his teacher.

“You do recognize me too, right?” the hawlucha spoke up with a mildly excited tone, gesturing towards herself. “How many years was it? Four? Five?”

Meanwhile, a little bit further away, Hana gestured at Mert to lean closer to her, and asked, “Want me to get some water for your friend?” She then glanced at Zaps curiously as she spoke, clearly enjoying the intrigue that was unfolding with these reunions.

“Sure, the tab’s on me,” the human guy replied to her with a chuckle, while pulling out some cash from his wallet and handing it over to her.

“Nuh-uh, not you!” the dewott exclaimed with a smirk, waving her finger at him. “Not for this, at least… You just focus on enjoying yourself, and let me handle the business side of it!”

“Alright then, as long as I’m not inconveniencing anyone here,” Mert conceded with a faint smile and a shrug. The next moment he saw Hana swiftly dash out of the room, with an agility one might not expect from someone looking like her, to run towards the vending machines located in the hallway. “…Dang, she’s fast!” he couldn’t help but remark with a touch of awe in his voice.

(To be continued)​