Meeting Up

“We’re in Pallet Town. Probably not the best hiding place,” Paris responds.

“We’re just north of Lavender,” you respond.

“I think we’re just going to have a night just the two of us,” John lies to the other girls, wrapping his arm around your shoulders.

Norrie is about to argue when Mia grabs her arm, whispering in her ear. Norrie smiles turning to her and kissing her, “You beautiful minx.”

Mia blushes, turning to you and John, “We’re just going to, um,” she sighs as Norrie kisses the crook of her neck. “Go over there,” she gestures to the tree line. Mia turns away, rushing across the clearing. Norrie runs after her, tickling her resulting in raucous laughter.

“On our way,” Amber replies with a selfie, Yuruki’s face buried in her neck from behind. You show the phone to John.

“We should put some distance between us and them,” he points to the last sign of the retreating couple.

You gather your clothes and other items, “Agreed.” The both of you get dressed and head back to camp. You double check the bonfires, making sure no embers were still lit in the pile of ash. Satisfied that the bonfires are completely extinguished, you assist John with packing up camp.

You stop when you hear some rustling in the nearby bushes. You pause and stare, a flutter of color above the greenery. Orange and yellow. Norrie and Mia must have followed you.

“Leave us alone,” you say pushing aside the bush.

Wind rushes past you as a Pidgeot flaps its wings in response. You fall back on your butt, surprised to find a large bird rather than a couple of girls. The Pidgeot looks angry, berry juice dripping from her beak, her meal interrupted by your bush moving.

She jumps over the bush, standing over top of you. You panic for a second, looking for John, but he’s not around, he must’ve stepped away for a second. You scoot back, wind whipping through your hair as Pidgeot flaps her wings above you. Swallowing your surprise and panic, you grab for your pokeballs.

Pachirisu stands between you and Pidgeot electricity sparking around his cheeks. “Spark,” you command. He throws himself at the wild Pidgeot.

You’re starting to stand up, when a strong gust of wind knocks you over, rolling you backwards. You land on your stomach, your hair a mess around your vision. “Spark,” you huff brushing pastel blue hair from your face.

You brace yourself, pushing up, when a new rush of wind hits you from behind. It knocks you over onto your back, and you look up as a Swanna slows her descent into the camp. Amber and Yuruki have arrived.

In a flash of speed, Yuruki darts over to you. She grabs your arm, helping you to your feet. “You’ve got this Opie,” she says swatting your behind in encouragement. You tense up for a second at the unexpected contact. At least it wasn’t a kiss this time.

You turn to look at Amber, she is climbing down at a much more reasonable speed, rather than Yuruki’s breakneck pace. John is reentering the camp behind her. He jogs over to help when he sees they’ve arrived.

You turn back to the battle at hand. You’re not the only one that got knocked around during the strong gusts. Pachirisu looks rough, “Just a little more, Pachy! Thunderbolt.” He summons a bolt of electricity, zapping the bird.

She looks to be on her last leg, so you throw an empty ball. It hits the wild pokemon, pulling it into its confines. It rocks back and forth on the ground. Yuruki clasps a hand over each of your arms, lightly squeezing with each undulation. The ball clicks, and Yuruki cheers her hands grabbing you at the waist, lifting you in celebration as if you weigh nothing.

“Nice catch,” she says putting you down. “Here I’ve got it in my bag,” you’re not sure what ‘it’ is but she runs back to her Swanna, giving you time to retrieve your new partner and make you way over to where John and Amber are waiting.

“Opal, it’s great to see you again,” Amber says pulling you in for a hug.

Yuruki drops her bag at her feet, and starts digging through it. A couple sex toys falling out, alongside a bra that is clearly Amber’s based on the cup size, and then “Aha,” Yuruki says holding up an HM. “Fly! You do have enough badges, right?”

You nod, a little surprised that you wouldn’t need to buy the expensive machine to teach Pidgeot fly. After a quick teaching, Yuruki repacks her bag, including Amber’s undergarments.

“So what’s with the dropoff?” John asks.

Yuruki groans, “The stadium in Vermillion is surrounded by protesters after we spoke out in Ecruteak. They gave us added security, but it felt safer to get her out of there.”

“You should go, if you’re going to make it back for the game,” Amber speaks up.

“Oh right,” Yuruki says, “Keep her safe,” she pats John’s chest. Before turning to Amber and kissing her deeply. Then you, catching you off guard with your own kiss. “Have fun,” she smiles quickly scrambling back onto Swanna.

You and John catch up with Amber, exchanging stories of the past week. “We actually need to go,” you finally remember when you hear some rustling in the trees. The thought of Norrie and Mia possibly following you returning to your mind. “We ran into some crazy fans of yours earlier and they might still be around.”

“Sounds good, I’m ready to go,” Amber smiles, “Which way? Lavender or Rock Tunnel?”

You look to John for guidance, but before he can answer the ground rumbles beneath your feet. The entire valley shakes as a loud boom pours over the mountain ridges to the north. Thick black smoke starts filling the sky, something big just exploded on the other side of the Rock Tunnel. John watches the plume, “Maybe we head south.”

That night after putting distance between you and the explosion, you set up camp outside of Lavender Town. John starts cooking dinner, while you and Amber set up the tent. A little part of you grows jealous when you catch John looking at Amber, but then your stomach does flips when he turns his gaze to you.

“Dinner is ready,” he calls out, as you fit the last pole in its home. He hands you a bowl of curry as you approach, another for Amber, as he starts ladling his own. Amber sits next to you, while John takes up a seat across the campfire.

“Amber,” a voice calls out from the distance. You all turn to look, it sounds familiar but it’s far away.

It’s not until Amber calls back, “Jack?” that you can place her voice.