Shaken

The next day as the sun was already up in the sky, everyone was already up while Bonny stayed a bit longer with Max in the tent.

"Eh, would you look at that, our little thief did put my shirt back after they were done messing with me," Max informed while showing to Bonny, who was lying on her side while staring at Max and the shirt Aurora used the day before.

{Yep, that's the missing one.} she confirmed.

"I'm glad that I still have all of my shirts, but I can't help myself but wonder what the culprit did with them."

{Probably just wanting to mess with you a little.}

"Maybe." Max conceded while putting on a new shirt. "Maybe if I just ignore it, the culprit will see that it doesn't affect me at all and will stop eventually."

{It's worth a try.}

"I think I'll just do that. I'll act like nothing happened."

{Good plan.} Bonny agreed, but not for the same reason.

After dressing up, both Max and Bonny left the tent to eat breakfast with the rest of the team before going back on the road with Luna, Dusk, and May. After maybe an hour of walking, Max came across another trainer, which was a single tomboyish girl.

"Hey! Do you or your giant girlfriend want a battle?" The girl asked a bit rudely.

"She's not my girlfriend and hi to you too." Max rejoined.

"Eh, of course, she's not, she looks way too cool for you."

"Look, I-"

Max wanted to retort, but Luna stopped him by pulling him by the shoulder.

*Sigh* "If it's battle you want, then sure. I'll be more than glad to kick your ass."

"Ah, you're way out of my league to be near that beauty." the girl taunted, even less kicking it. All right, how about 500 for the bet?"

"500?" Max repeated.

"What? Too much for you?"

"I… just don't have that much." Max honestly told.

"Rhaa." the girl complained. "Why do I always come across the broken ones? All right, whatever. Just beating you will be plenty enough." she replied while taking out a pokeball. "I'll let you choose whatever pokemon you want."

"Really now? What about you?"

"Mine is already chosen."

"What if I take out a pokemon that have type advantage?"

"That won't be enough to beat me." She replied a bit haughtily.

*Hmpf* "Suit yourself. Can't wait to brush that stupid grin off your face." Max rejoined before taking out a pokeball. "I think I know the pokemon just for you."

Upon opening, the pokeball then let out a flash and materialized Aurora in front of Max.

For a few seconds, the girl stared at Aurora before starting laughing.

"What's so funny?" Max angrily demanded.

"Nothing, really. It's just that the odds for me to come across another lucario trainer are low enough to be ridiculously funny when it happens."

"Another?" Max repeated.

"Come on out Zoe." the girl called out before letting her own pokeball open.

After the materializing flash disappeared, another lucario then appeared in front of Aurora. Taller than her, Max noticed that she was female with the absence of a chest spike, but was in the bald category of the species. After a better inspection, not only the other female lucario was a bit taller, but also looked in way better shape than Aurora, being slightly more muscular. By the look of her face, she looked way meaner than her too, but still pretty nonetheless.

"A battle of lucario, this should be fun." the girl commented with a small grin.

"I suppose it takes a lucario to know one. Aurora, you're a lucario too, so you should all her weaknesses."

{Well observed idiot. The thing is, I don't have any, I don't know that much.}

{Hahahha!} the other lucario, known as Zoe, laughed. {Cocky I see. Good. That will be funnier to rub that pride on the dirt when I'll win.}

{I'm not so sure about that.} Aurora retorted while getting ready.

With Zoe getting ready as well, Max noticed that her stance was different from Aurora's, almost looking like a wrestling one.

"Be careful though, Aurora, she looks rather strong," Max warned.

*Hmpf* {I bet she's just about showing off.}

{Why don't you come here and see for yourself?} Zoe taunted.

{With pleasure.} Aurora angrily retorted before dashing towards her.

"Aurora! Wait! We haven't set the dome yet."

As Max was looking at Aurora with a worried face, neither the trainer nor the other lucario seemed fazed by that and just let Aurora rush towards Zoe. When close enough, Aurora went for a fast Force Palm. Unfortunately, Zoe moved at lightning speed and did a projection by grabbing Aurora's arm, dropped herself on her back, and threw the lucario over her with one leg, making her land hard on her back, close to the other trainer.

{Ghrr!} Aurora lowly growled in slight pain.

{Is it your first battle or what?} Zoe haughtily told.

Rolling to her stomach, Aurora quickly stood up and got ready for another attack, staring at her opponent angrily.

{You seem mad.} the other female lucario pointed out.

Again, Aurora charged at Zoe with Bone Rush and went for a horizontal swing. Lowering herself, Zoe easily dodged the hit before going for Sweep on her opponent's legs. As Aurora was falling and before she touched the ground, Zoe quickly went for a Force Palm herself, propelling her to her previous spot, on her back again. Growling, Aurora tried to stand up, but Zoe didn't let her do so and threw an Aura Sphere at her.

{Grhaa!} Lowly bellowed Aurora before disappearing in a small cloud of dust.

When the cloud quickly disappeared, Aurora was on all four with blood dripping from her nose and mouth.

"Alright, that's enough," Max called out before walking towards Aurora, but not before glaring at Zoe, who only retorted with a raised eyebrow and grin.

{W-why?} Aurora asked angrily.

"Just look at yourself. First, you rush at your opponent without thinking, and now, you don't even wait for me to apply the protection? What are you trying to prove, Aurora?" Max inquired while trying to help her stand.

{Nothing- Gha!}

Upon trying to push away Max's hands, Aurora felt great pain on one of her shoulders and grabbed it.

"Well, I suppose it's my victory. Good thing we didn't bet."

"… Yeah," Max mumbled angrily while helping Aurora to stand despite herself.

"Better luck next time, haha." the girl taunted before leaving with Zoe next to her.

{Yeah, see you later losers.} Zoe insulted before slapping Max's ass while passing next to him.

As Max was taking a deep breath to contain his anger, Dusk and Luna also angrily stared at the both of them as they were walking away.

{Get your fucking hands off me.} Aurora almost snarled before strongly pushing Max away, almost making him trip.

"Aurora…" Max mumbled while staring at the lucario, who was leaving in the woods while painfully holding her shoulder.

For a moment, Max thought about following her, but he knew too well that it was best to leave her alone. For now, chasing her would only make her uselessly aggressive.

"I think we need a break," Max told before going off-road.

When sheltered from any other encounters, Max released Bonny so that almost all of his team was out.

{Break already?} Bonny commented.

"Yeah, well, one of the team needs to cool off a bit."

{Let me guess, Aurora?} Bonny replied with crossed arms.

"It's different this time." Max pointed out before sitting next to a tree.

{How so?}

{We encountered a rather rude trainer with an even ruder lucario with her.} Luna explained.

{A lucario?} Bonny repeated.

"Aurora fought her and lost."

{… Oh.} Bonny replied, starting to get what happened.

"Yeah, so you can imagine the frustration she must feel right now."

{I suppose.} Bonny conceded, starting to feel bad for her. {How did the fight go?}

"It was quite one-sided. That lucario was very strong."

*Sigh* {Looks like we have encountered a lot of strong trainers lately.} Bonny sighed before sitting next to Max.

"That just tells us that we shouldn't rest on our asses as we're far from being the strongest."

{You're right. Actually, I think I'll just go train right away.} Bonny exclaimed before quickly standing up. {With my last defeat, I'm more pumped than ever to get stronger.} she added before wandering off.

{I… think I'll do that too.} Dusk followed before walking away as well.

{Me too.} May said while following Dusk.

After taking her normal and quite fearsome appearance, Luna then sat next to Max.

{It's quite heartwarming to see them so motivated. A bit of shame that it's over the defeat of one of us though.} Luna shared.

"Aurora always has been the impulsive one. She hates losing and yet, she does nothing to prevent it."

{You think she does it on purpose?}

"I don't know. Maybe not on purpose, but it's like she doesn't even try to win. We both know how strong she can be when she wants to."

{True. I wonder if she's afraid of something.} Luna pondering.

"You think she is?

{I don't know. Scarlet would be better than me to answer that kind of question.}

"… Well, she's not here for now, so it's dead for that matter."

{Since she seems quite reserved, it will be hard to get answers from her yourself.}

"If not impossible."

{I don't think it will be that hard. She may not show it, but I don't think she hates you.}

"I think so too, but she's still quite distant."

{If what she told you about her past is true, she may be too scared to try to love again. It could almost be a phobia by now, experiencing extreme anxiety every time she thinks about it.}

"… That's, unfortunately, a possibility."

{Again, I'm not the best when it comes to getting into another's skin.}

For a moment, Max looked at the sky before taking a deep breath.

"Alright…" Max started before standing up. "I'm gonna see how she's doing."

Giving a nod, Luna then got comfortable after Max left to go search for Aurora. Luckily for him, he didn't have to search for long when he heard striking noises further in the woods. When he reach the noises provenance, Max saw Aurora hitting the trunk of a tree with her legs while holding her painful shoulder.

"You… should take a break." Max tried to convince softly.

{Why?} she replied, not stopping.

"Come on Aurora, smashing that poor tree won't change anything."

{Won't change anything? You mean that whatever the fuck I do, nothing will change?} she rejoined angrily. {You mean that whatever the fuck I do, I will always lose to every opponent I'll fucking SEE!} she bawled before hitting the tree trunk too hard and hurting herself. {Fuck!} she cursed while raising her legs in pain.

As she was about to hit again with the same leg, Max stopped her by grabbing by the shoulder that wasn't hurt.

"Aurora," Max said, making her stop.

Max then helped her to sit under the tree, with her not resisting. When Max saw her face, she didn't have an angry one, but a sad and devastated one with small dried blood stains over her snout and chin.

"Why are you always acting like this?" Max asked before removing his shirt.

Not responding, Aurora just blankly looked at nothing in particular while letting Max try to brush off the bloodstains. Unfortunately, they were very resilient and could only remove the crust.

"Talk to me, Aurora," Max demanded, but to no avail.

Aurora only remained silent with dead eyes. Sighing, Max then sat next to her, staying silent as well. He didn't want to harass her but letting her know he was here. For a little while, neither of them talked or moved whatsoever.

{… Why did you choose me?} Aurora bemoaned.

"Hm? Well, I guessed a lucario was best to fight another one."

{Dusk would have been a better choice than me, and that's not what I'm talking about. Why did you choose me to come with you? There were better pokemon than me at that dojo that you could have taken with you.}

"Are we going over that again?"

{… I'm just a waste of space.} Aurora told while hugging her legs.

"No, you're not. Geez, you're starting to sound like Jade."

{You should have left me there, being all sad and depressed like you say. Why would you care about someone bad at everything?}

"You're not bad Aurora. You're just a bit too impulsive and always rush forwards without thinking. Don't expect great results like that."

{What should I do then? Stay there and take hits? From what I see, it wouldn't make any difference anyway.}

"Work as a team with me and the group. You know what they say, alone we move faster, but together, we move further."

{I'll just slow all of you down, just like I'm doing right now.}

"Please Aurora, stop." Max gently ordered while putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're an amazing pokemon that has a lot of potential. Look at the fight between you and Luna, you did well back there."

{… That was different.}

"How was it different?"

At that, Aurora couldn't answer and stayed silent.

"Look…" Max started while pulling her into a hug. "I know for a fact that my lucario is strong, whatever you may think of yourself. It's just that no matter how strong someone is, the strength means nothing if it is not used smartly."

{So I'm not smart?} Aurora bemoaned, not trying to get away.

"That's not what I meant. I'm sure that you're smart too, well, when you want to." Max jested with a smile.

*Hmpf* {Looks like I don't want to that much then.}

"I was wondering, is it possible that you act on your own in battle because you don't want to depend on others like me in them?"

{…}

"I thought so. I think we just discovered the main obstacle between us."

{I don't need anyone to tell me what to do, even how to fight.}

"You know Aurora, a battle isn't about giving orders or being dependent on one another. In battles, we work 'together', neither more nor less."

{I've watched trainer battles and all I saw was the human shouting orders to their pokemon.}

"From the outside, I agree that it may look like that, but it's more than that. Ask Bonny and the others if you want to. Ask them if they feel forced or commanded in battles."

*Humpf* Aurora huffed.

"Two pairs of eyes are better than one, right? The pokemon on the battlefield may have a hard time seeing things in their entirety, so that's why a trainer with them can be helpful. I agree if someone like Scarlet or Luna, who is used to fighting on their own, they don't really see the point in listening to someone that doesn't have a lot of experience, kind of like me. However, the opposite can be beneficial if the pokemon is inexperienced."

{So basically, I'm the inexperienced one?}

"Well, I won't say 'inexperienced', but I'm pretty sure you didn't get involved in lots of trainer battles."

{Maybe not trainers, but many times against other pokemon.}

"At the dojo?"

{…}

"I don't want to pop anything from you Aurora, but sparing and real fights aren't the same thing."

{…}

"I don't want to force you into anything Aurora, but what I'm trying to say is that I don't want a puppet to control at will, but a partner to fight alongside with."

For a minute, Aurora stayed silent while being thoughtful.

{… I don't know. I think I'll stay away from battles for a while.} Aurora told before gently removing Max's arm from around her.

"Are you sure about that?"

{Yes. I just need some time for myself, that's all.}

Hoping she knew what she was doing, Max didn't insist much more.

"… Okay, but maybe we should get your injuries checked first."

{It's nothing, don't worry.}

"You look in pretty bad shape to me."

{I said I'm okay.} Aurora retorted a bit more aggressively.

*Sigh* "Stubborn as always. I guess it's not today that it will change." Max complied while standing up. "Just take care then, my pretty Aurora." he warmly added before kneeling and petting her between the ears.

Taken a bit off guard, Aurora could only stare at Max while being just a few inches away from his face.

{… S-stop it.} she shyly replied, looking away with a blush.

Smiling, Max petted her for a few more seconds before finally leaving her.

"Oh, by the way." Max started after stopping to look behind him. "I don't know if I already said it, I think you're a very cool lucario."

*Hmpf* {You're just saying that. I don't need your pity.} Aurora retorted a bit embarrassingly.

"I know, but I really think you are. I mean, you don't take shit from anyone and you're not afraid to stand your ground. To me, it's very cool. Just saying."

Unable to retort anything, Aurora only looked away with a heavy blush.

"Also, how about some sparing as soon as you feel better?"

{… I… I'll think about it.} Aurora responded, still looking away.

"Great. Take care." Max wished before leaving her for good.

{… Idiot.} the lucario mumbled.

Now back to his previous place, Max saw Luna still at the same spot, who was now on her back while using her arms as a pillow. Despite her stature, Max couldn't help but stare a few seconds at her very feminine figure.

{How is she doing?} she asked, not even opening her eyes.

"I did all I could. I just hope it will be enough."

{Let's hope.}

"What about you Luna? The others are away to train, so will you join them eventually?"

{I still haven't made my decision yet about that battle thing.}

"I see. Well, when you don't take them too seriously, it can be fun actually."

{I'll come back at you when I've decided.}

"All right," Max replied before laying his head on the tree.

For almost a minute, Max tried to find a good position, but couldn't due to the hardness of the tree bark. Noticing that, Luna opened one eye to see his distress.

{Why don't you lie down like me? Or better, on me.} Luna proposed quite nonchalantly.

"What? O-on you?" Max repeated with a confused face.

{My belly is really comfortable you know.} she replied with gentle taps on her stomach.

"Hemm…" Max hummed, hesitant.

{Come on, there's no shame to have. It's just a harmless exchange of good process.}

After hesitating for a moment, Max then very awkwardly moved towards Luna before lying perpendicularly next to her before resting his head on her soft and warm belly.

{See? Not so bad after all.} Luna told, not looking fazed at all.

"Speak for yourself. I don't really mind the others, but it's quite uncomfortable with you since, well, we don't… you know."

{Oh, so we have to mate to do that kind of stuff? All right, mate with me then.}

"What? Right now? I mean, like, right now?" Max retorted, more confused than ever.

{As soon as you're done, you can get back to lying on me without being ashamed, right?}

"Hemm…" Max hummed again, now feeling really uncomfortable.

{Hahahaha!} Luna laughed. {I'm just kidding little pup.} she added before hardly pitching his nose before shaking it a little. {You'll have to do more than that to make me rethink about doing it with a tiny human.}

"I'm not tiny, you're the one that's just too big." Max protested.

{Haha, I suppose. So, feeling better now?}

"… I guess," Max answered, now finding the positioning a bit less awkward.

{Good.} Luna concluded before messing Max's hair a bit.

Now more comfortable, Max could now enjoy the warmth and softness of Luna's furry belly a bit more. Quickly, the movement of her diaphragm from her breathing began to make him a bit drowsy. Before he knew it, Max had fallen into a light sleep and napped alongside Luna. Half an hour later, Max opened his eyes again and found himself lying on his side with his nose a bit shoved into Luna's fur. Before raising his head, he was able to take a good whiff of Luna's scent, which was really pleasant. He couldn't find any comparison, but it was really good and unique, like everyone else on the team. Sitting up, Max then rubbed his eyes and face.

{Welcome back, sleepyhead.} Luna wished, not moving even after Max wasn't on her again.

"Did I really fall asleep?" Max inquired.

{That you did. Am I really that comfortable?}

"I… guess you are," Max confessed a bit embarrassingly.

{Good to know.}

Quite comfortable there, Max didn't want to leave that position just yet and took his pokedex for his usual time passing.

{I've seen that thing a couple of times now, but what is it exactly?} Luna asked when she noticed the device.

"A pokedex. It gives me a lot of information about pokemon."

{I see. You know you can directly ask them if you want to know something.}

"Well, I can't really go to the wild and ask them to tell me all of their secrets like that." Max jested. "Jokes aside, not all pokemon are all that cooperative with information giving. You're a good example."

{Aww, that's mean.} Luna joked. {Why ask me if that thing can tell you anything then?}

"It just tells global and very basic personal information like your height, age or weight, so I can basically know how fat you are." Max teased.

{Really now?} Luna replied before fetching the pokedex from Max's hands.

"Hey!" Max complained.

{Let's see how much you can know about me.} Luna expressed before starting to press at random buttons. {How does it work?}

"Ha, good luck in making me tell you. You're on your own." Max replied a bit cockily, sure that Luna won't learn how to use it.

{I learn better on my own.}

"If you say so." Max confidently retorted.

For a couple of seconds, Max patiently and peacefully waited for Luna to give up and give his pokedex back.

{… My my, it tells a lot about zoroarks.}

"Wait! What?" Max exclaimed while turning his head to look at Luna with a confused look.

{Most of what it's said is mostly true, for our species in general that is.} she told while scrolling the pages.

"… How…"

{I told you, I learn better on my own.}

For a short moment, Max felt a bit of frustration growing inside him due to being proved wrong. However, something bugging him quickly took over it.

"I didn't know you knew how to read human language."

{I can.} she simply responded.

"… You know Luna, the more time I spend with you, the more I'm asking myself this question; who are you?"

Going silent for a few seconds, Luna then gave the pokedex back to Max.

{Maybe you will know in time, someday.} she told before going back to her napping.

After that, awkwardness had settled between them.

"I… think I'm gonna let you rest in peace," Max informed before standing up.

{Thanks, even though I enjoyed your company.}

"… Thanks too, I suppose," Max replied while awkwardly rubbing the back of his head before leaving her.

After a few steps, Max realized that he was pretty much on his own with everyone training or resting.

(Well, there is not much to do, so might as well do something productive,) he thought before starting to do some stretching and warm-up before starting to jog in a random direction through the forest. For a while, Max jogged between the trees and bushes while being careful not to trip on anything. Then, he came across some floating rocks that were being lifted by psychic powers. Not stopping, Max thought that he could dodge them by jogging through since they were moving rather slowly. After dodging a few, Max saw Dusk nearby and deduced that it was her doing.

{Sorry master!} Dusk loudly apologized after a rock almost hit Max as he was moving away.

"No problem Dusk! Keep up the good work!" he loudly replied when out of the levitating rock field.

For a big part of the day, Max kept jogging through the wood while taking breaks here and there. When it was in the late afternoon, Max found it odd that he didn't encounter any other member of his team.

(Maybe I should get back to where Luna was to set up the camp.) Thought Max as he was regaining his breath while resting against a tree.

When he felt that he was ready, he turned back and walked back towards where he came from. Unfortunately, it took Max almost an hour to realize that he was now lost.

(Fuck! Where did I come from?) He thought while scanning his surroundings. (Good work Max. What should I do now?)

Suddenly, as he was thinking about where he should go or do, a rather big leaf began to float in front of him. For the next seconds, Max stared at the leaf curiously and confused as it was dancing in the air a few inches away from his face.

"… The fuck?" Max mumbled before the leaf crashed in his face. *Phfa* Max spat after removing the leaf.

As soon as the leaf left Max's face, it started to dance once again. As Max began to get annoyed, the leaf now seemed to move away from him. Still staring at it funnily, the leaf stopped a bit further from him before it was out of sight, it stopped dancing in place. Maybe Max was going crazy, but he began to believe that the leaf was trying to show him the way.

"… Meh, whatever. I can't get more lost than that." Max conceded before moving closer to the levitating leaf.

Like he more or less guessed, the leaf moved away from Max before moving further as soon as he was next to it. For a while, Max kept following the leaf until he began to hear faint grunting noises in the distance.

"Is it… Aurora?" Max mumbled, vaguely recognizing the voice.

At this moment, the leaf then stopped dancing and fell to the ground, unanimated once again like it was supposed to be.

"… That was weird." Max commented before heading the grunting provenance.

A couple of steps later, Max saw that he guessed right when he came across Aurora, who was doing some shadow combat. Not wanting to disturb, Max tried sneaking past her by moving very slowly and silently behind her.

{… If I was any other pokemon, you would have succeeded.} Aurora told before turning to face Max. {But with a pokemon with a nose like mine, it's a fail.} she added, crossing her arms.

"Dha, you got me. My goal was to not disturb you."

{With your stinky smell, it's impossible.}

"You know, I was hoping that now we're almost friends, I thought that maybe you would be… well, friendlier, you know."

{… Well, you thought poorly.} Aurora rejoined before resuming her shadow training.

*sigh* "I guess." Max sighed, rubbing his head while looking at Aurora moving around rather fluidly. "I see you're feeling better already."

{Pokemon recover a lot faster than humans.}

"That's quite fast actually. Anyway, I guess now you won't mind some sparring."

{If you don't mind, I would like to keep training without any distractions for now.}

"I am a distraction now?" Max replied, crossing his arms with a raised eyebrow.

{When you try to get all physical with me, then yes.}

"… Trying to get physical?" Max repeated, a bit dumbfounded.

{I mean, you being all over me is very annoying and disturbing. That's what I meant.} Aurora quickly corrected with a blush.

"… I see. Maybe another day then."

{Maybe.} Aurora emphasized.

"Anyway, I also wanting to apologize to you."

{For what?} Aurora demanded before stopping to look at Max.

"Well, for the battle mostly. I just-"

{WATCH OUT!}

Almost at the light of speed, Aurora dashed towards Max and pushed him to the side. After hardly landing on the ground, Max quickly sat up and saw his lucario in a fighting position in front of an imposing Ursaring. The normal bear pokemon was holding his belly slightly in pain, probably due to Aurora that had kicked him or her.

{Move!} the lucario commanded.

"… What about you?" Max inquired while moving away after standing up.

{I'll handle her until you're far enough.}

"Not before I activated the protection." Max denied before going for his watch.

{There is no- shit!} Aurora cursed before dodging an incoming attack in extremis from the ursaring.

From this point, Aurora was mostly dodging her opponent attacks, which was moderately easy with her moves being rather slow. However, it was forcing Aurora to move all around, making Max unable to aim correctly for the protection.

"I can't aim at you if you don't stop moving."

{Do you want to switch places?} Aurora growled while dodging the ursaring's attacks. {I would like to see you try it.}

"Damnit!" Max cursed lowly, still unable to aim correctly at her. "If I don't do something fast, any attack could be fatal for her."

At this moment, Aurora was suddenly hit by an unexpected backhand attack of the ursaring, too fast for her to even block it. From how far Aurora was propelled, there was no doubt that that ursaring was really strong. Fortunately, Aurora didn't get any scratches, but the force of the hit was strong enough to make the lucario fall on her back and a bit dizzy.

"Aurora!" Max bawled.

As the lucario was trying to stand up, the ursaring was already preparing another attack with its claws. Knowing that she wouldn't dodge in time, Max dashed towards Aurora to push her away from the hit. Even though he saved Aurora from a fatal injury, Max wasn't spared and was the one that got hit instead on one of his shoulders. Due to the pain and the force of the impact, Max landed on the ground a few meters away from the attacker.

"GHAAAA!" Max bellowed while holding the shoulder in pain.

"MAX!" Aurora loudly exclaimed before quickly rushing next to him. "Are you okay?!"

Unable to answer, Max could only hold his shoulder in pain while letting out poorly contained growls. When Aurora saw a lot of blood strands escaping his hand, she realized that he was badly injured. At this very moment, she heard the ursaring growl while as it was moving towards them.

{You... Fucker!} Aurora snarled before staring at the ursaring with rage filling her eyes. {You're gonna pay for that.} she snarled some more while standing up.

Slowly, Aurora began to walk towards the ursaring with the angriest expression she could ever make. Then, as she was getting closer, aura energy began to emerge from her front paws, letting energy fumes escape them. Not even fazed, the ursaring kept walking towards the lucario with conviction. As soon as the lucario was in reach, the bear pokemon launched one of her paws forwards in the hope to tear the lucario into pieces in her claws.

*VFFFFHAMMM*

Not even able to move her arm halfway due to the overwhelming speed of the lucario, the ursaring got hit in the stomach with a very powerful Force Palm from Aurora with the energy that remains passing through her and escaping her back. Loudly growling in pain, the ursaring held her stomach while getting on her knees.

{I'm just gonna tell you this once. Get. The. Fuck. Out. Of. Here.} Aurora ordered as her aura emanating from her front paws got a bit stronger.

Angrily staring at the lucario from below, the ursaring slowly stood up while doing her best to ignore the pain and got ready to attack again.

{Have it your way then.} Aurora replied before using Bone Rush, with the bone being slightly bigger than usual with one side a lot bigger, making it look like a maul.

Not impressed, the ursaring went for a bear hug and tried to grab Aurora. Too fast for her, Aurora quickly dodged downwards before doing a 360 and hit her opponent to the side with the biggest part of the bone. Sent flying a few meters away, the ursaring rolled on the ground a few turns when she touched the ground. Loudly growling in pain, the bear pokemon then stood up once more and faced Aurora with shaky legs and an arm around her belly.

{Stubborn I see.} Aurora mumbled while getting ready to hit her opponent with Bone Rush again.

Before any of them could move, Luna had appeared from above and landed on all fours between Aurora and the ursaring. After slowly standing up, Luna then glared at the ursaring with an enraged expression while growling even more menacingly than when she dealt with those human scum in the last city. With a beastly stand and teeth showing, Luna was so ready to tear that pokemon apart that she could have scared arceus itself. Even though her face wasn't showing any fear, the ursaring's whole body was now shaky due to fear, despite being slightly taller than her. After one last growl, the bear pokemon finally gave up and left then.

{What are you doing here? I could have beaten her on my own.} Aurora told to Luna before her aura emanation stopped.

{If you don't mind, we'll talk about your ego later. For now, I want you to stay with Max until I'm back with some medicine for his wound.} Luna ordered before disappearing into the woods.

{Shit! Max!} Aurora muttered before rushing back towards her trainer. {Max! Are you okay?!} she asked while kneeling next to him.

"I'm… okay. It hurts like hell, but I think… gha… I'll survive." Max hardly said due to the pain.

{Not if you bleed out.} Aurora replied before using her own paws to block the blood flow as much as possible.

Unfortunately, Max was bleeding enough to stain Aurora's paws, but right now, it was the least of her concern. Luckily, it didn't take Luna long to come back with herbs and two fruits in her paws.

{Move your paws and his hand away from the wound please.} Luna commanded.

Doing as told, Aurora moved her paws and Max's hand away from the wound. Both of them now could see three rather deep claw cut on his shoulder, bleeding quite profusely. After putting everything on the ground, Luna then took one of the fruits.

{Okay Aurora, what I'm about to do will be very painful for him, so I want you to hold him, understood?}

{Okay. I hope you know what you're doing.} Aurora replied while putting one paw on his chest and the other one on his wounded arm.

Not even responding, Luna moved the fruit over the wound before squeezing it.

"GHAAAAAAA!" Loudly bellowed Max as soon as he felt the liquid touching the wound, making a very faint burning noise with very little fume escaping from the wound.

{What are you doing?} Aurora asked, not liking Luna hurting him.

{The liquid from this fruit will help greatly to stop the bleeding by burning the wound a little.} Luna explained before tossing the now empty fruit away.

After that, Luan then picked the other fruit before shoving the entire thing in her mouth and munching on it.

{Do you really think this is the moment to enjoy a snack? Our master is dying here!} Aurora growled.

Not even reacting, Luna kept munching for a few more seconds before moving her head close the wound, and spat her now juice-filled saliva on it.

"GHHHHHA!" Max growled with clenched teeth.

{Gross!} the lucario exclaimed.

{That will greatly prevent infections.}

When Luna went to grab the herbs, Aurora made the mistake to look at the wound, which almost made her sick due to how gross it had become. After she looked away, Luna the applied the herb on the wounds with the sticky saliva fusing them to Max's skin.

{How are you feeling now?} Luna asked Max.

"A bit… better."

{Alongside preventing nasty bacteria to get there and helping the wound cicatrize better, those herbs have the property to soothe the pain a bit.}

"… Cool. Thanks, Luna, you… saved me."

{No problem.} Luna replied with a smile.

{… Yes Luna, good job.} Aurora said a bit angrily before quickly standing up to leave them.

"You too Aurora! Thanks! I'd be dead without you!" Max called out while Aurora was walking away.

Looking at Aurora, Max then saw the rest of his group running towards them.

{What is going on here?} Bonny asked after stopping next to Aurora.

{Go see by yourself.} the lucario responded without even stopping.

{Huh?}

{MASTER!} May blurted before running towards the human. {What happened?!} she added with the others following her.

"Nothing, really. Just almost got sliced in half, that's all."

{Stop fooling around. Damn, you look messed up.} Bonny replied, kneeling next to him with the others.

"Don't worry, it's not as bad as it looks." Max tried to reassure.

{You almost lost an arm, but yeah, it's not that bad.} Luna almost scolded.

{I hope that pokemon got what it deserved.} Bonny angrily told.

{I'm sure Aurora could confirm that.}

{What? She's the one that saved master?} Bonny queried, a bit surprised.

{Pretty much, yes.}

{I thought it was you.}

{Oh no, I just arrived to prevent our friendly lucario from killing that ursaring, that's all.}

{An ursaring?} Dusk repeated.

{Wait! Our Aurora fought an ursaring, and almost killed it?}

{I think we all should know that she has more potential than we think.}

"She's right." Max intervened. "It's like… when she have a really good reason to fight, like protecting someone, she will unleash her true power." Max theorized.

{That could actually make sense when you think about it.} Luna replied, putting claws on her chin, thoughtful. {She's weaker than a caterpie when she fights for herself, but when it's for someone else, she can mess up an ursaring and even make me have trouble against her.

"Not that much if you ask me. I mean, I'm sure she doesn't hate me anymore, but she's still not that friendly yet, why would protecting me make her so strong?"

{… So stupid master.} Bonny mumbled.

"What was that?" Max asked, looking at Bonny.

{Nothing master, just you being clueless as always.} Bonny pointed out before sighing.

"What? Because you think she likes me more than a friend? Come on Bonny, be serious for a moment."

At this moment, Bonny's lips were burning for her to tell Max what she saw the other day but contained herself so as not to screw things up.

{Anyway, you should rest your left arm as much as possible little pup.} Luna advised. {One wrong movement and your wound will start to bleed profusely again.}

"Thanks for the advice." Max thanked before trying to stand up with his right arm.

Not wanting him to push himself too hard, Luna helped him to stand.

"Thanks."

{No problem. Oh, and one last thing, tell me every time you'll take a bath, okay?}

"Hem… sure." Max agreed, a bit dumbfounded.

{Not for what you think, even though it could be fun,} Luna reassured. {But the herbs on your shoulder will be brushed off in the water, so I need to know when you're going to take a bath so I can go fetch more herbs for your wound.}

"Is that really necessary?"

{If you want it to heal properly and avoid infections, then yes.}

*Sigh* "Fine, you're the boss."

{Great. Now, I believe that there's someone that needs a proper thanks from you.}

"You're right. You girls can go set up the camp if you want to. If not, it's okay. I'll do it as soon as I'm done." Max told his team.

{Not a chance with an arm in that state master.} Bonny denied. {Me and the girls will do it. Just go do what you need to do and come back while being careful with your wound, okay?}

"At your order ma'am."

Rolling her eyes, Bonny then left with the others with May and Dusk having a slightly worried expression.

{Aurora isn't far from here, but if anything, just scream and we'll join you instantly.} Luna told when she passed to him.

After Max nodded, he started to head towards where he saw Aurora go and began to search for her. When he find her, she was once again hitting the trunk of a tree with her front paws. However, Max could see that it was more about taking out frustration than actual training.

"Aurora… I'm sorry for not thanking you properly."

{You don't have to. You were right, Luna is the real hero by scaring the already beaten ursaring while I just merely saved you from being shredded into pieces.} Aurora angrily replied while hitting the tree stronger.

Sighing, Max then moved behind her before putting a hand on one of her shoulders.

{What?} the lucario furiously growled before turning around to face him.

All of sudden, Max then got on one knee and pulled her into a strong hug.

"Thanks, Aurora. You saved my life, again."

Quite taken by surprise, Aurora couldn't react or say anything.

{… C-come on now, i-it was nothing.} she assured with a heavy blush, not resisting. {I-it would have been a shame for you to do die back t-there, now that we have traveled this far t-together.} she lightly stammered.

"Still. You didn't hesitate one second to get between me and that pokemon. That was really brave of you."

{… Well.}

"Not only that…" Max started before breaking the hug but kept his hands on her shoulders. "You kicked his, hem… her ass, which was really impressive."

{Please…} Aurora retorted, blushing madly while looking away in strong embarrassment. {I-it's... you don't even b-believe that I'm s-strong.}

"Please…" Max replied, trying to mimic Aurora. "You know I always believed it."

After being paralyzed for a few seconds due to embarrassment, Aurora backed up to get free from his hands and quickly turned around.

{I-if you don't mind, I-I would like to be a-alone.} she stammered before walking away from him.

Oddly, Max noticed that her tail was down, gently and slightly dangling from side to side at each step. Normally, it was raised in pride.

(Eh, maybe I overdid it.) Max thought with a smile before standing up. "Let's now see how the girls are doing," he mumbled before heading where the camp should be.

After joining the group, Max saw Bonny, May, and Dusk trying to figure out how the tent was working.

"Let me help you girls," Max told while walking towards them.

{Where do you think you're going?} Luna inquired, above him as usual.

"Hem… over there?" Max answered while pointing at his working team.

{And I forbid you to do so. Not with a wound like yours.}

"Aw come now, if I'm careful, or just using one hand, I should-"

{No means no. Should I prevent you from moving with a love-filled hug?} Luna threatened seductively.

*Sigh* "Fine Miss 'I like giving orders'." Max complained. "Can I at least help them by telling them what to do?"

{If it doesn't require you to move your wounded arm, then sure.} Luna allowed.

Rolling his eyes with a very low grunt, Max then went to help the others assemble the tent. With Max giving the right instructions, the camp was set as the sun was starting to disappear.

"Good job girls, now you're ready to call off the day," Max announced before taking out Jade's pokeball to let her out. "I know you want to get out of your pokeball only for eating Jade, but would you like to spend the evening with us?"

{Spend the night?} Jade repeated.

"Yeah, like having a good time, you know."

For a split second, Max noticed that the idea might have caught her interest.

{I… don't think it's reasonable.}

"Aw come on. What is the worst that could happen? Besides Scarlet, everyone is here if something happens."

{What about the lucario?} she asked, not seeing Aurora anywhere.

"She's… off doing her lone wolf thing again I suppose. Maybe she will join us as well a bit later." Max replied before Jade went thoughtful a bit.

{What… am I supposed to do?}

"… Oh, hem… honestly, I don't know. Anything that you want to I guess." Max answered, unable to find a correct answer.

{I… I'll think about it.} the gardevoir informed before leaving to get food.

*Sigh* "All right girls, I'll wait here while you go hunt for your meals." Max told while staring at the fire.

As everyone left, Dusk then walked a bit shyly towards Max.

{M-master?}

"Yeah, pretty girl?"

{Can I… I mean, can you… groom me a bit?} she asked while playing with her fingers.

"Of course Dusk. Anything for you."

{But not with your injured arm, okay?}

"Yeah yeah, Luna number two," Max replied while rolling his eyes.

Smiling, Dusk then took out her brush from inside Max's backpack and gave it to him. With Max sitting on the ground, Dusk sat on her knees in front of him with her back facing him.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't this supposed to be something you can't just 'ask'?" Max inquired.

{I know, but I really, really wanted you to groom me. Sorry for my selfish demand.}

"You know it's no problem for me Dusk."

{I do, but still.}

"Eh, in any case, it's very nice to see you getting more confident Dusk. You're still a bit shy, which I find absolutely cute by the way, but you're less afraid to speak up your mind or ask things." Max praised after he started grooming her.

{It's all thanks to you master, and everyone in the team. You all taught me how to be more assertive and believe in myself more, especially you, master.}

"Glad to see that your experience with me is beneficial."

{It was from the very start.}

"Eh, you're really the kindest pokemon there is, my pretty." Max complemented before briefly and gently petting her head.

{I… suppose that love does change someone.}

"Tell me about it. I also have changed a lot because of you girls. You're all so special and kind and…"

{… And?} Dusk repeated, a bit eager to know more.}

"… And a lot of things. Sometimes I still think that you're all too awesome for me."

{Don't say that, master. You're also very kind and careful towards us. You deserve the love you receive from us.}

"Are you sure? Sure I'm nice and all, but I'm sure there are a lot of other humans that are way better than me. Kinder, smarter, more enduring even, or just-"

{Stop it now, master.} Dusk ordered while turning her head to look at him over her shoulder. {I may be kind, but I won't let you say those things about yourself.}

"… Eh, when you're being scolded by the little angel Dusk, you know you have done something really wrong." Max jested a bit.

{I'm serious, master.} she told before looking in front of her again. {We all have a reason to love you or many. That won't change just because there are other humans that 'you' think are better. To me, you're the best of the best, end of the story.}

"Are you really that satisfied with the very little I can offer?"

{What do you think?}

"…"

{Love is pretty much what 'I' can offer. Is that enough for you?}

"Of course. More than enough."

{Then you have your answer.}

For a few seconds, Max stopped grooming her before resuming and going thoughtful.

"… Sorry Dusk, I guess you're right. I suppose I still hardly believe that I'm the luckiest guy in the world with all of you with me."

{I guess I can understand. It also took me a little while before starting to believe that I really found a good trainer for me. So many days, so many months before you finally showed up.}

"Eh, thanks to you being picky."

{It may be a flaw, but looks like it turned out well in the end.}

"… I guess. You could have ended up in the wrong hands."

{True. I have to admit that there were a few human males that had caught my interest before you, but luckily, they never picked me.}

"Luckily?"

{They could have been bad humans while you're the best. Yes, luckily.}

"I believe that it wasn't what you were thinking back then."

{Good guess, master.} Dusk slightly giggled. {After a few rejections, I began to lose hope. I'm sure you remember how unsure or almost uninterested I was when we met.}

"Yeah, a bit, but I managed to convince you."

{…}

"… Dusk?"

{Master, I never told you, but I… I have something to confess.}

"… Okay."

{I… I mean, at first… I didn't really have a good feeling about you. At this point, I had more or less given up the idea of going with a human male one day. When you showed up and you choose me, I was happy, sure, but less than you think. At this point, I would have gone with anyone, just as long as I was picked.}

"That's… some heavy revelation actually."

{You have no idea how happy it makes me that it was the best possible choice after all. Again, things turned well in the end.}

"My my, looks like my braixen is a very lucky one."

{Hihi, I guess so. I never thought about it, but I guess that I am a lucky pokemon.}

"Even after you were chosen by me?"

{Especially because I was chosen by you.}

"… Hehe, you know Dusk…" Max started before dropping the brush on the ground. "I'm sure you could melt anything. Not because of your type, but because of your golden heart and kindness." he praised before wrapping his arms around her, going for a rather tight hug.

{And you, master, you could make any pokemon fall for you.} she replied, putting her paws on his arms before turning her head to look at him.

Looking at each other eyes for a few seconds, both of them moved closer to the other ones and began to kiss. The kiss lasted for half a minute before Max broke it.

"… Thanks Dusk."

{I love you, master.}

"I love you too, Dusk."

After giving a warm smile, Dusk faced the fire once again before Max gave one last kiss on the back of her head before resuming his grooming. Since there wasn't much job to do, Max was quickly done.

"Here you go," Max announced while dropping the brush next to him. "Pretty as always," he added before wrapping his arms around her.

{Thanks, master.} Dusk thanked after placing her paws over his hands.

In the distance, hidden behind a tree and bushes, Jade was back and stared at them, not wanting to disturb them.

{… You know, it could happen to you too if you give master a chance.}

Surprised and scared, Jade quickly turned her head to see Bonny standing behind her.

{You scared me.} Jade informed after taking a deep, reassuring breath.

{Sorry.} Bonny apologized before going next to her, looking at Max and Dusk as well. {But I'm still right. Master is a wonderful human. I don't have a lot to compare with, but it doesn't require high intelligence to see it.}

Remaining silent, Jade looked back at Max and Dusk, who were now kissing again.

{I'm sure that even you can see that.}

{… Maybe, but I don't think Scarlet would agree.} Jade shared.

{True.} Bonny conceded while crossing her arms. {But I suppose that without getting too intimate, you can become quite close to him.}

{Qsalyla always said that attachments are weaknesses that enemies can exploit.}

For a few seconds, Bonny thought about what she just said.

{As far as I hate her, she may have a point. It's true that bad pokemon or humans can use your loved ones as hostages to blackmail you or something.}

{…}

{However, what she didn't get is that it's something worth fighting or even dying for, in my opinion at least.}

Not knowing what to retort, Jade only stared at the human with an almost envious look.

{Anyway, it's up to you to decide if you think it is or not.} Bonny told before starting to walk towards them before their love display goes too far.

After Bonny joined them and interrupted them, Jade looked at them and went thoughtful for a moment before joining them as well a couple of seconds later.

"Hey, Jade. Ate well?" Max asked while petting Bonny, who was sitting next to him.

{Y-yes. T-thanks for your concern.} she shyly replied before sitting on another log.

"No problem. We don't want starving pokemon, isn't that right, Bonny?"

{You bet it is. I would never let a beast like you starve.} the lopunny lewdly retorted while rubbing one of his tights.

"Caring as always." Max snickered.

Upon seeing Max and Bonny laugh and the others giggles, Jade couldn't help but faintly smile. She couldn't admit it herself, but the ambiance sure was a lot better than the nights she was spending with her group. With them, she could barely talk and only when spoken to, a curfew with someone guarding the group for eventual danger or to prevent someone from fleeing. Here, everyone looked kind and could enjoy themselves around a campfire.

"Something on your mind Jade?" Max asked, noticed that she looked spaced out.

{Oh… hem, no, don't worry. It's just… a bit weird.}

"What is weird?"

{All of this. In my previous group, fun wasn't allowed. It's different here, like, completely different. While I had regulations and orders to follow, all of you were free to do whatever you want.}

{… Are you jealous?} Bonny inquired.

"Bonny! That was very mean to say." Max scolded.

{S-sorry, I didn't mean it like that.} Bonny quickly apologized, feeling bad.

{… It's okay. In fact, I think you're actually right. I do feel a bit envious of how lucky you are while I… wasn't.}

"But you are now, Jade. You're with us and all of this can be yours too. With your previous group… gone, you're also free, free to have fun with us and be happy as well."

{Are you… sure? I mean, everything was refused to me for the most of my life, and now, almost magically, everything nice falls on my head. It's almost… too easy and good to be true. I'm feeling like it's a joke and one of you will say that it was just a plan to mess with me.} Jade explained with a slight morose tone.

For a moment, no one spoke while looking at each other until Max let out a light sigh.

"You know Jade, believe it or not, I can relate."

{… You do?} Jade replied, a bit surprised.

"Unfortunately, yes. See the girls around you? They're all pretty, kind and very nice, almost too nice for me. Sometimes, when I go to sleep, I wonder if all of this is just a dream and that I will wake up at my shitty house in my previous shitty life. Yet, every time I open my eyes again the next day, they're all still there, waiting or sleeping with me, hugging me or drooling on me."

{… Does it… bother you? Do you still think that?}

"The more I'm with them, the less I do. You see Jade, I'm starting to think that bad luck can't be endless and that someday, no matter how unlucky you are, something good will happen. To me, the best thing that ever happened was to be kicked out of my house. Why you may ask? Because it's almost like everything was already planned for me to encounter the absolute best girls in the world." Max answered before petting Bonny's head very affectionately, at which she pushed her head on his hand.

Remaining silent, Jade only stared at the affection display.

"It may sound a bit pretentious, but I believe that the best that could happen to you was that you came across me and Scarlet, or more especially, that Qsalyla kidnapped me."

{A bit horrible when said like this.} Jade commented.

"Yet it's true since it made us able to meet you, and vice-versa."

For a few seconds, Jade got lost in her thoughts.

{… I… I'm starting to understand why your companions like you.}

{We don't just 'like' him, I can assure you that.} Bonny corrected before strongly hugging Max.

{… I guess.} Jade replied, looking away when Max returned the hug.

At this instant, Luna, who had appeared from nowhere and had more or less followed the conversation, felt that Jade was getting uncomfortable as if she was still feeling out of place.

{Maybe you want some alone time, Jade.} the zoroark proposed.

{… Yes, I would like that.} Jade agreed.

When Luna looked at Max, the human made a slightly unhappy face when he understands what he had to do.

{You know little pup, I have to say that you're quite good with words.} Luna commented after Max put Jade back in her pokeball.

"Did it really make a difference?"

{It does, you haven't noticed?} Luna queried.

"Noticed what?" Max asked, looking a bit confused.

For a few seconds, Luna looked at Max a bit skeptically, as if she didn't believe him.

{… Nevermind. I suppose you will eventually.} Luna gave up.

"… Okay." Max replied, dumbfounded.

As time was passing and with Aurora back, making the group almost complete, Max and his companions did their usual chatters and fun enjoyment before they called it off for the day.