66 Togetheart (1/6)

"Damn it. This is gonna be one of those days, isn't it?" Max remarked, hearing the noise outside.

Inside the tent, Max had just woken up in his sleeping bag with May, who was currently sleeping soundly, and Scarlet right beside him, also sleeping. Getting up, he crawled over to the tent's entrance to see the heavy downpour of rain. Sitting back down, Max let out a loud sigh and let himself fall on his back with his head landing on one of Scarlet's legs.

{Ow!} She let out instinctively, abruptly waking up.

"Shit. Sorry, love."

{Good morning to you, too.} She said half-sarcastically. {What's making you this excited?} She asked, briefly rubbing where she was hit.

"The beautiful weather," Max replied to her, lazily scooting himself to place his head between her legs.

Scarlet then noticed the sound of the rain.

{Since when were you scared of a little bit of water?}

"I'm not scared, I just don't like it in general. Let's forget about traveling today 'cause there is no way I'm walking in that rain."

{Why not? Do I have to remind you yet again that I'm a psychic pokemon?}

"No, and what does that have to do with this?"

{I don't know, using my powers to shield us from the rain, maybe?} She arrogantly suggested.

"Oh... right. We haven't done that for so long that I completely forgot about it. Still, I'm not sure you're willing to be my umbrella for the entire day."

{I'm willing to be anything for you.} She seductively said while brushing his hair.

"From morning until night?"

{Well, when you put it that way…}

"Told you so."

{I'm just messing with you. We just need to take some breaks here and there.}

"...Fair enough. You win once again."

{Yay. I love winning.} Scarlet replied with a triumphant smile.

Scarlet then scooted forward a bit to gently place Max's head over her thighs, affectionately brushing his hair.

{You know, master... I love rainy days.}

"Why?"

{Because it was on a rainy day that we were brought closer in the first place. If it wasn't for that specific turn of events…}

"...Yeah. It feels like it was yesterday. We've come a long way since then."

{Indeed. We've had a few crazy events along our adventure.}

"And there are more to go, I hope." *sigh* "I wish it could last forever."

{Unfortunately, everything has an end, master. But we'll try to make this journey last as long as possible.}

"...Heh, I still vividly recall you being so cute and innocent back then."

{Ohh, I'm not any of those things anymore?} She jested, feigning being offended.

"You're still pretty cute, buuuut the same can't be said about your innocence since I corrupted you a little," Max replied with a playful grin.

{You didn't corrupt me. I lost my innocence way before meeting you.} She nonchalantly pointed out.

"...True, unfortunately," Max said, replacing his grin with a sad frown.

{But luckily, your good side rubbed off on me and made me a better pokemon.}

"...I'm really glad," Max replied with a small smile.

With a smile of her own, Scarlet leaned forward and kissed him.

{Well, I'm ready to go whenever you are.}

"Very well," Max agreed, sitting up. "Let's have some breakfast and then we're good to go."

{I hope I'll find something in that rain.}

"Some berries will be enough."

{Alright. Be back in a moment.}

As soon as Scarlet was gone, Max went on to dress. When done, he let out his entire team, with all of them looking like they had just woken up.

"Good morning, girls," Max greeted them with a smile.

{Morning.} Bonny greeted him back, still rubbing her eyes.

"Scarlet went out to get us food, and since it's raining heavily outside I told her to only find some berries," Max informed before sitting down again.

{I'm okay with that.} Dusk assured.

{I'm not especially hungry, anyway.} Aurora commented.

"Says the big and strong girl," Max teased, making Dusk giggle.

A moment later, May began to wake up. After rubbing her eyes she then let out a cute yawn.

"Good morning, cutesy," Max greeted his mawile.

Without speaking, she just got out of the bag, stretched her body, lazily walked to Max, and proceeded to drop herself on his lap.

{More like, awesome morning.} She corrected with a smile and half-lidded eyes.

"Hehe, you sure enjoyed it, didn't you?"

{Yep. I just had the best sleep of my life, thanks to you.}

"Oh. Well, no problem," he replied, feeling a bit embarrassed with everyone around.

{Oooh! Looks like last night was indeed a steamy one.} Bonny commented with a lewd face.

"I… Y-You could say that."

{I'm glad for both of you.} Dusk said with a warm smile.

Obviously, Jade was practically hiding her face in embarrassment and Aurora was pretending to be indifferent about the topic.

{Don't worry, guys, I won't use him too often so you can have fun with him, too.} May told them with an almost boastful tone of voice.

{Careful to not get a big head.} The lucario teasingly warned.

{Come on, Aurora, let her savor the moment. It was her first time with master since she joined us. She deserves it.} Bonny defended.

{There's nothing spectacular concerning a 'first time'.}

{Oh really? So you won't mind if we talk about your first time with master?} Bonny nagged.

{Sorry to burst your gossip bubble, but we won't.} Aurora retorted, looking away.

{Frankly, if you wanted to have complete privacy, you didn't really choose the right human.} Bonny continued nagging the lucario.

{Who said anything about privacy?}

With a sigh, Max let them argue as they pleased as he didn't feel like intervening. He then heard a voice outside.

{Little pup?}

"Oh shit, Luna," Max said, quickly but gently removing May from his lap and moved to the entrance. "It's a harsh day today. You must-"

Upon opening the zipper and popping his head out, he almost froze in place with widened eyes. Luna was standing a meter away from the tent with her whole body completely drenched from head to toe as her fur clung heavily onto her skin, revealing and emphasizing every inch of her athletic and very sensual body. A part of her mane covered most of her face, leaving only a small opening for a piercing and bewitching eye. The mere sight was enough to make his blood rush towards his lower part.

"Y-Yes?" he asked, using every bit of his willpower to not lead his gaze under her belly.

{As much as I appreciate the rain every now and then, it's raining very heavily today. May I please return inside my pokeball for the day?}

"S-Sure thing," he replied, fumbling through his empty pockets.

{...I think this is what you are looking for.} Aurora said after a few seconds of him making a fool of himself.

Turning his head back inside, he saw her tossing him Luna's pokeball. Catching it in his palm, he turned his gaze back at Luna and raised his arm to aim the pokeball at her.

"Shit," he cursed under his breath when he clumsily dropped the pokeball, which rolled to Luna's feet.

As he reached out with an arm to grab it, he didn't see Luna placing a paw on her hip alongside her puzzled face. Unintentionally touching one of her feet in the process, Max grabbed the pokeball and again aimed at her, finally managing to call her inside the sphere. Dropping his head in embarrassment for a couple of seconds, he then let out a heavy sigh before proceeding to close the tent.

{You alright, master?} Dusk asked, a bit concerned about his weird behavior.

"Yeah, yeah. Just… dropped the pokeball like an idiot."

{Are you sure? I didn't know that dropping a pokeball was such a turn-on for you.} Bonny cheekily commented.

It took Max only a second to realize what she was talking about and put his legs together instantly.

{No need to hide it, we already saw it.} May pointed out with a grin.

"You didn't see anything, alright?" he defensively retorted with a mild red face.

{What's wrong, master? Afraid of what we can see, or even better, do?} Bonny seductively teased, crawling towards him with a lewd face.

"Actually, yes."

{That's mean. And here I am, thinking you thought better of us.} She said before forcing one of her paws through his legs and pressed against his semi-hard member. {My my, what happened for you to get in that state?} She playfully inquired with ignorance.

"..."

{What do you say, girls? Should we help him out?} The lopunny eagerly asked, turning her head to the others while she began rubbing him.

May was staring at him intently, Dusk was acting all shy, Aurora just wore a poorly faked uninterested expression, and Jade was again covering her face with her hands.

{There are kind of too many of us for him, don't you think?} Aurora pointed out.

{Well, five females at the same time should be more than enough for him, but you're right. We would outright kill him.} Bonny acknowledged.

{Plus, I don't think everyone would have been game.} The lucario remarked, discreetly pointing at Jade.

*sigh* {Shame. I was curious about how well he would have done.} Bonny conceded, facing Max again. {Oh well. Maybe next time, then.} She sensually told him before nearing his face to kiss him.

{If you ask me, you should be careful with where you point that.} May advised in an amused tone to Bonny.

{Yeah, especially with someone who only waits for occasions like this one.} Aurora added.

{I have no idea what you're talking about.} Bonny replied nonchalantly while leaving her master.

{Of course, you don't.} The lucario retorted while Dusk went to tell Jade that she could open her eyes now.

With Max sighing in relief, they waited for Scarlet to bring the food. A couple more minutes passed before Scarlet appeared back in the tent with various berries, edible for everyone. Guessing that Luna already ate breakfast, Max left her in her pokeball.

"...You know, it's not fair that you're always the one getting us food," Max said to Scarlet, who was also munching the berries next to him.

{Okay, and what do you want to do about it?} The red gardevoir replied, not getting why he was saying that.

"What I mean is that from time to time, I could be the one getting us the food so you can relax or focus on something else."

{I don't mind doing it all the time, actually. It keeps my mind busy.}

"Oh... Well, if you don't like standing around doing nothing, maybe you could help the team get stronger while I go do the gathering."

*sigh* {Alright, if you insist.} Scarlet accepted. {But you won't be doing it alone. I want you to be accompanied by someone all the time and to also guide you on what to pick.}

"Yes, mom," Max playfully replied.

{I'm serious. I'm not doing this to patronize you. This world is way too dangerous for a single human, as you've clearly experienced.}

"Well, in that case, I choose Luna."

As soon as they heard his answer, the group looked at Max funnily.

"What? She can watch over me just fine without having to be on my back."

{Oh, I didn't know we were such a burden to you now.} Scarlet commented with mild indignation.

"You aren't a burden. I don't mind any of you accompanying me, but at the same time, I want to feel like I'm doing the task alone. Also, I don't want to bother someone into babysitting me."

*sigh* {Let's leave this talk for another time, alright?}

After resting for a couple more minutes, Max put everyone back in their pokeball except for May as per her request to join him, packed everything up with the help of Scarlet and her psychic dome to prevent the three of them from getting wet, and resumed his journey under the torrential rain. To save some space, the mawile was riding on Max's backpack while holding onto his head.

"How are you holding up so far?" Max asked Scarlet after an hour of walking.

{Pretty well.} Scarlet replied, having one arm raised above her before switching to the other one. {It's actually harder to keep my arm lifted like this than continuously using my powers.}

"You're gonna have some good muscular shoulders at the end of this."

{That could be useful but doing this is quite tiring.}

"We can take a break at any time you want."

{If we find a suitable place, we will. It would be pointless if we stop in a place where I must keep protecting us.}

"Hmm, true."

For another hour they kept walking in the rain, And slowly but surely, Scarlet's shoulders were getting tired and harder to keep raised up. Then, to the side of an alternate path, they noticed a wooden sign.

"Toget-he-... Togetheart?…" Max read the sign in confusion. "What kind of word is that?" he wondered out loud.

{Beats me, but if it's a place where we can stop, I'm up to go find out.} Scarlet commented.

"I don't know, Scarlet. This is giving me some idiot-net vibes."

{Well it's a good thing I'm here to save you from falling susceptible to it.} She haughtily remarked, nudging him with her elbow.

"I feel greatly honored," he mockingly retorted.

{Do you want to keep arguing under a cold shower or get your ass into a shelter?} Scarlet countered with a grin.

"Alright, almighty princess. Whatever you say," Max yielded with an eye roll, both of them taking the alternate path. "If we get mugged, though, you will take responsibility for it."

{Yeah, yeah. As if that would happen with me around.} Scarlet answered nonchalantly.

It took them almost another hour of walking and the rain had now subsided a little. A bit further ahead they caught sight of a rather imposing wooden arch labeled 'Togetheart'. Beyond the arch were many houses, mainly made of wood, but due to the rain, not many people were seen outside.

{That thing is huge.} May commented, staring at the arch.

"Yeah. This place feels like another setting for a horror movie," Max jokingly commented, both of them stopping in front of the arch.

{Stop jinxing us. It's probably another one of these human dumps where they live.}

"I'm just saying. I mean, it's pretty far out in the woods."

{Can we just find a shelter somewhere? I'm starting to feel numb in my arms.} Scarlet remarked with mild irritation.

"As you wish," Max replied a bit haughtily before they proceeded through the arch.

As they were walking through the streets of the place, both of them were being stared at by the few locals. The ambiance was quite ominous as no one spoke a single word. Oddly, almost everyone had a single pokemon with them, who were staring at them as well. Despite himself, Max moved closer to Scarlet, to which the gardevoir felt his anxiety. To reassure him, she grabbed one of his hands. And weirdly enough, the locals suddenly began to look less vigilant and gloomy.

{This must be the weirdest place I've ever been in.} May said.

"'Weird' might be an understatement."

{I must admit that the atmosphere here is very peculiar.} Scarlet mentioned.

As the three were looking around for a public building, a group of three humans, two men and one woman; and two pokemon, an electabuzz, and an espeon, began to approach them with umbrellas. When they were at a safe distance, they all stopped in place.

"Hi, travelers. What brings you to our peaceful community?" a middle-aged human male engaged them.

"Hem, hi. Actually, we are looking for a place to rest. My gardevoir is very tired," Max explained while gesturing towards Scarlet, whose arms were slightly shaking.

"I see. What's the relation between you and your two pokemon?"

"Huh? The relation?" Max repeated, looking at Scarlet with confusion, who looked at him the same way.

{How about you tell them to mind their fucking business?} Scarlet suggested aggressively.

{It would be wiser to answer sincerely.} The electabuzz said rather calmly.

{Oh yeah? Make me.} Scarlet challenged, glaring at the electric pokemon almost menacingly.

"Scarlet, please," Max said, slightly glaring at her. "I'm a pokemon trainer if that is what you are referring to."

The middle-aged man then looked at the espeon. The psychic pokemon nodded and turned to stare at them with glowing eyes.

{Hey! Get out of our heads before I get really mad!} Scarlet warned the eeveelution with hostility.

Ignoring her threat, the espeon looked back at the man and nodded again at him, this time with a smile.

"I think we can help you with that. If you would please follow us," the man said with his own smile and turned to walk back to where they came from.

The three of them then exchanged glances of confusion with one another and after seconds of hesitation, they began to follow the group.

[Still thinking this was a good idea?] Max asked Scarlet.

[We don't really have much of a choice if we want shelter. But just in case, I'm ready to attack if they dare try anything funny.]

[That won't be necessary.] An unknown feminine voice said in their heads.

[What the…?] Max said in surprise.

[What did I just tell you?!] Scarlet angrily demanded.

Max then understood that it was the espeon who was speaking in their minds.

[Relax. We're not your enemy here.] The espeon calmly informed.

[Sorry, but I don't trust hollow words.]

[Pretty soon you will understand that they are not.]

[What do you mean?] Max asked.

Not responding, the espeon only looked over her shoulder with a smile. The more they walked through the place, the more stranger it seemed to them. Eventually, they arrived in front of a large wooden building, probably the main one of this place. The group passed the door and the electabuzz stayed outside to hold the door for Max and Scarlet. With the gardevoir glaring at the yellow pokemon one more time, both of them got inside. Immediately, Scarlet dropped the protection and arms while letting out a rather loud sigh.

{Finally!} She exclaimed, rubbing her shoulders.

[I'll give you a massage later.]

[Thanks.]

Walking through the building, the group dissipated until only the man that greeted them and the espeon stayed to lead them somewhere. After a few minutes, they stopped in front of a door. They opened it and revealed a bedroom, which looked quite luxurious for that type of building.

"Stay as long as needed in our guest room." The man invited with a smile.

"...Thanks."

Again, the situation got even odder, and Max was starting to have enough.

"...I'm sorry, but what's with the weird welcome and now this cozy bedroom?"

"We're proud of our hospitality with one of us."

"One of us?"

"Hmm, I think they didn't get it yet. Care to explain to them, Ruby?" The man asked the espeon, who nodded. "If you need anything afterward, she will gladly lead you to my room."

With that, the man left with the espeon sitting in the doorway.

{You can drop your things.} Ruby proposed to Max.

{Not before we get some sort of an explanation.} Scarlet answered before Max.

Sighing with a smile, the espeon stood up, walked in, and jumped on the bed before sitting again.

{You have a good relationship, right?} She started.

{So?}

{Well, To make it quick and simple, let's say that humans and pokemon have it too here.}

"...I'm not sure I'm following." Max shared, a bit lost.

{I think I do. What you are saying is that-}

{Yes.} Ruby cut. {Welcome to Togetheart, where humans and pokemon can have any type of relationship they want.} She proudly announced with a smile.

"Any kind? I think I'm an idiot because I don't understand."

{Any kind of relationship, master.} Scarlet said, looking at him. {Which means one like us.}

"Like us?"

{You know, love and everything.}

Max then analyzed the information for a short moment.

"Wait, is this a place where pokephilia is… accepted?"

{Accepted and also encouraged, but we understand that some are more into conservative relationships.} Ruby added.

"Oh my god. Does such a community actually exist?"

{Looks like it.} Scarlet confirmed.

{It may sound hard to believe, but everyone here has interspecies relationships and are mates, or just don't mind it.}

"Not everyone here is a pokephiliac?"

{Some here are singles, human or pokemon, so I can't really tell. Feel free to engage with them at any time, though.} The espeon suggested.

{As if I'll let a human or another gardevoir touch him.} Scarlet replied, grabbing one of Max's arms.

{Then you're in luck. Besides you, there is no gardevoir here.}

"Really? By judging how popular gardevoirs are on porn sites, I'm surprised."

{Yet, she is the only one. Reality and fantasy share very few similarities.}

{I hope you don't look into those anymore.} Scarlet said to Max, almost sounding upset and accusing.

"Not really. I didn't surf the internet for a while, so..."

{Good.} Scarlet expressed, hugging his arm.

{If you feel comfortable, then I'll be off.} Ruby announced, jumping down from the bed. {As soon as you're settled, go see the dean.}

"Is it the man who brought us here?"

{Yes. You will find his room on the last floor upstairs. It's the only one.}

As soon as she got past the doorway, she stopped to look at them.

{Oh, and one last thing. The laundry room is downstairs with all the necessities. If you plan on mating, it will be your responsibility to clean things up.}

"O-Okay," Max replied, still not used to express that kind of thing openly.

With a last smile, she left them.

"...Well, things can hardly get any weirder."

{Very hardly.} Scarlet agreed.

"A pokephile community... who could have guessed?"

{From what I know of humans, I didn't see that one coming.}

"Really? Aren't gardevoirs supposed to be able to see the future?"

{That's just a myth.} The gardevoir informed, sitting on the bed. {And I've never met a pokemon who can actually do it.}

"The more you know. Well, might as well go along with it. It's not every day you discover a place where you can freely express yourself." Max said, taking his pokeballs out one by one and releasing everyone.

"Hi there, girls." Max greeted them.

{Hi.} Bonny greeted back before looking around. {Where are we?}

"A place called Togetheart."

{To... what now?}

{A weird-ass place.} Scarlet stated.

"Believe it or not girls, we are in a place where pokephilia is not looked down upon."

Upon hearing him, they all looked at him suspiciously before looking at Scarlet.

{I'm just as surprised as you are.} The red pokemon told them nonchalantly.

{It smells weird here.} Aurora commented.

{Is that a joke, or…} Bonny said, not sure if he was serious.

"No, it's not. It seems that this community is into pokemon relationships and even encourages it."

{In all the time that I spent with humans, never have I ever heard of such a thing.} Luna shared.

{Me neither, but that's great, master! We can now do it all the time without fearing being caught.} May exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Hold on there, sweetie. I understand your excitement, but I still don't really want others to look at us in action, you know."

{Again with that?} Scarlet expressed, a bit exasperated.

{It's not like you have something to be ashamed of.} Bonny remarked.

"Okay, before you all start to do my trial about that again, how about we go see what this place is all about?"

{You have a point there, though.} Scarlet conceded. {From what we know, it might just be one hell of a trap.}

{That's just your paranoid side speaking.} Aurora commented.

{That paranoid side, as you said, saved us from a couple of troublesome situations.} Scarlet retorted.

"In any case, we won't progress by staying here bickering. A little scout around could tell us a bit more about this place. After the rain, that is."

Max's eyes then went towards Luna.

"I don't think you'll have to hide your appearance here, in case you were planning on being discreet."

{I believe so too, which is quite appealing. Walking freely among humans. It hasn't happened for a long time.}

{I hope they won't have any prejudices against her for being a dark-type. No matter where you are, they're not much appreciated.} Aurora pointed out.

"I'm quite confident in saying this, but if they're really what they claim to be, there should be fewer judgmental people here."

{That, I ask to see.} Scarlet said, a bit condescendingly.

"That's the plan, actually."

With the speech done, Max dropped his backpack at the foot of the bed.

"Care to wait here a little, girls? I need to do a little something." Max told them.

{I'm coming with you.} Scarlet announced.

{Where are you going?} Bonny inquired.

"The dean wants to speak with me."

{Oh, and who exactly might this 'dean' person be?}

"I don't know much yet to be honest, besides that he's probably the one running this place."

{...I see.}

"Shouldn't take too long. Later." Max said before leaving the room with Scarlet.

When out, Max and Scarlet were on their way to go upstairs. When they found it, they took it and arrived in a small hallway with two doors, one ajar on their right and the other closed in front of them. Upon walking closer, they saw that the one ajar was the bathroom, so they guessed it was the other one.

{Weren't we supposed to stay only until the rain passes?}

"Yeah, but in the meantime, we have been summoned here, so might as well see what he wants."

*Knock* *Knock*

"Come in." A voice said behind the door.

Opening the door and entering, they found themselves in a room that looked a lot like an office, but more convivial. A desk was in the middle and away from the door in front of a large window, with the dean reading some paper.

"Ah, our newest arrival." The dean said, leaving whatever he was reading.

"Well, we don't plan on staying very long. We just need some shelter until the rain's over. No need for all of those formalities."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but I understand. However, it's my duty to explain to our guests what kind of place they are putting their feet into."

"Ah, the espeon, hem… Ruby already explained everything."

"Ruby?" The dean repeated, looking at Max a bit confused.

"Long story short, I can understand pokemon."

"You do? Well, very short indeed. Good thing then, it's gonna spare me long explanations." The dean replied calmly.

"You don't seem that surprised. Most of the time, people tend to be a bit more reactive about that."

"Well, given the fact you have a psychic pokemon with you, a pretty and peculiar one, by the way, it's not much of a surprise. We have a few psychic pokemon here and some of them were able to teach their language to those they share their life with. For the rest, they almost understand perfectly their mate from practice and time spent with them."

"I see. Anyway, the least we can say is that we received quite a welcoming reception when we arrived."

"Ah. Please, don't hold a grudge against them. You see, some people have certain reactions towards what we believe to be beautiful."

"I feel you. I can guess that some run away in disgust."

"If only it was just that. From time to time, people come here for the sole purpose of causing trouble, and on rare occasions, literally trying to destroy what we built here."

"That much? Damn." Max said, half surprised by human intolerance.

"So the residents here, despite themselves, became wary of strangers. Every time someone new arrives here, they all get ready to defend this community."

"That's setting intolerance to a new level." Max shared, a bit upset.

"But rest assured though. The people here must have already guessed that you're like us, so they should be a lot more welcoming now."

[Like us. He sounds like you just joined a cult or something.] Scarlet commented.

"That's nice to hear."

"I know that you already said that you will stay until the rain is settled, but if for whatever reason you want to stay longer, you are more than welcome here. We will provide you anything you need."

"That's great."

"In exchange, I'll have to ask you to contribute here. To give a bit of your own self to others."

"I suppose that's fair."

"Good. Take tomorrow's day to enjoy this place and get familiar with it, free of charge. It was announced that the rain should sustain only late in the night. You can make your choice tomorrow in the evening."

"Okay. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Max was about to turn to leave but felt the need to share something with him.

"Before going, there's something I need to say."

"I'm listening."

"Something horrible happened. Before arriving here, we passed through a foggy area and we found a house. There, we… found a corpse."

"A corpse?" The dean repeated, slightly confused.

"Yes. It was a man and was literally gutted in his basement. As soon as we discovered it, the front door broke open and something tried to come for us. It was scary as hell."

"That's… something. Are you sure about what you saw?"

"[My master isn't a liar.]" Scarlet defended out loud.

"...Well… I guess I could inform the police department of the closest city and ask for an investigation. That's something very peculiar. Was it nearby?"

"Well, maybe half a day away from here."

"Alright. Thanks for informing me. I'll share pieces of information if I get some feedback about this."

With a nod, Max and Scarlet left the room.

[Are you seriously considering staying here?] The gardevoir asked as soon as the door was closed.

"Why not wait until tomorrow? For today, we have nothing to lose by staying. And we have nowhere to go." Max replied, both heading towards the stairs.

[I don't know. I don't trust that human.]

"Beside me, which humans do you trust, actually?"

[I don't really trust some, and I don't trust at all others.]

"Thanks for the enlightenment of that big difference."

[What do you want me to tell you? It's not my fault that you're the only one too good for this world.]

"Yet, we haven't traveled the entire world. That's statistically impossible for me to be the only one."

[Then I don't trust those statistics either.]

"Scarlet, you are impossible."

[Another statistic?]

"No, just a reliable fact."

[Ts, smartass.] She audibly mumbled.

Soon enough, they were back inside the room with the girls scattered all across the room, waiting.

{Well?} Bonny inquired, seated on the bed.

"It's possible that the rain won't subside until tomorrow, so…"

{We'll stay for the time being while the goal was only to rest a little so we can move on later.} Scarlet pointed out, crossed arms.

"I know, but since I want you to rest as much as possible, why not settle for a moment? To be honest, this place is pretty intriguing and stung my curiosity."

{If I didn't know you, I would suspect that you're more curious about what kind of female pokemon they have here.} Aurora accused.

"And what's making you think that?"

{I don't know. You, perhaps.}

{In a joking context, I would agree with her.} Bonny said with a small grin.

"Sorry to burst your balloons, but no, not really. I'm still embarrassed about expressing freely my, hem… orientation, but at least here I feel a bit more comfortable about it. Who knows, maybe it's a place we could live in after our adventure."

{If we all agree, that is.} Scarlet pointed out.

"Of course."

{All of that is great and all, but anyhow, what are we gonna do until tomorrow?} May asked.

"...Good question," Max replied, dropping on his back on the bed, hands behind the head and taking a deep breath. "We could do what we usually do on a rainy day, which is mostly nothing."

{The place is small and it's gonna get boring fast.} Bonny commented.

{I'm afraid I agree with her.} Luna said. {Some of us need space.}

"I don't want to sound rude, but outside is the only place where there is space. But since it's raining..."

{He has a point. I'm not especially into getting myself wet for fun.} Aurora mentioned.

{I guess you're right.} Bonny conceded, dropping on her back. {What do we do then?}

"We have some board games for moments like this."

{True. Besides that, do you think we could do some training here?}

At that, everyone looked at her.

{I was just joking.} She revised herself.

{For my part, I think I'll do what I do like almost every rainy day.} Luna said.

"Pokeball?" Max guessed.

{Pokeball.} She repeated with a smile.

As he was putting her in her pokeball, Max noticed how much more smiley and joyful she was getting every time they interact. He began to wonder what her true feelings towards him were now. Was she just being polite? Teasing him? Or she really had a little something for him? Knowing her, his best guess would be a very odd cocktail of all of them. Also, he couldn't help but to rethink the moment they almost did it. He had made peace with himself for having chickened out but was now thinking that maybe he started having deep feelings towards her.

{Master?} Scarlet called out.

"Huh? Oh, Sorry. I spaced out for a moment. What is it?"

{What dirty ideas were you thinking of this time?} Bonny asked with a grin.

"With all of you around, hard to say specifically what."

{Hihi. I think master is becoming more confident of what he is.} Dusk commented with a smile.

"You think?"

{Yeah, I noticed too.} May agreed.

"What exactly?"

{Come on, now.} Bonny started. {Not a while ago, you were getting so embarrassed every time one of us was a minimum flirty with you.}

"I… don't remember that much." Max lied.

{Liiiar.} Scarlet accused playfully.

{I wonder if the cause wouldn't be this place.} Bonny theorized.

{Well, he's now surrounded by humans that think like him, so it would make sense.} Aurora explained.

*Ahem* "Well, maybe I should ask the dean about the possible activities around here. For tomorrow." Max said while standing up, obviously running away from the conversation. "I think I'm gonna do just that." He finished, almost dashing towards the door.

{Careful to not trip on your own cowardice along the way.} Scarlet nagged a little.

Upon exiting the room, Max heard his pokemon laugh behind the door.

*Sigh* "I hate when they do that." He said to himself desperately. "I guess if I was a little more accepting of who I am… Tsk, anyway." He mumbled before starting to head one more time to the dean's office.

Then, a couple of steps later, he stumbled across Ruby midway.

"Oh, hi Ruby."

{Hi. Doing good?} She replied with a welcoming smile.

"Yes. I was just on my way to go see the dean again."

{Can I ask why? And you can call him Zebb by the way.}

"Zebb? That's a peculiar name for a human."

{You think? Sounds normal to me.}

"I guess. Well, maybe you could help me instead, then."

{I can try. What is it?}

"Well, the girls… I mean my companions are quite the active ones, so I was wondering what we could do around here tomorrow."

{Why do you ask? Weren't you just supposed to stay until the rain passes?}

"Yeah, but I'm kind of curious about this place. It's not every day that you came across a place where… well, everyone has the same opinion as yourself."

{Is it me, or you don't seem that comfortable with what you are?} Ruby suspected.

"I… well, n-"

Max was about to deny but quickly realized that an espeon is a psychic-type, making it impossible to hide things from her.

"The girls really help me out and I'm getting better every day, but some persistent pre-defined thoughts are hard to get rid of."

{I understand. I know that human/pokemon relationships are not something common and well-regarded in our world. However, maybe someday you will get that what others think doesn't matter. If you let your surroundings get under your skin, life's gonna get harder uselessly.}

"I… You're right, but it's easier said than done."

{Give it time and willpower and you'll see.}

"..."

{Anyway, as for the activities you asked for, we have a few things for entertainment. We have outside and inside playgrounds, but it's mostly for children. Besides that, we have a mess hall where we exchange between ourselves, which has some games with a living/rec room annexed to. Other than that, we don't have much more. We have a small dojo if it interests some of your companions."

"A dojo huh? That's gonna interest maybe some of them."

{Anything else?}

"I guess not, that's gonna be it. Thanks."

{You're welcome.}

Now that Max spoke with her a bit, she was emanating something special. She was polite, warm, and welcoming, yet, he couldn't help but feel her being a bit cold and distant as well.

"Say, are Zebb and you… like..." Max asked curiously.

Not responding, Ruby only looked at him blankly.

{... A bit nosy, aren't you?}

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. I should've known that it's none of my business." Max quickly apologized.

{Don't worry, I'm not the rancorous type, as well as not the very personal information sharing type.}

"I understand. That was not very considerate of me."

{No hard feelings. I'm not ashamed of what I am though. If you really want to know, yes, Zebb and I have an intimate relationship, but we don't do it a lot of times.}

"Why?"

{Because we both aren't into it that much.}

"I see. But why are you sharing that with me? I know I asked, but to actually answer me..."

{I appreciate you, that's all.}

"You do? Why me more than any other?"

{A quick survey in your mind was enough for me to see who you are. You may have your own harem, which I have to be honest, I judge you for a bit, but you treat them well and fairly. It's respectable.}

"I mustn't be the only one around here like that."

{Don't let Zebb or the others fool you. It's not because interspecies relationships are common here that everything is perfect. Far from it.}

"What do you mean?"

{This community is like any other village or city; you have your bag of rotten apples.}

"Is that so?"

{If we exclude those who try to take down our community, we have some intestinal problems as well. A couple of times we had to intervene on abusive humans or pokemon, couple disputes, rivalry, adultery, and so on. We even had two cases of rape.}

"Really? Damn." Max exclaimed, a bit astonished.

{But those are only some isolated and very infrequent incidents, so you don't have to be afraid of this place. You risk nothing here, especially with that gardevoir with you.}

"Scarlet? You know her?" Max asked, suddenly suspicious.

{No, nothing like that. But she emanates powerful energy. I felt her power as soon as I got close to her.}

"Yeah. Not only is she pretty, but she's indeed very strong as well."

{I'm happy for you.}

"But you're not bad yourself." Max flirted unconsciously.

{Hehe, you're cute.} Ruby replied with an amused smile. {But flattery doesn't work on me. I already have my one and only true mate.}

"Did I? Shit. Sorry if you took it that way." Max apologized, going a bit red.

{Hehe, it's always a pleasant sight to see pokemon with a good human. On that, I'm off. See you later.} The espeon said before leaving him.

"I should cool down my ardor a bit," Max told himself, rubbing his hair.

Turning, Max walked back to the room.

"I have some news, but it will be for you to decide if they are good or not."

{Spill the beans, then.} Bonny urged.

"They don't have much to do, but they have a dojo."

{A dojo?} Aurora repeated interrogatively.

"That's what Ruby said."

{Did she say something else?} Bonny inquired with a smirk.

"A lot of things actually, but nothing that concerns us directly." He said sitting on the bed.

{I'm quite curious about that dojo. Maybe there is someone I know.} The lucario pointed out.

{Me too. It sounds interesting.} Bonny followed.

{It sounds fun!} May exclaimed.

{What about you, master? Will you come if we go to visit it?} Bonny inquired.

"Maybe. It seems interesting, indeed."

{Some exercises could do you good. It's been a while since the last time you seriously trained.} Scarlet pointed out.

{Yeah, and I heard humans get fat pretty easily, so you better watch out.} Bonny commented.

{I've noticed a bit of growth over there.} Scarlet said, poking his belly. {Just saying.}

"Pff. It must be your imagination." Max protested.

{You think? Does anyone agree with him?} She asked the others.

At her question, no one replied and looked away.

"Sure, why not? A little mutiny is always fun from time to time." Max said sarcastically.

{And you call me paranoid? Anyway, it's gonna be a good opportunity to get you on track properly.}

"There are other things we could get on track to," Max remarked with a grin.

{I don't think you're neglected on that side.} Scarlet replied, knowing what he was referring to. {But it's true, it's been a while since the last time I made you pass out from multiple orgasms.}

"I don't miss them, to be honest. It's pleasant at the moment, but I'm on my ass for days afterward."

{Aww! Poor little thing. Life is so unfair to you, is it not?} She mocked playfully.

"You tell me. Now that I think about it, it's gonna be a bit nostalgic."

{How so?}

"It's in a dojo we met Aurora." He explained, looking at his pretty lucario.

{Hmpf. It doesn't take much to make you all softy.} Aurora said, looking a bit embarrassed.

{On that, we agree.} Scarlet supported, giggling.

{Well, tomorrow is far away and I'm already bored.} Bonny expressed before getting into his backpack to take out one board game. {Let's do stuff in the meantime.}

As Bonny, Aurora, May, and Dusk were gathering around the game and Jade looking at them, Max laid on his back on the bed with Scarlet next to him on the edge. Her gaze then briefly passed across Jade.

[You know, it might be a good place.] The gardevoir engaged in Max's mind.

[A good place for what?]

[I hope you didn't forget about her.]

[Her? Can you be a bit more precise?]

[Jade. I'm talking about Jade over there.] She said, motioning towards the other gardevoir with her eyes.

[What of her?]

[Seriously? Are you mocking me?]

[What? No, but it's not my fault if you're clear as coal.] Max retorted a bit impatiently.

[Then I'll remind you; the only reason I accepted her temporarily is that you convinced me that you'll get her a competent trainer.]

[Ah, why didn't you say so sooner? No, I haven't forgotten. However, I was hoping that before I do, maybe you could have seen her with a better eye in the meantime.]

[Better eye? Every day I fight with myself so as not to toss her across the continent.]

[Aren't you exaggerating a bit? She's not that bad and certainly not as evil as those you may have encountered. I mean, just look at her.] He said looking at Jade, with Scarlet doing the same but only with the corner of one eye.

The green pokemon was discreetly looking at the others playing the game. She had even been asked if she wanted to play in the next game since this one only allowed four players, and shyly replied maybe.

[What darkness do you see in her?]

[You can't trust that. A lot of psychics pokemon can easily hide their true nature from another psychic.]

[And you think she's that good with her current abilities? I even wonder if she can do telekinesis.]

[So you think.]

[I do. That's why I was planning to train her a little. Without your help that is.]

[Hmpf, no chance.]

[Anyway, we don't even know this place. From what I've heard from Ruby, this place is not much better than any other.]

With her eyes briefly glowing, Scarlet made a quick survey in his mind to see his conversation with the espeon.

[I see. She seemed to believe what she said.]

[Plus, I don't think she's into humans that much, so this place isn't really made for her.]

*Sigh* [Alright, you win this time. But you better start looking intensively in the next city.]

[If asked that nicely, how can I refuse?] Max retorted very arrogantly.

[Alright, can I suggest you search seriously from now on, then?] She replied in the same tone.

[Certainly.]

[Thank you. First things first anyway, we should see for ourselves how it is here and what this place is all about if you want to explore around.]

[Good point. But I can sense that it doesn't interest you as much as me?]

[What interests could I have in this place? It's only a place where humans screw their pokemon freely after all.]

[I… Fair enough.] Max conceded.

[But if it talks to you, I don't mind accompanying you.]

[Thanks.]

[But I wonder what you can hope to find here.] Scarlet questioned while lying down next to him and wrapped an arm around him.

[Nothing in particular. I'm just curious about the people here. Discovering what a pokephiliac community is, in short.]

[Really? If I didn't know you, I would suspect that you just hope to find some pokemon you find attractive to fuck freely and without any judgment.] She suspected, bopping his nose.

[Why do you always see me as a sexual predator?] Max jested.

[Not a predator, but a sexual beast.]

[What's the difference?]

[Honestly, I don't know, but predator seemed bad for you and beast means good for us, so…]

[Heh, it's always interesting to be in contact with some Scarletized logic and cheap psychology.]

[I love educating you.] She said, hugging him strongly.

[Of course, you do. You love feeling superior to me.]

[Not at all. It's not because I am that I love it and brag about it.]

Max then looked at her suspiciously.

[...Okay, maybe a little.]

[Yeah, thought so.]

With Scarlet giggling, Max took out his pokedex and did some random research since he didn't have anything better to do. For a while, Scarlet joined in that while asking questions. Sometimes from her and sometimes from him. Eventually, she was so comfortable that she fell asleep on his chest. After a couple of games, Jade did a few with the girls. Unlike the others, she wasn't the bold type, so she didn't win any of them. Eventually, the evening came and the girls were starting to get hungry, alongside Max. Since they were unable to explore under that weather, they took rations and poke food for dinner. Rations were ordinary for Max, but it seemed that the poke food was really tasty for them, so they didn't mind going only with that. They spent the rest of the day chilling, discussing, and playing. Max even tried to beat Scarlet at the strategy game but got annihilated every time. When night came along, everyone got into their pokeball, except for Dusk, who had a special request for her master.

{Master?} She engaged him before he could point the pokeball at her.

"Yes?"

{I... was wondering if we could… you know.} Dusk demanded shyly, ears dropped and paws behind her.

"Well, I admit it's kind of rare that it comes from you," Max commented, looking at Scarlet.

{I didn't really plan it, but I don't mind playing a bit before bed.} Scarlet agreed.

"Alright. I believe it's threesome time then."

{Don't get too cocky.} Scarlet teased with a grin while pushing him on his back.

"I'm not, I'm just happy to be that desired," Max replied, smiling back

{My my, you really are in your element here. I never saw you that confident.}

"Well…"

{I love it. A perverted master turns me on so much.} She said seductively, an inch from his face and gazing at his eyes.

She leaned for a kiss that lasted a few seconds before breaking it.

{Let's get started.}

Scarlet then crawled back until she was side to side with Dusk at his waist height. This time, it was one of those moments when Scarlet took it slowly by working on his pants manually.

{Let's see what we can do here.} She said while zipping down his pants.

As soon as it was opened, Scarlet dove one hand in his underwear and pulled his hardening member out.

{Getting ready, huh? Good, I like my slaves obedient.} She jested with a lewd expression.

Grabbing Max's dick with a full hand, she gave an eager lick from base to tip before coiling her lips around his tip, gently sucking it. In a matter of seconds, Max was rock hard and ready to get more. She gave the head a couple of seconds and passed it to Dusk. Since only his musky scent was driving her crazy, the braixen started more eagerly than Scarlet and tried to swallow the entire thing. She did it a bit longer before passing it to her friend. Scarlet only gave a few bobs before releasing it and began to only lick one side. Quickly understanding her chance, Dusk joined her and did the same, but on the other side. For a moment, both the gardevoir and braixen were pleasing their master with their dexterous tongue. Max didn't know how they managed to do it, but their tongues never touched each other, even when they were exploring every angle of the shaft, tip included. Not only the sensation, but the sight of two sexually needy and aroused female pokemon over his penis was something he could never have enough of and was making him very horny, making him leak precum almost profusely. Eventually, as Max was only holding on because of Scarlet, the usual question arrived; who was going first.

{Mind if start?} Dusk asked boldly.

{Isn't it funny? I was about to ask the same thing.} Scarlet replied, as both of them were pumping him.

They both then looked at their master.

{Well?} Scarlet demanded.

"Hem…"

{Who do you choose?} Dusk demanded as well.

To that question, Max was never able to answer. He wanted them both at the same intensity, but unfortunately, only one could go at a time.

"Why ask me that? You both know that I simply can't choose"

{Well, unless you grow another dick, you'll have to.}

*Sigh* "Alright, choose a number between one and ten. The closest wins.

{Seven.} Dusk answered.

{Two.} Scarlet followed.

"Sorry, but Dusk wins."

{Yippee!} The braixen exclaimed, immediately placing herself.

{Aww.} Scarlet complained deceptively. {Can't win them all, I suppose.}

As Dusk was impaling herself with the human's rod and making him gasp in pleasure, Scarlet crawled back to his face.

{Doesn't mean I'll stay passive, though.} She assured him before starting to aggressively make out with him.

Without stopping, she grabbed his hand and put it between her legs.

{You better make me cum a couple of times in the meantime so as to keep my patience at bay.}

"You know it's a pleasure for me to do so," Max replied, gently rubbing her slit.

{Great. Didn't expect any less from you.} She told him before resuming their make-out.

Quickly, she was wet enough for Max to insert a finger in.

{Hnmm!} She moaned in Max's mouth.

Lower, Dusk was enjoying herself by riding him at her rhythm, which was a bit faster than usual. Up and down she was going, trying to push the meat further and further each time she dropped down. This time around, Scarlet was too busy being pleased that she didn't pay attention to Max's orgasm, who came after a little while, exploding inside the scorching hot braixen's vagina.

{Aww, but I was so close.} Dusk complained after coming to a halt.

"Sorry. You know that insane heat is hard to bear. It feels so good inside of you."

Even though a bit deceived, a smile appeared on her face after hearing that.

{Sorry, but it's my turn.}

Moving away, they both switched places.

"Don't worry, I won't leave you like that," Max reassured before putting one finger on her clit and began to rub it.

{Master… T-thanks.} Dusk moaned.

She was indeed very close because it barely took her a minute to finally orgasm.

*Sigh* {Thanks, master.} Dusk thanked, relieved. {But…}

"You want me to continue?"

{Y-yes, please.}

With a smile of his own, Max continued his rubbing, but a bit slower. The braixen immediately resumed her low moans. As for Scarlet, she was going rather slowly. It was quite unusual for her, but Max guessed that she wanted to last as long as possible after being stimulated so much. Unfortunately, she couldn't keep it up very long and eventually came, sinking her finger into Max's belly.

{Damn, that feels good.} Scarlet commented with a satisfied face.

"Doesn't it?"

{Now it's your turn.} She announced before going at it one more time.

Not very long after that, Dusk orgasmed one more time. Slightly panting, she dropped on her side.

{Thanks master. That was wonderful.}

"Anytime."

Feeling his orgasm coming and wanted to cum one more time, Scarlet masturbated so as to speed up the process. Fortunately, she managed to cum a few seconds before her master, extending hers a bit.

{Ahh.} She exhaled while dropping on his chest. {I think I'm gonna sleep well tonight.}

"Heh, so do I."

Lazily, Scarlet moved to his side, opposite to Dusk. They both embraced him and quickly drifted off to sleep.