Fragility

The next morning, Max was awoken by a weight on his chest. Opening his eyes, he jumped a little when he saw May sitting on his chest, staring a

/t him.

"Hem… morning?"

{Good morning, master.} She greeted him back.

"Did I oversleep?"

{Not really, but everyone else is up already.}

"I see. So you thought that it was about time for me to get up as well?"

{Hmm…} The mawile hummed, thoughtful. {I guess you could say that.}

"Really? Is it me, or do you have something else in mind?"

{Well, I did come back to wake you up and mate, so I guess so.}

"Oh, you want to mate? Like, right now?"

{Why, yes. Did I pick a bad time?} May asked.

"No, no. That's not it. It's just… you could have maybe let me have a few minutes to properly wake up first."

{It's been roughly a few minutes since you opened your eyes.}

"Not nearly, but…" Max replied before seeing her lethal puppy eyes. "Alright."

{Yay!} She exclaimed, going for a kiss. {...Mega evolution?}

"Sure." He agreed before changing her into a mega mawile. "Oof!" He growled due to the sudden change of weight.

{Hehe, sorry.} She apologized in her larger and more intimidating mega form.

"Well, now everyone knows what we're about to do."

{Probably.}

Max then took a second to admire her body.

"You really are something in that form, May. I mean, it's so…" He started, eyeing it while rubbing her sides and hips with his hands.

{So what?} May replied, lightly biting her lower lips.

"I would say so enticing, but maybe something more romantic like…"

{Enticing is fine.} She said, going for another kiss.

While she did so, Max kept caressing her, mostly on her thighs before going for her buttocks. From how she was positioned, Max could go further and went for her pussy from behind. He started by gently rubbing her slit before sliding a finger in when she was slippery enough, all while making out with her.

After a moment, her pleasure was so great that she couldn't focus on kissing anymore and stopped, more or less staring at Max with a depraved face.

{Oh, yes! Even though I'm bigger… your fingers feel incredible as always!}

"You may be bigger, but I know you by now. I know where to go and where to press. Like here!" He explained before pressing on a specific zone, making her muffle a loud moan and stiffen up briefly.

{That's… not fair.} She complained lustfully.

"How come?" He replied, pressing on her sweet spots even more.

Unable to keep a straight face and posture, May dropped her head on his chest and let herself be at the mercy of her human, pleasuring her ruthlessly. Paralyzed by pleasure, May felt an orgasm a few minutes later. When she climaxed, she grasped Max's shirt firmly with muffled screams and raised her rear with a stiff body until the moment was done.

{*pant* *pant* That's a nice way to start a morning.} She commented, dropped dead on him.

"I agree. Now that you have ignited me, I hope you have some strength left for me to have some fun too."

{Ha.} May retorted, raising her head. {As if a single orgasm would make me faint. I'm not a human.}

"...Thanks."

{Ahah, sorry. I guess Scarlet and Bonny are starting to have a bad influence on me.}

"At least you're aware and honest about it."

{Any position preference for this morning?}

"Hmm… how about you under me?"

{Hihi. Sure thing.}

Moving away from him, May laid on her back with Max crawling over her.

"It hasn't been too long since last time. Does it hurt?"

{No. I noticed that I'm starting to feel less and less pain with every session. I think that after a while, I'll be used to you completely.}

"That's great to hear."

{I'm so happy to have a mega stone and be able to mate with you.}

"Me too. It hurt me knowing that you didn't have the same luxury as the others."

{But now I do.} May said, pulling him into a kiss. {Now please, mate with me.}

"As you wish."

Aiming, Max gently pushed in through her incredibly tight flesh tunnel. Just like she said, every time they did it, it seemed easier and easier to get in and please May. It took approximately four or five thrusts before sincere and ecstatic moans escaped the mawile's mouth.

"Shit, May. Your vagina is very hard to deal with." Max said, to which May could only answer with moans.

Max kept pushing in and out a moment before his attention oddly went to her two giant maws.

"Say, May…" Max engaged, stopping. "Are your maws firmly attached to you?"

{Y-Yes. Why?}

"Because I might have an idea, if you allow me to, naturally."

{Of course.}

Max then leaned to whisper into her ear.

{That… could be interesting.} She agreed.

After Max pulled away, May turned and got on all fours in front of Max. After pushing in only his tip, Max grabbed the base of her two maws and began using them to push in harder. Immediately, May's eyes widened as the pleasure was very strong right off the bat.

"If I hurt you, don't be afraid to tell."

{No, not… at all. It's… a bit odd… but… darn!}

Overwhelmed by pleasure, May's nervous system almost shut down as she lost control of her body, leaving her free to be manipulated by her master as he wished. With her arms limp by her side and eyes rolled to the back of her head, Max was the only thing preventing her from falling by holding her up by the head. For a short moment, Max didn't like how it may look, but her ecstatic and uncontrollable moans encouraged him to continue. Being on all fours and taking her from behind meant that her legs were touching each other, making her insides even tighter, multiplying both of their pleasure. Even though Max was able to hold on longer in the morning, he couldn't resist her tightness any longer and released his seeds all over her flesh tunnel. Unfortunately, he came before May could, and a couple of seconds later, he released his grasp on her maws and let her drop onto her chest, her rear still raised.

"Damn! What a morning."

{I hope… you liked it.}

"Impossible not to when you cum inside the cutest thing ever. Wow, that sounded wrong on so many levels."

{Hehe. You're such a naughty master.} May giggled.

"Whose fault do you think it is? With the perverted girls I carry around, who wouldn't?"

{Yeah. We totally made you be into female pokemon.}

"As cute as you girls are, I would say yes. Anyway, feel like going another round?"

{No, I'm okay for now.}

"Are you sure? We both only came once."

{Yes. Even though I liked it, it still kind of hurt doing that.}

"Shit," Max said, withdrawing himself from her. "Was it my fault?"

{Not really.} May started, turning to sit in front of him. {You went a little too hard, but you're not the one to blame. I agreed and I didn't tell you to stop.}

"Great. Now I feel a bit bad."

{Don't be.} May assured before reverting to her normal form. {We'll just have to be more careful next time.}

"Yeah. I should work on controlling myself a little. As soon as it starts feeling so good, I have the tendency to go harder, which isn't always good, especially when I can't go all the way in with you."

{At least I know you had a great time with me.}

"I always do," Max reassured, petting her.

{*sigh* Kinda sucks, though. Just when I was starting to get used to you. Now I'm gonna have to wait another few days.} May said, looking a bit disappointed.

"I'm always looking towards it."

After a hug, May waited for Max to dress up and they both left the tent.

Outside, Scarlet was waiting under a nearby tree.

{I did it, Scarlet. I woke him up as you said.} May enthusiastically said while running playfully towards her.

{Good job.} The red gardevoir praised, petting the yellow pokemon. {Nice to see you put your mega form to good use.}

"She's getting used to it, whether it's for battles or… other things," Max commented.

{Which are both equally important.} Scarlet said with a small grin.

"Anyway, where are the others?"

{Bonny and Aurora are doing some light morning warm-up exercises.} Scarlet started, getting up. {Dusk and that pest went for a walk somewhere while you were still waking up. I don't know where Luna is, as per usual.}

"Pest? Ah, very charming." Max replied sarcastically. "Well, I'm up now, so we can go."

{Don't you want any breakfast?}

"Actually, no. I'm not very hungry this morning."

{That's odd. Whenever it's about mating or food, you're more or less insatiable.}

"When it comes to sex, it can be the case with six horny female pokemon, but with food, mostly yes, but I don't know. Maybe Luna's story cut my appetite a little."

{I don't know the details, but I sensed that it indeed turned you upside down a little.}

"Yeah, I would like it to stay that way until she's ready to share it with everyone if you don't mind."

{Sure. I have other matters to worry about anyway.}

"As soon as you girls finish eating, we-"

{We all have already eaten.}

"Oh. Let's set sail, then."

{Alright. I'll call the others and fold up the tent.}

"Thanks, Scarlet. You're the best."

{I know.} The gardevoir retorted while passing next to him.

In a matter of seconds like always, the tent and Max's backpack were ready, with the rest of the group joining them shortly after. He was accompanied by May, Dusk, and Scarlet until lunchtime when the braixen got switched with Aurora, who still wanted to spend time with her master due to her recent absence. Besides being attacked twice by a wild pokemon, nothing really happened until the end of the afternoon. After dinner, Max once again tried to beat Scarlet at her favorite game, as he was so into it and too stubborn to give up now that the whole team was sitting and watching nearby.

{Why don't you just give up, master? It's the twentieth time you've lost against her.} Bonny tried to convince him.

"No. I'll get her, eventually." Max retorted, upset.

{She's a psychic-type, she will always predict your next moves.}

{I'm not cheating if it's what you're implying.} Scarlet said, waiting for Max to make his next move while lying on her chest.

{I'm not, it's just…}

{Forget it, Bonny.} Aurora intervened. {You know how he is.}

{*sigh* Yeah, that's the problem.} Bonny replied. {He's too prideful and doesn't know when to quit. Ah, that reminds me of someone.} Bonny nagged, looking at the lucario with the corner of one eye.

{Really now? Good for you.} Aurora retorted, doing the same.

{I believe in you, master. This time will surely be the one.} Dusk encouraged.

"Tsk, you just don't want to leave even a small opening for me, do you?" Max complained after losing a pawn.

{What are you talking about? I'm leaving you plenty. Not my fault if you can't see them.} Scarlet replied with a smug.

{She's just playing with him.} Jade said softly.

{Well, it's kind of the point of the game.} Aurora mentioned.

{No, I mean, she's making him do whatever she wants. He's too impulsive and reacts too quickly under pressure. She did leave him a couple of opportunities, but she always managed to make them unnoticeable by distracting him somewhere else. She knows him too well and uses his own tactics against him.} Jade explained.

{Anyone ever told you that you're smarter than you look?} Bonny said.

{I…} Jade shyly replied, blushing.

"Ah! Got you now!" Max exclaimed after a move. "It may have cost me, but I'll be taking a lot of your pieces with me."

{Oh no, whatever will I do?} Scarlet replied with a sarcastic monotone voice. {I'm so trapped right now.} She added before making a move of her own. {Oh wait, no I'm not. You're already dead.}

"Wha… *loud sigh* Alright. That's gonna be enough for today. I'll beat you tomorrow." Max told her, standing up.

{I can't wait.} Scarlet replied with a grin.

{Twenty-one straight losses. I guess that's his limit.} Luna commented with crossed arms and legs.

"I'm gonna go chill in the tent until dinner," Max said while heading further away.

{Sure. Anyone else wants to take his place?} Scarlet asked.

At that, no one replied as they began to disperse. The only one that stayed was Jade.

{*sigh* Alright. Looks like I have no choice.}

{You… really don't mind?} Jade replied, still a bit afraid of her.

{Of course, I do, but you're the only one who wants to play.}

With a shy smile, Jade got up and sat in front of a less enthusiastic Scarlet.

{And it pains me to say this, but you're the only one here that can actually make me think a little.}

{T-Thank you for being patient with me, and for letting me play until I get better.}

{Yeah, yeah. Just place your shit down already.} Scarlet ordered, not really wanting to talk to her more than necessary.

{Y-Yes ma'am.} Jade complied nervously.

Eventually, it was dinner time. However, this one was rather special and surprising for some. Around the fire and while eating, Max was sitting between Luna's legs with her acting as a chair back. She had her arms around his waist and was fondly looking at him munching on his food from above. With the looks the others were giving, Max wasn't super comfortable and was getting a little embarrassed, but didn't want to say anything as he was quite comfortable with Luna's soft fur keeping him warm and cozy. Oddly enough, Max sensed a hint of jealousy coming from Scarlet, as she wasn't the kind to resent that and was even happy for them last night. In a sense though, it was understandable that she was envying how close they were to each other. Max then eventually guessed that it wasn't their proximity that was the problem, but how they positioned themselves. Since she was smaller and had an annoying crest in the way, Scarlet was pretty much always the spooned one with Max behind, so he guessed that she was jealous of not being able to pamper him like Luna was doing right now. To say the least, the atmosphere was a little awkward.

{So, umm… how many days before we reach the next city?} Bonny said, breaking the ice.

"Not many. I would say less than a week." Max answered.

{Okay.} The lopunny replied before another silence settled.

"*sigh* Come on, girls. You're all acting as we've never done this before." He stated, starting to have enough of the situation.

{Well…}

{When it's with Luna, I think it does feel that way.} Aurora pointed out.

{So what? Can't I snuggle with him a little?} Luna said with a smile, hugging Max a bit stronger.

{We didn't say that.} Dusk said. {It's just…}

{We meant that you were the last pokemon we'd expect to be that clingy.} Scarlet finished, unable to hide a slight upset tone.

{Things change.} The zoroark replied, petting the human's head. {But if it's really that annoying for you, maybe I should move.}

"Don't, Luna." Max stopped her before she could move. "They're just a bit surprised to see this side of you all of a sudden. You didn't really participate in our talks as much as the others until now."

{But those were quality times, weren't they?}

"I admit that they were. However, I hope we can enjoy your presence some more from now on."

{Well… I'll still prefer my alone time every now and then, but…} She started while looking at Max's hopeful eyes. {I guess I can make an effort in that matter.}

"Thanks, Luna. Being with everyone is something very… I don't know how to express it properly, but it's very nice."

{We could say that it makes those moments a bit more convivial.} Scarlet pointed out.

{Yes, indeed.} Max agreed, crossing his arms and dropping his weight backward on Luna, now done with his meal.

He then raised his eyes to the sky.

{Something on your mind?} Luna asked.

"More or less. Whenever we're all gathered around the fire like now, I always ask myself if battles are really that important. I mean, they're nice and exciting, but having you all with me is what I care about the most."

{You make it sound that getting those badges is just a pretext, then.} Scarlet commented.

"Haha, maybe. But you know, once I get all the badges and participate in the Rados Regional championship tournament, what's next?"

{You're looking quite far ahead. You only have four out of ten.} Aurora pointed out.

"Yeah, and I don't think I'll have time to participate in it this year. I don't remember when exactly, but I think it's at the beginning or middle of autumn."

{Does it mean that we got those badges for nothing?} Bonny asked.

"Not at all. Even though the badges change shape every now and then, they always stay valid. If you had won all ten badges ten years ago, you could still participate. But if the trainer in question doesn't train in the meantime, he's sure to lose, so it's not really in his or her interest."

{Can I ask a… question?} Jade inquired, slightly raising one hand.

"Sure, Jade. You don't always have to ask for permission."

{S-Sorry. If I understand the badges' principles, will it mean that as soon as you have them, you can participate in that tournament indefinitely?}

"That's a good question. Sadly, no. To participate, you have to hand in your ten badges. See that as a ticket to enter the tournament."

{Okay. Thanks.}

"Anyway, it just means we'll be traveling together longer."

{What are you planning to do if you get all the badges by the end of the year? We won't have to travel, then.} May asked.

"Another good question. To be honest, I don't know. We could always train, but I doubt you would want to do that 24/7. We'll have to find a place to settle down in the meantime because we won't have any reason to walk all over the place.

{Who said we need to have a specific goal to travel?} Luna said.

"Well, in a sense, we do. Why do you say that?"

{We could always travel here and there, just for the thrill of discovering new places.}

{Maybe to another region even.} May added.

"Hm. Didn't think of that. It's really an interesting point, but traveling overseas costs quite a lot."

{Why don't we just travel on our own, then?} Aurora suggested.

"We could do that too. Anyway, we'll see in time. First, we have to get those badges."

{Say, in those tournaments, prizes are given to the winners, right?} Scarlet questioned.

"I don't know the details exactly, but yes."

{Would it be monetary rewards?}

"That's very likely. Why?"

{It was just a thought, but I know how humans like to live in those houses, so if we come out victorious, maybe we would have enough to buy our own.}

{*Gasp* That would be awesome!} May exclaimed in a burst of joy.

{I agree.} Bonny agreed. {Having our own little safe haven could be great.}

{Our own beds and showers.} Dusk followed.

"It's not impossible," Max said, rubbing his chin. "I doubt we'll have enough to buy a castle, but maybe we'll have just enough to buy a small house."

{That's great and all, but the question can be asked again: What will we do afterward?} Aurora inquired.

"Well, that depends on where we would end up. I could get a small job to keep a steady income while you girls do…. whatever you want, I guess."

{We could also contribute a little. Because I fear that days would get boring very quickly.} Scarlet stated.

{If we all contribute, we could get enough money to travel as we said earlier.} Dusk mentioned.

"That's… actually a good plan."

{She doesn't speak often, but when she does…} Bonny commented with a smile, embarrassing her slightly.

"Well, I guess we already have a life goal, then. Get money to buy a house, enjoy said house while gathering more money to travel around the world whenever we have enough. I like that."

{Who knows. We could discover things we don't know about yet. } Bonny mentioned.

"You mean like undiscovered pokemon species? That's a possibility. Though I'm a bit skeptical about that. Pretty sure we know all of them already."

{How can we be one hundred percent sure?} Scarlet questioned.

"I… don't know, actually."

{Ha.}

"I guess there's only one way to find out."

Max then noticed how enthusiastic Bonny was acting on her own.

"You're excited, Bonny?" He asked her.

{Very. I can already see it from here. Master and I, having our own love nest. Imagine how busy we'll be.}

"Yeah. I guess it's inevitable." Max pointed out with a smile. "I think I'll have to buy the best washing machine on the market because I have the feeling that we're gonna be washing our sheets very often."

{Oh, I can guarantee that to you.} The lopunny added with a lustful face.

"Well, we'll see in time. We still have to even participate in the tournament before anything. No point in making projects if we can't afford them."

{We're gonna do our best to make that happen. Right, girls?} Bonny announced, with what everyone agreed.

"That would be great. Thanks, girls."

The rest of the night went swell before going to bed. Flash forward two days later and we're back at their campsite at the end of the afternoon. Max had just finished setting up when Dusk walked up behind him.

{Master?} She asked, a bit shyly.

"Yes, my pretty?"

{It's been a little while since we've done this, so I was wondering if we could… spend a bit of time together.} She requested with her arms behind her.

"I don't see a problem here, but…" He replied, looking at Scarlet.

{It's okay. We can always postpone it to tomorrow.} The gardevoir assured.

{Oh, you already had something planned.} Dusk said, a bit disappointed.

"A bit of training with Scarlet, but nothing urgent. We don't mind doing it another time."

{But, I don't want to-}

{It's okay, Dusk. Just go enjoy your time with him.} Scarlet almost ordered.

{...}

"You heard the lady. Let's go." Max said to the braixen while motioning her to follow.

A bit reluctant, Dusk tailed him and went deeper into the forest. Being the one that wanted to be with him, Max found it odd for her to not be in front of or beside him. He looked back and saw Dusk following with a rather worried expression.

"I thought it would have made you happier to have our little alone time," Max said, stopping.

{It has, but… I have the feeling that I made Scarlet mad. She kind of got upset earlier.}

"You know how she is, Dusk. She is the impatient type, so don't take it too personally. But I can have a word with her about it if you want."

{No, it's okay. If she's mad, I don't want to make things worse.}

"You wouldn't. You are friends, so I'm sure she would be receptive."

{...Maybe.} She replied with her ears falling down.

Max then let out a very faint sigh before walking closer to Dusk. While she was looking at him with rather sad eyes, Max presented his hand.

"Come here."

Confused for a second, Dusk took it and got pulled by Max. He sat down and led her to sit between his legs. When down, he coiled his arms around her with the braixen putting her paws on them.

"Tell me what's wrong, Dusk. I don't want to intrude on your personal thoughts, but I know something is wrong and I can try to help you, but only if you talk to me."

{I… don't really want to bother you with my problems.}

"Well, you should. I'm a pokemon trainer, so it's kind of my job, you know."

{...}

"...But if you don't want to, I'll respect that."

{...It's just… not only recently, but I have the feeling that I always have been out of place here since the beginning.}

"Why would you think such a thing?" Max asked, petting her head affectionately.

{For a few reasons. Firstly, I'm no fighter and I don't want to fight like the others.}

"It's the case for Luna and Scarlet."

{Which leads me to think that I'm the weakest. But that's only a portion of it. I don't really want to list everything, but long story short, I just feel like I'm not as interesting or important as the others.}

"...Anything else?"

{Not really, besides the fact that I'm not really sure what you see in me. I rarely take part in any conversations because I never have anything interesting to say. I'm not good at expressing my thoughts very well.}

"I think you're doing a really good job right now."

{That's because you understand me, even when I don't have to speak. I'm not convinced that it's the case with the others.}

"Wow. You sure have a lot going on in there." Max stated, scratching her head. "I'm sorry for not noticing this before."

{It's okay, master. Don't blame yourself. I'm just good at hiding my feelings.}

"Why do you do that, though?"

{Because… I don't want to be a crybaby as well. No one likes crybabies.}

"Well, looks like I have a lot to work on."

{Sorry. I can be such a burden sometimes.}

"Will that be all?"

{I… guess. I know I'm annoying, so-}

"Alright, Dusk. I'll have to stop you right here. I let you speak and I listened carefully, but now it's my turn. First of all, I don't want to invalidate your feelings, Dusk. You probably have your reasons to think that, but I'm afraid I don't agree with a single word you just said."

{...}

"I'll start with the simplest and most authentic statement: I love you, Dusk. Very much. I love you just the way you are, even when you sadden me with such awful affirmations."

{I'm sorry. I shouldn't-}

"Don't be, Dusk. Your feelings, your opinions, you have the right to have them. Never be sorry for having emotions and sharing them, especially with someone who asked for them. You're a beautiful, smart, and very kind pokemon and you have a lot to be loved for. I already said this to Jade and I'll say it to you too: you matter, Dusk. You are the way you are and there is nothing that could change that, which is fine by me. To me, you're perfect just the way you are. If I am being honest, I'm glad to have someone in the group that isn't as barbaric as the others and that keeps them at bay by being the voice of reason."

{I'm not barbaric, just overly sensitive.}

"Pretty sure you're exaggerating with 'overly', but it's true that you're the sensitive type. Where's the problem with that? We need sensitive people or pokemon to set restrictions and to know when someone goes too far. It kind of forces everyone to stay in line. Sensitive people are also very empathetic, which you are, very much. And what is an empathic creature good at? They're good at knowing how and when someone needs help, and they do it right. We need pokemon like you, Dusk, whether you believe me or not. You're not a burden, you're not a crybaby and you're not worthless."

{...}

"And so what if you don't speak a lot? You have other ways to be interesting."

{Even if it's just walking in the woods to smell and pick flowers?}

"Of course. Seeing you walking around and doing whatever you want with a smile means a lot to me. It means that I do a great job at keeping you happy."

{...I just wish that I could do a bit more and… be a bit more interesting.}

"Why? It would seem kind of forced to me."

{Maybe, but…}

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Dusk, but I promise you with all my heart that you're a great pokemon who matters just as much as anyone else on the team. You have your quirks, qualities as well as flaws. We all do. Sure, Scarlet wishes that you were a bit more frontal towards adversity and Bonny a bit more of a fighter, but you are what you are, and don't be ashamed of it. Onward to another topic; I also noticed that you and Jade spend more and more time together."

{Yeah, I guess so. She's starting to open up a bit, but very slowly.}

"And thanks to who? You have a very reassuring personality, Dusk, and I'm sure she thinks the same. And what about May? You have played together lots of times."

{...True.}

"You see? And besides, a fire/psychic-type pokemon is pretty cool if you ask me."

Then, Dusk smiled a little. She turned her head to look at Max and smiled wider.

{Thanks, master. I guess it was just my anxiety speaking.} She said, dropping her head on him.

"I thought so. You're not usually that pessimistic." Max replied, hugging her stronger.

{I know.} She sighed. {It's just that sometimes, I feel like everyone has a purpose except me.}

"Pretty sure you have one. What do you think it could be?"

{I don't know. Bonny and Aurora want to be stronger, May just wants to live her life to the fullest, Luna I'm still not sure, but I guess she has goals of some sort, and Scarlet's only wish is to be with you and make you happy.}

"How about all of them put together for your purpose?"

{I… guess. But… I wish I could have something that is true to myself, you know.} She explained.

"I see. What about the cooking you do with Scarlet? You're a must for our nicely done meals, which are perfectly cooked by the way. You help to light up the campfires too."

{I… suppose you're right.}

"And if we ever go somewhere cold, you could always heat me up." Max pointed out, scratching behind her ears.

{I…}

"You're the only fire-type of the group, you know. You may not be a fighter or extrovert, but you're very useful."

Feeling her heart melt due to the nice things her master said, Dusk felt a bit ashamed for not seeing that.

{I'm sorry. It was stupid of me for acting like that.}

"Not really, Dusk. You just lost track of who you are. It can happen to the best of us."

{But… I did sound like a crybaby.}

"I don't think so, but even if it was the case, so what? If you ever feel down, sad, or about to cry, I'll always be available for you to soothe your worries."

The braixen then got a bit emotional. She turned around and sat on Max's thighs to hug him as strong as she could.

{I love you, master. I'm so glad to have you as a trainer. Thanks for being here for me.}

"It's my pleasure, Dusk. Just don't forget who you are and that you will always have your place with us." Max said, rubbing her back.

{I will.}

They hugged for a moment until the braixen raised her head to look at Max. Both got the same idea and went for a kiss.

"Would you like to do a bit more with our quality time together?"

{Hihi.} Dusk giggled. {Master will always be master.}

"What?"

{I really appreciate the offer, but not now. Tonight, however, can be different.} She replied a tiny grin.

"Hehe, I love it when you're honest with yourself."

{You're not disappointed?}

"Of course not. On the contrary, I'm very proud of you for standing your ground for what you really want. I'm looking forward to tonight."

{Hihi. In the meantime, I'll let the desire slowly grow in me so the wait will be worth it.}

"Heh. There's just something about my reserved and shy little braixen when she talks dirty. It makes me want to commit some sins. Nomnomnom." Max said before pretending to eat her by the neck.

{Hahha!} Dusk laughed, trying to push him away. {Wait until later, master!}

"Hehe, alright. Shall we continue our little walk?"

{I'd love to.} She happily said before both stood up.

They proceeded to walk further into the woods, enjoying what nature was made of.

{Look master!} Dusk exclaimed while rushing off-road towards a bunch of yellow and purple flowers. {These are my favorites.} She told him before taking a whiff.

"Really?" Max said, doing the same. "Wow. Not bad at all."

{Right?}

Max then plucked one and put it over one of her big ears.

"Perfect."

{Hihi.} She giggled, lightly touching it. {I really enjoy my time with you, master. Even though we don't do anything exciting.}

"Seeing you smile is plenty enough. Besides, it's one of the many tasks of a trainer to get along with your pokemon's interests."

{I hope you don't force yourself, then.} Dusk accused playfully.

"Of course I do. Who likes flowers, anyway?" Max jested with a smile.

{You're not funny.} She replied with a grin.

Then, next to Max, Dusk noticed a foongus jumping around, popping out from the flower bed. It looked small and inoffensive.

{Aww! Look master, a tiny pokemon.}

She then approached it and crouched in front of it.

{Hi, little guy. I'm Dusk.} She presented.

"Careful now. You never know how a wild pokemon can react."

{I'm sure this one is nice. Am I right, little guy?}

With the widest and most reassuring smile she could do, she couldn't resist the desire to boop his little chubby tummy. The foongus looked at Dusk in confusion for a short moment before suddenly attacking Dusk with dark purple powder.

{Phfaa! Pfft! Pfft!} The braixen exclaimed, trying to wave the powder away with her paws.

Quickly, Max held his breath, grabbed Dusk, and pulled her away from the foongus, who was already running away.

"Are you okay?"

{*Cough* *Cough* Yeah, don't worry. *Cough* Just got some powder in my eyes. *Cough*} She replied, rubbing her eyes.

"If they burn, we should find you a water source to wash them."

{That wouldn't be a bad idea. *Cough*}

After Max helped her stand, they started looking around for a water source.

"Shouldn't be hard to find. There's always water everywhere."

{I hope so. It's starting to itch a lot.} She said, still rubbing her eyes.

"Try to not rub them, it will only make it worse."

{But… it burns.}

"I know."

After a minute, Max noticed that Dusk was starting to slow down.

"Doing good there?"

{Y-Yeah. Just… a bit dizzy. That's all.}

"Just what kind of move did you get attacked with, exactly?"

{I don't know… but it… was…}

While speaking, Dusk's consciousness was fading away to the point that she dropped on the ground.

"Dusk!" Max exclaimed, rushing towards her.

With closed eyes, Dusk had accelerated breathing and looked very weak.

"Fuck!" [Scarlet! I need you, now.]

Max waited a few seconds before the red gardevoir appeared next to him.

"It's Dusk. She's…"

{Let me see.} Scarlet said, kneeling on Dusk.

Using her powers, she made a scan of the braixen's body.

{Well shit.}

"What?"

{She got poisoned.}

"Oh no!"

{How did that happen?}

"We were just minding our own business when a foongus appeared. Dusk found it cute and went to touch it."

{Tsk. How careless. Let's take you back to the camp.}

Touching both, Scarlet brought Max and Dusk to the campsite inside the tent. She used the closest mattress and placed Dusk on it.

"What are we gonna do?"

{I don't suppose you have an antidote in your backpack?}

"I'll check," Max replied, quickly getting his backpack and searching through it.

{So?}

"God fucking damnit!" He growled. "I didn't think of getting one."

{Calm down. It's not that big of a deal. There must be something around here that could help us. We just have to find it.}

"How? We don't even know what kind of poison she's afflicted with." Max replied, looking at Dusk, who seemed to be in pain.

{Use your pokedex to find out. I'll call the others.} She commanded before focusing her powers for a short moment.

"Fuck." He growled again before taking out his pokedex.

While doing his research the rest of the group got inside the tent.

{Is it very severe?} Bonny asked, kneeling next to her.

{We don't know. Master is looking right now to see what she might be poisoned with.}

{Aren't all the poisons the same?} May asked.

{I was wondering that too.} Aurora followed.

{You're both steel-types, so it's understandable that you don't know.} Luna told them. {No, almost every poison-type pokemon species has its own poison composition. Luckily, a single remedy can cleanse a few similar varieties.}

"I got it!" Max exclaimed. "A foongus toxin is one of the most complex and resilient poison variants and the antidote is an uncommon plant called a Dafad." He explained before showing the picture to the group.

{Now we know what to look for.} Scarlet announced. {We're gonna split up to make the search easier. We pretty much all can go search on our own, but master, you're-}

"Yeah yeah, I know. A babysitter for me." Max cut, not so enthusiastic.

{I don't say that for fun and you know it. But now is not the time for that matter. Time flies and Dusk's situation can quickly go from bad to worse.}

"You're right."

{I need someone to look over her in the meantime to not leave her alone.}

{I can do it.} May proposed.

{I'll… do it too.} Jade followed.

{Great. Let's go then.} Scarlet concluded before everyone else exited the tent. {Pick a direction and the first one to find anything, call me by telepathy.}

"Understood." Max acknowledged.

Then, Luna, Scarlet, and Aurora went in different directions each with Max and Bonny taking another one together.

Back in the tent, May and Jade were sitting on either side of Dusk, who was still half-conscious.

{I really hope they find it quickly.} May said.

{With everyone on the lookout, I highly doubt they won't find it.} Jade affirmed.

{I hope.}

Then, Dusk opened her eyes a little and looked at May.

{I'm… sorry… for the trouble…} She apologized weakly.

{Don't be, Dusk, it's not your fault. Now, just rest and don't talk. Save your strength.}

The braixen did as told, but not without feeling guilty.

~POVC~

"I should have stopped her," Max complained behind Bonny.

{What is done is done. You both got careless, but it won't help to cry on the ground. You should focus more on looking for that herb.} The lopunny replied with her eyes peeled.

"You're right." Max conceded, increasing his vigilance.

They walked for a while and Max, despite himself, had his sight from time to time at Bonny's rear level due to some terrain elevation variation. He knew that now wasn't the right time, but couldn't help but appreciate the view. Suddenly and oddly, a part of his conversation with Luna popped back into his mind.

"Say, Bonny… would you mind answering rather… peculiar question?"

{I can look around and talk at the same time, so yeah. What is it?}

"You and I have a very deep and intimate relationship, right? I'm glad and grateful for that, but…" Max started before hesitating.

{But what?}

"I was wondering. Would it be still the case if we… weren't doing that?"

{What do you mean by 'that'?}

"You know, mating and all."

{Oh. Wait.} Bonny asked, stopping to look at him. {What was the question again?}

"Would you love me the same if we didn't have intimate moments or if I couldn't satisfy you?"

Bonny then looked at Max funnily, as if she was wondering if he had really asked her that.

{What kind of question is that?}

"Huh? A simple one, I guess."

{A simple one?} She said, starting to sound upset. {You basically ask if I would like you if you weren't screwing me. Was that it?}

"Y-Yeah."

Bonny then stared at him for a short moment.

{Unbelievable.} She replied coldly before resuming her walk.

"What? What did I say?"

{Oh, nothing, really. Besides seeing me as a slut, you didn't say anything.}

"A slut? Whoa whoa, hold on there. I never said that."

{Well, I think you just did.} Bonny replied, sounding mad.

"No, I didn't. I just asked if things would be different if-"

{Well, excuse me if you think of me like that, but to answer your question, no, things wouldn't be different. At least you would be more respectful.}

"What has gotten into you? Since when did you get that sensitive when talking about sex?"

{Since you started thinking that I'm with you only because we can mate. Seriously, I believed you thought better of me.}

"What's wrong with you? I thought you liked mating with me."

{I admit that I do, but I didn't think that you would see me as less than an animal afterward.}

"Talk about being over-dramatic."

{You know what, fuck you. And in a bad way.}

Max then let out a frustrated sigh. They walked for a short moment until they arrived at a cleared zone with a tiny lake further away.

"At least I got my answer. I was just wondering what would you have ever done if I wasn't into pokemon."

{Probably something that isn't your business.}

"Okay, I got my answer, so can you drop the attitude now?"

{Sure thing. Just silence the slut that only thinks about being fucked.}

"Okay, that's enough," Max commanded, stopped her by the shoulder.

{Don't touch me.} She protested, pushing his hand away while turning around to face him.

"Can you calm down?"

{Calm down? After you being so insulting?}

"Insulting? What are you talking about?"

{I'm talking about your assumption that I only stay with you for your dick.} She replied, crossing her arms.

"I didn't, okay? I was just wondering what you would do if you weren't sexually interested in me."

{Why do you even care about that?}

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because I love and care about you."

{Tsk. Whatever. We have more important matters at hand right now. We're gonna talk about this later.}

"Yeah, whatever, like you said." Max retorted, passing right next to her to walk in a different direction.

{Where are you going?} She demanded with an angry face.

"Somewhere I won't be insulting." He answered. "Oh, and by the way…" He continued, turning to face Bonny while walking backward. "I don't see you as a slut. Believe it or not, I really-"

As he was speaking and walking away from her, Bonny's eyes widened and rushed at Max to tackle him down. Before they could even land, a loud impact noise resonated from where they were standing half a second ago.

"The fuck?" Max growled.

Using whatever momentum she had left, Bonny grabbed Max and spun away as another strike hit on their previous emplacement. As soon as their course stopped, Bonny quickly stood up and got ready to counterattack. However, she almost got struck by fear when she realized what she was against.

"What in the…"

Raising his head, Max stopped himself in terror.

[{Intruders!}]

Raising on all fours, an enormous metagross was glaring menacingly at them. They had never seen a real metagross before, so they didn't even know that this one was roughly five times bigger than a normal one.

[{All intruders must be eliminated!}] It said while heavily crawling towards them.

{Get out of here!} Bonny commanded.

"Are you nuts? No way I'm leaving you alone with that thing."

{MOVE! I'm gonna buy us time while you call Scarlet.} She ordered.

"Tsk."

Despite himself, Max stood up and backed away slightly from Bonny.

[Scarlet! We are in deep trouble here!] Max called out telepathically.

When at limb reach, the giant metagross raised an arm and aimed at Bonny. Luckily, its size made its movement a bit slow so the lopunny could dodge it, but she couldn't afford to take a single hit.

{With a pokemon that size, I should go all out right off the bat.}

Jumping, Bonny went for a strong Jump Kick.

(It's so slow that I'm sure to hit.)

*Bang*

As she anticipated, the attack indeed connected. However, the metagross' defense was so strong that not only did the attack do almost nothing, but the returning shockwave hurt Bonny badly.

{Gha! Fuck!} Bonny growled in pain.

When landing back on the ground again, she lost her balance due to her striking leg going limp from the pain. As she was trying not to fall, the metagross hit her with a direct strike. The impact was so strong that she was sent flying across the field, breaking a tree near Max upon impact.

"Bonny?" Max yelled, rushing towards her.

Kneeling close to her, he heard her having trouble breathing.

"Goddamnit!" [SCARLET!] He yelled in his mind.

Upon hearing the metagross loudly walking towards them, Max thought it was best to just run away since Scarlet wasn't showing up. With Bonny hurt and in pain, he tried to grab her and carry her away. He didn't have much hope to escape the enraged pokemon, but he could at least try. Unfortunately, he only took a few steps before the metagross smashed the ground, creating a tiny earthquake, just strong enough to make Max fall head-first into the tree.

"Haah!" He exhaled in pain.

Obviously, the hit made Max fall on the ground, dropping Bonny along the way.

{Where's… Scarlet?} Bonny weakly asked, trying her best to move away.

"Fuck!" He cursed, holding his head. "I don't know. I called her, but she's not replying."

[{Exterminate!}] The metagross said, getting dangerously close.

{Fuck… you.} Bonny retorted, using the last of her strength to crawl over Max, using her own body as a shield. {I won't… let you… hurt him.}

"You should mega-evolve."

Unfortunately, as he was saying those words, the metagross was close enough and raised one of its four limbs high above them. As Max felt his heart-stopping, the metagross used its arm's weight and began to drop it on them.

*Vlam*

Midway to reaching them, the arm was pushed away and loudly impacted the ground instead. The second after, Max noticed Aurora standing between him and the metagross, holding a quite large Bone Rush and in a fighting stance.

"Aurora?!"

{Why isn't she mega-evolved yet?} Aurora demanded while the metagross was briefly stunned.

"We… didn't really have an opportunity. It happened so quickly."

{Well, I'm gonna buy some time then. You better work on it, and fast.} The lucario said before jumping behind the metagross and harassing it with her attacks. Seemingly working, the pokemon turned its attention to Aurora.

[{Another intruder?! Prepare to be eliminated.}]

{Yeah. Just try.} She taunted, slowly backing away to lead it away from Max and Bonny.

"Can you stand?" Max asked Bonny.

{I… think.} She answered, barely breathing better.

After standing up, Max helped her up as well.

"Mega-evolution," Max said, touching their stone.

However, nothing happened and Bonny didn't understand why she couldn't feel her mega stone where it was supposed to be. After feeling nothingness, she stretched her scarf and saw that her mega stone was gone.

{My mega stone?! Where's my mega stone?!} She loudly asked, panicking.

"What?!" Max exclaimed, starting to look everywhere.

At the same moment, they saw Aurora being hit and propelled to the side. Luckily, she managed to stand up pretty quickly.

{Fuck it. We don't have time.}

Bonny wanted to dash towards the metagross to help Aurora, but a sudden back pain made her fall to her knees.

{Shit! My back!}

"You're in no shape to help. You have taken way too much damage. I'll go help her."

{Have you lost your mind?} Bonny loudly said. {You will only end up getting killed.}

"It's better than nothing. Since help won't come, I can at least distract it so Aurora can counter-attack…" Max said, running towards his lucario.

{Max! MAX! COME BACK!} She yelled.

Not listening, Max got very close to the metagross and was about to create whatever distraction he could do when his body suddenly stopped moving. Before being raised in the air, he saw a faint purple glow light all over the metagross.

"What the…"

The pokemon wasn't even looking at him and was glaring at Aurora, almost waiting for her next move. He then got propelled back and rolled past Bonny. Luckily, he got no injuries and the pain was minimal.

"You gotta be kidding me? It's a freaking psychic-type. So that's probably why I can't call Scarlet, that fucker must be blocking any telepathic messages." Max guessed.

{And I believe we can add Steel-type as well.} Bonny commented.

"Fucking hell."

The battle between the metagross and Aurora was raging. Aurora was able to dodge most of its attacks, but her counterattacks weren't very effective. She was tiring herself out more than hurting it. Then, as if it was tired of her moving all around, the metagross used Stone Edge by smashing the ground and making multiple rock obelisks emerge. Unfortunately, Aurora couldn't dodge an attack with such a large area of effect and got tossed in the air. The metagross then oddly retracted its four limbs and began levitating. It quickly followed Aurora in the air and used Meteor Punch on her while using both its might and weight. The strike knocked Aurora into the middle of the tiny lake almost at light speed, making a loud and very visual explosion. The metagross landed heavily on its limbs with a loud bang, slightly shaking the earth. Immediately, it turned around and moved back towards the other two. Hardly, Bonny stood up and backed away closer to Max, and got into a fighting stance. If this was her downfall, then she would fall while protecting her master.

Behind the metagross, inside the lake, the lucario was half-conscious as she was slowly sinking into the depths.

(This is it, huh? Eh, figures. Useless until the end.) She thought, unable to swim up. (All that training and yet, I still can't do anything right. I just hope… that...)

Then, due to the pain, water pressure, and lack of oxygen, Aurora's back touched the bottom with her consciousness slowly fading away.

(My only wish… my last wish… will be that they all survive… and flourish the rest of their lives.)

Then, as she was ready to let herself go, memories began to quickly run across her mind. From her most distant memory to her most recent.

(I'm sorry… everyone… I'm sorry… master… I let you down...)

After a moment of rethinking mostly the bad parts of her life, she focused on the moments with her friends, both good and bad. Then, Max appeared. She mostly had good moments with him, despite being despicable with him at first. Their first hug, their first big argument, their first kiss… As everyday visions of them were rewinding through her mind and soul, something emerged in her.

(What is that? It's… warm and… strong…)

The visions were getting even clearer as if she was reliving them. Then, one in particular resurfaced.

{Is that all you got?} Fushiu said to Aurora, who was on the ground on all fours, heavily panting.

{I'm… out. I… can't… stand anymore.}

{Is that so? I wonder if it's really the case.} Fushiu added, walking past her.

{I'm… completely drained.}

Further, Fushiu had stopped close to the cliff where they were training, staring at the horizon.

{Tell me, Aurora. Why or what do you fight for?}

{What… do you… mean?}

{Why are you so eager to get stronger? What are the real long-term reasons for your determination?}

Aurora then got thoughtful for a moment.

{I… I'm… not sure. To be... recognized... I guess.}

{I see. Well…} He said, turning to face Aurora after a moment. {...If you ever find out your real purpose, then maybe, you will find the energy that you lack.}

(Wait!) She thought, abruptly opening her eyes underwater as realization hit her like a huge and loud bell. (Now I understand. He is…)

Suddenly, a fire-like burst of energy appeared inside her and invaded her entire being.

(No. This is not where it ends.) She said within herself while moving back on her feet. (Master needs me, and I need him. It's all clear now. You are me and I am you. You are my energy and I am yours. To achieve such a feat, we must fuse together and live within each other. Please, master. Lend me your strength and I'll lend you mine, as things should have always been.)

Closing her eyes, she focused on the image of Max and let her determination and love explode into a burst of pure energy.

~POVC~

[{Exterminate! All intruders must be eliminated.}] The metagross exclaimed, now close to them again.

{Don't you have anything else to say, you fucker?} Bonny growled to the steel/psychic-type pokemon, barely standing in front of Max.

"You should run away, Bonny," Max suggested.

{Not a chance. If we're about to die, then we'll do it together.}

"Eh, so stubborn."

Sensing there was no way out, Max gave up.

(Lend me your strength…) Max heard deep within his soul, almost like a whisper.

Unknowingly from him, Max was touching his keystone and had an odd feeling of hope. Then, he thought that he saw something in the lake, but it was too faint and quick, so he was unable to tell what. At this moment, the metagross stopped and turned around to look towards it, as if it sensed something. Seeing nothing, however, he directed his attention back to Max and Bonny. It made a few steps before stopping again, looking confused.

"Do you feel that?" Max asked Bonny, feeling low vibrations in the ground.

{I'm… not sure.}

Shortly, the vibrations intensified, making the ground shake slightly. Then, they all heard noises coming from the lake and turned their attention to it, including the metagross. The water was bubbling before getting more and more intense. Then, the lake quickly became a miniaturized version of a raging sea storm. Suddenly, the center exploded, leaving a hole where blue energy was emanating, creating a crazy whirlpool. At this point, the very earth was even vibrating. As both Max and Bonny were staring intensely, the metagross got into a fighting position. A second later, a silhouette flew off the center like a bullet in an explosive fashion. Looking up, they weren't able to see what it was until it landed behind the metagross and in front of Max and Bonny, a mega-lucario. The raw energy emanating from the mega-pokemon was so intense that it was creating weak winds and the aura was blazing all across its body.

"Au...rora?"

The pokemon then looked behind and stared at Max for a second before smiling, confirming that it was her. In her mega form, Aurora was a bit taller, had longer dreadlocks which were red at their extremities, as well as her four paws. Her hair between her ears was also longer and her upper paw spikes were split in two, one large and one small behind, and the same spike pattern appeared on her lower paws. Some also appeared on her shoulder pad-like part. She had lost her tail and had longer beige fur, and was acting as a tail behind with her face mask spreading further on her head while creating some lines across her body.

"How…"

{You really don't know? It's thanks to you, master. You made me mega-evolve.}

"I… did?"

{Yes. I'm sure you felt it too.}

For a second, Max wasn't sure what she was talking about, but oddly, he had a faint feeling that he did.

{Can you move him away a bit please, Bonny?} She asked the lopunny.

{I'll… try.} Bonny replied, a bit baffled by Aurora's mega-evolution.

Max then came back to his senses and remembered the situation.

"I will help you." Max objected, standing up.

As he was helping Bonny to back away, Aurora stared back at the metagross.

{Have you no shame? Attacking creatures that barely have a chance against you? Well, it looks like the tables are about to turn.} She taunted.

Growling aggressively, the metagross charged at her and attacked her with one arm. However, not even moving, Aurora easily deflected it, making it land next to her.

{Predictable.}

She then immediately counter-attacked with Force Palm. As always, the move bypassed its physical defense, but the strength was nothing like before. The shockwave that passed through the metallic pokemon created a big wave on the lake behind. The metagross cautiously backed up a little but seemed to be in very little pain.

{Tough as nails, huh? Alright then. Let's push this power to the limit.} She said before starting to focus again.

In a burst of power, Aurora's aura got even bigger and stronger, making the wind blow harder. Meanwhile, Max and Bonny got far enough with Max helping Bonny sit down.

"How are you doing?"

{My back hurts like hell.}

"Shit. Looks like we have to wait for Aurora to beat the metagross for us to be able to call Scarlet for you."

{She sure seems to be on the right path. I didn't know you managed to make her mega-evolve.}

"I didn't know either," Max affirmed, both looking intently at the lucario.

As Aurora was gathering her energy, the metagross used that moment to charge at Aurora with a Zen Headbutt. Despite its size, the metagross was pretty fast and was able to hit Aurora, but she blocked it while being pushed back a bit. The metagross charged again and went for Bullet Punch. The move was incredibly fast, but Aurora managed to counter efficiently with Close Combat. None of her attacks connected with the metallic pokemon, but neither did its own. With a final strike, both backed up a bit. Aurora prepared a Bone Rush, but the metagross trapped her with Psychic. After damaging her, she got lifted into the air before being hit by a Hammer Arm from the metagross, who levitated towards her. Aurora landed hard on the ground but stood back up with very little difficulty.

{You're tough, I'll give you that. However, time is running short. Time to go all out and end this.}

Focusing one more time, Aurora tapped more into her aura power. The very earth around her was shaking with particles of pebbles and dirt floating upward. Then, in a flash, she disappeared and reappeared in a blind angle of the metagross and assaulted it with a large Bone Rush. Her moves were lightning fast, too fast for her opponent, who couldn't help but to tank all of them. After many more hits, Aurora morphed her Bone into an even larger one, now looking like an oversized maul, and smashed the metagross upward. The hit was strong enough to send it flying a couple of meters in the air despite its weight. As it was falling down, Aurora got into a karate-like stance and gathered a huge concentration of aura power in one paw. After a short moment and as the metagross was about to touch the ground, the lucario released the energy from her paw onto it, propelling it meters away with a strong shockwave that even Max and Bonny felt, almost knocking them out. Affected a little, the metagross was slowly getting up and to its senses.

{It's not over yet.}

Positioning herself into a stance that she uses when using Aura Sphere, Aurora went all out and unlocked another tier of power, and began to gather an immeasurable amount of energy between her two paws. The power was nothing like Max had ever seen before as the energy was so strong that the gusts of wind were almost bending the thin trees all around. Both Max and Bonny had to shield their faces so as not to have debris hit them and to be able to breathe. The wind was pushing them against the tree and they wondered if they would eventually fly off. Between Aurora's paws, an overpowered-looking Aura Sphere was forming as if she was gathering the energy around in a spiral. Further, even the metagross had slight trouble moving forward. After a short moment of concentration, the sphere was almost the size of a wrecking ball. Then, all of a sudden, it shrunk into an even smaller Aura Sphere size with the wind stopping.

{Taste the power of the aura!}

The lucario then pushed her paws forwards, from where her small Aura Sphere exploded into a humongous stream of aura energy, devastating everything in its path, shaking the ground like an earthquake while blinding Max and Bonny with the light. The attack lasted for almost ten seconds before it slowly dissipated. When they opened their eyes again, both got them wider. Aurora, who was panting with her paws still held forward, had erased a part of the scenery in front of her with a crater several meters across and even more in-depth. With Max and Bonny staring in astonishment and silence, all that could be heard was Aurora panting and pulverized trees falling over. Shortly after, Aurora reverted to her normal form and dropped to one knee on the ground.

"Aurora!"

Standing up, Max went running to his lucario. However, after only one step, he lost consciousness and fell face-first on the ground.

{Master!} Bonny exclaimed, quickly crawling towards him. {Are you okay?} She asked, shaking him.

{Don't worry… he's probably just… all drained up.} Aurora weakly reassured.

At this moment, the metagross popped out from the debris. It looked hurt and was standing with difficulty, but was not downed yet nonetheless.

{You gotta be shitting me.} Aurora cursed.

Seeing that, Bonny tried to stand to assist Aurora, but her injured back was too painful and dropped onto her knees again.

{Fuck!} Bonny yelled in anger.

Slowed down by the fight, the metagross was walking towards Aurora, still determined to end her. Then, as it was a couple of meters from her, a stream of flames landed in front of it, stopping it clean. Immediately after, Luna appeared between it and Aurora.

{L-Luna!?} Bonny exclaimed.

At the same moment, both Jade and May emerged from the woods, joining her.

{Are you okay?} The mawile asked in worry.

{More or less.}

Upon seeing Max on the ground, May gasped, almost horrified.

{Relax, he's okay. Just unconscious. But I have to say, you guys showed up at the right time.} She said, looking at Luna, who was glaring menacingly at the metagross.

{[More... intruders!}] It said weakly. {[I must… eliminate!}]

{Sorry, but you won't be eliminating anything.}

Raising her head, Bonny saw Scarlet slowly floating down, landing in front of the zoroark and glaring at the metagross with murderous eyes.

{The only one who's gonna perish is you.} The red gardevoir affirmed.

Shortly after Scarlet landed, the metagross used its remaining energy and charged at the gardevoir with a Meteor Mash and smashed into an invisible force field around her, making it lose its balance a little by the shockwave return. Immediately, Scarlet used her psychic powers and crushed her opponent on the ground, immobilizing it.

{What are you planning to do?} Luna asked.

{As the rules say, Luna. You know what happens to those who try to hurt master.}

Knowing she wouldn't be able to change her mind, the zoroark sighed.

{Can you at least spare them the scene?} Luna asked, making Scarlet briefly look over her shoulder.

{...Fine. Come, let's go for a little tour.} Scarlet announced before teleporting away with the metagross.

With a weaker sigh, Luna walked back to Bonny.

{How are you doing?}

{My back hurts like hell, but I'm alive. I have to thank Aurora for that one.} Bonny explained.

{So it was her doing.} Luna confirmed, looking back at the largely destroyed passage the lucario did with her last attack.

{I hope no pokemon got caught in that.} May commented.

{It's very unlikely. I was finding it weird that I didn't see a single pokemon around. It was probably due to that crazy metagross.}

{Maybe.}

{How did you find us?} Bonny questioned.

{The noise and energy that were released from Aurora's attack were easy to follow.} Luna answered.

{I see. How's Dusk?}

{For my part, I didn't find the herb yet.}

{Me neither.} May replied.

{Damnit. What about you, Jade?} Bonny asked the pale green gardevoir.

{I d-didn't find anything.}

{Then what are we waiting for? We have a friend to-}

Bonny tried to stand but quickly fell back.

{Fuck!} Bonny cursed, holding her back.

{First, we're gonna have Scarlet check you as soon as she's back. I'm afraid that you are in no shape to help her.}

{But… Rha!} The lopunny growled before punching the ground, which hurt her back.

A few seconds later, Scarlet appeared back with some stains of blackish-grey fluid all over her body. She was also looking more tired than before.

{What did you do?} Luna asked, crossed arms.

{You don't want to know.} The red gardevoir replied.

{If you say so. Care to help Bonny? She seems to have a back injury.}

{Sure thing.} She replied, floating closer to Bonny. {Let me see.}

With Bonny sitting with her back facing Scarlet, the gardevoir kneeled and placed her hands on her, and focused a moment.

{...Well, I have good news and bad news.}

{Bad news first, please.} Bonny said.

{Your spine is slightly fractured. You're lucky to still be able to move.}

{Great.} The lopunny replied sarcastically. {And the good news?}

{It's healable, but not in one shot, unfortunately.}

{What do you mean?}

{Spines are very complex bones and could take a couple of uses of Healing Pulse to fully recover.}

{*Sigh* At least it will recover completely.}

{I'll do my absolute best for that, but I see no reason for it not to work. If you could lay down, I'll start right away.}

Not even nodding, Bonny did as told while grimacing from the pain. Scarlet then immediately used Healing Pulse on her injury. After a few seconds, Bonny was already feeling better. A little while later, Scarlet stopped.

{How do you feel?}

Bonny tried to sit up and succeeded more easily than she anticipated.

{Still a bit painful and very sore, but much more manageable.}

{Yes. That's why we need to do this a couple more times, to see how it's recovering and do some corrections if needed.}

{I see. Thanks.}

{No problem. Can you walk?}

{I think so.}

Standing up, Bonny had a bit of trouble with her balance with her back stinging more than when she was sitting.

{I can carry you if you want.} Scarlet proposed, noticing.

{No thanks, but if you could make me as light as possible, that would be great.}

{Sure thing. Let's bring the three of you back to camp. In the meantime, I'll go gather the medicine for Dusk.}

{You found it?} Luna inquired.

{Yes, but I didn't quite have the time to get it.}

{Awesome. Does that mean Dusk is saved?} May said.

{Yes.} Scarlet confirmed.

{You guys go ahead. I have a mega stone to retrieve.} Bonny said.

{You lost it?} Scarlet said before noticing the empty socket on her scarf.

{It should be around here somewhere.} The lopunny affirmed, already looking around.

{I'm not very comfortable with leaving you alone here, especially in your current state.}

{I can help her.} May proposed.

{M-Me too.} Jade shyly followed.

{...Alright, that works for me. Be careful.}

At that, Luna grabbed Aurora and put her on one of her shoulders while Scarlet lifted Max in the air close to her and both walked back to the campsite while Bonny, May, and Jade were searching the lopunnite around.

{*sigh* It's exasperating.} Scarlet commented.

{What is?} Luna inquired.

{Him.} The gardevoir replied, pointing at Max. {I can't even spend a single minute without him getting into trouble while I'm not around.}

{Don't say that. I highly doubt he does it on purpose.}

{Yet, it always happens. You say it's bad luck, I say it's being careless.}

{At least wait until he wakes up so he can justify his actions.}

{*sigh* You're right. I'm just getting emotional again.}

{You're so cute when you are.}

{Oh, shut up.} Scarlet replied with Luna sneering.

Behind them, it had been a little while and the girls were still looking around, all three on all fours.

{Oh no.} Jade exclaimed lowly, with only May hearing her since she was close.

{What is it?} The mawile asked, crawling towards her.

Wondering if she had found it, May looked at Jade taking something from inside one of the metagross footprints.

{Did you find it?}

May then noticed an almost horrifying look on the gardevoir's face. With Jade seeing her interrogative face, she showed her what was inside her palms. Her eyes widened and displayed the same face.

{She's… not gonna like this.} May told her.

{I know.} Jade replied sadly.

Turning their head, they looked at Bonny, who was searching around rigorously, despite her sore and slightly painful back. They looked at each other and stood up very uncomfortably, already knowing what was about to unfold.

{B-Bonny?} Jade called out nervously.

{You found it?} Bonny said, quickly turning her head.

{...K-Kind of.}

{What do you mean?}

Both May and Jade looked at each other sadly one last time before Jade kneeled in front of her.

{I'm… sorry, Bonny.} She apologized, opening her palms in front of her.

It took her a moment to fully process the information, but eventually, the immense pain of seeing what Jade had in her hands emerged; her mega stone, shattered into pieces.

{N-No. It… can't… be.} She said, slowly taking the shards.

She stared at them, hardly believing if it was real. With her eyes getting watery, she closed her paws into a fist and brought them to her forehead.

{It's… not fair.} She said with a low voice.

{I'm… very-}

{IT'S NOT FAIR!} She yelled, throwing the shards as far as possible. {Why me!? Why am I like this?!} She bemoaned, dropping her paws on the ground, tears falling. {Why does life hate me so much?}

Upon hearing the lopunny lightly sobbing, neither May nor Jade knew what to say or how to react, so they waited until she was done.

{...Just… let's head back to the camp.} She said after a short moment.

When they saw her standing up with slight difficulty, Jade wanted to help her, but she shooed her arms away and immediately began to walk back to the camp, occasionally rubbing her eyes.

{Poor Bonny. I feel so sad for her.} May commented, getting watery eyes herself.

{Me too.}

With heavy hearts, they both stood up as well and followed Bonny. Later on that day, Max opened his eyes abruptly and rapidly sat up. It took him a moment to realize that he was in the tent and on his mattress. He briefly rubbed his face, looked around, and saw Aurora on one mattress, on her back, and weakly snoring. At that moment, the zipper got pulled down and Scarlet popped in.

[Finally awake I see.] She said in his mind, pulling the zipper down behind her.

"How long have I slept?"

[Roughly twenty-four hours.] She answered, touching his forehead with one hand.

"That much? Damn. What a waste."

[...At least you seemed perfectly healthy and recovering very well.] She announced, sitting in front of him.

"Good to know, and it's thanks to you I believe."

[Not just me, but yeah.]

"Thanks."

Max then suddenly remembered why the situation happened in the first place.

"How's Dusk?"

[Perfectly fine as well. The herb you told us to get did wonders. She was practically back to normal this morning.]

Max sighed in relief.

"Good, good." He said, laying on his back.

Immediately, Scarlet followed and laid on his chest.

"And Aurora?" He asked, putting a hand on her back.

[Still hasn't awakened since she passed out.]

"Damn. I guess she really did go over the limit."

[She's a lucario, she will recover and wake up eventually. However, she's not the one I'm worried about right now.]

"Who else?"

[Bonny. I'm worried about her. Actually, I'm very worried about her.]

"Why? What's going on?" Max asked, feeling uneasy.

[I doubt she's at the point of doing stupid things, but… well, I guess you may as well see for yourself. You'll understand when you see her.] She said while closing her eyes. [She'll be here in a moment.]

"Does it have a link to what happened, hem… yesterday?"

[You could say that. You'll see what I mean when she gets here.]

Promptly, Bonny unzipped the tent and got in.

{Oh. You're awake. Hi master.} She said in an extremely morose tone before lying on her belly a few mattresses away.

(Oh. This looks serious.) Max thought.

[Told you.] She replied before leaving him to kneel to the lopunny's side.

Immediately, Scarlet used Healing Pulse on her back with Max looking.

[This will take a moment, so you can go see the others until I'm done. They are also worried about you.]

(...Alright.) Max agreed to a bit reluctantly.

When he exited the tent, he saw the rest of the group around a non-lit campfire since the sky wasn't getting dark yet.

{Master!} May exclaimed, going for a hug on one of his legs.

"Hi, Sweetie," Max said, crouching to pet the mawile.

{Glad to see you up. We were getting worried.} Luna told him, pulling him into a gentle hug.

"Sorry for that. But as you can see, I'm in top shape." Max reassured while flexing a little.

{At least you are okay.} Dusk stated. {Sadly, it's not the case for everyone.}

"You're talking about Bonny?"

{Mostly. I'm still eager to see Aurora wake up too.}

"Scarlet said that she's fine, she only needs to rest."

{She told us the same thing.} May pointed out. {But I can't help but worry a bit.}

"I understand. I feel the same way."

Then, as Dusk went for a hug as well, Scarlet came out from the tent.

{She didn't want to talk much to me, so maybe you can succeed where I have failed.} She said to Max.

"I get that I'm her master and all, but what makes you think that she'll open up to me?"

{She didn't want to at first, but I said that I'll ask you if you could massage her back to reduce her soreness and pain. It could speed up her recovery a little bit too.}

"*sigh* Alright. I'll see what I can do." Max accepted, rubbing his neck while heading back inside.

When in, he saw Bonny, still in the same spot, and didn't seem to have moved at all with her face buried inside a pillow.

"Scarlet said that maybe a back massage could make you feel better."

{...Maybe.} She said, not even moving.

"Yeah. So… are you okay with that?"

{Do whatever you want.}

"Alright."

Carefully, Max sat behind her over her legs with a good close view of her not-so-modest butt. He however didn't pay much attention to that and pressed his hands on her back.

"Here?"

{A little bit higher.}

With a nod, even though she wasn't seeing, Max complied and began to gently press, making her lightly hiss in pain.

"Are you okay?"

{Yeah, as long as you don't press any harder than that for now.}

"Understood."

Very carefully, Max called upon his instinct and tried to massage her to the best of his competence, having never done that besides a few times with his previous girlfriends.

"Eh, I always pet and caress you, but I think I never took the time to appreciate your fur. You have a quite beautiful and soft coat, even if you're slowly losing it for the winter." Max complimented, to which Bonny didn't react, not even saying a single word. "Hm, tough crowd."

For a moment, Max thought about what to say, but nothing seemed good for breaking the ice.

{You know…} She started after a little while. {I wanted to say sorry for how I reacted before we got attacked.}

"For how you reacted? Can you refresh my memory?"

{About what I would do if you weren't into pokemon.}

"Oh, that. Well, I must say that I'm sorry as well. I guess we were both on edge because of Dusk's situation."

{That doesn't really justify our actions.}

"True."

{But… I've been thinking about it for a moment now and… what if it was the other way around?}

"The other way around?"

{What would have you done if none of us were into humans?}

Max then got taken off-guard by that question. It was obvious, but he never thought about it in that sense.

"That's… a really good question. I… don't really know."

{And you were expecting me to answer that?}

"...I really did sound like an asshole, didn't I?"

{For once, I would have agreed with you, but since I did no better back then…}

Max then pondered over the question. Besides a bluntly honest answer, nothing was coming to mind.

"I… guess I would have tried searching for affection somewhere else. However, it wouldn't have changed the fact that I would still love you dearly."

{I suppose it could have been the same for us. I think the thought of imagining a reality where I don't love you as much as I do now scared me.}

"Yeah. The stupid things I can say sometimes. I should have just shut up and continued to enjoy the luck I have."

{*Humpf* Luck, huh? You sure didn't get so lucky when you got me.}

"Hey now, Bonny. How could you say such a thing?"

{Because it's true.}

"How?"

{...Just forget it.}

"Come on, you can tell me."

{I said forget it.} She commanded a bit more aggressively.

"...Okay." Max conceded, feeling a bit guilty for insisting.

A silence then settled until Max felt her body having periodical spasms, meaning only one thing.

"Bonny?"

{I'm sorry.} She apologized, sobbing. {I'm so useless.}

"What? No, you're not."

{I'm a freaking normal-type that can't do anything right, both in and out of battle.} She sobbed louder.

"That's simply not true. A normal-type doesn't have any particular weakness besides fighting types."

{Big whoop. That means I can just live with my mediocrity a bit longer.}

"Well… you're definitely the cutest normal-type ever."

{That's the only thing I'm good at; being cute.}

"No, you're not. You're good in the loving scheme too."

Still sobbing, Bonny didn't reply to that.

"You have a mega-evolution, only a few pokemon can do that."

{That would be nice if I could actually mega-evolve!}

"But you can."

{NO I CAN'T! My mega stone got destroyed!}

"...What?"

{So it means I won't even need this anymore!} She exclaimed while untying her scarf and tossed it as far as she could.

She then dropped her head back to her pillow again and began to cry for real, rivers of tears escaping her eyes while muffling most of her loud sobbing.

{I'm so useless. I don't even know why you keep me.} She bemoaned. {I'm just gonna make everyone lose, or worse. I'm just dead weight and a burden.}

"Whoa, calm down, Bonny. Those are very harsh words that I don't believe one bit."

{When was the last time I was actually useful? I couldn't even protect you at all against a fucking metagross.}

"You saved me. If you hadn't pushed me out of the way, I'd probably be mashed potatoes right now."

{Great. That's my talent. Pushing you.} She belittled herself before loudly crying again. {I hate myself so much. Why was I born with the worst type ever?}

At this point, Max got speechless. Everything he could ever say will only be invalidated by her. Due to the recent events, he couldn't blame her, though. Her sorrow was legitimate. She was indeed a normal-type, which wasn't exceptionally strong in battle or ridiculously useful outside them, but he deeply wished that he could tell her that she was so much more than that.

"Bonny… I… I wish you could see yourself through my eyes. To me, it's beyond your type problem. You're a nice, kind, and passionate girl. If anything, you're the best lopunny in the world. Hell, the best normal-type overall."

{*sob* So, basically the best of the worst.}

At this point, Max had tried everything. In her state, she would only invalidate everything she was told. She was in so much pain that Max fully understood that right now, she wasn't able to see light anywhere.

{Even Scarlet knows how weak I am.}

"And what makes you think that?"

{I heard her. I heard her saying that from now on, we will be paired in two for your protection. Because I can't do it on my own.} She said before starting to cry loudly again.

"She… probably said that for a good reason, and not because of you specifically. Everyone here has their type weaknesses, so she probably realized that it would be smarter for me to have two bodyguards, in case we come across a pokemon that has a type advantage. If anything, that incident was more beneficial than we thought."

Staying silent, Bonny kept sobbing through her pillow. Now out of arguments, Max decided to give up for now.

"Until you feel better, I'll leave you alone so you can rest in peace," Max said before leaning forward to give her a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

{No. Please. Stay.} She demanded, still madly sobbing.

"Are you sure? Don't force yourself if that's not how you feel."

{I have to. I don't really want to see anyone, but I can forget about my pathetic life for a moment with you close to me. I'm sorry for asking something so selfish, but I would like you to stay a little bit longer with your worthless pokemon.}

"Only if you tone it down with those speeches. I'll keep saying it until it gets into your thick skull, but you're not worthless."

Instead of responding, Bonny only shoved her face deeper in the pillow.

"Can you please look at me?" He asked, moving next to her.

{No. I look hideous right now.} She denied, turning her head in the opposite direction.

"I bet you anything that you're not. You're beautiful under any circumstances, Bonny. That's one of your many strengths."

{I know you're just saying that.}

"Bonny. We both know that's not true."

Not moving for a moment, Bonny wanted to keep refusing but eventually considered it. She then slowly sat up on her knees and looked at Max with a face ravaged by sadness.

"That's it? You were worried about your stained cheeks and a bit of snot?"

{I'm horrible.} She bemoaned with tears still falling down.

"You're not," Max assured, using his hands to wipe off whatever he could.

{...That was gross.}

"I don't mind, Bonny, because it's you." He said, grabbing her cheeks and gently rubbing them with his thumbs.

{I'm sorry, master.} She said, dropping her head. {I'm sorry for being such a burden and I'm sorry for not being able to protect you properly.}

"Hey," Max replied, raising her head. "There's nothing to be sorry about. You are what you are and in my eyes, it's perfect enough. Not many would have stood up against a steel-type with a type disadvantage, yet you did. And that, Bonny, it has nothing to do with your type."

{But…} She said, shoving her head against Max's chest. {I can't help you with anything. If being nice and pretty is what I can do best, you might as well transform me into a plushie. At least that way I'll be less needy.}

"Well, that just wouldn't be the same. You wouldn't have your fur's warmth or your golden heart."

{Like I said, needy.}

Max then softly sighed while caressing her back.

"And what if we get you another mega stone?"

{...That would be helpful, indeed. I'll be able to turn into something that is at least a little useful.}

"Why did that particular fight break your spirit that much? As far as I know, it's not the first time you've lost a battle. You were always so cheerful afterward nonetheless."

{Because… those few losses were a few too many. Ever since I evolved and experienced my first real battles, I knew that being a normal-type would mean a world of hurt for me. Every time I lost, it was making me…}

"...I understand. In that case, I am to blame as well. I should have known."

{How could you? I hid it so well.}

"Exactly. That means that you and Dusk have something in common. I just hope that from now on, if anything is bugging any of you, you can talk to me and unbottle your feelings."

{I didn't want to lie to you or anything, I just… didn't want to look weak. Besides, you have better things to do.}

"Better than taking care of you? Bonny, it's practically my job to take care of you. Wait, why do I feel like I'm reliving this conversation?"

{I know, but I meant to say that the others might need you more than me. I'm a lost cause. I'm a normal-type and there's nothing you can really do about it.}

"You're right. I can't really change your type, but what I can do is to help you with your self-esteem and make you accept what you are and live happily ever after."

{Good luck with that.}

"I don't need luck when I have all of you and a little bit of skill."

{*sob* You're dumb.} She said with a very faint smile.

"I know, and I am not ashamed to admit it. If I can do it, so can everyone else."

{*sniff* Why are you so exceptional? I suck in comparison.}

"It doesn't always have to be comparative. You have your flaws and I have mine. I'm far from being what you just entitled me, but I'm doing my best."

{At least it seems to work for you.}

"Not always. Sometimes, I say things without taking other people's feelings into consideration."

Not able to argue anymore, Bonny remained silent while sobbing less and less.

"Feel better yet?"

{...Not really, but I'm a bit too tired to cry anymore. I… think I'll go to bed early tonight.}

"Sure thing. Do you want me to tuck you in?"

{If you want to.}

A bit lazily, Bonny crawled to her bed. Max pulled out a light blanket from his backpack and dropped it on her. She mostly doesn't need it, but maybe for tonight, she would like one. He then sat next to her and caressed her head.

"Remember, Bonny, that in my book, you're simply the best. You're cute, kind, strong, reliable, and bold. Everything a girl needs to be even better than guys. Don't let that incident affect you too much, Bonny."

{...I'll try.} She said, looking away.

"That's my girl." He said, kissing her forehead. "Just call me if you ever need me or if you just company again."

{Okay.}

With a smile, Max stood up with Bonny turning to her side and left the tent.

(Can we talk for a bit?) Max asked Scarlet, who was munching on something that looked like a berry of some sort with the others.

A bit unsure for a second, Scarlet stood up from where she was sitting and joined him. Max then motioned her to follow him a bit further.

[It must be quite important if you want to drag me away like this.] She said while they were getting away from the camp.

(More or less.) Max said after a couple of meters away. (You were right about her. She's feeling really down. I'm afraid she might even fall into depression.)

[That may be a bit of an exaggeration. Bonny is stronger than that.]

(Depression isn't something to be taken lightly. Everyone is subject to that. Anyway, the main reason why I wanted to talk to you is to kindly ask you to be careful about what you say around others.)

[And what do you mean by that?] Scarlet asked, crossing her arms and a raised eyebrow.

(Bonny heard you when you said I should be accompanied by two girls instead of one from now on. I think that was the last straw for her and she took it very poorly.)

[She…*sigh* When will I learn that those big ears of hers aren't for the show? Damnit.] Scarlet said, upset.

(She really thinks that she isn't up to the task anymore. I already had a glimpse before but didn't pay much attention to it. She's very self-conscious about her type. I should have seen it.)

[How on earth could you have guessed that? Unfortunately, things aren't always as we would wish. I like Bonny, I really do, but let's be honest here. She is a normal-type pokemon, and normal-types aren't the strongest of the bunch.]

(Are you listening to yourself? You know how strong she can be, when she has the moral that is.)

[I'm not trying to belittle her or anything, but that's just a fact. Normal-types aren't strong against any type. They might only have one weakness against Fighting-types, but they are also completely powerless against rock, steel, and ghost types. I know she's doing her best and I understand that she's indeed strong for her type, but I don't want to risk another event like yesterday. I'm sorry if I'm sounding like the bad guy here, but if it's what I must do to keep you alive, then so be it.]

(*sigh* That's exactly what I'm talking about.)

[I'm not doing this for fun, I'm sure you already know that. To tell you the truth, it's not just about her anymore. That incident made me realize that it could have happened to any of us. Aurora with a fire-type, Dusk with a water-type, even me with a ghost-type. We all have our weaknesses that can be countered.]

(...Unfortunately, I can't really argue against that logic but...)

[That's what I was trying to say.]

(I don't doubt it, Scarlet, but there are other ways of saying things, especially when someone is in such a fragile state.)

[*sigh* That, I understand. I admit that I should have been more careful with my words.]

[Alright. I promise I'll be more careful about what and how I say things, but I want to remind you that your safety is my top priority.]

Max then shook his head.

(I get that Scarlet, but if you allow me to be honest myself, I don't want to be safe if it means hurting the girls. Their well-being is my top priority.)

Scarlet looked at Max for a short moment without saying a word. She then sighed and rubbed her face.

[I'll try to keep anything sensitive to myself if I can, okay? If I can't, I'll find some compromise here and there. Are you happy now?]

(Always when you make an effort, even when I see a few veins about to burst from here.)

[Glad that you finally noticed how I try my best to stay calm.]

(You're strong and awesome on so many levels.) Max complimented with a smile.

[Wait until everything is sorted out before starting to kiss my ass.]

(That, I don't need to wait to do.) Max replied with a lewd grin.

[Rha!] The gardevoir replied with rolling eyes before floating away.

(What? You know I love that cute butt of yours.) Max pointed out while following her.