Chapter 45

"Good morning to you too," I say as we break our kiss. I nuzzle into Flannery's neck, enjoying her comforting scent and warmth. I feel like I could just stay here all day and let all the world just melt away from us.

A few minutes pass before I feel a gentle hand caressing my hair. I grumble unintelligible words into her neck which causes her to giggle softly. Our interactions must have been enough to alert the cool bundles that are pressed against me as I feel some silky soft fur brush against my skin. 

I open my eyes and peer through Flannery's red hair that is hanging around me like a curtain. I see three blue-toned pokemon gracefully slipping off the bed and then turn around and sit down on the floor to look at me. The large, diamond-shaped ears and distinctive light blue fur with dark blue diamond-shaped patches tell me who our other bed partners were.

I'm not sure how, but it seems as though Bill has acquired three Glaceons in the time that I was out. Why would he forcefully evolve three of his Eevees? I can understand about the increased power, but a Flareon or Jolteon would have been better choices with the pokemon that Team Rocket was throwing at us. As an Ice-type specialist to be, I am very aware of the limitations of Ice despite its relative power. 

"Babe, what happened while I was out? Not that I mind your affection, it just seems like you are being extra loving. It appears that I am missing some information on what went on." I mumble into my cinnamon-spiced lover's ear. I lightly nibble on her ear and wrap my arms around her. 'She is so perfect to hold onto.'

"Mmmm. Well for starters, The Jenny's came by and picked up the Rockets and shipped them off to jail. Ah, s-stop that, I'm trying to tell you something," she lightly scolds me as I give a playful bite. "We got told off about playing hero again and not letting the Jenny's know, even though Bea called them as soon as she saw them." Flannery continues as she runs her fingers through my hair gently. She is unfair, this pampering is gonna make me spoiled. 

"And the Eevees?"

"Mostly safe. Zephyr and you managed to prevent most of them from being captured. From what Bill said, they were only able to get three."

"Only three? How did that happen? I didn't knock out any pokemon or Rockets before I passed out…" I furrow my brow as I try to remember what happened. "Last thing I can recall is getting sla—," My voice trails off as I start to slide my hands along my stomach and hips. Silky smooth skin covering some hidden muscles is all that I feel. There is no wound.

"You don't remember?" Flannery asked as she suddenly gave me a tight hug before continuing, "I arrived at the top of the steps, just in time to see you get slashed from hip to shoulder," she traces a hot finger along where the would should have been, "but a moment later you seemed to catch fire and stand back up like a star from an action movie. Background music and everything." 

Flannery spends the next thirty minutes going over everything that happened. I had to ask her multiple times to repeat herself as I couldn't believe what she was saying. As she finishes, I just stare at her with my mouth open in a rendition of the surprised pikachu face. I guess my face is a sight to behold as she starts to giggle uncontrollably. I turn my face away in a pout which just causes her to laugh harder.

I gently push Flannery off of me and start to sit up. As I move, Skadi jumps off my chest but not off the bed as she sits down right beside me, making sure to stay in constant contact with me. Now that I am not being smothered in a warm cinnamon embrace I look around the room and find that it has seen better days. 

The roof looks to be torn off, which explains why I can see the stars and one wall has a new window available. Taking advantage of the silence as Flannery catches her breath, I pay attention to my surroundings and find everything extremely quiet. Besides the sounds of breathing and the distant sounds of waves, there is no other sound. As I am concentrating, I hear the sounds of movement on the bed before I feel two warm, comforting arms wrap around my waist.

"It's late love. Let's go back to sleep. Bill said he would be able to finish up with Zephyr in the morning but we are all tired now."

"Mm. I suppose." I reply as I look up at the dark sky and notice there isn't even a moon tonight. "I guess I can indulge you for a little longer." I scoot over toward the center of the bed before laying back down and facing Flannery. I lay my arm over her hips before nuzzling back into her warm body. I feel a wave of sleepiness pass over me as I enjoy my mate's spicy scent.

*~*~*~*

The caress of sunlight across my skin causes me to stir and slowly awaken again. I open my eyes to see Flannery's sleeping face as it seems neither of us moved during the night. I smile softly and watch her peaceful face for a few minutes before sliding my head closer and kiss her forehead to gently wake her up.

As she starts to stir, I reluctantly pull myself out of her embrace and slip out of bed. Looking around, I find my bag sitting on the nearby table and a quick glance at the pokeballs shows that, besides Zephyr's pokeball, the only one out currently is Skadi who was sleeping next to me. As I am pulling out some clothes to change into, Flannery comes up behind me and gives my butt a small smack.

"Mornin' love."

"Mornin' to you too," I reply, giving her a tiny glare which she just smiles off. "Are you ready to hit the road again? We should be making our way to Vermillion City to challenge Surge."

"I am good to go," she replies as she grabs some clothes from her bag as well. I turn slightly so I can watch the show unabashedly. "Providing that you and Zephyr are all good."

"I hope we are. I want to spend some time training on the road as the fight against Misty was way too close for me and Surge is known to be extremely hard to beat."

"I know what you mean. Surge has me beat in speed so I need to figure out some way to slow him down."

"I will train with you, don't worry! The two of us will be able to handle everything thrown at us." I give her a big smile that she returns. The two of us quickly finish getting dressed while playfully bantering and teasing back and forth. Our relationship might be something new, but I feel comfortable with her.

We made our way down to the living room where all the Eevee and three Glaceons are sleeping all huddled together. In the nearby kitchen, Bill is currently sipping on a mug of something as he notices us showing up. I'm not sure, but it almost seems like Bill flinches when he sees me. Did what happen to me scare him?

"Good morning you two. Did you sleep well? I hope you are feeling alright Frost, after all the excitement yesterday you just collapsed."

"I apologize for that. I did not have the capability to continue on after everything that happened. I'm sorry I wasn't able to save the whole pod, Flannery informed me that three were captured."

"Oh, don't you start with that. Between you and your pokemon, only three were taken," Bill scolds. "If you were not here, most of the pod would have been taken to who knows where. The Jenny's said that they would be stationing an officer up here to help keep an eye on things in the future."

I lower my head slightly but a small smile of relief appears on my lips. "I understand. Hopefully, you will not be attacked again."

"I would hope not. Now, how about you two get some breakfast in you as I tell you what I found out about your Frostalon." 

We quickly enter the kitchen and grab a simple breakfast. I also make sure to grab a cup of the morning elixir as well. The two of us sit down at the small nearby table and Bill joins us a moment later, still nursing his cup of caffeine. He also brings over the pokeball that is clearly mine, from the snowflake on it, and hands it over to me after hesitating for only a moment. I smile at the pokeball before clipping it to my bag for the time being.

"So what I have found is that, on a basic level, your Zephyr is the same as a Talonflame, only with an ice typing instead. It wasn't until I started to dive deeper that I found what is truly different." Bill takes a sip of his coffee before continuing. 

"Her feathers generate a small amount of ice-type energy cold enough to cause the water in the air to go through deposition. This power increases with each feather that touches, causing a reaction where a massive burst of Ice energy can be released into the air and cause a blizzard or hail storm.

"I found that this is caused by her ability Snow Warning which is common in stronger ice type pokemon. The only truly odd thing I found is that her DNA is still in flux and has not settled like a normal fully evolved pokemon. This flux is similar to middle stage pokemon that still have a chance to evolve when conditions are met."

"You mean that Zephyr could possibly evolve again?" I ask with my eyes as large as dinner plates. "What could she evolve into?"

"It is possible for her to evolve if the conditions are right," Bill responds while nodding before continuing. It seems like he is starting to relax around me now. Maybe talking about his research helps. "However, if these conditions are not met, then she will stay as she is, and eventually her DNA will settle."

"Do you have any idea what the conditions might be?"

"Unfortunately I do not. New evolutions are always found at random. All I can say is keep training her and maybe she will evolve for you."

I frown slightly at that information but then I give Bill a big smile. "Thank you for everything, Bill! If you ever need anything feel free to reach out to me or my Grandpa."

"Not a problem! It was a pleasure to be the first to examine a new pokemon. If you get another one, please feel free to send it my way. I have taken the liberty to add my address as an option in yours and your friends' pokedex so you don't need to stop by if a situation like this pops up again."

After our discussion, the three of us chat while Flannery and I finish eating and cleaning up for breakfast. While we were chatting, I could get a sense that Bill wanted to ask something but always stopped himself with a small shake of his head. After a while, Bill opens his mouth to ask a question, only for Bea to come in from outside a moment later. From the looks of it, she has been up for a while and was outside training until now.

"Frost! You are awake! How are you feeling?" Bea asks with her usual happy-go-lucky tone.

"I'm feeling great! Bill was just going over everything about Zephyr, but I think we are about ready to head out." I respond as I look at Flannery who nods in agreement.

"Awesome! Bill, thank you for hosting us last night. I hope you stay safe." Bea says as she turns to Bill with a big goofy smile.

"It was not a problem. You girls have a safe trip and I will be sure to follow your progression."

A few minutes of pleasantries later, the three of us step out of Bill's house and start our journey towards Vermillion City.