We Saved the Town

"Swole! Z-Zoey!?"

Dawn jumps at us with a wrestling move and joins our hug. My hands get stuck between her and Zoey's butt cheeks.

How did she get up here?

Three more thuds signal the arrival of Zoey's pokemon on our pile.

I look past the girls and see that Alice's Drifblim-carried gondola has landed on the observation platform.

Everyone is here! We all survived! But all of them look away with blushes on their faces, except for Brock who watches with a nose bleed and gives a thumbs up.

Zoey is still naked!

"Wuaaa!" But Dawn covers her. "I'm so sowwy! Zoeyyy! I didn't mean it like that! Wuaaa!"

Her loud sobbing makes her incoherent.

"I didn't want you to disappear! I'm sho sowwy! Please don't die again!"

"Please stop crying, Dawn... You're making me cry too. What are you even sobbing about?"

"Sniff... I-- I thought a-about you disappearing and t-then it happened! I'm so sorry! I didn't want that!"

I told her these kinds of things happen the moment you think about it!

"Dawn... Ye're stupid."

"I know! I'm sowwy!" She trails off to another sob.

"But you didn't cause this."

"No, I did! It's like how Swole always says! He was right!"

I always am.

"Don't say that. He's almost never right."

I would slap her ass for that comment, but my hand is still stuck on it, so I honk it instead.

"But if you really feel bad then... You can make it good again with a kiss."

"Anything!" Dawn peppers Zoey in a barrage of barely aimed kisses. She reminds me of a Growlithe who slobbers all over their trainer.

"Ahahaha! Stop it, haha! -- Oh! Actually, I really should get dressed. Someone started poking me."

Hehe. It was me! "Not sorry."

"Pervert." Dawn says but gives me a kiss too.

"Come on, Dawn. It's really not my fault when two amazing, beautiful women play half naked wrestling on top of me."

"He's got a point. Let me get up and get some clothes-- ... All my stuff is gone."

Her pokeballs. All her equipment, phone, food, clothes... The cute nightgown I got her and her Misdreavus plushy. It's a miracle that she's back and didn't lose her pokemon too. 

"That sucks... Can I borrow some clothes?"

"Sure." - "Sure."

Dawn and I share a look.

"I'm sure she'd rather wear one of my dresses."

"And I'm sure she prefers her boyfriend's oversized shirt."

"Damn. That does sound pretty nice..."

I begin to pull out stuff for Zoey from my bottomless backpack. My old Kanto-themed swim trunks, a pair of boxer shorts, a white, button up shirt. And her brooch.

"What's that?" Zoey asks.

"It was supposed to be a gift for you after our perfect date... I pulled it out by accident, but it would make a pretty nice 'welcome back to the living'-gift too, don't you think?"

She begins to get dressed while inspecting her gift. Which just happens to give me a few more moments where I can admire her naked body. Her perky breasts. The fiery hair around her privates.

"It looks amazing!" It sure does! "And it even glows? What did you pay for it?"

It glows? Oh, the gemstone.

"Not telling you the price. It's a gift. For my girlfriend. You don't need to pay me back. And I don't know why it glows. It never did before."

Weird.

"Weird. But I like it!"

She pins it on her chest and strikes a pose. She has a bright smile plastered on her. It strains a little once she realizes that her stumpy arm can't complete the pose she was aiming for.

"Well... I'm alive! That's all that matters!"

I hope that she isn't just coping right now. But just in case, I hold her tightly and tell her how glad I am that she is back in the world of the living.

...

"Oi! Swole! Once you're done with all the flirting, we need to get down and throw a victory party!"

"Indeed!" Baron Alberto agrees. "And I will gladly sponsor it!"

More like a 'we survived'-party.

The damage to the town can be clearly seen from up here. There are more houses that are completely demolished than still standing.

Not a single town district is left undamaged. 

It's just a miracle that the people who died have simply been resurrected. I can't even imagine how many people had temporarily died in the crossfire.

But it's all good now. They revived after all. Only property damage remains and that can all be rebuilt!

---

... At least that was what I thought.

It's not even a 'we survived'-party.

Almost everyone has lost a family member, friend or at least a neighbor. Especially in such a dense, old town where everybody knows everyone.

They have lined up over a hundred bodies and are still adding more. People who have died because of regular attacks or collapsed buildings. The otherworldly resilience to injuries didn't exist in the sub dimension.

But interspersed with the bodies are a few spots with personal belongings.

A teddy bear.

An apron and a chef's hat.

... A pacifier with only one single man crying in front of it.

I remember some of these people. That overworked woman we met in the park sobs above the corpse of a child.

This really was just a pyrrhic victory.

With my 4 fingered hand I prod around in my mouth. A piece of my molar broke off but it healed too, only leaving a weirdly shaped tooth behind.

"How am I the only one who got back?" Zoey asks but I motion her to be quiet.

I really don't want their sadness to turn into jealousy and then into anger.

Maybe that weird gemstone brought her back?

After all, everyone knows stuff that glows on its own is always either radioactive or magical. So it must have been some kind of magical effect from that rock that pulled her back. Or perhaps aura? I can't be certain, the world is filled with mystical reasons that could explain why.

Those who aren't grieving for one reason or another, help organizing sleeping arrangements together with Baron Alberto.

If there is one thing that he is really good at, it is organizing people.

He even managed to get a banquet of food ready for everyone to get something to eat.

But nobody dares to eat something. It's like we're at a funeral and we are just a group of strangers watching from the outside.

Brock sets up a new soup-kitchen that's supposed to open up tomorrow. Once the feast runs empty, someone will need to volunteer to feed the workers for the rebuilding efforts.

I sign myself up to help out in the mornings to make use of my skills as a cook but I tell Alberto to expect me afterwards as a rubble-clearer. As long as the town needs all the hands they can get, I won't be able to train my pokemon as well, but physical exercise will be a decent alternative.

Ash and Barry argue about who's going to do more work after figuring out they could treat the labor as training.

Everywhere I looked, Baron Alberto could be seen trying to explain to people that it was us, and him, who saved the day but his tone-deaf bragging only collects lackluster responses.

"Why didn't you do it faster!? My daughter died because you took your time!" - "Both of my parents died because of you!"

Some responses were less than lackluster. A few grieving people can't see how bad it could have been without us. Dawn's pained response to their vitriol almost makes me want to lash out against these ungrateful bastards but I understand them too well to do it.

Zoey... She basically died because I couldn't think of a solution fast enough. It's my Achilles' heel. Thinking fast under pressure.

Against Zoey in the school tournament where I almost ended up hurting Misdreavus permanently. Against Regice where I left Buneary behind stupidly. Saving the tree of life but sacrificing Lucario in the process. Torturing Domino to find Dawn...

I only make bad choices under pressure. I need to do better. I need to be perfect.

"Hey." Zoey must have seen my spiraling mood. "Ya know, I just remembered something. A few days ago, we bet on Team Rocket being stupid."

We did?

"And ya still owe me a kiss for that."

Her mischievous smile only cracks after my eyes flicker to her stump of an arm. It's my fault that she is like that. I could have gotten us out of this town much earlier if I just listened to my paranoia.

But her strained smile is too hard to look at, so I pull her closer and fulfill my debt. Her smile becomes real once more after a peck on her lips.

"That ain't enough." She grins. "I'm gonna give ya a real treat later."

With that, she extracts herself from my embrace and sashays off to talk with Brock about the soup kitchen.

---

The party, if it can be called one, went on until evening. People used the time to find sleeping arrangements, grieve and some either drank their sorrows away or they celebrated their survival.

Alice went home at some point but had to return because her student apartment was gone. One of Dialga's beams went right through it and destroyed all her stuff.

In the end she accepted Baron Alberto's invitation to sleep at his mansion, together with a bunch of other people who don't have family or friends to ask for help either.

Tonio excused himself early and went to check on his equipment. Said he had to prepare to publicize the discoveries of the century. His work ethic is commendable. Even though his social awareness lacks greatly. He was by far the happiest person after today's events.

Right now, we're standing in front of the hostel.

"Or rather the crater where once our hostel used to be. I will miss my towel."

"What?" Dawn asks.

"Sorry, was just monologuing with dramatic effect."

"Ah. Makes sense. Anyway, where do we sleep now?" She doesn't really look surprised about the hostel being gone. "As you know, I donated my tent to a young family who lost their house."

She is acting rather suspiciously. Her eyes shift and her nervous ticks are on display. "We can share a tent."

I give her a look.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I was just optimistic about the hostel. I swear. I didn't plan to get rid of my tent so you would have to share yours with me."

I don't believe a single word that comes out of that mouth.

"You can be pretty darn insidious when you want to be, Dawn."

Even Zoey knows not to trust her anymore.

"Just so you know, Dawn: If my tent is full, you will be kicked out first."

"Whaaat!? Why meee?"

"Well, I won't kick my pokemon out, obviously. And Zoey--" Takes up less space!

I bite my tongue before I tell that type of joke way too early.

"Because--" We crips stick together! "Ahem, because Zoey didn't give up her tent. Hers is in the void. You lost your tent out of generosity."

"And I am being punished for being such a generous person!?"

"Such a generous person surely wouldn't mind sacrificing her spot for Zoey."

"Damn it... Alright... You win Zoey. I will sleep outside tonight."

I press the button on my self-erecting tent and it builds itself up

"Hold up, not so fast!" Zoey stops Dawn from skulking off. "Let's first see how tight sleep is really gonna be. We might be able to convince him to let us squeeze in."

"Yuck, bro." Oh. Barry is still around. "If you're looking for me, I think I will sleep somewhere far away from your tent... Don't do anything your mom wouldn't like you to do."

Ash looks at him with a questioning stare. "What does that mean? What's so gross about sharing tents?"

And Brock begins to lead him off. "I guess you're old enough for someone to give you the talk about the Pidgeot and the Beedrill..." His voice trails off and I'm sure Barry is already searching for yet another spot to put his tent down.

Dawn and Zoey have already snuck themselves into the 2-person tent while I was distracted.

I climb inside. Literally over Dawn to get into the middle. My pokemon pile on top of me a moment later and Misdreavus' laughter rings out as she inspects our pile from above.

Zoey's pokeballs are all gone so she must have her pokemon out. At least they are all small and don't take up much space.

"Scoot over a bit. I don't wanna touch the tent wall." Dawn complains.

"I'm already touching the tent wall. You need to live with it." Zoey responds.

"But at night it gets wet. That's sooo gross!"

"Ya wanted to share a tent."

"Nooo, I swear, I thought we would sleep in the hostel!"

I tune their bickering out and try to fall asleep but it is an impossible feat. It's too warm, too tight and too noisy. Like a canned Remoraid.

As I close my eyes, past events flicker and flash through my memories.

It started off so nice. So peaceful.

A harmless hot air balloon tour. Pranking Zoey and Barry. And Brock's cooking! The jelly-filled donuts were so tasty; I can't believe Brock's dessert was almost as good as mine but Zoey's cake was simply perfection made manifest.

My hand brushed over her 'cake' just now. By which I meant ass. Her hands brush over my private places as well on accident of course.

But then the tour started and everything began to get worse. So many things we saw and heard about are now things of the past. So much heritage, destroyed. The beautiful garden, ruined. Darkrai... Dead, so we could live.

I toss and turn some more and listen to the background noise of complaints coming from the girls on top of me and at my sides.

So much unnecessary destruction...

For what? Why are they doing it? And why ring the names Dialga and Palkia so familiar in my head? Where have I heard of them before?

Slowly but surely exhaustion catches up and my eyes drift closed once more.

The newest set of terrible nightmares is waiting for me.

---

Narrator-POV:

Our heroes have saved the day again!

Is it not wonderful? Oh, how many lives they saved! Nobody has ever saved so many lives before!

Annihilation of the town was averted and the death-date of the universe was pushed back in the process.

As thanks for their bravery and heroism, the universe has graced them with the most vivid and terrifying nightmares imaginable. Terrors from beyond this world haunt their slumbers, with not a single Darkrai in sight to feed from their dreams and lessen the pain in the process. The night becomes a battle of its own, as they are left to face their fears without the guardian of nightmares.

Meanwhile, far away from the celebration of their victory, on a cliff near Snowpoint City, facing the ocean, stands Cynthia. A vein juts out on her forehead but it is hidden by her golden hair.

She takes the largest rock she could find and carry and hurls it off, missing the M.S. Anne by just a few miles.

"I can't believe it! They tricked me! How could I fall for it! Argh! It's because that brat didn't pick up his damn phone!"

"Gar."

"I know, Garchomp! Don't rub it in! They tricked me twice! Team Rocket told me straight to my face that they were gone and then continued their missing after I left! ... It's his fault."

The unbeatable champion Cynthia has been played like a fiddle and lost without a battle.

"I'm going to call the brat and I'll let him hear it! And Arceus help him, if he has his phone on do-not-disturb again!"

She pulls out her phone... And spots a missed call that was even marked as urgent. Her fingers swipe around on the screen and enable her own notifications on her phone again.

Garchomp standing beside her and Spiritomb guarding her from within her shadows snicker at the irony.

"Don't. Say. A. Thing." Cynthia is seething in anger.

She presses the button to return the call and her partner picks up the phone immediately.

"Princess." She greets with forced calmness. Her frustrations simmering just beneath the surface.

Her eyebrows furrow. "... Alamos Town? ... Destroyed in less than an hour!? ... And you need me to keep the peace again, I presume."

Her visible eye twitches. "... With Tobias? You can't be serious. He will be too busy trying to flirt with me to be of any help!"

Tobias, the man who faced her in the previous platinum league's final battle. An incredible trainer, but still not strong enough to conquer Cynthia's heart.

"... Of course I don't like him! He's cocky and-- ... What do you mean I sound prissy! ... Yes, I am on edge!" 

Literally. She still stands at the edge of the cliff. 

"No, I'm not currently on my period. And I'm going to tell your mother that you were being impolite again."

Noises of desperate begging come from the other side of the phone.

"I was joking. ... Yes, yes, of course princess. ... No, I really won't tell her. Actually, I should get going. I'm in the middle of nowhere and want to get back to my hotel for the night. ... Yes, I won't forget your birthday. ... Bye!"

A beep ends the call.

A heavy sigh escapes her. "I need to make friends closer to my age. And a vacation. Let's go, Garchomp. Officer Jenny can do the rest of the Team Rocket investigation."

She climbs on her back, holding onto her fin like a handle.

Her pokemon then sprints at a rapid pace before jumping as far into the sky as he can. The wings on Garchomp's arms and her aerodynamic shape keep her in the air while they glide at high speed back to Snowpoint City.

The best bed money can buy is waiting for Cynthia.