FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

I bring to you a tale of mystery, adventure, suspense, love, murder, and fuzzy kittens with crab claws. At least six of those things are true. It's been too long people. I've missed you as much as you've, may or may not, missed me. Anyway, like I promised, I bring you another chapter for you to read. I won't bore with any more of my chit-chat, so I'll let you start reading. Remember, Comments and Votes are welcome and appreciated... with a smile. (^.^)

**********8**********

Chris awoke the next morning with butterflies in the pit of his stomach, feeling only a little nervous about what he was going to do today. The rest of what he felt was pure excitement and slight drowsiness. Looking at the clock, he saw that it was 8:33am. There was some light snoring on his other side, letting him know that he was first to wake up. Today was the day he was going to earn his next badge. The gym was reopening today and he was going to be the first challenger there. Making as little movement on the bed as possible, he got up, picked out some clean clothes, a toothbrush, and made his way to the bathroom to prepare himself for the day.

As he brushed his teeth, he thought about yesterdays events, more precisely about the trouble Tora and Aaron made. While they were taking a bath, he discovered the reason behind it. It turns out that Aaron bet Tora that he could keep his eyes open longer than her on the Tentacruel Drop, a ride that takes riders five-hundred feet in the air and makes a sudden drop to the bottom. If he lost, then he had to tell her a secret about himself, but since he won, she had to kiss him for five seconds. Their isolated spot wasn't so isolated because they were spotted by security just as they were getting started. They promised him that they wouldn't do anything like that again.

"I really hope they keep that promise. I don't want to have to explain to anyone why she's smooching with a human-transformed mew," he thought as he spat out the toothpaste. "That'd be an awkward conversation."

A few minutes later, he exited the bathroom fully clothed, teeth and hair brushed, and ready for the day. Aaron was just getting up, stretching and letting out a big yawn while doing so. "Took you long enough to wake up," Chris stated jokingly.

"But it was such a good sleep," the mew responded happily. "I wish I could've stayed asleep longer."

"If you did, then you would miss seeing her in action today against a gym leader." He didn't think it was possible, but Aaron's eyes got bigger as he remembered that Tora was supposed to be battling today.

"Oh, you're right. We better wake her up." The mew gently coaxed the sleeping raichu awake. She rolled over and yawned.

"Mmm... Morning," she said sleepily, not fully awake yet.

"Morning, sweetie. Have a good sleep?" She nodded. "Good. You've got to get up now. You've got your first gym battle today, remember?" Her mind didn't fully register exactly what he said at first, but when it did, she was up and nearly bolted for the door in her excitement. She was obviously not feeling the least bit nervous about her match, but that didn't mean they were going to the gym without at least eating something first.

The trio left the room in high spirits, thanks to an excited raichu, and headed to the cafeteria downstairs. The place was moderately crowded with trainers and their pokémon. Lani was let out so that she could eat as well. While in line, Chris got Tora and himself a plate full of pancakes, bacon and eggs. Aaron and Lani settled for fruit salads. The group found a table big enough for them by a window and sat down.

As they began eating, no one could help but notice how eagerly the electric mouse was consuming her pancakes. "Jeez, can you even taste your food?" Lani commented jokingly, which caused Tora to stop and swallow what she had.

"Of course I can. I just can't wait for my first gym match," Tora replied excitedly.

"You know it's gonna be tough, right? It's not exactly a cake walk to take down a gym leader's pokémon," Chris said.

"I know, but this is what all the training's been for. I can totally handle anything they throw at me."

"With confidence like that, you'd better win."

"You already know it!" And just like that, she started eating again. Chris chuckled to himself and took a bite of his bacon.

About halfway through their meal,Alice came into the cafeteria and had finally joined them. "What kept you? Planning on sleeping the day away?" Chris asked. It was later than when she would usually join them.

"No, I just forgot to set my alarm," she replied. "So, you ready for that gym battle?"

"Yep, I think that Tora has enough confidence to cover all of us. She's really excited about this."

"Well, she ought to be. She does have a major type advantage and her attacks pack quite a punch. You should probably have an easier time with this one."

"We'll see when we get there."

*****8*****

The group left the pokémon center as soon asAlicefinished her food. Thankfully, it wasn't as hot as it was yesterday, but it was still hot enough to consider opting for shorts instead of pants. As they made their way to the gym, Chris noticed a few trainers heading the same way they were. There was no doubt in his mind that they were trying to be the first to challenge the gym. A couple of them took a glance at him and made longer strides in their walking.

"I'm not going to lose to them," he thought. "Say, Aaron, would you mind teleporting us to the gym?" The psychic cast him a knowing look and smile. Apparently he had notice the trainers as well.

"Of course not," he replied. "I wouldn't want anyone to die in anticipation waiting for someone to finish their battle with the gym leader."

In less than a blink of the eye, they were all standing in front of theCeruleanCitygym. Chris and Tora didn't waste a second and practically burst through the double doors in a race to find the gym leader. Aaron and Alice Laughed at their behavior and followed after them. The inside of the gym was almost nothing like Chris had imagined... almost. Being a water specialized gym, he knew there'd be lots of water, but the place was more of an aquarium than anything.

The walls on both sides of the hallway displayed various water pokémon swimming about in the large tanks. Off the back, he guessed there were at least forty-six species, and that was not including the groups they were in. Most of them seemed to be from the region, but a few of the others he did get a glimpse of were non-natives. It also seemed that the tanks had specific areas for them as well. The pokémon that were part ice-types had colder water and even small glaciers floating around on the surface. The gym was truly a paradise for water pokémon.

Eventually, Chris and Tora managed to find their way to the center of the gym. The set-up of the room was similar to thePewterCitygym, but this was on a grander scale. There was a massive pool in the middle of the room, a tall diving board on the other side. There were a few circular platforms near the middle of pool, most likely where battles were taken place. The lights overhead were really bright and there were several rows of seats on both sides of them. It was no wonder how a sold out show could be held here.

"This place is huge!" Tora exclaimed, clearly impressed.

"I know," Chris replied, nodding in agreement. "I didn't think it'd be this big on the inside. It looks like one massive stage." As they took a moment to admire everything, Tora noticed someone kneeling down on the other side of the pool.

"Hey, there's someone over there."

"Let's ask 'em if the gym leader's around." The pair made their way to the other side of the pool, finding out that the person kneeling was a blonde-haired woman wearing a black wetsuit. She saw them approaching her and stood up to greet them with a warm smile.

"Hi, welcome to the Cerulean gym. Is there anything you need?"

"I'm here to challenge the gym," Chris replied. "Is the gym leader here?"

"Sorry, but Misty still hasn't returned from her errand in Johto yet." Chris and Tora groaned and hung their heads in major disappointment. "Whoa, hold on you two. It's not the end of the world yet," she laughed with her hands raised. "You can still challenge the gym. You just have to beat me."

"Wait, what?" Chris asked.

"The name's Natalie, Natalie Rivera. I'm Cerulean Gyms' substitute gym leader, so if you want to get your badge, you're gonna have to fight me." She stood proudly as she said this.

"I didn't know there were substitute gym leaders."

"Oh yeah, the League realized that the gym leaders in every region were getting a little overworked with challenges and paperwork all day, so they passed a bill stating that every gym had to have a sub to take over for them in their absence. Of course, they don't just appoint anyone for the position. Every applicant had to be put through a series of trials to make sure they were gym level material..."

"What did-"

"Of which I'm not allowed to talk about," she added quickly before he could asked. "So, I could stand here talking all day about the finer things of subbing, but that's not gonna get you a battle with me. All you need to know is that I'm just as tough as Misty is and you'll have to beat me to get this gyms' badge. Besides, I think everyone here will appreciate the show we're gonna put on." As she tilted her head to the right, Chris and Tora looked over to see a few people coming in. They saw Alice and Aaron already sitting in the front row.

"Sounds good to me," Chris said. "You ready, Tora?"

"I was born ready!" she said excitedly.

Both gym leader and challengers took their respective places on opposite platforms in the pool. Chris and Tora had to take a ride on a cloyster, mostly because Chris didn't have a change of clothes. "Come on, Chris! Show her whose boss!!!"Alicecheered from her seat. A few of the surrounding trainers laughed, while Chris chuckled and waved embarrassingly at her.

"I see you've got a fan out there," Natalie said laughing.

"You could say that," he replied.

"Okay, here are the rules; it'll be a two-on-two battle. The substitution of pokémon is allowed only by the challenger and, of course, the first to lose both their pokémon is the loser."

"Got it."

"I'll get things started. Go, corsola!" She tossed a pokéball and released her pokémon onto the platform in front of her. The small pink, coral-like pokémon bounced back and forth happily on its stubby legs. Chris thought about his choice for only a moment before reaching for a pokéball, much to Tora's dismay. He saw the sad look she was giving him out his peripheral.

"Sorry, but she could have something much more threatening than that waiting for us," he whispered. "Besides, I'm sure you want a real challenge out of this." Tora nodded, slightly reluctant in doing so, and let him do his thing. "Let's go, Lani!" Chris tossed out his pokéball and released Lani onto the platform. Once she fully materialized, the pink dragon let out a yawn and stretched her neck. A few 'awes' and gasps of surprise came from the stands, due to none of the trainers ever having seen a dratini before, especially a shiny one. Natalie however, didn't let her surprise show.

"You won't mind if I start things off right? Bubblebeam, corsola!" The coral pokémon took in a breath and blew a stream of bubbles their way.

"Counter it with Twister!" Lani summoned her twister. The stream of bubbles practically attached themselves to the swirling vortex, swirling all the way to the top before being thrown in any general direction. A few people 'oohed' loudly, reminding Chris that he was battling in front of a crowd. It was mildly distracting for him, since he's never battled in front of a group of people before.

"Ancient power!" Multiple baseball-sized white orbs swirled around the corsola, before being fired. The attack covered a pretty wide range.

"Jump over it and use Thunder wave!" Lani leapt over the attack with time to spare, the fins on her head crackling with electricity.

"Quick, jump in the water!" Natalie yelled urgently. The corsola quickly jumped into the water as soon as Lani fired her attack and dove under the surface, avoiding the electric strike. The pink dragon didn't need to be told what to do next and dove after the coral pokémon.

"I hope you have some sort plan to fight us in our element. It's gonna be hard to beat us from here on out."

"I always have a plan." Lani and the corsola were just a few feet beneath the surface of the water. The pink dragon swam a couple small circles, feeling a lot more comfortable in her environment. She gave Chris a look that told him she would dominate this match. "Besides, I think this will be better for us anyway," Chris said confidently. "Extreme speed!"

Lani vanished from their sight, only a thin trail of bubbles following behind her indicating where she was. Neither Natalie nor the corsola were fast enough to react before the pink dragon rammed herself into the side of her opponent. The pink pokémon's body was harder than she expected. Nevertheless, she managed to spin the coral pokémon around. "Keep it up, Lani!" Again and again, the dratini landed hit from every angle imaginable, eliciting a cry of pain from her opponent every time. People were cheering louder as their excitement rose.

"Concentrate, Corsola, we can't let them beat us like this! Use psychic!" The corsola barely had enough time to focus its mind to use the attack before it spotted the small trail of bubbles coming its way. Lani squeaked as she was suddenly caught in a psychic hold. She was flung through the water and was smacked on the bottom of one of the platforms. A dull thud resounded above the surface, just loud enough for Chris, Tora, and Natalie to hear. Chris and Tora winced at the sound.

"Follow it up Ancient power!" Lani was too dazed from the last attack to dodge this one. She grunted in pain as the white orbs pelted her small body. Once the attack was over, she was panting slightly heavily.

"Are you alright," she heard Chris asked. Rather than answer him, she swam from under the platform so that he could see that she could still fight.

"Recover," Natalie said. Almost immediately, her pokémon started glowing. After a few seconds the glowing faded and the corsola's injuries were healed.

"That's not good," Chris thought. He had forgotten that corsola could heal themselves. If things stayed as they were, there was good chance they could lose this round with the corsola being virtually unscathed. "Alright, Extreme speed again! Don't let up for a second!"

"Stop it with another psychic!" Lani didn't give the corsola any time to concentrate and caught it on its left side. The onslaught of rush attacks began once again with the corsola unable to counterattack. The dragon even tossed in small doses of electricity with each hit to ensure the chances of being countered stayed at zero.

"Twister!" With her opponent slightly dazed, Lani summoned her attack from below and burst through the surface surrounded by a massive column of swirling water. The coral pokémon inside was tossed around helplessly inside. "Thunder-wave!" The pink dragon electrified the water with a jolt of electricity. The corsola shrieked as it was hit. The crowd watched in awe as the attack ended and the coral pokémon was thrown onto one of the platforms on its back, paralyzed and too weak to move.

Seeing as she didn't have many options left, Natalie recalled her pokémon. "Wow, you really impressed me with that last move," she said with a hand on her hip. The crowd of trainers were practically on their feet cheering for the next match to begin. Lani was holding her head up triumphantly at her hard-earned win. She felt a bit winded, but nothing a little rest couldn't take care of. "That being said, we have to put on an even bigger show than the last one." Natalie pulled a pokéball from her belt. "Go, dewgong!" She tossed a pokéball and released her pokémon into the water. The large sea lion pokémon barked happily at them as it keeps only its head above the surface.

There was no hesitation in Chris' next move. He returned Lani to her ball, with words of thanks, and sent Tora out. The raichu eagerly took her place on the platform. She stood before her opponent with fierce determination and an unwavering spirit, a couple sparks flying out her cheeks due to the excitement she was feeling. No doubt Chris was feeling the same way she was right now.

"This is it," she thought. "My first gym battle! I've been waiting so long for my turn, it's almost unreal! I don't think anything can bring me down." Chris could practically feel her excitement and determination from where he was. He knew she had to be feeling the same way he was about this. Both of them had been looking forward to this moment for a while now.

"Hey, Chris! There's a good chance you'll get lucky today and I'll consider bearing your kids when we get married if you win this!"Aliceshouted.

"Don't think you're left out, Tora! Our kids' futures are being put on the line as well!" And just like that, both trainer and pokémon felt their fighting spirit drop and quickly replaced with utter embarrassment. Heat rose in their faces as they slowly turned to the shouting pair, their mouths hung open in shock and eyes as big as dinner plates. Naturally, no one but Chris and Tora knew what Aaron said, butAlice's statement was followed by a series of whistles, 'whooos' and some laughter. Even Natalie couldn't help herself to giggling a bit.

"What is wrong with you?!" Chris shouted.

"What the hell, Aaron?!" Tora added, both of them feeling the need to hide somewhere.

"Why would you say something like that right before a gym battle?!"

"Sooorrrry!" they both sang, followed up by high-fiving each other. Chris and Tora muttered under their breath and refocused their attention back on the match.

"Are you okay to battle or does your girlfriend have something else to say?" Natalie asked.

"She's not my girlfriend, and we're ready to get started," Chris replied.

"If you say so. Alright then, dewgong, use ice beam." The sea lion barked as it opened its mouth to charge the attack.

"Thunderbolt, Tora!" She got down on all fours and charged up her electricity. Both of them fired at the same time, the beams of ice and electricity meeting at the middle. The fight to overpower each other was fierce. The scale tipped in favor for the dewgong for a moment before Tora suddenly turned up the juice on and literally blew through the ice beam, striking home with the dewgong's body. The sea-lion cried out in pain as the electricity coursed through its body.

"Get in the water, quick!" Natalie yelled. The dewgong was already moving even before she was finished talking. With it being in the water, it was completely out of their attack range. Tora remained tense, keeping herself mostly charged up for another attack while she waited for her opponent to show itself. "Surf!" The dewgong breached the surface on a huge wave of water that was easily at least twenty-feet high. Completely startled, Tora let out a weak thunderbolt right before the wave crashed down upon her and sent her under. The attack hit the sea-lion, but it wasn't as effective as it could have been had she not panicked beforehand. Chris was thrown slightly off-balance by the shifting water under feet, but quickly righted himself.

"Tora? Where are you?!" he exclaimed as he tried to spot his partner. A few moments later, Tora breached the surface about twelve feet to his right, coughing and gasping for air. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be better *cough* when I catch *cough*... my breath," she replied. Once she did, she tried to swim back onto a platform, but the gym leader wasn't going to give her the opportunity.

"Headbutt, dewgong." Almost immediately, Tora got the wind knocked out of her with a hit to her stomach and sent flying into the air. Thankfully, she wasn't hit by the horn on its head, but it still felt like she was punched by machoke. When she landed in the water this time, she still didn't have enough air in her lungs and accidentally breathed in some of the water, so she frantically swam back to the surface. She came back up coughing up water and splashing, trying to find something to hold onto while she tries to catch her breath.

"Tora, you've got to calm down!" Chris shouted. Unfortunately, she didn't completely hear him and kept splashing. "Look at me, Tora!! You're going to be fine!! Stop splashing around and focus on me!!" The raichu heard him this time and gradually stopped her frantic splashing, but she still looked scared. That's not to say Chris wasn't scared for her, he was terrified, but both of them panicking wouldn't solve anything. "C'mon Tora, swim back to me. Keep your guard up and do exactly what I tell you."

Still panting heavily, Tora started swimming toward Chris. "As cruel as this might seem, I can't just let you get comfortable. Headbutt again," Natalie said.

"Grab it!" Tora had only a moment to register the command before she felt the dewgong ram its head to her stomach again. She was prepared this time and quickly grabbed the large horn in front of her as her opponent made contact with her. The hit didn't hurt as much this time and she was soon dragged under.

Some muffled sounds coming from Chris reached her ears, but she need to hear what he said to know what he wanted her to do. The dewgong tried to shake her off, but she held firm and let loose a powerful Thunder attack. The sea-lion thrashed around for moment before going still. Tora would've stayed longer to make sure she didn't accidentally kill it, but she was running low on air. When she came up, Chris had a hand outstretched toward her. She grabbed it and he pulled her back onto dry land. The poor raichu was beyond exhausted at this point. A loud round of applause erupted in the stands, every trainer on their feet cheering excitedly for the battle they just witnessed.

"You were amazing," Chris said as he pulled her into a hug. He didn't really care if she was wet. They just won a gym match together.

"Of course I was..." she panted. She was too tired to hug him back, so she just let her head rest on his chest. "There was no way... I was gonna lose here..."

"You had me scared there for a minute, but I'm glad you're okay." Just then, Tora burped and accidently coughed up a bit of water on his shirt. "Heh, gross..."

"Oh, shut up."

After a short ride back to land, the two meet with Natalie. "I really don't know what to say, Chris," Natalie said. "You put on one heck of a show and your pokémon are some top-notch fighters. I guess you've earned the right to have this bad boy." She reached into a pouch on her hip, pulling out a small blue, tear-shaped badge and handed it to him. The pride he felt now that he has his second badge was nearly through the roof.

"Badge number two," he thought. Looking down at his partner, he saw that she was just as proud of herself as he was of her and Lani.

"Maybe next time you're in town you can take on Misty. She'll give you a run for your money." "I'll think about it once I get my other badges. Until then, I think we'll be staying away from water for a while."

On that note, the two turned and made their way toward the exit, where Alice and Aaron were already waiting for them. "Congratulations on getting your second badge!"Alicesaid excitedly.

"You were amazing!" Aaron added just as thrilled as she was. Chris and Tora gave both of them odd looks.

"Tora..." Chris said slowly. "Get 'em..."Sparksflew out of Tora's cheeks while she charged up an attack. Aaron's eyes went wide in surprise right before he teleportedAliceand himself outside of the gym. The raichu ceased her charging and looked up at Chris, who was kneeling down next to her with a grin. "That'll teach them to mess with us."

"Totally," she agreed. The two high-five each other and began their walk to the gym entrance.

*****8*****

"Oh, c'mon you two! We were just playing around,"Alicesaid.

"Exactly! You guys were looking too tense down there," Aaron added, trying to explain him and his accomplices' actions. The group of four was making their way to the pokémon center. On the way, Alice and Aaron have trying to gain back the favor of the two lifelong friends in the group. Chris and Tora however, weren't quite ready to forgive and forget yet.

"We were a little tense because it was our first gym battle together," Chris explained. "It was supposed to be our moment of ultimate unity and awesomeness, with us putting everything we've learned to the test against one of the best trainers in the region. That moment was ruined when you two shouted your insane comments from your seats and embarrassed us in front of everyone."

"We didn't mean to embarrass you that much, honest!"Alicesaid.

"You sure have a funny way of showing it."

"Seriously, I meant what I said about you getting lucky. I was gonna treat us all to a nice lunch as a sort of celebration to getting your second badge." Chris and Tora raised an eyebrow at this.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I know a great place we can go to. The food is to die for. So if I take us out for dinner for dinner, will you forgive us?"

The two took a few moments to think before taking up her offer to make it up to them over lunch. Aaron however, was to make it up to Tora by taking her out to dinner, just so he wouldn't be piggybacking on her offer. In the meantime, Chris was going to take his two winners wherever they wanted for a victory treat. After making a stop at the pokémon center to heal up, they traveled around the city in search of a good bakery to get Lani her celebratory cupcake. They stopped at a place called Betty's Baking Paradise. It was only moderately crowed inside. Tables were lined up along the windows, the floor was spotless, and the air smelled absolutely delicious.

"Wow, it smells amazing in here," Tora commented.

"This must be what the afterlife smells like," Lani added, inhaling the many scents of baked goods. She hung loosely on Chris' shoulders.

"Let's hope so, because none of us are finding that out anytime soon," Chris said as they approached the counter. The assortment of muffins, small cakes, doughnuts, and cupcakes that sat behind the glass shield was immense, with loaves of bread covered the back wall.

"Afternoon, sir. How may I help you?" A young woman asked.

"Could I see your cupcakes?"

"Of course." She led him over to the cupcake section. The small dragon on his shoulders ogled the selection. The pair looked at everything the bakery had to offer, ranging from simple yellow cupcakes with vanilla frosting, to pink cherry cupcakes topped with butter cream frosting. Since Lani had a bit of a sweet tooth right now, she settled on a chocolate chip cookie dough filled cupcake topped with chocolate frosting and sprinkles.

One thing that caught Chris' eye was the orange cupcake with cream frosting. It looked so much like Tora's favorite candy; he had to get it for her to try. He got cheesecake slices for himself, Alice, and Aaron. The cost for everything was reasonable and didn't put a hole in his wallet. Lani couldn't stop thanking him for it and Tora was thrilled that her cupcake tasted like her favorite candy. Alice and Aaron thanked him for the treat as well.

After they had finished eating, Alice led them to a restaurant nearly on the other side of the city for their lunch. It was one of those places where you had to wait for someone to leave before you were seated at your table. Unfortunately, there was a one pokémon per person rule, so on a promise that he'll get her something at another place, Chris returned her to her ball. A kind waiter eventually came by and showed them to a booth, handing out menus and asking if they wanted anything to drink while they decided on their orders. Chris and Alice ordered lemonade, while Aaron and Tora got water.

When Chris opened the menu, he nearly lost it. "Whoa,Alice, I can't let you pay for this," he said. "This is too much."Alice simply waved him off.

"It's fine," She said sincerely. "I wouldn't have brought you here if I couldn't afford it."

"But... seven dollars for a salad?"

"It's my gift to you and you're not backing out of it. Besides, I won't get on you as long as you don't get the most expensive thing on here just because I'm paying. Money is no issue." Albeit slightly reluctant, Chris returned to his menu, keeping it on the table so that Tora could pick what she wanted. Alicewas doing the same with Aaron.

When the waiter came back, they all placed their orders; a chicken salad for Aaron, a BLT for Tora, A cheeseburger for Chris, and some chicken quesadillas forAlice. On his left, Chris saw that Tora and Aaron were having a conversation via telepathy. From the sad looks Aaron was giving her, it seemed like she was going to play hard to get until their dinner date.

"So, while we're waiting for our food, tell me what your plans are now."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... Where are you going to go once we leave the city? You've got two choices; you can head east, go through a cave and end up in LavenderTown. The only problem with that is if you're just going after badges, you'll be going out of your way for pretty much nothing but the scenery. You can do what I did and just head south to AuburnTownto challenge the gym there. That way, you'll be all caught up to me in terms of badges and avoid any unnecessary traveling. I'm just saying this because I'm assuming you want to get your badges as fast as possible."

"Well, I haven't put any thought to where we're gonna go from here," he said. "How far is it toLavenderTown?"

"It's a week and a half worth of walking if we rush there, but we'll need plenty of supplies."

"AndAuburn?"

"About three days. I don't mind either way, I just want to know so I can prepare," she said before taking a sip of her drink. Chris closed his eyes in thought for a moment.

"Getting badges was the whole point of this, but I don't just want to rush through it. It'll be a real pain to get completely owned by a gym because I didn't train enough."

"So, you wanna take the long way around?"

"Eh, maybe. Is there anything worth while to see over there anyway?"

"Nothing other than a power plant and a bunch of magnemite," she said with a wave of her hand.

"I guess that settles it then."

Shortly after the end of their conversation, the waiter came back with their food. Everything looked and tasted delicious, just as Alice said earlier. Tora seemed to really enjoy her sandwich, since she practically chewed as slowly as she could to savor the taste of bacon on her tongue. She really likes bacon. When they got the bill, Alice made a show of how expensive it was and wouldn't let Chris see it, at least until the espeon next to her used his psychic powers to take it from her.

As promised, Chris and Alice found another good restaurant to get Lani her lunch. She was treated to the most delicious chicken alfredo she's ever had in her life. After that, they spent the day going around the city and checking all the sites to see. Somehow along the way, Alice dragged them to a few clothing stores. She didn't buy anything, mostly tried on different outfits and window shopped the entire time. Still, shopping with a girl was simply exhausting for Chris.

Around six o'clock was the time the group headed back to the pokémon center to prepare their things for tomorrow's departure. The first thing Chris did as soon as he got to his room was phone his parents. They were glad to hear that he earned his next badge and even more ecstatic to finally hear from Tora. She talked to both of them for at least twenty minutes, during which Chris got a start on the laundry.

"Okay, love you too, mom and dad," Tora said before hanging up the phone.

"So, you two off and running now?" Chris asked. He had just come back from his trip to the laundry room and sat on the bed. Aaron was lying on the other side of it.

"Yeah, I guess this is as good a time as any. I'm getting kind of hungry. Ready to go, Aaron?"

"Yes, dear," the espeon replied sulkily as he got up. He was still feeling really down from Tora's lack of attention toward him.

"Don't look so down, Aaron. Just show her a good time and I'm sure she'll forgive you," Chris reassured him, which earned him a weak smile from the psychic.

"I'll try. We'll see you later on tonight." With that, the pair vanished from the room to some unknown destination.

*****8*****

Aaron brought Tora back to his island, in a part that she wasn't familiar with. It didn't surprise her that she didn't know where they were, seeing as Aaron didn't have time give her the grand tour the last time they were here. Around them was at least three acres of soft grass that ended with a border of tall trees in nearly every direction. In the direction that wasn't cut off by trees, there was a small wooden shack. Beyond that was were the beach started, though in all honesty, she could go without it. After nearly drowning today, it'll take more than an afternoon to get comfortable around water again.

"Ready to get going?" Aaron asked before abruptly walking off.

"Aaron..." Tora sighed, grabbing him before he got too far. "Don't be like that..."

"Like what?" He turned to face her, ears dropping to the sides of his face.

"Moping around like it's the end of the world. Look, I'm sorry I hurt your feelings by pretty much ignored you for the day, but you messed yourself up when you shouted those ridiculous things withAlice."

"I'm sorry..."

"I know you are. It's not that I was mad with you, just a little upset. It's no reason to get as depressed as you are." Aaron perked up a little, some cheerfulness coming back to his eyes.

"So, you're not mad at me?" The chu smiled, stepping forward and embracing him in a hug. "I can never be mad at you, no matter how much I try." And that was true. In all the time she's been around him, she couldn't even think of bringing herself to actually be angry at him. Annoyed is as far as she believes he'll push her and, just like in today's case, it'll quickly pass.

She felt the psychic return the affection by nuzzling her cheek. "I miss touching you like this," he sighed.

"It's only been, what, not even twelve hours since we last hugged."

"That's almost twelve hours too long," he whined, which earned a laugh from Tora.

"You're so silly," she said, ending the embrace. "But if you do anything like that again, you'll have to suffer a much greater punishment than today, understand?"

"Yes dear."

"Now, care to take me on a date worth remembering until the next one?"

"Of course. I'll make you something nice to eat, so you can wait in that shack until I come back."

"Can't I go with you?"

"Nah, it'll be faster if I go by myself. I'll be back before you know it." Aaron then teleported out of sight to prevent any further argument, leaving Tora alone. The raichu let out a small sigh before heading to the wooden shack.

From the looks of it, the place looked ready to almost ready to fall apart. A couple boards in the wall were either broken in half or missing and the window had a hole in it. This was just on the side she walked along. When she got to the front, she saw a porch with a small wooden chair next to the front door. There was another window, or to be more precise, a window frame, seeing as there was no glass. If Tora had to guess, she'd think Aaron got this wooden shack because it was abandoned somewhere. She wondered why he'd keep something like this in such shabby condition if he could easily fix it up. At least, that's what she thought.

When she actually stepped inside, she almost couldn't believe it was the same place. The ground was nothing but soft grass. In the middle was what looked like a large fire pit, surrounded by a ring of rocks with a large grill lying atop it all. There was a small table that came up to her waist with two cushions sitting underneath it behind the pit. On the back wall was a row of counters and two cabinets, just like in a kitchen. When Tora looked up, she saw a hole in the roof as big of king-size bed.

"Whoa," was all she could say inn her awe-struck moment. The raichu took a closer look around the seemingly 'not-so-shabby' shack. The kitchen area had nearly everything you could find in one, from silverware to cups. There was even a cooler she failed to notice when she first came in.

"Honey, I'm home!" came a shout near the front door, belonging to no one else but a certain mew. Tora saw Aaron with wood, a bucket of water, several kinds of berries; lettuce... packaged meat, oil, soy sauce, and other items floating around him?

"Where'd you get that stuff from?" Tora asked, hoping he didn't do what she thinks he did to get it.

"I found it lying around," Aaron replied happily as he set the food down. Not the answer she was looking for, she ignored his little joke as best she could.

"Aaron..."

"Okay, so... hypothetically speaking, what if I told you that I may have walked into a store disguised as a human, harvested all these items from there, and left without offering its worth in monetary value?"

"I'd tell you that you were stealing and you should put it back," Tora replied.

"Oh..." The psychic paused, briefly weighing the options of being honest with her or stretching the truth. "Well, it's a good thing it was only a hypothetical situation then. Wanna help me with dinner?" He already opened the package meat and used his psychic powers to start opening other things.

"Hold it! You stole that stuff, didn't you?!"

"Now's not the time to go into details. We have food to prepare."

Tora gave up trying to coax the truth from the psychic and helped him prepare dinner. It was probably the most fun she's had in a while. After Aaron started the fire, she helped prepare the sauce for the meat. She grabbed a saucepan from a cabinet and followed his instructions on what to do. She let the mixture come to a boil and added a bit of cornstarch then, continuing to stir it until it thickened up. As she did this, Aaron put the meat on the grill and let them cook roughly ten-to-twelve minutes on each side. Just before taking them off, he coated it with the sauce Tora made. Tora cut up the berries he brought with a small knife to make both of them salads. There were some berries leftover that didn't get used, so she tossed them on the grill as well.

By now, the sun had already set and the night sky was being filled with thousands of stars that were only outshined by the bright glow of the moon. The air grew cool and a constant breeze swept through the shack, smelling strongly of the sea just outside. Their dinner was done nearly forty minutes after they had begun. Both Tora and Aaron were pretty hungry at this point and everything looked, and smelled, absolutely delicious. The two took their places next to each other at the small table. Aaron transformed into a raichu to sit more comfortably while he ate. As they dug into their meal, Tora couldn't help squealing in delight nearly every time she bit into the tasty meat.

Once done eating, the two left the shack to stargaze while they digested their meal. Aaron turned into a vaporeon to dowse the fire before they left, then back into a raichu. He led her back to the spot where they first arrived and lied next to her on the soft grass.

"It should be illegal for something to taste that good," she commented as she rubbed her full belly, which earned a laugh from Aaron.

"If you want, we could do this the next time we go out," He said.

"Definitely; just promise me you won't steal anything next time."

"I never said I stole anything."

"Your 'hypothetical situation' told me what I needed to know."

"I don't see how you could've come to such a conclusion based off what I said."

"It's because I know not all hypothetical situations aren't always hypothetical."

"True enough. I'll try my best not to steal anything next time." The two were quiet for a few minutes, silently admiring the beauty of the nightly heavens and the peace of mind that came with it. A particularly cool breeze blew by that made Tora shiver a little. "You cold?" Aaron asked.

"A little," the chu replied. Thinking for a moment, the psychic took the form of a typhlosion.

"Come here," he said holding his arm out. Tora accepted his invitation and hugged her body against Aaron's, feeling warmer already. She felt Aaron wrap his arm around her and began to leisurely rub her back. A contented sigh escaped her and she snuggled even closer to him, nuzzling her face against his side. It made Aaron's heart beat a mile a minute when she did that. "Tora?"

"Hmm?"

"I was thinking... would you like to maybe... come with me to see my parents sometime?" The chu looked at him curiously.

"See your parents? You mean..."

"Yes, I asking you to come with me the next time I visit their graves. I'm sure they'll be pleased to finally meet the girl I've fallen in love with. I already told them about you the last time I visited them and I believe it made them happy to see that I've finally found someone to spend the rest of life with."

The sincerity in which he spoke touched her heart greatly, to the point where she couldn't help smiling. Hearing how much he loved her always made her feel so happy and special, like she was the luckiest girl in world. "I'd love to come with you, Aaron," she said happily. The psychic was thrilled that she agreed to accompany him on his trip, but now he was wondering why she suddenly seemed so hesitant about something. She looked as if she couldn't make up her mind as to what to do next as she nervously kneaded his chest. He smiled as he craned his neck down and brought his lips to hers for a kiss, which was vigorously returned by the chu. The kiss lasted only a few moments, just long enough for Tora to come down from her slight emotional high.

When it ended, she blushed and looked shyly away from him. "S-sorry," she apologized. "It's just... what you said made me feel really happy and I just..."

"It's fine; I completely understand," Aaron replied with a loving smile, bringing his other arm around to hold her close. "Just being around you makes me feel the same way."

"You're trying now, aren't you?"

"It doesn't make what I said any less true." The two continued to hold each other for what felt like an eternity, which was actually only a little over an hour. In that time, Tora grew extremely sleepy. Being snuggled up against such a warm body so long felt too good to fall asleep on, so she tried to fight off the inevitable. Aaron noticed her plight and chuckled softly. "Should we head back to the center?" he asked. Tora shook her head. "Are you sure? I did say we'll be back later tonight." She nodded her head this time.

"Can't we just... stay here? At least until I fall asleep?"

"Alright, we'll stay until you fall sleep."

With that said; Tora no longer fought the inevitable sleep and completely relaxed, dozing off in the just a couple minutes. Instead of going back to the pokémon center, Aaron passed on a message to Chris saying that they'll be staying overnight at his place and will be back in the morning. After that, he carefully sat up with the sleeping chu in his arms and made his way back to the shack, where he curled up with her until the need for sleep overcame him as well.

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