//------------------------------//
// Chapter Three 
// Story: A Whole New World 
// by TTV_KingPhoenixEmbers 
//------------------------------//


Chapter Three


Wherein Pokemon Model Clothes and Bruises


 

“Aromi...”
 
“Yes, Blaze?”
 
“You know very well that I do not like clothes, hand -- er, hoof-made or not.”
 
Aromi chuckled. “You made that clear when you burned that shirt I got you back in Mauville.”
 
Blaze rolled his eyes. “That’s because it was a stupid t-shirt that had a stupid joke on it.”
 
Bezella gave her mate a questioning look, and made a note to ask him about it later. “Love, don’t burn the nice pony’s clothes just because you don’t like wearing them.”
 
“I’m not going to, I just don’t like how they feel against my feathers.”
 
“Well then I suppose it’s a good thing that I’m still trying to find the right thing for you,” Coco interjected calmly. She held back a chuckle at the way Blaze jumped. Aromi wasn’t so reserved, and was now rolling on the floor laughing. “And there’s the other reason I’m making clothes for you. A good friend of mine is highly knowledgeable in magical runes, and she’s been helping me stitching them onto the inside of clothes.”
 
Blaze nodded in understanding. “That makes sense.”
 
Coco looked at the maroon scarf she had Blaze modeling, before shaking her head and having him take it off. Taking it with her to the back, Coco tossed it into the rejection pile and wondered what she should make instead. The amount of fabric she had marked with her friend’s rune was very limited, so making entire outfits with the rune was difficult. Accessories, however, were fairly easy. The rule for the runes was that they needed to come in direct contact with the skin. As long as that was achieved, the translation runes would work.
 
Of course, that led to the current problem.
 
“What do the runes do, though?” Blaze asked after tying on another neckerchief.
 
Aromi interjected while Coco was doing a visual inspection of the neckerchief against Blaze’s feathers.
 
“The runes translate for us.”
 
Blaze blinked, and looked down at the cloth wrapped around his neck in a new light. “Okay, now that’s cool. But I still don’t like the feeling of this around my neck. It’s too tight for my tastes.”
 
Coco nodded, and let Blaze remove the neckerchief. Coco took it in her mouth and put it aside, and started to go over her other options. Glancing over at her things, and then back at the pair of Pokémon that she met only recently. The only reason she wasn’t panicking was because Aromi had assured her that these two were someone he trusted, and as such, she figured that she might as well trust them as well.
 
And of course, the two taller ones were clearly together. It was proven even further in the way Blaze took the small break to kiss Bezella. That was when Coco got an idea. Looking back at her pile of rune-adorned fabric and over at her closet, she grabbed the neckerchief and went into her closet for a second. The three Pokemon paused in what they were doing and watched as she dug through her stuff for a minute, before coming back out with a few other fabrics.
 
Dashing over to her sewing machine, Coco set to work. Using the efficiency granted to her from practice, Coco very quickly adjusted the plain white neckerchief. She added a diamond of lime-green, with a small circle of rose-red in the center. Folded right, it looked like a triangle with a red half-circle in the middle. Once she finished, Coco turned around and handed it over to Blaze.
 
“How about now?” Coco asked, watching for his reaction.
 
Blaze blinked. He knew that the pony had intentionally designed it around his mate’s colors, and it looked... nice, actually. Very carefully tying around his throat, he was pleased to find that it was larger than it had been previously. It was tight enough for the rune on the inside to press against his neck, but it was loose enough for him to breath as if he wasn’t wearing it.
 
“I like it,” Blaze finally said, smiling to Coco.
 
Coco smiled back. “And it works!”
 
“Well I’m glad to see that we finally got Blaze to get over his fear of cloth,” Aromi teased.
 
Blaze glared down at his trainer. “You’re still not immune to fire.”
 
Aromi looked unrepentant. “Worth it.”
 
The Blaziken rolled his eyes, and stepped over to sit down next to his trainer. He smiled as his mate stepped up to model some clothes. Bezella had always enjoyed wearing small accessories, far more than he ever did. As the little pony handed over the first of many items, Blaze looked over at his formerly-human trainer. It was still rather odd to see him as an Umbreon, although the new pink neckerchief around his neck helped to identify him.
 
“So...” Blaze began, returning his attention to his mate. He smiled at how wonderful she looked with the stylish little cloth belt around her waist, right where her dress met the rest of her. “How are you taking to being an Umbreon?”
 
Aromi glanced at Blaze. “Well... it was certainly weird at first.”
 
“Going from two legs to four can do that, I suppose.”
 
Aromi chuckled. “There was that, but let’s not forget that I suddenly went from five-foot-eight to half that. Also the lack of hands. There's that.”
 
Blaze paused in his questions long enough to admire the crimson and cream colored scarf around Bezella’s neck, and the way the tails trailed her sides and framed her figure. Bezella admired it in the mirror for a moment, before she and Coco decided to try a few other things first.
 
“Yes, but that’s all the physical stuff,” Blaze finally continued. “What about the whole being a dark-type thing?”
 
Despite his insistence that he was fine, Aromi’s ears pinned back for a moment. Blaze gently lay a hand on his back.
 
“Well, I...” Aromi took a deep breath. “The dark-type part’s fine. I’m sure we’re going to run into those typists at some point, but with you guys, I’ll be fine. It’s... everything else that comes with it that scares me.”
 
“Everything else? What do you mean?”
 
It was at this moment when Bezella decided. “What do you think, Blaze?”
 
Blaze looked up and found himself smiling. Bezella had decided to go with a pair of cloth belts, both of which were slightly slanted to match the curve of her slim gown. One was a crimson color matching his own feathers, and the other a light cream, once again matching his feathers. The crimson belt was small enough to not be overwhelming, and it crossed the cream belt just enough to make both of them stand out without being too obvious.
 
Rather than answer verbally, Blaze opted to stand and draw her into his arms. Bezella squeaked at the sudden embrace, but she very quickly melted into his arms.
 
“You look lovely. They suit you quite well.”
 
Bezella blushed. “Thank you, love.” She turned to look at Coco. “Now, miss Coco, how much do we owe you?”
 
Coco waved her hoof. “Don’t worry about it.”
 
Aromi frowned a little. “Are you sure? I’m certain we can scrounge up the money somehow.”
 
“No, don’t, seriously.” Coco insisted. “They’re presents. Although...” she smiled to her new friends. “If you could keep wearing them and show them off to Manehatten, I’d consider us even.”
 
Blaze chuckled. “Walking billboards it is then.”
 
“Sorry, but it is good advertisement.”
 
Aromi smiled. “Well thank you for the presents, Coco. It’s very nice of you.”
 
“You’re welcome. Now, I believe that that’s all for today, so why don’t I take you three on a short tour of Manehatten?”
 
Blaze smiled and nodded, “Yes please! We’re going to need a map.”
 
Coco gave Blaze a puzzled look as she closed down her shop. “Why’s that?”
 
Aromi glared at his starter. “Blaze, if you value your pride, you will keep your mouth shut.”
 
Blaze eyed Aromi for several seconds, then shrugged. “Worth it. It’s because Aromi can’t follow a straight line to save his life.”
 
Coco blinked. “Really?”
 
“I have seen Aromi be told which direction to go, and get them confused on a straight road. Yes.”
 
Aromi eyed Blaze for a moment, then gestured for Bezella to lean in close. After whispering in her ear for a second, Bezella slapped a hand over her mouth to try -- and fail -- to stifle her giggles.
 
“He didn’t!” Bezella finally squeaked. Aromi just smirked. “Oh dear Arceus!”
 
Blaze wasn’t sure what secret had been shared, but from the way his mate was now clutching her sides as she laughed, Blaze was certain that he wasn’t going to hear the end of it anytime soon. If ever. Sighing, Blaze decided to just accept it and move on.
 
Coco just looked confused. “What just happened?”
 
“My mate now has something to torture me with for the rest of our lives, and it was supplied by my trainer.” Blaze explained with the straightest face he could manage. “I’m not quite sure what it was, either, but I’m not all that eager to find out.”
 
“You’ll find out soon enough, I’m sure,” Aromi assured him, a smug little smile on his face. “Now, I believe we had a tour to go on?”
 
It took a second, but Coco had to visibly reset her train of thought. “Right. Let’s get that started, before anything else happens.”
 
As if on cue -- and it probably was -- there was a small explosion of sorts from up the road. Aromi took the chance to glare at Coco.
 
Coco noticed and blushed. “I didn’t plan that or anything! I swear!”

“You still jinxed it.”
 
Blaze rolled his eyes for what felt like the umpteenth time that day. “Come on, someone might have gotten hurt. Let’s go see how we can help.”
 
Coco blinked at the way her three Pokemon friends were so quick to charge into what was undoubtedly a dangerous situation. After shuffling her hooves a little, she followed as fast as she could. Unfortunately for Coco, she wasn’t as in shape as she’d liked to have thought; it took her several moments to catch her breath once she’d caught up.
 
“What...” Coco paused, taking another deep breath and silently promising herself to exercise more. “What is it?”
 
Blaze was frowning. “Trouble.”
 
Coco blinked, and squinted through the cloud of dust, watching as the silhouette of a large beast rose. She gulped when she saw that it glaring straight at them. Her nervousness evolved into total fear when it roared. Coco immediately found herself cowering under her hooves.
 
Her three new friends were not so easily cowed, something she would later be thankful of. Aromi stepped forward a bit, squinting into the slowly dispersing dust as well. After a second of being unable to see what was in it, he sighed.
 
“Bezella, could you use Psychic or something to get this out of the way?”
 
Bezella frowned slightly, but nodded. “I think I can do something.” She took a deep breath, and after a second, her eyes glowed a light blue. Shortly after, a wave of psychic energy forcibly dispersed the dust cloud. 
 
Aromi found himself suddenly wishing she hadn’t. The silhouette revealed itself to be twice as tall as he currently was, and bearing a large purple horn in between equally-sized purple ears with green innards. It stood on two thick legs, and a thick purple tail lashed angrily behind it, smashing some innocent bookshelves to bits.
 
“Wh-wh-what is that?”
 
Aromi chanced a glance to his friend, and noticed that she was ever so slightly peeking out from behind her hooves. “A Nidoking.” He frowned for a moment, before stepping forward and taking a deep breath. “Excuse me! Nidoking!”
 
Nidoking grunted, turning to the sudden interruption to his rampage. “You! Evil-type!”
 
Aromi flinched, his ears splaying back for a moment. He took a deep breath. “Why are you -- hey!”
 
Aromi had to cut off his question as Nidoking fired a quick Poison Sting at where he’d just been standing.
 
“Where is she, little demon?!” Nidoking roared, even as his horn began to glow.
 
“Where is who? What are you talking about?”
 
“Don’t play me for a fool, evil! What have you done with my mate?!”
 
“I haven’t done anything!”
 
“LIAR!” Nidoking bellowed. His maw opened, and a line of flames shot forth.
 
“Hey!” Blaze leapt in front of his trainer, brushing aside the fire with ease. “Knock it off! We’re only trying to help!”
 
“The only thing I see is a pair of mates helping an evil-type keep me from my mate! EARTH POWER!”
 
Aromi reacted first. “Scatter! Bezella, grab Coco!”
 
Bezella lifted the poor mare with psychic, and dodged over to the side just as the others did.
Placing Coco down when they ended up near the sidewalk.
 
“Miss Coco, find cover and stay there until we come get you, okay?” Bezella whispered to her. Coco, despite her fear, managed to nod and run into a nearby alleyway.
 
Blaze glanced down at his trainer, noticing a slight burn mark on the Umbreon’s side. “You okay, Aromi?”
 
“I’ve taken worse,” Aromi said dismissively, focusing more on the opponent. “Will you stop and ju--”

Aromi was interrupted when he was blindsided by Nidoking charging him and promptly Thrashing him, quite painfully, and with more than a few sickening cracks coming from his body. Something inside him managed to focus, however, his eyes sharpening and seeing the opportunity for what it was. With a growl and managing to ignore the pain, Aromi was able to clamp a Bite onto Nidoking’s left hand, drawing blood as he did. Rather annoyingly, it only seemed to drive Nidoking further into his rage. Aromi held steadfast, even as the other hand came flying at him with what would no doubt cause quite a lot of pain and damage. Fortunately, however, he had backup.
 
Blaze managed to catch the incoming strike and slam Nidoking’s head with a solid Sky Uppercut, causing Nidoking to stumble back and convincing Aromi to let go. He stumbled a bit as he landed on the ground and wound up on his ass, but again, a somewhat strange sensation came over him and he managed to keep his focus on the enemy.
 
“Bezella! Psychic!”
 
Despite being an Umbreon rather than a human, after years of being her trainer, Bezella followed the instruction without question. Her eyes glowed a bright blue, and Coco watched from her hiding place as Nidoking was promptly knocked on his ass from an unseen force. While Nidoking was distracted from the psychic, Blaze followed up rather promptly with a Blaze Kick straight to his midsection. There was more than enough force in the strike to bury Nidoking in the stone road a few inches. Aromi managed to limp his way over to Nidoking, stopping near his face.

“Are you ready to listen now, or are you gonna keep being an asshole?”
 
Nidoking growled at him, and made to get up, but Blaze stopped him by placing a single leg on his midsection.
 
“You took my mate from me, Evil, and seduced these --”

Blaze growled. “And that gives you the right to attack us unprovoked? In the middle of a city street, surrounded by innocents?”
 
Nidoking snarled. “These are nothing more than illusions! Trickery by this Evil here!”

Aromi rolled his eyes. “Will you shut up with the Typism and actually use your brain for once? For fuck’s sake, look around you! Even if I was capable of illusions, which by the way I’m not, I seriously doubt I’d be able to do one that involves an entirely different world, different species, and you feeling pain.”
 
Nidoking made to retort, but despite himself, he looked around at the slowly gathering crowd of what looked like small, strange-colored Ponyta. One of them, looking to be a very light amber or beige with a flower-like hair clip that seemed to be particularly worried and coming closer. Not far behind her was a white-looking one wearing what appeared to be... armor?
 
Coco gulped as she skirted around Nidoking towards her new friends, namely Aromi, since he seemed to be the one hurt the most. She wasn’t entirely certain what the large purple creature was saying, though it wasn’t very difficult to guess the context from her friends’ words. The guard that she had managed to find and bring over was a little braver than her and came up to the creature.
 
“Are... are you alright?” Coco whispered to Aromi.
 
Aromi was starting to breathe through clenched teeth. Now that the fight was over and the adrenaline was fading, he could quite clearly feel many bruises forming. Not to mention the way several of his bones were badly damaged and the way he could feel them grinding against each other.
 
“No,” he admitted. “But I’ll get better.”
 
Blaze came over soon enough. “I think we can leave this to that guard. I translated for Nidoking a bit, he agreed to be detained for now, as long as they helped to find his mate in return.”
 
Sure enough, Nidoking was easily prying himself from the road, and after giving a quick glance to Aromi with an unrepressed snarl, he followed the guard. The crowd parted to give them both plenty of space. Coco was too busy fussing over Aromi’s obvious wounds to notice, though. Despite his protests otherwise, she was able to convince him to at least visit the hospital. Blaze and Bezella’s insistence had helped, though, so it was with a rather adorable pout that Blaze was carrying Aromi as they followed Coco once more.
 
The hospital was only a few blocks away from where the fight had occurred, but to Aromi, it may have been miles. Each step Blaze took reverberated through his body, causing him to hiss through clenched teeth as he endured the pain. They tried their best to keep his attention away from it, constantly talking to him as they made their way through the city. But it was still quite the blessed relief to see the red cross above the front door, something that was apparently universal.
 
To their surprise, there wasn’t a pony at the front desk. Rather, it was a couple of pale-pink Pokemon. Coco found herself just following her new friends from behind, unsure of how to react but not really willing to be left behind.
 
Blaze stepped forward and started to explain the situation to them, letting the girls figure out a place to wait. 
 
“Um, Bezella? What are those two, er, Pokemon?”
 
Bezella glanced at Coco, before returning her focus to her trainer and mate. “They’re called Audino and Blissey. They’re most commonly found in hospitals.”
 
“Oh.”
 
Blaze came back over, sitting next to them, sighing. “It won’t take too long, they said, but I think one of them might be a former human.” At Bezella’s questioning look he continued. “The Audino kept stumbling and tripping over her feet, and was acting and sounding like she was more accustomed to being the human in charge. I might be wrong.”
 
“So, um, how bad is it?” Coco finally asked.

Blaze sighed. “Preliminary exam says several fractures, bruises, and possibly one or two breaks.”
 
Bezella grimaced. “That aligns with what we thought, too. Damn.”
 
“I-I’m sorry...” Coco whispered.

“Whatever for? It’s not your fault that Nidoking was an ass.”
 
“I know, I just... wish I could’ve helped more...”
 
Bezella wrapped an arm around Coco, drawing the pony in close. “We asked you to not get involved, so you don’t have to be sorry. I’m just glad nobody else was hurt.”
 
Coco nodded. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it shortly after when nothing came to mind. Neither of her friends really had anything to say, either, so they quickly descended into a somewhat uncomfortable silence as they waited...