//------------------------------//
// 10. Flames of Love 
// Story: A New World, A New Family 
// by Lance Skyes 
//------------------------------//

	Around mid-afternoon, Lyra and Bon Bon were making their way home while carrying saddlebags full of goods.
“What a shame Carousel Boutique was closed today,” Lyra commented. “I was really looking forward to looking at dresses for our wedding.”
“Eh, let's cut Rarity some slack,” Bon Bon replied with a slight smile. “With the Pokemon around, I'm sure Princess Twilight Sparkle has had a lot on her plate, so it's not impossible that her friends got pulled into whatever's going on with her.”
“I guess that's true,” Lyra said, looking up at a flock of birds flew by. Some of the birds were indigenous to Equestria, but there were a few Pokemon in the flock as well. “The world's changing, and we're just gonna have to get used to it.”
“Look on the bright side, Lyra,” Bon Bon said. “This is Ponyville. All kinds of things have happened to this town that no other Equestrian city could even shake a stick at. I give it less than a month, and everything will be back to normal. Or at least, whatever 'normal' will become with the Pokemon in our lives.” The earth pony said that last sentence with a laugh.
“You're right, Bon Bon,” Lyra replied with a smile as the two made it to the front door of their house. “No matter what happens, we're gonna adapt to it, and in time, we'll wonder how we ever lived without the Pokemon in our lives.” The unicorn then grabbed the house keys with her magic, unlocked the door, and the two walked inside... only to be met by the sight of a group of shouting Pokemon in their living room.
“TOGETIC! (THAT'S CHECKMATE!)” Tiny shouted as he twirled in the air in celebration.
“Slowbro slow! (This can't be!)” Pinky shouted as she stared at the Chess board in astonishment.
“Rapi rapi! (All right, Tiny!)” Marcus said as he patted his Togetic on the back.
“Meganium megani... (Better luck next time, Pinky...)” Felix said with a slight smile as he consolingly patted Pinky on the shoulder with one of his vines.
All the while, Lyra and Bon Bon could only look on in confusion. Felix, Kanga, Roo, and Pinky they already knew would be there. But now there was some kind of tiny fairy thing and two flaming unicorns in their house. And were Pinky and the fairy thing playing Chess just now?
After staring at the scene for a moment, Lyra finally spoke up. “I remember back when I was a filly living in Fillydelphia and I would have screamed at the top of my lungs if I saw something even remotely as strange as this in my own home,” the unicorn calmly said with a smile. She then cleared her throat and stepped inside. “Felix, we're home.”
“Num? (Huh?)” Felix asked as he turned to see the two ponies walking in. He then turned to Pinky.
“Translator's active,” the Slowbro said to Felix with a nod.
“Thanks,” Felix said before turning back to Lyra and Bon Bon and smiling. “Hi Lyra and Bon Bon! How was shopping?”
“It was fine,” Bon Bon said. “But before the subject changes, do you want to introduce us to your friends?” The earth pony indicated Marcus, Blitz, and Tiny.
“Oh right,” Felix said. “This is Marcus, Blitz, and Tiny. Marcus and Blitz are Rapidash, and Tiny is a Togetic. They also happen to be some of my best friends from back on Earth.”
“It's a pleasure to meet you two,” Marcus said as he stepped forward and extended his hoof to shake with Lyra and Bon Bon. The two ponies, however, simply looked at him with concern. Marcus was confused for a moment before he remembered that he was on fire and that these two ponies were probably worried that he and Blitz would set their home ablaze. “Ah, you're probably worried Blitz and I are going to set your home on fire.”
“Gotta admit, that did cross our minds,” Lyra replied with a nod.
“Well don't worry about that,” Marcus replied with a smile. “Pinky has a protective barrier around me that keeps my fire from setting anything ablaze, and Blitz...” He looked back at his mate, who was frowning slightly. “Well, the exact reason isn't something we talk about, but you have our word she won't burn anything.”
“If you say so...” Bon Bon said, still a little unsure of the validity of the Rapidash's word.
Marcus was about to say more, but he was quickly interrupted by Tiny zipping forward and forcefully shaking Lyra's hoof. “It's good to meet you two,” the Togetic said, quickly releasing Lyra's hoof and moving to shake Bon Bon's. “My name's Tiny, and I can guarantee that I won't burn anything. I'm also the Happiness Pokemon, so if you ever need a pick-me-up, just ask.”
“Uh-huh...” Lyra said. She then turned to Felix. “Um, Felix, can I talk to you for a moment? In the kitchen? In private?”
“Sure,” Felix said, following the unicorn into the kitchen. “What's the matter?”
“First, try not to take this conversation the wrong way,” Lyra said. “It was Roo who brought Bon Bon and I closer together, as well as all of us together at all, but these three...”
“Oh, you're worried about their living arrangements,” Felix concluded. “Don't worry, I don't expect you and Bon Bon to take those three in as well. They have a place to live. I just invited them over because Tiny and Pinky have a rivalry they're still trying to settle. And not only that, but back on Earth, Marcus was kind of a... does this world have the term 'badass'?”
“Really?” Lyra asked. “What exactly makes him a badass? Is it his flaming mane?”
Felix chuckled slightly. “No, he didn't have that before. Actually, he's one of those guys who doesn't let authorities get in the way of his life, but at the same time, he tends to do their job and subdue elusive criminals on occasion.”
“I've only seen that kind of behavior in movies,” Lyra said while looking through the doorway at Marcus. “He's really that kind of guy?”
“Yup,” Felix replied. “I thought you and Bon Bon might be entertained by some stories of his escapades. Trust me, he has a lot, and he loves to share them.”
“Hmm...” Lyra said while rubbing her chin. “I guess. Bon Bon and I did kinda wanna learn a little more about your world.”
“Great!” Felix said. “There sure is a lot to learn. Plus I'm curious about Equus, so maybe we could exchange stories.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Lyra said. “I mean, if it'll keep Pinky and Tiny from shouting at each other like they were when we walked in.”
“Trust me, there is no conceivable way to keep them being at odds with each other if they're in the same room,” Felix said with a chuckle. “But Pinky's polite enough to know not to interrupt people, and Tiny... maybe he'll compete with Pinky for how long they can stay quiet? I don't know. Tiny's one of the strangest Togetics I've ever seen. I don't think even Arceus knows how he works. He's a mystery wrapped in an enigma wearing a helluva kawaii but devious smile. But enough about Tiny, let's get back to the sitting room.”

Roughly an hour of stories later.

Lyra and Bon Bon stared wide-eyed at Marcus and Blitz, who seemed to be wearing s proud expressions. “You mean... you two kissed in front of every single Ranger in Hoenn?” Lyra asked.
“Well, every Ranger is a bit of an exaggeration,” Marcus replied. “But there had to be a couple dozen at least.”
“I'll admit, the circumstances for that kiss weren't my favorite,” Blitz huffed. “But the kiss itself... it was better than our first one.”
“Plus, it bought Mangol enough time for her to get back to us and bail us out of that situation,” Marcus said. Then, with a smile, he added “Oh, what I'd have given to see the look on the face of that one Ranger who thought he had us earlier that night... I almost wish we'd stuck around to find him.”
“And I'm glad we didn't,” Blitz said with a slightly annoyed tone while nudging Marcus.
“I'm curious about something, though,” Bon Bon said. “You haven't really gone into detail about this Aria character. I mean, I know she's pretty important to you if you risked your lives to break her out of jail that night, but...”
Marcus looked over at Blitz, silently asking the female Rapidash for her opinion. With a sigh, Blitz replied. “Sure, go ahead and tell them,” she said. “But make it sound more like the day we fell in love than the day we met Aria.”
“Oh fine,” Marcus said. He then turned to Lyra and Bon Bon. “The story of how Blitz and I fell in love and how we met Aria are one and the same, but it's a pretty interesting tale nonetheless.”

Blitz trudged through the snow-capped Mt. Coronet with her trainer, Marcus, on her back.
“Huh...” Marcus said to himself as he looked around to see... nothing but snow. “I was sure there would be something at least slightly interesting up here.”
“Yeah...” Blitz replied, even though she knew all her trainer would hear was “Dash...”
“Hmm, maybe we just need to go a little further,” Marcus concluded. “I'm sure that cave that houses Regigigas is somewhere around- WHAA!” Marcus was cut off suddenly when something grabbed him by the shoulders, lifted him off Blitz's back, and began carrying him into the air. “BLITZ! HELP!”
“MARCUS!” Blitz shouted as she galloped after her trainer. She recognized that it was a Pokemon who had taken Marcus, but Blitz could barely make out what it was with how fast it was moving. Whether she knew what the Pokemon was or not, she knew one thing: she had to save her trainer at all costs. However, despite her galloping at top speed, Blitz was quickly losing sight of Marcus. “No, I won't let you get away!” Blitz shouted as she spurred herself on, slowly gaining speed, but still not catching up to Marcus. Her attempt at catching her trainer quickly became worth it, however, as the Rapidash saw whatever had Marcus carry him into an outcropping atop a rock that towered at least ten feet over her.
“BLITZ!” the Rapidash heard Marcus' voice shout from inside the cave.
“I'm coming Marcus!” Blitz called back. “Hold on!” The Rapidash then tried to break out into full gallop up the rock. But the slope was too steep and Blitz quickly slid back down to the bottom. Blitz got up and reassessed the situation. “It's too steep... but I have to get up there. If Tiny were with me, he could fly me up there. Maybe Princess could throw me? No, I can't be thinking about solutions I can't follow through with. It's up to me and me alone to save Marcus.” Blitz then looked up at the cave above her, then at the ground below. “Hmm... I've seen other Pokemon do this before...” The Rapidash then turned herself around and took a deep breath. “Let's hope this works. FIRE BLAST!” Blitz then launched the attack from her mouth to the ground at an angle, propelling herself upwards and towards the cave. Fortunately, she just barely made it into the cave, landing with the back half of her body in the cave but her front half still outside and in danger of falling back down. Blitz frantically pushed her hooves against the ground in front of her in an effort to get herself the rest of the way into the cave. Realizing this wasn't working, Blitz fired another Fire Blast outward, giving her just enough thrust to get the rest of the way into the cave. “Well... that was close,” she said to herself with a sigh. She then turned around and walked into the cave. Surprisingly enough, there was quite a bit of room inside. Blitz didn't bother with this fact, however. She was there for one reason: Marcus. Fortunately, with only a little bit of walking, she found him. The unfortunate part was what state he was in: frozen in a block of ice. “Marcus! No!” Blitz shouted as she galloped over to her trainer. “Don't worry Marcus. I'll save you.” The Rapidash then pressed herself against the block of ice, trying to use her flaming mane to thaw him. However, once she tried to do this, she heard what sounded like a disturbing childish laugh, followed by the voice beginning to sing. (It sounded something similar to the song “Ring Around the Roselia”)
”One little Rapidash,
Tries to save the human.
Warm him up,
Thaw him out,
But I don't think she can.”
“Who's there?” Blitz asked, readying herself for a battle. “Show yourself!”
The voice just giggled in reply. “My my, you seem a bit hasty,” it said. “I don't even know anything about you and you want to get so personal.”
“That's my trainer you have encased in ice,” Blitz stated. “I demand you show yourself and then release him.”
“Boring, too,” the voice continued. “Wouldn't it make things so much more fun if I made you work to save the human?”
“I will battle you for him if I have to!” Blitz shouted in anger, her flames flaring menacingly.
“Oh, now isn't that a better idea than what I had in mind?” the voice asked with a giggle. “Aw, but I kinda have to show myself for a battle, huh? Oh well. We all must make compromises in our lives.” As soon as the voice said that, a strange wind began blowing from inside the cave, pulling a bunch of snow into a small tornado in front of Blitz. The snow swirled around for a while before it finally faded away, leaving behind a Froslass that spun around a couple times before finally stopping and looking up at Blitz. “You'll have to forgive that introduction,” the Froslass said. “I have almost as much of a passion for theatrics as I do for singing.”
“I don't care if you have a passion for pyrotechnics,” Blitz growled. “You're either going to release Marcus, or I'm going to make you.”
“Ooh, you really wanna save this human, huh?” Froslass asked with a giggle. She then donned a serious expression. “This situation can go three different ways. First, I'll just release him so you two can be on your merry way. BORING! Second, you leave the human with me and I'll let you walk out of here with all your limbs intact. Once more... BORING! That's why I'm counting on you choosing option 3.”
“The option where I battle and defeat you for Marcus?” Blitz asked.
“Hmm... you're probably the sharpest Fire-type I've met in a long time,” Froslass complimented. “You probably already guessed that option 3 is the not-boring one, huh?”
“I know it's the one where I burn you to a crisp and walk out of here with Marcus,” Blitz replied. “That's everything I need to know it's the right choice.”
Froslass giggled menacingly. “I'm not sure we have the same definition for 'the right choice' here,” she said. “But if that's what you choose... THEN SO BE IT!” Both Pokemon then readied themselves for battle, while a song began playing in Blitz's head.
“FLAMETHROWER!” Blitz shouted as she charged forward and opened her mouth to unleash a blast of fire at the Froslass.
“Ominous Wind!” Froslass shouted as she threw her ribbon-like appendages forward and a gust of dark wind flew forward at a speed that was just enough to stop Blitz's Flamethrower in its tracks. “Don't think you're the first Fire-type I've faced. I wasn't just being ironic when I complimented your intelligence earlier, so don't think this will be an easy battle just because you have a type advantage.”
“I wasn't counting on an easy battle,” Blitz replied. “I was counting on causing you as much pain as I possibly could before you gave up and released Marcus.”
“So very confident,” Froslass complimented. “I can't wait to watch that confidence falter before you follow suit. FROST BREATH!” She then unleashed a blast of icy cold breath from where her mouth would be if she had one. Blitz was unable to dodge this attack and was knocked backwards. Sure the Rapidash had a resistance to Ice-type attacks, but the fact that Frost Breath always resulted in a critical hit canceled her resistance out, causing her quite a bit of pain.
“Not a bad hit,” Blitz complimented. “But I've got some tricks up my sleeve as well. Will-o'-Wisp!” The Rapidash fired several balls of sinister blueish flame right at the Froslass, aiming to burn her and drop her attack power a little as well as deal some extra damage.
“Pathetic,” Froslass said. “Will-o'-Wisp!” She then fired a similar attack which connected with Blitz's Will-o'-Wisp in midair, causing both attacks to fizzle out. Blitz looked stunned, but Froslass simply giggled “That really should be a Ghost-type move, Will-o'-Wisp should. Even I can use it with ease. Twice in a row, even!” She then launched another round of blueish flames that Blitz was unable to avoid, somehow managing to burn the Rapidash.
“How is that even possible?” Blitz asked as she looked down at her shoulder, where Froslass' attack just barely clipped her and a small blue fire was burning away at the Rapidash's HP.
“Like I said, it should be a Ghost-type move,” Froslass replied. “Fortunately for me, this move is a Ghost-type move. HEX!”
Blitz's eyes went wide as several small clouds of sinister purple smoke suddenly materialized and flew towards her, hitting her several times, most of those hits right where she was suffering from her burn. “Gah!” Blitz shouted as she was slid several paces backwards by the force of the Hex. “I've gotta get out of this situation fast.”
“Oh, I'll get you out of this fast,” Froslass taunted. “Out of this battle, and out of this life! HEX AGAIN!”
“FIRE BLAST!” Blitz shouted as she unleashed a powerful star-shaped blast of flame to block the incoming Hex.  “AND DRILL RUN!” Suddenly, Blitz leapt right through the flaming star and started galloping at full speed towards Froslass with her horn in striking position. Froslass was caught off-guard by her Hex failing and was unable to avoid Blitz's horn, which impacted right on her head and sent her flying backwards. Froslass recovered quickly from this attack, however.
“Not a bad combo,” Froslass complimented. “But that burn of yours kept that Drill Run from doing very much.”
”She's right,” Blitz thought to herself. ”Not only am I not doing very much when I get a hit in, but I'm gonna keep losing stamina the longer this battle gets dragged out. I'm gonna have to get creative. What was that one combo Marcus taught me...? Oh right!”
“Time to change the game,” Blitz said. “RING OF FIRE!” The Rapidash then leapt upwards and fired a Flamethrower attack in a circular motion around Froslass, leaving a flaming ring around her.
“Is that the best you've got?” Froslass asked. “That missed me entirely.”
Blitz landed on the ground inside of the ring in front of Froslass. “Maybe it missed you, but now you can't escape,” Blitz replied. “Which means I can now do this! FIRE BLAST!” Blitz then unleashed another Fire Blast at point-blank range right at Froslass.
“OMINOUS-” Froslass started, but she was unable to get her move off in time before she took the Fire Blast head-on, knocking her backwards and dangerously close to the flaming wall. She quickly got up, however. “Impressive, but you just aren't going to win this battle. I've got my own fair share of tricks. “OMINOUS FLURRY!” Froslass then unleashed an Ominous Wind and a Frost Breath at the same time in a circle, dousing the flames around her and hitting Blitz with a double attack. “Now that that annoying Ring of Fire of yours is out of the picture, HEX!” Before Blitz could react, she was pelted by several purple clouds once again, knocking the Rapidash to her knees.
“No...” Blitz said as she panted. She'd taken several attacks now, plus the burn was still eating away at her stamina, and then there was the fact that Blitz has barely dealt any damage to Froslass. At least, barely any damage that she would show. “I'm... not going to give up...” She then tried rising back to her hooves.
“You might wanna rethink that decision!” Froslass shouted as she unleashed another powerful Hex attack that hit Blitz and sent her flying off her hooves and onto her side. “Hehehehe... give up yet, my little Rapidash?”
Blitz just lay there, unable to get up from all the damage she's taken. “This... this can't be...” she said as she struggled in vain to get back up. “Marcus... I... I have to save you...”
“Oh, won't your precious Marcus be so disappointed?” Froslass asked with another giggle. “Peh. At the end of the day, you're nothing but an ordinary Pokemon, and he's nothing but an ordinary trainer.”
“He's... he's not just my trainer...” Blitz said.
“Neither of you were ever really destined for anything,” Froslass continued, ignoring what Blitz said. “He'll be my new friend for eternity, but you... I'm afraid you've reached the end of the line.”
“No...” Blitz said. “No... it doesn't end here. He... he still doesn't know.”
“Doesn't know what?” Froslass asked. Then, to her surprise, Blitz began to slowly rise back to her hooves.
“He doesn't know... but I'm going to tell him...” Blitz said. “I'm going to free him so he can know the truth...” By this time, Blitz was back on all fours. “He's not just my trainer... HE'S THE LOVE OF MY LIFE!” Blitz's flames suddenly tripled in size and intensity, causing Froslass to back up several paces.
“Impossible!” Froslass said, not sure if she was talking about Blitz's sudden power boost or the fact that a Pokemon was attracted to a human. “No, you're going to stay down! FROST BREATH!” The Snow Land Pokemon tried to fire a Frost Breath at Blitz, but the attack melted from the intensity of Blitz's flames.
“You're going to pay for what you've done,” Blitz said to the Froslass coldly. “You're going to regret ever crossing our path. FIRE BLAST!” Blitz then unleashed the strongest Fire Blast she could manage. Froslass tried to avoid the attack, but the flames were so intense, her movement was impeded and she was left completely defenseless, causing her to take the attack full-force, creating an explosion that sent Froslass flying into the far wall. She could almost feel a green bar above her begin shrinking and turning yellow, then red, then completely vanishing as she fell to the ground.
“I... I can't believe this...” Froslass said as she looked up to find Blitz walking towards her intimidatingly. “I... I just now realized that I had something else I had to do... away from here. Goaheadsaveyourtrainerpleasedontkillmebye!” Froslass then phased through the ground and vanished from the cave.
“And good riddance...” Blitz said. She then let her flames die down and she sighed. However, she didn't let herself rest. “Marcus!” She then turned around and galloped over to where Marcus was still frozen.

After laying down by the block of ice for almost twenty minutes, Blitz could finally see Marcus start to come back to life.
“Nnnnn...” Marcus groaned as he fell out of the block of ice. Blitz was quick to catch him, however. “B-Blitz? Is that you?”
“Dash. (Yes.)” Blitz replied with a nod. She then pulled Marcus into a tight hug, tears streaming from her eyes.
“Thank you... Blitz,” Marcus said with a slight smile as he hugged his Rapidash back. “Thank you for saving me.”
“Rapidash. (You're welcome.)” Blitz replied. ”It's now or never,” the Rapidash thought to herself. She then leaned down and nuzzled around Marcus' belt, which was the signal most of Marcus' Pokemon had for “I need to talk to you.” Of course, talking with Marcus required the help of Tiny, who could use his Fairy-type abilities to allow Marcus to understand Pokemon speech.
“You have something to say, Blitz?” Marcus asked as he reached down and grabbed Tiny's Pokeball. “Can it wait?” Blitz simply shook her head. “Alright then. Tiny, come out!” Marcus then tossed his Pokeball into the air, releasing Tiny.
“Toge-TIC! (Now let's- COLD!)” Tiny shouted, quickly wrapping his stubby arms around himself and quickly flying up next to Blitz while shivering. “B-B-Blitz, c-care to explain why M-Marcus c-called me out in th-th-this weather?”
“I need to talk to him about a really important matter,” Blitz replied.
“And it c-couldn't wait until we g-got to a warmer p-place?” Tiny asked. Once more, Blitz shook her head. “Ugh! F-fine.” Tiny then turned around to Marcus and waved his arms, releasing a fine pink and white dust that fell over Marcus. “Th-there you go, Marcus. Whatever B-Blitz has to say to you, n-now you'll hear it.”
“Thank you, Tiny,” Marcus said. “If you wanna go back in your Pokeball now-”
“Arceus yes,” Tiny quickly said, flying over to her Pokeball that was still in Marcus' hand, tapping it, and quickly being sucked into the ball.
“What a shame,” Blitz commented. “He really wanted to be here when I told you this.”
“Tell me what?” Marcus asked.
Blitz sighed before beginning. “Marcus... there's something I've been meaning to tell you for a long time,” she said. “Do you... do you ever notice how you treat me? How special you make me feel?”
“Well...” Marcus said. “I do spend a little more time with you than I do everyone else, I brush your hair on occasion, and I ride on your back a lot. I mean, these are little things. I do these sorts of things for everyone else. Like how I... with Princess, I... oh. Eh heh heh...” Marcus rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. “I guess I do treat you a little differently than I do the others. Hmm... maybe it's because you're the first and only Pokemon in my party who I caught straight out of the wild.”
“Are you sure, Marcus?” Blitz asked. “Are you sure there isn't... another reason?”
Marcus was silent for a moment as he thought. “I... don't think so,” he finally said. “Why do you bring this up, though?”
“Because... there's only one reason why I was able to overpower that Froslass and save you,” Blitz replied. “That reason... is that I... I like you, Marcus.”
“What was that?” Marcus asked.
“I said I like you Marcus,” Blitz repeated.
“Blitz, you're gonna have to speak up,” Marcus said. “It almost sounded like you said-” The trainer quickly stopped mid-sentence as he realized what his Rapidash had just told him. “S-say that one more time, please. I don't think I heard you very clearly.”
“I said...” Blitz started as she looked up into Marcus' eyes and he looked back into hers. “Marcus, I... I love you! There, I said it! I love you, Marcus, and I've loved you for a long time! I tried to keep my emotions under wraps because I knew how human society frowns upon human-Pokemon relationships, but that didn't stop me from feeling the way I do. The rest of the team, Tiny in particular, always tried to pressure me into admitting this, but I was never able to build up enough courage to say it to your face. And today, when I thought I was going to lose you forever, I just... I couldn't bear to think about my life without you. If nothing else, I couldn't let you go without letting you know how I felt, and it was that fact that gave me the power I needed to overcome that Froslass and save you.” Blitz was quiet for a moment, and in that moment, Marcus noticed that tears were beginning to form in her eyes. “So now you know, Marcus. Now you know the truth, now you know how I feel, and now you know how I was able to save you. I've loved you for such a long time, and to finally be able to tell you...” Blitz trailed off. Marcus was about to say something in reply, but it was right then that Blitz broke down into tears and leaned in close to Marcus, crying softly into his shoulder.
“Don't cry, Blitz,” Marcus said while patting the Rapidash's shoulder reassuringly. “You don't have any reason to cry.”
“I-I know,” Blitz replied through her sobs. “I-I-It's just... I've wanted t-to tell you for such a long time... and n-now that I h-h-have...” The Rapidash trailed off a second time, and the two sat there for almost a full minute, Blitz crying into Marcus' shoulder and Marcus holding his distressed Fire Horse. After a while, Marcus leaned his head into Blitz's shoulder comfortingly.
“I'm the one who should be sorry, Blitz,” he said quietly. “I'm sorry for making you feel this way.”
“No, Marcus,” Blitz said as she removed herself from Marcus' shoulder and faced him once more. “You don't understand. I'm not crying because I'm sad, I'm crying because I'm flooded with emotions. I'm happy that I've finally told you this, but I'm also still so shaken up by what happened with the Froslass. I'm just... it's just...” Blitz looked down, trying in vain to hide more tears. “The point is that I've finally told you how I felt about you, Marcus. But now I have to know.” The Rapidash then looked back up and looked her trainer in the eyes. “Marcus... will you love me back?”
Marcus was silent for the longest time. On the one hand, he couldn't stand to see any of his Pokemon—any member of his family—like this. But on the other hand, he didn't know what to feel. Did he truly love her back? Or didn't he? He'd heard stories of human-Pokemon relationships that started out like this, but he never expected to be in this position himself. But still, back to Blitz—a member of his family—breaking down into tears over him. Marcus had no idea what to do. After some time, Marcus finally decided.
“Blitz...” he said. “I... can't answer you right now.”
“What?” Blitz asked, tears quickly forming once again. “W-what do you mean?”
“No, Blitz, please don't start crying again,” Marcus said quickly. “What I mean is... the reason I can't answer you is... is because I think my head is still a little frozen. I can't think clearly right now.”
Blitz simply snuggled up to Marcus with a determined expression. “Then I'm going to stay here with you until you thaw out completely,” she said.
“Blitz...” Marcus started, but he stopped when he noticed the burn on her shoulder. “Blitz, you're hurt!”
“I know,” Blitz replied. “But I feel ok, Marcus. I'm more worried about you.”
“Blitz, I know you're not ok,” Marcus replied. He then pulled out Blitz's Pokeball. “I'm going to get you to a Pokemon Center as fast as I can.”
“Marcus, I'm fine,” Blitz insisted. “I need to stay with you so I can keep you from freezing to death.”
Marcus was about to keep arguing, but it seemed to him that Blitz was determined to keep Marcus trapped there until he gave her a proper answer... even if her own well-being was put in jeopardy. “Alright, Blitz,” Marcus finally said. “I'll let you stay with me. But the second you start feeling weak, let me know right away, and I'll get you to a Pokemon Center no questions asked.”
“Just being with you gives me the strength I need, Marcus,” Blitz replied while nuzzling Marcus. The trainer blushed profusely at being treated like this by one of his Pokemon, but he remained quiet and stayed in Blitz's warm embrace.

“...and once she fell asleep, I put her back in her Pokeball and made my way out of that cave and towards the nearest Pokemon Center,” Marcus continued to Lyra and Bon Bon. “I kinda took the long way back down the mountain, though, as opposed to having Tiny Fly me to a town. In hindsight I probably shouldn't have done that for the sake of Blitz's health, but at the time, I needed a walk to clear my head and allow myself to think some more about Blitz's question.”
“And your decision was yes, right?” Lyra asked.
“It was,” Marcus replied with a nod. “But the problem was that I kinda dragged my reply out a little longer than I should have. I didn't actually say anything until three days later, and the awkwardness between Blitz and I in that time was thick enough to cut with the move Cut.”
“Wow...” Bon Bon said. “Risking your life to save your beloved, even if said beloved doesn't love you back yet... I've never seen truer love before. But I still have to ask about the Froslass Blitz fought. That was Aria?”
Blitz huffed, but replied. “Yes, a few days after Marcus and I became a couple, he went back to that cave where I saved him and tracked down Aria.” Under her breath, the Rapidash murmured “I still say it was a bad call.”
Ignoring his mate's comment, Marcus continued the story. “As it turns out, the only reason Aria kidnapped me was because she was lonely. No other Pokemon wanted to be around her for two reasons. First was the bad reputation many Ghost-types have, but there was also the fact that she was shiny, or colored differently than what's natural. You see, shiny Pokemon are incredibly rare, and a lot of Pokemon on Mt. Coronet thought that if they hung around Aria, she'd bring nothing but greedy trainers who sought to get their hands on rare Pokemon like her, and the other Pokemon would get caught in the crossfire.” Marcus sighed before continuing. “It was flawed logic on their part and unfair of them to exclude Aria based on that, so I asked her if she wanted to come with me on my journey. My request was for a number of reasons: making her feel included in something, giving her friends and family, thanking her for helping Blitz and I fall in love, protecting her from greedy trainers who would take advantage of her rarity, and finally getting the sixth member of my team. Granted, that last reason might seem a little selfish, but the other reasons I think Aria picked up on since she agreed to come with me. The only real issue from that point on was the fact that she and Blitz still to this day don't see eye to eye.”
“Marcus, she tried to kill you,” Blitz defended while nuzzling Marcus. “You can't blame me for being protective of my mate.”
“I don't blame you, Blitz,” Marcus replied while returning the nuzzle. “I just wish you two would learn to get along even when it's not absolutely necessary for you to.”
Blitz sighed and didn't say anything more, and it was then that Tiny spoke up. “Hey, how about enough with our stories?” the Togetic asked. “I kinda wanna hear what Lyra and Bon Bon have to share.”
“I thought you'd never ask,” Lyra said with a devious smile. “Trust me, stuff has happened to this little town that your adventures can't even shake a stick at. It all started last year during the Summer Sun Celebration, which we celebrate every year on the summer solstice...”