Chapter Thirty Nine
“A thought occurs,” Seth said as they walked. “You used Hypnosis on Lucy, yes?”
“A rather powerful one at that, yes,” Vincent said. “Why?”
“It’s just, isn’t Steel resistant to Psychic?”
“She’s half Fighting too,” Ignis replied. “I wouldn’t worry about it wearing off early.”
Lucarios are affected normally by Psychic-type moves, Seth, Luke replied to his worries. Plus, the amount of straps on her are enough to restrain a teenaged drake, if need be.
“So I noticed,” Seth replied idly. “Well, so what’s this place we’re headed to Vince?”
“It’s in the Gryphon ‘section’ of the city,” Vincent said as they hit the second floor, where the sounds of merriment from behind the door to 203 were present. “So naturally it serves meat, but they’ve co-opted quite a few recipes from across the globe and put their own twist on them. Whereas Fredrick deals in pasta and pizzas mostly, this place has a little bit of everything.”
“That sounds good,” Seth drooled a little. Ignis just chuckled and shook his head. He’d heard that first part of Seth’s reply though and wondered if there was a magical enchantment to make walls impossible to see through. The last thing he wanted was Seth accidently seeing his and Selena’s alone time.
“Mmhmm. Apparently it started as a butcher’s shop for all the other gyphons, and over time, morphed into a restaurant. Which is why it’s called The Chop Shop to this day. And don’t worry, you two,” Vincent said, eyeing Luke and James with a small laugh of his own, “they have a salad section as well, since occasionally a pony is brave enough to come in.”
Ah, I was about to ask, Luke said with a soft smile.
“It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s that this body doesn’t seem to handle it very well,” James said with a sigh. “But thank you Vincent.”
“Too bad,” Ignis replied. “You two could use a little more meat on your bones...” He looked at Luke and tilted his head. “I don’t want to come across as insulting... but is there a reason you're sticking to telepathy?”
“Multiple reasons relating to his past,” Vincent said dryly. “And seeing as how Abby rescued him, I’ll let you connect the dots on that one.”
“Past issues, I’ll drop it,” Ignis replied. He may have been ignorant and fight happy, but asking someone about a past they did not want to discuss was just plain rude. “Sorry Luke.”
No harm, Ignis. I am...getting better about dealing with it. By then, the party had nearly reached the lobby.
“And he is dealing with it this time, rather than just walling it up,” Vincent said with a bit of bite to his voice. Luke sighed and rolled his eyes.
Sometimes I wonder which one of is is the father and which one of us is the son.
“Yeah, well, let’s see who can act more mature about their pasts and how much it actually affects us,” Vincent said with more snark than normal. “One would think that when you get advice about dealing with your past from several sources, you’d listen, but it takes Mage checking up on you and asking before you do.”
“Everyone has their own pace and means Vincent,” Seth replied. “And take your time, you don’t want those walls burying you.”
“As for who’s the son, Vinny is sporting that impressive moustache,” Ignis said with a light chuckle.
“I’d trim it, but then I’d look like a girl Kadabra, and that would get annoying very quickly,” Vincent groused. “So I groom it regularly.” Ignis made a note to prank Vincent by trimming his moustache...
And as for your advice, Seth...that is true, but some walls need to stay down this time. Pretending that the past didn’t happen to me...isn’t going to help anymore. Or so everyone keeps saying. Luke sighed as they finally made their way out onto the city at large.
James stretched a bit and smiled. “I don’t go ‘out’ nearly often enough,” the Roserade commented before returning to following Vincent’s lead. “There’s the garden, true, but that hardly counts.”
“Huh, I would’ve thought you and your girlfriend Jessie went out all the time,” Seth replied. James blushed and stammered a few times before gathering himself up for a rebuttal.
“That hardly counts, she was my work-partner first and foremost. Those missions were professional before they were personal. Plus she can barely stand me sometimes. Honestly, your allegation is absurd. If she wanted anything to do with me in such a fashion, she would have asked long before now.”
“Okay,” Seth was going to point a few things out here. “If business was first, did she ever request a new partner, even after your past... blunders? Two, would she still stick with you, even now? If there was more to it than that. Three, from what I saw back on Earth... it was pretty damned obvious man.”
“True that,” Ignis replied, remembering that day now. “You’d have been barbequed alive if it wasn’t for her Wobbuffet.”
“And you’re the expert on seeing the obvious all of a sudden?” Vincent asked with a smirk while James fell into silent contemplation.
Seth refused to give Vincent the pleasure of an answer. “If you like her, and I think you do... give it a shot. What have you got to lose?”
James idly answered out loud. “True, the Meowth-balloon isn’t here now, so I can’t be interrupted by it exploding for the umpteenth time…”
Elsewhere, a cap-wearing Pikachu sneezed...
“Well, let’s get some food, you could get some flowers that aren’t attached to your arms and we’ll give it a shot!” Seth replied. “As someone once told me, you don’t wait for the moment, you make it happen!”
“Really?” Ignis said. “You’re going with the advice, that you were told yourself only a few hours ago?”
“Shut up,” Seth replied with all the maturity he possesed.
“Food first,” Vincent said. “Romantic subplot later. And speaking of the food, the place should be coming into view around this corner.”
As the party turned down the road, their destination came into view in the distance. It was modeled in the same fashion as Fredricks was, but it looked...drastically different. Whereas his was meant to only subtly stand out and make it plain that it was a restaurant, this place pulled no punches. Whatever bold statement it wanted to make, it had succeeded and then some. The clearest indication that it was what they were looking for was the sign out front, of a large butcher’s cleaver going through a ham, with the words THE CHOP SHOP put into an arch below them.
“Subtle,” Seth remarked.
“Like a Hyper Beam to the face,” Ignis agreed. “But it smells A-freaking-mazing!!”
“Agreed,” Seth replied, a small puddle of drool already forming at his paws. Vincent and Luke lightly chuckled at their reactions to the restaurant, while James inhaled and sighed as well.
“Yes, this place does smell of quite the feast,” the Grass-type agreed.
“Now let’s get inside before we have to put up ‘floor may be wet’ signs around these two,” Vincent urged.
“Maybe there’s some in Lucy’s room?” Seth asked with total sincerity.
Actually, I had to put down a tarp under her be-
“Aaaand that’s enough of that,” Vincent said flatly.
“True, we have all night,” Seth winked. “Now let’s get some grub!”
The party of Pokemon were greeted by a Gryphon behind a podium once the stepped in. Actually, that’s a lie, that’s what they noticed second. What they were actually greeted with was an even more intense blast of the smells of a gryphon-run restaurant, from the meats to the cheeses and starches, and somehow they even managed to make their salads smell appetizing...though probably not to Ignis. And they were left to wonder that if this was how they smelled, then the taste...
“Imma eat it!” Ignis said.
“Eat what?” Seth asked as he looked at a wall-mounted menu.
“EVERYTHING!” Ignis roared. The gryphons merely laughed at his antics.
“A fine roar, warrior,” the greeter said. “But sadly for you, you cannot eat everything we stock. We need to serve others beyond yourself. Party of five, then?”
“That’s correct,” Seth replied. “We don’t need a reservation?”
“Only if we are exceptionally overbooked do you require one. Today is a relatively normal day, so…” The gryphon checked something behind his podium and clicked his beak once in satisfaction. “You have a choice, booth or table?”
Luke might prefer the privacy... “Well take the booth please, provided they’re large enough.”
“They should be,” he said, eyeing Ignis before continuing, “So long as your large, hungry friend sticks to an edge should he require room for his wings or tail.”
“Thank you,” Seth nodded. They were shown to the private booth and Set offered the inner seats to Luke and Vincent and James, with Ignis and himself taking the outer ones. They were then passed five menus, and the gryphon bowed once, explaining that their actual server would be here shortly before vanishing.
“Steeaaaakkk!” Ignis stomach rumbled as he gazed at the menu. “I want the biggest slab of meat they have!”
“The pork schnitzel with salad sounds nice,” Seth said. “Hmm, oh, they have apple cider here? I have to try that!”
“I’ll have the chef’s salad,” James said, eyeing it and licking his lips. “Oh, their dressings sound absolutely divine…”
Caesar salad for myself...and I may have to confer with you to work out the best dressings for our dishes, Luke said with a glance to James.
Vincent, meanwhile, was caught in a dilemma:
There was too much that he wanted to try. He kept looking from one thing to the next, not actually making any decision at all, before he just dropped the menu, and his head, onto the table with an explosive sigh.
“Having trouble dear Vincent?” Seth replied, poking the defeated Kadabra with a paw.
“Too many options,” the Kadabra mumbled into the table. “Not enough time.”
“Nor enough stomach capacity,” Seth muttered, looking at every delicious-looking item on the menu... aka, the whole menu. “But, you hardly live that far from it, bring Lucy here on a date or something.”
At the mention of a date with Lucy, Vincent’s mind couldn’t help but flash back to the last time he and Seth had gone out for dinner...and how that had ended up embarrassing for everyone concerned. His cheeks flushed red, visible even through his fur, and he quickly picked the menu up in an effort to hide behind it.
“Without the show I’d imagine,” Ignis snickered. “Though that was pretty damned funny.”
“Well I know what I’m not having at least,” Vincent muttered, glaring at the burgers in particular. “No need for a total repeat…”
The party of ‘mon were interrupted in their banter once a gryphoness came around. “Hello, I’m Wendi, I’ll be taking your orders, starting with what you’d like to drink!” she chirped happily.
“A cider for me and...” he looked at Ignis.
“Uh, I’ll have this one,” he said, pointing to a rather potent spirit.
“If you’re sure, sir,” she said, only hesitating slightly before turning to the others. “And yourselves?”
Water for myself, Luke stated.
“Non-alcoholic cider for myself, please,” James asked.
“Same here,” Vincent chipped in.
“Right, those simple drinks will be out in a minute, and your spirit,” here Wendi looked over to Ignis, “Might take a bit more time to dredge up from where it’s stored.”
“Need some help?” Ignis offered on reflex.
“It’ll be fine, we keep it down there for a reason,” she emphasized. “If that’s all, I’ll be right back! You all take a moment and look over the menu if you need to, okay?”
With that, she was off to the kitchen.
“What the heck was that about?” Ignis replied. “Ah well, part of the fun I suppose.” He opened his mouth and blew a few small smoke rings into the air.
Vincent idly looked over at the menu and smirked at what he saw Ignis had ordered, but elected not to tell him. More fun that way, plus it’d be getting the pair of them back for earlier. He then looked back at the rest of the menu and sighed, before perking up at something he saw in the seafood menu. “Coconut...popcorn...shrimp? What in the world?”
“The hell is that?” Seth asked, looking at the item. “Do... do those ingredients even work together?”
Vincent cleared his throat before reciting. “Dipped in our special batter and rolled in shaved coconut, our popcorn shrimp is then deep-fried to a crispy golden brown and served on a bed of spaghetti. A sensation that must be experienced to be believed.”
“Try it~” Seth dared him.
Vincent turned the thought over a few times before nodding. “Yeah, I think I will. Wouldn’t be on the menu if it wasn’t good.”
Wendi came out then with four glasses. She set the mug of cider with two straws in it down in front of Seth first, then the water went to Luke, and James and Vincent got their non-alcoholic ciders. “Do we need a few minutes still, or do you all know what you want to order?”
“I think we’re good,” Seth replied. “I’ll have the schnitzel with salad and Ignis wants the biggest cut of meat you provide.”
“Ah, the T-bone it is, then,” the gryphoness said with a nod. “There is a challenge on that one. Eat our largest cut of the day in three minutes or less, and your meal is free...only a dozen gryphons have managed it, though.”
“Challenge accepted!” Ignis roared with a flare of his wings. Wendi smirked as he did his little display.
“Had a feeling you’d say that,” she replied before looking at the more vegetarian-minded.
I will be having the Caesar salad with a light oil dressing, Luke said with a nod.
“And I’ll take your chef’s salad, with a nice creamy ranch dressing,” James said before folding up his menu.
“And I have been dared to try this ‘Coconut popcorn shrimp’,” Vincent finished, before snagging all the menus with a quick burst of power and floating them over to the waitress.
“Oh, thank you! And you’ve made an excellent choice, sir. One of my favorites. So if that’s all, then I’ll bring your food out in a little bit, along with your drink, sir. Our of curiosity, how did you want that steak cooked? Rare, medium, well-done?”
“Let the chef decide,” Ignis replied. “It won’t stay on the plate long enough to make a difference anyhow!”
“I can believe that,” Seth replied and looked at the waitress. “You sure you want to keep that free meal challenge?”
“It’s a tradition,” she said. “An old one, but one we adhere to. So chef decides on the temperature, then? Very well, but I’ll let you know right now, this one plays dirty.” With that, she vanished back into the kitchen.
“Raw or charcoal, it’ll be in my belly all the same,” Ignis chuckled. “Oh, but no onion, it doesn’t agree with me.” A warning to all, you do not want to be in the same city when Ignis had wind…
“So besides tracking down Christine and bringing her here, what’ve you been up to, Seth?” Vincent posed before taking a sip of his cider.
“Well, I joined the Equestrian Guard, and my Pokemon Contest is finally coming along,” Seth sipped at his cider. “I have to leave here by the 28th at the latest to get the final preparations done. Oh, and some guy named Sev of the PLA is Rika’s father...”
Vincent was not a practitioner of the spit-take. Instead of spewing his drink all over the person opposite him, which was James, he instead reacted by being startled, having his cheeks bulge, slightly choking, and then clearing his airway by gulping the cider down and coughing a few times.
All in all, a spit-take might have been easier.
“You mean to tell me mister madness incarnate is the father of that cute little Sylveon?!”
Elsewhere, Discord swore he felt his ears burning...
“Yup, I hate him, he hates me and we both love Rika... it’s a work in progress.” Seth shrugged. “But still, other smaller things happened. Selena fought a Crystal Onix, I got my inventory and Mega Stones back, oh and the strangest thing happened today.”
“You mean besides you turning up with a mutated Gabite? Do tell.” The Kadabra had learned and idly swirled his cider with a straw instead of drinking it before Seth said anything.
“Bit hugged me,” he replied.
“Considering all that you’ve given him, I’m not surprised,” Vincent said. “Seriously, one of the reasons he wants a computer or any hard drive again is so that he can perform regular self maintenance. To include mental check-ups.”
“I’m just glad I could help,” Seth replied.
“I totally want to fight Lucy once she gets the hang of Mega Evolving!” Ignis added. “That should be fun!”
Vincent blinked for a few seconds before shuddering and voicing his thoughts out loud. “Lucy...Mega-Evolving...in her current state…”
I believe there have been mountains that have suffered because of a pair of Lucarios doing such a thing, Luke commented while drinking his water. Emphasis on have been.
“Seth?” Ignis asked idly. “Can you Mega-Evolve Selena tonight? I’m curious about something.”
“Not. Gonna. Respond,” Seth muttered as he drained his cider and ordered another.
James merely blushed and said, “Oh my,” before taking a large gulp of his cider as well.
“Plus, you lot break anything in your room, you’re gonna end up paying for it,” Vincent said. “For you, the stay is free. Anything you break, I have to fix, and it isn’t cheap.”
“I won’t break anything,” Ignis huffed, “Unlike a certain fairy.”
“I cannot believe she did that,” Seth replied. “Or how the hell she and Christine became friends like that. I was about the only one she even talked to before coming here. Hell, I even got her to go outside with me when I went to visit the location for the Contest.”
“I’m gonna put it down to a combination of Luke and I doing excellent work, along with Rika finally wearing her down,” Vincent said, draining his glass.
It helps that she always was what she currently is...it was just buried beneath her anger and frustration. You got glimpses of it, Seth, but hopefully she’ll be more...amenable, more often, now. Luke drank a sip of his water during his statement as well.
“I hope so,” Seth replied. “I will miss her when we go home though, she was fun to be around when she wasn’t pissed off all the time.”
“I’d like to see her become a Garchomp,” Ignis said. “Now that will be interesting.”
“Or apocalyptic,” Seth added. And at that moment, their food arrived.
Placed in front of Vincent with a flourish was a plate of spaghetti, topped by puffed-up shrimp with what looked like whiskers jutting out of them at random angles. Luke and James got a large bowl of salad each, one topped with a creamy white sauce, the other shining thanks to the oil dressing. Ignis had a plate that seemed to take up a fifth of the table, and a T-bone steak sitting on it, barely, that seemed to be covered in herbs and traces of sauces, smelling heavenly to the dragon.
Seth’s meal was a large piece of pork, coated in breadcrumbs and roasted to be a delicious golden brown. The salad was crisp and fresh enough that Seth could think that they were just harvested. Wendi hadn’t come back alone, though. One gryphon was wearing the typical chef’s hat, and another seemed to be handling a bottle and a shotglass.
“So you are the one that thinks he can handle our challenge, eh?” the behatted gryphon asked, pointing a talon at Ignis.
“That’s right,” Ignis smiled. “You think you got the skills to beat the Great and Powerful Ignis Crescent?”
“We shall see,” the gryphon said before waving at the, frankly huge, cut before them. “This is a tradition dating back to when this was a butcher shop. The ponies were not fond of us and attempted to ‘raid’ our establishment many times. If a customer could eat their meal quickly and still get away from the incoming guard, then that customer did not need to pay that day. Over time it has morphed from that to this, as the ponies no longer hate or fear us. Let us see if you can stand up to our traditions, Ignis Crescent!” At this, the chef bowed before returning to the kitchen himself.
“Well then,” Ignis cracked his knuckles and looked at the steak. To be honest, the smell alone was almost enough to make him want to savour this meal, but his pride as a dragon was on the line here.
“Just to be clear,” Wendi said, “The challenge starts once you take your first bite, whether you use silverware or not. Meat entering the mouth is when the countdown starts. Also,” and here she waved at the other gryphon, who placed a shotglass on the table.
“Your drink, sir,” he said, before pouring out a tiny portion from the bottle he carried. The smell of nearly-pure alcohol hit everyone at the table, causing three noses to wrinkle up before Luke put a small barrier around them.
What...is in that?
“Oh, there’s never anything in minotaur brews,” Wendi said. After a pause, she continued. “Then again, minotaur brews are always 150 proof at least, so...are we good here, gentlemen?”
“And so I looked into the abyss...” Ignis said solemnly, before a wide grin appeared on his face. “And then kicked it’s freaking ass!”
“That... makes no sense,” Seth replied as Ignis lifted his steak and tore a huge chunk out of it, the sound of flesh tearing and bone crunching was enough to make any herbivore in the area shiver with uncertain fear.
But to Ignis...? He stopped as the taste of the meat hit his tongue and pure, unadulterated flavour exploded in his mouth. This was heaven, pure and simple. It took a solid thirty seconds before he snapped out of his dreamlike state and begun chewing.
“Thirty-two,” Wendi said with a smirk as she observed the proceedings. She leaned in to Seth and whispered in his ear, “Like I said, our chef fights dirty.”
Seth flinched, having not noticed the Gryphon and her sudden whisper caught him unawares. “Yeah... but so does Ignis.”
The dragon continued to eat, until a little less than a minute remained and more than a third of the steak remained. “Whew, this is a pretty good feed, I’ll give you that much. I could eat this thing forever!”
“Fifty-five remaining, sir. Sure you don’t want to forfeit now?” Wendi was more than a little cheeky at this point, sure that the restaurant was going to win.
“Quit?” Ignis asked oh so innocently as Seth just groaned and applied his paw to his face. Ignis chuckled lightly as he looked at the monster steak. “This is a fine meal and I give my highest regards to your chef, he has truly managed to impress me. But still...” he lifted the steak and opened his maw and with two massive bites, the steak ceased to exist.
“I never lose!”
Wendi blinked a few times as her worldview rebooted itself. “That...may just be a record,” she said softly.
Ignis smiled and lifted the shot glass to his lips, downing the drink in a celebratory shot...
Then the world stopped...
“Uh, Ignis?” Seth waved a paw. “You okay buddy?”
Ignis’s cheeks bulged and he suddenly belched very loudly! A large gout of azure flames erupted from his mouth, singing a few feathers off of Wendi’s head in the process.
“WHOO! Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Ignis cheered. Wendi reached up and felt the singed feathers before sighing.
“Note to self, include warning before serving alcohol to any dragon, and stand at least ten feet away when they take some,” she muttered.
“Ah, sorry about that Miss,” Ignis apologised. “My compliment though, that steak was quite delicious and this drink pack a little bit of a kick.”
“I... I don’t even...” Seth just shook his head. “I’m done.”
“Aw, don’t be done,” Vincent said, before chomping on one of his shrimp. “These are quite good, you should finish your meal before saying you’re done!”
Seth leant down and picked up a leaf of lettuce and begun to nibble on it, it was quite possibly the saddest, yet most adorable thing ever.
“Dude,” Ignis said, picking at his teeth with a claw. “You shouldn’t look so cute. It ain’t manly.”
Vincent swallowed his shrimp before looking over to Luke, who shook his head. Vincent then looked over at Ignis and smiled before shaking his head as well. “There are so many ways to make you eat those words. Be glad we’re being nice.”
Wendi quickly excused herself so that the others wouldn’t hear her highly unprofessional squeal at Seth’s display.
“I dunno Vinny, I’m still a little hungry.” Ignis smirked as Seth started on another leaf. “So entertain me, how exactly would I eat said words? With some seasoning? Or perhaps lightly toasted with a little butter?”
“Just because something looks cute, doesn’t mean said ‘mon can’t act manly,” Vincent said as he chomped on a shrimp. “For example, Snubbull eventually becomes Granbull. Cute to much more manly.”
“While Gardevoir and Florges can still be male,” Ignis replied. Seth finished his lettuce and stole a piece of shrimp while Vincent wasn’t looking, purring as he ate the delicious seafood.
Vincent swallowed his shrimp and fired up a comeback. “Get a sufficiently angry Clefairy or Clefable using Metronome, and a cute little puffball can suddenly be the thing that kicks your ass.”
Seth went for another shrimp, but a look from Luke changed his mind. “Well, I can do this,” he said, just as Wendi was coming back with an order of drinks. His eyes went wide as they sparkled and the most adorable little meow escaped his lips. Wendi nearly dropped their refills before she hastily composed herself and dished them out before taking a few minutes off to really recompose herself. Stupid sexy lion…
Vincent picked up the last shrimp on his plate and popped it into his mouth. “Fine. One word, then, just one. Rika. Tell me that girl is not as adorable and manly as all get-out.”
“First, that’s my girlfriend you’re talking about,” Seth replied. “But yes... you are also correct.”
“Cheater,” Ignis pouted.
“Told you,” Vincent said with a smirk as he chewed.
“Says the guy that uses restraints made for dragons on his,” Ignis said.
The training she has undergone would likely render anything less useless, Luke stated. Plus, in her current state of mind, she would only think twice about riding Vincent when he started passing out due to dehydration.
“And now we go right back into TMI Town,” Seth replied. “You are definitely one of Abby’s partners, no doubt about that.”
“Then you’ll learn not to ask one of these days,” Ignis replied as he downed another shot and blew a few rings of blue flames.
James eventually came back down from being red all over and complained out loud. “I’m not sure I want a girlfriend anymore, much less Jessie, if it’ll make me anything like you guys. I just know she’d slap me, repeatedly, if I talked like that around her.”
“She’s a Fire-type, so she’d prolly just Flamethrower you,” Ignis replied offhandedly.
“And this is also why we don’t talk like this around the girls,” Seth added.
“I’ll be sure to make a note of that for when Lucy’s out of her Heat,” Vincent commented, spearing some spaghetti with his fork.
“That would be wise,” Seth said as he finished off the rest of his food and downed his third cider. “Ooh, that’s nice~”
“...Ignis, something tells me letting Seth get as drunk as that was a bad call on our parts,” Vincent commented before munching his forkful of noodles.
“Those are alcoholic ciders?” Ignis replied as Seth poured another, his body sparking on occasion.
“Not that they would do anything for you,” James commented as he looked the scene over, “But yes, they are. Oh dear.”
Seth leaned over to James and took a deep sniff. “You smell pretty!” he giggled.
It might be wise to knock him out at this juncture, Luke mused. At that moment, Wendi returned with two slips of paper.
“The bill,” she stated, holding one out. Vincent grabbed a hold of it with his powers and gave it an idle glance, nodding at the numbers.
“And the second one?” the Kadadra asked. Wendi blushed a little before slipping the second piece of paper to in front of Seth.
“My address. Come look me up some time, big boy,” she said with a wink.
Seth swayed and chuckled as Wendi retreated. “....what?”
“Methinks our waitress has a thing for those of the feline persuasion,” Vincent said as he pulled the appropriate amount of Bits in to pay for their meal.
“I don’t believe this,” Ignis shook his head. “He doesn’t do anything and still gets the girl? Seriously!”
“The birdy was kinda cute~” Seth hiccuped. “I wonder what Fritter would be like as a Peg-pegga... um, hang on, I know it.”
James sighed. “I guess our plans for later are on hold, then, seeing as how we’ll be escorting him home before focusing on anything to do with me.”
Seth begun to spark again and Ignis’s eyes widened as he suddenly grabbed him and literally flew out of the door, before a bright flash and the tell tale crack of thunder caused the whole restaurant to shake.
“And on that note,” Vincent said as he put his fork down on his freshly-cleaned plate. “I think we’ll leave.”
“Indeed,” James agreed.
Agreed, Luke thought, and the remaining threesome walked out of The Chop Shop, walking in no particular direction, just waiting for an after-action report from a certain Charizard.
Said Charizard was sitting on the sidewalk, having taken the full brunt of the involuntary Thunder attack. While not enough to defeat him, the attack still stung like a bitch.
Seth on the other had was sitting in the middle of the road with a confused expression on his face.
“How... did I get outside?” he asked anyone.
“That depends on what you last remember,” Vincent answered.
“I remember Ignis finishing the steak, then some banter about things best not mentioned around foals... then I’m out here.” He looked at the Thunder-fried Ignis and then back to the others. “Okay, what happened?”
“Apparently, unless you specify that you want non-alcoholic cider, then alcoholic cider is what you get,” James answered. “And you had a few mugs worth.”
Ignis saw that you were losing control of your electricity and endeavored to move you to somewhere that would not suffer for your discharge, Luke tacked on.
“And now we know that alcohol and Luxrays shouldn’t mix,” Vincent finished.
“I made a total fool of myself didn’t I?” Seth muttered, then noticed something and tilted his head. “Why is our waitress staring at me from the window?”
“Unless you’re thinking of adding a third, I wouldn’t advise staring back,” Vincent said in a serious tone.
“A third?” Seth mulled over that... “Okay, seriously. What the hell did I do?”
She seems to be attracted to members of the feline persuasion. It probably didn’t help that you apparently used Baby-Doll Eyes while she was passing by, Luke mentioned.
“So I learn a new attack and it gets me another Equestrian admirer?” Seth just sighed as he got up. “Can we just go now please?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” James said, before pointing at Ignis. “Though...that’s going to slow us down…”
“Naw, I’m good,” Ignis said as he got to his feet, “My wings are numb though, so I won’t be flying anywhere tonight.”
“I will never drink again,” Seth muttered. “I can’t believe I acted so stupid, and I hurt someone because of it...”
“Aw, don’t be like that,” Vincent said, patting Seth on the back. “Once you get a bit more control over your new form, I’m sure you drinking won’t be such a bad idea.”
“You found my drunk behaviour, which no-one will still tell me what I did, to be very amusing didn’t you?” Seth replied tersely
“That’s an understatement,” Vincent said with a snicker. “Consider it payback for not telling Lucy and me exactly what we were doing in Canterlot before it got out of hand.”
Seth frowned, but he would give Vincent this one at least. “Okay, fine....” He got to his feet and gave the Gryphon girl a curious look. What was her deal anyway?
“So where do we go from here?”
“Depends on where you want to go. I can probably find it in no time,” Vincent replied, idly twirling his signature spoon. “Or if you’d rather just go back. S’up to you and flame-breath here.”
“Well, we still need something for Jim here to win over his catty girlfriend~” Seth chuckled. “What sorta things does she like James?”
“Well,” the Roserade mused, “she did have a preference to Poison-types, snakes in particular for some reason, but beyond that...she liked to maintain her appearance as much as possible. Calling her old or ugly was a quick way to get on her bad side.” James shuddered as he recalled many of the times Jessie had flown into a rage and taken it out on him or Meowth. “It probably has something to do with her history as a Coordinator,” he said afterwards.
“Okay, so maybe some jewelry that would compliment her new form,” Seth had a rough idea of what to go for now. “The problem is, will such a store still be open?”
“I can look,” Vincent said, raising one glowing arm. “Just say the word.”
“Go ahead, but try not to draw too much attention to yourself,” Seth replied.
Allow me to show you, son, Luke said, placing one hand lightly on Vincent’s shoulder. A near-invisible blue wave rippled out of Vincent’s form, and the Kadabra made a soft sound at what he was being shown.
“Ah, so that’s...that would have really, really helped to know a while ago,” Vincent said. “Then again, I wouldn’t have met nearly as many people if I had, so…”
“Silver lining?” Seth said.
“We can call it that, sure,” Vincent replied. “It...might take me a few tries to properly integrate this, dad. Plus I’ll have to do this until it’s a habit as well…”
I am willing to show you as many times as you need, the Gallade said with a soft smile.
“So, if I may ask?” Seth said quietly. “How did this whole father/son thing start? Because I am dead sure that you are not Doctor Nurem.”
“He was the first one to care about me,” Vincent replied softly. “The first one to actually act like a father towards me. It wasn’t until he came back from a trip up to Canterlot that I was certain what he was to me...because what Mewtwo had done to him filled me with such a rage…”
Calm yourself, Luke said sternly, turning his grip from light to normal, which got Vincent’s attention. The Kadabra took a few deep breaths and came down from his emotional state.
“Since then, we’ve called each other father and son, and let’s face it, he’s a darn sight better than my actual one, so I’ve no complaints,” Vincent said with a slight smile as the wave finished its sweep and impacted his form again.
“I see,” Seth smiled. “So Vince, what’s the verdict?”
“Apparently ponies aren’t completely unused to the idea of needing a late-night gift to woo your special someone,” Vincent said with a smirk. “Two shops open, one nearby that’s also Pokemon-friendly. Just a few blocks down.”
Ignis groaned as he got to his feet. “...Wait! You went up against Mewtwo!?”
“I was reprimanded quite a few times for doing so, but yes,” Vincent replied as he began to lead them to the jewelry shop he’d found. “I went up to the gates, demanded to see a certain ambassador, and we ended up tussling. Someone had to make him pay for breaking Luke as badly as he did, and Arceus sure as hell wasn’t doing it.”
Ignis nodded, “So you held your own against a Pokemon like that? Vincent, you do realise what that means right? What you have just told me?”
“He wasn’t really fighting back,” Vincent said. “He thought that he could stand against my unleashed power, and that his memories could outdo mine. Had he been actually fighting, well, I’m sure you would have heard about it.”
As would most of Equestria, Luke commented. I believe the last time Mewtwo ‘actually fought’...well, we know about that from Earth.
“You have proven yourself to be quite strong Vincent Nurem,” Ignis said, his tone was surprisingly serious. “And I have decided, that you will be the first human opponent that I will fight!”
“...He’s joking, right?” Vincent looked to Seth with a raised eyebrow. “I know all of a few moves, most of them ones I cobbled together. Luke’s been training me in proper combat while he’s here, but we’re nowhere near ready for an actual situation yet.”
“And once you are ready, you and I shall battle!” Ignis thumped him on the back, causing the Kadabra to stumble a little. “It will be glorious.”
“He’s never going to give up on this Vincent,” Seth replied, totally used to Ignis’s actions.
“I...have way too much on my plate right now to consider even giving you an estimate, Ignis,” Vincent muttered as he showed the party the jewelry shop he’d found. “There are quite a few things I have yet to do, much less even consider, before I can be judged ‘ready’ for a proper fight.”
Quite so, Luke said, a mischievous smirk on his lips. But since you know where he lives, I’m certain you could seek him out before he battles all the ‘normal’ Pokemon that catch his interest.
“Future battles aside,” Seth replied. “Let’s focus on helping James first hmm?”
“Oh no, please, by all means, continue the banter,” the Roserade said with a wave of his bouquet, trying to mask his own nervousness.
“Banter is done, shopping for a Pyroar is now go!” Seth cheered, pushing the protesting Roserade inside. The two of them were greeted by an Earth Pony mare, her mane done up in a bun as she worked behind the register. Almost two dozen glass cases filled with beautiful jewelry lined the walls of the store.
“Yes?” the shopkeeper asked with an arched eyebrow. “Can I help you?”
“Hello Ma’am,” Seth bowed his head politely. “We’re after a gift today, one to woo a rather fickle female. I don’t suppose you have something that would look good on a large cat? One almost the size of myself?”
“Hmm,” the mare said, eyeing the Luxray’s form a bit more intensely before nodding. “A few pieces do come to mind, but I feel the need to ask if she is exactly like you, or which one of you this present is going to be from.”
“Well, she’s around my height, maybe a little shorter.” Seth said as he described her. “She has tan-coloured fur and a long, red and orange mane. Also, it will be a gift from our rosy friend here.” Then he got an idea and pulled out his Pokedex. He scrolled down until he found a female Pyroar and showed the mare the image.
“Ah!” the mare said as she looked at it. “Hmm, yes, one piece does spring immediately to mind, for both her and him giving it. Allow me to fetch it.” With that, the mare vanished into the back room, where the sounds of her scrounging around became evident.
“...Okay, and now I’m very much more nervous,” James said, wiping off his forehead.
“As you should be,” Seth replied. “But if you want a happy ending for this, you must have courage!”
“Easy to talk about, far more difficult to find,” James said. “I mean, I don’t even know what I’m going to say to her!”
“That... might be more Ignis’s department,” Seth admitted. “He did help Vincent and Lucy, and who knows, if I know my little Rika like I do, then she’s probably trying to set Jessie up with you as we speak.”
Further banter was cut off as the shopkeeper returned with a box, which she flipped open to reveal what could only be called the necklace.
It was made of green copper, with a polished and cut Fire Stone set in the centre of it. two smaller rose quartz cut into heart shapes were set on either side of the Fire Stone.
“I think this would be perfect,” Seth said.
“I find myself agreeing with you on principle,” James said before looking back up to the mare. “But how about the pricetag?”
“It’s normally 2400 Bits,” the mare replied and then gave James a wink. “But I’ll settle for 2000, how’s that?”
“I…” James looked to Seth with a pleading expression.
“For the love of Celestia... fine, but you owe me Rose-boy!” Seth took out his remaining Bits, just enough to purchase the item. “You had better get this girl of yours.”
“I will try to get someone to take over the garden for me,” James said. “And then I will look for a paying job in the city,” he promised. “I will not let this debt go unpaid.”
The mare counted the bits quickly and nodded twice before closing the box back up and hoofing it over to Seth, seeing as how they were his bits. “Very good, sirs. Anything else?”
“That will be all,” Seth replied. “Thank you very much Ma’am.” He turned to James and handed him the necklace. “Showtime Jim!”
“Ah, thank you for your vote of confidence,” the Roserade said, gently taking the necklace and hiding it in one of his bouquets. “Let’s just hope Ignis hasn’t burned anything down by the time we get there.”
“I resent that!” Ignis said from outside. His hearing could be quite sharp at times. Seth chuckled and nodded his head.
“I just wonder what the girls are up to...?”
“Aw, c’mon Jess!” Rika pouted as the group sat in a circle. “You must like someone!”
The Pyroar pulled a sour face as she sipped the drink she’d been provided - it was just juice, but it was delicious juice all the same. “There was never time for romance in between all the things I did for my job,” Jessie stated, carefully avoiding specific details.
“Pft, seriously?” Rika scrunched up her face. “You’re telling me that the cute little human you worked alongside with for all those years... never once caught your attention?”
“With the way he bungled up everything we tried to do? He’s lucky I didn’t claw his face off without these beauties,” Jessie said, briefly displaying her claws before retracting them.
Jeanne drank her water with a smile before helping herself to some of the ice-cream Rika had ordered. Lala drank hers as well before commenting on the situation. “If there was a larger case of denial, I have yet to hear about it.”
Jessie sputtered a bit before Mage chipped her two cents in as well. “Don’t bother lying to us, especially not when I have this,” she pointed to her necklace. “I can tell how you actually feel, you know.”
“And wasn’t my escape that Meowth’s fault?” Rika asked innocently. “If I recall, he was too busy flirting with me to double check the locks on my cage.”
“He always did have an eye for a pretty...face…” Jessie’s face paled as she realized she’d basically confirmed it for Rika who she was and glanced over at the Sylveon with a small laugh. “Eheheh...hi? Please don’t tell them?”
“Don’t worry, if I held any malice... well, you honestly think you’d still be sitting there?” Rika smiled sweetly, kinda like a cat that was about a half-second away from eviscerating you. “You wouldn’t even be in this world if you were all that bad.” She leaned in close, her face the epitome of seriousness, in all its cute glory. “Now fess up, we all know you like him~”
“I will confirm nothing,” Jessie said, studiously looking away. “And for all I know, this could be part one of an elaborate revenge plot of yours. It’s certainly humiliating enough.”
“Okay, I’m lost. Rika, how do you two know each other?” Christine asked before eating a scoop of chocolate ice-cream.
“We met back in the human world,” Rika admitted the half truth. “We’re old pals, right Jess?”
“Of course,” Jessie said with a fake smile. “Though we never did write and only met the once…”
Mage chuckled as she touched her necklace. “Anxiety, clear as day. What aren’t either of you two telling us?”
“A past that will remain in the past,” Rika said to Mage. “Something I’m sure a most of you will understand.”
Selena coughed a little when she finally recognized Jessie’s voice. Oh, this should be a fun evening.
“I’ve got more than a little experience with those sorts of things,” Mage said with a nod. “So if you want it dropped, then I’ll drop it...still think we oughta know, though.”
“I as well,” Jeanne said before helping herself to her strawberry ice-cream. “But unlike her, I’ll let you reveal it at your own pace, Jessie.”
Lala’s eyes flashed as she slowly put the pieces together along with all the other clues, and nodded as well, keeping silent on the matter. Christine merely shrugged, fine with it for the time being, but she’d probably ask again later.
“Thank you,” Jessie said. “So, what were we talking about?” She hoped none of them remembered, this evening was awkward enough already.
“About you wanting to do a little ‘gardening’~” Rika giggled. “Y’know, take his flower?”
“I-!” Jessie’s face turned beet red at the implications Rika leveled against her. “So that’s how you win your battles,” she grumbled. “Lure them in with a cute face and then hit them with more experience than they expect you have.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about~” Rika sang.
“Seriously, she just does those things,” Christine said. “It falls to us that have been educated in all things dirty to interpret them...and she doesn’t understand why we keep having to take a minute to respond to her.”
“Though if earlier today is any indication,” Jeanne said with a wicked smile, “Then she’s just as much of a virgin as you are, Jessie dear.”
“So what if I am a pure maiden still?” Rika protested, folding her forelegs. “Christine hasn’t gotten any either!”
“...And how would you know that?” the dragon asked, honestly curious. It might be true, but she’d just like to hear the Sylveon’s reasoning.
“Woman’s instinct,” Rika replied as-a-matter-of-factly and then smirked. “And because you just admitted it.”
“Technically,” Lala pointed out before scooping up some vanilla, “She merely asked how you would know if she was a virgin or not. She said nothing one way or the other as to her status or whether you were right.”
“Mm...I got nothing,” Mage said as she floated her bowl of blueberry closer to herself.
“You’re not denying it,” Selena spoke up. “And as far as I can tell, Jeanne and I are the only ones here with any actual experience.”
“I’d love for someone to explain Vincent if I didn’t have any,” Jeanne joked lightly.
“Adopted?” Rika shrugged. “Aaannyway, we’re getting off topic here. We need to hook up Jessie and James, for... reasons.”
“And what, pray tell, are these reasons?” Jessie asked, desperate to delay this madness for as long as possible.
“Because it’ll be fun,” Rika answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “And you two would be soooo cute together.”
“I dread the day any male shows any interest in me with you around,” Christine said while helping herself to another spoon of chocolate. “Knowing you, you’d all but force the poor guy to date me for weeks on end.”
Rika turned and gave her the saddest eyes possible, Baby Doll Eyes and Fake Tears.
“B-but... I thought we were meant to be!” Rika cried.
“I’ll just go and tell Seth you’re breaking it off with him, then,” Christine replied, making to get up and go.
“I can share!” Rika sobbed, “You can be my exotic mistress!”
“Tempting,” Christine replied. “But I might just make him mine instead. I mean, he does have something you lack, and you and Fritter can enjoy one another.”
“GAH! You don’t play fair!” Rika pouted, dropping the act. “Not cool Chrissie.”
“And that’s why you don’t get in those sorts of contests with me,” Christine said with a smile. “I mean, seriously, the way I got to Selena wasn’t a clue to you?”
“Whatever,” Rika huggled the dragon and smiled. “You’re still mine until someone else comes along!”
“Like I said, you are sorely lacking in a few pieces of equipment,” the dragon said. “But I think Seth appreciates you as-is, so it’s one or the other. Can’t have us both.”
Rika let Christine go and sighed, playing this game was no fun anymore. “Well, fine... I have Sethy and Fritter anyway!” she pouted as she snuggled up with the Earth Pony mare, who just smiled and rubbed her back.
“Now, ah believe we were all tryin’ to play matchmaker?” Fritter grinned and looked at Jessie.
“Shoot, I’m out of distractions,” she muttered before looking for a viable escape route.
Selena placed herself near the door, while Christine had the window covered, Rika was still blissfully enjoying her marefriend’s cuddle, while said mare just looked at Jessie.
“Now, ya’ll were sayin’?”
“I was saying that your little cuddle-bug there has the wrong idea. James and I aren’t partners in any sense, nor do we need to be,” Jessie retorted. Maybe she could sneak into the kitchen and jump out the window there?...
A tugging sensation on her leg told her that one of Rika’s ribbons had a firm grip. “If you really don’t like him, then just say so and we’ll drop it,” she said with breaking her hug. “But I don’t like it when someone lies to their heart...”
“I…” Jessie sighed. “I can’t say I’m not entirely fond of him. He is enjoyable to work with, despite our constant blunders. But we’ve never had a lot of time for romance before, so I don’t really know his feelings on the matter.”
“Good enough for me, the shipping is back on ladies!” Rika cheered. “New plan for tonight, we get these two together.”
“...why do I get the feeling I’m not getting out of this now?...”
“Because you’ve been around her for longer than five minutes?” Lala suggested to the irritated Pyroar. “At any rate, I am uncertain as to what help I could possibly be.”
“Um... expertise maybe?” Rika answered. “Sorry, I don’t really know much about you yet Miss Lala.”
Christine waved a claw in their general direction as she moved to resupply her bowl. “Look at the way she holds herself, studies everyone and everything, then compare it with flower-head. I drew the connecting line pretty quickly, Rika.”
“Checkmate!” Rika gasped. “I still recall my run in with Roll and Shredder...” That had not been fun.
“Indeed, I am a Bishop of their guild,” Lala said with a nod. “My expertise is speed. However, while I am here, I have decided to help keep this place safe. I, too, remain pure, and have no romantic interests, nor any education on the topic beyond the ‘facts of life’ my father gave me. My recommendation would be Sam for this venture, if you wanted a perverted viewpoint...were he not male and banned from our gathering.”
“I wonder what the boys are up to anyway?” RIka questioned. “And if Lulu’s doing alright.”
“Lucy’s fine,” Jeanne replied. “While I don’t know where the boys are going, I do know that Luke has a few pointers he’s shared with Vincent regarding the proper handling of an in-heat Lucario. One is to use Hypnosis to knock her out for a few hours if he intends to be gone.”
“...he’s teaching Vinny how to ‘handle’ Miss Lucy in heat?” Fritter blushed heavily. “Ah... ah don’t know how to respond that honestly.”
“It’s...probably best you don’t ask,” Mage said. “I know the answer, and I can tell you that you don’t want to know it.”
“An’ y’all are okay with that?” Fritter asked. “Is he part o’ yer herd or somethin’?”
“He has a past,” Jeanne answered. “One that left him rather experienced, but it’s also darker than most. That’s all the boys would tell me.”
“You’re not far off the mark,” Mage said with a nod. “And yeah, Luke’s mine.”
“Really?” Rika’s eyes sparkled. “You don’t often see the pairing of a Ghost and a Psychic. Still, you make an adorable couple~”
“Thank you,” Mage said with a slight bow, before turning her attention back to Jessie. “Now about the one we keep trying to make…”
“You are all really set on this, aren’t you?” the Pyroar deadpanned.
“I’m not,” Christine said, back with her ice cream. “Your life is your business. I’m not gonna help them...but I’m also not letting you leave until they’re done or have given up.” With that, the landshark situated herself in front of the door to the rest of the apartment building, shooing Selena back into the circle.
“Oh I’d imagine you’re next,” Selena chuckled to the dragon. “If Rika had her way, we’d all have relationships by the end of the week.”
“I do hope she knows better than to interfere in some of our lives,” Jeanne said pointedly, the flowers on her head suddenly a bit more menacing even with her smiling. Likewise, Lala’s claws never seemed so sharp before.
“But love is so special and everyone should experience it,” Rika sighed. She looked at Christine and recalled their earlier conversation. “But I guess I got carried away again, and I ruined the evening as well...”
“It’s perfectly alright to want people to experience love,” Jeanne said. “But sometimes, others don’t appreciate meddling. I learned that myself the hard way…” Her tone turned a bit sombre as she recalled what she had almost done, before she forced herself into perking up. “Still, unless Jessie stops us, I agree with your assessment, Rika.”
“I…” Jessie sighed before hanging her head. “I wouldn’t mind a relationship, no. And I do know James very well, yes. But going about this...doesn’t promise to be easy at all…”
“I have a good feeling,” Rika replied. Though to be honest, she was feeling a little deflated now. Even the hugs from Fritter didn’t feel as warm.
It took Christine coming over from the door and putting Rika back in her position as a hat before the Fairy felt like laughing again. “You can stay up there until you’re in a better mood, hat,” Christine commented, taking Rika’s place in the circle.
“Fine,” Rika pouted, though she was already feeling better. “So do we have a plan beyond just confessing?”
“Well seeing as how two-thirds of us are virgins and one-third of us haven’t have boyfriends, how about we hear from the ones with experience as to how they did these things?” Christine asked before looking at Mage.
“Pass,” she commented. “You really don’t want to hear it, believe me. It’d just drag us back down, I’m sure.”
“Well, all I did was pour my heart out to Sethy... and that got me a mare as well... still wondering how the heck that happened?” Rika said from her perch.
“Ah second that,” Fritter remarked. “Ah’m still surprised that you and Seth actually agreed to this arrangement... Seth seemed pretty reluctant about it.”
“It’s cause humans have this thing about polygamy,” Rika said. “But it’s common amongst Pokemon so I don’t really mind. You’re really sweet and cute Fritter and I like you a lot.”
Fritter just blushed as she played with a ponytail.
“I think I’m going to take a page out of Mage’s book,” Jeanne said before helping herself to some ice-cream as well. “I’d...rather not walk down that particular branch of Memory Lane just now.”
“Isn’t ice-cream supposed to make us happy?” Rika asked, as she helped herself to some creamy treats, dripping a small amount on Christine’s head.
“Not when you drop it on me,” the dragon groused, before turning her eyes to Selena. “Well, out with it. How’d you snag testosterone-for-brains?”
“Pinned him down and kissed him,” Selena replied as Rika licked the ice-cream from Chrissie’s scales. “Plain, simple and to the point. Ignis is not the master of subtlety.”
“Amen to that,” the dragon nodded slightly, mindful of Rika on her head. “So between us all, we’ve got no more advice for Jessie here than for her to tell James something along the lines of ‘would you like to go out sometime?’”
“Pretty much,” Rika shrugged. “Wow... we kinda suck.”
“At this point our only hope is for Vincent and the others to have picked up on things and given James a pep-talk,” Mage commented.
“What are the odds on that?” Rika asked, “Vincent and Seth aren’t exactly... cluey on that sort of thing.”
“I’m willing to bet that between the four of his accomplices, at least one of them will have clued in to James’ feelings,” Jeanne said before taking a sip of her water.
“So what do we do until then?” Fritter asked. “Makeovers?” Rika’s eyes shone with a dangerous glint as she laid eyes on the Pyroar.
“Heh, heh, heh....”
“Oh no you don’t!” Jessie said, backing up quickly. “I am just fine as I am! I do not need your help to look nice!”
“Oh, but I want to help you Jessie,” Rika purred. “You at least gotta look pretty~”
“I don’t need your help!” The Pyroar’s mane was dancing wildly in response to its owners’ panic. “I’M WARNING YOU-!”
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5988784 - whaaaaaat?
YES! Go shipping!
Gah, now you got me all hungry...
Seth should probably use Baby Doll Eyes on Rika... I'm sure she'll hug him for a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG long time... Heheh...
Also, Rika FTW!
The insanity of Rika. Hilarious as long as it isn't directed at yourself.
I'd feel bad for Jessie if I didn't view it as a form of karmic retribution.
POOR Jessie
Too many chapters... Not enough time... So many words to read
MUST...RESIST...SHIIIPING!
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[foxbrain.exe is not responding]
[reboot?]
>[Y]
[N]
So... Seth's the type of person who becomes adorable when drunk. Got it.
Also, I first read these events from the other story and in the comments there was a short clip of Puss-in-Boots from Shreak doing the adorable mew.
5989692 - Rika: Shipping? Who are we shipping? I want in!!
5990508 Let's see...
Jessie and James, obviously
Ignis and Christine...
Oh yah, and both her and Wendi (along with Diancie and possibly Alice) with your sexy luxray
5990766 - Hmm, Alice no. She's quite taken.
Diancie would be cute. As well as Virizion and Suicune~
And don't forget Elesa and Diantha. And Titania too!
5990769 The harem continues
Also, you of all people should remember the teasing at Mocha's
Wendi? If her last name is Marvell or she has a Meowth/Espurr, you win the internet!
Damn, Seth is picking up girls even without meaning to. All the other guys must've been jealous.
DON'T TOUCH HER HAIR!
Seth doesn't even realize how big a player he is, we are at 5 right now.
Status moves aren't affected by type matchups.
Florges is always female.
I'd like to see the TRio's waking-up scene now.
Ash is here! ... somewhere... I think
Real taste for apples those two, wonder when they will go for the source