Market Malarkey

  As the sun steadily approached noon, Absol and Zorua left the lonely road to head towards this 'Electivire' and his establishment. The chill that was with them in the morning was still present, seeing how autumn was still in full swing, but the feeling of the sun pressing down on her back was a pleasant reprieve to keep her comfortable. The same seemed to be for Absol, Zorua thinks, with the way the taller woman seemed to look stalwart in the face of the climate.

  It was one of the few things Zorua noticed while keeping a close eye on the bag. She can't seem to look away from it for too long, glancing back at it as they made their way across town. It wasn't something she should've been doing - it's not like Absol was irresponsible enough to misplace her bag - but she can't get the thought of that disk out of her mind. A whole move, just sitting in there, one that she could have…

  "Do you need to eat?"

  The question threw her off, and she jerks her gaze away from the bag and to its owner. "Huwhat?"

  Absol - who thankfully wasn't looking at her just then - glanced down at her. "Are you hungry?"

  Zorua blinks. "Oh. Uh…" She tries to feel a gripping sensation in her stomach, which comes up empty. She goes to say that she's fine-

  That doesn't seem right. A feeling stops her.

  She closes her mouth. What? I don't feel hungry, so I should be fine.

  It checks out down here, boss. The quiet feeling agrees.

  Hm… The first feeling hums. It feels… wrong. There's a staple that you should normally have three meals a day, right? Sure, if you don't feel hungry then a glass of water should work fine, but eating something once per day should be a minimum to function like you do.

  That's… a good point, yeah, Zorua starts to chew the inside of her cheek. If that's the case, then I haven't had my daily berry yet. I should eat something.

  After a long pause, Zorua nods. "Yeah, I should eat something. I, uh, can't get anything though. I'm broke."

  Absol shakes her head. "It's alright, I'll buy it."

  Zorua's body freezes. There isn't a feeling speaking up for this, there aren't even any suspicious voices in her head or odd sensations that seem odd, but…

  "You don't need to do that."

  Absol slows down her pace to look over to her. Another serious face, heads up. "You're not going to starve yourself, Zorua. If we're going to deal with this request, then you need to eat."

  (It's Alright, I Already Ate, Now Eat Up Or It Will Get Cold.)

  Zorua shivered. "I… okay. I'll pay you back after this."

  Absol nodded, then looked forward again.

  The market was what greeted them first. There's still plenty of pokémon out, but within a minute a feeling told her how tense everything seemed. Sure, the stares never really left, but the looks became more generalized under the umbrella of fear than distrust or whatever the original reason was. Absol made for a fantastic prow to cut through crowds, so Zorua relegated herself to shadowing the blade dog.

  Zorua made sure to hide behind Absol when they passed Kecleon's. She didn't need to throw that can of worms onto her partner.

  Soon, the main thoroughfare of haggling pokémon turned quieter, with less people on the smaller roads. There were some stalls here, but most had pokémon lingering around with various objects in their appendages- and some who were allowed to keep theirs on counters if they lack proper appendages.

  Ah, that scent… A feeling sighs. There's simpler trades plied here. Food, teas, the smell is downright mouthwatering.

  As if on cue, her tongue darts out to lick her chops. While she still doesn't feel hungry, the atmosphere went from the smell of various bodies being too close to one another, to pleasant aromas and softer conversations just outside of audible range, and her desire for something to fill her stomach increased. There were all of these people, just sitting - or standing, or floating… or laying down? - there, feasting…

  And you will too, soon. Be patient.

  Absol directed her further down these small roads, with one final turn showing a mostly-empty road tucked behind an old, gnarled tree. The tree itself was impressively large, beating out Litleo's little home, and as the two turned the corner of the street Zorua saw a stall built into a hollow of the tree. Unlike the running theme that she's been noticing around these parts, there isn't any sign that tells her what the species the owner is. On top of that, there doesn't seem to be anyone waiting to be served, nor eating or drinking whatever might be served. A small, lazy trail of smoke coming out of a knot in the tree shows that someone is inside, so it's not abandoned.

  Maybe it's not that popular of a place? Zorua thinks.

  Makes you wonder how Absol knows a niche little place in this town. A feeling ponders. She's not from around here, and she doesn't seem to stay here often.

  Zorua lets the thought stew as Absol sidled up to the stall, which was just too tall for the small fox to see over. Before she could decide on whether or not to wait for someone to show up, or to just get her hands up there and see over the counter, a feeling chimes in.

  That scent… The feeling makes her nose twitch. There is a vague smell of iron, along with a strong earthy smell. Something about it is familiar.

  And delicious, too. The quiet feeling whispers. Forget floor algae, now this is where it's at.

  Curious, Zorua decides to heft her upper half up to the counter of the stall to see for herself.

  Inside is a very, very barebones, rustic kitchen. There's an old wood stove off to one side, along with a bit of space for a table. Those two things are riddled with various utensils and containers, haphazard in their placement to create a small bit of chaos in the old kitchen. Despite the seemingly disorganized appearance, Zorua can't help but feel that the room feels homely. It certainly feels that way with the entryway off to the side, which is given a modicum of privacy via a curtain of beads and other small decorations on chords.

  There is also a lone occupant in the kitchen, lapping at a cup of some dark brown liquid. The pokémon, a sort of fawn with an orange coat the same color as the leaves Zorua saw around town, is completely unaware of the two new customers at their stall.

  When Absol clears her throat, the deer-like pokémon freezes with their tongue sticking into the liquid. Slate-gray eyes dart over to them, eyes wide. "Uhh…"

  A spark of recognition flashes in their eyes. "Oh, Miss Absol, hey!" Their voice is young, almost like a young girl.

  Absol nods as the deer prances over, but the fawn keeps talking. "Sorry about that; business has been super slow and I thought I had the time to get a quick drink before someone shows up - not that anyone really does show up - but now you're here and-" The fawn takes a moment to breathe deep, then- "Also brought someone with you, hello new customer!" She ends with a grin.

  …woah. Zorua pins her ears back. Those were a lot of words.

  It appears to be a bad mix of youth and caffeine. A feeling diagnosed.

  Ah, so that's coffee over there, then? Zorua glances at the cup. She seems a little young to be drinking that stuff.

  Correct.

  Absol raises her brow. "You're drinking coffee again, aren't you?"

  "Uh," Gray eyes shoot to the table, then back. "No?"

  Absol gives the fawn The Look.

  The deer child slumps. "I'll get rid of it, Miss Absol."

  Dutifully, the fawn goes over to the cup, gently holds it in her jaws, then heads into the room covered by the bead curtain. There's a few more noises from there, but the kid doesn't come back immediately.

  Zorua looks over to Absol. "Miss Absol?"

  There's a small dusting of red on her nose. Absol looks down to her. "It's a long story, but I know her father. We're both from the same town."

  "Ah."

  A moment of silence, in which the fawn still hasn't come back. There's a slight din of conversation in the other room, but it's too quiet to make out.

  "Uh. What kind of pokémon is she?"

  "Deerling."

  "Okay. Thank you."

  "Mhm."

  Zorua shuffles her arms slightly, giving the shop another once-over. When nothing else jumps out to her as interesting, she settles back down to waiting.

  "...so, does this place have a name?"

  "No. Lycanroc isn't one for names."

  "I don't think anyone is, but okay."

  Zorua catches a small quirk of Absol's lips, before it settles back into stoic neutrality. "Are you still going on about names?"

  "Yes, and I'm still angry about it," Zorua sets her chin on the stall counter. "It feels so wrong, hiding one's name, you know? Makes me not want to trust anybody, like they're about to swindle me or something. Nobody who's honest hides their name."

  Absol shifts slightly to give her an odd look. You seem to have said another odd set of words. "That's not the norm here. Or anywhere, from what I know. Why would it feel normal to you, if you have problems remembering yourself?"

  Zorua chews on that. It was true, she doesn't have any basis to put these opinions on. The most she can put forward is that it doesn't feel right, which would never hold up in court.

  There! Zorua exclaims in her head. Why did I think about a 'court'? It's like I'm used to saying those words, but I have no context for it.

  Her feelings, unfortunately, stay silent.

  Zorua ultimately has nothing concrete to bear, so she huffs a breath. "I don't know, but it still feels wrong."

  Absol hums at that, but the small talk ends there.

  Not too much later, the bead curtain finally parts again. This time, a new pokémon that Zorua doesn't recognize enters the room. Standing on hind legs and hocked knees is something like a wolf, if the wolf had too large paws and was in some sort of grunge band. Not only that, but the odd purple eyes seem to look perpetually tired in some way, as if they couldn't sleep the night before. Their hair seemed to only add to the look, messy white spilling over their back and onto part of their face.

  Contrary to most pokémon she's met, the wolf-thing wears a pink handkerchief around their neck, which holds a multitude of half-washed stains. It's the most clothing she's seen on any pokémon, barring herself.

  When the wolf-thing looks to the counter and sees the two of them, they nod once, and a voice between sand and gravel reaches Zorua's ears. "Hey."

  Absol nods. "Hey. Need something for me and my partner."

  "Mm." He nods again, curtly. Then he looks at Zorua, taking a long moment to just… look at her.

  He'll say something soon. A feeling says. He's just taking his time observing you.

  His gaze flicks upward and somewhere behind you. Another feeling tells her. It's probably the odd fur strands you have.

  The wolf-thing grunts quietly. "What're you?"

  "Zorua, apparently." She shrugs.

  "...mh." He shrugs back. "Food? Drink? Both?" One of his hands - or is it still paws? Would it matter, even? - goes up to his covered neck and rubs it, clearing his throat.

  Okay, clearly you need a game plan here. A feeling coaches her. You don't want to drain Absol's wallet, so you should just go for a drink.

  Wait! A different feeling interjects. This could be one of those shops, where drinks are expensive. They might only serve coffee here, and make you pay for water. The food might just be cheaper.

  Idly, Zorua sees the orange deerling quietly trot back into the main 'kitchen' area. They appear dejected, probably from whatever was said in the back from her father.

  The other feeling sighs. Right, that's a possibility, we can't discount that. Okay, so the easiest way to do this without…

  …without what? C'mon, you were on a roll there.

  Did… did Absol say that she knew Deerling's father?

  Yeah? Her eyes look between the two. I guess he adopted her? More power to him.

  Hm… The feeling hums, but continues. Anyways, you can ask for a menu, if they have one.

  "Do you have a menu?" Zorua asks the wolf-thing.

  The wolf-thing stares at her, alongside the deer-thing.

  Absol clears her throat. "Right, forgot to mention," She nods her head to Absol. "Zorua is… foreign. And an amnesiac. She might say things that are… wacky."

  The wolf-thing grunts. Deerling, confusion winning out over being admonished, tilts her head. "What's a menu?"

  Zorua blinks. "Uh. A list? Of things you sell? It helps with new customers, I think."

  Deerling spends all of two seconds thinking about it before a huge smile takes over her face. "That sounds like a great idea! Hey, hey Dad, we can go get, like, a thing to write on- oh, or a whole slab of rock! You can carve on the rock, and you can just set it out and people can just look at what they want instead of trying to talk to you all of the time! Or- or we can make it all fancy and write it down on paper, and make it look super cool-"

  From there, the caffeinated deer-child went to brainstorm with her father, completely forgetting the two sitting at the counter. As Deerling suggested that they get a sign, which her father seemed to suck on a lemon at the idea, Absol leaned down to her.

  "Why did you suggest a list if you can't read?" Absol muttered.

  "...oh," Zorua glanced down, then looked to Absol. "I, uh, forgot about that. It just made sense at the time."

  Absol seemed to chew on an idea, before nodding. "You can have what I'm having, if you don't mind meat."

  MEAT?! A feeling, usually whispery, shouts in her head. Get that shit in you right now, okay? You might not feel hungry, but you need that protein, the iron, the iodine, the B12 and ZINC! Oh, all of the zinc…

  Zorua feels a wet sensation around her mouth, and- oh, huh, she's apparently drooling at the thought of what meat can do to her. She quickly ducks her head away from Absol, rubbing the back of her paw at her face to wipe away errant saliva. "Mm," She turns back to Absol - she's trying to hide her surprise at your reaction - and nods. "Yeah, I don't mind. If, uh, it isn't too expensive?"

  Absol shakes her head. "It is not."

  Zorua nods rapidly, and she can just barely see the tip of her hair flailing about. "Then sure, I'd love some!"

  Zorua and Absol ate, with Absol having a black coffee with her meal.

  Zorua felt… content, in that moment.

  The walk back through the market was less nerve-wracking this time, with them not veering near the Kecleon's place. Zorua still doesn't know how to bring up that topic to Absol, so she fervently decided that burying the idea out back in a shallow grave is the best course of action.

  Electivire's place of business is, of course, modeled after him. A huge, hulking figure of short yellow and black fur, with strange strands coming off of him, stands right up front with a huge smile on his face. Just like the man himself, the building shares the same coloring and head shape, but instead of the huge grin he owns, the front part of the store's "mouth" seems to yawn in horror. It's honestly a bit disturbing to look at, Zorua feels.

  He's definitely a shouter, A feeling says. Just look at him.

  Zorua looks over his face, a wide-set head with two odd, rounded antennae on top of his head. He grins and seems to talk loudly to his current customer - a blue creature with a lilypad on its body - which is drowned out by the general din of the market. Definitely, yes.

  A few other things seem to come to her attention as she watches him. A feeling comments on one. His stature definitely shows that he knows what he's doing. There's muscles under that fur, and he looks like he could wrestle a boulder if he feels so inclined.

  Another feeling points out his arms. He appears to be gentle whenever the arms get close to someone. He doesn't want to hurt someone on accident.

  Although he certainly could with those guns. A feeling growls. He can throw you like a rugby ball if he's in the mood.

  Zorua's eyes trace the appendages as Electivire gesticulates something to the lilypad creature, slowly moving down their length and ending at his black fingers.

  The black fingers attached to a hand.

  Zorua stares at the hand.

  That, Zorua says to herself. That looks like a hand.

  Ohhhhh… A feeling moans. If you had a pair of those babies, you could do so many things…

  Like opening doors, for one, Another feeling quips.

  Or punch someone, The whispery feeling yearns.

  Zorua lets herself imagine having opposable thumbs for a few seconds longer, then sits herself down on the ground. She looks over to Absol, who was already sitting down and looking at her. She looks curious about your stares.

  Zorua's ears pin back. "Sorry, I was…" She waves a paw in the air. "Doing my thing."

  "...right," Absol says flatly. "And that involves staring at people for over four minutes?"

  "Exactly."

  "...okay."

  She's starting to learn, A feeling says.

  Zorua shrugs, looking back to the large bee-colored man. He's energetically waving farewell to the lily pad thing, who is carrying a familiarly-shaped disc in its lily pad.

  Its color is blue, unlike the plain white of the one in Patrat's basement, A feeling observes.

  I wonder what that means, Zorua asks herself.

  Seeing how she has a font of information next to her, she looks at Absol and repeats the question.

  Absol stares at her. "What does "what" mean?"

  "Oh, right," Zorua glances off to the side. "Uh, I saw that pokemon walk away with one of those disc things, but it's blue instead of white."

  "They did?" Absol looks back and squints at the crowd, but the blue-green thing is gone. "Well, it means it has a Water-type move inside of it. The TM we found probably has a Normal-type move in it."

  "So… does that mean there's a different color for each type?" Zorua asks.

  "Yes," Absol gets up and stretches - her claws dig small trenches in the dirt road; imagine what it could do to you - before continuing. "And if you have more questions, I believe Electivire can answer them."

  "Oh, right," Zorua looks over to him. "He's… a Move tutor, right?"

  At Absol's nod, Zorua gets up and leads the charge to Electivire. Crossing the road was simple enough, and before she knew it, she's standing in front of a hulking mass of yellow-and-black pokemon. The very, very tall man looks down at the two women, with yet another grin beginning to stretch across his face.

  His gaze lingers for a bit longer on you, A feeling informs Zorua.

  He looks confused, but he shakes it off, Another one says. He doesn't want to comment on your appearance. Being polite, perhaps?

  "Well well," A boisterous, deep voice greets Zorua's ears. "Going by the bag and the way you walk, I'd say that you're Explorers! Welcome, welcome, how can I help you two out?"

  "Happy to help an officer," you almost expect him to say, A feeling tells her. You probably won't hear that, however. There doesn't seem to be a rank denoting "officers" of any sort around these parts.

  Absol steps forward, nodding once. "If we can have a moment of your time, we are on a request involving the recent death of Patrat. Can we ask you a few questions?"

  Almost as if slapped, Electivire flinches, the smile almost flying off of his face. "Patrat? Oh, uh," One of his hands - hands! - come up to the back of his head, rubbing it nervously. "Sure! I'm happy to answer any questions, but… I almost never see the guy?"

  There's a myriad of emotions that cross his face at the mention of Patrat, A feeling observes. Surprisingly, one of those is annoyance. Whether it's for having to answer questions instead of doing business, or because of the rodent in question, you can't tell yet.

  "Regardless," Absol says. "We would still like to ask a few things. Maybe going through the questioning would assist you in remembering something important?"

  The tall man suddenly looks thoughtful, as if he never considered this way of thinking before. "Hm… that does sound useful…" He nods once, using part of his upper body to perform the motion. The tendrils on his back seem to wave in a pattern. "Sure! Come on inside, I usually do things one-on-one, and nobody had scheduled any tutoring for now."

  Happy to help, A feeling echoes.

  Zorua nods, deciding to include herself in the conversation for the first time. "Thank you for the assistance."

  Electivire grins. "Happy to help!"

  ("Piss Off, Pig." Said The Old Man. She Didn't Even Get To Say Anything, Before The Elder Turned Away From Her And Closed His Eyes, Listening Intently To The Old Radio.)

  Noone sees Zorua shiver as she follows Absol and Electivire into the tall man's building.

  The inside of the building wasn't what Zorua expected. For some reason, she expected a dojo of some kind, or a firing range with targets at the end of a long hallway. What she saw instead was what looked like a hoarder's dream come true. There was a pile of broken wood that was severely damaged in several ways - fire damage, waterlogged, cuts and dents, ect. - some odd bits of metal thrown into a corner and into the wall, small craters and scorch marks everywhere, and, contrary to the disaster she walked into, a room off to the side with a shelf of colorful discs just barely in view of the entryway.

  The only fine point about this place is that the floors are swept, A feeling comments.

  Everything else says that "things here are meant to be broken." Another one says.

  Makes me wonder how often this place explodes, Zorua thinks. How much would that cost in repairs, having the place flood, burn down, get demolished…

  You don't have a baseline for the prices of construction and carpentry here, much less what a poke is worth.

  Figures.

  Electivire looks over the mess and frowns, one of the appendages on his back rubbing the back of his head - he's embarrassed about the mess - before slapping on another grin. He turned towards the Explorer and Detective, and clapped loudly, once. "Alright, question time! What do you need help with, ladies?"

  Show time. Zorua steps forward - Absol makes sure to stay slightly behind you: a silent admission of a baton pass - and smiles. "I'll be the one to ask you the questions. Call me Detective Zorua."

  Confusion blooms behind his smile. Electivire nods. "Okay, hit me!"

  Punch him. The quiet feeling says.

  Zorua ignores it and starts talking. "So, this is your place of business, correct?"

  Another vigorous nod. "Right-o! I've always wanted to do something like this since I was an elekid, you know?"

  Zorua tilts her head. "And what exactly do you do here?"

  He blinks, faltering slightly. "You don't know what I do?"

  Push aside the concern, A feeling advised. Make it seem like part of the "Process."

  "It's just part of the questions," Zorua waves a paw dismissively. "I sort of go down a mental list, and sometimes asking obvious questions reveals unobvious answers."

  "Oh, okay!" Electivire accepts it with a nod - he's curious, but not curious enough. "Well, I help teach moves here! If there's one that a pokemon usually knows, I help train them into learning it naturally! And when that doesn't work…"

  He waves a giant hand in the direction of the room full of discs. "I have a collection of moves on hand- for a price, that is."

  Zorua goes to ask another question, but Electivire keeps talking.

  He sticks out a thumb and index finger, then the middle finger. "I also help coach kids who have problems with their egg move, which can be pretty problematic for those who are born with moves that can hurt themselves." His grin drops suddenly, turning grim. "It's horrible to see a child inherit Memento, after all."

  (-Acrid Metal On Your Tongue-)

  Zorua shivers at the same time Absol makes a worried noise. "That is bad."

  Electivire shakes his head, trying to grin once again. "I keep a good stock of basic moves on hand, just in case that happens. Young 'mons can seriously hurt themselves, so having a Calm Mind on hand can really help them out."

  There's a passion burning behind that masked grin, A feeling tells her. He doesn't like to see anyone young get hurt.

  A kindred spirit, Another one notes.

  What was that about "egg" moves? A feeling asks.

  Zorua contemplates her next question, then asks "How can you tell what this "egg" move is?"

  He's curious about the emphasis - "Oh, that?" He waves a hand. "Kids just love to shoot them off, sometimes. Usually the first time is an accident, so there's probably some property damage involved before I see them show up." His voice raises a couple of octaves, clasping his hands together. "They look so adorable, all guilty for breaking down a wall, awww."

  Behind her, Absol snorts.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Zorua chews on her lip, paw raising for a moment before being put back down purposefully. "So, what happens if the move isn't obvious?"

  "Ah, good question!" He sits up straight, pointing a finger in the air. "Usually, I have them try to tackle me, and - with parental permission - I sort of spook them a bit into using a move. Some moves are defensive, some can make me slower, not want to hurt others that well, harder to see them," He shakes his hands out. "The list goes on, really!"

  Come back later and ask about this again, A feeling advises. You're getting close to Personal Matters again.

  Zorua nods. "Right, just curious. So, just to get a good idea about your business, do some people approach you with a TM already on hand?"

  The large black-and-yellow man nods. A lot of head-action on this one. "Yes! Mostly, it's just to see if it would work on them," He waves a hand vaguely. "A lot of people get TM's without seeing me beforehand or doing their own research, and they have to sell it off or give it away because they can't use it. It's a shame to see that happen, but sometimes I can trade one of mine if I have a few spares around."

  Hmm… A feeling hums.

  Zorua nods absently, but one part about all of this nags at her. She pictures the discs in her mind, thinking over how they look, their shape, the color, and… wonders. How does one use them to get moves? They don't appear to be edible, and she didn't see any visible text that could tell her what to do to learn them.

  No flesh to consume, no power to steal, Whispered a feeling.

  There doesn't appear to be any devices around that can "read" these discs; a translator of some sort is out of the question to obtain these secrets, Said another feeling.

  We could… A feeling says slowly. You know. Ask him.

  Eugh, but where's the fun in that? The previous feeling groans. We're here for the discovery; a smart woman on the prowl, ready to figure things out without having to play dumb for others! We can-

  "So," Zorua focuses through the feeling's rant. "How do you use those things, anyhow?"

  …killjoy.

  The tall man's eyes lit up- literally; there was a yellow glow in his red eyes for a moment, and Zorua swore she saw sparks. "Ah, that's an easy question! You just take the TM," He mimes picking up one of the discs.

  "Uh-huh."

  "Put it to your head- or equivalent appendage, if you lack a proper head," He puts the imaginary disc to his forehead.

  "Okay."

  "And you let it sit there for a while! You'll know that it's working when it gives you a headache; I recommend keeping a persim berry on hand, just in case the headache is too much."

  "...that's it?" Zorua asks, bewildered.

  "Yup! It's that simple."

  Zorua's eyes flick back to Absol- specifically her bag. Good to know, good to know… "Thank you for clarifying, Electivire. Now, onto the serious questions…"

  Electivire looked confused, very much visible now. "Were the last few questions not serious?"

  "What?" Zorua stares blankly at the huge man, before shaking her head. "Yes, they were important, but this one's the Big One."

  "Oh, then, uh," He waves a hand vaguely at her. "Go right ahead."

  Zorua idly taps her paw on the ground. "So, we have reason to believe that Patrat has spent a few days coming here. Can you tell us when this happened?"

  "Oh, that," He frowns, which is an odd thing to see on such a jolly fellow. "Right. This was… sometime near the end of last winter? He came charging in, demanding to know how to use a TM that he bought, and he called me a sp-"

  He stopped talking. Coughed once. "He, uh, called me something very rude, and I kicked him out, told him to adjust his attitude and come back tomorrow."

  …he called Electivire a slur of some sort, didn't he? A feeling asked, exasperated.

  Sounds like it, yes, Zorua told herself. "Did he come back?"

  "Twice," The tall man answered. "The second time he tried to convince me that-" He makes his voice higher pitched. "- "I have plenty of electric-type friends, of course I can say that!" Which was a total lie, so I kicked him out again."

  Zorua frowned. "I'm sorry you had to deal with him."

  "Eh, I'm over it," He waved her off with a grin. "The third time I told him how after the worst apology ever, and when it didn't work I had to tell him that it means he couldn't learn the move. Of course, he took it the wrong way, said that I was lying to him about how to use a TM, then left."

  Sounds about on-par from what we know of the rodent, A feeling tells her. He can never leave a place without being the one in the right, can he?

  That, or be one step away from leaving in a body bag, Another one sneered. Certainly got beat up enough to almost need one.

  Well, he's dead now, so somebody got to him first, Zorua thought. At this point, whoever did this to Patrat deserves a medal.

  It still isn't right, A feeling argues. He deserves being put to justice, not murdered in cold blood. People can change, and he's still someone.

  Not much of a person, if you ask me, Zorua countered to herself. Externally, she nodded. "And was that the last you saw of him?"

  "In the shop, yeah," Electivire nodded. "I see him every now and then around town, but honestly I try to ignore him. He does a good job of putting people off- like," He leans down and half-covers his mouth, whispering "Really good at being an asshole."

  Hm.

  What, just "Hm" and that's it?

  He's another individual who doesn't seem to like adversity, The feeling observes.

  How so?

  With Sunflora, she didn't want to upset you by what she heard Patrat say about you. With Swampert, she didn't want to appear hostile, just annoyed at what an, quoting the man in front of you, "asshole" Patrat was. With the Kecleon Brothers, they're… well, it's up in the air for what they think, but they care about their image enough to dish out huge discounts. And now Electivire is whispering swears…

  And this all means?

  It's only a working theory, but… I believe that everyone here is, and I'm making a huge assumption here, "Nice."

  …o-kay… Zorua thinks at length. So what does that mean for me, specifically?

  It's not something that you're used to, Another feeling tells her. You're psychologically preparing yourself for some kind of verbal rebuke, or for things to turn south. Something about this place is wrong, in the sense that things aren't going wrong for you.

  Huh, Zorua huffs. Well. That's either extremely revealing of what place I came from, or just a depressing look into my psyche.

  Also, A different feeling tells her. You have been staring into space for the past thirty seconds. Electivire is starting to look worried.

  Zorua blinks again, seeing the look Electivire is giving her.

  "I think I understand, sir." Zorua says quickly.

  Two things: one, stop spacing out while in the middle of a conversation.

  It does help you think, Some feeling pipes up.

  And two: I really need to put a label or something on all of you; it's becoming a nightmare to figure out who is who in here.

  Perhaps it can be a thought method to work on, tonight? One of many feelings tell her.

  Good idea, add it to the list.

  Right away.

  Zorua can almost imagine the sound of something being faxed inside of her mind, but a moment later she can only hear her own breathing, and the usual din of the market outside.

  The small fox clears her throat. "Right. So. Do you know where he got the TM from?"

  The tall man shrugs. "I don't know. He just said that someone at the market told him that he could use it because he was a normal type."

  Absol snorts softly. "Really?"

  "Really!" He shakes his head. "Honestly, I don't know who to blame: whoever sold Patrat that lie or him for believing them instead of the guy who, you know, makes it his whole job to teach people these things."

  Blame the people who sold the TM to Patrat: they should know better than to arm and mislead a sociopath.

  Or, we could blame Patrat for being, you know, an ass.

  That could work.

  "I blame Patrat for being Patrat," Zorua says.

  Electivire looks thoughtful over this. "You know, that sounds like a great idea. Yeah, let's go with that."

  What power could Patrat not wield? Said a quiet feeling.

  Zorua's eyes flick back to Absol and her bag.

  "What move couldn't he learn?" She asked.

  "Hyper Voice," He answered. "I tried to trade him a Facade or Hidden Power move in return, but he wouldn't let go of the thing, you know?"

  Hyper Voice… A feeling said, testing the words. You can hear the capital letters in there.

  Was that what you were trying to do last evening? Another feeling mentioned. You certainly screamed at the rock a lot.

  You should have commanded the rock to explode, A feeling said with conviction. If you showed the rock who's boss, then it would have worked!

  Zorua starts to nod, then pauses. "So, out of curiosity," She said slowly. "Can a zorua learn Hyper Voice?"

  You can feel Absol's stare bore into your skull, somewhere out of your field of vision, A feeling says.

  Electivire seems to only take a second to think about it. "Yup! It may not be a Dark-type move, but it's still quite strong! And, heh, loud. It's very loud."

  Zorua nods, taking a step closer. "And it's not very difficult to just… use a TM, right? Just slap it on your forehead and call it a day?"

  He starts to nod back, but stops halfway. Something in his face changes. "Yes?"

  Zorua turns to look at Absol.

  Absol narrows her eyes. "...what are you thinking?"

  Quick! A feeling yells. Think of something smart to say! Smart and normal words!

  "I mean," Zorua traces a lazy circle on the ground. "It's not like he needs it anymore-"

  "Zorua."

  "-and if I need to help out with the criminal, it would be an easy way to go about it-"

  "Zorua, it's evidence."

  "-and it's not like we need to keep it or anything: we got what we needed to know-"

  Absol sighs heavily.

  "-and, well, let's face it, he didn't exactly deserve to hold onto something worth so much while being a complete jerkass, you know?"

  Absol stares blankly at her.

  Zorua smiles nervously.

  Electivire nervously taps his fingers together, looking between the two of them.

  Another crack forms.

  Slowly, she breathes in, then out. "I… suppose that it doesn't matter, as long as there is a witness to see the TM is intact before you use it."

  A grin blooms across Zorua's face, and she can feel her tail begin to wag. "Thank you for seeing reason, Absol!"

  Absol places the bag on the floor, Absol begins to rifle through it, but she fixes Zorua with a Look. "I'm doing this because I wholeheartedly agree with you on needing a move. Defending yourself against someone who is willing to kill another pokemon is just common sense."

  She is correct, A feeling tells her. In a world filled with things that can kill you in a thousand different ways, being armed to defend yourself is only logical.

  Another feeling slides in. In order to defend the people, you must be both a shield and a sword. Take your sword, officer.

  And then… a confused feeling washes over her. Sword? No, that doesn't sound right…

  Then, finally, the quiet feeling. It's been too long since you got your fangs. Give yourself a means to kill, Killer.

  Then, Absol pulls out the disc. Its polished white sheen glints in the light coming in through the windows. Zorua still has a hard time thinking that this little thing could hold so much power. A small disc to the forehead, and boom, brand new way to cause mass destruction of public property. It was all odd, in a way that rubs her wrong, but she doesn't even know her own name. What does she know?

  Absol carefully balances it in one paw, then hands it over to Zorua. "Careful with it."

  "I will," Zorua tells her.

  Carefully, she holds the disc awkwardly in both paws. Its width is about as big as her head, and yet it's so thin that it feels like it'll shatter if she drops it. So much power, right there…

  The power of a raging typhoon, in the palm of your hands, A feeling says.

  Slowly, Zorua lifts it up, then places it on her forehead. The disc covers her vision, so she closes her eyes and concentrates on the pressure the 'TM' weighs onto her.

  Okay power, come on in, make yourself home.

  Zorua waits.

  …

  Zorua waits some more.

  …

  …

  Zorua stretches her hindpaw toes as she waits.

  …

  …

  …

  You can hear Absol tap out some sort of beat with her claws. It's catchy.

  …

  …

  …

  …

  Electivire clears his throat, to help clear the silence.

  …

  …

  …

  …

  …you don't feel a headache, A feeling tells her.

  Maybe… Zorua licks her lips, then shifts the disc to the top of her head to look out. Both of the other occupants are staring at her.

  "Uh. Electivire?"

  "Yes?" He smiles nervously.

  "Is, uh, the disc supposed to give you headaches?"

  He nods. "Yes, very much so. It tends to make kids upset whenever it happens."

  "Mhm, yeah," Zorua nods, then stops to rebalance the TM. "So, um, does not getting a headache mean that something is wrong?"

  Electivire's red eyes flash as he blinks. "What?"

  "I'm not getting a headache," Zorua repeats.

  "...uh," He looks to the side, then back to her. "Yes? That usually means that you can't learn that move. It's like trying to watch a bulbasaur learn flamethrower- it just doesn't happen."

  FLAMETHROWER?!

  Zorua flinches at the normally quiet feeling's sudden intensity. "And you're sure that zoruas can learn Hyper Voice?" She asks.

  "Yes!" He exclaims. His hands come up nervously. "A couple of years back, I helped one learn the exact move! It should…" He pauses, looking at the TM. "Can I see if it's a legitimate TM?"

  Zorua nods, and hands the disc over to the larger man- who has to bend over and reach down for it. He spends a long minute looking it over, examining it at every angle as if looking for flaws.

  "...hm," He hums. "It's definitely a working TM, I can tell you that much. Definitely holds a Normal-type move, going by the coloration and feel of aura…" He squints at it, as if reading some unseen writing carved into the disc. "Yep, definitely a legit TM for Hyper Voice."

  "Okay," Zorua said calmly. "Then why isn't it working?"

  Electivire opens his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. "I… don't know."

  Zorua stares.

  He is being honest, my liege, A feeling tells her. This appears to be his area of expertise, but you've stumped him on it by merely existing. Congratulations.

  Then- Zorua makes a noise that she can only describe as "stressed anxiety noises" before continuing her thought. Then how am I supposed to fight?

  There was no answer from her feelings, so Zorua continued to look at the tall man-creature.

  Electivire holds up his hands placatingly. The TM looks small in his hands. "Okay, well, this is an odd situation, but I can offer you an alternative. Question first: do you need a Hyper Voice, or do you just want a Normal move in general?"

  Absol's senses are tingling, Reported a feeling.

  "Oh, I don't know any attack moves, and I don't know my egg move, so having one would be great," said Zorua.

  Electivire stares at the diminutive fox.

  You hear the distinct sound of a paw meeting one's face, A feeling says.

  "...you don't know any attacks," Electivire said.

  "No," Zorua said.

  "Nor your egg move?" Electivire looks visibly concerned.

  "If I did, then I wouldn't be sitting here discussing it with you, now would I," Zorua answered with a wave of a paw.

  "Well," Electivire said at length, looking to the side in thought. "Never heard of someone older than a child not knowing their egg move-" He cuts himself off and puts his hands up in surrender. "N-not that I'm saying that you're old or anything! Or that you're somehow less of a 'mon for not knowing one, it's just a little weird! And, uh, my first time seeing something like this. It's like you're a pacifist or something, not knowing any attacks- that's cool!"

  "...okay?" Zorua's ears are pinned back. The hands, despite their submissive gesturing, still looked like they could throw her at a wall hard enough to shatter bones. "Is there some sort of process to find out which egg move I have?"

  "Oh, that should be easy!" He waves her off. "It's, like, the one move that comes to you naturally. Normally, I'm not really needed because the move can be pretty obvious, but if you're having a hard time figuring it out it's probably one of the more situational ones. Here, you can have this back."

  Electivire hands over the Hyper Voice TM to- to Absol, who handles it carefully and places it back inside of her bag.

  It says something, seeing him not trust you with the magic move device, A feeling tells her. He appears to not trust you with such responsibility.

  But I am responsible!

  Not enough, apparently, The feeling retorts.

  Zorua huffs aloud, to the confusion of the other two present.

  Electivire smoothly ignores the odd mannerism and continues. "So, if it's not a move that is imminently obvious, that means you have three options. Option one:" He holds up one finger. "You know Copycat; a move that copies another move that's happening around you. Two:" He holds up a second finger. "You know Counter; which is an attack that makes you hit even harder than the attack that hit you, but doesn't do anything on its own. Three:" Three fingers. "You know… Memento…"

  Electivire shivers.

  The shivers of disgust are strong, A feeling says. There's something about this move that doesn't sit well with him.

  "It's, well," He circles the three fingers in the air. "A move that causes self-harm, to the point of causing yourself to pass out, in exchange for literally instilling trauma into whoever is watching you."

  Zorua blinks. Wow, wasn't expecting a suicide move.

  (-Taste Of Acid And Blood Is Strong On Your Tongue-)

  Zorua shivers as the tall man continues, visibly shaking off the thought of self-harming moves. "And then option four:" Finger number four: The Thumb, Actually. "Detect."

  Oh?

  Zorua's ears perk up. "Yeah?"

  Electivire keeps talking, but Zorua can see that he acknowledges your sudden interest, and he suppresses a smile. "Aw, Detect is a fine move, but it only ever works when you're under attack, like Counter. Unlike Counter, however, it instead helps you see an attack coming, and then nudges you in the right direction of how to not get hit by it."

  Zorua felt something click in her mind.

  Something that helps you dodge attacks…

  Ah… A feeling tells her. So that's where that power came from…

  What? What power?

  This morning, when Litleo attacked you with that small fireball. That should have been a normal reaction of adrenaline and alertness that helped you stay on your toes. But didn't it feel… different?

  Zorua thinks back on it, frowning. Well, the weird wet-paint look and color bleeding was strange, but I thought that was just normal? It happened when I first walked into town, yesterday.

  Yes, that was different, The feeling admits. You weren't being attacked. But you were Detecting, weren't you?

  Another feeling starts to talk. You're a Detective. You detect. It makes sense to have a magical move to see what can't be seen normally.

  Another one pops in. This is ridiculous. You don't need a supranatural ability to just look at a wall, or dodge something that moves as fast as a kickball. It's within the bounds of reality to just be a natural at detective work, or just not get hit by things.

  Your adrenal glands were kicking in high gear, then, Said the quiet voice, recovering from the knowledge of a move called Flamethrower. Your recovery could've used some work, but some things still work in this body of yours.

  Or, I could just ask if Detect could be used for other things, Zorua said to her feelings.

  That works, Said the sensible feeling.

  "Is there something else that Detect can do?" Zorua asks.

  "Hmm," Electivire scratches the side of his face in thought. "Not really, no. It's not a common move that people learn, mind. If you're an Explorer, you'd want to get good at dodging, not rely on a crutch to let you dodge everything, you know? Not unless Absol knows something I don't, that is," He says with a small laugh.

  Absol clears her throat. "I wouldn't know."

  "...oh," Electivire stares at Absol for a moment, then flinches. "Uh, sorry. Shouldn't have assumed-"

  Absol's shoulders tense. "It's fine. Just…" She sighs. "Don't bring it up. Please."

  Electivire looks mildly horrified. "Oh, uh, okay! I won't! Not a peep, haha!"

  If there ever was an awkward man who said something he regrets, Electvire is chief among them.

  Zorua agrees with the feeling, looking between him and Absol. "What's going on?"

  "It's nothing, Zorua," Absol said. "Just some rumors about my species, is all."

  Zorua slowly blinks. "...what rumors?"

  Absol's eyes narrow into The Look. "Not now, Zorua."

  This is the part where you stop talking, if you know what's good for you, A feeling coaches her.

  Message received. "Okay. Sorry."

  The Look is put away, replaced by a tired-looking Absol. "It's fine."

  A message, set on repeat. It's been played for hundreds of times; a miracle that the polyester hasn't worn off the mag-coating. Something to investigate later.

  A quiet falls over the shop.

  The awkwardness falls onto Zorua heavily.

  She coughs into a paw. "Okay, social blunders aside, how do you test that Detect move?"

  "Oh that's easy!" Electivire says, raising one hand. "Just let someone try to hit you!"

  Zorua looks at the raised hand.

  Absol, out of the corner of Zorua's eyes, looks worried.

  "...okay, I'll admit," He lowered his hand. "It sounds weird, but I'm uniquely equipped to test and see if it is Detect that you might know. I know a move, Feint, that only works if someone is using either the move Detect or Protect, and lets me hit through whatever move is trying to keep the 'mon safe."

  Zorua pins her ears back. "That involves me getting punched, though. I don't wanna get punched."

  "We also don't have the time for one of us to be injured, however light the hit may be," Absol cut in. "And, as I've said multiple times Zorua; I can handle any fight we get into."

  Zorua's nose wrinkles. "I'd still like to know at least one move. Not having one makes me feel exposed."

  "Wait."

  Both Explorer and Detective look at the tall man. He stares wide-eyed at the shorter of the two women. "You don't know any moves?!"

  Zorua ears somehow press down farther. "I, uh…"

  I didn't mention that to him yet, did I?

  All you said to him was that you don't know your egg move or any attack moves, A feeling informs her. This new information he received has moved you up from being 'strange' to 'outright absurd'.

  Before she could collect her thoughts, Electivire held up a hand. His face has lost all mirth, forming into something that is stern- something that seems to fit his stature too well, despite his earlier pleasant attitude. "Wait here, this is an emergency."

  Then he ran into the other room- the one filled with shelves. The only thing that Zorua could see from around the corner was the strange black appendages flailing every now and then.

  Zorua looked back to Absol, raising a brow in a silent question.

  Absol shrugs. She has no clue as to the state of this 'emergency'. You are on your own.

  After about two awkward minutes of listening to Electivire sift around, he emerged with a small box in his hands. His dire face still hasn't changed.

  A purposeful stride brings him right up to Zorua, and she has to crane her neck back to look up at him. "...uh."

  He gently hands her the box, as if it was as fragile as an egg. "This TM is unique. I have no idea what it does."

  Ooo, mystery box, A feeling says, awed.

  Wait, is he just giving it to you? For free? Another feeling asks.

  This sounds like a scam, A feeling warns. Why would he just give you some random move that he claims he knows nothing about. Ask questions.

  Zorua's eyes narrow. "Are you sure you know nothing about it?"

  He keeps up the look for all of two seconds before his shoulders slump. "I mean, it's probably an attack? It feels like one." His voice lowers slightly. "I, uh, wanted to sound cool there. Sorry."

  Ah, a man of dramatics.

  Zorua felt that there were a few too many people who liked drama around here. Sadly, that number included herself, so who is she to argue with?

  Yourself, sadly, Said a feeling.

  …right, forgot that was an option.

  Zorua takes the box from him and sets it on the floor. The box itself looks plain, if well made. The hinges look oiled, the box isn't dusty nor scratched, and it looks somewhat new. There's a very simple latching mechanism keeping it closed, and it's not too difficult to unlatch and lift the lid. Inside is yet another disc, this one the same color as the Hyper Voice TM. In fact, it looks just like it, minus the cloth cushioning it from the hard inner faces of the box. Zorua wonders how it's possible to tell the difference between the two.

  Perhaps there's some sort of minute detail that you aren't seeing? A feeling suggests. A subtle carving, or a code that only a gifted few can decipher the meaning of.

  Or, Another feeling says. They feel it in their souls. The discs whisper their secrets to those who are worthy.

  Zorua tilts her head at the TM, listening to her feelings on the matter, then looks back up. "So, how much is this going to cost me?"

  Electivire smiles. It's honest. "Nothing."

  Zorua furrows her brows. "What?"

  "Nothing," he repeats. "You said it yourself; if you're trying to find someone who is willing to murder someone in a town, then you need to have a move to protect yourself with. Can't have the ones helping us out be defenseless, right? It's just bad luck to not help out a little."

  …is he lying? Zorua asks herself.

  He… isn't. He is being true.

  Zorua doesn't know how to respond to this. Sure, she knows of charity; yesterday with Litleo being a good example of herself performing it. The problem is that she never factored herself on the receiving end of being given this 'charity' thing.

  Absol, the best partner to ever exist, picks up on her slack. "Are you certain about this, Electivire?"

  The big man gives an emphatic nod. "Positive that I'm making the right choice? Yes, yes I do."

  Absol nods back, head-blade making a swish sound. "Then we accept. Is that alright with you, Zorua?"

  "Uh," She says smartly. "Yeah. Sure."

  "Alright!" Electivire claps his massive hands together. Zorua's ears pin back at the thunderous sound. "Time to see how that TM works! I've been wanting to figure that out for a while, but only having one copy on hand without a Recycler on hand…" He shakes his hands out, his back-appendages seeming to vibrate. "Okay okay, just have to put it on your forehead, Zorua!"

  Yeesh, you'd think that it's him that's learning some super secret move, not me.

  It is something new for him to experience, Said a feeling. He's living vicariously through you for his thrills in life.

  Enough gawking about others, The quiet feeling growled. This is the part where you actually get some firepower.

  Zorua nods, then gingerly picks up the white disc.

  Then the small fox paused. She looked up to Electivire. "What if it doesn't work, either?"

  He froze. "I… didn't think that far."

  He appears to have gambled on you being able to acquire this move, and not thought of any consequences involving you not being capable of obtaining it.

  Quickly, he raised one finger up. "However, if it doesn't work, I'll consider a hefty discount of "Free" on a Swift TM, which is still nowhere near as good as a Hyper Voice, but it's known to be reliable."

  Good enough! Said the greedy feeling.

  "Good enough," Zorua parroted.

  Zorua brought the disc up to her forehead, ready to learn something that can finally allow herself to defend both her body and other civilians-

  p a i n

  i t

  h u r t s

  i t

  h u r t s

  (A Final, Desperate Wish. One Made To Be Something Else.)

  w h a t

  i s

  n o

  (But They Never Changed. One Was Warped, Like Their Desires.)

  g o d

  p l e a s e

  a n y o n e

  (Hollow Hate. Long Goodbyes. It All Should Have Left.)

  h e l p

  m e

  a b s o l

  (But Nothing Ever Ends. After The World - The Pale; After The Pale - The World Again.)

  There was nothing.

  Again.

  Zorua felt worried that she was feeling nothing again. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Life was too full to have a void suddenly up and grab you like this. It felt like cheating, really.

  Oh, but you're used to cheating by now, aren't you?

  And now that voice was back. Well, it really wasn't a voice, per se, but like her feelings it comes to her as words that she can interpret; like reading a book. Strange that she thinks that - books - when she hasn't seen a single book in the past couple of days. Something about that doesn't feel right.

  Not like you get to find out, now.

  What? She should be capable of it; it's not like she's dead.

  …you're right. You're not dead.

  A spot of relief touches some part of her, though she can't tell which part.

  But wouldn't it be easier?

  …

  You could let go. Right now- you could just… not go back. That thing you were doing? Working? It's just a convoluted plan to give yourself more pain. If you didn't try so hard to arm yourself, you wouldn't be hearing this right now.

  What, and let ANNIHILATION take her instead? No. She won't. She has a job to do, and people to count on her.

  Are you listening to yourself? All of that which you speak of hinges on the idea that you win. You don't win, woman- you lose. That's how it works.

  Well, she's certainly going to have a hard time succeeding if this is how her internal thoughts are going to treat her. She's had enough of the constant pessimism trying to drag her down, and once she's out of this… whatever, then she'll be back on the case, and better than ever.

  …I tried. I'm sorry.

  (Après La Vie - Mort; Après La Mort - La Vie De Nouveau.)

  Yet again, Zorua gets the feeling of vertigo. Her non-existent gut wrenches to her absent throat as she falls down, down, down into oblivion.

  Surprisingly, a feeling comments. It feels like falling asleep.

  WARNING: NON-CANON BONUS INCOMING

  Side-Things: Wrath Month

  (Or: pride month is cool and all, but is the fox gay now, or…)

  (Also: this is just fan service, why aren't I putting my energy into an actual chapter)

  (Also also: Good thing Treasure Town has a beach to fit all these ships)

  An unknown amount of time in the future…

  It is a fairly normal day in Treasure Town, even considering the usual insanity that comes from a town full of pokémon. There's trade in the market, trusts are made at Duskull's, and a murder of murkrows knows better than to make trouble while Absol is in town. It's a bit more harrowing for those who aren't used to hot summers: fire and grass types are flourishing, water types are sticking to their pools, and it's a bad time for those ice types who are too bold to migrate somewhere cooler.

  Unfortunately, while Zorua isn't an ice type, she has the pelt of one.

  It's. Too. Damn. Hot. A feeling grouses.

  I knooow. I hate fur. I want it off. Zorua complains.

  "Uuuhhhg," She groans.

  Litleo, who was somehow convinced to have a walk with her, raises a brow at her. "It's not that bad."

  "But you have short fur!" She whines. Her eyes narrow at him. "And you're a fire type."

  "Wow, typist much?"

  "You'd probably find a bed of hot coals comfortable, shut up," She faces forward, glaring at the hint of heat haze in the distance. "Also, where's Abs? I thought she was going to be here by- oh there she is. Absol!"

  Waiting by the crossroads, next to a surprisingly unoccupied water well, are three figures. The tallest one is the aforementioned blade dog, who sits next to Shinx. Both of them are focused on the third member of Team Ion (or first, or second, depending on who you ask), Meowth, who is talking to the other two while gesturing wildly.

  "Wonder what they're talking about." Litleo said absently. Zorua just shrugged and led them onwards.

  "-and at some point - I forgot how or when - Pride Month became a thing." Meowth finishes with a sweep of his arms.

  Absol found this odd bit of human culture history strange. For one, the fact that Meowth knew so much despite not really being human - which was a whole mess in and of itself - was odd. Then there was the whole idea that humans were once very much against the idea of anyone who had different sexual orientations, or even genders. How could humans comprehend the idea of some pokémon that didn't have genders, then?

  Well, they eventually came around to it, from the sounds of things. But most importantly-

  "Why did you tell us this?" Absol said flatly.

  Meowth looked at her. "Uh. I just felt like it? Also, I think it lines up with this time of year? It was either before the middle of the year, or after, I forget which…" He scratches the side of his head.

  "I thought it was neat." Shinx said quietly. "But I think it's a bit past-"

  "WATER!"

  Suddenly, a streak of white and red rushesd past them, followed by a splish. Looking over to the well, Absol sees Zorua next to the well, her entire head dunked into the water. Almost lazily, Litleo prowls up to join the group.

  "Sup." The fire cat said.

  The other two felines give their greetings, and Absol gives him a nod. While Team Ion begins talking in earnest, Absol walks over to the drinking fox and waits for her to finish.

  Eventually, Zorua pulls her head out with a big gasp for air. "Ah, that hits the spot." She looks over to Absol, seemingly noticing her for the first time. "Oh, hey Abs. How're the boys dealing with the heat?"

  Absol nods to her. "They are fine. While we were waiting, Meowth decided to tell us about some human customs. Something about a month dedicated to recognizing those who are outside the standard sexual orientations and genders."

  Zorua blinked. "What? There is?"

  "Seems so. He said it comes around this time of summer." Absol's head tilts slightly. "Maybe. It might already be past the time-"

  "Hold on a second, Abs," Zorua brushes past her, heading up to Meowth. "Hey kiddo! You said there's a month where it's okay to be gay?"

  Absol sighed at the fox's words. Never change, Zorua. Never change.

  Meowth sputtered at the words for a bit - which sent Litleo into a fit of chuckles - before he gave her the same spiel that Absol heard already. Instead of listening to the information a second time, her attention lands on Zorua.

  The fox had been complaining all summer about the heat, but despite the thick coat of fur she has, Zorua has been taking good care of herself. Absol remembered seeing the small fox for the first time, and how she seemed to have crawled out of the woods from how disheveled and dirty she looked. Now, her coat was well cared for, and somehow she did so without needing to use her tongue.

  The system Zorua devised for it was overly complicated, but the results speak for themselves: the fox looked good. She made sure to eat more, even in spite of her odd typing meaning she needs less. She always wore a series of accessories that she swears give her 'massive bonuses', which Absol just thinks they look cute on her.

  Today, Zorua opted for a straw sunhat, which is probably more for the heat than anything, along with that ratty green scarf that she found on the day they met. To anyone else, Zorua looked ridiculous.

  To Absol, she's wond-

  "Hey Absol!"

  Absol pulls herself out of her musings to see Zorua looking at her. From this distance, it's hard to see the yellow spots denoting her eyes. Did… Did Zorua see her staring? Was Absol staring? She didn't mean to, but-

  Right, she had to talk. "Yes?"

  "So I got the gist of it now," Zorua starts, walking up to her. "And I think I know what I have to do."

  Damn it, she missed a part of the conversation! If she was listening instead of observing Zorua, she would've heard!

  A neutral response, just stay steady!

  Absol nodded. "Okay."

  Zorua smiled up at her, and Absol could clearly see her teeth glinting in the shade of her sunhat. For just a moment, she fights the urge to smile back, wrestling with her reserved nature.

  She lets the smile come.

  "Absol," Zorua says softly. "It's Pride Month. You know what that means?"

  Absol stares. What is she talking about? I really should have been paying attention; Zorua comes up with the weirdest ideas whenever I'm not looking.

  Absol glances off to the side, looking suddenly very interested in a speck that might be a stray pebble. "No, I don't. You tend to think up odd plans for yourself when I'm not-"

  Suddenly, she felt paws on her chest.

  Looking back down at Zorua, she's now up on her hind legs, forepaws balanced on Absol and now much closer. Absol has no difficulty noticing the details of her face: the fur sticking to her face - recently wetted; the smile that coaxes her own smile out; the amber eyes that stare into her own that seem to hold a promise.

  Absol's breath catches. She can't seem to steady herself, and the force that Zorua presses on her suddenly feels like it might knock her over . But when she leans back, she's suddenly pressed against the stone of the well. There is no escape from the enormity of Zorua's presence, and… Absol isn't sure she wants to escape. Maybe she wants to be caught by Zorua, stuck in this moment where she can look at her clearly and just see her in her entirety, blessed with clarity.

  Then, slowly, Zorua's paw goes up to the side of her face, brushing her fur into shape. She still hasn't said a word, and neither does Absol; she doesn't want to break the spell that came over the two of them. Ever so slightly, she leans into the touch. Her smile comes naturally, and Zorua seems to shine when she sees it.

  Then, almost in slow motion, she leans in. Absol feels the thundering in her chest, her heart feeling like it's five seconds away from leaping out of her throat, and for the moment she's too scared to move and oh legends she's so close she could lean forward and just-

  Then a sudden flash of pink appeared behind Zorua, small pink arms grabbing the fox. Zorua freezes, eyes trying to see what's behind her. "Huh-"

  "Sorry!" A cheery voice says. "Need to borrow Zorua for a bit, seeya!"

  "Wait, hoLD ON A-" Zorua starts to shout, but is cut off in a sudden flash of pink light.

  …

  Absol blinks one, two, three times, slowly. Her back is still leaning against the stonework of the well, but she still can't seem to find her breath from what was happening.

  Uproarious laughter erupts from Litleo, falling onto his side.

  "Oh, come on!" Meowth shouts. "I was robbed of a sapphic moment, are you kidding me?!"

  "What." Shinx says distantly, sounding oh so confused.

  Absol's paw, which was - for some reason - still holding the space where Zorua's side was, shakes ever so slightly, before falling limply to the ground.

  Litleo keeps laughing.

  "Do you know how few lesbians I see around here?! I want my poké back, damn it!" He shakes a paw into the sky. "You know what- fuck this, this isn't Pride Month anymore, this is Wrath Month now! Do you hear me, Saniya?! I'M FULL OF WRATH NOW!"

  "what." Shinx repeated, quieter than before.

  Distantly, Absol hears an explosion. Slowly, she turns her head up the stairs to the Wigglytuff Guild. From the bottom of the cliff, it looks as if dark purple flames of Zorua's unique move engulfed the building. Even from this far away, she swears she hears unholy wrath from the building.

  A small, tiny part of Absol wanted to be there, just to put a cut into that pink hellion. Just a small cut of Night Slash, as a treat.

  Yes, that sounds nice. Absol decides, putting back up her stoicism and shaking off her momentary funk, then beginning the ascent to the Wigglytuff Guild. It'll be like a first date, Zorua would like it, I'm certain.

  So it's been a while.

  I blame wanting to write nine other stories that will never see the light of day.

  On the bright side, it is done, and I threw in that last bit from something I did as a joke back in June.

  Thanks for reading.