So, this is the first chapter of my debut story on AGNPH.com, and I have to say that I'm quite happy with it, even though it does not contain any sex. But that just counts for the first chapter, so don't worry about it. Please have fun reading it, for I also had fun writing it.

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A Mansion made of Dreams



Chapter one: Niani's first day


Niani noticed the first rays of the morning sun and it almost made her smile. She had been running all night, trying to get as far away as possible from that horrible place she had once called home. She had been running and running, all the while losing more and more blood which had continued to dribble or even flow out of the larger gashes that she had all over her body. Thinking back, she was a little proud of herself that she had been able to put up that much of a fight and even escape, but she couldn't focus on that thought for too long. Her forelegs started to shiver and she stopped walking. For a moment she just stood there, watching the blood coming form her forelegs slowly form a very small puddle as it mixed with the dew on the grassy ground. She saw the rising sun's light reflecting a little in the puddle and this time, she actually smiled. 'I'm going to die', was her only thought as her shivering forelegs gave way, followed by her hind legs. Her body slumped onto the floor and Niani let out a sigh. „At least I got away", she whispered to herself as she slowly closed her eyes. She felt so very tired. After first fighting and then running for most of the night, there was absolutely no energy left in her. All night long, it had been as if there was a small voice inside of her, telling her to go on, pushing her forward, commanding her not to rest. But now this voice was gone. 'It probably fell asleep', thought Niani, 'It'll want me to sleep, too.' She took a deep breath and listened to the sound of her blood continually being pumped out of her, while she felt the morning sun slowly warm her fur.

Korph was diligently searching the woods, always keeping his nose close to the ground, sniffing and looking, his ears perked up so he wouldn't even miss the slightest sound. The trees stood pretty dense, and he couldn't really expect to see through all the green grass and plants, so he had to rely on his ears and nose. But that was alright because he was an Arcanine, so he was confident that he wouldn't miss any sound or scent. He tried his best not to get distracted by the usual singing of the birds that was audible every morning. Korph looked up. He had heard something rustle in the bushes right in front of him. He then shrugged it off and shook his head, taking a deep breath through his nose. The scent wasn't what he had expected it to be; in fact, he smelled blood! As far as he could tell, it was fairly fresh. Maybe someone was in danger? He quickly dashed off, running deeper into the forest, the morning light getting weaker and weaker, until only a few rays of the sun could still find their way through all the vegatation. He followed only his nose, until he suddenly stopped. It was now clear to him where the scent had come from.
„Dolph!", he called out, hoping his friend was still near enough to hear him. When he didn't get an answer, he tried again: „Dolph! Hey, Dolph, you need to come quick!" Now he heard the rustling of leaves and the snapping of twigs in the distance. „What's up?", a deep voice, which belonged to Dolph, called back to him. „Found anyone?" „Yeah!", Korph answered, hoping Dolph would hurry up a little. „And she seems to be in pretty bad shape!" Finally, a large Machamp broke through the green right left to Korph. „You shouldn't always run off", he said. „Just because you now evolved into an Arcanine doesn't me you..." He fell silent as he noticed the body of a medium-sized Jolteon laying on the ground. He then shook his head. „This doesn't look too good", he stated. Dolph took a step forward and kneeled down next to the Jolteon, bringing his head closer to her a little hesitantly. All the blood covering her body and her yellow fur made him quite worried. „She's not dead, is she?", he asked without looking back at Korph, trusting his ability to judge things like that by scent. Korph shook his head. „Not yet", he replied, „but she will in a few hours, unless we bring her back to the mansion as quick as possible." Dolph nodded. „Alright." He shoved two of his arms under the unconscious female's body, lifting her up and holding her to his chest. The Jolteon was still losing blood, and in a matter of moments Dolph had quite a bit of the sticky, warm, red substance all over his arms and his chest. „Let's hurry", he said with a look at Korph.

Niani heard voices. Her eyes were still closed, obviously trying to keep her asleep. For a moment she was tempted to give in to her exhaustion, but then she forced herself to open her eyes.
What she first saw caught her a little off guard; she was staring right into a pair of deep, black pools with pink rings around them... It took Niani a moment to figure out that those pools were eyes. Immediately, she pulled her head back a little. Whoever that Pokémon was that was staring her right into her eyes, it seemed to be pink all over. It took Niani another moment to notice that it was obviously a Chansey. The pink Pokémon smiled satisfiedly.
„It's good you're awake", it said with a rather deep, male voice, which Niani hadn't expected at all. Most of the Chanseys she had met had been females. The Chansey moved his face away from hers. „She's awake?", a female voice asked, and the blue snout of a Totodile came into view. Niani blinked nervously and tried to look around, but as she wanted to move her head, she felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck which caused her to wince a little and bare her teeth. „No sudden moves", the male Chansey ordered. „You're still recovering." „How do you feel?", asked the Totodile, whose face Niani still hadn't really seen; all she had been able to recognize until now was her large snout, covered in blue scales. Niani tried to say something, only to find out that her throat was too dry to bring out more than a whisper. She closed her mouth again, gathered a little saliva and then said: „I don't know..." The Totodile chuckled. „You don't know how you're feeling?" Niani rolled her eyes and saw that the Totodile obviously got pulled away a little. „Don't bother her", she heard the Chansey say. „She needs to rest."
Niani leaned back a little more. Until now she hadn't noticed any of her sourroundings; now she saw a ceiling hanging high above her, with some simple lamps giving off light that she found to be a little too bright. But Niani didn't want to close her eyes again, for she feared she might just fall asleep once more. For now, she needed to find out where she was and why she wasn't dead. Looking around, she saw that the room she was in wasn't very big. The walls were white, the floor was covered in gray carpet. There was nothing unusual about this room, for Niani already had experienced how humans lived. Back then, when she had lived with a trainer... But she shook the thought off, trying to concentrate on her current situation. She was lying on her back on a small bed, that was most likely made for human children. There were windows on two of the four walls, but someone had closed the curtains so that she couldn't see how high the sun stood on the horizon. The room seemed rather empty; Niani saw a closed cupboard in a corner and a few empty shelves next to it. There was the occasional radiator and a door made from dark wood, with an iron doorknob. The door was closed.
Then suddenly, she noticed her pose, which was rather awkward; she was lying on her back, and her hind legs were spread a little, just enough for her to fear that her sex could be exposed to the Chansey and the Totodile, who were both sitting next to her on the bed. She blushed instantly, completely forgetting that her fur, covering that part of her body, made it impossible to see anything. She still felt a bit embarrassed and turned over to lay on her side instead, once again experiencing a wave of pain surge through her body. „I told you not to move too quickly!", the Chansey scolded. He shook his head. „Look, I used Recovery on you and some of the potions I got from Richard, but nothing of that will have any effect if you don't keep still!" „I'm sorry", Niani mumbled. The Chansey let out a sigh. „You'll be completely healed in about half an hour, so don't worry about anything", he informed her. „Maybe you should try to sleep..." „No!", Niani interrupted and kept herself from shaking her head, for she knew that it would just hurt again. She still had that agonizing feeling that, if she should fall asleep, she might never wake up again. „I'll be fine, I guess... Thank you." The Chansey shrugged. „If you say so."
Niani let her head sink deeper into the pillow and tried to relax. Wherever she was, she didn't appear to be in danger, no, she had even be saved and was now taken care of. Her breathing got a little more regular. „Where am I?", she asked finally. „You're in heaven", came the Totodile's answer. Niani's eyes shot open and she saw the Chansey glaring at the Totodile. „Do you think that's funny?", he asked. „She nearly died!" The Totodile looked to the side. „I'm sorry, I didn't really think about what I said." Niani took a deep breath. For a moment she had actually believed she was dead, inspite of her sourroundings. „What did you mean to say, then?", she wanted to know. The Totodile grinned, exposing a row of sharp teeth. „I meant just what I said. This is heaven on earth, the best place in the world, or whatever you like to call it. A paradise for Pokémon!" The Chansey seemed to be a little concerned that Niani could get too excited by this, but the Jolteon just sighed and looked at him. „Could you give me an answer instead of her?" The Chansey nodded and the Totodile rolled her eyes. „Sure. You're in a big mansion that belongs to a human called Richard. He takes in all kinds of injured, endangered or somehow troubled Pokémon and lets them stay here for as long as they like." „We're even allowed to spend our whole lives here", the Totodile added with a broad smile. „As I said, it's heaven. You don't have to worry about finding something to eat or having a place to sleep, it's all taken care of." 
Niani blinked. It sounded a little strange to her that there seemed to be someone who'd go through so many inconveniences just for the sake of some Pokémon he didn't even know, but Niani never had really understood humans, anyway. „How did I get here?", she asked. „Korph and Dolph brought you", the Totodile answered. „They were on patrol this morning and found you in the woods." „I think they're still waiting outside", the Chansey said, pointing at the door. „They were hoping you'd survive. Would you like to see them?" „Sure, why not", Niani said. She didn't really know what she should do in this situation, but she found it appropriate to at least thank those two for saving her life. The Chansey hopped off of the bed and walked over to the door. The Totodile continued watching Niani. „What's your name, anyway?", she asked suddenly, causing Niani to look back at her. „It's Niani", she replied. „What's yours?" „Karana", the Totodile said. „But forget about that last syllable, everyone calls me Kara anyway."
Niani noticed the sound of someone opening a door and directed her attention to the Chansey again. She saw that there were indeed two doorknobs on the door, one of them located very near to the ground so even small Pokémon could use it. Kara turned her head as well and looked at the Chansey. „Everyone just calls him Doc", she said to Niani, answering the question she had been just about to ask. „Of course that's not his real name, but he's gotten used to it. He's the only Chansey here, and so he has to take care of everyone who gets sick or needs to be healed somehow. I sometimes assist him a little, especially when he's treating newcomers like you." She turned to Niani again and smiled. „It's pretty interesting, and I get to know just about everyone." The Jolteon was still looking at Doc, who had opened the door about halfway and was talking to someone on the other side. „Yeah, she's fine", she heard him say. „Thunder, will you tell Richard about it?" „Sure", a male voice replied. Then the door opened completely. A rather large Arcanine and a very muscular Machamp entered the room. Niani could see the tail tip of a Pokémon in the corridor for a split second, then it dashed off. She redirected her attention to the Machamp and the Arcanine and felt a little intimidated by their mighty figures. The Arcanine sat down next to her bed while the Machamp remained standing.
„It's good to see you made it", said the Arcanine. „We were a little worried, because things didn't look to good when we found you." The Machamp nodded and smiled as he noticed the Totodile sitting on the bed next to the Jolteon. „I see you've already met one of our biggest nags", he stated. „Kara is famous for going on people's nerves, you know." The Totodile rolled her eyes. „And Dolph here is famous for making me look bad in front of everyone", she replied. Niani decided to not pay them too much attention. „So you're the ones who found me?", she asked. The Arcanine nodded. „Yes, we were on patrol this morning and I picked up the scent of blood. When I had found you, Dolph carried you here. That's why we always go in teams, you see, I couldn't have done much myself. It's better to have someone with you who has actual hands..." „And is strong enough to do the job", Dolph added. He got in a pose, showing off all four of his muscular arms. „Stop bragging", Kara said a little annoyed. Dolph just chuckled in response. The Arcanine looked at the Chansey, who was standing on the other side of Niani's bed, barely able to look over the edge. „Hey Doc, for how long does she have to stay in that position? Somebody should show her around as soon as possible, right?" „Well, her gashes and bruises are healed", Doc replied with a sigh, „But it would probably be better for her if she first slept for a while..." „I'm not tired", Niani interrupted him. „I just woke up from being unconscious, I don't want to go to sleep again. In fact, it would be great if someone could show me around, I still don't really know..."
She stopped when there was a knock on the door, which was still standing open about halfway. Doc nodded. „That must be Richard. Come in!", he said. The door opened once again and a young man stepped inside. From her previous experiences with humans, Niani guessed he was about twenty-five years old. He had about average height for a male that age, but his hair was unusually long and didn't look like he took very good care of it. Niani noticed that he was dressed in mostly dark colors, like black and dark blue. His eyes were of such a weak blue, it looked more like a plain gray. Niani thought he looked strange; almost like he didn't really care.
When Richard stepped into the room, he was closely followed by a female Raichu, that seemed to pay very much attention to staying as close to him as possible. She was walking on her hind legs only, because she held a notepad and a ballpoint pen in her front paws. Richard and the Raichu came closer to Niani's bed; Dolph and the Arcanine, whose name had to be Korph as Niani remembered, took a step back. Richard looked down at her, and she looked back up. „What's your name?", he asked. „Niani", she replied, although she was sure that humans couldn't understand Pokémon. The Raichu started to scribble something on a sheet of paper. When she was finished, she ripped it out of the notepad and reached it up to Richard, who took it from her and looked at it. „Well, Niani", he said, „I'm glad Korph and Dolph found you in time, and I welcome you to our home." He looked at the Jolteon again. „I'm sorry, but I don't have much time and it would be a better idea for you to get everything explained from a Pokémon, anyway. I'll ask Thunder to show you around, he'll be happy to do so." Richard then turned to Dolph and Korph. „You two did a great job. That counts for you as well, Doc." „It was nothing special", Doc said. Dolph and Korph didn't reply, but nodded instead. The Raichu carefully tugged on the bottom of Richard's pants and the human smiled just a little. „Yes, I know", he said. He turned to Niani once more. „Goodbye for now." He then turned to leave the room, the Raichu hot on his heels, obviously happy that he hadn't spent any more time with the other Pokémon. When he left the room, he closed the door behind him.
Niani frowned. „Is it just me or is that guy a little strange?" Kara, who seemingly hadn't been noticed by Richard at all, showed her toothy grin once more. „He's not a little strange. He's very strange." „But he's a great guy", Dolph said quickly. „Without him we couldn't live at a place like this one." Korph nodded. „So your name's Niani", he stated. Niani turned her head a little to look at him and noticed that luckily, it didn't hurt anymore. „Yes. And you're Korph, right?" Korph nodded again. „Thank you two for finding me", Niani said with a sweet smile. Korph and Dolph both looked to the side. „It was nothing", Dolph said, obviously a little embarrassed. „We just try to help those who are in need", Korph added. Kara giggled. „They're both a little shy when it comes to things like that", she said in a low tone, so that only Niani heard her. Korph then turned to Dolph. „Hey, Dolph, how about we get something to eat now?" The Machamp nodded. „Good idea", he said. „That patrol duty made us miss breakfast." They both looked at Niani again. „See you later", Korph said. „Probably when Thunder shows you around", Dolph added, grinning. Niani blinked. „You don't want to come along?", she asked. Korph shook his head. „Sorry, we've got to eat. But I'm sure Kara will accompany you." „Wether you like it or not", Dolph said, winking at Kara, who just rolled her eyes once more. „Alright, then", Niani said. „See you later."
Dolph went to open the door and let Korph step through. „Oh, hi Thunder", he said, looking at someone who was obviously standing next to him in the corridor, not visible from Niani's position. Dolph also stepped through the door. „It's really amazing how fast you are", he stated. „It's not such a big deal", Niani heard a third male voice say. „I had already expected that Richard would ask me to show her around, so I didn't go away too far." Dolph and Korph both nodded and then walked away into the corridor. A Ninetales now entered the room. He was moving with that certain amount of grace that all Vulpixes and Ninetales' seemed to have. There was a warm smile on his face, and Niani immediately got the impression that this was someone she could trust. „Good day", the Ninetales said. „Your name is Niani, isn't it? I'm Thunder, pleased to meet you." „Thank you", Niani replied. „So you'll show me around?" „Yes, as soon as you think you're ready", Thunder said. „She should rather wait until I think she's ready", Doc muttered in a low tone. „I'm fine", Niani said quickly. „We can go right now!" She had really become curious of how this strange place would look like, and how many Pokémon there would be. „You haven't even tried to stand up yet!", Doc said in a harsh tone. „I'm telling you, it'd be better if..." „Let her go", Kara chuckled, interrupting him. „You can't expect her not to be curious. Remember how you were on your first day here." Doc blushed slightly and looked to the side. „That's completely different", he mumbled, but then said nothing else.
Niani rolled over on her belly, smiling in anticipation of the things she would find out now, and because she didn't feel the slightest bit of pain anymore. She rose to her paws very slowly; her forelegs were shaking a little and it wasn't exactly easy to stand on the soft bed. Niani carefully took a step forward, then turned around and walked across the bed. She turned to Doc. „You really fixed me up well, Doc", she stated. „Thank you." „It's what I do", Doc replied, still a little annoyed. „Just remember not to overdo it for now." Niani grinned and jumped off of the bed, quickly followed by Kara. When her paws hit the ground, she almost tumbled forward, but could catch her ballance again before falling over. Doc slightly shook his head and sighed. „Alright, I guess I'm not needed anymore", he said. He quickly left the room and entered the corridor without saying anything else. Niani looked after him, a little surprised. „What's wrong with him?" „He just doesn't like it when we don't follow his medical advice", Kara answered. She then turned to Thunder. „We can go now." Thunder seemed to be amused. „You're coming with us?" He looked at Niani. „Are you alright with this?" „Why should I have anything against it?" Niani was confused. As far as she could tell, Kara was a really nice person. Thunder grinned. „Oh, it's just that Kara sometimes likes to gossip a little too much." The Totodile rolled her eyes again. 'She does that a lot', thought Niani. „I have to come along", Kara replied. „You might just bore her to death, and she had been close enough to dying for one day already." Thunder frowned and looked at Niani again. „And she might not be pretty sensitive", he added. He then shook his head. „Well, let's just go." He turned and led Niani and Kara, who followed behind him, to the door. They left the room and stepped into a long corridor. Niani looked to the left and right and saw about six doors on both sides of the corridor. There was a corner at the end of the corridor to Niani's right side, and some stairs leading to a lower floor at the end on her left side. The Ninetales turned to the left. „Let's go downstairs", he said. „There's not that much to see in this corridor." Niani looked around. „What's behind all those doors?", she asked. „Mostly empty rooms", Thunder replied. „We always have to be prepared to take in more Pokémon, so we need enough place to turn into sleeping rooms." „Until then, they're mostly used when someone needs to be alone", Kara added. She winked at Niani. „You get what I mean, don't you?" The Jolteon blinked, then blushed and looked to the side when she realized what Kara was talking about. Thunder rolled his eyes. „Don't get the wrong impression", he said. „This is not a brothel or something. „I never claimed it was", Kara stated. „Yeah, I just wanted to make sure", the Nintales replied. „Let's go already."
He started walking towards the stairs. Niani followed him and then thought of something. „Your name is Thunder, right?" „Right", the Ninetales said. „That's a weird name for a fire Pokémon", the Jolteon continued. „Well, I got that name because I had always been very fast, just as my twin." He noticed that Niani perked up at his words. „His name is Lightning. He lives here as well. It's basically our job to keep an eye on things." „I still don't really know how you manage to do that", Kara said. She turned to Niani. „If you decide to stay here, you'll notice it sooner or later; they're always there when you need them, even if you don't call for help. They just sense it somehow when someone's in trouble." „It's not like we did that all on our own", Thunder added. „There's way too many Pokémon here in order for Lightning and me to be able to handle that task alone." He knew which question Niani was about to ask and replied before she even did it: „About eighty to hundred Pokémon live here at the moment. It's kind of hard to know the exact number, because sometimes someone leaves without even telling others about it. And when a wild Pokémon stumbles upon this place and just decides to stay here for a while, then not everybody takes notice of that immediately."
Niani hadn't really payed attention to the last part of his sentence, because that high number had surprised her. Eighty to hundred? It had to be a really big place. „Normally, Richard wants to know about it when there's a newcomer", Kara continued, „but sometimes, he doesn't really care." „What's the deal with Richard, anyway?", Niani asked. „Is he the only human that lives here? And what's with that Raichu that follows him around?" „He's the only human here", Thunder replied. „He has founded this place about four years ago when his parents both died in a car accident. His father had owned some kind of large company, but Richard wasn't interested in it, so he sold it after his parents' death. It made him incredibly rich. He then had this giant mansion built out here in the woods, far away from all kinds of cities. And then he just started to let Pokémon live here with him, paying for their food." Thunder shrugged. „At least that's what he told me. And about the Raichu... Well..." „Her name is Light, and they're mates", Kara replied instead of him. Niani immediately stopped dead in her tracks, making Thunder and Kara stand still as well. „They're what?!" She wasn't sure if she had heard correctly. „They're mates", Kara repeated. She showed her toothy grin once more. „I already said he's very strange." Niani shook her head. „And... And that Raichu, Light, is she alright with that?" Kara chuckled. „Look, I said they're mates, not that he rapes her or something. And Light loves him in a way that's almost ridiculous. You need to remember never to get too close to him, or she'll be mad at you immediately." Niani blinked and looked from Kara to Thunder. „It's true", he stated. „Light is incredibly jealous and fixated on her mate. She doesn't let any females near Richard, and she never talks to any other males than him." He noticed that Niani was looking a little concerned and chuckled. „Don't worry, it's not like everyone here is as strange as they are." He turned around. They were standing in front of the stairs. „Let's just go downstairs. Most of the Pokémon are probably eating right now, it's noon already." „So I was unconscious the whole morning?" Kara nodded. „Yes, it took a while for Doc's recovery and potions to show their effect. They didn't just close your gashes and healed your bruises, they also woke you up again."
The way downstairs took a little longer than expected, because Kara had a little trouble as she was the smallest of them all, and the stairs were a bit too large for her. She didn't want any help, although she slowed down Niani and Thunder. That didn't keep her from talking about Richard, though. „I've noticed that he always wears shirts with long sleeves and keeps his torso covered completely", she said. „I reckon there's something wrong with his body and he doesn't want us to know about that. Maybe he has some kind of disease and that's why he doesn't want to be with other humans..." „He doesn't want to be with other humans because he doesn't like them", Thunder sighed. „That's what he told us", Kara nodded, „but it doesn't necessarily have to be the truth. Something's obviously strange about him, I mean, have you ever looked into his eyes? Whenever he looks at someone else than Light, there's this weird expression of complete indifference..." „Don't you think you're exaggerating a little?", Thunder asked. He sounded a little annoyed, because he had to walk at a way too slow pace because of the Totodile. „I'm not exaggerating", she insisted. „There are all kinds of strange things about him, and about Light as well. What about the long walks they always take? Sometimes they don't return for hours!" „Well, maybe they just want to be alone", Thunder guessed. „And maybe you could come down these stairs faster, if you didn't focus on gossiping all the time." 
Niani didn't interrupt their conversation, mainly because she wasn't an insider like them. But she listened attentively, trying to get an impression of Richard and Light. „I'm not gossiping", Kara defended herself, „I'm just thinking out loud. And Niani has to know as much as possible about this place, after all she will have to decide if she is going to stay here or return to wherever she came from." Thunder turned to Niani. „Where did you come from, anyway?", he asked. The Jolteon looked to the side. „I don't want to talk about it", she said lowly. „But you can rest assured that I'm not about to go back there anytime soon if there is any possibility to stay somewhere else." There was silence. „Well, and since this possibility quite obviously is there", she continued, „I'm going to stay here, I guess." Kara nodded. „You'll like it here", she said. She held on to the edge of a step and slowly lowered herself down to the next one. „Whatever you like to do, you can do it here. If you like crowds, then there's the hall and if you'd rather be alone, then you won't have a problem finding a quiet place in this giant building." Niani nodded without paying much attention. She had reached the end of the wooden stairs and found herself in another large corridor. There were doors on both sides as well as both ends. A dark blue carpet covered the ground. „How many rooms does this mansion have exactly?", Niani wanted to know. Thunder, who was standing next to her, shrugged. „I'm not entirely sure", he admitted. „But there's certainly a lot of them. Most of the doors here lead to the sleeping rooms. Different numbers of Pokémon share a room, according to their preferences. Those with mates prefer to be alone with their respective mate, of course, while most of the other Pokémon share their rooms with up to nine others." „Except for Larryn!", Kara called from a few steps upstairs. Thunder nodded. „Who's Larryn?", Niani asked. „He's a Rattata and seems to be scared of absolutely everything", Thunder replied. „He never leaves his room when there's someone else in the corridor and so we have to bring him his food, but nobody may ever enter his room." „And there's others who prefer to have a room for themselves as well", Kara continued. „Like Shane, for example." Niani looked at Thunder with a curious expression. The Ninetales turned to the side. „You see, Niani, Shane is..." He shook his head and started over. „Those Pokémon who didn't come here because they found this place were mostly brought here by patrols, just like Dolph and Korph found you. They get brought here because they're injured, lost or don't have a home anymore, and that means that most of the time they lost someone dear to them, like their mate, their family or their children..." He looked to the ground. „It's always a tragedy, and it happens way more often than it should. Now, most of the Pokémon who get brought here learn to cope with loss sooner or later, but in Shane's case..." He trailed off. Niani nodded. „What happened to him?", she asked in a soft, caring tone. „It was his mate", Thunder replied. „She got killed for some reason I don't know. He doesn't talk much. But to make matters even worse, she had been pregnant. So Shane lost his mate and his only child."
Kara had finally come down the stairs and was now standing next to Thunder and Niani. For once, she didn't seem happy, but very serious instead. „He does leave his room more often than Larryn, but he's never happy or seems to enjoy anything he does. Sometimes he sits in the hall, where most of the Pokémon eat, and just stares at the ground, without talking to anyone or doing anything. I tried to have a conversation with him a few times, but he never seems to pay much attention. And then he would just look up at me for a moment, and I couldn't go on with talking, because there's always such a horribly broken expression in his eyes." She sighed. „And whenever somebody mentions his mate or even his child, he gets angry and eventually dashes off into his room." Niani felt a deep pity for Shane, even though she had never met him. „What's his species?", she asked. „He's a Sandslash", Thunder answered. He shook his head. „It's always terrible to see him being so very depressive, because he looks so strong, judging only by his outer appearance. He remembers everyone that, no matter how strong you are, life can still knock you down."
Thunder noticed that all that talking about such themes made Niani lower her head in sadness, so he quickly said: „Let's go into the hall, that'll cheer you up. There's going to be a whole lot of Pokémon being there at the moment, it's lunchtime, after all." He turned to the right and started walking, followed by Niani and Kara. The Jolteon perked up her ears. Behind some of the doors they passed, she could hear faint noises, mostly voices of Pokémon talking to each other, although she couldn't make out what was being said. Then a door opened to her right, and a Zangoose stepped into the corridor, closing the door behind her again. Niani turned to look at her and noticed that the tip of her left ear was missing. Niani guessed that this Zangoose also had been found injured, and that Doc had been unable to cure that particular wound. The Zangoose waved at Thunder. „Thunder, it's good to see you!" She looked at Niani and Kara and chuckled. „Why are you escorting those two? Has anyone made death threats because they couldn't stand Kara's gossiping anymore?" The Totodile rolled her eyes. 'Maybe I should count how often she does that per day', Niani thought with a grin. She also noticed that the Zangoose was now looking at her with a strange expression; she was obviously wondering if she had ever seen the Jolteon before.
„I'm taking them to the hall", Thunder said. He nodded at Niani. „Niani is new here and needs to be shown around." A smile formed on the Zangoose's face. „Then I was right, I've never seen you before. You looked a little like Teranza at the first sight, so I couldn't really tell. My name's Ral?re, it's nice to meet you." Niani was a little intrigued by the way she had pronounced her name; there seemed to be a special accentuation on the first „e". She nodded in response. „It's nice to meet you, too. I'm Niani." Though Thunder had already introduced her to Ral?re, she had needed to return the Zangoose's greeting in order to be polite. Ral?re put her paws on her hips and grinned. „So you're getting shown around by Kara? Don't worry, as long as you don't listen to what she has to say, you might just have a chance to survive." Kara sighed loudly. „I have to put up with this every day", she explained to Niani. „Ral?re is my roommate, if you want to call it that way." Niani was wondering if everyone was just exaggerating or if Kara was indeed such a nuisance, when Thunder said rather impatiently: „Come on now, don't get wound up in everything. We wanted to go to the hall, remember?" „I take it you're hungry, then?", Ral?re said with a chuckle. „Well, it's a lucky coincidence, because I'm on my way to the hall as well. Let's go."
Thunder turned around again and continued to lead the way down the corridor, followed by Niani, Ral?re and Kara. The Jolteon counted the doors they passed, for she knew that if she was going to stay here, she'd probably have to find that hall again if she expected to get something to eat. Counting from the stairs on, Thunder stopped as they had reached the seventh door on the left. It wasn't the end of the corridor, though; four doors still lay in front of them. Niani shook her head in wonder of how big this whole place was once again, just as Thunder raised one of his front paws and slowly pushed against the door, from behind which a large amount of noise came. „Prepare to be amazed", Kara told Niani, showing her toothy grin again. Niani nodded and turned forward as Thunder opened the door.
It was, just as Kara had said, amazing. The hall was so gigantic, it made Niani wonder if this really was just a big mansion or maybe even an entire village under one single roof. The big room was currently filled with Pokémon of all different kinds, who just shared one similarity: They were all eating. Those who were more or less humanoid sat at tables and some of them even used cutlery. She saw a Kicklee and a Hitmonchan without his gloves, currently cutting large pieces out of steaks with knives and forks. A few steps next to them, there were a few quadrupeds who had stuffed their muzzles deep into some feeding dishes. She even saw another Jolteon and wondered if this could be Teranza, who Ral?re had mentioned earlier. There were other Eeevee evolutions as well, such as an Umbreon and a Flareon. In general, the hall contained all kinds of different surroundings and necessary conditions according to each Pokémon's eating habits. There even were artifical trees for the bird Pokémon! Thunder kept holding the door open for Niani, which he had to do because the Jolteon was still completely wound up in what she saw and if he had taken another step forward, the door would have swung back and hit her right in the face. Niani was currently staring at the far corner of the room, where a medium-sized pool was located, in which a Vaporeon and a large Lapras were swimming, trying to catch and eat small fish. Right next to the pool, there were about eight very young Pokémon playing and running around and Niani noticed that, although the Lapras was busy eating, she was still keeping an eye on the children. The Jolteon found this to be a little strange, as those could not be her kids. None of them was a water type, but instead there were two Pichus, a Poochyena, an Eeevee and other land-dwelling Pokémon. Through the windows on the far wall, there shone the light of the midday sun. The hall had a total account of six doors; there was the one in which Niani was still standing, then one on the wall with the windows, which obviously led outside, and two doors on each of the other walls. Those doors had letters on them, but Niani couldn't read, so she didn't know what kind of rooms lay hidden there. And if all those new things attacking her visual sense wouldn't have been enough already, she also had to bear with all kinds of voices, eating noises and other sounds which were at an almost deafening level.
Niani shook her head in disbelief, when she suddenly recognized a familiar voice in all the chaos. „Hey, Niani! Don't just stand there, you're blocking the door!" It was Kara, and Niani quickly turned her head to all sides, looking for where she was. She finally spotted her near the artificial trees with Ral?re sitting right next to her. „Come here!", she shouted, motioning Niani to move closer with her front paw, „There's someone you should meet!" Niani slowly got out of her surprise-induced trance and slowly padded over to Kara, looking left and right over and over again. She heard the door close behind her as Thunder had obviously stepped away from it in order to follow her. Pokémon were just about everywhere, so she had to watch out where she walked. When Niani had finally reached Kara and Ral?re, she smiled to herself, relieved that she hadn't run into anyone or stepped in anybody's food. The Totodile and the Zangoose sat in front of plates which they had placed on the ground and which had pieces of meat as well as some vegetables on them. When Niani arrived, Kara shoved a feeding dish in her direction. „I already got you something to eat", she stated, speaking in a normal tone. Now that Niani was close enough to her, she didn't need to shout for the Jolteon to hear her anymore. „You do eat meat, don't you?" Niani nodded and looked at the bowl in front of her. It contained some high quality meat, which made her realize just how hungry she really was. „Yes, thank you", she said with a smile and quickly dove her muzzle into the feeding dish, starting to eat. She then heard Thunder's voice from behind her: „Hey, what about me?" „You've been here for long enough, you can fetch something yourself", Kara replied with a chuckle. „Really polite", Ral?re mumbled. „Well, she's actually quite right", Thunder said. „I'll be back in a moment."
Niani looked up from her food and watched the Ninetales walk away, seemingly aiming for one of the labeled doors, which the Jolteon couldn't read. She turned back to Kara who was just taking a piece of meat from her plate, rasing it up to her mouth. „Kara", she remembered, „you did say there was someone I should meet, right?" Kara stopped raising her paw for a second and nodded. „Sure." She pointed upwards with her other paw. „Just look." Niani slowly raised her head and saw that in the artificial tree, on a branch that was hanging a few steps above her head, there sat a Pidgeotto next to a bowl that was attached to the branch. The Pidgeotto had bent down and was obviously eating out of this bowl, for his beak was moving. He seemed to notice somehow that Niani was looking up at him and slowly rose his head again, turning around to return her gaze. „Umm... Hello there", the Jolteon said reluctantly. The Pidgeotto placed a wing on his front and bent his head and body in a bow. „Greetings, miss. My name is Netho. If I am allowed this question, how are you called?" Niani was a little taken aback by this polite introduction, but answered anyway: „I'm Niani. It's a pleasure to meet you." Netho bowed even deeper and the Jolteon feared he might just fall off of his branch. „It also is a great pleasure for me to be allowed near such a nice Jolteon as you, Miss Niani." Kara giggled lowly. „He's a knight", she said to Niani. The Jolteon turned to her, surprised. „He's what?" The Totodile grinned. „He acts like a knight, I mean." Niani nodded slowly, still not quite grasping what Kara had actually talked about. „He's not hitting on me, right?", she whispered as lowly as she could. Kara giggled again and shook her head. „No, that's how he talks with everyone. That's why I said he's a knight, because nobody around shows as much courtesy as he does." Niani understood and looked back up at Netho. „I apologize if my behaviour offended you in any way, Miss Niani", the Pidgeotto said. „If you don't enjoy my company, I shall leave." „No", the Jolteon said quickly, shaking her head. „I'm not offended, really! You just surprised me a little, that's all. Please stay." Netho nodded. „I am honored to hear that, Miss Niani." He bowed again and then went back to pecking up food from his bowl. The Jolteon turned to Kara again. „Is there any special reason he is acting like this?", she asked in a low tone so that Netho wouldn't hear her. Kara shrugged. „I don't really know", she admitted. „But if I had to take a guess, I'd say he's trying to compensate for something. Or maybe his father was a moron and he tries his best not to become like him. But it could also be..." She couldn't speak further, because Ral?re had put her paw on the back of Kara's head and pushed it down onto the plate that was in front of her. „Stop starting rumors and eat", she said in a playfully annoyed tone. Kara spoke some muffled words into her food and wriggled her front paws around, but Ral?re was a lot stronger than her and so she gave up and started eating right from her plate.
Just then Thunder returned, shoving a bowl filled with meat and vegetables around in front of him. He looked at Kara, who was still being held in her place by Ral?re, and smiled. „Probably serves her right", he muttered lowly. He noticed Netho in the branch above him and then turned to Niani who had been watching Kara struggle against Ral?re's grasp for a while and was now busy eating again, without even noticing Thunder who was sitting right next to her. „How's the food?", he asked. The Jolteon raised her head immediately and turned around. Thunder had obviously startled her. After recognizing the Ninetales she smiled and said: „It's very good, much better than what I'm used to." „That doesn't only count for the food", stated Ral?re who had let go of Kara's head again. „If you plan to return to the wilderness at any rate, I advise you to never sleep in a bed. You won't want to lie down anywhere else anymore." „Don't worry, she wants to stay here anyway", said Kara while picking small pieces of meat which stuck to her face and putting them in her mouth. Ral?re looked up. „Really?" She turned to Niani. „Did you already think about where you're going to sleep?" The Jolteon shook her head. „I haven't put much thought into that yet. I mean, I still haven't seen very much of this place." „It won't be a problem", Kara meant. „You can have a bed in our room." Niani looked from Kara to Ral?re, who chuckled. „Well, I wouldn't have a problem with that, even though nobody asked me", she said, „but you still need to ask Niani if she even wants to sleep in the same room with someone as annoying as you." Niani immediately turned to the Totodile, expecting her to roll her eyes again, and indeed she did it. „It'd be great to stay with you two, thanks for the offer", The Jolteon said quickly, because she didn't want Kara to snap back at the Zangoose.
She then went back to eating. The vegetables were fresh and the meat had a rather spicy flavor; it reminded her of the time when she had been with a trainer and didn't have to rely on finding food herself. She looked up and turned to Thunder who was eating as well, but looked up as Niani asked: „Where does that food come from, anyway?" „Richard has paid someone to bring it", he replied. „A large van pulls up near the front side of the building every day." Niani ran her tongue across her lips. „Is there something to drink as well? I haven't drunk anything since last night." Thunder nodded. „Right, I should have thought of that way sooner." He stood up and turned around. „Follow me to the storage room." Niani nodded and went after him as the Ninetales lead her through the hall. She noticed that a lot of Pokémon turned around to look at them as they passed by, but she couldn't tell if they were looking at her or at him. As they were standing right in front of one of the labeled doors, a voice from behind called: „Hey, Thunder! What's wrong, has Teranza forgotten where to get something to drink?" Thunder and Niani both turned around and the Jolteon was surprised to see another Ninetals, who looked just like Thunder, standing behind her. Now, Pokémon of the same species always looked very similar to each other, but this Ninetales looked absolutely exactly like Thunder. He had the same height, his fur had the exact same color and he even seemed to move just like the other Ninetales. Niani guessed that this would be Lightning, Thunder's twin. And he seemed to have mistaken her for the Jolteon that also Ral?re had thought she would be. Now that he saw her front he also seemed to be unsure if she really was Teranza. „It's good to see you, brother", said Thunder and walked over to Lightning, nudging his cheek with his nose. Niani tilted her head to the side. The two twins seemed to share a rather deep relationship. Lightning returned the affection by giving his brother a lick across his forehead. Thunder then turned to Niani. „Her name is Niani and she is new here. Haven't you heard about the Jolteon who was found by Dolph and Korph this morning?" Lightning nodded. „Right, I should have been able to see that she's not Teranza. Her fur has a different look." He lowered his head in something that Niani suspected should be a bow. „Good day, Niani, my name is Lightning. You're welcome here as long as you don't start any trouble of some sort." The Jolteon found this introduction to be a little rude, especially after she had experienced Netho's courtesy. Regardless, she still bowed her head in return and answered: „I'm pleased to meet you, Lightning." The Ninetales just nodded in response.
Thunder looked a little concerned. He rubbed his nose against his twin's shoulder. „Are you alright?", he asked in a low tone. „You were at the fighting area, weren't you? Has something happened again?" „Not really", Lightning replied with a sigh. „But the atmosphere was tense, as usual. If it wasn't for Ryakee, we'd probably have heavy injuries at a daily basis." Thunder nodded. „Just forget about for that now, get yourself something to eat and don't think about all that trouble. I'll be there for you later if you need to talk about it, but for now I have to show Niani around." Lightning looked to the ground for a moment. Then he faced Thunder again. „I'll do that, thank you." He gave his brother a lick across his cheek. „See you later, then." He turned around and walked away, obviously aiming for the labeled doors on the other side of the room. Thunder just stood and looked after him, his nine tails lowered. He didn't move or say anything until Niani said: „Thunder? Are you alright?" The Ninetales seemed to get out of his trance-like state and turned around to the Jolteon. He shook his head and rose his tails a little again. „Yes, I'm fine", he replied. „Let's get you something to drink." He walked towards the door and rose a paw to push it open. Niani followed him as he spoke: „I know that Lightning didn't seem to be very polite, but you need to excuse that. He had to keep an eye on the fighting range, and the Pokémon there can get very... annoying to look after." Thunder held the door open as Niani stepped into the room. She looked around, once again amazed. There were shelves all over the walls, and most of them were filled completely with bottles of water. In one corner, there were a lot of empty bowls. Niani was wondering how she should get anything to drink, as she didn't have hands or anything like that to open up a bottle of water, as she noticed a Mankey standing around, leaning against a wall. He looked up as Niani and Thunder stepped into the room. „What can I do for you?", he asked. Thunder nodded at him. „We need to bowls of water." A small smile formed on the Mankey's face. „I already thought so", he muttered as he grabbed a bowl and a bottle of water and poured the water into the bowl. He then took another bowl and repeated the process. The Mankey then shoved the two bowls in front of the Ninetales and the Jolteon. „There you go." Thunder nodded again and the Mankey held the door open as Thunder and Niani left the room again, pushing the bowls around in front of them.
„It'd be hard for us quadrupeds to open bottles, so we have to get help from Pokémon who have hands or better functioning paws. Those helpers are mostly volunteers, and there's a list with their names on it which shows whose turn it is to assist us quadrupeds." Niani nodded. As she had guessed, living in a mansion owned by a human would probably be easier for those Pokémon who were a little more similar to humans. Thunder didn't say anything anymore and they weren't very fast because they had to shove their bowls of water around, so Niani felt like she had to talk about something until they would have reached their friends again. „Who is that Ryakee that Lightning mentioned?", she asked. „She's a Dragonite and by far the most powerful Pokémon who lives here", Thunder replied. „She always helps us to keep an eye on the fighting type Pokémon because they're often a little aggressive. Most of the time she's at the fighting area anyway, training to become even stronger." „Where's that fighting area?", Niani wanted to know. „Will you show me around there, too?" Thunder walked a bit slower for a moment as he seemed to hesitate. „It would probably be a good idea", he said a little reluctantly, „as long as I'm coming with you. As I said, most of the Pokémon there are rather aggressive, and if you're not looking for a fight then you shouldn't go there." „Is it really that dangerous?" „Well, it's not like you'll be beaten to death the second you put a paw in there", Thunder continued, „but you should take care. Besides, it's Lightning's and my job to look out for everyone here, so you shouldn't worry too much."
They were now arriving at the artificial trees again. Netho was still sitting on the same branch; he had obviously finished his food and was talking about something with Kara and Ral?re. When they noticed Thunder and Niani, they all turned around to them. Kara waved; for some reason, she was showing her toothy grin again. „It's always funny to see quadrupeds trying to get something to drink", she said as Thunder and Niani had gotten close enough. „Just take care not to knock over your bowl and spill that water everywhere." „Don't be so cocky", Thunder scolded and bent down to lap up some of his water. „I might just decide not to help you when your mouth gets you in trouble the next time." Kara kept her grin and looked up at Netho. „Well, in that case I could also count on you to protect me, right?" Netho bowed again and Niani wondered if he did that every time he said somehing. „To tell you the truth, Miss Kara, that would depend on wether or not you had actually caused the problem yourself." The Totodile seemed to be surprised by that answer. „Hey, I'm not one for causing problems!", she claimed. She turned around to Ral?re. „Ral?re, tell him that..." Kara stopped as she saw the grin on the Zangoose's face and then rolled her eyes. „Alright, you're probably the wrong person to ask." She shook her head an ate the last piece of meat that had been on her plate. Niani giggled lowly and bent down to drink a bit of water.
Just then, the noise in the hall grew much quieter, and Kara and Ral?re both turned to look in the direction of the door through which Niani had first entered. The Jolteon slowly rose her head as well and turned there as well. She saw a female Sneasel walking through the hall on all fours, which Niani found to be a little strange, for she knew that Sneasels often preferred to walk on their hind legs only. The female took very much time in searching for a place to eat; she kept looking around, occasionally winking at someone. All kinds of males seemed to offer her plates or bowls, and she looked at all of them for a moment before starting to walk again. Many Pokémon in the hall seemed to be wound up in looking at her; most of the males were obviously staring, while many females shook their heads or looked dissatisfied. One of those females was Kara. „Who is that?", asked Niani in a low tone, because it wasn't as loud in the hall as it had been before and she didn't want anyone else than her friends to hear her question. The Totodile kept looking at the Sneasel, obviously very displeased. „He name is Sugar, at least that's what she want to be called. She's the greatest slut you'll ever see." Niani's first guess was that this was one of Kara's exaggerations and turned to Ral?re instead, who slowly looked away from Sugar now and concentrated on eating the last pieces of meat that were still on her plate. „It's true", she stated, looking at Niani only by turning her eyes. Kara shook her head. „She's such an attention whore..." The Totodile turned back to Ral?re and Niani. The steady noise in the hall slowly grew louder again, for Sugar had decided to accept some male Wartortle's food and now sat down next to him. „They say that she has mated with every male in this mansion at least once", Kara spoke in a very low tone. Thunder, who had all the while not looked up from his bowl of water, now rose his head. „Who says that?" Kara rolled her eyes. „Alright, alright, it's just what I say. But it really wouldn't surprise me if it was true." „Well", said Thunder, „for starters, I have never mated with her." „You're an exception", muttered Kara. „Everyone knows you're too wound up in your duties for something like that." „If I'm allowed to speak, then I would like to add that I have also never mated with Sugar", came Netho's voice from above. Kara rolled her eyes once again. „Alright, alright, I get it. But she's still a slut!" Ral?re nodded. „You're right for once", she said. „And there's no doubt that she's had a whole lot of males, but that's not a surprise, since most of them are morons, anyway." Niani perked up. She heard Kara sigh. „Please, Ral?re, not that again." The Zangoose shook her head. „Oh, come on! Just look at him!" She pointed to where Sugar sat. Niani took another look. The Wartortle seemed to continue talking to Sugar, while the Sneasel quite obviously was only interested in enjoying his food. „Alright, he is a moron", Kara accepted, „but that doesn't mean..." „Look, you said it yourself, she's a slut", Ral?re interrupted. „And sluts can only exist as long as there are moronic males!"
The Totodile and the Zangoose continued their discussion and Niani turned to Thunder. „Is it really that bad with Sugar?", she asked. The Ninetales sighed. „It's worse. You see, I'm not one for giving other Pokémon bad names, but I have to say that Kara is absolutely right, Sugar is an attention whore. When she came here, she announced that every Sunday, she would allow only the one male Pokémon in her room that she would currently be fancying the most." He shook his head. „I'm telling you, I wouldn't shed a single tear if I saw her leave. Some males just keep starting fights over her and it wouldn't surprise me if she got herself raped someday." Niani was a little taken aback by that last sentence. „Aren't you supposed to make sure something like that won't happen?" Thunder sighed. „Yes, that's true. But I'm telling you, if that should ever happen then it would be her own fault. I really wish Richard wouldn't allow Pokémon of her kind here." The Jolteon nodded. It had to be really annoying having to keep an eye on someone who obviously liked to start trouble. She looked around the hall and noticed that, though the noise had grown to the same level it had been on before again, many Pokémon, mostly males, still looked up from their food occasionally to watch the Sneasel. „How did she get here?", asked Niani. „Well, she...", started Thunder, but got interrupted by Kara: „Let me tell you about that. It was about one and a half years ago, and she just appeared one day, being all like „Oh, there seem to be a lot of handsome males here, so I think I'm going to stay."" The Totodile had put her paws on her hips and was shaking her whole body, obviously mocking Sugar's exaggerated movements. Ral?re giggled. „And then she started to talk bad about other females", Kara added. The Zangoose looked up. „She did? Are you sure about that?" The Totodile rolled her eyes, and it made Niani giggle as well. „Alright, so I can't be completely sure, but she's the type of Pokémon who would do such things." „Oh, and you aren't?", asked Ral?re. Kara bared her teeth and got into a menacing stance. „Did you just compare me to Sugar?", she asked in a threatening tone. Ral?re looked at the Totodile, who was not only smaller than her, but also visibly weaker, and grinned. „Well, I'm not really sure. Maybe?" Kara growled lowly, and Thunder shook his head. „Stop it now, both of you", he said. „There are enough troublemakers as it is already, don't make me add you to the list." „Come on, Thunder", Ral?re chuckled, „we're just playing around. Right, Kara?" She embraced the Totodile in a swift move and hugged her close to her chest, continuing to chuckle while Kara tried to free herself, but was much too weak to do so. The Ninetales seemingly didn't know if he should laugh or sigh, so he just smiled and turned to Niani again. „How about we continue the tour, Niani? You're finished with your food, right?" The Jolteon nodded and smiled as well. „Yes, that's a good idea. Kara, Ral?re, are you coming, too?" Ral?re let go of Kara, who quickly took a step back, and shook her head. „I'm going to take a stroll around the woods", she said. „But I'm sure Kara will accompany you." The Totodile nodded and grinned her toothy grin. „I sure will! Let's go, then!" Thunder nodded and looked up at Netho. „Alright. Netho, would you be so kind and keep an eye on Sugar for me as long as she stays in the hall? I'm a little concerned she might make someone go crazy again." Netho bowed. „I'll be glad to be of assistance." He then bowed to Niani and Kara as well. „Until the day we shall meet again." The Jolteon and the Totodile both said their Goodbyes and then followed Thunder, as he led them out of the hall and into the corrioder again.

It truly was a great place, and it took Thunder all day to show it to Niani. They first visited the fighting range, because the Jolteon had shown a certain interest of going there and as long as Thunder accompanied them, there would be nothing to worry about. The Ninetales began to have doubts if Niani would have to be so careful anyway, as she seemed to be stronger than he had first thought; at least that's what most of the fighting type Pokémon obviously thought of her. The fighting range consisted of two big parts; there was one area that was made for single training, as it contained dolls, punching balls and other objects Pokémon could train their abilities with, whereas the other area was obviously made for combat training. It was basically just a large arena, with some big rocks scattered along the ground, which were probably there for hiding while in a battle. There weren't very many Pokémon there when Niani, Thunder and Kara arrived, since most of them were still at the hall eating lunch, but still the Jolteon even got to see Dolph again and meet Ryakee, the Dragonite that Lightning had mentioned. Ryakee seemed to be a very kind, yet very powerful Pokémon, and Niani immediately got the impression, just like it had been with Thunder before, that she could probably trust her life into these Pokémon's paws.
When a Kicklee got back from the hall and challenged Dolph to a battle, Thunder convinced Niani that they should continue the tour, though the Jolteon would have loved to watch the battle. There was a door on the front side of the fighting area which led outside, and the Ninetales proposed to take a look around on the mansion's surroundings. When they had left the house, Niani could see that it was actually three stories high and even larger than she had imagined. There was a wide path nearby and the Jolteon was able to tell that a large car used it on a regular basis. She reckoned this would probably be the van that brought the food and water every day.
„Many Pokémon like to take walks through in the forest every now and then, just like Ral?re does at the moment", Thunder explained. „Most of them don't want to give up their natural lifestyle completely." When they walked around one of the corners of the building, they came upon a small, natural pond near the mansion. Niani saw the Lapras from the hall taking a swim in there, and the children that had been with her before were playing next to her now as well. This time the Jolteon asked what the deal was with that Lapras and the young Pokémon, that quite obviously couldn't be hers. „Her name is Chria", replied Kara. „When she came here, she had lost her mate, who had died because he protected her from some attacker, and didn't know how she should go on with her life. But after some time, she got over it and started to take care of the children that were abandoned or had become orphans and were found by our patrols." „She truly loved her mate", Thunder added, „and she vowed that she would never have any other male in her whole life. But they seemingly hadn't been together for long enough to have children, and since it was one of her greatest dreams to raise a family, she took care of those other young Pokémon." „But her children don't always get found in the woods", Kara continued. „It also happens that a female in the mansion gets pregnant and doesn't want her child, so she just gives it to Chria after giving birth. I'm pretty sure that even Sugar had to do that one time, when..." „We should continue the tour", Thunder said quickly. Kara just rolled her eyes.
They went inside again, and this time they took the door that led to the hall. It was almost completely empty now that lunchtime was over and Thunder, seeing this as a good opportunity, told Niani behind which doors she could find water, meat and vegetables. The fourth of the labeled doors was the room where the dish washers stood. „This is one of the advantages of being a quadruped", Thunder chuckled. „You never have to fill the dish washers." He then told her about how there would be a list that determined whose turn it was to do these chores, and Niani felt a little uncomfortable since she seemed to be the only Pokémon in the mansion that couldn't read. „Don't worry", Kara said, „I can teach you. You'll see, it won't take long."
Thunder led them into the corridor they had first come from, and told Niani about whose bedrooms they were passing. He had obviously memorized all the Pokémons names. „And if you need to clean yourself", he said, „then don't worry, there are eight bathrooms with showers in this mansion, and they're all built so they can be used by humans as well as by Pokémon." Niani nodded again and again, following Thunder as he went upstairs. „As soon as you've learned how to read, this might interest you", he said, stopping in front of a door that was slightly bigger than most of the other ones. „This is the library. There are all kinds of books here, and even if you should stay here for your entire life, you probably still won't have time to read them all." The Ninetales opened the door, and indeed, he seemed to be right with his assumption. The library was almost as gigantic as the hall, and the next four doors on the corridor all led there. Niani had never seen so many books before; there were large bookshelves everywhere, and they were all filled with books. Niani started to wonder how small Pokémon should reach those books that were on top of the shelves, and Thunder told her that a Kadabra called Phizz was the one who took care of those issues. „You just have to tell him which book you want, he'll get it for you with his psychic powers." „You can spend days just looking at the backs of these books, though", said Kara. „There are books on all kinds of stuff and of every genre, like fantasy, science fiction or crime novels, but there are also things like scientific studies. Just the other day I found a book on how to build some kind of gear for airplanes, I seriously don't know why Richard keeps books like those." „There are very many different books", Thunder agreed, „but the best represented genre is, by far, philosophy." Kara nodded. „That just proves that Richard is strange", she said. „I mean you can't really read one of those books without being insane, you just won't understand a word."
Niani just nodded without really listening, while Thunder led her through a row of shelves, heading for another door. There were a few Pokémon sitting on the ground and reading and Niani wondered how it could possibly be fun to stare at a page for a while, then turn that page and stare at a new one. 'Maybe there's something special about it', she thought. 'I've got to try this when Kara has taught me how to read.'
They left the library and were now standing in the corridor again. A Cubone came out of another room and went down the hallway, disappearing behind the corner that led to the stairs. Thunder continued to tell her which Pokémon had their rooms behind the doors on this corridor, though a lot of rooms were empty. They then stood in front of another staircase, which led to the third floor. „Well, you'll probably never have to go up there", he stated. „There's a lot of rooms up there, but except for two of them they're all empty." „Whose rooms are those two?", Niani asked curiously. „One of them is Shane's room", Kara replied. The Jolteon thought for a bit and then remembered that Shane was the depressed Sandslash they had talked about earlier. „It's not good for someone like him to be isolated in such a way", she said. „That's what he chose", replied Thunder. „We won't force him to be with anyone against his will." „Still, I think he needs help", Niani insisted. „You won't, after talking to him at least once", Kara said. This time it was Niani's turn to roll her eyes, but she didn't say anything in return. „The other room is occupied by Light and Richard", Thunder continued to explain. „This is also another reason never to go upstairs", Kara added. „You don't even need to be near their door, you see, being on the same corridor as Richard is enough for Light to turn into a raging fury." Thunder just chuckled and Niani started to wonder if Kara had actually ever experienced something like that. „Let's go downstairs again", the Ninetales then said. „The sun will set in about half an hour, and then the Pokémon will gather in the hall again to get dinner."
They went downstairs and entered the hall again. Niani looked around and saw that the big room was almost completely empty; only one table was occupied and no Pokémon sat on the ground or on one of the artificial branches. „Let's get something to drink first", Kara said, „Walking all these stairs has..." She suddenly stopped as looked in the same direction as Niani. Richard was sitting on a chair in front of a table, writing something in a small book with a pen in his right hand, while holding both of Light's front paws with his left hand. When the door closed behind Thunder with a dull sound, the Raichu immediately turned to see who had entered the room. Richard didn't seem to notice any of that. Light shot Kara and Niani an angry glance and mouthed the words „he's mine", and then turned back to Richard, rubbing his hand with her paws. The human looked up for a moment and smiled at Light, then he went back to writing in his book. Kara just shook her head and motioned Niani to follow her, as she started walking towards the door behind which there was the water storage room. „I seriously don't know why she is acting this way", She whispered on the way there, „It's not like anyone would ever want to be with someone as strange as Richard." „Well, he's obviously not too strange for Light", said Thunder, walking behind Kara and Niani. „No, he's just strange enough for her", the Totodile mumbled, opening the door to get herself some water.
They all drank, and Kara and Thunder then wanted to get something to eat again. Niani shook her head. „I'm not hungry, thank you." She yawned. „In fact, I feel kind of tired..." „Then you should go to sleep", Kara said. „It's no surprise the impressions of your first day here exhausted you." Niani agreed. „You did say I could sleep in your room, didn't you?" The Totodile chuckled. „Sure, don't worry about it. Let's go, I'll bring you there." „Alright", said Niani, and then turned to Thunder. „Thank you for showing me around, Thunder. I think I'll enjoy staying at this place." The Ninetales smiled. „Don't mention it, I had fun doing it. Good night." Niani nodded and then followed Kara, as she led her out of the hall again. It seemed to make Light happy that they left, as the Raichu let out a satisfied sigh and smiled broader, continuing to look at Richard. As Kara and Niani walked through the corridor towards the door that led to their room, a few different Pokémon came in their direction, obviously heading for the hall. After a few steps the two friends had reached their room, and Kara opened the door. Niani stepped inside. There wasn't too much furniture in there, except for four beds, two on each side of the room. There were two windows on the far wall, and as Thunder had predicted, the sun was beginning to set. But what surprised Niani the most was seeing Ral?re lying on one of the beds, fast asleep. As Kara closed the door behind her, she took notice of the Zangoose, too. „She probably went to sleep early", she whispered, „that's not very uncommon." Niani nodded, not saying anything as to not wake up Ral?re. „You can choose between those two beds", Kara said in a low tone, pointing first to the bed next to Ral?re's and then to one of the beds on the other side. Niani thought for a second and then jumped onto the bed Kara had pointed to last. „Thank you for letting me sleep here", she whispered as she slowly lay down. The Totodile giggled. „Don't worry about that. It'll be great to not share a room with Ral?re only, maybe she'll behave a little better from now on."
Niani could see that Kara hadn't been serious and smiled. „Thanks anyway. Good night." The Totodile nodded and turned to leave the room again. „Good night, Niani. I'll wake you when it's time for breakfast." Kara opened the door, stepped into the corridor and closed the door again, all the while making as few noises as possible. Niana rolled over on her side and placed her cheek on the soft pillow that lay on the bed. She then closed her eyes with a soft smile. Ral?re had been right. She would never be able to lie down anywhere else again. She sighed happily and let the sleep take over her body, thinking about how lucky she was to have been brought to a place like this mansion.



(13146 words)


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This ends the first chapter. I know that it didn't really have much plot; that's because it's meant to be an introduction in the first place, so that I don't have to explain so much in later chapters. I hope I didn't make too many spelling or grammar mistakes for it to still be enjoyable. Now, if you have any suggestions, opinions or requests of any kind, please email me at [email protected] . As for the next chapter, I hope to have finished it Sunday, but I can't really make promises, for I also have to work on another rather big project. Alright, thank you very much for reading everyone, and leave a comment if you feel like it. (And about the quotation marks, I wrote this with a German writing program, so that's why they're „text" instead of "text" ^^)


-- Lion vom Silberwald