This is a story that was requested by someone who wants to stay anonymous. Also, it is a story that got way out of hand, meaning that it will be a lot longer than I had first assumed. I originally wanted to fit it all in a single chapter, but now there's already two and the story isn't even halfway finished. Anyway, I hope you enjoy these first two chapters as much as the one who requested them did. The second one will be uploaded in a few hours, when I'll have proofread it.


PLEASE NOTE: I do not own Pokémon, and I have to say that I'm kind of proud of it, because the idea of capturing animal-like creatures to make them fight each other is pretty sick, actually. Whatever, each species of Pokémon referred to in the following text is the property of their rightful owner, however, the actual story belongs to me. 


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Loving the 'Eons



Chapter one: How to ruin a Friendship


Flava was lying flat on the ground, panting heavily. Her whole body was covered in sweat and bruises, the salty water keeping her in a constant state of discomfort. It wasn't exactly painful, but the continuous stinging definitely annoyed her. Only the soothing sensation of the cold, wet grass beneath her and the Jolteon's tongue running through her fur, cleaning the wounds, made it all a little more bearable. Her eyes were closed, but the deep breaths she took through her nose were enough for her mind to receive an exact picture of her surroundings. She detected the familiar scent of the forest, the green leaves of the beginning spring, the bushes and the nearby river. It was late in the evening, and it had rained all day. Normally, Flava would hate the feeling of wet grass against her belly, but since it helped cooling her bruises, it was more than welcome right now. Even the synthetic material of the tent that Victor had set up had its own scent. But her nose detected more than just the average impressions of nature; she also noticed the Jolteon next to her and her trainer sitting in front of her.
After a moment, Flava felt Victor give her a pat on the head. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the almost sixteen year-old boy; he was of average height and had long, black hair, that he always kept together in a ponytail. At the moment, his clothing consisted of a pair of dark-blue jeans and a bright T-shirt. Even though spring had just begun, it was already a rather warm evening.

„I shouldn't have made you fight that Scyther", Victor said, gently ruffling through her fur. „I'm sorry about that."

„It's alright", the injured Flareon replied weakly. She knew that the boy could understand her. She had been his Pokémon for more than three years now, and it had been enough time for him to learn how to understand her language at least well enough to get the meaning of her words. „I had the type advantage", she went on. „You were right to use me against him. I should have just fought better." Victor sighed.

„You've been fighting all day long", he said. „And even though you're right about the type advantage, I still should have been able to see that this Scyther was strong enough to pose an actual danger..." He stopped as he noticed Flava's expression grow sad. „I'm not saying you're weak", he added quickly. „But everyone has their limits. Nobody can just fight from dawn until dusk without getting exhausted."

The Flareon nodded weakly. Silently, she scolded herself for putting up such a bad fight against the Scyther; she had managed to scare him off in the end, but her injuries proved that she really hadn't been as efficient as she had wanted to be. She would have to become stronger, and she would have to do this as quickly as possible; not only to be able to defend herself, but also to impress Victor, which she would of course never admit to him.

„Hey", she heard his voice. He was speaking in a soft, caring tone, while reaching behind him, opening his backpack. „How about a potion? That'll make you feel better..." Flava shook her head.

„That won't be necessary", she replied in a reassuring tone. Victor frowned.

„Are you sure about this?" His voice was showing a lot of concern, which made Flava smile to herself. He sure cared very much about Joltea and her.

„I'm not that heavily injured", she said, „and I know that those potions are pretty expensive. You shouldn't waste them, I'll get better soon." She felt Joltea's tongue stopping to run across her skin and turned to the Jolteon who was looking at her with just as much concern in her eyes as Victor had had.

„You shouldn't take things like that too easily", she stated, softly nudging Flava's shoulder with her cold nose. „Look at all these bruises and wounds, that's got to be painful..."

„It's merely a slight discomfort", Flava interrupted. „Look, I appreciate it that you're so worried about me, but I'm quite alright, really!" She turned back to Victor and noticed a soft smile on the boy's face.

„If you say so", he said, petting her once more. She enjoyed the attention greatly, closing her eyes and making a soft purring sound. „I think I'll go to sleep now", Victor continued, retreating his hand again. Flava opened her eyes. „I'll leave something out for you girls to eat, and please remember not to wander off too far." Victor always kept Flava and Joltea, who were his only two Pokémon, out of their balls, even when he went to sleep. He knew they sometimes liked to stay up late, for they had been best friends ever since that day a little longer than three years ago, when Victor had bought them from a breeder, where they had been raised in solitude. They had still been Eevees then and luckily, their trainer had evolved them into just the Pokémon they had wanted to be. And since they were such good friends, they always had something to talk about at night, after their trainer had gone to sleep.

„We'll stay close, don't worry", said Joltea. „Good night, Victor." Flava repeated the Jolteon's last words and watched as her trainer gave first her, then Joltea a pat on the head and then turned around to crawl into his tent, taking his backpack with him. She knew that Victor would now quickly prepare something to eat for his two Pokémon and then go to sleep in his sleeping bag, just as he always did.

After a moment, she felt Joltea give her a soft nudge.

„Are you sure you're fine?", the Jolteon asked yet again. Flava rolled her eyes, but smiled at the same time.

„Didn't I just tell you not to worry?" In order to prove her words, the Flareon slowly rose to her paws. Her legs were shivering a little, but after a short moment she managed to keep a stable stance. She nodded at Joltea. „There", she said, „I'm perfectly fine." The Jolteon frowned softly, but decided not to say anything in return.

„Why have you been fighting so much today?", she finally asked, changing the topic. „Victor was right, you can't do so much without getting exhausted, and being exhausted in a battle has to result in you getting injured." Flava blushed under her red fur and looked to the side.

„I just want to become stronger", she replied. She didn't even have to lie, because Joltea hadn't asked for the exact reason of why she wanted to be stronger, after all. The Jolteon shrugged.

„Well, if that's so important to you..." She lowered her head, raised her hindquarters and stretched, yawning. „Mmhhrr... How about we get our food now?" Flava nodded. She was pretty hungry after such a long day and thus, she did agree with Joltea's proposal.

„That's a good idea", she said. „But remeber to be quiet, Victor might be sleeping already." The Jolteon nodded. It never took their trainer a long time to fall asleep, after all. She turned and slowly entered the open tent, paying attention to not make any kind of noise with her paws. Flava followed her closely, right into the comforting darkness of the tent, which blocked out the last light of the setting sun.

The Flareon had been right. Their trainer lay to the right, fast asleep in his sleeping bag. On the ground, there stood two feeding dishes, filled with the usual Pokéfood that Joltea and Flava ate. The Flareon slowly shook her head. It hadn't even been ten minutes since Victor had entered the tent, and already he was asleep. Joltea went straight for her food, lowered her head and started eating. Flava did the same, but she wasn't putting her focus on it. Her eyes always went back to her trainer, of whom she could only make out the back of his head in the darkness.

„Why are you staring at him like that?", asked Joltea after a while. Flava blinked and turned to the Jolteon, who had already finished her food.

„I'm not staring", she said and looked to the side, for she feared that her expression might give away her thoughts. The Jolteon frowned.

„Are you sure? You seem to be pretty distracted..." She nodded in the direction of Flava's feeding dish, which was only half empty. Usually, the Flareon ate a lot more quickly. „Is it because of your injuries?", Joltea asked in a worried tone. Flava shook her head. Actually, she had pretty much forgotten about her wounds already. All she had needed was a little rest... But maybe it had also been her trainer's attention.

„I told you I'm fine", she replied. The Jolteon nodded slowly and then took a step closer to Flava.

„I'm glad to hear that", she said in a low tone, always paying attention not to wake Victor. „It's just..." She shook her head. „Flava, if you need help with anything or if you feel the need to talk about something, then I'm always here for you, you know..." The Flareon would have liked to roll her eyes, but she didn't want to insult Joltea. She knew that the Jolteon always took everything very seriously. So, in order to show her friend that she appreciated her concern, she smiled.

„I know", she said and gave the Jolteon a quick lick across her cheek. „We're best friends, after all."

„And we will always stay best friends!", added Joltea with an excited shimmer in her dark eyes. She then turned to Victor's sleeping form. „And that's all thanks to him. He was the one that brought us together, and he would never let anything come between us."

„Yeah...", agreed Flava, her thoughts slowly trailing off. There was something she had wished for for a long time now, and even though she had always shared her secrets with Joltea before, she would never tell her that. „He sure cares a lot about us, doesn't he?", she added after a while of staring at her trainer.

„Yes", said Joltea, the gaze of her eyes locked on Victor as well. „I... I'm sure he cares about us much more than the average trainer does."

„He even learned to understand our language", added the Flareon. She sighed and took a look at her feeding dish. Suddenly, she didn't feel hungry anymore. The craving for food had been replaced with a different raging desire, and she knew exactly what it was. But she couldn't do anything against it as long as Joltea was still awake.

„Hey, Joltea", she said. „Would you like to finish my food? I'm not hungry anymore." The black eyes of the Jolteon expressed a great deal of concern again.

„It's been a hard day for you", argued Joltea. „You need every bite of food you can get..."

„Well, I just don't feel like eating", interrupted Flava. She smiled. „And we shouldn't let it go to waste, right? Go on, it's all yours." The concerned expression in Joltea's eyes didn't vanish.

„Flava...", she started, but the Flareon just sighed.

„You always worry so much", she stated, gently nudging the Jolteon's cheek with her nose. „It's got to be pretty hard to have something on your mind all the time. Please, you shouldn't also lose your sleep over it, remember, I feel completely fine. Just have some more food and then go to sleep, and stop worrying so much for once." It was Flava's reassuring smile that finally convinced the Jolteon to do what her friend had proposed. Just a few moments later, she had finished Flava's food and curled up on the ground. The Flareon looked at her, still with that same smile.

„Good night", said Flava. Joltea smiled up at her.

„Good night." Flava watched the Jolteon close her eyes and then waited. It didn't take Joltea long to fall asleep; her breathing became deeper and more regular, and she smiled in her sleep. The Flareon chuckled lowly.

„I will have a good night, thank you." She stepped closer to her best friend and gave her an affectionate lick across her forehead, which made Joltea release a low churring sound. For a moment, the Flareon just watched over her sleep. Sometimes she almost felt as if she was taking care of a child, as if she was a mother, even. The Jolteon was just as old as she, but her whole behaviour was so significantly different that sometimes Flava wondered how it was possible for them to stay the close friends they were. But maybe it was exactly those differences that allowed them to be friends. Where Flava was spontaneous, self-confident and sometimes aggressive, Joltea would always remain thoughtful, worried about herself, about Flava and about Victor, and sometimes even a little dreamy.

„Joltea", she said in a low tone, and the Jolteon didn't reply. She really was asleep. „Have a nice dream", Flava added after a moment. Then, she turned to the form of her sleeping trainer. Everything was a bit harder to make out now, as the darkness of the night had set in, but she still managed to recognize him. The Flareon slowly walked over, until she stood directly next to Victor. With a grin, she lowered her head and lightly gave her trainer a lick across the back of his neck.

She knew he was awake now, but for some reason he didn't turn around. Maybe he thought that a wild Pokémon had made its way into the tent?

„It's me, Flava", she whispered.

„I know", mumbled her trainer and slowly turned around so that he could look at his Pokémon. „Nobody else than you would ever wake me up in the middle of the night." Flava blushed under her fur. Had that been meant as an accusation? But her trainer smiled, and so she thought that she shouldn't take it too seriously. „What's wrong?", he asked, now a little more concerned than before. He raised his hand and started to gently caress Flava's side, feeling the small wounds from the fight she had had. „Do you need a potion, after all?" The Flareon shook her head.

„I told you not to waste your potions like that", she said. Victor slowly got out of his sleeping bag and sat up. He was wearing white pyjamas. From what Flava could tell in the complete darkness, he was looking at her.

„I don't think it'd be a waste if it made you feel better", he replied. Hearing this made Flava smile, but she still shook her head.

„I really don't need a potion, thank you." The Flareon knew that there was in fact only one thing that would make her feel better right now. She slowly moved closer to her trainer, paying attention that he wouldn't notice it too much.

„Why did you wake me, then?", asked Victor. She felt his hand move from her side to her back, across the back of her neck up to her head where he began to gently scratch behind her ears. She let out a low noise to show her approval, and her trainer kept on with what he was doing.

„I was feeling a little lonely", she answered, „and I hoped that maybe we could be together for some time?" Her eyes had slowly closed, but now Victor pulled his hand back.

„Why would you feel lonely?", he asked. Flava opened her eyes again and was able to notice that he was smiling at her. „It seems uncommon for someone as strong as you are." The Flareon now stepped even closer and softly rubbed her cheek against her trainer's chest.

„Well, I guess everyone needs some affection once in a while", she spoke, gradually moving closer towards Victor. She felt him move one of his arms under her chest and the other one over her back, embracing her and holding her close to his body. She let out a happy sigh.

„You don't feel rejected, do you?", he asked in a concerned tone, and the Flareon shook her head.

„Not at all", she whispered. She slowly rose up on her hind legs and put her front paws on her trainer's shoulders, so that she was able to look him in the eyes. Then, she gave him a very affectionate lick across his cheek. Even though the darkness made everything appear in gray and black, she could still see that he blushed.

„Flava?", he asked, a little unsure. „You're not going to take this too far, are you?" The Flareon grinned and tried to cuddle even closer to Victor. She moved her muzzle closer to his ear and gave him another short lick.

„It can't be far enough", she whispered. Her hind legs were holding her lower body right above Victor's lap. She couldn't help but think that this would probably be a very enjoyable position for her to mate with her trainer, even though it was a little uncommon. If only he didn't wear those pyjamas...

„I'm not sure if this is such a good idea", said Victor, making Flava pay more attention to him than to the thought of mating with him again. She felt his hands gently caress her back and instinctively pushed herself closer against him once more. His words might not had been too encouraging, but at least he didn't break the hug. And a look in his eyes told Flava that he actually wasn't that opposed to the thought of being a little closer to his Pokémon as he was trying to act. Flava gave him another affectionate lick across his cheek.

„Don't you like me?", she asked lowly, making her voice sound more seductive. „I know you like me", she went on before Victor had any chance to give her an answer. „You've never been with a human female, have you?" Her trainer blushed again and shook his head. Flava had known the answer to her question, of course; like most trainers he had started at a very early age, and since such an occupation was very time-consuming there had never been a chance to engage in any kind of relationship.

„You trust me, right?", she tried it again. Her trainer nodded. „You know that I would never do anything you wouldn't be alright with. I've accepted you as my master." This made Victor look to the side.

„You know I would rather not have you calling me that", he said, obviously a little embarassed. Flava nudged his cheek with her nose.

„Whether or not you want me to refer to you as my master, that's still what you are", she reminded him. „And you know that Pokémon will always trust the person they accepted as their master, no matter what happens. Isn't trusting each other the most important thing in a relationship?" Victor sighed softly.

„Look", he said, „I... I don't know... I mean, I'm not entirely sure..."

„You don't have to be sure", interrupted Flava. „I just wanted you to know that..." Now it was she who hesitated. Her next words would have to be the exact right ones, or else she might risk Victor's trust in her. „I just wanted you to know that I have feelings for you that go far beyond those of a simple friendship, or the typical bond between a master and his Pokémon", she continued. „You don't have to decide what you want to do at this very moment, please, you should really take your time with that. I just wanted to make sure that you know... And that I'll be here if you should ever have needs that..." now, she leaned in closer and whispered in his ear, „That could not be fulfilled by what Pokémon normally do for their trainers..."

Victor swallowed, as he tried not to let her seductive way of talking get to him too much. He still held her embraced, though; her fur was wonderfully soft, and being a Fire-type, Flava's body gave off a gentle warmth, that made the whole situation feel even more painfully good. The way Flava pressed herself against him, the expression in her eyes and her obvious need to be close to him, even though her mating season was still a few months away, confirmed what he had suspected for almost a year now. His Flareon was in love with him, and there was no point in denying that he also felt the desire to be close to her, to make her happy... But still, there was something that worried him. He turned his head and looked at the sleeping Jolteon.

„What would Joltea think of this?", he asked lowly. Flava smiled.

„She'd understand", she said in a reassuring tone. „We've been friends for such a long time now and I don't think she'd have anything against a Pokémon and a human becoming mates." Victor was a little surprised by this answer. He hadn't actually meant Joltea's general views on this matter. After all, he knew his Jolteon's romantic and dreamy views on the world well enough to be sure that, as long as both partners truly loved each other, Joltea would never have anything against anyone's relationship. A Pokémon having a human mate would be accepted by her, there wasn't a doubt about that; but the question was if she'd also accept this if Flava was the Pokémon and Victor the human. After thinking about it for a moment, he decided not to tell his Flareon about his concerns. He'd never want to intentionally make Flava not trust Joltea anymore. Maybe it would be best to just wait how the whole thing would develop? His Pokémon were best friends, after all, and thus it would most probably be best to just let them talk about this on their own, which they would definitely do sooner or later, because there had never been anything they hadn't talked about.

„Flava", he said to his Flareon that was still holding herself in her odd position, looking at him with a smile that was happy as well as kind of anticipating, „let's just go to sleep for now, alright?" He noticed that the expression on Flava's face grew slightly disappointed and she lowered her ears a little, but still she nodded.

„Alright", she replied. She gave Victor another affectionate lick across his cheek and he kissed her forehead in return. „Have a nice sleep, then. And remember, if you need me to do anything for you... Something special, something that I would only do for you and for nobody else... Then I'm ready whenever you are." Victor smiled. Flava had always been very direct, and he liked her that way.

„Good night", he said, as he slowly lay down on his back, keeping his Flareon embraced as he did. Flava lay down on his torso and closed her eyes, her head resting on Victor's shoulder. Her trainer was lying outside of his sleeping bag now, but she knew it didn't bother him. Her high body temperature would be enough to keep him warm.

After a short while, Flava was sure that Victor had fallen asleep again. She slowly moved her head from his shoulder to his chest, placing her ear at the area where his heart was. There was no doubt about it, it was beating a little faster than usual. Flava smiled to herself as she closed her eyes.

„He loves me."








Joltea just couldn't forget what she had seen two days ago. The sight of waking up and witnessing Flava lying on top of Victor, who held her embraced with his arms had made her feel strange, which was highly unusual. They often slept like this in cold winter nights, so the Jolteon should have been used to seeing it; still, why they had done it in such a warm spring night was beyond her understanding. And even stranger was, that whenever Joltea had tried to talk about it with Flava, her friend would change the subject as quickly as possible. For just a second the thought that the Flareon and Victor might be in love had crossed her mind, but she had considered this to be way too absurd. She was sure that her trainer wasn't attracted to Flava in any way; the Flareon and him just wouldn't fit together, they were far too different. No, Victor was usually calm and responsible, always thinking about the consequences of his actions before he did anything. One day, he would become Joltea's mate... If only she could ever gather up enough self-confidence to talk with him about this subject.

„Tell me", she asked the stars, „will I ever be courageous enough to just do it?" It was a beautiful night, an almost magical night. The sky was completely clear, and there were at least a million stars smiling down upon the Jolteon, who lay on her back on top of a small hill that was just high enough to let her look over the top of the trees. Victor was always on the move, trying to visit all kinds of cities, but also strolling around in the wilderness. He normally referred to himself as a „freelancing Pokémon trainer"; he didn't want to get into that championship to become the best trainer in the world that Joltea had once heard of. Instead, he just fought against other trainers to make money. This was his personal lifestyle, and he seemed to be happy with it. One day, he had told Joltea that the best thing about it all was the feeling of freedom, and the Jolteon had agreed. She was really glad that Victor never made Flava and her go into their Pokéballs. Travelling was much more fun this way, mostly because she would almost always get a possibility to visit some special place - like this hilltop in the middle of a clear night.

Stargazing was such a wonderful thing to do. Flava had never found it to be especially appealing, but for Joltea it was one of the greatest things in the world. She always got a very special feeling when she did it, a feeling that was very hard to describe. It felt like a comforting shiver running down her spine, only that it wasn't physical. The Jolteon could just lie around like this all night long without getting bored, all the time smiling to herself and enjoying that feeling. This had, of course, its consequences; sometimes, Joltea was so tired during the day that she had to travel in her Pokéball, just to catch up on her lost sleep. This wasn't too bad, though, since Flava was the one who did most of the fighting, anyway. Victor used his Jolteon only when she had a type advantage, because she was far from being as powerful as Flava. In other words, practically the only Pokémon she fought against were Water-types, because the Flareon would have a disadvantage against them. But she didn't feel rejected; she knew that she was inferior to Flava when it came to battling, but she had other qualities that she was sure Victor liked about her.

The thought of her trainer made her smile. Looking at the stars, she felt her fantasy be stimulated, and a familiar dream started to rise within her. She didn't need to be asleep to dream, no, in fact it worked best the way it was just now. In her dream, she was on the same hilltop, looking up at the stars, only that Victor was there as well. He was holding her embraced, his hands gently caressing the flesh beneath her fur. She told him about her secret wish to have children with him, and Victor just nodded. He'd make a great father, being exactly the caring and responsible male every female had to be looking for. And Flava would always be there, of course, helping Joltea over the hard period of pregnancy and through the pain of giving birth, and later, she would guard the children with her amazing fighting abilities, making sure nothing happened to them. And Victor and Joltea would always be together, bonded by love, always being supported by Flava, and...

„Joltea?" The Jolteon opened her eyes, her smile immediately fading away. She quickly turned her head and saw Victor sitting next to her, looking at her with a caring expression. She blinked, not completely sure if this was still a dream.

„I'm sorry", said Victor. „Did I wake you up?" It took Joltea a moment to answer this question, because her brain did not seem to be ready yet to process his words. She slowly shook her head.

„I didn't sleep", she mumbled. Even her tongue and mouth appeared to first have to get used to talking again. „I was just daydreaming..."

„Nightdreaming, you mean?", suggested Victor. Joltea looked confused, until her mind seemed to finally return into her body and she blinked again.

„I... I guess that's right", she said, still a little confused. Her trainer reached out with his hand, taking one of her front paws and started to rub it gently.

„I'm sorry for interrupting you", he said. The Jolteon shook her head.

„That's alright, really..." For a moment she thought about if it would be a good idea to tell Victor that she had dreamed of having children with him, and it didn't take her long to decide that she should rather not to that. Instead, she quickly thought of a question so that her trainer wouldn't start asking what her dream had been about.

„How did you find me?" Victor smiled.

„Well, I woke up a few minutes ago, and I saw only Flava sleeping in the tent. I went outside to search for you, and then noticed this hill." He chuckled. „Knowing you for more than three years now was enough for me to be sure that you would never miss the opportunity to look at the stars from such a great place." Joltea blushed a little, but she also smiled. She knew that Victor was able to read her like an open book.

„Thank you for setting up your tent near this hill", she said, while slowly rolling over on her side. She stood up and walked a little closer to her trainer. The boy looked to the side.

„Don't mention it", he said, and then, after a short moment of silence, added: „Look, I... I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have come up here. You want to be alone, and..." The Jolteon shook her head.

„I didn't come here for the loneliness", she replied, sitting down at Victor's side. The sky seemed to stretch further than infinity, and there was no light except for the stars and the moon. „I came here for the stars." Victor still didn't seem too sure about it, so Joltea softly nuzzled his hand. „I'm glad you followed me", she added. Her trainer nodded.

„I wouldn't have been able to go to sleep again, not knowing where you were", he said while raising his hand, placing it on the back of Joltea's neck. Even though her fur looked spiky and hard, it was just as soft as Flava's, maybe even softer. Victor's fingers were swallowed by the white floof, and he began to gently rub the back of Joltea's neck. The Pokémon gave a happy sigh of approval.

„I'm sorry I made you worry", she said, the tone of her voice seeming slightly distant, as if she was talking without even knowing it. Victor continuosly caressed her.

„It's alright", he replied. „I know that such nights are pretty important to you." Joltea slowly moved closer to Victor, until her side came in touch with his. She swallowed.

„Do you... Do you enjoy nights like this as well?", she asked, hoping the answer would be yes. Her trainer smiled.

„What's not to love about such a night?", he said, his left arm slowly wandering across Joltea's body, from the back of her neck to her side, until he had her embraced. The Jolteon shoved herself closer against him. For a while they just sat in silence, staring at the dark sky with the immense amount of tiny white dots.

„Tell me something", Victor said suddenly. Joltea looked up at him, a little surprised.

„What do you mean?" Her trainer shrugged.

„Tell me what you're thinking about when looking at a sky like this. Your impressions are always so beautiful." Joltea blushed. Had he really wanted to compliment her, or had it just been a meaningless phrase? She slowly directed her attention towards the sky again.

„I've been thinking about destiny", she replied after a moment had passed. „Many creatures believe that the stars know a certain truth, and that we all could achieve this knowledge if we just found out how to read their messages..." She stopped for a moment, then went on: „But... I don't believe that the stars want to tell us anything. I think they protect us... Watch over us... Because we all are too small, too insignificant and too focused on unimportant things to really understand our destiny. And to make sure that everything goes the way it is supposed to, the stars keep their eyes on us. And whenever we're about to make a wrong decision, then something will happen that makes us realize what the right way is." Victor had listened attentively, and Joltea could tell that he nodded.

„But how would it be possible that there are still so many bad things happening in the world?", he asked. The Jolteon kept looking at the stars.

„Nothing bad is supposed to happen", she said. „That's what the signs are for, that appear when anything is about to go wrong. But sometimes, these signs just get ignored." She sighed. „I don't think that destiny is the way things will undoubtedly go; instead, destiny is the best possible way that things could go, like the combined dreams of the whole world." For a short moment, there was silence.

„So...", said Victor in a lower tone, seemingly just as enchanted by the night as Joltea was, „what would such a sign look like?" The Jolteon shrugged.

„I guess it could be anything that would make people or Pokémon change their minds", she replied. „It could be a dream, or a memory that they had thought to have forgotten a long time ago. Maybe it could also be something a little more substantial, like a conversation or an inspiring insight, or maybe..." She trailed off. Victor gently rubbed her side with her hand. „It could also be a particular emotion", she went on in a low tone. „Something very unique, something special, something beautiful and comforting... That could be a sign that everything is going the exact right way..." The Jolteon took a deep breath. She was sure that Victor knew what she was talking about.

„You probably know this feeling pretty well...", Victor said slowly. Joltea nodded.

„I've been feeling it for most of the time since ever you've picked Flava and me up from that breeder a few years ago", she replied. She turned her head to look at her trainer. „We're meant to be together, Victor, I'm sure about that..." The fact that her trainer kept his left arm around her as she said this was reassuring; surely, he felt the same about her as she felt about him.

„I will never make either one of you two leave", he said, still staring at the sky. Joltea blinked. The way that he seemed to avoid eye contact made her a little concerned.

„Is anything wrong?", she asked, her tone giving away that she was worried. „There seems to be something troubling you..." Victor sighed.

„Joltea...", he began, but then shook his head and finally looked at her. His expression was strange; he seemed to be unsure and happy at the same time. „Look, I know what you're heading for. In fact, I've assumed something like this for about a year now." The Jolteon blushed and looked to the side. She hadn't thought her love for him had been that obvious. Victor took a deep breath. „I'll just ask you one thing", he said, and Joltea perked up. „What would Flava think of this?" The Jolteon smiled.

„She'd understand", she replied quickly. „I'm sure she'd be happy for me if I found a mate..." Joltea stopped as she realized what she said. Of course, Victor had just told her that he already knew about her intentions, but still, she felt a little odd directly speaking about it like that; almost as if she was going too far. But Victor didn't seem to mind. His hand gently caressed her side, and she softly rubbed her body against his.

„Did you ever talk about this with her?" Joltea shook her head.

„Not exactly", she said a little reluctantly. „There have been a few situations when we thought about our futures, and if one of us would maybe even be a mother someday... But those were just dreams, I guess." She looked up at Victor and took a deep breath. „I never told her I was in love with you."

This was definitely a difficult situation. Victor had always feared that someday it would maybe lead to something like this, ever since he had noticed that both his Pokémon were a lot closer to him than those of other trainers were to their masters. He honestly didn't know what to do in this situation. Jealousy could ruin the best friendship, and he would probably never be able to forgive himself if he was the reason Flava and Joltea would start to hate each other.

„Victor", said the Jolteon after a while, and her trainer focused on her. For some reason, Joltea didn't want to look at him; she was staring at the night sky again. „There's something I have to ask you." The Pokémon had suddenly tensed up a little, and Victor already had a good idea of what she was going to ask. He didn't like this one bit. „What was the meaning of that incident two days ago, when I woke up and found you and Flava cuddled up together like that?" Victor looked away again.

„I don't know", he said, which wasn't even a lie. He really didn't know exactly what all that had meant, for he was still unsure about his own feelings. „Maybe you should ask Flava about that."

„I tried", replied Joltea. „She wouldn't give me any kind of answer." The stars delivered enough light for Victor to notice the expression of worry in his Jolteon's eyes. „That's odd, you know", she went on. „She has never been that secretive before." Joltea sighed. „Victor... I'd feel a lot better if you just told me what happened that night."

„Nothing happened", the trainer replied, emphasizing the word in a way that signaled that he knew what exactly Joltea had meant with her question. „She just told me something..." He stopped talking. Joltea looked up.

„What did she tell you?" Victor shook his head.

„If Flava doesn't want to talk about it, then I'm sure she wouldn't want me to tell you, either." This answer didn't satisfy the Jolteon, of course. Victor knew that she was probably even more worried than before, but she had enough tact to know that continuously bothering him wouldn't lead to anything. „You need to get that answer from her", he added. „This is something between you and her." He knew that he wouldn't be able to remain completely neutral in this conflict for a long time, but he'd try his best not to get too involved. For now, he still hoped that his two Pokémon would find a compromise by themselves.

„I guess I'll talk to her in the morning", said Joltea. She leaned against Victor a little more and smiled up at him. „Will you stay here for a while before heading back to your tent?" Victor returned the smile.

„For as long as you want me to."










„Alright, Flava. Now a Flamethrower!" The Flareon complied. She took a deep breath and then unleashed an orange stream of pure destruction upon the tree stump she had been training on, turning it into a pile of ashes within seconds. She smiled. It was a good thing that she had a certain control over the fire she attacked with; if it wouldn't have been for that, she probably would have accidentally burned down entire forests by now. Flava turned around and looked at Victor, who nodded in approval.

„I guess you've improved again", he said. „This'll definitely come in handy against those unexperienced trainers who think that a Pokémon's strength is equal to its size."

„Well, I might not be too tall", agreed Flava, while slowly moving over to her trainer, „but as you will probably notice, there are quite a lot of advantages coming with that." She rubbed the side of her body against Victor's leg, almost acting like a cat. „And I'm not talking about fighting, you know." Victor kneeled down and began petting her, running his hand through the white fur around her neck and the orange fur on her back. Flava purred.

„Remind me again, are you a feline or a canine?", he asked jokingly. The Flareon grinned.

„Whatever you want, dear." And with that, she suddenly pounced her trainer, pushing him to the ground. She now stood with her forelegs on his chest, her head lowered, affectionately licking his face. After Victor had recovered from his initial surprise, he pushed her head away a little, which proved to be a bit of an effort. She kept smiling at him, and Victor couldn't help but smile, even tough he was mildly upset about his Pokémon pushing him down like this.

„Aren't you a little too eager about this?" Flava shook her head.

„That training just warmed me up", she said, bringing her muzzle closer to Victor's ear in order to speak her next words in a whisper. „Joltea is fast asleep in her Pokéball because she stayed up way too long again and we're deep in a forest in the middle of nowhere. We can do whatever we want... We can be as loud as we want..."

„What about other Pokémon?", Victor tried to argue. „Someone could just stumble upon us, and..." Flava giggled.

„They've lived in the wild for all their lives. Do you think they're not used to seeing couples mate out in the open like this?" Her trainer blushed. „There's no need to be shy about it", Flava said in a reassuring tone, giving him another affectionate lick across his cheek. „Don't worry, you can admit that you want me... I'm all yours, not only in terms of being your Pokémon, but also concerning something more... intimate..." Victor swallowed, as Flava brought her head a little closer to his, staring right into his eyes with an expression that reminded him that he was indeed facing a predator; a look of determination and of being used to getting exactly what she wanted. Victor's intuition told him to back away, but since he was lying on the ground this was not an option. But there was another part of his mind as well, and this part told him not to complain for once and just accept what was about to happen; to accept and to enjoy it. Why not mate with his Flareon? She wanted it, after all... But then, thoughts of Joltea filled his mind. Maybe he would be able to keep it a secret, but then, there would be just one more thing standing between his two Pokémon.

„Flava, look", he said, trying to sound calm and reasonable, „things like this shouldn't be taken on too quickly, there are all kinds of possible consequences, and if we don't think this through..."

„This isn't the time for thinking", Flava interrupted, her tongue slowly trailing across Victor's face once more, heading in the general direction of his lips. „This is a time for emotions. Don't listen to what your brain tells you, just listen to your heart." She stopped and looked directly in his eyes. „I love you, Victor", she said. „I want to be your mate. And I had actually wanted to do this with you in that other night, but something was holding you off... Something was on your mind, and it prevented you from letting one of your deepest wishes come true... And even now, I can see it in your eyes." Her muzzle came closer to his mouth. „Kiss me", she whispered. „Kiss me and all those bad thoughts will be wiped out of your mind, so that you won't have to worry about it anymore... Be my mate, and I promise to make all your wildest dreams come true..."

Victor had trouble thinking straight at this moment. He was staring into his Flareon's black eyes; she had her bushy white tail raised, so from his point of view it almost looked as if her head was surrounded by a white glow, which reminded him a little of a halo. Her body seemed to be giving off much more heat than usual, which normally only happened during her mating season. His mind was occupied by thoughts he didn't want to have; Flava was so very beautiful, warm and soft... There were many things that counted towards becoming her mate; in fact, he couldn't think of a single reason not to do it. But the last part of his mind that had managed to remain rational reminded him of how problematic all this would become, and that he would never be able to forgive himself if he risked losing Joltea. He sighed.

„Get off, Flava." The Flareon frowned, and an expression of pure disappointment filled her black eyes.

„Why?", she asked, her tone of voice shivering somewhere between surprise, anger and sadness. „This is the perfect opportunity..." She smiled as she rememberd something that might just change her trainer's mind. „It'll be my first time", she added. „Trust me, you won't regret it." To her dismay, Victor still pushed her off of his chest; he did it quite carefully though, paying attention not to appear too rude.

„I don't doubt that mating with you would be an unforgettable experience", he said while stitting up, being grateful that he slowly regained his ability to get a hold of his thoughts. „But the whole thing is pretty complicated, you know..." Victor had no idea how to finish this sentence without revealing Joltea's feelings for him, which would definitely lead to Flava getting angry at the Jolteon. When he didn't speak any further, the Flareon tilted her head to the side.

„What do you mean?", she asked, and suddenly her black eyes were consumed by sadness more than by anything else. She slowly sat down and lowered her ears and her head. „I thought you loved me." Her tone of voice expressed such a great deal of disappointed hope that Victor almost got the impression that she was about to cry, if he hadn't known exactly that Flava never cried, viewing tears as a sign of weakness. Victor swallowed. This was one of the most difficult situations he had ever been in. He slowly reached out with his hand and put it on his Flareon's head, ruffling through the tuft of white fur.

„I do love you", he replied, trying not to sound too hesitant. Was it even true? He didn't know anything about love, after all, but there had always been a very deep connection between Flava and him, that was definitely something special. But he felt the same for Joltea... Was it even possible to be in love with two females? Wouldn't one of them always feel rejected in some way? But at least it seemed to make Flava happy to hear those words from him, as a smile grew on her face again and her tail began to wag softly.

„You don't need to be so nervous about it", said Flava. „I know you've never done it before. We can take it on slowly if you want to." Victor blinked and then smiled as he understood what Flava was talking about. The Flareon seemed to blame his hesitation on his complete inexperience with the subject, which gave him a possibility to get out of this situation without making it even worse. He nodded.

„I guess I need a little more time", he agreed. Then, he thought of something. „Maybe you should also talk about this with Joltea", he suggested. „She's your best friend, right?" Flava nodded. Had she not had such a dense fur, then Victor would have seen her blush.

„She's my best friend", she repeated, „but don't you think this is a pretty private thing...?"

„You shouldn't keep secrets from the ones you trust", Victor replied. „Besides, the three of us are together basically all the time. There'd be no way to hide anything, anyway." The Flareon nodded again.

„You're right", she agreed. „I'll tell her about it when she's awake and you let her out of her Pokéball."

„Just remember that Joltea's not like you", Victor reminded her. „You need to be careful with her, so it won't be a shock." He didn't really know where he was heading with this; he just didn't want to do it himself. It was the best choice to let Flava do it instead. If he told Joltea that the Flareon was in love with him, it would lead to Joltea confronting her in the end, anyway, and he imagined that the two Pokémon would handle this better if they took matters into their own paws from the beginning on. He also thought that this was something that two females could best discuss amongst themselves, especially because of the long time of friendship they had shared. Flava nodded in agreement.

„Don't worry. I know how to tell her something like this." Victor smiled.

„Alright", he said, exhaling a deep breath, trying to stay as calm as possible. „Let's go on with your training, then."










It was early in the evening, but for some reason Victor had set up his tent and disappeared inside of it. They were still in the forest. Joltea had no idea which town or place Victor was heading for, but it sure had to be pretty far away. He had just released her from her Pokéball, telling her that there was something Flava wanted to talk about with her. He had seemed to be rather eager to leave the two of them alone, so Joltea thought that whatever the Flareon wanted to tell her had to be pretty important. The fact that Flava was obviously rather excited just further added to this impression. The Flareon's tail was wagging and her eyes sparkled not only with the light of the evening sun, but also with the secret that she was about to reveal to her friend. Joltea remembered that she had told Victor she would have a talk with Flava about their relationship. Since she had been sleeping all day long, there hadn't been a possibility for her to do this any earlier, so now would be the perfect opportunity.

„Come on", Flava said happily, „let's take a walk through the forest!" The Flareon turned around and headed off into the woods. Joltea frowned, but then followed her friend. Either Flava tried to create some more suspense, or she didn't want to be near Victor's tent when she would tell her about that secret. Maybe she didn't want her trainer to know about it?

„Flava, what do you want to tell me?", Joltea asked a little impatiently after having followed her friend for about two minutes. The Flareon giggled and slowed down her steps, until she came to a halt. Joltea looked around. There was nothing special about this place, it looked like everywhere else in the forest. The surrounding trees stood moderately dense; the sun would set in about an hour and thus, there wasn't as much light as there would have been in the afternoon. It was the time of day when the shadows slowly grew larger, and Joltea actually didn't like being out in the forest at a time like this. The whole scenery made her feel a little uncomfortable; she definitely preferred day and night over the evening. But Flava was with her, after all, so she knew she was safe. A soft smile formed on her face.

„You know, it's a bit of a coincidence that you want to have a talk with me", Joltea said, „because I also have something to tell you." Flava grinned and nodded.

„I see. So, should I go first?" Joltea shrugged.

„I guess so", she replied. „After all, it was your idea to come here." The Flareon smiled. She took a deep breath.

„Do you remember the time about three years ago, when we were still Eevees?", she began. Joltea nodded. „There were so many things we felt excited about, you know... We were only children, probably a little naive and wound up in our own world..." The Jolteon smiled as she was reminded of the past Flava was talking about. Things had seemed to be so easy back then.

„It's a pleasant memory", she agreed. „Most of the time, we were talking about our future, and that we would have all kinds of adventures with Victor." Joltea giggled. „Didn't you always say that one day, you would become the strongest Pokémon in the world?" Even though the Flareon's fur covered it up, Joltea could still tell she blushed. She knew her friend well enough to notice even the most subtle of expressions.

„Fighting and adventures weren't the only things we talked about", Flava reminded the Jolteon. „Remember what else we used to fantasize about... Remember what we desired the most after having been raised in captivity by lone, uncaring females..." Joltea looked to the ground.

„A... family...", she spoke reluctantly. Then, she slowly turned back to Flava. „So... You mean...?" The Flareon nodded excitedly.

„I found a mate!", she exclaimed with a smile. Joltea almost couldn't believe it. She looked around, as if she suspected this mate of Flava's to be nearby.

„That really is an amazing coincidence", she stated, still speaking very slowly. Her gaze focused on Flava again. „I found a mate as well."

For a moment, the two females just stared at each other in silence, completely overwhelmed with the amazing news. Time seemed to have stood still for them. After a short while, Flava slowly shook her head.

„Wow...", she said. „This is... strange..." Then, she smiled. „But it's a good kind of strange, I guess." She took a step towards Joltea and sat down in front of her. „Tell me, who is it? When did you meet him? It must've been some time at night, otherwise I'd have noticed..." Joltea giggled softly.

„Oh, you know him well", she replied with a smile. „In a sense, you're right... Before last night, I had never known for sure if he felt the same for me like I did for him, but... But now I'm absolutely certain about it." Flava frowned. Joltea and her were the only two Pokémon Victor had; they had never known any males. Then, something came to her mind... But it seemed so improbable that she didn't even recognize it as a possibility.

„Could you just... Tell me his name?", she asked, not sure if she was making a fool of herself by posing this question. Joltea blushed slightly, but grinned.

„I thought you'd be able to figure this out by yourself", she replied. When Flava didn't say anything, she added: „Come on, Flava, isn't this obvious? It's Victor." The Flareon blinked. Then, she shook her head. Looking back at Joltea once more, she chuckled.

„Oh, now I get it." She smiled. „You know, for a moment I almost believed you. Since when did you enjoy joking around?" The Jolteon looked confused.

„I'm not joking", she said. „Why, is it so hard to believe that Victor and I are in love?" Flava's expression slowly turned from a smile to a frown again. What in the world was Joltea talking about? She thought about it for a moment. Maybe her friend had really fallen in love with Victor. But that feeling could never be mutual. Joltea wasn't the type of female her trainer would be attracted to. Suddenly, she understood. The Jolteon had probably misinterpreted something that Victor had done or said, and now she thought he loved her. Flava took a deep breath. This was going to be pretty difficult.

„Joltea", she began, speaking slowly and in a soft tone, „look, I... I'm not really sure how to tell you this, but... I... I'm sorry, but I don't think Victor is in love with you." Flava knew that, as soon as her friend found out the truth by talking to Victor himself, she'd be completely desolated. The Jolteon just blinked, looking at her friend with a strange expression. Flava stretched her neck and gave her a soft lick across her cheek. „Please, try not to be too sad about it. Remember that I will always be here for you..." Joltea took a step back. The weird expression on her face hadn't changed.

„What do you mean, he doesn't love me?", she asked, sounding a little unsure. „How would you know anything about this?" The Flareon decided to ignore the slightly accusing undertone. After all, she understood that her friend had to be feeling pretty bad right now. Maybe Joltea would even deny it; the only possibility to convince her seemed to be just saying the truth.

„Listen, Joltea, he just can't be in love with you", she said in a caring, yet also serious tone of voice. „Victor is going to become my mate, you see." Seeing the shocked expression on the Jolteon's face, she quickly added: „But that doesn't mean the three of us couldn't stay friends! There won't change anything between us, please believe me." Joltea took another step back. Her breathing was deeper than usual. Flava could tell that she didn't take those news very well.

„This had better be a really bad joke", said Joltea, obviously trying her best to stay calm. Flava looked to the ground.

„Joltea, I'm sorry..." The Jolteon shook her head.

„No, I'm sorry." Suddenly, her tone of voice had changed. She sounded much more like herself again; always caring and slightly worried. Flava looked up again and Joltea stepped closer to her. „I don't know what happened between you and Victor", she stated, „but I... I mean..." She stopped for a moment and shook her head, then started again in a tone that sounded even more concerned. „Flava, sometimes it happens that we crave for something so much that we actually make ourselves believe it's true..." She sighed. „I understand you fell in love with Victor, and it's just natural to desire to be loved in return, but... but this is just an illusion." The Flareon looked at her friend for a moment, then she frowned. There was a slightly agitated expression in her eyes.

„You're the one with the illusions", she stated. Joltea seemed as if she wanted to say something, but Flava quickly went on: „Tell me, has Victor really said he loves you?" The Jolteon blushed.

„Well, he... He didn't exactly say that", she stammered, „but the message came across!" The Flareon's expression changed to something between a smirk and a pitiful frown. Joltea quickly thought about what she could say now. „Umm... Well, did he definitely say he would become your mate?" Now it was Flava's turn to blush. She looked to the side.

„It's not that important what he said", she claimed. „He still doesn't love you. You two would never fit together." The Flareon knew that those words had been pretty harsh, but she didn't care about that anymore. She needed the Jolteon to get her point, and if she wouldn't listen to a kind advice, then this was the only way. Now, Joltea's black eyes glistened in a way that Flava had never seen before; she had definitely made her angry.

„And why wouldn't we fit together?", Joltea asked in a cold tone. Flava shrugged.

„You're not the type of female someone like Victor would fall in love with", she explained. It was obvious for her to tell that this answer didn't satisfy the Jolteon, so she went on: „Victor is a natural leader, thus he needs a strong female like me. Any other kind of partner would sooner or later bore him to death." Joltea's gaze grew even colder.

„So, I'm not a strong female?", she suspected. The Flareon nodded.

„You're way too focused on emotions and thoughts to ever be an appropriate mate for Victor", she replied. Now, she smirked. „He definitely prefers someone spontaneous, someone who knows what she wants, and even more importantly, knows what he wants..."

„Well, you obviously don't know what Victor wants", Joltea interrupted. „What do you think he is, stupid? May I remind you that love is entirely emotional, or is that topic too complicated for you? It wouldn't surprise me, really; all you ever think about is fighting and getting stronger. You don't give a damn about what Victor wants!"

„That's not true!", Flava shouted, slowly rising to her paws. Now she was angry as well. „Why do you think he became a Pokémon trainer? He admires strength and power, and that's exactly what I have!"

„It's just too bad that he isn't as dumb as you are, isn't it?", Joltea sneered. She bared her teeth and raised her tail, trying to appear more threatening. „Life isn't all about fighting! He might use you for Pokémon battles, but that doesn't mean he loves you! Victor is someone who, unlike you, actually thinks about what he does! And he cares about the one he loves more than about anything or anyone else, while you don't even know what love means! And you know what else he knows?" Flava's eyes narrowed.

„What does he know?", she asked in a piercing tone. Joltea smiled confidently. The Flareon had never noticed before just how decadent her so-called friend could be.

„He knows that I am the only one who could really return his love", replied Joltea in a superior tone. „You might have a warmer body than me, but that's definitely the only sensual thing about you. I'm surprised you even know the word „love", considering your frozen heart." Flava growled lightly. But Joltea wasn't finished yet. „The only thing in the whole world you care about is fighting", she went on. „You just want to become stronger and stronger, because that's the only thing you know how to do." Joltea shook her head. „I honestly don't know how I could ever regard you as my friend. You've never been concerned about anyone else than yourself, and I should have noticed this much earlier. All this fighting, all this need to become stronger... It was all just so you could convince yourself you were better than everyone else, wasn't it?" For a moment, Flava just stared at the Jolteon. Her eyes were burning with the black fire of pure anger. The hairs of her bushy tail stood up, so that it almost resembled Joltea's spiky fur.

„Watch your words", she spoke in a threatening tone, baring her teeth. Flava decided not even to reply to Joltea's accusations. She didn't care anymore what the Jolteon thought about her, and she definitely didn't need to justify her actions. „I'll give you a friendly advice", she went on, making sure to sound as unfriendly as possible. „Stay away from my mate. You either leave, or you stay with us and make sure that you'll never get too close to him. Otherwise..." She didn't finish the sentence. It wasn't necessary, anyway. For a moment, Joltea really seemed to be a little frightened, but she quickly regained her stern posture.

„Now, what would Victor do if he saw you attacking the one he loves?", she asked in a low tone. The Flareon rose one of her front paws. Just one more word from that Jolteon, and she would show her that she meant what she said. Joltea was unimpressed by the menacing pose; she just kept looking at Flava, not saying anything. For a moment, neither of them moved. Then, Flava spoke:

„As long as you don't try to steal my mate, you'll be safe." She slowly lowered her paw again and then turned around, walking back in the direction of the tent. Joltea gritted her teeth.

„I better not find you sleeping on top of him in the morning again", she shouted after her former friend, „you wouldn't like what I'd do, then!" Flava didn't reply. Either she was too far away already, or she just ignored the Jolteon. Joltea growled and then looked at the sky, that was slowly turning from a darker blue to something between violet and orange. „I hate evenings."









The next days were strange, just... strange. Victor didn't know what to make of his Pokémons' behaviour; he did suspect something, but he did his best to keep himself from believing in it. Flava and Joltea had been friends for so long, they definitely wouldn't something like that get between them... or would they?

The first weird thing happened when Victor woke up in the morning right after the day he had let Joltea out of her ball so she could talk about this whole thing with Flava. Both his Pokémon were in his tent, and both of them were awake, which was pretty uncommon. The trainer used to wake up rather early in the morning, and usually, at least one of them was still asleep at that time. He greeted Flava and Joltea and they both replied with a „Good morning.". He immediately noticed that both of them looked at him with a rather strange expression; normally, Flava and Joltea always had something to talk about. But now, they seemed to have eyes only for him.

„I just woke up", stated the Flareon, slowly stepping in front of Victor. She turned her back to him, lowered her chest and stretched, while raising her tail and spreading her hind legs a little farther apart than she usually did during this motion, thus revealing her vagina, which was only partly obscured by her fur, to her trainer. Victor was pretty sure that she had the intention of doing exactly this, but he still turned to the side. Flava yawned, in order to justify her stretching. „I'm still a little tired..."

„If that's the case, then maybe we should let Flava travel in her Pokéball for today", Joltea said quickly, stepping between the Flareon and her trainer. She moved closer towards him and gave him an affectionate lick across his cheek. „How are you feeling today, love?" Victor blinked. For the first time now, he feared that some kind of competition was going on between his two Pokémon, but he quickly dismissed the thought. He didn't want to suspect anything like this, and in order to not further encourage it, he decided to stay as neutral as somehow possible.

„I'm fine", he just said, quickly moving around the Pokémon, heading for the exit of the tent. When he left it, Flava and Joltea quickly followed him.

„What are we going to do today?", asked the Flareon. Victor stood up and looked around.

„Well, I first need to check my map..."

„I'll get it!", exclaimed Joltea, rushing back into the tent. Just a second later she came out again, pushing Victor's backpack around in front of her. Her trainer kneeled down and gave her a pat on the hat.

„Thanks, Joltea." He directed his attention to his backpack, but was sure that he noticed Joltea smirk at Flava from the corner of his eyes. He took out his map and sighed softly, as he recognized that not one city was nearby; the one he was heading for would take him about three days and nights to reach. Victor sighed. With the way his Pokémon were acting, this was definitely going to be a long day.








„Seriously, Joltea, what were you thinking?" Victor shook his head, as the yellow-furred Pokémon eagerly drank down the potion he had given her. The wounds and scratches all over her body closed almost immediately. When the Jolteon had finished up the clear liquid, she looked to the side.

„I'm sorry", she mumbled. „I didn't think that Raticate would put up that much of a fight." Victor sighed.

„You're not strong enough to fight when you don't have the type advantage", he reminded Joltea. „You should have just let Flava do it, like usual."

„I didn't have any problem taking him down after he had knocked you to the ground", added the Flareon. Neither Victor nor Joltea really payed attention to her, and she could feel the anger welling up inside her. Was that what the Jolteon had planned? To appear in such a pitiful way that Victor just had to focus on taking care of her? Flava gritted her teeth. She knew that Joltea would do just about anything to get Victor's attention. She saw her trainer raise his hand, starting to gently stroke the Jolteon's side. The yellow-furred Pokémon was panting, and even though she was facing away from Flava, the Flareon could still tell that she smiled.

„Flava?", said Victor, and the Flareon perked up. She quickly stepped up to his side and looked at him with a smile. His expression, though, didn't make her feel very comfortable. „Why didn't you help her any earlier?", he asked. „It had to be obvious to you that she was losing, you have a vast understanding of the subject, after all". Flava shrugged.

„She didn't seem like she would have wanted my help", she replied. Then, she took a quick look at the Jolteon, who was lying on her side, recovering from the battle. „And I helped her early enough, didn't I?" Victor frowned.

„Well, you helped her when I told you to do so", he stated. His gaze wandered from Flava to Joltea, and then back to Flava again. There was definitely something unusual going on. Something had changed; a few days ago, the Flareon would have never let her best friend get injured like that, not even to mention that Joltea would never have volunteered to fight a Raticate. He decided to try something.

„Flava, is there anything you need to talk about with Joltea?" The Flareon shook her head.

„We've done enough talking", she replied, not giving any kind of direct answer. Victor frowned.

„Well, then maybe there's something you need to talk about with me?" Flava smiled again, slowly moving a little closer to him.

„Well, that depends", she replied in a whisper, even though Joltea was obviously close enough to hear what she said. „I would like to talk about something with you... But it's rather private, and I don't think Joltea should listen." A low growl came from the Jolteon, but Flava just seemed to ignore it. Victor frowned.

„Are you sure you two got enough sleep yesterday?" Neither Joltea nor Flava gave him any kind of answer; the Flareon just looked to the side, avoiding eye contact. He sighed. „Alright, I don't know what's wrong with you, but that doesn't matter, anyway. With Joltea being in such a condition, we won't be able to continue our travels until she has slept for some time."

„You could put her inside her Pokéball", Flava suggested. Even though Joltea still wasn't looking at him, Victor could see that her facial expression froze; her whole body tensed up a little.

This was definitely bad. Joltea wouldn't be able to keep an eye on Flava if she was inside her Pokéball; on the other paw, she couldn't afford to slow down Victor. Mentally, she cursed herself for having insisted to fight that Raticate. She had just wanted to prove that she was as least as good, if not better as the Flareon in every possible way, and thus had forgotten to consider the consequences of her actions. This was exactly what she had never wanted. Flava was the spontaneous, thoughtless one. No, if she expected to prove to the Flareon that Victor loved her and only her, then she had to focus on her own qualities. However, now that she had gotten herself into such a difficult situation, she would first have to find a way to get out of it again.

„I'm fine", she said quickly, gathering all her strength. „That potion fixed me up, and..." She rolled over and tried to stand up, but as her weary, weak legs suddenly had to support the weight of her whole body, she immediately went down again. „Just a second", she panted. „I can walk by myself, I don't have to go back into the ball..." She saw Victor shake his head.

„Look, I know you don't like being in there. It's alright, I can just set up my tent here, and we'll wait until you feel better again." Flava looked up.

„But it's just noon", she stated. „We'll lose half a day of traveling because of all that." Victor shrugged.

„I won't make Joltea travel in her ball if she doesn't want to." The Jolteon bit her lip. She knew her behaviour probably seemed pretty selfish, but she just couldn't leave Victor alone with Flava. Then again... It wouldn't be very useful either if Victor turned her back on her because he thought of her as too self-centered, would it? This was crazy. Either way, it would probably just lead to more problems. She kept thinking about it until she decided at one point that being of use to her trainer was much more important than anything else. Joltea sighed deeply.

„Put me in my Pokéball and go on with traveling", she said. After a moment of silence, she heard Victor ask:

„Are you sure about that?" The Jolteon nodded weakly.

„Yes." And just a few seconds later, she was engulfed by a warm, blinding light, which quickly faded away after a short moment, leaving nothing else than the comforting darkness of the inside of the Pokéball for her to see. Joltea closed her eyes, meaning to fall asleep, trying not to think about what Flava might be doing at the moment.









When she awoke, the first thing she noticed was the soft grass beneath her. Victor had obviously let her out of her ball again. She slowly opened her eyes and was greeted by the familiar darkness of the night. Her ears twitched lightly. Joltea took a deep breath, trying to clear her somewhat confused thoughts. As her eyes slowly accustomed to the surrounding darkness, she could recognize the shape of Victor's tent, and, much to her dismay, the Flareon that was sitting next to it, watching her. When she thought about it again, she was actually glad to see Flava out here; at least she wasn't with Victor. After she had taken in the impressions of her surroundings, the Jolteon carefully tried to stand up, quickly finding that this posed no problem to her anymore. Although her legs shivered a little, she managed to keep standing.

„Well, look who's awake", came Flava's cold voice from her dark shape. The Flareon stepped towards her, staring at Joltea. „What did you dream about?", she asked. „Victor?" When Joltea didn't say anything, the Flareon smirked. „You should better enjoy your dreams as much as possible", she added, „since you'll never be with him in the real world." The Jolteon just growled.

„Do you think I care about what you say?" She demonstrated her indifference by turning away, slowly stepping towards the tent. But she froze as Flava said:

„Wouldn't you like to know what Victor and I did today?" Slowly, Joltea turned around once more, facing her former friend again.

„What did you do?", she asked, expecting the worst. Flava grinned.

„Oh, there's a lot of things we did...", she replied. She sat down and rose one of her front paws to examine her claws, thus showing Joltea how little she cared about her. „The occasional stuff, you know... He let me fight against some Pokémon we encountered, I had an enlightening conversation with him about why he actually doesn't need you at all..." She paused for a moment and looked up from her paw, facing the Jolteon. „Oh, yes", she added, as if she had just remembered. „And I mated with him."

Joltea's eyes went wide. She bared her teeth, and for a moment she had to think about just how satisfying it would be if she just lunged forward and tore that cocky Flareon's neck open. But she managed to stay somewhat calm as she could convince herself that Flava had to be lying. There was no way Victor would ever have agreed to something like that, unless... unless she forced him? But that thought was devious; Flava was a cold, self-centered bitch, but Joltea still couldn't imagine her doing something like this.

„That's a lie", she stated. After having taken a deep breath, she was able to think straight again. Of course it had been a lie. Flava just wanted to make her mad, and nothing more. The Flareon set up an expression of fake pity.

„Such a poor, misguided little naive girl you are..." she spoke, slowly moving closer to Joltea, who backed away a little. „Still believing he'd be in love with you... Still hoping there could be a chance for you to become his mate..." The Jolteon now bumped into the tent and had to stay where she was, watching as Flava gradually came closer to her. „You wouldn't believe how much he loved mating with me... You have no idea how good it felt when we took each other's virginity..." Her muzzle was now so close to Joltea's, that she felt tempted to just bite down on it. Flava stared directly in her eyes. Pitch-black, corrupted pools filled with lies and evil. „And you especially don't have any idea of what it was like when he shot his seed deep into me", the Flareon went on, speaking in a lower tone, now, that she was so close to Joltea. „He might have made me pregnant... Who knows? Just imagine... I'm going to have a litter... Victor's children... Maybe you'll get a chance to see them, if he doesn't send you away... But I wouldn't count on that if I were you."

Inspite of what Flava had said, Joltea almost had to smile. Did the Flareon honestly expect her to believe this? No, the two of them had been friends for way too long, even though she didn't know how she had ever been able to feel anything but disgust for Flava. She could tell when she was lying.

„What would Victor say if he heard you're spreading lies about him?", she asked. The Flareon narrowed her eyes.

„Believe in whatever you want, if it makes you feel better." Flava took a step to the side, keeping her gaze on Joltea. „Victor is mine", she added. „Don't you forget that." Then, she stepped inside the tent, the entrance sheet now obscuring her from the Jolteon's sight. The yellow-furred female frowned as she slowly sat down in front of the entrance. Why had Flava been out here, anyway, when she could have been in the tent, together with Victor? Maybe her trainer had told her to do so, in order to keep Joltea safe from any kind of eventual attacker.

As her mind wandered off to Victor, she had to think about what he probably made of this situation. There was no doubt he had noticed the change in Flava's and Joltea's behaviour, and for some reason, the Jolteon suspected him to know exactly what the deal was. But still, he had never mentioned anything concerning that matter... As she thought a little further, she noticed that Victor had never actually expressed any kind of favouritism, neither for her, nor for the Flareon. At least he hadn't when both of them had been around, and even when she thought back to that beautiful night not long ago, she wasn't able to recall him saying anything about preferring being with her over being with Flava. Joltea smiled to herself. She was really lucky to have a trainer like that; he was so sensitive, trying his best not to destroy the friendship between his Pokémon. But that didn't matter anymore, anyway. There was no way Flava and she could grow even further apart.

Slowly, Joltea walked around the tent, heading from the entrance to the backside. Her ears remained perked up, and she was pleased to not hear even the slightest sound from within. She didn't want to go inside when the Flareon was in there, and it satisfied her to know that Flava probably wasn't about to try anything. She sat down where she was and rose her gaze to the sky. The stars had always been there for her. Joltea let out a sigh as she saw just how cloudy the sky was. Not even the slightest hint of light could be seen behind the dark curtain of clouds.

„Where have you gone?", she asked the stars. Normally, when she did this, she always got a reply, because she would know the answer before she had asked the question. But this time, there was nothing.

„You can't just leave me alone like this", she whispered. „I don't know what to do." A horrible feeling overcame her, a feeling of being lost; for a moment, she almost believed that there was no other living thing on earth except for her. Flava and Victor were obscured by the sheets of the tent, and she could neither hear nor see them. They might have been as well in a whole different world. Joltea looked back at the tent, before facing the sky again. Just like the clouds kept her from seeing her guiding stars, the tent kept her from seeing her love. Not only the tent, but Flava as well.

„Maybe he's destined to be with her instead of me?", she asked lowly, and with a hint of fear in her voice. The wall of clouds stood unwavering. Nobody knew the answer. But it wouldn't be very probable, would it? If it was this way, then why had it always felt so... so right to be with Victor? And not just to be with him as a friend or as his Pokémon, it had also felt right to be with him that other night... That special night. Joltea decided to treasure the memory of that night forever. Maybe it would turn out that Flava was right, and that this would have been the closest she had ever got to Victor.

„He didn't mate with her", she stated. Suddenly, she wasn't so sure anymore. She lowered her ears a little.

„How can I not be certain about that?", she asked herself. „I trust him." Joltea nodded, reassuring herself of this fact. „I trust him. And I know him well enough to safely say that he's not one for making decisions without thinking about it first." As she was speaking, she felt her certainty grow back. She turned around, facing the tent. The image of the Flareon, sleeping inside it with a content grin on her smug face flashed before her eyes and she gritted her teeth.

„Just you wait", she mumbled, „one day I'm going to teach you not to spread lies about the only one I love." Her paws led her around the tent once more, until she reached the entrance. She took a deep breath and stepped inside, being careful not to make the slightest of sounds. Victor was sleeping, it didn't take her long to notice that. But Flava lay awake. The gaze of her dark eyes was hilted on Joltea.

„Just go to sleep", whispered the Flareon. „Have some rest, and don't worry about Victor. I'll take care of him." The Jolteon's eyes narrowed.

„I won't sleep for a second while you're still awake!", she replied lowly, sitting down near the entrance of the tent. Flava was staring at her, and she was staring back at Flava. This was going to be a long night.


(14153 words)

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This ends the first chapter. The next one follows it directly, so there won't be any kind of introduction in it. Please leave a review if you have the time, or tell me what you think by sending an email to [email protected]. But remember, the actual idea for this story belongs to the one that requested me to write it, not to me ^^.