Chapter 7: Full Moon
DISCLAIMER: All characters and properties are copyright their respective owners. All writing and original characters are copyright 2010 Zephyr Paws. The author is in no way associated or affiliated with any third-party. This original fiction was created with no intention of any copyright infringement against any third-party, and is purely for fan enjoyment.
It felt like I was in my Poke Ball for a very long time... It had me worried and nervous, because I didn't have a very clear perception of what was going on around me. In fact, after we had gotten to the airport, Jack even sent me into a PC, where time appeared to freeze entirely.
I couldn't even think while I was frozen in that digital space. It was really awful and really lonely... because I didn't even have myself.
Eventually I heard Jack's voice, but I couldn't quite tell what he was saying. I must have still been in my Poke Ball. But sadly, I also heard Mary's voice beside his... they were really growing closer...
Even though I won the battle, it seemed like I lost the war...
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I was released into some foreign place. It was inside of a house. There was a big TV in by the couch just a bit in front of me, a wooden table with many chairs to my left and forward a bit, stairs leading up to my immediate left, and then Jack and Mary behind me.
Jack also released Scotch, who had an equally confused look on his face as he surveyed the area in a similar manner.
"This is Mary's place. Pretty big, huh?"
"I'm happy to have a wealthy family, although I wish my parents were a little less eccentric," said Mary as she took a step or two forward and looked around, smiling and then turning back to Jack. "I'm worried how they'll react to you when they get back from their business trip -- actually, I guess I'm more worried how you'll react to them." She giggled.
"Ha ha, they can't be that bad, don't worry," he said jokingly. "And now you can say that you're with a champion, right?"
"Mmmm! That's right!" Mary walked over to Jack and leaned against him, holding his arm affectionately. "I want to give you your victory prize sometime... maybe tonight would be good?"
Jack seemed to blush a lot. "O-oh? M-my victory prize? You mean...?"
She nodded and kissed him. "That's for you to decide," said Mary after pulling her lips away from his. "Let's get some dinner so you can think it through."
"Yeah! You've got to show me where to eat around here, because I've only been here once before."
"There's this great burger joint around here," said Mary, giggling. "You know, I always kind of wonder what they make burgers out of, don't you?"
Jack laughed back at her, opening the door for her and guiding her outside. "It's probably best we don't know..." he said as he walked out of sight of Scotch and I, not even bothering to say goodbye to either of us. He just left us in an unfamiliar house, all alone...
Scotch walked over to the door and watched with me as the happy couple faded out of view. "He's... he's changed," said Scotch, sounding even more distant than he was. "He was my best friend... but, ah, I can't say that anymore."
I blinked a few times and looked over at him with a very worried expression. I knew how close he and Jack were, but I guess I hadn't really considered his feelings throughout the past few weeks... maybe I was just too selfishly wrapped up in my own. After all, they had far more of a past than Jack and I did.
"You know... I haven't been to Pewter City since I was a little Charmander," said Scotch, still staring out the door, but no longer at anyone in particular. "He was so happy to have me... he kept me outside of my Poke Ball the whole time he had me, except when he healed me..." He sighed and wiped a tear off of his eye. "We never beat Brock... we just moved on to Misty in Cerulean City... and lost to her, too."
"Really...?" I asked him, feeling glad that he was opening up, but also feeling sad for the little Charmeleon. I guess he had a past, too. Like he said, it may not have been as sad as mine, but it sounded like he had several challenges as well.
Scotch nodded and sighed. "Yeah... I was so happy when I beat the Gym Leader in Celadon City, Erika, and so was Jack. Ah, I evolved shortly after beating her and he wanted to try fight Misty again... but I lost... and lost again... and kept losing."
I guess him beating that Gym Leader, Erika, must have been a lot like me winning that Pokemon Contest. It was something that made me really proud... but it came after a humiliating defeat. Although it didn't sound like Scotch did so good after that.
"H-he... he gave up being a Trainer because of me. He stopped for a few months and, ah, only really kept me as a friend... he let go of all of the other Pokemon he caught and said that he, ah, wasn't going to catch anymore..."
"B-but... he caught me, didn't he...?"
Scotch nodded and sighed once again. "Yeah... after those few months, he, ah, well... he read about Pokemon Contests in Sinnoh, so he took his entire savings and flew us out there to try them out. He was hoping that they would bring him more confidence around girls, since there's, ah, usually a two-to-one ratio of girls to guys entering..."
I remembered how Scotch did, unfortunately... he never made it past the first round in any contests. I guess that would have made the only real success in Jack's eyes his victory against that Erika person.
"You know... I used to wish for Jack to find a girl... so he could be happy. If I had one wish, ah, well... I'd wish for his happiness rather than my own." He shook his head and wiped a tear away from his eyes. It looked like he was trying so hard not to cry. "I kept letting him down... and he kept being my friend. He'd tell me all of his problems... ah... and he'd listen to mine, even though he didn't understand them... heh heh..."
"He's... he's a really nice person..." I said, not knowing what else to say, really. Instead, I just decided to give Scotch a comforting hug, hugging his side and leaning my head against his shoulder. "But so are you..."
"I should be happy... that he doesn't need me anymore... right?" asked Scotch. "I should be happy... that, ah, that... that my wish came true..." He started looking downward and then began crying, sobbing lightly as the tears rolled down his face. "But it actually... it hurts so much... a-ah... because it's also hurting y-you... my wish... it's my fault th-that y-you... y-"
"No!" I exclaimed, shaking Scotch and forcing him to face me. He couldn't even look me in the eye and just cried while glancing off to the side. "Scotch! It's not your fault! Whatever it is, it's not your fault!"
"B-but... b-but... he's b-breaking y-your heart... y-your heart... a-again..." His sobbing made it difficult for him to speak, or at least difficult to understand clearly. "I- I- I w-want... I... ah... I... w-want... y-you t-t-to be happ-py..."
"Why, Scotch?" I said, shaking him some more. I started feeling more and more frustrated with the emotional Charmeleon. He was letting himself suffer and take the blame for everything wrong that happened to either Jack or myself. "Why?! Why don't you think about yourself for a change?!"
"B-bec-cause..."
"That's not an answer!" I exclaimed, shaking him more, though not very rough or aggressive or anything. I couldn't ever bring myself to hurt him.
However, it seemed that Scotch couldn't even keep on his feet anymore. The fiery lizard collapsed down towards the ground on his side. I managed to catch him in my arms before he hit the floor, but that caused me to trip a bit as I lost my balance and fell along with him on the ground, landing on top of him.
That stopped his sobbing at the very least and left a rather blank stare on his face instead, but rather than staring off into space, he was staring right into my eyes. I could tell because I was staring right back into his...
"I... I love y-you..." he said quietly, never breaking his stare. Tears started forming in his eyes and pouring down the side of his face, but all without any sobbing just yet.
Though I noticed that more tears were dripping down onto his face, but not from his eyes... "S- Sc-... Scotch..."
"S-s-see... t-that's why it h-hur... -ts..." His sobbing quickly returned and he cried out while beneath me. "T-that's w-why... I-... I-... a-ah... t-that's why it h-hurt s-so bad... knowing that I c-couldn't... s-s-see you h-happy at leas-t... with J- Jack..."
I fell forward and found myself unable to hold myself back from crying, either. I was no longer looking at the Charmeleon and instead had my head up against the ground, resting right over his shoulder. "W-why?! Why didn't you t-tell me?! Why?!" I felt so confused and lost in my emotions that I could barely think straight.
"B-because!" he shouted, hugging me tight. "I c-cared t-that m-much... I wanted to d-d-do anything... ANYTHING... to g-give you t-the happiness th-that you d-d-deser... -ved..."
"What about you, Scotch? What about y-you?!"
"I-... I d-don't de-de-deserve... y-you... ah..."
I stopped my crying enough to push myself up and look back into the Charmeleon's face. He looked so... so sad... so disappointed and ashamed. "You do, Scotch! You d-do!" I said, lightly pounding my fist against his chest, taking extra care to make sure it didn't hurt. "You deserve b-better than me... and you definitely d-deserve better than that Lopunny..."
Scotch looked at me with wide, teary eyes, listening to what I was saying intently. I wanted to make sure he knew that I cared about him... but... but why couldn't I just bring myself to tell him that... that... I...
"I-... I..." I couldn't quite do it... "I w-would have... m-mated with you... if you just asked, Scotch... I'm s-sorry I wasn't th-there to protect you..."
Just as Scotch's face turned beet red and his eyes sparked as wide as they could go, he lowered one of his eyes and looked at me with a slight look of confusion. "W-wait... wh-what...? P-pro... protect me?"
"It's... it's my fault..." I said to him. "You were going to ask me h-how... how mating felt... weren't y-you...?"
He let his eyes wander around. Had his face not have been as red as it could have gotten, I was sure it would have gotten more red just by his expressions. After a few seconds, he looked back at me and nodded his head, shutting his eyes afterwards.
"I should have l-listened... and b-been supportive..." I sighed, feeling even more guilty for letting Scotch down. "Maybe if I showed you... even just as f-friends... maybe it would have s-saved you from m-mating with Vodka... or would h-have let you stand up t-to her..."
Suddenly, Scotch bore a much more serious expression. It looked like something set off in his mind. At first, I was worried, but then he started talking. "W-wait, what?! B- Brandy...! I would nev-... I would never mate with her! I d-don't care how curious I am... I... I only want to with someone I love... and care about..."
Now I was the confused one. "Wait, Vodka said that she... that she mated with you. That she pinned you down and rode you like a toy or something like that... and she said that you loved her now..."
Scotch immediately started getting up, sitting up and letting me rest on his lap instead with neither of us at first realizing how awkward it was. "A-ah!! She said that to you?! Of all the nerve!"
While I was looking up at him, a certain part of him accidentally prodded me on my chin. I glanced down to see his member standing erect right beneath my face, forcing me to sit up as well to get away from it.
It really, really embarrassed Scotch, though. He quickly turned around and placed his hands over it. "S-s-s-sorry! J-j-just... y-y-you k-know..."
I closed my eyes and giggled. I didn't find it offensive but rather cute. That meant that Scotch really didn't mate with Vodka... that he still didn't know what it was like to mate... that he'd never raped or abused anyone and would never do so just to satisfy his curiosity...
What an amazing Pokemon...
"Scotch, it's okay, I understand." I slid on my butt over to him and hugged him from behind. He seemed to get extra protective of hiding his penis from me like I'd never seen one before, and he looked like he was particularly worried. "I... really want to say something..."
"W-w-what...?" Scotch asked, tilting his head slowly back towards me while still guarding his goods like a goalie.
I knew that I could think everything through in my mind, tell myself just what a great Pokemon he was and convince myself to say those three words -- or rather four words, now -- back to him... but instead... instead I wanted to tell him everything that was on my mind... I wanted to open up to him...
"I... y-you..." I said, struggling to break the second of my emotional dams. But soon enough, that crack ruptured and the whole thing burst wide open... "You're the... you're the sweetest male I've ever met... I... I can't believe that you were fighting to see me happy with Jack... when that meant you were putting aside your feelings... all of them."
Scotch stared at me with a look of intent, listening very carefully to what I was saying. In fact listening so carefully that he accidentally placed his hands on the ground and turned himself slightly, though not all the way back towards me.
"But even aside from that... you were always there for me... I mean always... you'd cheer me up, make me laugh, make me smile... you... you always offered to help me... you know what a rough life I've had... you're the only one that knows... and the only one that cares..."
"B- Brandy..." said Scotch softly, turning around fully and just looking right into my eyes, not breaking his gaze even to blink and certainly not caring at all about hiding his other problem from me.
"I... I don't know why I ever fell in love with Jack... when you were right there... all... all along... every step of the way..."
Taking a breath, I placed one of my hands on the Charmeleon's face. It was warm and smooth. It felt so nice to touch. But I didn't want to just touch it... I scooted closer so I was right up to him and then brought the fiery lizard's face right up to mine and kissed him right on the lips... immediately filling my heart with warmth.
With my sensitive hearing, I could hear his heart beating it was so loud -- and the rest of the world was so quiet that that was the only thing I could heart. His heart... beating... as we shared a kiss together... I wanted him to know that I didn't just care... I wanted him to know... that...
"I... I love you, too... Scotch..."
"B- Brandy..." said Scotch, barely able to make out my name as he just stared right into my eyes with a look of absolute adoration. It was like some sort of switch went off in the Charmeleon's heart that caused him to radiate happiness. "Brandy!!" he exclaimed in a way I'd never heard anyone exclaim before, sounding desperately happy and genuinely thrilled.
Scotch leapt forward and knocked me to the ground, nuzzling and cuddling against me, rubbing his head all over me and rolling around while on me. It was like he was a little baby Charmander again -- or at least what I would have imagined him to be like as a baby Charmander -- and he seemed to be loving every single moment of it.
For that matter, so did I. It took me a moment to realize just how much saying that to him must have meant... Back when I told Gin I loved him, it was reactively... I didn't know what love was... I just believed that, since he felt that for me -- or at least pretended to -- I obviously must have felt it for him...
With Jack... when I told him my feelings... Scotch was listening the whole time. I wasn't sure if that was when he fell in love with me or if it was even before that. I really didn't know for sure... but either way, just thinking beyond my own feelings and thinking of just how happy I must have made Scotch, my friend, my best friend, filled me with an incredible joy.
"I'm so happy, Brandy!!" exclaimed Scotch, standing up and running around the house in a silly way. He ran over to the couch and then ran back to get me, pulling me and tugging me over there with him. He sat on it and looked forward at me, happily wagging his tail. "I- I can't believe... I can't believe you love me, too! Are- are you sure you're not just saying that?"
I had to be honest with him... "Scotch... um... honestly... I'm really not sure what love is. I can't be sure that I love you... I thought Gin loved me... I thought I loved Jack... I have... I-... I have a very warped perception on what love is, as you know..."
It looked like what I said sort of disappointed Scotch. He still had a smile on his face, but that glow in his eyes seemed to fade. That wasn't what I meant or what I wanted to happen...
"B-but... Scotch... you're nicer than any other Pokemon or human I've ever known... you're sweet, kind, gentle, caring, considerate -- way too considerate -- and I trust you... I know you would never hurt me... and... and I know how much I... I mean to you..."
"B- Brandy...?"
"I don't know for sure... but... b-but..." I almost started crying again. I was realizing just how happy I was with Scotch. "I... I believe... I believe that what I feel is love... I believe it's stronger than any other feeling I've ever felt... and... I believe that-... that... that it will only grow."
Scotch hopped down off of the couch and then hugged me. He looked at me nervously, looking like he was debating kissing me or not, but opted to say something instead. "I... well, ah, you... you know more about love than I do... I guess maybe... maybe I have to believe, too!" he said, smiling as widely as a Charmeleon possibly could.
He was right. I had forgotten about that... Scotch really did have far less of an idea of what love was like... it wasn't like he was just some magical creature that had the purest love imaginable; he was still learning, too. He might have been just as confused as I was throughout the whole thing... not knowing what his feelings were or how to handle them...
There was something I knew I had to do right there and then, though. I leaned in and gave the Charmeleon a quick kiss, which quickly turned into a rather long, passionate kiss, which quickly resulted in the two of us lying down beside each other in between the couch and the TV.
Eventually we both climbed up onto the couch. I sat against it while Scotch lay on his back, resting his head on my lap. I couldn't believe how cute Scotch was... it was more than just love or whatever that love I used to feel was... I knew that I found Gin attractive back then, but Scotch was attractive in the absolutely adorable way... and I loved that about him.
Whoever said that females wanted big, strong males to protect them was entirely wrong. Scotch protected me better than any strong male ever could. He also cared about me more than anyone else ever could... I didn't realize how special Scotch was to me until I really stopped to think about it, and whenever I did from that moment on, I always smiled on the inside.
We eventually fell asleep on the couch together. It was very pleasant, because -- as usual -- Scotch was the first to fall asleep and he was drooling on my lap. It was extremely endearing... he was ten times cuter now that I knew that he... he... he was my mate. My love... my Scotch... my best friend...
"Aww, don't you two look cute," said Mary, waking Scotch and I up. "You know, those two are pretty cute together."
Jack then walked over and smiled. "Ha ha... yeah, they are pretty cute." It looked like he had some more lipstick on his face, though it didn't really seem to matter as much anymore...
"Jack, I'm going to go change... I'll meet you upstairs," she said with a wink. "My room's the first on the left."
"O-okay!" Jack waved to Mary as she walked up the stairs, looking over to him once before finishing her ascent. After Mary was out of sight, Jack shook Scotch to wake him up for real. "G-guys!" he said with a loud whisper. "I think she wants to have sex with me!"
Scotch looked up towards me, looking a little worried about what I would think. "Brandy...?"
I smiled and nodded at Jack. "Be gentle with her, Jack!" I exclaimed, no longer worried about what he was or wasn't going to do with her. It didn't matter to me anymore because I had Scotch. And he actually understood what I was saying...
"You should tickle her!" said Scotch with a smile, reaching up and tickling me under my arms, causing me to giggle rather loud and reactively try push his arms away. He stopped after a few seconds, thankfully.
"How can you guys be so silly at a time like this?! I could be losing my virginity here!" He was starting to pull some of his red hair out of his head as a nervous habit and fidget with his glasses rather rapidly, adjusting them every few seconds.
"Um, Scotch... what does virginity mean?" I asked, being unfamiliar with the term up until that point.
"Ah, um, well... it's a human term to describe someone that ah, well, has never mated... eh heh heh..." He looked a little shy about saying that, rubbing the back of his head and blushing a bit.
I giggled. "Like you?" I said, rubbing his head and blinking at him in a playful way.
He blushed even more. "Well, a-ah... y-yeah... ha ha..." It was kind of fun teasing him about that... I hoped that I wasn't making him feel uncomfortable with it.
"Yeah, go ahead and be smart with me, then," said Jack, pacing around nervously. "It can't be too much different from those videos... Not that, well... not that I've watched a lot or anything..."
"Jack... it's not that hard to do..." I said, sliding off the couch and tugging on his pants. "You just put your penis in her vagina and slide it in and out." I intentionally described it like that to hopefully make Scotch laugh a little bit.
Naturally, he giggled, though also blushed. "Y-yeah! Come on, it's not that hard, Jack! Now go up there and be a man!" Scotch hopped down off of the couch as well and gave a cute little roar at Jack.
"Alright, alright, well... uh... wish me luck, guys... and try not to get into too much trouble."
"You too," I said, sticking my tongue out at him. I had to admit, I never remembered being able to be that silly before... just having Scotch around made me want to be, though, just so he would laugh and be happy as well.
"Sheesh!" said Jack as he laughed and then walked towards the stairs, took a sigh, and headed up the stairs towards his sexual destiny.
That was it. But you know what... that was it. It wasn't important anymore. Scotch walked over and gave me a really tender hug, holding me close and rubbing behind my back. "I'm... I'm, ah, so... so happy that you love me..."
"And, um... Scotch..." I said, looking right at him with a smile on my face. "I'm so happy that you love me, too."
We found ourselves joined in another kiss before sitting back down on the couch, cuddling up next to each other.
After about twenty minutes, we both started giving each other funny looks as we heard more and more noises coming from upstairs. There was shaking, moans, a few screams from Jack, and just a lot of sounds of general chaos coming from the bedroom.
"Hey, ah, Brandy... let's go outside. There's something I want to show you."
I couldn't argue with him for his timing. I felt a little uneasy myself being so close to Jack while he was mati- well... having sex with Mary. That was what humans called it, after all. But mating or sex, I still felt uneasy and knew that going outside would be an excellent way to get away from it.
I took Scotch's hand as he hopped off the couch and followed him outside.
Scotch walked me over behind the house and pointed back at a mountain in the background... something about it looked really familiar...
"See that mountain? I went through that with Jack one time." He let out a little sigh and turned back to face me. "It was the quickest way to get from Cerulean City from here, so we went through it after we lost at the Gym here."
I couldn't help but stare at that mountain... it felt like... it honestly felt like...
"It's called Mt. Moon. I think it was named because legend says it was a meteor or something that fell from sp-"
"H-home!!" I exclaimed, absolutely overjoyed. Tears flew from my eyes as I broke free from Scotch's grip and started running toward the mountain before keeping my excitement from getting the better of me, stopping to wait for Scotch.
"Home?" he asked as he ran over to my side, looking at me, then the mountain, and then back at me. "You mean you've been there before?"
"Sc- Scotch! I- I love you...!" I said energetically, pulling the fiery lizard in for a very, very tight hug. "You have no idea how much right now... That... that's my home... I... I never thought I'd see it ever again..."
Nothing in my life ever seemed more right. It felt like I was living inside of a dream or something, because life never worked out for me quite like that. Home... I was really just a few miles from home... I could see it, Mt. Moon, right there.
"Really?!" said Scotch with a definite tone of surprise. "You mean you were born right here in Kanto? Ah, I always thought you were from Mt. Coronet or something!"
"N-no... I stayed there at one point... with Gin, that Gabite..." I sighed a bit, but then smiled because I remembered that he was just a part of my past and nothing more. "But Mt. Moon is my honest to goodness home. And I miss it so much..."
"Want to go there?" Scotch asked me directly, holding my hand and looking at me with that sweet look he gave me when there was something he wanted to do to make me happy.
"Y-yes! Oh... oh Scotch... let's go... t-thank you..." I hugged him tightly before pulling back and grabbing hold of his hand again, waiting eagerly for him to lead me to the mountain I knew to be home.
"Hey, no need to walk behind me," he said, smiling and walking back towards me. "Let's walk next to each other."
That made me feel so glad... he made me feel like I wasn't just some prize to him. He made me feel like I was also his best friend, too, and that feeling was just so incredible...
The two of us then started our trek for Mt. Moon, unsure of how long it would take us to get there, not knowing if we were going back for Jack or leaving him behind to start our new life out there together. Only two things mattered... one, I was going home for the first time in months... and two, it was with Scotch.
As happy as I was with Jack, I knew that Scotch made me even happier and, together, we could do anything that we wanted and still be happy. It also made me really glad that he was the one taking me there, leaving Jack behind. That showed that he really cared about me more than Jack, which, though I didn't doubt, was a very nice thing.
I really looked forward to the day when I'd be able to help him lose his virginity... to put it as Jack put it. Because if there was ever a Pokemon that I actually wanted to mate with... it was Scotch. In fact... it'd been such a long time since I had mated that I actually started forgetting the feeling.
In a way, that would make it feel all the more special with Scotch. I didn't want to have to remember all of the other times I had been forced into it... no... with Scotch, it was something that I wanted to do, and I was going to make sure that we both enjoyed it. Just like that Sneasel couple did all that time ago...
Maybe when we got to Mt. Moon... maybe I'd give him his prize for... um... for being such an incredible friend and such a loving mate.