It felt so good to be moving again. Their stay at Motostoke hadn't lacked exercise, but there was something uniquely satisfying about traveling by foot. The weight of a pack on Brandy's back, the occasional hug on the arm from one of her Partners, and watching Morgan swoop about in the sunny skies. It had put a massive smile on Brandy's face, which hadn't gone unnoticed. 

"She's so fucking cheerful. Look at her," Sparky said as she hung off Calcine's arm. Calcine gave a slight hum in response. The small smile she wore warmed Brandy's heart. It was nice to be on the same wavelength. "Not you too!" Sparky groaned, "Is it the sunny weather? A long leg joke us short leg people don't get?"

"You're the one that's meant to be full of energy. You getting tired already?" Brandy giggled and held her hand out. Sparky jumped right on the chance, grabbing Brandy's hand so they could walk at the same pace, swinging their arms back and forth. 

"Now who's smiling?" Calcine teased, "You just wanted attention."

"Just wanted to get between my two favorite women," Sparky said, giving Calcine and Brandy's legs a hip bump. Brandy gave Calcine a meaningful look, and Calcine nodded. They knew what needed to be done. 

Sparky squeaked as they both got an arm around her and hauled her off her feet. Her legs swung in the air as Brandy and Calcine pressed in, sandwiching Sparky between them. Brandy felt the prickle of static through her shirt as it rubbed over Sparky's yellow fur, a pleasant fuzz over the side of her breast. She heard a sigh, and Sparky relaxed into their arms.

"Now this is how you travel," Sparky contently murmured, head nuzzled against the side of Calcine's chest. "Now I'm feeling the mood."

"Feeling me up," Calcine snorted.

"I call your breasts The Mood." Sparky said, "Because they put me in it."

"Always happy to give you something to smile over," Calcine said. "Don't be shy. Squeeze the mood if you want."

The pair of them had been ridiculously lovey-dovey since they'd set out. Brandy didn't know what Sparky had said to get Calcine into her Pokéball to heal up, but it'd clearly forged their relationship even closer. Her gaze drifted up to Morgan, apart from the group, enjoying herself in the skies. Morgan wanted her independence, not only a crucial part of being a Flying Type but something dear to Morgan's heart, and Brandy wouldn't get in the way of that. But she still wanted a space for Morgan to occupy with the group when she wanted it. A warm place she could nest in when she was tired of the world and just wanted comfort. 

A tricky balance to strike. Brandy had never really chosen to be a Rainbow Trainer, someone who bonded with Pokémon of all different types. Despite all the warnings she'd had in college, she'd just kind of fallen into it. Being Rainbow was hard because you constantly fought against the group's different needs and wants. It wasn't the refined team of shameless oral pleasure Shay had or Maple's duo of sly supervillains that needed a stern hand. There was no easy way to describe Brandy's team other than that they all seemed to have big hearts and fucked like Lopunnys.

Which was enough for Brandy to work with. She just had to be sure she didn't let someone slip too far outside the group. Even if they enjoyed being alone, knowing they had attention on them had to be a comfort. So she whistled and wiggled her eyebrows at Morgan when she turned to look at them. 

Morgan landed with a cool breeze that was welcome on a warm day with still air. Brandy had Steam Engine now; all this heat helped give her energy, but her body hadn't learned that heat wasn't a problem yet and still got sweaty. Some cool air was a welcome relief, and Morgan's Gust move let her wrap the three up in their own cool breeze. Even Calcine seemed to enjoy it swirling through her hair.

"Did you call me down just to cool Sparky off? She looks like she's about to melt." Morgan nodded at Sparky, who looked so perfectly content being squeezed between Brandy and Calcine. 

"Just wanted to ask if you saw anything coming up," Brandy said, "And check you're doing good."

"The mines are about an hour's walk away. Can't really fly in those unless I want to become a Zubat," Morgan tilted her head at the group, "Sparky, I didn't know you'd grown wings of your own."

Sparky flexed her arms against Calcine and Brandy, bobbing her chest as she tried and failed to flap them about. The shortstacks bounciness made for an excellent show anyway. 

"I'm a flightless bird!" Sparky grinned. "Pity me."

"We could make you fly if we swung you hard enough," Calcine said. 

"Briefly." Morgan cut in. 

"I'd web Morgan and fly her like a kite."

"Oh, you summoned me down here so I could squash a Bug. I see." Morgan stepped forward and put her hands on Sparky's cheeks, mushing them together. Sparky twitched in their arms as she tried to free her head, cackling madly. 

Sparky and Morgan didn't get along perfectly, but they made each other laugh. With Calcine, the forever straight woman to their antics, it was hard not to get swept up in the mischief. 

"Can squash her myself, thank you," Brandy said, leaning in to kiss Morgan's cheek and trying to tease a kiss out of her. She got a quick peck of a kiss and a short head rub before Morgan backed off. Affectionate but not hungry for more today, thank goodness. Brandy was enjoying the break.   

"Why should you two get all the fun?" Morgan said, "It's hot today. Have you got some water, Brandy?"

Calcine nodded, "Drink some too. You need it."

Brandy left Sparky in Calcine's arms as she got her canteen out. It felt cool to the touch and heavy still. Buying a nice travel one was paying off. Brandy took a quick swig herself, just enough to wet her mouth, and then offered the rest to Morgan. The Murkrow leaned forward with mouth open, a silent beg for Brandy to do it for her. It was too good an opportunity. Brandy grinned as she stood on tip-toes and poured the water over Morgan's hat brim instead. 

It made a wonderful mess. Water splashed over the top of her breasts and ran down her front. The water ran through her feathers, darkening them and making them lay flat. The Murkrow shook the excess water out with a sharp flutter of her wings, spraying them all and having them all shielding their faces and yelling at her in shock. Which just made her shake harder.

"Deserved!" Morgan huffed, her wet feathers puffed out when she finally stopped. She'd splattered them all with a light spray of cool water. It was nice in a chaotic, bracing way. "I could use a real cold shower."

"The mines will be cool," Calcine said, "There'll be spring water in there to refill."

"Cave Expert Calcine," Morgan said with a bow. "First Pokémon with a Badge, and she still has to show off."

"Just have to make sure you learn something with your head up in the clouds."

Morgan whistled at the insult, an approving hiss as she squared up to say something worse. Their fighting had been more good-natured lately, and as weird as it was for Brandy to understand how they enjoyed it, she had to accept that they did. Pokémon liked competitive sparring in ways Humans didn't. Even if they were brawling with words, it was an itch they needed to scratch. As long as it stayed friendly and didn't get actually mean, Brandy let them trade barbs.

"Oh yeah, you were in a Mine when we found you," Sparky said, clearly trying to help Brandy change the subject. Bless her. "You going to get homesick?"

"A little, maybe," Calcine admitted, "I miss Lapidary and would love to tell her some things. Her statue-making was strange then, but I understand it better now. Why she'd want to remember someone she loved once."

"We could send a letter?" Morgan said, dropping the animosity. She loved a good story too much to keep it up. "Trying to remember a past life's love is kind of romantic."

"It is, and nice idea on the letter, but no, I want to say it all in person," Calcine said, swishing her cape. "Show off who I've become. She'll be proud."

"A slightly hotter rock?" Morgan teased. Maybe she hadn't completely dropped it.

"Slightly?" Calcine patted her rounder hips. Her new Carkol body had an ass that wasn't Aniseed in sheer size. Still, it was absolutely chiseled, and Morgan took more than her fair share of glances at it when she thought Calcine wasn't looking. 

"I am very curious what your final evolution will look like. How long until we can use the Fire Stone again?"

Calcine pulled the necklace chain between her breasts and pulled out the small red pearl with fire swirling inside. It practically glowed with heat like a miniature sun, like it'd burn you to touch it. 

"I'd say it's ready, but we should save it for the Tournament. We might not get it charged up again in time."

"Coalossal Calcine is going to rock." Sparky said, "No Stones about it."

"You do a third rock pun, and I'm taking you for a flight," Morgan said, "And I might drop you."

"Sorry, Morgan," Sparky put her hands on her chest. "That's my Fault. I Lava you too much to take our friendship for Granite."

There was a long pause as Morgan took in a deep breath.

"Drop her from a really high height," Calcine said. "Above the cloud layer."

"I thought it was funny," Brandy shrugged. "No need for the Basalt and Battery."

Morgan huffed out that breath. 

"Such betrayal. That's the problem with inheritance. You pick up bad habits. I'm going to pick this bad habit up right now." Morgan shook her head and grabbed Sparky, taking off with a burst of speed.

"She won't actually drop her, right?" Brandy said as she watched them dwindle in size as they gained height. "Right?"

"Basalt and battery was pretty bad." Calcine said, "Sparky can make a parachute. I'm going to have to catch you."

They were joking! 

Probably.

Brandy clung onto Calcine's arm just in case. Morgan couldn't steal her if she had an anchor. 

Premier

45+ chapters ahead on Patreon! Including some beefy side stories. I'm writing one that's like 18k words; why do I do this?

I also feel I should redo the chapter numbers to create arcs, but that would be work, and I don't want to. 

Maybe someday. 

Oh oh! While I got you, I've never done a plug before, but I've been reading and enjoying this.

https://www.scribblehub.com/series/787054/a-new-kind-of-grind/

Trans-Female Isekai Litrpg, that looks like it's going to be about fighting but is actually about relationships, crazy sex, weirdly detailed worldbuilding, and Factorio. Kind of.  

Look, it's got Bunnygirls in it, and they get plowed real good; if that doesn't sell it, I don't even know who you all are.