Sparky's Pokédex picture flickered as the system updated, going from a generic forward-on shot of a Joltik to a picture of Sparky with a beaming grin and tongue half stuck out the side of her mouth as she held up her fingers in a peace sign. The sun had caught her chokers ring just right to give it a lens flare.

"Holy shit, I look cool," Sparky said. "That's so much better now! We'll have to do another one when I Evolve." 

"Well, don't do it too quickly," Calcine said as she took her spot in the clearing. "That took us half an hour to get right."

Brandy smirked. She didn't mind it had taken ages. Taking pictures of her partners was a lot of fun. Sparky had an endless supply of poses. It was nice to see the victory number climb up, too. Lenna and Lizzy had been the last of their training session and by far the most intense, but she'd survived it without even a scratch. Unlike the Zigzagoon pack, who'd peppered her with bites, she still had some red teeth marks all along her side. It was a shame they hadn't found another Trainer. It'd have been good to have a proper battle. Wild Pokémon were a lot easier to handle as they forgot any plans and just went for the meal they had laid out for them. 

It made Brandy understand Researchers a lot better. Getting into quick flings constantly was fun, and she could see herself enjoying the hell out of it. Heck, them trying to get a Move out of Mercury was what Researchers did every day, though admittedly, Mercury was far too much for them to handle. Whoever met her first must have been in for the surprise of her life. 

"Ugh," Sparky groaned, dropping her head on Brandy's side as Brandy fiddled with her Poké-dex camera function. "Calcine! You look just like the generic photo."

"This is just how I look," Calcine said, stiffly standing to attention. "Can't help it."

"Have some personality! Give us a pose!"

Calcine looked at Sparky like they had asked her to fly. If anything, she got stiffer, the muscles in her arms and legs straining as she got stuck in indecision.

"Fold your arms," Brandy said, "Tilt your head up a little, and smile like you've just caught Sparky out in a lie."

"Hey! That's never happened," Sparky lied. 

Brandy giving a little guidance helped Calcine, though. With arms folded over her shirt, she had a cocksure look, which suited her intelligent but confident persona.

Sparky whistled, "Not bad, not as cool as mine, but it suits her. She looks like she's about to press you up against a wall."

"Like that, do you?" Calcine said as she came over to look. 

"Find a wall, and we can find out together."

Brandy snickered as she updated Calcine's picture. She'd been putting in Sparky's new move when she noticed they badly needed their own, though something about Calcine still bothered her. 

"Hey. Am I ever getting that shirt back?"

"Take it off me if you want," Calcine said, popping the top button. "Should be easy."

Yeah, and they'd get nothing else done today if she did. Brandy knew that game and took a photo of Calcine's cleavage instead. 

"You can't use that as my picture!"

"That one's just for me!" Brandy said, sliding out of reach as Calcine swiped at her Poké-dex. "May need it if Mercury puts me in a bed. Keep me going between visit days."

Calcine sighed, then shrugged away the problem. "Well, I think we're as ready as we can be. The hunt is on."

Brandy swished her dress. It was a part of the plan for her to be in it, and she was warming up to it. As long as they stuck to the paths, it was pretty nice to feel the breeze on her legs, and she enjoyed catching Sparky and Calcine sneaking looks. The next time she saw Maple, she would get some tips for her hair and makeup and see if she couldn't do better. Trainers had a lot of different styles, and while she doubted she could go full femme fatale, being able to throw off the other side's train of thought was a valuable skill. 

Finding Mercury was the first part of the challenge. They had her last spotted location, east of Turrfield, going towards the bridge over to Hulberry. The problem was all the light woodland and open fields surrounding Turrfield. There wasn't a vast amount of cover for Wild Pokémon to hide in, but the sheer size of the land helped them out there instead. You had to walk far off the beaten path to find the more reclusive Pokémon, and you could run into all kinds of surprises while rambling in the woods or through the tall crop fields. 

They'd guessed Mercury's appetites meant she'd be in one of two places. Near major routes or in catching hotspots. She was the kind of Wild Pokémon who was always on the prowl, which meant she couldn't afford to hope for people to stumble over her. Her bragging about strength and wanting a real challenge meant she was almost certainly looking for Trainers, which was helpful as it'd mean she'd home in on them rather than make them chase. The only real issue was as a Galar Rapidash, she was so fast she could easily slip by them if they weren't careful, so Brandy was glued to her Poké-dex waiting for updates while they made their way to the last spot someone had reported her. 

"Watch the mud," Calcine called as Brandy climbed over the stile, letting people pass over the stone walls separating out the local fields. This one was full of rows of berry bushes, flush with blue bell-shaped berries with brown tips. All along the rows were hand-drawn signs begging people to stop stealing the Berries. 

Brandy didn't even have to look. 

"How do they taste Sparky?"

"Mmmf?" Sparky said, mouth already full. She shrugged. She clearly wasn't guilty of anything if they'd expected it of her. "Dry. They're not great."

Sparky crunched on the Berry as they walked. She was really having difficulty with it. "It's like a never-ending sour."

"Well, you're not spitting it out," Calcine said. "It's rude."

"I know!" she groaned. "But I feel like my tongue's going to shrivel up. I shouldn't have done one bite."

The Poké-dex trail ended here, so they had nothing to do but check each row of Berries and hope someone was still around. 

"They must have been sneaking away Berries, and Mercury got her," Sparky said, still crunching away. "Crime doesn't pay. Or does? Depends how she took it."

They were three rows deep when they found someone, a Pokémon with an absolutely huge dark grey bushy tail flicking behind them back and fore. They had a nice tan to their skin and some terribly cute freckles, their face a little plump but not overly so. She had a large chest, because of course she did. Brandy wasn't bitter about that. Every Pokémon could have a bigger chest than her. It was fine. Whatever. Not mad. 

"Oh!" she said, clutching an armful of berries as she noticed them. "You look mad."

"She's a cop," Sparky said, so quick to make a situation worse. "You're busted, Berry thief!"

"Really?" the squirrel Pokémon said, tilting her head. "She's not in a uniform, and she looks more like she's out looking for a Partner?"

Smart, or so lack-a-daisy she doesn't even care. Either way, Brandy was impressed at her level of cool. 

"Kind of," Brandy said, slapping Sparky's arm. "We're looking for Mercury?"

"Oh, shame. It'd be nice if someone took my Berry stealing problems more seriously. I don't mind people taking a few, but it's gotten really bad lately."

Sparky nodded, crunching the last bits of Berry in her mouth slowly as if that'd somehow make it any less quiet. The bushy-tailed Pokémon narrowed her eyes at her. 

"Some Pokémon are badder than others," Calcine said. "Bug Types, you know they love trouble. You own this place?"

"That's right," and from everyone's stares, she wilted, a blush coming over those cute dotted freckles on her tanned face. "I know, I know, a Skwovet with a Berry farm sounds like a joke. But I enjoy growing things, and it's more fun than foraging, and my sisters love coming to steal a few now and then."

"You think they're taking them all?"

"Them? No, they're good girls and wouldn't upset me like that. It's been bad lately, is all. I'll catch them eventually." the Swkovet said, "But if you're after Mercury, sorry, but someone already came to pick up the lady she was with. A cook I know, likes to come to get fresh berries. She's probably long gone by now."

"Shoot," Brandy said, "You mind if we wait here until we get another ping?"

"Not at all, though I'd appreciate some help if you want to stay here all day."

"You mind if we investigate your thefts?" Calcine said, ignoring the stare from Brandy and Sparky at this sudden plan. "It'd be good to get practice tracking for Brandy, and maybe we'll find Mercury's trail."

"Sure!" the Swkovet said, perking up at the idea someone might actually care about her problem. "Maybe find out where they're getting in? I know the wall isn't that high, but carrying out armfuls of Berries is hard to do without making some kind of a mess, and I'm just way too busy to follow it up right now."

She looked Brandy up and down, smiling at her legs. "And if you want a break..."

"We really are out to fight Mercury fresh!" Brandy said quickly, getting ahead of this horny train. "But if we strike out, I can think of something not too exhausting. Only fair."

Actually passing up sex to work. Brandy really was being an adult today. 

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