"The choker stays forever," Sparky said, tugging it as they walked along the path out of Turrfield. The idyllic town was getting small in the distance now, and Brandy kept turning back to peek at it so she could catch it just when it was finally gone. "But I wouldn't mind something to go with it."

"A piercing?" Calcine said as she walked with her new backpack. She'd gone for a big, proper hiking one and was holding more stuff on her back now than Brandy ever thought she'd own. It'd been a real challenge to get Calcine to stop buying things once they'd got into the camping store. The store owner had looked delighted when Brandy had finally managed to push her toward a checkout. "Wouldn't really work for me without a drill, but I think you'd look good with it. Shades aren't your style."

The idea of Sparky wearing sunshades with six different lenses was a little funny. It'd be such a mess of a thing.

"Ooh," Sparky bounced on the balls of her feet. She had a tiny pack shaped like a Parasect, which looked like it was biting her neck. Brandy had no idea what was in it and would keep it that way. She just knew she wouldn't like the answer. "Brandy, you want to get a piercing with me?"

"Absolutely not," Brandy said as she tugged at her rucksack straps. It was comfy, but her new boots were better. They'd convinced her to keep wearing the skirts, but the compromise was that she got new boots, which was worth it. Big, sturdy hiking boots with enough padding, it was like walking on clouds. "I'm still inheriting. It can mess piercings up and look all gross till it heals."

"You just don't want to get stabbed."

"And I don't want to get stabbed." Brandy nodded in agreement. "I love my smooth and soft Partners."

Calcine came up to Brandy's side and hugged her very hard, getting up on tiptoes to put her head on Brandy's shoulder. "Tattoo?"

"Engraving for you, more like, and Sparky's fur isn't getting a tattoo... unless we shave her."

"No!" Sparky huffed, "Don't even think about it. There will be war."

Brandy curled a finger under Sparky's choker and tugged her in for a kiss. The slight crackle of static on Sparky's lips showed her surprise, but Brandy drank that crackle in. It was intoxicating and helped wake her up. Not even a colossal sleep and a late Scoria breakfast had been enough to shake off the last day. Not that she minded. The weariness she felt just reminded her how it'd gotten there.

"You looked pretty good with the glowing paint from the nightclub." Brandy said, "Well, the stripes looked neat. All the dex-numbers didn't."

"Can't believe they all smudged." Sparky groaned. "I was going to build up such a fun group chat. Ugh, I guess I can stick with the choker for now. But we're getting piercings together someday,"

"Sure! Someday," Brandy nodded, mentally penciling it in as something she'd do after she tamed a Legendary using nothing but her tongue.

"You‘ll have to wait to get anything anyway," Calcine said, throwing Brandy a life ring to escape this conversation. Bless her. “You are planning to get a Dark Partner on this route, she should get a say in it. All for sharing.”

"I planned ahead! Can fit four in this sleeping bag. It's practically a tent." Brandy slapped the pack on her back. The sleeping bag tucked tightly on top looked ridiculous, giving everything an ungainly weight. She knew Calcine would eventually steal it for her own pack so Brandy didn't have to deal with it, but Brandy was eager for the workout and balance practice until that happened. Mercury was going to improve, and she needed to do it every chance she got.

"You say fit four. What if we catch a Duodrio?"

"Not native," Brandy said confidently. She might be bad at some things, but when it came to Pokémon, she knew the region like the back of her hand. Which sounds more impressive than it was. Lots of people knew most of them, but Brandy was proud to say she knew them all, and not just because she'd endlessly gone over which was the hottest with Cherry and others. Though she had.

"Magneton?" Calcine added.

"Not native, and they'd destroy me way before we got into a sleeping bag."

"Falinks?"

That was native, but they came with a whole other problem. "Maple would kill me if I did that. You can't date your girlfriend's mom's sister. Or sisters."

"Look at you! All concerned about what she thinks." Sparky grinned. "It's like we got the third member of the team already."

"Please, if she were here, I'd be the third member of the team, and she'd be the Trainer." Brandy smiled at the thought of it. She'd have enjoyed being Maple's Pokémon so much.

"Well, I'm eager to see who it'll be." Calcine tugged at Brandy's belt. "We got space."

Binding Balls were a vital part of any Trainer's kit, and Brandy had only had three for the longest time. Now she had an extra one for a fourth Pokémon, just in case, and she had also gotten her Partners' customized. Sparky's Binding Ball now had four blue stripes to match her eyes, a cute little fanged mouth, and a smile of pure mischievous malice. Calcine's they'd painted entirely black and then added a candle flame heart on it. Calcine had complained a lot that it was too twee for her but then refused to pick any other designs that might go there instead. She kept sneaking looks at it, so she liked it more than she let on.

Which made sense! They were cute! Maybe Brandy would actually get them to use them sometime.

"This is it," Calcine said, giving her a nudge. "Take a look."

Brandy looked at her, confused by what she meant, but the sight behind Calcine immediately made it clear. Turrfield was behind them in the distance, and it'd disappear behind a hill as soon as they walked further. A heavy weight in Brandy's chest she didn't even know she was carrying made itself known, and now she didn't want to give that up so easily.

Sparky slipped her hand into Brandy's and squeezed it. "Hey, it's our home too. We'll miss it with you."

"Actually, I lived in the mine," Calcine said and got zapped with a flick of electricity.

"Shut it and hold Brandy's hand."

Which Calcine did, the three of them staring back at their hometown (and Calcine's mine, though it was barely visible) together.

"We'll be back," Calcine said, and her confidence in that was soothing. Not just an inevitability, but a promise.

"Mmm," Brandy said, "And Scoria is going to Motostoke to meet Fenny, but still. It's home. It feels weird."

"Calcine feels weird, and you love her." Sparky squeezed Brandy's hand as Calcine squinted at her. "You can learn to enjoy weird. Travel is going to be fun. Never know what might happen."

"Ooooooh,"

A woman had just dropped out of the air, landing with a quick tumble and a flurry of feathers. She had scruffy red hair just a shade lighter than Brandy's own, and it was odd to see a Pokémon with a hairstyle so close to hers. Her feathered arms had blue and white feathers extending out long enough to give her full-on wings, albeit scrawny ones. She was small all over. Her black tail feathers with a white stripe were just a little tuft that flicked about as she hopped about to look Brandy over. Even her chest wasn't bigger than Brandy's, which felt like a victory. Finally, a Pokémon that didn't outmatch her!

"Hey, uh," Brandy faltered as she restarted her brain and tried to ignore the victory dance Sparky was doing over her prophetic timing. "Fletchling?"

Flying types were usually pretty skittish and didn't just land in groups. It was odd.

"Yeah, that's me!" she said with a big smile. She had big, round black eyes with a little fleck of yellow on the sides to accent it, just a total cutie all over. "You got a badge, and you're really tall!"

"Darn, Brandy," Sparky gasped. "How does everyone know you're tall? Are you not keeping it a secret?"

"Brandy!" The Fletchling squeaked excitedly, "So it all fits. I knew you were her!"

"You're looking for her?" Calcine raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Fletchling was a Normal Type as well as Flying. So she'd have some kind of human-like interest. Though nearly all Pokémon loved badges, so it seemed a bit too simple for her just to be curious about Brandy's battle.

The Fletchling put a wing over her mouth and did a fake, evil laugh. "That'd be telling!"

"She's got secrets, Brandy," Sparky walked over to the Fletchling and put a finger under her chin. They were almost the same size, the Fletchling only just a little taller than Sparky. "You want to tell us your secrets. Brandy's not just tall."

Sparky leaned in to whisper something in the Fletchling's ear, and her eyes widened. "Really?"

"Mhmm." Sparky nodded.

"Really!"

Calcine nodded. "Absolutely."

"Gosh." the Fletchling hopped on her feet as she ruffled her feathers together. She looked both worried and excited simultaneously, unable to stand still as she tried to pick between fight and flight. "I'm not sure I could survive that. Can you take it easy on me?"

"I have no idea what they're even promising!" Brandy said, "You're adorable. I'm going to be nice to you. Why don't you tell us what you're up to? Then we can work something out that doesn't..."

She looked to Sparky to finish the thought since she'd also started it.

"Crush all your bones," Sparky added with a nod.

What the heck was that little furred minx promising?

The Fletchling bit her wing and hopped back and fore as she thought about it, her tail feather swishing in the air dramatically. "Okay, I can tell you. But you have to promise not to be mad."

"Sparky tries that a lot," Calcine said, "And it nearly always makes me mad."

"Well, now, you can practice it." Sparky punched Calcine's arm. "Stop being so bad at keeping promises."

Brandy just wanted to know why a Flying type had dived on her. Was a Badge really that impressive to Pokémon?

"Deal," Brandy said, "So what are you up to?"

"Distracting you!" the Fletchling spread her wings and gave a bow. "So my Trainer can ambush you all!"

"Smokescreen!" Brandy cried, but it was already too late. Brandy was knocked right onto her back as a storm of feathered ladies descended upon them. Good thing the sleeping back was there. It took all the force out of the blow.

"Calcine, you can be mad at her!" Sparky yelled as she struggled with a puffy, blue-haired Pokémon with a black cloak of feathers to match her winged arms.

"Don't worry, I am!" Calcine hissed as smoke poured out of her mouth. She stood her ground as she struggled with a giant Pokémon with massive spiky waves of white hair spilling off her head and some gorgeous red wings that darkened to pure black to cover her naked chest. It was impressive Calcine could even stand her ground because she looked horribly outmatched.

Brandy could guess those Pokémon, but she was far more amazed by the one on top of her. Tall and graceful, with a skirt of pure white feathers to match her arms. A long lick of white hair curled around her body and seemed to swish in time with eyes that stared down at Brandy like she was dirt. Interesting dirt, fuckable dirt even, but still compared to her? Dirt.

"You're not native!" Brandy gasped, giddy with excitement. "How did you get here?"

The white feathered Pokémon put a finger to Brandy's lip. Even her fingers were long and graceful. It was too much. Brandy had her words stolen from her by sheer, aloof sexiness.

"Ah, thanks, Harper!" came a thick, gruff accent, and a head popped over the white bird-ladies shoulder. Hands round to grab her perfectly formed chest because everything about the classy bird screamed 'perfect.'

Brandy couldn't quite believe who she was looking at. Wearing a truly outstanding white cowboy hat, a woman with white and black feathers in her hair looked down at Brandy and blew her a kiss. "Hey there, darling," she continued in an almost comically overdone Unovian accent. "You're the gal who fucked Mercury up before us? We got a bone to pick with you!"

Oh, this was going to be a real pain to explain. Brandy could just tell.