It was half past ten o’clock. Nova got out of bed and shuffled over to the bathroom to wash dirt off her face and this nightmare out of her head. She made the mistake of looking at the mirror above the sink. In the past few days, mirrors had become her weakness. They displayed every imperfection, every flaw, every masculine detail that gave her away. 

She had heard that she was cute, once from the lady from the hotel, and another time from a lady on the S.S. Anne who had helped her figure this all out at first. She searched in vain for this hidden cuteness. She thought surely they must only be saying it to make me feel better. What Nova did not know was that she was cute in those instances because she was smiling, blushing, and life had sprung up in her eyes. When she looked in a mirror, she only found a sad face. She decided to leave the bathroom before she found another thing about her appearance to hate.

She dug through her bags. She knew nothing she wanted was in there, but she still had to try. She had packed before she knew she was Nova. Consequently, there were no skirts, blouses, or dresses hidden under her gi. No cute kitten heels tucked neatly under her exercise shorts. The only thing she had that remotely allowed her to pass as feminine was the hoodie and sweatpants she was already wearing. The only thing of any use she did find was a power bar that she quickly ate as a makeshift breakfast. Defeated, she got up and headed out. 

She was on her way to the Pokémon center when she passed a town sign. It read, “Celadon City: The city of rainbow dreams.” Nova looked at that and smiled to herself. She really could use a rainbow dream today.

She entered the Pokémon center and headed straight for the PC. She logged on and immediately cringed. Right under her Pokémon storage system file was an option for [DEADNAME]’s PC. She prayed no one had seen that. Of course, no one was looking. 

She logged on to the Pokémon storage system and quickly went about selecting the six Pokémon for her team. She had five grass types which were as follows: Carnivine, the Bug Catcher Pokémon; Quilladin, the Spiny Armor Pokémon; Whimsicott, the Windvieled Pokémon; Sawsbuck, the Season Pokémon; and Cacnea, the Cactus Pokémon. She then had to pause and consider who her sixth Pokémon would be. She had no other grass types, so this choice would be a personal one. She had narrowed it down to two Pokémon. She would have to choose between Floette, and Primeape.

Floette was the Single Bloom Pokémon. She was a small sprite in the shape of a white flower. In the wild she would flutter around and for wilted flowers. When a well tended bed would bloom, she would appear and dance around. Despite her floral appearance, she was not actually a grass type. Floette was a fairy type, something Nova was sure the Celadon gym would not have seen before. There only existed female Floettes, an aflixion Nova wished upon her own kind. Floette was incredibly feminine, she was everything Nova wanted to be.

Primeape was the Pig Monkey Pokémon. He was a shaggy ball of whitish fur and anger, with a pig nose and four limbs extending out of the fur in the form of two arms and two legs. He always wore a furious expression, and it was said that he would chase down his quarry to the very end. He was every masculine stereotype in a 3’3” package. He was angry, and vicious, and determined, and everything Nova wanted to distance herself from. 

However, there still existed a dilemma. She had grown up with this Primeape. She caught him when he was a Mankey, his unevolved form. He had seen her through many challenges in her days as a black belt. Primeape betrayed her desire to portray as much femininity as possible, but he never betrayed her. There was a part of her that simply wanted to release this symbol of her past, but she could not do so. Nova found resolve in merely leaving Primeape safely in the PC while she left with Floette.

She walked timidly through Celadon City. She was rather nervous about applying for a job as herself for the first time. Though she came as herself, she initially applied for the fighting dojo as [DEADNAME]. She attempted to calm her nerves by observing her surroundings as she walked. She used a technique of counting down with senses. She looked for five sights. She found the flashing lights outside of the game corner, the luxury of the Celadon Mansion, the towering Celadon Department Store, the bright colors of the flowers that were arranged around the town fountain, and the sun reflecting brightly off of that fountain and forming a rainbow. She listened for four sounds. She heard the bubbling of the fountain, the chirping of birds in the trees, the ringing of slots in the game corner, and the soft mewlings of Pokémon around the town. 

She was calming down as she began to note three sensations she could feel. The warm summer breeze blew lightly across her face, she stuck her hand in the fountain and felt the swift rush of the water, she grabbed a flower from its arrangement and felt the soft skin of its leaves. She inhaled deeply searching for two scents. She smelled the sweet aroma of the flowers, and the fruity bouquet of some ladies’ perfumes in the town probably coming out of the department store. Lasty, she tasted how her dry nervous mouth had filled back up with moisture. Nova was calm. Nova was ready.

She walked down to where she could approach the gym. There was a small tree in front of her. She decided to squeeze past it and keep going. 

In front of the gym, Nova saw an elderly man looking through a window. As she passed through the doors she heard him say, “Heheh, this gym is great! It’s full of women!” 

Nova thought to herself, “Ugh, typical man trying to perv on the women.” She froze, realizing, “CRAP! They think I’m one of those!” Her anxiety came rushing back like a mighty wave. She was stuck right inside the threshold of the gym. The all women’s gym that she could easily be ostracized from. Her heart raced, but it was as if her feet were glued to the spot. She tried with all her might to lift her feet, but they would not move before she was spotted.

“Hi, are you here to face Erika?” A voice spoke up. It belonged to a beautiful blonde lady with amazing makeup. She seemed so happy it almost melted Nova’s frozen state. 

Nova was able to blurt out a response, “Actually I’m here to apply to be a trainer.” Nova winced fearing the negative response she was surely about to receive.

The woman instead looked quizzically for a moment. She then resolved and turned back to yell, “Erika, we have a trainer applicant.”

Nova was terrified, and she assumed the worst. This didn’t prevent her from marveling at the woman who soon approached. Erika walked from around a large bush and yawned lightly. She wore a beautiful yellow green kimono with a red orange hakama. Her feet were adorned with tabi and zori. She had shoulder length black hair and a red hairband over her bangs. She was grace personified.

She spoke softly, “Welcome, My name is Erika. I am the leader of the Celadon City gym. I understand you want to apply to be a trainer here.”

Her grace and majesty calmed Nova immensely. She nodded and said, “Yes, I have grass types if you would like to see them.” Nova brought out Carnivine, Quilladin, Whimsicott, Sawsbuck, and Cacnea

Erika appreciated this preparation. She inspected the Pokémon, reporting, “Very good.” She called out, “Vileplume.” A 3’11” bipedal indigo bodied Rafflesia Pokémon approached and Erika told it, “Can you take these Pokémon into the gym so they can enjoy the sunlight under the greenhouse windows.” 

She returned to facing Nova and continued, “We appreciate the grass types; however, we have one additional requirement. This is an all girls gym. I have to ask you this. Are you a girl?”

Nova froze again. She knew she was a girl, but she felt like she didn’t deserve to say that here. She stammered, “I -- I --”

She was cut off by a posh shrill voice slicing in from deeper inside the gym. The voice said, “It doesn’t look like a girl to me.” A woman with wavy blonde shoulder length hair approached where Erika was standing. Her name was Joan, and she had a vendetta against women like Nova. This vendetta drove her into the conversation with a malevolent smile across her face. She spoke again, “I think this… thing is merely pretending to be one of us.”

Nova hung her head in shame. The other trainers around looked shocked or embarrassed. The blonde woman continued spitting out her degradation, “It’s probably just trying to spy on us or trying to assault one of us.”

Nova fell to her knees with her legs fanned out. The blonde woman twisted the knife further yelling, “I think we should throw this thing out in the gutters.” This word “gutters,” specifically said in a Galarian accent, conjured up her feelings from her dream. 

Nova held back her tears for a moment to look around. She saw rage and contempt in the eyes of everyone around her, but nobody more than Erika. Erika stared at the ground with a look of white hot rage on her face, making her otherwise calm face look distorted. Nova was scared of what would come next for her, mainly just from Erika alone. Her tormentor noticed too and paused long enough to imagine her scenario of Nova being thrown into the gutter before continuing.

Hoping it would call the other women to action, she repeated, “We should just throw you out in the gu —“

“VILEPLUME! GIGA DRAIN!” Erika’s voice shot out. Much to Nova’s surprise, she was not met with vines wrapping around her, but with a screeching sound from her tormentor. She looked up and saw the woman with several tendril-like vines connected to her. The vines drained her skin of moisture and softness. As Erika’s signature Pokémon held the tormentor in place, Erika continued to scream with a rage she very rarely used except in the face of injustice. She yelled, “ENOUGH OF THIS JOAN! HOW DARE YOU SAY SUCH AWFUL THINGS! THAT KIND OF HATEFUL DRIVEL IS NOT WELCOME HERE! SINCE YOU SEEM TO REVEL IN TORMENTING THIS POOR GIRL, YOU ARE THE ONE WHO SHOULD LEAVE!” 

Erika finished with emphasis, “NOW GET OUT OF MY GYM!”

Through teary eyes Nova looked up to see her tormentor harrumphing off, her dry skin cracking. She parted with, “I’ll leave, but one day you’ll regret letting these things in here.” 

There was the sound of a door slamming, and then Nova felt a soft warm embrace. Erika was hugging her and whispered to her, “It’s okay, it’s okay.” She helped Nova back up to her feet but added, “I know you are a girl, but I still need you to say it.” 

With tears in her eyes and doubt in her mind, Nova protested, “N -- n -- n -- not according to her I’m not.” 

Erika quickly retorted, “She is an idiot. What she says is completely wrong. You can be a girl even if people like her are stupid enough to disagree.”

Doubts still lingered in Nova’s mind. She stammered, “But -- but -- but I -- I didn’t grow up a girl like you all did. Doesn’t that make me… not worthy.”

Erika considered this point and retorted with a beautiful comparison. She said, “A Cardivine thrives in nutrient deficient soil. A Cacnea makes its home in the harsh desert. My cute Vileplume here prefers a dank dark jungle floor. It doesn’t matter what these Pokémon have different between them; they are all still grass types. All of us have different experiences in womanhood, but we are all still women.

Nova attempted to respond, “Bu -- “

Erika delicately laid a finger on Nova’s mouth adding, “Ah! And you are no different.” 

The girls beamed at one another. Erika asked again, “Once again, are you a girl?”

“...yes!” Nova spoke out as a ray of euphoria shined over her body. A smile rushed onto her face as she hugged her new leader deeply around the neck and shoulders. 

Erika patted Nova’s back, as she released the hug she said “Welcome to the Celadon City gym!”

The first blonde trainer she spoke to approached. “Hi, I’m Lori, your new coworker.” Lori said smiling. She continued, “You looked so much happier when you let that inner woman out. I think we can help you have your outside match that inner beauty.” She got around to it and offered, “Would you like for us to give you a makeover?”

Nova was overjoyed, saying “Of course.” She was then ushered deep into the gym and sat down on some pillows next to bushes. While the other Pokémon frolicked about, Sawsbuck laid his deer-like body down and allowed Nova to sit up comfortably, putting her back against his flank. 

Erika laid down next to her and assured her she’d have privacy. She said, “I just closed the gym for the weekend.”

Nova was surprised, asking “You can just do that?”

Erika laid back as if to return to another nap, yawned, and said, “If Giovanni can close his gym in Viridian city for months, I can give us a girls’ weekend.” Before Nova could ask who Giovanni was, Erika was already asleep.

Lori rounded up the rest of the girls for Nova’s makeover. She called out, “Bridget, I need you to grab your makeup. Tamia, why don’t you go and find some accessories for her. Mary, what clothes do you think our new friend would look good in? Kay, Lisa, could you two go get your nail polishes? Tina, you keep our new friend company while I go grab my hair supplies.” 

The efficiency was impressive. The four women and two girls rushed off to get their supplies. Nova had a very nice time talking to Tina. Tina was so comfortable around Nova, despite everything Nova thought would happen. Tina shared the details of the gym, the other trainers, and the daily schedule. Nova was very impressed and decided to show the kind girl her sixth Pokémon. Nova took out Floette. Tina oohed and aahed at her majesty. Noticing some of the other girls coming back, Tina made Nova promise to tell her all about Floette later.

Bridget, Kay, Lisa, and Lori came back first. Lori went behind and began brushing out Nova’s unkempt hair. Lisa and Kay quickly got to work painting her toenails a sparkly light green to match her eyes. Bridget not only did her makeup, but handed a brush and mirror over to her and allowed her to learn by doing. Nova did make a few mistakes, but Bridget assured her that it is all a part of learning makeup before removing wayward eyeliner marks and other such blemishes. When Bridget was finished, Nova was shocked at how feminine she could actually look. Highlights and contouring had added so much depth to her face and given her the look she really wanted to have. 

Bridget stood up and Kay and Lisa went up to give Nova a manicure. Lori started talking to her. She complimented her saying, “You actually have really pretty hair, it has a lot of thickness to it.” She was right about the thickness, Nova’s hair was a thick brown blob that she never really knew what to do with. Luckily, Lori was here now. She instructed, “We’re gonna grow out these tendrils, they’ll really frame your face well.” She moved on to the back of her head adding, “For the back I’m thinking  a hair tie and a sorta stylized bun.” Lori got to work and after a few gels, several brushes and what Nova thought must be a miracle, she showed off the hair with a second mirror. 

Nova was amazed. She had never even believed this could be done with her hair. She had no idea she could look this cute. She didn’t grow up like these girls, having moms and friends who could teach them the ways of makeup and hair. She had these friends now though, and she appreciated them so much. 

Tamia and Mary came back wheeling a rack of clothes and accessories. Mary spoke up, “We thought it would be best for you to try on a bunch of different looks and see what suited you.” 

Nova picked out her first outfit and, for privacy, stepped behind a bush while changing. The new panties felt amazing, she knew she would have come out earlier if she knew it meant this level of comfortable material. While the bottoms were amazing, Nova did encounter a slight issue. She spoke out, “Hey, could someone help me with the bra.”

Lori moved in like an older sister, “I’ve got you, hun.” She guided Nova’s hands so she would gain the muscle memory of how to put the bras on and take them off.

Before Lori left back with the others, Nova said to her, “The padding feels a bit… weird.” 

Lori looked quizzically, “What do you mean, hun.” 

Nova elaborated, “I mean I like the way it looks, but just… the padding feels a bit… unnatural, and it’s kinda making me feel unnatural.”

Lori hugged her from behind saying, “That’s perfectly fine dear. You don’t have to wear the padding if you don’t want to.”

Nova smiled with gratitude. Lori started thinking of ways to help her new friend feel a little more natural in their body. This would have to wait until after the fashion show, so to speak.

Nova walked for hours trying look after look. Somehow, she didn’t grow tired of this. Little things like Bridget saying she could teach her how to walk in heels, Kay Tina and Lisa calling a well put together outfit pretty, or all the girls squealing with delight when the perfect outfit had been found. The best outfit was a simple one. Nova wore a black tank top with a slight midriff, skinny jeans with a loose hanging belt of large golden circles chained together. Black open toed heels with an ankle strap adorned her feet, and a pair of sunglasses fashionably stuck in her hair. Not only did the girls think she looked beautiful, Nova felt beautiful for the first time. More than that, Nova finally felt like herself.

Erika had apparently woken up at some point and prepared something because she beckoned from the dining room, “Dinner!”

The girls all sat at the long table. In front of each of them was a large salad bowl filled with a delicious meal. Erika spoke up, “Tonight we will be having a romaine and kale salad with avocado, cucumbers, shishito peppers, artichoke hearts, chickpeas, and grilled tofu.”

The meal was delicious. Nova had never eaten a meal so delicious that didn’t contain meat. It filled her up completely. Nova couldn’t believe that just this morning she considered a power bar to be an acceptable meal. She barely even realized that she did not have lunch.

Lori was sitting next to Nova and at the right hand of Erika who sat at the head of the table. She spoke softly to Nova, “I had an idea. I have a cousin who was going through some stuff like you except in reverse. I remember he took hormones, and that really helped him like his body more. We can go to the drug store in the department store and get you something like that to make you feel a bit more natural.”

Nova was shocked, “There’s stuff that can do all that?” Nova still had only been thinking about actually becoming a girl recently. She knew she would probably have to buy a lot of clothing and makeup, but she wasn’t aware there was medicine that could help her in such a way.

Lori replied, “Modern medicine sure is amazing.” 

The rest of the night went well. Nova was given her very own kimono to wear to sleep. This one had pink and white cherry blossoms on a light blue background. 

Nova’s new bed was huge. It was a Nidoking sized bed with a shag green comforter that looked and felt like grass. It also had more pillows than Nova had ever slept on in her life. She laid out on the bed and spread her arms and legs out. There was a vast meadow of softness and warmth. It was soothing, but at the same time it was lonely. 

Nova got up and walked around the gym. She walked by a door labeled Lori. She worked up confidence and knocked. 

Lori opened her door and asked, “Nova? What are you still doing up?”

Nova admitted, “I’m feeling really lonely in my bed. It’s just so big, and this is a new place.” Nova got around to her point and asked, “Would you mind sleeping with me for tonight? I’m going to ask all the girls.”

Lori blinked and asked, “Like a sleepover?”

Nova beamed and replied, “Yeah, exactly.” Nova had never been to a sleepover so the idea really excited her. She and Lori went around to the other rooms and all the girls agreed. They couldn’t seem to wake Erika with knocking so they decided it was best to leave her and return to Nova’s room.

As they entered, Nova noticed the sleepwear of the other girls. Bridget, Mary, Tamia, and Lori were all wearing kimonos much like her. Kay, Lisa, and Tina all wore Pokémon pajamas. Kay had a Weepinbell set, Lisa had an Oddish set, and Tina had a Bulbasaur set. Nova thought everyone looked adorable. Nova also had to admit that she looked the same. 

They all piled into the bed. The vast meadow of loneliness had been transformed into a joyous picnic. Surrounded by friends, Nova fell off to sleep hoping that when she woke up the next day this would not all be a dream.

Nova was once again taken across the world in her dream; however, she appeared in her home region of Kalos on this night. Her mind zoomed into a lovely golden maison. She was inside, exactly the woman she wanted to be. She wore the outfit she had picked out earlier that day. She also held a bag of groceries for some reason. The baguette sticking out of her grocery bag looked delectable. Before she battled an incoming trainer she told them, “I’ve recently remade my life completely! I’ve been reborn as a beauty at last!” 

It seemed odd to Nova that she would be so open with what was at one time a dark secret. She noticed how comfortable and confident she looked though. This future version of her knew who she was and was not ashamed. This was particularly obvious when she called out her first Pokémon, Primeape. The dreaming Nova finally saw herself with her old Pokémon and had an epiphany. Primeape did not define her or expose her. Having Primeape did not make her less of a woman. Her femininity was stable enough that her Pokémon did not define her, she in fact was defining her Pokémon. Having Primeape didn’t make Nova a fake girl, it made Primeape a Pokémon owned by a woman. 

The dreaming Nova watched as her future self deftly defeated this trainer. She expertly utilized her Primeape, Floette, and Cacturne. Cacturne was the evolved form of her Cacnea. She gave the losing trainer advice saying, “If you want to make your dreams a reality, you must be completely dedicated!” With this, the trainer left, and so did the dreaming Nova.

She awoke in her giant grassy bed, still surrounded by friends. Yesterday had not been a dream. Her actual dream now seemed like her soon to be attainable future.