[ Hello! You have reached: "Walter Sullivan". Unfortunately they cannot answer the phone right now. Leave a message after the beep and they will return your call. ]
Darkness cawed in greeting when he spotted her, extending a wing. Thankfully, he stopped fussing when Diana turned up and Walter nodded to her. He recognised the little Mimikyu with her and took in how it looked. Healthy and content. For all his distrust with Diana, at least it looked like he was right to give her one of those eggs.
He noticed her pout however and shook his head. "I like them. But they're too small." And funnily enough, Assumption had really liked the purple one with a cubone being followed by ghosts. At being addressed, Darkness gave her a sly smile - or as much of one as a bird could give. "Yes." Walter slightly turned his head to Darkness.
"He insisted on coming. He has helped pick out clothes for me in the past."
She reaches up to flick the flopping ear on Charlie's 'costume'. "I think he wanted to see you, he got all excited when I mentioned where I was going."
Charlie finishes eating and extends a long black arm to Walter, as if wanting to shake his hand.
Diana gives a short laugh at Darkness' answer before turning her attention back to Walter. "Oh, sorry. I had to guess your size. Well, let's go exchange them first."
Without hesitation, Walter reached out and shook Charlie's hand. He was fully comfortable around ghosts - moreso than any other Pokemon type truthfully. "Why would he want to see me?" He didn't remember Charlie from his time as a child, so as far as he knew, Charlie should only really know Diana. She had hatched him, even if his Pokemon had created his egg.
As they stepped into the store, Darkness ducked his head down; Walter was six foot tall, so a nearly three foot bird sitting shotgun on him would need to watch doorways. Once in, he immediately scanned the shop over Walter's head, sharp eyes taking in the shopfloor. This was Henry Townshend's city. At any peek of the brunette, he'd need to tell Walter so they could avoid him.
A sly grin breaks out across her face and she finishes off her food. "Oh, because when you were a little walking bowlcut last month we ran into you. You and Charlie seemed to really hit it off from what I can remember."
Diana starts leading them in the direction of the right store. "And, I dunno, I think he just somehow knows he came from you. Maybe it's the whole Ghost thing." Diana was used to her Pokemon having odd quirks, Charlie was no exception.
"So, before we go looking, is there anything you won't wear?"
Walter almost stopped in his tracks. Diana had met him when he was a child? Oh, he really didn't like the thought of that. As a child he was...unable to protect himself. He hadn't learned to keep quiet or how to handle other people at that age. But he couldn't remember it which made it both slightly better and extremely worse. He focused on Charlie instead of Diana. Either way, he didn't want to talk about that.
"Shorts and shirts without sleeves." He didn't like exposing his skin for various reasons.
Charlie waggles his 'head' back and forth at Walter's attention.
"Alright." Diana exchanges a few brief words with the woman at the counter. She's all smiles and hair flicking before addressing Walter again. "You give 'em those and tell them your size." She points to his bag with the pen she's using to fill out a return slip.
"Since we're already in the right part of the store, wanna look at shirts first?" As she waits for Walter, Diana's leaning against the counter, eyes already scanning the racks of clothing.
He nodded and did as told, Darkness watching the woman at the desk before turned on Walter's shoulder to follow Diana's gaze over the clothing racks. There was no sign of the Receiver, so the Honchkrow could turn his attention to another important detail; dressing up his trainer. His sharp eyes extended over to fashion; it's why he had helped choose Walter's suit for Prom, although the hat that had mimicked his own had been a little self indulgent touch on Darkness' side.
"I won't need many. You've already given me two." Which is honestly two more than he expected. He simply didn't like spending money on himself much; his Pokemon deserved it more.
Before he could object, Diana had grabbed his cuff and Walter reflexively flinched, jerking his hand back. He held his wrist in his other hand, appearing quite shy when really it was a defensive gesture. But he did follow her, still feeling and looking quite awkward.
"Colour?" He generally avoided bright colours. They were nice, but he had never wanted to draw attention to himself at any point of his life. Darkness however gave a thoughtful croak. At blues, he nodded his approval. "Yes."
As if sensing that her beloved trainer was being manhandled, there was a burst of light as one of Walter's pokeballs opened. Immediately at his feet, almost sitting on him, was Jennifer, his Flareon. She blinked up at Walter with an adorably sweet look, before turning her eyes on Diana. She froze, giving a curious chirp. Who is this. Darkness clicked his beak. Oh, the clingy child is here.
Diana seems to blaze right past Walter's reaction and smirks at Darkness. "Alright. But they can't all be blue."
She takes a step back and raises an eyebrow at the appearance of Jennifer. "Oh, hey. Aren't you fluffy?" Then returns to browsing the racks. "You a v-neck kind of guy?"
Charlie jumps down and moves towards Jennifer, a small chittering sound escaping from him to indicate a greeting. Hi! I'm Charlie! Who are you? Are you Walt's friend?
"I've never wore them before? I've only owned ones like this," He indictated his current top, "some button up shirts and turtlenecks." And he very much liked his turtleneck, but it was too warm to wear that right now. He was careful to move around Jennifer instead of tripping over his Flareon, while keeping an eye on her. She wasn't a troublemaker - far from it as far as Walter was aware - but he didn't want her to get lost in the store.
Jennifer fluffed herself up, pressing right by Walter's leg. But she greeted Charlie politely, reserving her suspicious looks solely for Diana. "Yes! I'm Jennifer. Walter's mine. Who is this? Is she yours?" Above her, Darkness rolled his eyes and returned to business. Walter began to actually look at some of the clothes himself, mumbling slightly.
"If it has a Pokemon on it, I prefer it to be a Pokemon I like. One I have."
"Let's try a few then." Diana's started gathering a collection over her arm. She's still lifting them up to Walter to gain a vague idea on if they'd suit him. "Hmm, I think you'd pull off check too. Not straight up plaid but a few blue checks."
She leans in, not completely shattering Walter's personal bubble but certainly pressing against it as she peers at his face. "And with those eyes, we need some green too."
Diana pulls back so casually and starts to head for some of the printed shirts. "Alright, so, who's on your team?"
Walter stood up a little straighter when she came closer and peered directly at his eyes. He was not use to anyone getting this close to him for any reason, let along talk about his eyes. Jennifer immediately fluffed up, an angry pout on her face. How dare! She put herself between Walter and Diana, 'innocently' butting Diana's leg to get her to back off. Walter exhaled, partly grateful to Jennifer and partly awkward over how....protective she could be. "Well. There's Jennifer," He gestured to her, "She can be, like that, sometimes."
He paused to think over his Pokemon, looking over the displays. Darkness spotted one and tugged on Walter's collar, gliding towards a shirt landing on the rack. It showed a Weavile holding a lucky coin, one paw curled up by it's head and a cute grin on it's face. Walter followed him and picked up one, clearly thinking about it. Darkness turned to Diana, looking very proud of himself. "Joseph!"
Diana spares Jennifer a quick glance before shrugging and giving Walter a wry smile. "Don't worry about it, Walt. Caine's the exact same way. Sass too, actually. But not as much."
She follows them and looks impressed at Darkness' choice. "Hey, that's cute. Want to try it on?" She flashes Darkness a grin again. "Someone has taste."
They spend the next few minutes perusing the aisles, picking out ones with images of Walter's team and that Diana likes the style of. Sometimes they agree but Diana does push any he refuses. She does wrinkle her noise at any she personally finds offense though.
Jennifer's presence seems to do nothing to dissuade Diana from getting close to Walter when she wants to see how he'd look in something. In fact, Diana seems to giving Jennifer sly looks everytime the word 'Walt' passes her lips. Charlie seems blissfully unaware of any hidden animosity towards his trainer.
When they come across a line of Vuplix print shirts with cursive passive aggressive comments, Diana gets distracted. Holding one up to her own body and checking the price tag. "Oh my god, I need these."
Darkness beamed pride. Damn right he's got style. Lyra wouldn't have him if he didn't. As they went over clothes, Walter did take notice of Diana's advice. Whenever he went for something more bland, he saw how she would pull a face and would return it. This trip was about Diana...dressing him, in a sense. And he had never known much about fashion. So he let Diana and Darkness instruct him in what to wear, grateful that they respected when he outright refused certain clothes.
As Diana kept getting close to Walter, who was careful to put a few inches better them as subtly as he could, Jennifer kept rising her body temperature in anger. If Diana got too close again, Jennifer was going to rub against her...while at full body temperature.
When Walter saw those tops too, he wandered up beside Diana and picked up one. And smiled a little. He looked over the full selection and wow, there was a lot of good options here. He ended up picking up one with a Kantoian Vulpix and 'Can you not?' written on it, before pausing and picking up another with an Alolan Vulpix and 'Never'. "Which ones are you getting." He asked, his choices draped over his arm with the other tops they had chosen so far.
"Hmm, I think these." Diana's so busy picking up the Kantoian 'Ugh' and Alolan 'Don't Even' it takes her a moment to realize Walter's already holding some.
A grin breaks out across her face, one so wide dimples form in her cheeks.
"You like these kind of shirts? I didn't peg you as the type, Walt."
Walter felt a little self conscious but. Well she hadn't outright teased him on any of his choices, even when she didn't approve of them.
"I was taught to be...careful, in what I said, when I was young. But that doesn't mean I did not," he paused, then amended himself, "Do not, often think it." How often had he mutely called the guards names and thought ill of the priests? So many times. And the same was true now. Among his fellow Rockets, he had some choice thoughts about several of them that he didn't voice, even when they openly mocked him. Wearing his thoughts...it appealed to him, more than wearing a shirt that said 'MY ONIX IS READY'. (Urgh).
Diana's so excited she almost reaches for his hands again, but manages to catch herself at the last moment. Pausing before beckoning him with the same hand instead.
"Come on. There's so many more I want you to check out."
It's not until they've collected so many shirts that they finally resort to using a basket, which they've filled, that Diana allows them to leave this department.
"Want to try these guys on first or head straight for some jeans?" Her eyes carry over the slacks he's wearing.
Walter appreciated that, although he had no idea that him having a secret passive aggressive side would be exciting. Darkness found that Diana certainly had some style, which was adding points towards her in his books. Jennifer however refused to cool off...except for when she was pressing up against Walter. She didn't want to burn him at all.
He hadn't realised they were going pants shopping too. He glanced over to the jeans section thoughtfully. He might as well try it all on at once, to save a little bit of time. "Jeans always looked stiff." It wasn't a no, as he did dutifully head over to look at them. Although the torn/ripped jeans got a very confused look. Why would people buy used, torn up clothing? Darkness also clicked his beak at the style, directing Walter to more typical jeans.
"Some can be. There's different styles." She places the basket down to pace around him. "Plus they get loose after some wear and a wash." She stops behind him to assess the fit of his slacks around his 'backend'.
"Don't worry, I won't force you into any skinny jeans".
Nodding, she heads towards some styles and fits she thinks would work best. "Let's aim for darker colours. Deeps blues and blacks."
He watched her circle him but, realising where she was looking, he turned to face her from the side. Upon seeing where Diana was accessing Walter, Jennifer puffed up with a slight flare indignitily. HOW DARE SHE. If only Walter wasn't right there, the indignant Flareon would heat up her body and press right against Diana's legs but with him watching, she wasn't about to cause harm to a 'friend' of his.
"Skinny jeans?" Those hadn't been around in the 80s - the ripped jeans had but he hadn't understood it any better back then either. When he saw them he couldn't help taking a moment to just stare. How do people wear those and why. But he focused on what he actually intended to wear. "They come in black too? They were always light blue when I saw them."
"Oh yeah." She calls from the organized piles. "They make 'em in every colour now. From yellow to pink."
Diana comes back with a few pairs slung over her arm. "Why?" She smirks. "Wanna give maroon a try?"
Jennifer's side eye does not go unnoticed by the teen. She gives the Pokemon a knowing look as she holds the clothes out to Walter. "Wouldn't you wanna be a matching red set?" She asks the fire type, before winking at Walter.
"I'll stick with dark blue." Bright, neon colours had been the fashion in the 80s but it had also been an eyesore as far as Walter was concerned. Funnily enough, this was one of the few times he had been validated by history.
Jennifer pouted and sat on Walter's feet again. He exhaled and knelt down to subdue his fussy Pokemon. "Jennifer, this is a gift. She's not causing harm." At being told off by Walter, her ears fell to the side of her head and she gave a sad little chirp. She still immensely disliked Diana...but oh no, Walter's not happy with her now.
He stood up straight and murmured to Diana. "She's the first Pokemon I hatched; she wasn't what I expected, but...she's good."
"The first you hatched." Diana frowns in thought, looking down at Jennifer again. "She starts of as an Eevee, right? Heh, go figure. That was the first thing I hatched too."
Diana gives Walt a wry smile. "Please, I only just got you to not resent speaking to me. I don't expect all your guys to suddenly welcome me with open arms."
She pauses to look at the collection of clothes they have gathered. "Yeesh, I went a little crazy. Oh well. Let's go see what they look like on."
Nodding her head in the direction of the changing room, she picks the basket back up.
"Oh? Has yours evolved yet?" He hadn't intended to evolve her immediately but...well. Jennifer had made that decision within ten seconds of her birth. At the mention of their relationship, he averted his eyes.
"...I. Understand that you gave me Sniffer to make yourself feel better. I should have been clearer. ...When I was little, a dog bit me. I've been uncomfortable with them since." Meaning, scared of them. He held his hands together as they walked to the changing rooms. "When I first met Jennifer...I was very nervous of her. Before her, when I first met a Vulpix, I was nervous with them too. I have a two Vulpixes now, and...I don't freeze when she touches me." At his side Jennifer only gave him a sunny, cute look. He gathered his thoughts, waiting for one of the shop assistants to give them a room each.
"...I do resent you for giving me Sniffer. But. I think, in time, I won't." Just as Heather Mason had told him; all these things improved with time. Sniffer certainly wasn't a bad Pokemon. She was very nosy and had a bad tendency to make him jump when she barked, but she didn't go out of her way to cause trouble or get into fights.
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He noticed her pout however and shook his head. "I like them. But they're too small." And funnily enough, Assumption had really liked the purple one with a cubone being followed by ghosts. At being addressed, Darkness gave her a sly smile - or as much of one as a bird could give. "Yes." Walter slightly turned his head to Darkness.
"He insisted on coming. He has helped pick out clothes for me in the past."
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Charlie finishes eating and extends a long black arm to Walter, as if wanting to shake his hand.
Diana gives a short laugh at Darkness' answer before turning her attention back to Walter. "Oh, sorry. I had to guess your size. Well, let's go exchange them first."
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"Why would he want to see me?" He didn't remember Charlie from his time as a child, so as far as he knew, Charlie should only really know Diana. She had hatched him, even if his Pokemon had created his egg.
As they stepped into the store, Darkness ducked his head down; Walter was six foot tall, so a nearly three foot bird sitting shotgun on him would need to watch doorways. Once in, he immediately scanned the shop over Walter's head, sharp eyes taking in the shopfloor. This was Henry Townshend's city. At any peek of the brunette, he'd need to tell Walter so they could avoid him.
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Diana starts leading them in the direction of the right store. "And, I dunno, I think he just somehow knows he came from you. Maybe it's the whole Ghost thing." Diana was used to her Pokemon having odd quirks, Charlie was no exception.
"So, before we go looking, is there anything you won't wear?"
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"Shorts and shirts without sleeves." He didn't like exposing his skin for various reasons.
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"Alright." Diana exchanges a few brief words with the woman at the counter. She's all smiles and hair flicking before addressing Walter again. "You give 'em those and tell them your size." She points to his bag with the pen she's using to fill out a return slip.
"Since we're already in the right part of the store, wanna look at shirts first?" As she waits for Walter, Diana's leaning against the counter, eyes already scanning the racks of clothing.
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"I won't need many. You've already given me two." Which is honestly two more than he expected. He simply didn't like spending money on himself much; his Pokemon deserved it more.
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She reaches out to catch the cuff of his coat, pulling him in the direction of the brighter coloured shirts.
"Come on, you need some colour."
Once there, she starts taking random articles off the racks and holding them up against his chest, looking him over.
"Hmm, I would say... Purple. Maybe some blues."
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"Colour?" He generally avoided bright colours. They were nice, but he had never wanted to draw attention to himself at any point of his life. Darkness however gave a thoughtful croak. At blues, he nodded his approval. "Yes."
As if sensing that her beloved trainer was being manhandled, there was a burst of light as one of Walter's pokeballs opened. Immediately at his feet, almost sitting on him, was Jennifer, his Flareon. She blinked up at Walter with an adorably sweet look, before turning her eyes on Diana. She froze, giving a curious chirp. Who is this. Darkness clicked his beak. Oh, the clingy child is here.
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She takes a step back and raises an eyebrow at the appearance of Jennifer. "Oh, hey. Aren't you fluffy?" Then returns to browsing the racks. "You a v-neck kind of guy?"
Charlie jumps down and moves towards Jennifer, a small chittering sound escaping from him to indicate a greeting. Hi! I'm Charlie! Who are you? Are you Walt's friend?
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Jennifer fluffed herself up, pressing right by Walter's leg. But she greeted Charlie politely, reserving her suspicious looks solely for Diana. "Yes! I'm Jennifer. Walter's mine. Who is this? Is she yours?" Above her, Darkness rolled his eyes and returned to business. Walter began to actually look at some of the clothes himself, mumbling slightly.
"If it has a Pokemon on it, I prefer it to be a Pokemon I like. One I have."
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"Let's try a few then." Diana's started gathering a collection over her arm. She's still lifting them up to Walter to gain a vague idea on if they'd suit him. "Hmm, I think you'd pull off check too. Not straight up plaid but a few blue checks."
She leans in, not completely shattering Walter's personal bubble but certainly pressing against it as she peers at his face. "And with those eyes, we need some green too."
Diana pulls back so casually and starts to head for some of the printed shirts. "Alright, so, who's on your team?"
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He paused to think over his Pokemon, looking over the displays. Darkness spotted one and tugged on Walter's collar, gliding towards a shirt landing on the rack. It showed a Weavile holding a lucky coin, one paw curled up by it's head and a cute grin on it's face. Walter followed him and picked up one, clearly thinking about it. Darkness turned to Diana, looking very proud of himself. "Joseph!"
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She follows them and looks impressed at Darkness' choice. "Hey, that's cute. Want to try it on?" She flashes Darkness a grin again. "Someone has taste."
They spend the next few minutes perusing the aisles, picking out ones with images of Walter's team and that Diana likes the style of. Sometimes they agree but Diana does push any he refuses. She does wrinkle her noise at any she personally finds offense though.
Jennifer's presence seems to do nothing to dissuade Diana from getting close to Walter when she wants to see how he'd look in something. In fact, Diana seems to giving Jennifer sly looks everytime the word 'Walt' passes her lips. Charlie seems blissfully unaware of any hidden animosity towards his trainer.
When they come across a line of Vuplix print shirts with cursive passive aggressive comments, Diana gets distracted. Holding one up to her own body and checking the price tag. "Oh my god, I need these."
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As Diana kept getting close to Walter, who was careful to put a few inches better them as subtly as he could, Jennifer kept rising her body temperature in anger. If Diana got too close again, Jennifer was going to rub against her...while at full body temperature.
When Walter saw those tops too, he wandered up beside Diana and picked up one. And smiled a little. He looked over the full selection and wow, there was a lot of good options here. He ended up picking up one with a Kantoian Vulpix and 'Can you not?' written on it, before pausing and picking up another with an Alolan Vulpix and 'Never'. "Which ones are you getting." He asked, his choices draped over his arm with the other tops they had chosen so far.
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A grin breaks out across her face, one so wide dimples form in her cheeks.
"You like these kind of shirts? I didn't peg you as the type, Walt."
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"I was taught to be...careful, in what I said, when I was young. But that doesn't mean I did not," he paused, then amended himself, "Do not, often think it." How often had he mutely called the guards names and thought ill of the priests? So many times. And the same was true now. Among his fellow Rockets, he had some choice thoughts about several of them that he didn't voice, even when they openly mocked him. Wearing his thoughts...it appealed to him, more than wearing a shirt that said 'MY ONIX IS READY'. (Urgh).
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"Come on. There's so many more I want you to check out."
It's not until they've collected so many shirts that they finally resort to using a basket, which they've filled, that Diana allows them to leave this department.
"Want to try these guys on first or head straight for some jeans?" Her eyes carry over the slacks he's wearing.
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He hadn't realised they were going pants shopping too. He glanced over to the jeans section thoughtfully. He might as well try it all on at once, to save a little bit of time. "Jeans always looked stiff." It wasn't a no, as he did dutifully head over to look at them. Although the torn/ripped jeans got a very confused look. Why would people buy used, torn up clothing? Darkness also clicked his beak at the style, directing Walter to more typical jeans.
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"Don't worry, I won't force you into any skinny jeans".
Nodding, she heads towards some styles and fits she thinks would work best. "Let's aim for darker colours. Deeps blues and blacks."
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"Skinny jeans?" Those hadn't been around in the 80s - the ripped jeans had but he hadn't understood it any better back then either. When he saw them he couldn't help taking a moment to just stare. How do people wear those and why. But he focused on what he actually intended to wear. "They come in black too? They were always light blue when I saw them."
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Diana comes back with a few pairs slung over her arm. "Why?" She smirks. "Wanna give maroon a try?"
Jennifer's side eye does not go unnoticed by the teen. She gives the Pokemon a knowing look as she holds the clothes out to Walter. "Wouldn't you wanna be a matching red set?" She asks the fire type, before winking at Walter.
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Jennifer pouted and sat on Walter's feet again. He exhaled and knelt down to subdue his fussy Pokemon. "Jennifer, this is a gift. She's not causing harm." At being told off by Walter, her ears fell to the side of her head and she gave a sad little chirp. She still immensely disliked Diana...but oh no, Walter's not happy with her now.
He stood up straight and murmured to Diana. "She's the first Pokemon I hatched; she wasn't what I expected, but...she's good."
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Diana gives Walt a wry smile. "Please, I only just got you to not resent speaking to me. I don't expect all your guys to suddenly welcome me with open arms."
She pauses to look at the collection of clothes they have gathered. "Yeesh, I went a little crazy. Oh well. Let's go see what they look like on."
Nodding her head in the direction of the changing room, she picks the basket back up.
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"...I. Understand that you gave me Sniffer to make yourself feel better. I should have been clearer. ...When I was little, a dog bit me. I've been uncomfortable with them since." Meaning, scared of them. He held his hands together as they walked to the changing rooms. "When I first met Jennifer...I was very nervous of her. Before her, when I first met a Vulpix, I was nervous with them too. I have a two Vulpixes now, and...I don't freeze when she touches me." At his side Jennifer only gave him a sunny, cute look. He gathered his thoughts, waiting for one of the shop assistants to give them a room each.
"...I do resent you for giving me Sniffer. But. I think, in time, I won't." Just as Heather Mason had told him; all these things improved with time. Sniffer certainly wasn't a bad Pokemon. She was very nosy and had a bad tendency to make him jump when she barked, but she didn't go out of her way to cause trouble or get into fights.
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[ cw; self harm scars ]
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