FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

One week later.

~

It was a not-so-sunny afternoon in Central Goldenrod filled with the usual hustle and bustle.

Julie, Alyssa, Midnight, and crowds of other passengers stood on the indoor platform before the magnet train's tracks, awaiting the next three-hour ride to Saffron.

Some carried backpacks, and others held suitcases. Some were dressed casually while others wore businesswear.

"How long now?" Alyssa stepped over the safety line to peek down the tracks leading outside, chewing gum.

They both had on jackets and gloves since the train ran AC constantly, with Alyssa having on a gray pair.

"Any minute," Julie replied and adjusted her beret, pushing her currently disabled wireless earbud in her ear. "We haven't even been waiting long."

"Ten minutes late is kind of crazy." She blew a green bubble and popped it.

Julie rolled her eyes. "Eighteen and still no patience."

"Yeah? Nineteen and still a massive nerd."

"My day is still two weeks away. You never know."

Midnight sat and leaned against Julie's leg, watching people on phone calls, a few teens texting or chatting in groups, and spotted a determined riolu playing a mobile game on their owner's phone while sitting on a bench against the rear wall.

Security was present, standing idle and off to the side.

"I can't believe it's your birthday and a new year already," Julie said. "And you're starting it out working at a Center and reading."

"I'm cool with reading... just not when someone makes me read. The Tropic one makes me want to run to Alola tomorrow. I kinda get why you read it five hundred times."

"I told you. It's one of the most culturally in-depth books I've picked up to this day."

Around five minutes later, the gray bullet model pulled in and opened its doors to let floods of passengers out, which took an additional five minutes.

"Do you have your digiticket?" Julie asked Alyssa while opening her email.

"It's on standby."

Julie looked down at Midnight. "Stay by us," she said.

They moved up behind a couple of people on the platform and eventually entered one of the train's cars.

Julie shot her eyes up and down the aisle of empty seats in rows that passengers began to take, with some entering other cars through the doors at the end of them. "Oh, this way."

Alyssa and Midnight followed her to a set of two cushioned booth seats across from each other with an elevated table at its center. Beside it was a large window that showed a clear prospect of whatever view would pass them by.

Julie took a seat and slid by the window.

Midnight hopped up beside her, and Alyssa took the opposing side.

"Want the window, love?" Julie looked at him.

"Bre." He walked to her as she reached and helped him over her lap. Midnight sat and looked out of it for a moment, which was a wall for the time being.

"I swear you're addicted to these booth tables," Alyssa said, popping another bubble. "You snatch 'em every time."

"Because I used to get them as a kid when I could, there are only four of them per aisle, andd it's your birthday."

Alyssa leaned her elbow on the table and set her cheek on her palm. "What's my birthday got to do with it?"

"We didn't get luxury tickets for nothing. You get meal options instead of cheap snacks, so I wanted a table. We get a bigger space for whatever we order."

A few employees walked through the doors with hole punchers and scanners and started checking passengers' tickets, whether digital or physical.

Everyone glanced at the speakers over the doors as a female's voice played through them. "Attention all passengers, this is your conductor speaking! Please prepare your tickets so staff can approve them and get us along quicker to departing."

"Hello." An older blonde woman soon reached Julie and Alyssa, who had their emails open and barcodes ready.

Both girls showed them to the lady.

"Ah, luxury," she said after scanning and reading the screen. "I'll have menus out soon."

"Thank you," Julie replied. "Oh, and it's her birthday." She nodded at Alyssa.

"Happy birthday!" The woman looked at Alyssa. "What age?"

Alyssa pushed her gum aside with her tongue and held it against the inside of her cheek. "Eighteen..." she replied, almost mumbling.

"Exciting, and what's your name?"

"Alyssa."

"I hope your day goes great." The woman looked down the aisle of waiting passengers. "If you'll excuse me..."

Julie leaned back against her cushion.

Alyssa sighed. "If they even try to sing to me."

"Loosen up." Julie grinned. "You'll be stuffing your face with a premium dish soon anyway."

---

After everyone settled and the train pulled off half an hour later, a waiter brought them menus.

The train was silent while treading the tracks, at most emitting a steady hum.

Inside was a full house, with aisles full of servers distributing snacks and drinks to rows of occupied seats from carts.

At the booth adjacent to Julie, Alyssa, and Midnight was a small family with a mudkip, who sat in their young boy's lap.

Julie had ordered chinchou-shellder chowder with a glass of Violet and got a mixed organic berry bowl for Midnight.

Alyssa had gotten a tauroburger and ordered a platter of raw mini shellder presented in a neat circle of shells for the table. In the middle were raw tatsugiri atop beds of rice.

Midnight currently sat before his bowl at the table's edge, leaning in and slightly rising off his hind paws to take an oran and pinap berry.

He sat back while chewing and looked out the window at a moving city beneath them.

Busy streets, markets, apartment buildings-- endless congested scenery rushed by.

Alyssa sipped her glass of a tart Xix and sweet Violet mix, then took a seasoned fry from her plate and dipped it in a tangy durin and bluk berry sauce before popping it in her mouth.

But her eyes were glued to her phone and, as one would guess, Veela. "Julie, check this out..."

Julie blew and took a spoonful of chowder while staring at Alyssa.

"Julie."

"I'm here."

"The first letters of your first and last name determine what type and what pokémon you'll be."

"Oh, it's one of those lists," Julie said. "J.L."

"You're a... water-type magcargo."

"That doesn't even work, and it doesn't fit me at all. Who made that post?" Julie took a salty shellder from the plate, quietly slurping its meat and juice.

"Some dude with a shiny quaza profile pic and twenty followers. Adds up." Alyssa glanced at Julie's bowl. "How's the chowder?"

She swallowed. "Really thick and salty, but the chou and shellder bits are rich enough to compensate. Burger?"

Alyssa eyed it. "Tauros aren't dry, so it's juicy, and the chef made a good middy rare. They seasoned it nice too. One of the best I've had."

"Perfect birthday burger then." Julie looked at Midnight, who'd just leaned back from taking more berries. "Can I have a berry?"

He nodded with a slight grin, watching as she took a few random ones.

"Thank you." As Julie pushed them around with her tongue and chewed, her phone started buzzing in her pocket. She straightened her leg to reach and pull it out while keeping her bundled gloves inside, staring at the screen.

Her device was a brand new, slightly sleeker and more compact model her mother had bought for her after her other broke.

Alyssa glanced up. "Who is it?"

"CSU."

"They want you back." She chuckled while picking up her burger.

Julie took the call and held it to her ear. "Hello?... Yes, this is her." She listened and sucked in her lip, slightly widening her eyes. "Tutor? Uh-- well... Thank you, and sorry, I haven't checked my student email recently. Of course... You too. Bye."

"You could have put that on speaker for us," Alyssa said as Julie lowered the phone.

Midnight looked at Alyssa, then stared up at Julie.

Julie set her phone on her leg. "I'm apparently among the students chosen to take a regional history assessment and tutor others struggling with the subject if I pass. It's because of my grade last semester," Julie said while opening her browser and going to a saved tab her portal was on.

"Easy money," Alyssa said. "You deserve that more than anyone."

"Umbre," Midnight added.

"I don't know if I can guide others like that. I like the idea of helping people succeed in my subject, but there's no way I'm qualified to be in that position," Julie said.

"Prove it to them and yourself with the test. Plus, it'll be healthy exposure and experience, right?"

"But..." Julie looked out the window.

"Remind me of how you got Midnight."

"Huh?" Julie looked back at her.

Alyssa put a hand up. "You did this stuff. You over thought and imagined everything that could go wrong, but because you wanted him so bad, you threw yourself at it anyway no matter how it'd end."

Julie shifted her eyes to Midnight, running them over his face.

"We both know you'll do good, and it'll be a sick achievement." Alyssa leaned to sip her soda.

They both looked aside as the same woman who had scanned their tickets after boarding, along with a young man, approached the table with a sizable sundae in a fancy glass bowl on a cart.

Julie smiled with gleaming eyes at the sight, and a grin had graced Alyssa's lips.

The sundae comprised several large scoops of vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles covering their tops, thick, wavy drizzles of sweet pink pecha and magost syrup, and a lit candle at the very top. Two steel spoons were stuck inside the ice cream on both sides.

The man picked up the bowl and set it on the table, slightly pushing the platter aside with it. "Happy birthday, Alyssa. Oh, and happy new year's too. Huge day for you."

"We'd be more traditional and sing your song if we could." The woman smiled. "Wouldn't want to disturb the car."

Midnight eyed the mounds of decorated vanilla and leaned up to sniff its sweet fragrance.

"Awe, that's okay," Julie said. "This is so thoughtful."

"I know. Thanks a lot. I'm impressed by whoever made it," Alyssa said.

The woman put a hand on her hip. "We happen to have skilled pastry chefs in our kitchen. They'll be pleased with your feedback."

"Enjoy," the man said. "Hope you don't get a stomach ache."

Alyssa chuckled a little. "If I don't end up with one, it means I didn't eat it right."

After the servers went on to tend to other customers, the trio was left with their timed dessert.

"How are we supposed to eat all of this?" Julie asked while taking a spoon and pushing her chowder aside.

"Eat first and regret it later. Midnight can help," Ayssa replied and took the other.

"But he'll get sicker faster than both of us. Maybe a few bites." She looked at the candle. "Wait-- make a wish."

"Eh..."

The conductor spoke over the loudspeaker. "Attention passengers, we'll be arriving at our first stop in Violet within the next twenty minutes. AKA the second calmest city in Johto carried by an unknown source of nostalgia you aren't allowed to question!"

Julie glanced aside as a few passengers in nearby seats started gathering their things, then focused back on Alyssa. "Come on. Something you really want. Put it out there."

"Fine, alright." Alyssa leaned up and shut her eyes for a few seconds, then opened and blew out her candle. "Wanna know what I wished for?"

"No." Julie grinned. "Just make it come true."

---

Hour three approached. After enough spoonfuls of vanilla and crispy sprinkles, Julie and Alyssa had fallen into a nap and let whatever remained melt into a soup. Later a couple of crew members quietly cleared the table.

Alyssa was lying across the seat with her hands in her sleeves from the AC while Julie sat against her seat with her head tilted aside and hair partially covering her closed eye.

Midnight hadn't taken but a sweet couple of bites offered by Julie, so he was still awake. He'd been keeping himself busy by gazing out the window and eating occasionally at his berry bowl, which he had gotten down to half.

The scenery had transitioned an hour ago from a vast cityscape to rich greenery and steep mountains under beaming sunlight, with shaded spots on the terrain under clouds.

It would soon return to its roots after they entered Kanto's Viridian City, then leading to Celadon and finally Saffron.

Midnight exhaled and shifted closer to Julie's hip, lying against it. He tucked and pressed his tail to his side.

"Attention passengers, we'll be entering our sister region, Kanto, in around thirty minutes. Hope the ride has been nothing but cozy. Our next stop will be Viridian City, its only redeeming factor being the forest you think of before the city itself."

Julie had woken up during the announcement and lifted her head, wincing while holding a crick in her neck. "Ugh." She stretched her legs and looked down at Midnight. "Did you get any sleep?"

He met her eyes and shook his head.

Julie shifted to Alyssa, who was still asleep. "We barely planned the day. She just wanted it to happen if we were going out." She looked at Midnight. "We'll make it work."

Julie pulled out her phone and unlocked it, seeing a couple of messages on her notification bar that she scrolled. One was from her mother, and the other was from Aria.

Julie texted Aria off and on but never called. They hadn't met since Rebirth Day either, and neither brought forth the option.

If there was one person Julie missed, it was Anna. They hadn't communicated in months.

Julie still couldn't believe the night she'd told Anna everything. That was the most vulnerability Julie had shown anyone in her life. Anna could have crushed Julie's heart in her hand at that table.

Julie opened her mom's text from an hour ago, which was her asking how the day was going and asking where they were on the ride. She brought her other hand up and started typing for close to a minute.

Julie had covered everything from their meals to Alyssa's surprise sundae-- ending with their nap and adding that they were approaching Viridian.

After sending it, Julie went to Aria's message. She'd asked if Julie was back in Unova yet. "Forgot to tell her I was staying until after Alyssa's b-day..." The thing was, Aria would make a great friend.

Julie wanted to put more effort into their friendship. She just didn't know where to start.

She typed up and sent a response to Aria, then went and opened her Caster app. "Oh, Meta's on," Julie whispered. "Guess I'll see what she's up to."

Meta's show was listed under the 'Online Casts!' tab in the popular section.

Julie reached to turn on her earbud and tapped her podcast after it connected, then leaned back while gazing out the window.

"Alright, so which region are you two betting takes the economic cake in like thirty years from now?" Meta asked.

"Nah, definitely Alola," a male voice replied.

"You'd think so, but I feel Unova isn't going anywhere," a woman said. Her voice was high-pitched.

Julie grinned for a moment. "Must be the three usual." If Meta had no special guests or specific chat subjects to present, she ran the show with her crew.

"It's crazy that you both are so utterly wrong," Meta said. "Your prediction is the worst Peter, but Maya's makes some sense."

"Bro, good Groudon. Fine," Peter replied with a chuckle. "Who's it gonna be? Alola's development has been insane to watch nowadays."

Meta hummed. "Mhmm, and primarily because of what region?"

"Ohh, Galar," Maya said. "Okay, I can see that too, but how's that ever happening when the monster that is Unova exists?"

"We can imagine, right? And you never know how the turntables," Meta said. "Watch us all be wrong, though. It'll be Paldea or something.

"...Speaking of Paldea, you guys got a favorite dish?" Peter asked.

"Para mi serían croquetas," Maya said. "I grew up on them, usually filled with minced meat or remoraid."

"Croquettes, huh?" Meta said. "I can understand some Paldean. Mine might be the, uh, taurotail stew when I visited. It's all melty and gravy'd up. Peter?"

"So, I've never been, but-"

Maya sucked her teeth.

"Hear me out," Peter said. "So, I haven't been, but I've had that bread with cheese and spicy pomeg berry spread in Hoenn. Aren't those popular in Paldea?"

"Very, but it's like never the same." Maya chuckled. "They taste much different in Paldea. You're basically tasting the idea."

---

"Attention passengers, if you look out your windows, you'll see cold hard proof that we've entered Saffron City! I hope you're all awake, have enjoyed the ride, and are ready to stretch on the grounds of the shining big city housing the official Silph Corps' headquarters!"

"There's going to be so much to do out there," Julie said while looking out the window with Midnight.

Saffron had busy streets, packed markets, and towering structures that challenged Goldenrod's bustle directly-- except with more sun involved.

Alyssa yawned while staring out the window, having awoken recently. "Saffron is Goldenrod with too many skyscrapers."

"I mean, yeah." Julie giggled a little.

After venturing on the railway deeper into the city for the next twenty minutes, the train arrived at the station in Downtown Saffron.

The doors opened, and all the passengers in the car filled the aisle while exiting the train, with voices everywhere.

"Let's wait until it clears out a little," Julie said while watching the commotion. She reached her hand into her pocket and pushed an item down so it stayed secure.

"I'm only agreeing 'cause Midnight's tail might get flattened," Alyssa said.

When the aisle vacated, the trio left the train and went downstairs into Saffron, encompassed by pricey street food, full sidewalks, traffic, and the tallest of skyscrapers.

"Ali, we really should have planned." Julie looked around at countless restaurants and markets lining the pavement, with desperate sellers standing outside and holding signs touting up to fifty percent off at passing people.

"Nah," she said and started walking. "We'll find a thing to do here and another in Vermillion."

They bypassed markets, a multistory Pokémon Center, and even went around a young woman in a blue and purple slim dress who had four chatty nidoran walking with her down the sidewalk.

The pokémon all greeted Midnight with a grin as they passed, an uprising of tiny voices.

"Umbre," he replied while staring back, bumping into Julie's calf with a brief wince and shaking his head.

"Careful, Midnight." Julie grinned.

Alyssa glanced back at the woman and her bundle of pokémon. "Not something you see everyday."

As they continued, they saw an older teen wearing a cubone skull on her head with a large bone in hand. The corresponding pokémon stood with her.

"Okay, something's going on around here," Alyssa mumbled, pacing ahead while the girl and her pokémon posed for a picture someone took of them.

"You want a pic too?" Julie asked, keeping up beside a trotting Midnight.

"No, I wanna get in on this." Alyssa approached after the person thanked the girl for the photo and left. "Hey, is something happening around here?" she asked.

"Oh, of course," the girl replied. "It's the annual Kanto Pokéxpo."

"Bone," her cubone said while raising its bone.

"Really? Do you know where it is?" Julie asked.

"Actually close. We just left." The girl pointed down the block. "Just keep walking for two blocks and take a right by the pizza place. You'll see it."

"Thanks," Alyssa said. "Cool cosplay, by the way. Does the skull like, vibrate if you shout, or?"

"Oh, uh..." the girl trailed, her eyes drifting away. "No."

The cubone stared at Alyssa while lowering its bone.

"Sorry, she didn't mean that," Julie said and tugged Alyssa along, glancing at Midnight as he paced with them. "Alyssa, why would you ask that?"

She started to chuckle but cut it. "Okay, look, it was insensitive, but I was actually curious at the time."

Julie rolled her eyes.

"Also, told ya we'd find something to do. The nerdy cosplay zoo." Alyssa looked Julie up and down. "All you need is a pair of umbreon ears and a plug-in tail."

Julie tilted her head. "Plug-in t?- ugh."

They crossed the pizzeria up ahead a few streets down and instantly saw a wide building with crowds of people and pokémon outside of it.

"We've gotta get in there," Alyssa said.

Julie had to pick up Midnight and slip through with Alyssa until reaching the doors, setting him down with a huff after they got inside.

"This place is packed more than Rebirth," Julie muttered while looking around at groups standing and talking, and others walking up and down the halls, many of which had pokémon and wore attire that resembled one.

"Wait here." Alyssa walked and approached a long set of tables in rows blocking the hall with tagged employees sitting at them and security standing by the ends. The seated employees checked peoples' digital tickets and provided them with badges.

Alyssa squeezed past a guy dressed resembling a meganium, even wearing its flower mane as a skirt, with a meganium standing beside him. She stopped before a blonde woman who was writing on a paper.

She looked up at Alyssa. "Hi, ticket?" She spoke over hundreds of voices.

"So, I don't have one. Is there a way to buy one now?"

"Unfortunately not. We closed registration last week, but we do hold this expo annually at this location. We started up two years ago, so we're trying to get the word out. You can pre-register on Pokéxpo.com."

"Damn, alright. Thanks," Alyssa replied and turned around, slipping past people and avoiding kicking or bumping into small pokémon.

She stopped short after seeing Julie talking to a slim young woman with long, orange wavy hair. A buizel stood beside her. She had a set of two black streaks under her eyes, wore a buizel-styled hoodie and yellow collar around her neck resembling a buizel's flotation one, blue fins on her elbows, and had on twin furry tails sticking out from an orange and yellow skirt.

"Well, no, we don't have tickets," Julie said to the woman. "My best friend just wanted to see what was going on in here." She glanced at Alyssa as she approached.

"Awe, you two should come next year, then. We're about to go in now. There's so much to buy and great people to meet of all ages." The woman stuck out her hand. Her wrist had several yellow rings on them. "I'm Bella, and my buizel's name is Ziz." She smiled, which showed her braces.

"Cute name." Julie took her hand and shook; Bella placed her other hand atop Julie's as they did. "Julie, and my pokémon's name is Midnight." She looked down and saw Midnight staring off at a group of eeveelutions chatting in the distance. "Oh, and this is Alyssa."

Bella shook Alyssa's hand as well. "Was a pleasure meeting you guys. Maybe we'll cross paths next year."

"You too. Bye," Julie said and watched her disappear into a crowd near the tables. "It's way too crowded in here."

"Yeah, we'll go." Alyssa led back out the front doors and looked at a couple of people snapping pictures of an older male teen in a dim yellow casual suit with a ninetales sitting upright next to him. The guy had short blonde hair and what had to be red contacts on.

"Ali, I think I found your dream guy," Julie said and subtly pointed at another teen dressed in dark purple with matching hair under a cap on a call. He had a gengar, who wore a perpetually sinister smile.

"Might be right. Let's talk to him."

"Uh-" Julie and Midnight followed the beeline that was Alyssa heading toward him but lagged behind to give her space.

"What's your shadow's name?" Alyssa stopped before him and nodded at his gengar.

The man glanced at her. "I'll call you back." He tapped his screen and slipped his phone in his pocket. "Sorry, didn't get your question." He studied Alyssa, then Julie and Midnight.

"Your gengar. Its name?" Alyssa repeated.

"Oh, Tava."

"Yours?" Alyssa stuck her hand out.

He broke a grin. "Asher, you?" He met hers and shook, glancing at Midnight. "That your pokémon?"

"Alyssa, and nah." She looked back at Julie, who was actively suppressing a grin with her hands stuck in her jacket pockets. "Hers. My bff's. I did have two gastly, though. I'm working on becoming a dark-type trainer."

"Oh, for real? I am too... Where're you from?" he asked.

"Johto-- Mahogany. You?"

"I'm here in Saffron, but..." Asher grinned some more; his gengar shot its eyes between them both. "Can I ask your age?"

"Eighteen as of today." Alyssa shrugged.

"Twenty." He shifted his foot before the other. "You gonna be in Saffron for a while?"

"Justt today with my friend, so you'll have to take me out some other time." Alyssa slightly smirked as he broke an apparent nervous smile.

"Deal. Do you have a number or Veela?" He pulled his phone again.

"Both, but I'll drop my number."

After they exchanged, the trio were free from the expo.

Julie waited until they were out of earshot and back on the main sidewalk to break into a giggle fit. "Alyssa, what the actual frick!"

"What?" She held her smirk.

"There's no way I could ever do that. I'd have a heart attack on the spot, and you didn't even know if he was single."

"I do now." Alyssa looked at the tops of skyscrapers, squinting at logos. "Isn't Silph around here?"

"Oh, it's close. I can check." Julie grabbed her phone and opened her navigation app, typing its name in the search bar. "Ten minutes up the road. Want to see it?"

"Just a peek."

Julie scoped out building logos with Alyssa as they walked for the next few minutes. "There." She pointed up, which Midnight followed.

A structure bearing over most others presented itself minutes up the road with a huge, curvy yellow S as its logo spelling out Silph.

"Wonder if they still host tours," Alyssa said.

"They do. I didn't think you'd be interested in that."

"I'm not. Eleven floors of walking to see how they put together phones and balls."

As they closed in, they came across more business people, luxury vehicles, and cleaner streets.

"We've hit the business district," Alyssa said.

Most front areas before the main entrances were presented nicely, with trimmed bushes, benches, or running fountains.

"And there's Silph." Julie spotted it ahead and scaled the building with her eyes.

There was a constant flow of employees entering and exiting the building. Groups stood outside with coffee while chatting, and vehicles pulled into its underground garage.

---

They would have stayed in Saffron longer, but Alyssa had gotten hungry, so they flagged down a taxi and directed the driver to Vermillion-- specifically Fioretown, and neared it twenty minutes in. Their driver was an older man from Fiore and had the accent (Japanese) as well.

"One of my favorite cities, Midnight. It's a grand mountainside port. Have to take you to the harbor one day," Julie said, leaning her cheek against his shoulder while he stood on her lap and looked out the rolled-down window to take in the tame climate and fresh breezes.

They neared downtown; unlike Saffron, the buildings towered less and were spaced apart by grassy fields. A literal breath of fresh air.

Alyssa was scrolling Veela, meanwhile, and grinned after a moment, looking over at Julie. "He texted."

"What'd he say?"

"Happy birthday and asked what I'm doing for the day."

"If you two actually end up dating, I swear."

"I guess we'll see once I get to know him. I told you I wanted a boy, though." Alyssa glanced out the window as they stopped at a red light, then relooked at a multistory plaza containing a movie theater.

Alyssa looked at their driver. "Hey, how close is this to Fioretown?"

He looked in the rearview mirror. "We're entering Fioretown now. This is a few miles from the destination."

Alyssa leaned and nudged Julie. "Lunch and a movie?"

"Sure," she replied. "What'd you want to see?"

"Loose Ties is still in."

"But you saw that already, no?"

"You didn't, and like I said, it's great. I'd rewatch."

Midnight explored more mini plazas full of Fiorean markets and restaurants with his eyes. The text on most of the storefronts was in their language or written jointly under Accordian.

"Let me look up the summary." Julie reached for her phone.

"I got it." Alyssa closed Veela and opened her internet, typing in and searching the movie's name, which brought up its cover art: an earnest blaziken standing before a white background with its arms crossed. It cut into a gray background with a daring braixen standing beside him wearing leggings with one leg crossed in front of the other.

Under it were overwhelmingly positive views alongside half of the movie's summary that she had to expand. "Listening?"

"Go ahead," Julie said.

"Two high-ranking Galarian hit agents, among the best in their craft, had worked side by side as a faithful couple for five years. After a massive betrayal between them on a canceled and prohibited mission shatters their bond and puts one out of service, they permanently separate. Several years later, an evil on the scale of a global threat forces them to rejoin under a direct order. They create one rule: they cannot harm each other until the mission is complete." Alyssa looked over.

"Bittersweet action blockbuster, huh?"

"A blast as an understatement."

---

After lunch at the Fiorean cuisine, they walked to the plaza using Julie's navigation and found the theater, where they bought tickets for a showing of Loose Ties less than ten minutes away.

Julie, Alyssa, and Midnight stood in a short line before the concession counter in the main lobby, watching a couple order while employees made popcorn and filled fountain drinks.

The lights were dim, framed upcoming movie posters lined the walls, and the scent of buttery popcorn sat fresh in the air.

People played games in an arcade room near the entrance, and staff checked and approved tickets at a belt stanchion beyond it.

"I think I'll just get a medium popcorn to share with Midnight. I'm still full from the train," Julie said while scanning the menu. She crouched beside him and placed a palm on his head. "Want to do that, love?"

He looked up and nodded. "Um."

"Suit yourself. I'm getting nachos and soda... and maybe candy."

"I have no idea how you keep eating."

"Next!" an employee called after sending another customer to the pickup area.

After ordering and soon receiving it, the trio headed down the wide corridor toward their auditorium.

"Hope it didn't start yet," Julie said. She held her and Midnight's bucket of popcorn and a water.

"You must have forgotten about the decade of previews," Alyssa said as they reached their number and turned inside, walking a darker hall.

A preview of an upcoming film was, in fact, running. They walked up the steps until finding their row relatively close to the screen in a half-full theater.

They sat beside a man and a bulbasaur, who was in the seat beside him.

Julie sat; Midnight in the seat next to her, and Alyssa was on her other side. She pulled down her armrest and set the bottle in ir.

"Chip?" Alyssa asked while dipping one in a container of melted cheese.

"I'm going to have enough trouble downing half this popcorn." Julie grabbed a few and held it before Midnight's mouth, who took and chewed them. "What candy did you get?"

"Vanilla mints. They're strong, so it'll take time for me to finish 'em."

After the current preview ended and faded to black, reminders to mute devices and whatnot played.

"Just in time," Alyssa said.

"Is this a movie that voiceovers the pokémon?"

"Yeah, the concept has been on the rise as a trend, but this movie does it the best I've seen so far. Looks real, and the voice actors overdeliver. It was risky, but they pulled it off. Probably another reason why the movie soared."

The screen faded to black for several seconds; when it returned, it displayed a close shot of a pair of black, clothed paws and legs walking along gritty pavement in a nighttime setting with audible steps. It slowly zoomed out to a feminine braixen passing a few pokémon and structures. She stopped before a crosswalk while traffic passed.

The braixen wore black leggings and a short skirt, white gloves, had unique green eyes, and a bow around one of her ears. "Kin, you there?"

"Yes. Are you in?" An austere male voice played through the mic fitted in her ear.

"No..." She stared ahead at two suited machamp standing before the entrance to a building with royal blue carpeting sprawled in front of it. They stopped and checked every pokémon in line before the doors using a list they held. "But I am standing across the street from it."

"You need to go now, Ama. When they ask, you're Kena, but that will only buy a limited amount of time until Kena actually arrives."

"I- okay." She folded her ears back a little. "I just... I don't understand why I'm doing this part. You're better at playing roles, and we're not even supposed to be on this Hoenn mission."

"I'm not a pretty braixen, which was likely the reason we almost botched the last mission. As I told you, our organization appointed us because of our success rate. If we fail, we're out of the game. Now, what do you see?"

"Two burly machamp screening every bloody pokécouple in line."

"Report back when you're inside. Keep your ears upright, widen your eyes, and act untouchable. Remember the money in-store. Twice the amount it would be normally... I'm waiting on the roof."

Ama took a breath and glanced up, erecting her ears. She looked both ways and crossed the street, strolling to the building and getting in line behind a cinderace and a lopunny. "Arceus, okay," she whispered and ran her hands over her skirt, tugging its ends.

She inched up in line every minute. "I'm Kena, I'm the only braixen to ever exist, and I'm worth more than your bloodline..." She raised her brows. "I kind of am."

Ama looked up and saw no pokémon in front of her-- the machamp were staring directly at her. She straightened her back and widened her eyes so they appeared big, then walked ahead and stopped before them, flashing the slightest grin with a raised tail. "Evening. Kena."

"Evening." The machamp flipped through their list and stopped halfway down. "We have you down here. Enjoy the night, miss." They stepped aside.

She entered and blew air through her mouth, strolling down a dark corridor toward another entrance ahead. Distant piano music played from it. Ama glanced back and spoke lowly. "Inside."

"Wasn't hard, was it, princess?"

She broke a brief grin. "You're still better at it." She walked through the entrance and looked around at pokémon standing in groups under dim lighting, talking and sharing laughter with drinks. On the other side of the room were candlelit tables that others dined at before a vacant stage.

"Alright, what's before those eyes?"

"Bunch of snooty mon chatting it up." Ama looked up and saw two flights of twisting stairs surrounding a marble statue of Suicune and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. "And snooty stairs to complement."

"Perfect. Don't talk to a soul. You don't know anyone, and Kena doesn't have green eyes. Walk up the steps and take a right down the hall."

She started toward them but stopped and squinted at the rails after seeing a figure walk past them. "...There are guards patrolling."

"Take them out. Quietly."

Ama shook her head, confusion in her expression. "I thought we were being discreet."

"I believe there are two. Put one to sleep and take the door at the end of the hall first to let me in."

"Mh." Ama looked back at the event, then continued and set a paw on the first step. She walked up, peeked around the corner, and saw the backside of another braixen wearing a gear belt and slacks strolling down the hall she had to go down. She looked down the other and saw the other guard turn the corner, resembling an umbreon's glowy tail. "They got a feral here? Probably because it can see in the dark."

"Sorry in advance, fellow brai." Ama stepped onto the tile, pacing on her tippy paws as he reached the end of the corridor and looked down the next one to the left.

The security braixen turned around and flinched upon seeing Ama standing before him with the most innocent eyes. The pokémon looked around her and peered, eyeing her skirt and legs. "What the? Ma'am, are you lost? You can't be up here." He spoke in a cautious, relatively deep voice.

"Oh, I apologize." She cowered. "I wasn't aware-" Ama struck an open palm at the side of his neck, but he caught her wrist with clenched teeth.

He gripped and tugged her wrist, making her gasp and stumble toward him while reaching his other hand for the taser on his belt.

"Shit- hngg." Ama attempted pulling her hand away to no avail. "Nh!" She clenched her teeth and used her other to strike his face with a closed fist multiple times until his grip loosened, then shoulder-charged his chest with a thf.

"Ghu!" he huffed and stumbled back over his paws, granting Ama a pivotal opening.

"Huh-" she took a swift step and raised her leg. "Ahn!" And kicked him square in the jaw, spinning him out with a short yelp. The guard hit the floor with a heavy thud.

Ama lowered her leg and glanced back down the other hall frantically, even looking over the railing at the event and sighing with relieved eyes at a burst of carefree laughter.

She eyed the unconscious braixen and leaned down, grabbing his arms. "Alright, come on, you." Ama dragged him with several strained grunts to the last door, opening it and dragging him inside. She stood and wiped her brow, then rubbed her lower back. "In the room, Kin." She closed the door.

"Do you see the door?"

She looked around the dark room at a desk with framed photos standing on it, stocked bookshelves, and a curtained window. Beside it was a door. "Uh-huh, open that one?"

"You'll need the key from inside the rightmost drawer on the desk. It's locked."

"Got it." Ama went and eyed the drawers, reaching and pulling open the drawer. She sifted through a few documents and found a silver key under one, which she grabbed and took to the door. She stuck it in the knob and twisted until it clicked, then pulled open the door and looked up with her lips curling into a slow, full grin.

Before her stood a blaziken in a heavy gear belt. He eyed her face and took her cheek into his palm. "Wasn't so hard, was it? We get hired for the big jobs for a reason."

"Mh, you may have a point." Ama stood back and looked at the other braixen on his back. "He won't be cold for long." She looked back at Kin. "And I still don't understand why we're here. You said you'd explain on the way."

"I did."

"You didn't..." She raised a hand with a sassy expression. "You said we had to find a classified document worth billions. Why was this mission ever canceled? It seems rather simple."

"It was canceled because Hoenn and Galar's relations have weakened significantly as tension rises between them. The SNDA has indefinitely postponed all Hoenn operations."

"What?" Her demeanor faltered; she tilted her head. "So, we're directly threatening the global order?"

He crossed his arms. "The SNDA won't find out. We take the document and receive our pay."

"Kin, global order?" Ama widened her eyes and shot them to the passed-out braixen. "Arceus, Kin, I-I trusted you..."

"Relax," he said. "You're overreacting. It-"

"Global fucking order?" Ama ran her palm over her head and ears that folded over and popped back up. "Our org will sell us out in an instant if the SNDA even sniffs this. They'll murder us... No, w-we're aborting." She shook her head while taking shaky breaths.

"You've knocked out a guard. We cannot leave without a trace." He studied her. "If we pull this off, we won't have to risk our lives again for years to come."

"No," she repeated bluntly. "It's never worth the consequences of overriding global order. We're up against the entire system." Ama ran her hand over her ears and folded them back in the process, lowering her eyes to the floor.

"You aren't being the braixen I love, Ama."

She shot her eyes to him.

He approached and stood over her. "I refuse to stand here all night while you freak out like a rookie and risk our contracts." He paused. "Are we continuing the mission, Ama?"

Her breaths skipped. She glanced down as he pressed his hand to her hip, then looked up at him, nodding with shut eyes. "Mhm." Ama took a stuttered breath.

"Good girl." He took a step back. "The paper should be on the second shelf toward the left."

Ama walked to it and started removing books. Her heel twisted, making her stumble aside and catch herself on the shelf. She swayed, grabbing it with her other hand as well and holding herself up. "Ungh."

She looked back at Kin, who stood like a statue without expression. "Kin..."

He didn't reply.

"What did-" she fell to her knees. Her palms smacked the floor. "I c- I can't feel my legs." Ama looked at her hip, spotting a small red bump.

He flashed a micro-needled vial in his hand, then dropped it in one of his gear slots, looking at the absolute pained sorrow in her gaze.

"K-Kin..." Her voice trembled. Her arm started to quiver.

He approached and stood over her once more. "Thunder wave injection."

"Ghnn..." Ama struggled to stand, her arm quaking and slowly falling limp beside her. Her chest lowered almost to the floor. "Kin, don't you... don't you leave me here."

He kneeled before her. "For the first time since we've begun, you have shown indecisiveness toward my judgment."

Ama choked, her arms slipping from under. Her chest rested on the floor, and she fell onto her side. "Kin, I love you. I..."

"You were the love of my life as well." He took her hand. "But without my career, I am a shell. I expected that you would be at my side and risk it all as I always have for you."

"That's n-not what this is. You know it." Ama's tail drooped. Her entire body was limp. "You choose... your fucking career... over me. Five years."

Kin sighed. "You truly are one of a kind, Ama. It's a shame you have presented me with such an ultimatum."

Her jaw started to slack with quivering lips. Her fingers twitched in his hold.

He stood and stepped over her body, shoving books aside and letting them hit the floor. One landed on her tail.

Kin grabbed one and read the cover, then opened to a specific page and pulled out a folded paper, dropping the book. "No one knows we are here tonight. It isn't on record. Unfortunately, you were."

Kin opened his mouth and held out his free hand, spitting an ember into it and watching it burn, which reflected in his gaze. He threw it at the desk a few feet from her body, setting it aflame.

Drool oozed from her mouth. "Kh. Kn... Hn," she muttered. Ama followed him with her eyes as he went through the door and pulled the key from its knob, tossing it her way and shutting it behind him.

The key bounced and clinked, landing by her cheek while tears welled in her eyes.

---

After leaving the theater two hours later, it neared evening, and by the time they reached Saffron and boarded the train back home, it was evening. Fireworks had popped and echoed throughout the air in both cities the closer to nightfall it got.

The train had pulled off a while ago after staff approved everyone's tickets, leaving Central behind and entering the city's outskirts.

Julie slumped in her seat with Midnight curled up in her lap, holding a glow against the moon that Alyssa watched. She'd chosen standard seating this time, so she was beside Alyssa, who had the window one. "I'm exhausted."

"Wild day." Alyssa placed her hand on top of Julie's, squeezing while grinning at her. She glanced back at Midnight's rings after a significantly brighter fade-in upon him seemingly spotting something outside the window, which his eyes followed. "How do the rings work? He lights up the walls every night."

"They glow at night against the moon's rays or when he gets excited."

"Does he get glowy around like... people or pokémon he likes then?"

"Mhm." Julie grinned and eyed him while he stared outside. "He internalizes a lot, so I usually follow his rings."

"Huh, pretty cool." Alyssa huffed a little. "Thanks for the adventure, by the way."

"I wasn't going to let you mope in bed today." Julie yawned and brought a hand to cover her mouth. "You got a future date and good sushi out of it."

"Yeah, life hasn't been too bad lately... and now that we're settled, what'd you think of the movie?"

"It definitely surprised me. I thought it'd be generic and cheesy, but the push-and-pull tension between Kin and Ama was heartfelt throughout the runtime, and the ending... I kind of expected it but thought they'd forgiven each other after that adventure."

"That's what makes it for me." Alyssa sighed. "Like... you wanna hate it, but it makes sense. It feels like the only viable ending."

"I agree. I can see why everyone embraced Imaya's role as Ama too. She was elegant in her action scenes and especially so in romance. She may have singlehandedly created a drooly braixen cult."

"There's been one. She just recruited a few extra million, so stay off her Veela tags if you wanna avoid 'em."

"People are funny-- because what if an espeon or something replaced Imaya's role through and through?" Julie asked.

Alyssa side-eyed her. "Would still be drooled over. Already happens with pokémedia characters, but people don't let it publicly slide as much. Bipedals are always gonna be valued more, and Pokéstar makes sure of that when they push this stuff to huge audiences in high-budget films. Is what it is."

"I mean, I get it. They're basically us with fur and different features." Julie sighed. "So, makes them unique, fresh, and exciting to us, especially when people get tired of the human experience. Less guilt involved too."

"I dunno. I just do more stuff to spark my existence. That's actually an insane amount of boredom, but I can't blame 'em. Also, didn't your mom want us back before midnight?"

Midnight glanced at her.

Julie nodded. "She said she wanted to bring in the new year with us and didn't want us out walking too late. She's baking the pidgey now." Julie looked past Alyssa. A vibrant pink burst of light reflected off her eyes and lit her face, making her smile. "Look. They must be doing a show around here."

A deep boom followed that spread and echoed across the sky.

Midnight had instantly shot his eyes to it, and Alyssa turned as well.

Midnight crawled off of Julie's lap into Alyssa's, his paw slipping between her legs. He sat, leaning up as huge fireworks of all colors burst in repeated succession and lit the night sky for several moments at a time. His ear twitched after every other bang.

"Didn't expect an impromptu fireworks show," Alyssa said, her eyes traveling the sky.

"Maybe you had a point in not planning the day." Julie reached into her pocket. "And Ali..."

"Hm?" Alyssa looked over after Julie didn't continue and saw her holding a small wrapped item in her hand. "What's that?" She started grinning.

"A gift." Julie pushed it toward her.

Alyssa took and started unwrapping it over an umbreon still watching the colorful sky.

After a tear, she uncovered a purple card with the Wikiblux logo and name on the front, and its monetary value at the top right. Her grin grew and spread to a smile. "Julie... seven thousand."

"That should fuel your sugar rush for a while." She giggled.

Alyssa opened her arms and reached, which started to shift Midnight.

Julie leaned in and hugged her tight. The pull made Midnight sway and stumble on Alyssa's legs. She pulled him into their hug too. "Mhh." She squeezed. "Love you, Ali."

"Love you too."