FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

NEW BLOOM

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Celadon City. Always clear. Always sunny. Always lovely. The perfect place for gardens.

The perfect place for Celadon City Gym.

The city's famous trainer gym stood out between the buildings like a painted flower, fragrant and ornate. Strangely quiet for a building its size. Only every few days did anyone besides the gym's resident trainers dare to enter its doors to brave its challenges and take a shot at earning the gym's vaunted Rainbow Badge.

Celadon City Gym had a reputation like that. Quiet. Its trainers, and its leader, kept to themselves. Their own private garden nestled inside the urban sprawl. That only increased the rumors. The most famous, of course, being something the gym was known for all over Kanto: the very open secret that every single trainer at the gym and every single one of their pokemon was female.

But there were always the skeptics. Those that had to check for themselves. At the building's side, two of these skeptics were investigating for themselves; one with hair of dusty brown and the other with spiky hair the color of flame.

They stood on the tips of their toes, peeking in through the semi-fogged window.

"I can't see anything, Nova!" the redhead complained.

The other rolled his eyes. "Lark. The fog?"

"Yeah, yeah." He leaned in towards the window, then lightly pressed his palm to the glass and rubbed away some of the condensation. "How about now?"

Nova nearly pressed his eyeballs to the glass. He raised a palm above his brows, narrowing his eyes as best he could until the first signs of moving shapes availed themselves against the endless greenery. "Definitely clearer."

He squinted more, and Lark mirrored his gesture. Slowly, their expressions changed from scrutiny to gentle surprise.

"Huh," Lark muttered. "Really is all women."

Nova let out a knowing chuckle. "Told you."

"Even all the pokemon look female." He pressed his nose against the glass. "I mean, I'm not very good at telling with pokemon, but-"

"I get what you mean. You'd think there'd be at least one guy in there."

"Guess chicks can have their secret clubhouses too."

"I don't think they have any explicit rule against boys joining."

Lark leaned back from the window, and pointed inside with a cocked brow. "All right, what's your theory then?"

Nova thought about it for a moment. Celadon City Gym was famous for being all-female, but he'd never actually thought about the...implications of that. Seemed like something that'd start arguments. "I dunno. Statistical anomaly?"

"Statistical anomaly," Lark repeated mockingly, "I bet any guy that joins they drive crazy by the end of the week."

Nova looked back into the window. His eyes drew across the vast gardens of the gym, until finally settling at a fuzzy figure kneeling next to an enormous red flower. A young woman with short black hair wearing a grass-green kimono. It invoked a vast field of flowers, right down to floral patterns flowing over her silken sleeves.

"Wait," Lark muttered. "Is that Erika?"

Nova waited a second longer to be sure, then muttered in the affirmative. It was definitely her. And that flower. That wasn't a flower at all; it was a full-grown Vileplume! She was watering it, a serene smile on her face as she poured the droplets down onto the smiling pokemon's petals. It looked...happy. Content. Everywhere he looked, the gym's famed gardens were practically crawling with plant pokemon, content smiles on their faces as they played among the flowers or lazily basked in the radiance of the summer sun.

The women, too. They seemed at peace among the flowers. Especially with their pokemon. Happy. Happier than most people. It stirred something strange in him. He'd felt it before; some strange yearning he couldn't put a name to. It always happened when he passed by the gym or saw some news report or another about Celadon's gym. How every trainer and pokemon were women and how they seemed so happy made him feel strangely..."empty" wasn't the right word.

Broken. Incomplete. Small in a way he couldn't place.

Fingers snapped in front of Nova's face. "Yo!" Lark barked. "You still with me?"

"Huh? Oh. Sorry. Just zoned out for a second."

"I wonder what's it's like," Nova mumbled.

"What what's like?"

"Being a pokemon."

His associate shrugged and looked back into the window. "Eh. I guess it's pretty cool. Everyone at least once's probably thought about being a pokemon."

"Or a girl," Nova thought aloud.

Lark reacted with a perplexed glare. "Huh? Dude, stop being weird." He glanced up, and his expression quickly transformed into a smile of opportunity. "Hey! There's a window on the second floor. Looks like it's open!"

Nova glanced up as well. There was a window higher up right above them, open from the inside. "Probably for sunlight."

"Let's get up there! You first!"

He did a double-take. "Wait, why me first?"

"You're way more clumsy. If you can get up there, I'll know I can!" Lark answered, then encouraged Nova with a light shove towards the wall. "C'mon!"

Nova protested at first, but eventually relented and batted away Lark's arm. He gazed up at his task with a defeated puff. Luckily for him, Celadon City Gym was absolutely covered in old brickwork. Better still were the numerous thick vines that coated the outside like mass of Tangelas, leading all the way up to the roof. All he had to do was not fall.

He shot a look at Lark. Lark gave him a thumbs up.

They'd spied this much. Might as well go all the way. He grabbed the first vines, gave them a testing tug, then hefted his way up to the second-floor window. It was a surprisingly easy climb, and before he knew it he was already hanging next to the open window. The inside of the gym lay sprawled before him, crystal-clear in its clarity.

"Hey!" Lark whisper-shouted below him. "What do you see?"

"...the same thing we've already seen?" Nova muttered back.

"You have the camera, right?"

A consternation frown annexed Nova's lips. "C-camera? What's this about a camera?"

"...So, you didn't bring one."

"Wha-? No, I didn't bring one!" He leaned towards the open window, pointing at it to fully articulate his point. "We're already gonna get in a lot of trou-"

Snap.

At that moment, the vine Nova clung to snapped in twain. Gravity seized him with terrifying glee all at once. A brief, muffled shout of terror left his lips as he fumbled sideways. The vines on the wall pulled away, throwing his freefall into a vaguely-aimed swing.

Towards the window.

Everything happened in a blur. The window zoomed into his vision. His knees slammed against the wall. The rest of him carried over through the open mouth of the portal, and he fumbled in like a barely-managed goal. His defenestration was short as it was terrifying; in a flailing mass he went down, too shocked to even shout.

A stretch of green stretched before his eyes. It swallowed him whole, and he crashed face-first into a thick bundle of leaves.

crash.

In the first moments after impact he wondered if he'd broken his neck. As the terror faded, he realized his limbs still obeyed him. Still hurt, though. The dull pain rolled over his back, sending him into a frustrated snarl as he slowly pulled himself through the mass of green around him. The open window lay high above him, nothing but glass and smooth wall from the inside of the gym. No way he'd get back up there.

That left Lark. His accomplice was staring at him just outside through the first-floor window, eyes wide in terror.

He waved. "I'm fine," he mouthed. "Can you open the window."

A muffled "huh?" came from the other side.

"Can. You. Open. The. Window?"

Lark stepped back. Indecision washed over his eyes, then panic. He took another step back, then another. Before Nova could intervene, Lark broke into a full sprint away from the window and out of sight. Nova sprang into action. He rushed over to the foggy window, just in time to see them fleeing down the alley.

"Traitor!" Nova seethed.

He waited in vain to see if Lark would regain his courage, but he didn't return. When he didn't, he scowled down at the window and tugged on it in vain. Stuck. Great.

"Great."

Voices.

Women's voices.

Reality set back in, and he dove back into the thick foliage. He landed on his belly, surrounded by trees and flowers as the voices grew nearer. They grew closer with the sound of soft footsteps, then slowly faded away. A bead of sweat rolled down Nova's face. When he felt alone again, he sat up with a grumble and inspected his surroundings.

He was in a copse of some kind; a gathering of small trees and tropical plants, bunched together with a thickness reserved for wild jungles. A small blessing. No way anyone would see him here. As long he he stayed here forever.

"...Crap."

Maybe he could sneak out. Just needed intel, and the right moment to make his move. He got down on all fours and crawled his way to the edge of the bushes. No good. He was trapped. Women and pokemon surrounded him on all sides, completely oblivious to his presence.

Again that strange feeling returned. A deep empty sickness twisted inside his gut as he watched how...serene everyone seemed. How pretty the women of the gym were, how comfortable they seemed in-

Nova pinched his brow. No. This was silly. He wasn't a girl, and he certainly wasn't a pokemon. He was a stranger! An intruder! It wasn't right to feel at home here, he was basically a burglar!

He pushed down the strange thoughts and redoubled his study of the gym. The paths of the gym's patrons, the gathering of its many pokemon. Over several minutes, a viable path slowly began to reveal itself. A series of sprints from one group of trees to another, all the way to the gym's front door. It was risky, but...

As he pondered when to make his move, a gentle dawning intruded upon his mind. Something large and orange loomed just in the corner of his eyes. It lingered long enough that it finally commanded his attention, and he glanced down. An orange flower, balanced daintily upon the head of something short and green and white. A pale body with kind orange eyes, legs a light lime green like spring buds.

"Lilligant...?"

"Ah!"

Nova scrambled backwards. His heel caught an exposed root, and the whole of him smashed down into the soft soil.

"Ow."

He stared up at the canopy, his vision smeared to a twirling blur. The figure appeared above him. Its innocent orange eyes blinked once, and it tilted its head with passive curiosity.

"Lilli-gant?"

His vision slowly cleared. The figure came into view once more, bent over him with a look of vague concern. A Lilligant. The plant pokemon invoked the aura of a serene and noble lady, long leaves for arms and the great flower balanced upon its head like a magnificent bow.

It didn't seem alarmed by his intrusion. For a moment he stood perfectly still, wondering if these were his final moments before he was discovered. Yet it simply stared. Waiting.

He managed an awkward wave. "Oh. Hi?"

The Lilligant blinked again, gently hopping in place. "Lilligant."

"Guess I didn't see you. You kinda blend in around here."

"Lilli-lilligant."

Nova rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, yeah. I sorta...broke in. You won't tell anyone, right?"

"Lilligant? Lilli...lilli lilligant."

"Is that a...yes?"

It cocked its head. "Lilligant."

He couldn't place why, but something told him he had nothing to fear from this pokemon. He actually felt strangely...calm around it. An intuition that he was safe. Her. "Oh yeah," he muttered, "Lilligants are all female. Right?"

It nodded. "Lilli lilli."

He relaxed a bit. "Thanks for not snitching on me, I guess. I'm uh..." He looked up at the window he'd tumbled out of. "Well, let's just say I wasn't planning to be here."

Even thought it had no mouth, it made an expression that was unmistakably amused. "Lilli...gant!"

"Same." He reached out his hand. "I'm Nova, by the way."

The Lilligant wrapped her leaf-petal limb around his. It was surprisingly warm to the touch. She shook his hand gladly, kind eyes meeting his. "Lilligant."

Their hands released. He almost had to will himself to let go. He'd met this pokemon not two minutes ago and yet he felt a strange...friendship? No, that wasn't right. It was just polite. That was all. He turned away from the pokemon, and peered back out of the bushes. "Guess I should come clean. I'm trying to figure out a way out of here that doesn't get me busted."

She hopped up next to him, following his gaze across the gym. "Lilligant?"

"It's not like I can stay in here all night. Weird guy being found in the bushes? Not a good look."

"Lilli."

"Don't suppose you know a shortcut or something, do you?"

She shook her head. "Lilligant."

"Appreciate it though. Um. If it's not too much trouble, could you keep a look out while I figure out a way out of here?"

"Lilligant," she replied, then gently hopped off to the other side of the bushes.

Alone for a moment, Nova was left to his thoughts. At this point, he was barely even looking for a way out anymore. Most of his plans at this point had devolved into just making a single mad dash towards the doors.

"And then what?" his inner voice asked.

Then he'd...go home, he guessed. Not that there was much to go back to. Then he'd exist until the next time he was reminded of Celadon City Gym, and his mood would darken all over again. These living reminders of what he couldn't have. What he wasn't-

A little storm cloud thundered above his head. No. No. Now wasn't the time for that. He grit his teeth and cleared his thoughts. No. He could never be a trainer here, or anything else! Celadon City Gym was all-female, everyone knew that! What was he thinking that he'd even-

A little, melodious voice intruded on his thoughts. "Lilligant."

He ignored it, his mind too clouded by his own dark rumination.

"Lilliiiigant."

The voice barely caught his attention. A brief echo, lost in his own twisted concentration.

"Lilligant!"

Finally, his attention was caught. He snapped out of it, double-taking then turning to his right to see the Lilligant standing right next to him. She was pointing to something beyond the bushes.

"Huh?" blurted Nova.

"Lilligant."

He followed her green arm. The color drained from his face.

Erika. The Nature-Loving Princess herself was walking on the path towards his hiding spot, watering can in hand and no signs of stopping. A goddess of nature among the plants and pokemon, something ethereal and kind even compared to the other women of the gym. And she was walking right towards his hiding spot. She hadn't spotted him yet, but she was mere moments away from being upon him.

"Crud...!"

His mind flashed a thousand paths. The urge to simply run for it nearly seized his legs, but he fought the urge down and considered the other possibilities. The bush was thick. She'd probably only water the plants on the edges. Yeah! That was it! With stifled panic he scrambled deeper into the thicket and threw himself behind the thickest tree he could find. As Erika approached, he peeked out from it with just enough time to silently shush Lilligant still standing at the bush's edge, then ducked back behind and waited.

For a brief and terrifying moment, there was only silence. Then the rustle of leaves, and the patter of water on leaves.

"Oh my!" a sweet voice declared. "You all must be so thirsty!"

"Lilligant!"

He seized against the hide of the tree. His heart hammered against his chest. Was this it?

"Oh, there you are, Lilligant! Why are you hiding in the bushes?"

"Lilligant."

"Oh, let me guess. Hide-and-seek?"

"Lilli. Lilligant."

"Well! Hope you find them soon!"

Silence returned again. Nova didn't dare move. Not until he was sure. He stood still as a glacier, practically a part of the tree he'd pinned himself against.

Finally, he heard Lilligant speak again in a soft intonation. "Lilligant."

Was that her saying it was clear? He dared to poke his head out from the tree. That was when the universe decided to play a prank on him. As he made the simple motion, his foot caught in another root seemingly spawned from thin air, and he slapped down again face-first into the loamy soil.

"Ugh."

And the punches kept coming. No sooner had he completed his trip to the ground than he heard rustling leaves. Then saw them. The world went slow-motion as he saw the plants part, and Erika appeared through them with her watering can in hand.

She glanced around, one finger on her chin as she searched for something unseen. "Now, where were those daises..? I could've sworn-"

Time slowed. Time crawled. Time came to a complete stop as she stopped mid-sentence and her gray eyes settled upon Nova.

"Oh." She tilted her head. "Hello."

"Oh, no."

"Am I...interrupting something?"

Busted. He watched in total defeat as Lilligant emerged from the foliage as well. She hopped up next to the gym leader and glanced up as if to explain.

"Lilligant."

No point in running now. His spirit crushed, Nova slowly rose to his feet with a guilty frown. "I..." His eyes closed in shame. He did the only thing he could think of, and bowed his head in shame. "My...associate didn't really think your gym was all-women. I took him here to prove him wrong, and I fell through the window to get a better look. I'm not a creep! I'm just gullible!"

No reply. He cracked open one eye. Erika was staring at me with a one raised brow.

Nova let out a mournful sigh. His shoulders drooped to the ground. "I'll...I'll just wait here for the police."

The Lilligant tugged on Erika's kimono. "Lilligant. Lilligant."

"Hm?" Erika hummed. She looked back to Nova with a kind smile. "Oh. Did you make a new friend with..." Her eyes trailed back to him. "I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name."

"Oh. It's Nova," he coughed. "I'm, uh. Sorry about all of this."

"Nova? That's a pretty name!"

His heart twisted at the word 'pretty'. It felt...

The way she said it. So sincere...

Lilligant tugged on Erika's kimono once more, pointing to Nova as she gestured with her leafy limbs. "Lilligant lilligant. Lilligant. Lilli Lilligant."

Erika gently nodded. "I see."

"What...what did she say?" Nova asked.

Erika didn't reply directly. Instead, she simply smiled. A simple, kind smile. "Oh, nothing to worry about. I actually appreciate your honesty, Nova. Seems like you've had a streak of bad luck!"

"...Ma'am, you don't know the half of it."

"Ha!" She forced her life behind her elegant sleeves. "Oh, that was rude of me. Let's start over." She withdrew her sleeves and gave a small, polite bow. "I'm Erika, gym leader of the Celadon City Gym." She gestured to Lilligant. "This is Lilligant."

Lilligant waved. "Lilligant!"

..."And I'm Nova," Nova finished.

"Pleased to meet you, Nova. If you don't mind me asking, how long have you been..."

"Hiding? Uh, like ten minutes."

"Are you okay? You said you fell in from the window."

"I'm fine. I'm...mostly surprised you're not mad?"

"You were honest with me and I don't sense you meant any harm." She gestured to Lilligant. "Besides, Lilligant seems to like you. If she trusts you, so do I." She was quiet for a beat. "Would you like some tea?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Tea. We grow it right here in the gym. We're quite famous for it! Seems like something you'd need after an adventure like yours!"

He hardly considered this mishap an 'adventure', and he was tempted to tell her he didn't deserve it anyway. Yet the offer was sincere. He could tell in her voice. Maybe...maybe this was her way of kicking him out. Give him a nice drink, walk him to the door, and let the matter drop. Certainly beat the alternatives.

"I...wouldn't say no, I guess."

She sat down her watering can and clapped her hands together. "Excellent! Follow me, please."

"Lilli lilli!" Lilligant cheered.

"And you, of course. We'll need you!"

"Lilli!"

With that, Erika turned around and walked out of the grotto. Lilligant hopped close behind, leaving Nova alone.

"Oh!"

Nova bolted off after them, bursting out of the bushes with leaves coating his shoulders. Plus one in his mouth. He spat it out and walked up next to Erika.

"So," he started, "I said it before, but I'm really sorry about this."

She waved away his concern. "Think nothing of it. In fact, you're the most interesting thing to happen today!"

"That's...one way of looking at it." His attention waved to the wider gym, across the fields of flowers and grass to a group of girls and pokemon having a picnic under the sunlit roof. He nervously scratched his cheek. "So, uh. Guess it really is true."

"Hm?"

"Your gym. All women, right?"

She nodded. "Yes, I suppose so. We attract a type."

"You attract a whole gender?"

"Is that so odd? Other gyms have a certain kind of person that frequents them. Have you been to Fuchsia City's gym?"

"Can't say that I have. I'm not really a trainer."

"I see." She fanned out her sleeved arm to the greenery around them. "As you can see here, our gym prizes the fruits of the earth. Mother Nature, and all her bounties."

"Lilligant!"

"And you, of course!"

"Makes...sense," Nova muttered. He didn't dare say what he was actually thinking. Too transfixed on the women around him, all he could mutter over and over and over in his head was that he didn't belong here. He was out of place. Nobody wanted him here. Nobody. Not even him. Why was she being so nice to him? Why was Lilligant? What had he done deserve-

"Ah. Here we are."

They'd arrived at a small pavilion in the center of the gym. Roses and tulips surrounded them on every side, perfect rows of flowers and alluring fragrance that sent even Nova's shot nerves to a passing calm. It felt...nice. For a moment he even allowed himself to relax, until again the feeling of being an intruder bubbled up inside him.

Erika stopped. She motioned to the pavilion, and the small table with two chairs situated right in the middle. "Pick your seat," she offered, then looked down to Lilligant. "Lilligant, would you be so kind to fetch us some tea?"

"Lilligant!"

Lilligant hopped off. Erika led the way to the table, even politely offering that Nova sit first. When they were both seated, Nova was left nervously drumming his fingers across his legs as they waited on Lilligant.

"So..." Nova started. "Gym leader, huh?"

"That's right."

"That must be...interesting."

"It is. But I'm more interested in you, Nova. Tell me about yourself."

"Me?" He nervously avoided his gaze. "Not much to say about me. Just another dummy getting into things he shouldn't."

"Is that so? You know, you could've just come in through the front door." She smirked, then leaned in for a teasing whisper. "It's a shorter climb."

He blurted out a laugh. "Yeah! Yeah. Like I said, I...maybe don't have the smartest of associates."

"The friend you mentioned."

"Associate. He's got a habit of talking me into stuff like this."

"Seems like it worked out for the best this time, though."

"I...guess so."

"Lilligant!"

They both turned to the pavilion's steps. Lilligant was hopping up its single step, a piping hot tea pot and empty cups balanced upon its head.

"Lilli-lilligant!" the pokemon declared, and offered the tray to Erika.

She took it with a soft thanks, placed it on the table, then began to pour drinks for them both.

Nova drummed his fingers across his lap, and a subtle red shame pressed against his face; the gym leader's hospitality only deepened his guilt. "Look, I-"

"There's nothing to apologize for, Nova."

He twisted his mouth in a nervous smile. "Mind-reader, huh?"

"No, that'd be Sabrina." She sat down the tea pot, then motioned toward Nova's cups. "Please."

Nova gulped. Cautiously he took his cup, bringing it slowly to his lips and sipped down the first droplets of the earth-brown richness.

"This is...good," he judged. "Really good."

That kind smile again. "We have a small talent for gardening." She took her own cup, closing her eyes and she sipped upon the edges of the brew. "Our gym has a way of discovering hidden talents in people. Hidden treasures. Like...finding a pretty flower in the bushes."

Lilligant happily bobbed in place. "Lilligant."

"Exactly. We're gardeners at heart. Growing potential!"

Nova took another sip. Tiny sparks of electricity danced down his spine, warm and lovely. He could feel a not-so-subtle blush rising over his cheeks. It tasted good. It felt good. An oddly serene sensation rising over his mind. Anxiety melting. He took another sip. Some small part of him wondered if Erika was just distracting him until the police showed up, but that worry softened with every fresh taste of hot tea.

"Lilligant."

He looked down at Lilligant. The flowery pokemon was tugging on his shirt, gazing up at him with beaming eyes. It seemed to genuinely like him.

So did Erika.

Why?

Another sip. A fog in his mind he'd never know was there slowly melted under warm sunbeams.

"So," he started, "thanks for the tea."

Erika made a small bow. "Think nothing of it, Nova. We're delighted to have you here."

"Lilligant."

Her smile grew. She took a final drink of her tea, then laid it down and laid a palm upon her cheek. "In fact, we were honestly overdue for another."

Nova paused. "Over...due?"

"Oh, yes," she elucidated, "every so often we get a new arrival. Someone curious. Someone drawn here."

Her tone wasn't accusatory, but his brain decided that it was anyway. "H-hey, I got talked into coming here!"

"But it'd crossed your mind before, correct? You'd always wanted to visit our gym. After all, how does a gym have all of its trainers and pokemon be female?"

"I mean-"

She leaned forward in her seat, gray eyes locked into his. "And strange as it seems, being here feels strangely right, doesn't it? Oh, you might feel bad about breaking in, or being here still upsets you, but that's only because it's like you're...it's like staring into the windows of your home, knowing you can't go inside."

Nova's wrist twitched. The porcelain cup tumbled out of his grasp with a clink, and the remains of the tea spilled out onto the pewter tray. A hot bead of sweat rolled down his cheek.

Briefly he stammered, mouth struggling to make the words. "I. That's not-"

"More than that. You see yourself in your home. Yourself as you truly are, yet you feel like a Haunter circling around in a false shell. I can only imagine what that's like."

A lance through his heart. Warm blood pooled in his cheeks. Another fresh dew of sweat rolled down his forehead, nervousness building up into a tightened knot. Yet he felt...calm? The anxiety was there, but something held it back from becoming a flood. Something, something he couldn't place, that made her words feel oddly...comforting. That good feeling he'd had from the tea still lingered. It wrapped around his muscles and bones like a winter sweater, embracing him in quiet euphoria. But his mind rejected it, pushing against the pleasant feeling even as it spread through his veins like sweet venom.

Nova searched for an explanation. His eyes darted to his spilled tea. His breath hitched. "...What was in that tea?"

Erika shrugged. "Nothing." Her smile turned into a gentle smirk. "It's not the tea making you feel that way, Nova."

"Wha-?"

"Lilligant!"

The pokemon's voice commanded his attention. He glanced down to it. Its eyes met his, and suddenly the pleasant warmth seized tighter against him. Its little petaled arm was still clutched against his shirt, holding him as tight as its meager strength would allow.

Lilligant looked at him now with a...mysteriously understanding gaze. Like he'd just confessed something horrible, yet Lilligant still refused to reject him.

"Lilli...lilligant."

He froze, focus transfixed on the flower upon Lilligant's head. He narrowed his eyes, instincts telling him that something was subtly...off. The flower. A soft haze enveloped it, an ethereal and almost-invisible cloud of orange-green pollen floating gently from the great orange petals.

He shot up from his seat. His legs smashed against the table, and he staggered away from the chair in an awkward fumble. The good feeling snapped tight around him like a trap, turning his knees into gooey honey. Dizziness rolled over him. The world turned to a smear, and only by sheer shock did his lungs squeak out words.

"Wha...? What's-"

Erika swiftly rose from her table and came to Nova's side. She held her sleeved arms around him, cradling the air around his shoulders.

"Don't worry," she soothed. "It's all right. It's all right. You're safe now."

Her tone was so kind. So understanding. In the heat of the moment, her empathy only threw kindling on the strange bonfire in his soul, and the sun's heat rolled over their skin. Magma radiance upon their cheeks, and then the familiar stinging of burning tears. Thick tears poured from his eyes. His throat managed a choke, then a moan as he fell to his knees.

Erika remained around him like a mother Kangaskhan and her fragile child, shielding him in a protective shell as Nova's emotions overran them.

His whole body trembled. Something was happening. Something was happening. The euphoria he'd felt before had turned into a summer glow, basking his whole body in the strange change he could no longer ignore. The tears flowed freely now, staining the pavilion floor with dark droplets.

Through his ruined vision, he made out the shape of Lilligant. She was still staring at him, the pollen around her flower visible now even through the tears. He stretched out an arm towards her, unable to comprehend.

"Lilligant...I..."

"Lilligant."

He stretched his fingers further, then stopped dead in his movement. His hand. It was...

Shrinking...

Nova's eyes went wide. His heart skipped a beat. His mind became uncomprehending as he watched through terror and tears at what was happening to him.

"Wh...?!"

His hand. It was smaller. It trembled with surging warmth, fingers and flesh slowly pulling together. Every moment his hand, the whole length of his arm, grew smaller and shorter by a force beyond his control. The sweet venom from before now throbbed up to his shoulder, spreading fast as an angry river. In mere moments, he watched his fingers recede. His palms flattened, the flesh of his arm following in close pursuit to squeeze together until they were the thickness of...

Of...

A leaf...

Nova stumbled. Their center of gravity dropped from under them, forced to somewhere new. The warmth surged to the rest of them, rushing into their legs as their body quivered in change.

No...

Erika remained close. "Shhh. It's okay."

What...?!

Wobbling in place, Nova looked down to see the floor looming towards him. The ground loomed close, surging wide into his vision as if he were standing on his knees. But he was upright. Upright and shrinking. That terrifying realization made up throw up his arms, looking onwards in stunned silence as his humans hand were simply gone. In their place now were two long leaves, their surfaces cast in the gentle hues of the sky's blue. They trembled with Nova's nerves, then fell to the side as the euphoria rushed high again. It came in pulses; electric arcs, coursing sweetness that blew away Nova's focus. It pushed away everything. The anxiety, the terror. Only the thrilled confusion remained, and their mind raced towards that single conclusion.

Briefly, Nova regained control. They tore their fascination from their arms, looking as the heat spread to their legs. Their pants were now a loose tangle of fabric around them, sliding off the bulging buds that were their legs. They shrank with every second, smoother and rounder and pinker. The last remnants of human skin dissolved inside them, the ink of Nova's humanity swallowed whole by the ocean of change.

"Mmmhhh...!"

Nova tried to speak. He tried to say something, only to realize his lips refused to move. They refused to obey him at all. In a silent panic he reached to his mouth, only to feel the gentle bumps of vanishing lips receding in his head. Then they were gone. He patted them down, leaved arms failing wildly across his shifting body until they touched the smoothness of his chest. Extremely smooth.

That too was shifting. Any sign that he'd ever been human was swiftly shifting to something new and familiar, skin of ivory white pushing forth over his vanished human dermis.

It felt...good. More than a change of body, with every roll of warmth Nova felt something else settle into his soul. A hole being filled. An emptiness being removed. A wish being granted. Words and even intuition failed him at first as he shuddered upon the cobblestone floor, tears still flowing from transforming eyes. From blue to orange, from irises to solid color. Soon they took on a teardrop shape, glossy and pure. Tears still flowing. Body still shifting.

Lilligant hopped up next to Nova now. She offered her own leafy arm, staring at Nova with a gaze of pure understanding.

"Lilligant."

Nova reached out to her. His blue arm met hers, hot frission tingling as their limbs touched. He tried to reply. No mouth made words. No human words. Yet they spoke. A new voice, softer, gentler, scared and confused and happy all at once choked back by shimmering sobs.

"Lilli...gant-!"

That was their voice. Quiet, feminine, female, but a deep knowing told them it was theirs. That couldn't be right, their mind fought back. They were a...!

But they...!

At last, a gentle weight slowly emerged from the top of their head. The gentle load of a haughty hat pressed down upon their head, throwing off their balance just enough to send Nova into a new stumble. She cried out, wobbling in place as her new center of gravity reasserted itself.

"Lilligant...?!"

Nova spoke again. The voice that was theirs rang loud and clear, and their heart surged with long-hidden pride. She had no ears, yet it was clear as crystal bells.

It was her voice. Hers.

Hers.

The meaning of the warmth revealed itself at last. The epiphany shot through, and the answer became clear to her very core.

She was...

That was impossible.

She was...

Again Nova stared down at her limbs. At her body. To Lilligant standing mere inches away, holding Nova's hand as her and the gym leader waited with saintlike patience.

Nova was...

Nova was a Lilligant.

The realization weighed heavy. It squeezed her belief like a vice, but the next realization outshone it like a supernova to a candle.

She was a Lilligant. And every Lilligant was female. She was...

Everything was on the edge. Her fragile self teetered on a precipice, just waiting for the wind to send it over.

That breeze would come from Lilligant. She squeezed Nova's new hand, her voice simple and assuring. Somehow, Nova understood her.

"Lilligant. Lilligant."

"There. All better."

The flood broke through. The tears burst their dams; the love and shame and joy joined forces and rammed through and blew away the last of Nova's feeble defenses.

She began to cry.

Fragrant tears dripped onto her leafy arms as she let everything out, soft voice rolling out gently from the pavilion. The warmth of emotion rolled hot against her, poured through her eyes with everything she'd hidden. She couldn't control it. She didn't want to. She felt so good and it was this that made the tears thicker and heavier and freer.

Erika and Lillgant watched the new pokemon let it all out. They simply waited, Erika watching Nova with a satisfied smile as Lilligant held Nova through her ragged sobs. Nearly still as statues, waiting for minutes as Nova poured out her soul in front of them.

Everything she had. Everything. Everything she'd wanted. Everything she didn't even know she wanted. Given to her. Given to her.

Every time she thought she'd calmed down, another burst of warmth sent her anew into a bawling fit. What little control she had was spent just trying to stay upright, and soon even that began to fail. Lilligant came to the rescue, propping up her fellow plant pokemon as Nova tried in desperate vanity to control herself.

At last, Erika intervened. She carefully laid her hand on Nova's planted shoulder.

It felt.

Good.

There was nothing to be afraid of.

Anymore.

Nova's sobs quieted, rivers of tears turning to trickles. She was still a wreck, but a functioning one. As the presence on her shoulder grew, Nova slowly looked upwards at Erika. The gym leader towered over her now, a gentle giant with those kind gray eyes. She stared at Nova for a moment, clearly pondering on the right words to say. It was several beats before she spoke, every word caring and richly-considered.

"Some people...sometimes people have bodies or other things that don't match them. That aren't who they are. And when that happens...it's only natural they want their true selves. There's nothing wrong with that. You didn't make any kind of mistake, and there's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Lilli...gant...?" Nova choked.

"It's not just gender. Sometimes, a pokemon is born with a human body. You've never felt comfortable in your own skin, have you? You've never felt like you belonged with humans."

"Lilli..."

Erika brought Nova into a half-embrace, and gently raised her hand to Lilligant, pointing vaguely to the slowly-fading cloud of pollen around the pokemon's flower. "We've found a way to fix these things. Lilligant here and many others. That is why everyone here is female. Males drawn here aren't males for long. In fact? They never were."

Nova was quiet for a good long while. She didn't know what to say. What could she say? Instead she stared at her arms, flexing them in the sunlight. Bewildered and amazed. Stunned and sublimed.

"Lill-i-gant...?" she mumbled.

"Take all the time you need." She leaned closer, her smile brightening. She reached up, patting the large fresh flower upon Nova's head. "And I must say, what pretty colors you have! You're like cotton candy!"

"Lilligant?"

Erika reached into her kimono and took out a small pocket mirror. She snapped it open, showing Nova her reflection.

A Lilligant stared back at her. Snow-white skin, leaves the color of the sky and budding legs running shades of sweet pink. The great flower on her head was the same color, the telltale "crown" of a Lilligant sprouting from its center with hues of royal blue.

Nova gently took the mirror from Erika's grasp, holding it steady as she stared into her newfound body. Into the faded orange teardrop eyes, staring back at her from the polished surface. Her eyes. Her body.

Tears welled within her again. This felt right. Right beyond words. A wish granted she hadn't even known to ask for, given freely by the kindness of a stranger.

Lilligant laid her own arm onto Nova's other shoulder. "Lilligant."

"See? Isn't this better?"

Nova just nodded. What else could she say? Certainly nothing that wasn't "Lilligant".

Erika's eyes brightened. "Oh. I almost forgot. Now that you...match, is there anything you'd like for us to call you now?"

Lilligant thought for a moment. Truth be told, her name was the only part of herself she'd ever been comfortable with. The only thing she'd ever had the ability to change. The only thing that matched. Until now.

"...Lilligant. Lilli lilligant."

"Nova it is. What a lovely name."

"Lilligant."

Erika stood and dusted herself off. "Well! I'd say this has been an emotionally charged afternoon! Lilligant, why don't you introduce Nova to the others?"

"Lilligant!" Lilligant affirmed.

Nova was confused at first, and her puzzled look turned to surprise as Lilligant grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the pavilion. She dug in her petaled "feet" at first from pure instinct. Her reaction caused Lilligant to turn her head, radiant with soft encouragement.

"Lilli...lilligant."

"Don't worry. You'll like them."

"L..lilligant?"

"Like who?"

"Lilli...lil lilli lilligant?"

"It's a pokemon gym, isn't it?"

Looking beyond, Nova finally saw what Lilligant meant. From the bushes a small army of other plant pokemon had emerged. A host of Bellsprout and Oddish and Vileplumes and Bellossoms. Other Lilligants too, a rainbow of shades waving to the newcomer.

Nova blinked. Other pokemon. Fellow pokemon. They looked so pleased to see her. Not a single glance of judgment as she approached them, greeting her like an old returning friend. A new tear brushed the borders of Nova's eye. Only one. She barely felt it as it flowed over her cheek, forgotten as quickly as a single drop in a rainstorm.

This was Nova's home now. This was her body. This was her future. This was everything to her. And she'd never let it go. With new purpose, she followed her friend into the inviting crowd.

THE END