"They're neck and neck!" came the announcer's voice from the TV as the camera zoomed in on the two Pokemon running side-by-side along the track. Kanne leaned further forward, her ears picking up the sound of the sofa creaking next to her as her trainer did the same, both of them fixed on the spectacle before them: the international Pokelympics finals. Hoenn and Kalos's entrants, a Mightyena and a Pyroar respectively, were the two vying for the lead in parallel lanes of the track, leaving the other six competitors far behind.

"Salla is in the lead..." the announcer commentated, and Kanne stared unblinking at the big TV screen. "Now Umbra by a nose... now Salla, now Umbra...!"

"Go, Salla!" Kanne cheered for the Pyroar, the Braixen's tail swishing rapidly back and forth behind her.

Her trainer just chuckled and reached over the side of the sofa to pet the top of her head, scratching behind her ears. He wasn't nearly as invested as Kanne was, but he seemed pleased to see her enjoying herself so much.

"Umbra pulls ahead!" the announcer called out, and Kanne groaned as she saw the Mightyena gain a full half-body on the Pyroar. But that was all he got, as Kalos's contestant remained hot on the Mightyena's heels. Even the crowd in the stadium was audible from the TV, reaching the microphone in the commentator's booth, and when the camera panned out a bit they could see the Hoenn supporters in the stadium waving flags and cheering.

At the final stretch, Salla lowered her head and put on a burst of speed, looking determined. "Oh, what's this?" the commentator called out, and as the distance between the two Pokemon closed, the crowd went wild. "Umbra might not have this after all! It's going to be close!"

"Let's goooooo!" Kanne cheered, feeling her trainer rub down her back.

The Mightyena wasn't going to go down without a fight and lowered his head as well, stopping the Pyroar from pulling ahead. Kanne was leaning so far forward that she almost fell off her cushion, and was still calling out her support when the two contestants tore over the finish line together, the stadium erupting with cheers that were still going as the remaining runners crossed the line one after another.

The announcer was bewildered. "It's a new world record – but for who?" he asked, "It's going to go to an instant replay!"

Kanne bounced excitedly on her big purple cushion by the sofa. She'd been waiting eagerly for this the whole year and had been watching since the broadcast had begun that day. The regional finals had been exciting, but the championships were something else entirely. The best of the best from every country all competing in everything from sprinting to swimming to flight contests, more graceful competitions and performances that went to a judges' decision, and of course, the battles.

Some restricted by type, evolution or strength, and some unrestricted, all incredibly exciting to watch at such a high level, often featuring gym leaders from various regions. Kanne loved watching them, even if the closest she ever got to battling was playful tussling in the park with other nearby residents' Pokemon. And today's bouts were coming up next! She didn't want to miss a single moment!

The instant replay came up, getting slower as the Pyroar and Mightyena drew closer to the finish line. Just before they crossed someone stopped the replay and advanced it frame by frame due to how close it was, but it was still clear that by the slimmest of margins, Salla had crossed the line first.

The camera cut suddenly to the exhausted-looking Pyroar and her trainer as the announcement was made, and Kanne cheered out along with them. Her trainer just chuckled and gave her a scratch behind the neck. "Yeah, it's good to see Kalos win, isn't it?" he mused aloud.

"It's because she's a fire-type like me!" Kanne yipped back, though her trainer didn't quite understand and just kept petting her. She was fine with that. She watched the Mightyena's trainer walk over and shake hands, and she chirped happily. There was something about the sportsmanship that she really liked.

Kanne remained glued to her seat even as her trainer got up to grab a soda for himself, watching the camera cut over to the stadium where the battles took place. Already they were setting up for the first set of fights, which seemed to be the finals of the grass-type bracket, and the two trainers were at their marks and ready to go, just waiting for the signal to begin.

The only problem with the Pokelympics being so well-organized and always ready for the next event was that she didn't have any time to have her trainer take her for a walk. She didn't mind that too much in and of itself, as they could go after the last fight for the day, but she could feel the pressure in her lower body from a growing need to pee. She simply ignored it at first, deciding after the introductions that she liked the Meganium from Johto the most, cheered for it at every opportunity until it lost to the Abomasnow from Sinnoh, at which point she switched to cheering for whoever was facing it.

Shifting on her cushion, Kanne squirmed as her need for relief grew with each battle. But they were so exciting! She hadn't expected the rock-type bracket to be nearly as entertaining as it had been, and the finals for the bug-type bracket had lasted longer than expected due to the agility of the two contenders' final Pokemon. The water-type bracket didn't do her any favors, though, and as each big spray or blast of water was caught on camera, she was reminded of all the water inside of her that was demanding to be let out.

"Hm?" Her trainer leaned over and looked at her after noticing her movement. "Kanne, is something wrong?"

"I have to pee," she reluctantly admitted, her eyes fixed on the screen, where the Galar representative was deciding which Pokemon to send out next after his Inteleon had fainted.

He'd heard the sounds she made enough times before that he knew what they meant even if he didn't understand the individual words. "Go on and be quick, then," he told her.

She shook her head and pointed to the screen. She didn't want to miss anything! The trainer on the TV tossed his ball and sent out a Lapras, and the fight resumed. Her trainer gave her a reassuring pat on the head, and she trilled happily, watching the battle continue.

Ultimately, the Galarian trainer couldn't recover and lost to the Sinnoh entrant. Kanne got up as congratulations were handed out, only to hear the announcer call out, "And up next is the fire-type bracket, so don't go too far!"

Kanne whined and flattened her ears. She didn't want to miss the fire-type finals! "Go on, hurry up," her trainer told her, urging her out, but she whined and shook her head, brushing a paw against the fiery tufts of fur coming from her ears. Returning to her cushion, she crossed her legs and took a deep breath. She could make it through one more bracket.

Her trainer watched her with concern, but then turned his attention back to the TV eventually and rested his hand on the back of her shoulders. It was just as exciting as she had hoped, with big fiery moves filling the screen, and Kanne's tail wagged as she watched even with her legs pressed close together. Even better, Kalos's contender had a Delphox as his lead pokemon, and Kanne cheered for him every time he was sent out and whined whenever he took a hit or fainted. She was sure he was going to lose in the semi-finals, but a fortunate miss from the opponent let him eke out a win to advance to the finals.

By then, Kanne felt like she was going to burst, and was trembling in her seat. The moment the final blow landed to secure the semi-final victory she leapt up from her cushion and ran for the door to the living room. The bathroom wasn't far away, she could-

At the doorway, she stumbled and braced herself on the door jamb for a moment, then whined and pressed both paws between her legs. She didn't want to make a mess on the floor and upset her trainer! She just had to be quick, that was all, she could make it to the bathroom if she hurried...

"We'll be starting the finals as soon as the Pokemon are healed!" the announcer called out.

Kanne looked back at the TV, horrified. There was no way she could hold it through another round. But she didn't want to miss anything! The Kalos trainer had already put his pokeballs in the machine to restore the Pokemon inside, and they'd be at it in under half a minute. She didn't want to miss any of it, especially since the Delphox would be leading again. But if she stayed she would make a mess for sure...!

She looked at her trainer pleadingly. "What are you waiting for? Go on, hurry!" he urged, gesturing for her to move. Beside the sofa she could see the potted plant as well, on the opposite side to where her cushion was, and a memory came back to her from last week when the plumbers had been fixing the pipes. She'd had no choice then but to use the plant to relieve herself to avoid making a mess or getting soaked outdoors, so maybe...

With bowed, trembling legs, Kanne freed one hand from between her legs and pointed to the plant. "Please, master!" she begged, bouncing in place, glancing over at the TV afterwards. The trainers were taking their places and would be starting at any moment.

He understood the squeak she made and hesitated, but then sighed. "All right, but just this once," he told her, and she immediately rushed over to the plant before he had even finished speaking: "I know you've been waiting for this for years."

The moment she reached the plant she squatted over one corner of the cubic ceramic planter and lowered her hips, holding onto the side of the sofa to support herself. With a moan that came out as a low "Braiiiiiiii..." she stopped fighting her bladder and let it release, showering the bottom of the plant and the dirt in the planter with her urine.

And just in time, too, as she saw the final round of the fire-type bracket beginning, giving a cheer as the Delphox was sent out first to face off against a Blaziken. Her ears perked up to hear the commentary over the sound of her own stream splashing messily into the planter, stray droplets hitting the thick rim of it. Her gaze remained fixed on the TV, and she kept a firm grip on the sofa armrest, her trainer watching the TV as well to give her some privacy as she gradually emptied out her bladder.

She couldn't resist cheering as the Delphox struck first and landed a hit, feeling a single droplet strike her foot and shifting it away in reflex without looking down. The exhilaration of the fight she was watching and the relief of her stream spraying out were almost overwhelming in combination, and she did her best to keep still until she felt her stream run dry, clenching her muscles to get the last few squirts out even as she let out a sympathetic groan from seeing the Delphox take a hit.

Even when she was done, she kept her eyes locked on the TV until the Blaziken fell, though the Delphox was recalled by his trainer immediately afterwards. As the trainers decided who to send out next, Kanne finally looked downwards as she reached for a low-hanging leaf to dry herself with, and saw what a mess she had made: her spray had only mostly gotten in the planter itself, still enough to saturate the dirt completely and leave puddle on top of it. Many stray droplets had soaked the rim of the planter itself and left some wet spots on the carpet around it, but she'd gotten almost all of it in and she felt proud about that. As she brushed a smooth leaf against her slit to wipe away the last few drops, she was glad that she hadn't missed the exciting opening of the fight.

"All done?" her trainer asked without looking. Kanne chirped in confirmation and ran over to where he was sitting, reaching out and hugging both of his legs. He seemed surprised by the sudden affection but reached out and patted the top of her head, rubbing between her ears. "Yeah, I know how much this meant to you," he told her, and she turned her head to watch as the next Pokemon were sent out to continue the battle.

"Thank you," she told him gratefully, and he scratched behind one of her ears gently, watching the rest of the fight with her.

--------------------

"What if I told you that that's not Chancellor Frogadier at all?"

Kanne's trainer scooped out another small handful of popcorn from the bowl and held it out to her, and she snatched the pieces one by one to crunch down on them happily. She didn't usually sit on the sofa, but it made it easier to share popcorn while they watched the movie together.

"Preposterous!" came another actor's voice, mingled with others: "Absurd!" "Nonsense!" "Ludicrous!"

Leaning against her trainer's side, Kanne settled in again to enjoy the movie. The original speaker continued, "It's merely a Ditto disguised as him!"

Something was thrown, there was a crash and a cloud of smoke, and soon a purple blob was escaping from the scene and swearing vengeance. Kanne looked up to her trainer and held out a paw with a little chirp, and he nodded and gave her a few more pieces of popcorn to eat while they watched.

It was a good movie, though she wasn't nearly as glued to it as she had been to the Pokelympics. She shifted in her seat, aware of the need to relieve herself, or at least the beginning of such a need. She could probably hold it until the end of the movie this time without much trouble.

But why wait? After finishing her handful of popcorn, Kanne hopped down from the sofa and walked around to the side of it. "Kanne?" her trainer asked her, "Where are you going? Is something wrong?"

"Just taking care of something," she replied, walking to the potted plant beside the sofa. She didn't want to make another mess like she had last time, so she shifted as closely as she could as she squatted down and rested one paw on the sofa to hold steady, bringing her slit as close to the planter as she could before relaxing her muscles.

"Kanne!" her trainer called out sharply when he heard the splashing sound, grabbing the remote and pausing the movie.

"What?" she asked him, glancing up over the armrest, holding her position and letting her stream of pee splash into the dirt in the planter, soaking it through rapidly. He looked upset, but seeing her expression of surprise at his indignation, his face softened a bit and he sighed. "Kanne, that plant isn't your personal toilet. We have a bathroom for a reason. Finish what you're doing, just... use the bathroom in future, please?"

Kanne looked downwards to make sure she was still on-target, but she had avoided making a mess this time, her stream still hosing down the bottom of the plant and soaking into the dirt, a puddle beginning to form. Since she wasn't desperate this time, there wasn't nearly as much and her spray wasn't so wild. "All right, master," she replied, looking back over the armrest at him. She didn't really understand what the problem was, but she didn't want to upset her trainer.

She kept in her low squat until she had fully emptied out, then rose up again so she could rub one of the leaves against herself to wipe away the last drops. It was just a plant, what was the big deal? It wasn't really that different from going out to the park.

After that she returned to her seat on the sofa. Her trainer gave her a frown, but then leaned back and rubbed down her side. "My fault for not being clearer about it, I suppose," he mumbled, balancing the popcorn bowl on his lap as he picked the remote up to continue the movie. "You're a good girl, Kanne."

She gave a happy chirp and snuggled up against his side, tail wagging as the video resumed.