This is the journey of a man named Chris, who had dreams shared by many, yet lived experiences known by 
so few...  There are many people in the world of Pokemon, who come in just as many varieties as these 
strange creatures. And you are about to discover, perhaps, one you may just consider the rarest of all...


Chapter 23 - Opposite woes! Attracting Goals!


After a moment of the two bickering at one another, Chris let out a groan and gave his head a rub, sitting
up and causing both Pokemon to fall off his body with a shout, flailing their arms before landing on top
of one another with a thud. "Yo... Anyone see that bus...?" he said with a groan, squinting his eyes at 
the two as he shook his head. "Ehh...? Now you're getting along...?" he asked the two, suddenly blinking
and tilting his head confused. "In a... Really... Weird... Way... The heck are you doing to each other?"
he asked, question marks popping up all around his head as the two lay on top of each other, their lips
firmly pressed together because of the way they fell. With shocked faces as they looked at one another
with wide eyes, they both suddenly flushed red and shoved each other away at the same time, wiping their
mouths and screaming in disgust as they gagged, clutching their throats. "So... Is that... How two female
Pokemon bond...? That's... Cool..." he told the two, crossing his head with a nod. However, they suddenly
glared at him with death in their gazes, suddenly screaming at him and at each other as they pointed at
one another, steaming in rage and humiliation. "Hey hey!! Easy!! I never said bonding like that was bad
or wrong!!" he paniced, waving his arms while sweating. "Actually... Thinking about it... Seeing you two
like that gave me sudden deja vu... How did I wind up on the ground...? The back of my head is killing me...
Did we get mugged...?" he asked, looking around and suddenly rummaging through his rucksack to be safe.


In response to this, Kirlia suddenly faced towards him in shock, only random noises of surprise such as
"eh...? wha...? huh??!!" coming out of her mouth now as her jaw dropped at the fact he seemingly forgot 
what just happened between them. Laughing loudly, Snivy tapped the back of her head and shrugged while 
making noises, seemingly telling Kirlia he must have forgot when he hit his head on the ground as she 
laughed loudly and pointed at Kirlia, the poor Pokemon feeling as though she couldn't win for losing while
her glazed eyes started welling up with tears. "No... Nothing stolen... Why the heck is my head so sore
then...?" Chris muttered, rubbing the back of it again where he felt a slight bump. Trembling in a mixture
of sadness and rage all at once, Kirlia faced the direction Snivy was laughin from and suddenly let out a
scream, jumping towards her and knocking her to the ground. "Huh...? What...?! HEY!! KNOCK IT OFF!!!" Chris
shouted, running up to the two trying to catch them as they rolled all over the ground, pulling on one
anothers cheeks and trying to hit each other. "I said knock it o...!!" he paused, suddenly freezing as
the two glared at him and shouted as if telling him to "butt out!!" at the same time. Remembering what
Kirlia could do, and how easily Snivy could cut, he stood confused as to what to do in the moment as the
two continued venting on one another.


Oh man oh man... If they don't get split up, they'll go at it to no end... But if I try... I'll be just
as worse off... Aaaagggghhh...." he muttered, following them as they rolled about trying to coax them into
splitting up. Reminding Snivy she just helped save Kirlia, he got a "that's just it!!" kind of look, and
when he tried to remind Kirlia he cared about them both equally, she faced him with a "I was here first!!"
kind of expression, with every statement from him only egging the two further to fight. "What to do what
to do what to do?!" he kept saying repeatedly as the two began biting and scratching one another. "Ha ha!
My... You are terrible with women..." Chris suddenly heard a voice say, turning to see a woman stepping
out from beside a building. Walking up next to him, she leaned on his shoulder and popped a bubble next
to his ear as she chewed on some gum, laughing while watching the two. "D... Don't touch!!" he shouted,
jumping back as Kirlia faced the womans direction with glowing eyes before Snivy yanked her by the cheek
to get her attention focused on the fight again. "Oh my... The jealous type ehh...? I can see exactly why
these two are fighting... Sorry to tell you but a man against two women in the heat of it is a lost cause
that'll only harm you in the end!" she giggled. Suddenly taking a Pokeball out of her jacket, the woman
released a Blissey. "Alright girl, think you could break it up?" she asked, pointing at the two. In a panic,
Blissey ran up to the two and held out her egg, cracking it and allowing its contents to fall all over the
two. Making sudden shouts in disgust, they broke apart before suddenly tasting some of the egg on their
faces, seemingly in a flash turning from enraged to tranquil as they licked more of it off their bodies,
blushing in joy while laughing.


"Uhhh... What...?" Chris asked, blinking bewildered and pointing at the two as he faced the woman. "Its
a unique quality she has. Whenever a person or Pokemon tastes one of her eggs, it almost instantly puts
them in a better mood! An emotional tranquilizer basically. Although... Her method isn't quite what I had
in mind... Sorry about the mess!" she laughed nervously as Blissey walked up to them, her nose held high
in pride. Giving Chris a pat on the head, she seemingly told him "Yooooou're welcome!!" with a giggle,
standing next to his trainer as they watched the two. "Gotta say, for such a poor looking Snivy, she has
her fair share of energy!" the woman laughed. "Yeah... But she might be pushing i..." he paused as they
saw Snivy start acting woozy before falling on her back, passed out with spiraled eyes. "...And there she
goes..." he sighed, shaking his head as Kirlia faced Snivy before shrugging and continuing to enjoy the
egg covring her. "She doesn't seem to worried." the woman responed, smiling with a bit of nervous sweat
on her face. Walking up to the two, Chris squat down and shook his head. "Got any eggs I could take on the
road with me?" he asked in a worn out tone. Taking out his water bottles, he poured their content all over
the two before taking out a towel and rubbing them both clean. Seemingly looking over herself, Kirlia slumped
with a pouty expression, giving her small hand another lick onto to find the delicious taste was gone.
Snivy on the other hand, simply remaining out cold and making dazed noises, awkwardly laughing in her worn
out state.


"You don't seem like the type to hurt Pokemon... Mind telling a stranger the story?" she asked, walking
up and taking notice of Kirlia's blindness and Snivy's skinny figure. Nodding, he gathered his things and
scooped the two in his arms, walking off with the woman as she returned Blissey to her ball and gave him
a tour in the process. "Yeah... People like them sadly exist all over the world really... Only thing we
can do is try our best to make up for their wrong doings... Looks like you've been doing that... Kinda well."
she laughed, making Chris sulk with a worn out expression. "Helping them I can do... Its them getting along
I have a hard time with. If anything, the more I try, the worse it makes them act towards one another..."
he sighed, shaking his head. "Women were never meant to be understood by men! You look like a grown man.
You should know that!" she laughed, slapping him on the back. "Aaaannnnd vise verse really... All we can
do at the end of the day is our best to get along with one another and not drive the other gender insane.
But... That's not to say you can't get them to be more friendly towards one another. Each person and each
Pokemon have their own way of gaining and accepting anothers respect. Getting them both to join you and
look past what happened to them took different methods, right? Same thing when it comes to relationships!"
she smiled. "Although... Saying it like that makes it sound like you have to be a rocket scientist... Huh?
But I guess its all part of the fun of being a Pokemon trainer! Battles and traveling together is only a
part of the fun. Becoming like that of a family along the way is the best part for most!" she giggled, 
looking up at the sky. "Just do your best and take your time... Put a pen on that time part! And uh..."
she smiled, looking away with a blush.


"...You shouldn't show such affection towards them unevenly. That's what started the fight in the first
place..." she said quietly, causing Chris to blink confused. "Affection...? Huh...? I just tell them I
care about them equally... How's that uneven affection?" he asked. Looking at Chris, she though back to
the moment she came accross him and Kirlia and watched him fall to the ground, a light bulb suddenly going
off in her mind. "Ooooohhhh... Riiiiigggghhht..." she said, suddenly checking the back of his head and
noticing the bump, causing him to blush from having a woman suddenly so close to him. Picking up on his
feelings and thoughts, Kirlia suddenly puffed out her cheeks and gave him a swift punch in the throat by
accident, meaning to get him in the face as he started choking, the woman jumping back. "Whoopsies... I
forgot... My bad..." she laughed nervously, waving her hands. Kirlia paniced and waved her arms rapidly,
making sounds as if to say "sorry sorry sorry!!" over and over before slumping on his arm depressed and
hiding her face with her bangs. "G... Gah... F... Forget it..." he muttered, an irritated pulse showing
on his forehead. "Umm... Why don't we get proper introductions out of the way? My name's Lia." she told,
bowing her head as they walked. "Y... Yeah... C... Chris..." he responded, clearing his throat due to the
punch. Looking around, he asked if she could take him to an inn and offer any advice she could on getting
the two to warm up to one another. Blushing wide eyed, she took a step back with a shy smile. "A... Asking
a woman to an inn with you... So straightforward..." she giggled, causing Chris to jump away from her in
panic. "N... No!! Not like that!! S... Seriously!!" he responded, flushing brightly.


Looking at him with cute and innocent eyes, her cheeks suddenly puffed out as she snickered before she
clutched her stomach and started laughing loudly, pointing at his expression while tearing up. "Too easy
too easy!!" she told him, shaking her head as she took a deep breath and sighed, trying to stop laughing
at the poor man. "O... Oy... Not cool..." he scowled, walking ahead of her in irritation. Running up beside
him, she put her hands together with a wink. "Sorry sorry... I'm just testing you is all. And... Teasing
a bit too. Can't help it! You just have that look about you!" she giggled, causing Chris to twitch an eye
in irritation. "Look...? So that means I'm clueless or something?" he asked, looking at her with a raised
eyebrow. Looking away with a nervous sweat showing on her face, Lia laughed and waved her hand. "Y... Yeah
but... Its not a bad thing. Its a cute trait! And... I think it may be one reason those two enjoy being
around you so much... I can certainly see why. Its fun! And... Maybe it helps them forget bad stuff too
being able to enjoy that fact." she said, looking at the two in his arms. Chris looked at the two and let
out a sigh, nodding in response. "Yeah... That's true I guess..." he smiled. "Still... Wish they wouldn't
fight each other like that. It didn't start happening until after the scene on the hill. Its like all of a
sudden they can't get enough of giving one another glares and instigating each other... Don't even get me
started on how it goes when I try to stop it. You saw that for yourself..." he said with a sulky tone.


Looking at him and his Pokemon, she smiled silently and crossed her arms, nodding. "Love does that... It
brings people together, and tears them apart... Its a hard thing to master... Probably even harder than
becoming a Pokemon master!" she laughed, causing Chris to look at her confused. "Nice rhyme... But... 
Love...? So... They just fight over love...? But its the same with both of them... I care about them the 
same, I said that already. So it shouldn't be an issue... They are both the same in my heart." he said,
looking at Kirlia who gave him a shocked and insulted expression before turning her face and crossing her
arms with a loud "HRMPH!!!" in response. "Ah... There there! You see? That seems to be one of the issues."
Lia told him, waving her finger in a "no no no!" manner. "They are fighting over a podium they have created
between themselves. Now that you've claimed them both as your own, its a matter of favoritism now... How
you fix THAT situation is going to be the real task!" she giggled, looking at the two. "Kirlia does indeed
have more history with you, no matter how much or how little, and Snivy is a very proud type of Pokemon,
very competitive. And whenever another Pokemon can look a Snivy and its evolutions in the eye without fear,
it accepts that Pokemon as its rival, no matter what that rivalry revolves. In helping them, you've created
an even bigger mountain to overcome!" she smirked, with Chris showing an amazed and sudden "Now I get it!!"
expression as he looked at her as if she were a sage.


Laughing loudly at him, the two continued walking and talking, as in his arms, they failed to notice Snivy
was now awake once again as well, crossing her arms as Kirlia was and sharing the same "won't be defeated"
expression as they made their way towards the inn. "Its not much farther. And just so you know, out town
also has a gym. Before you head out, are you gonna challenge the leader?" she asked, Chris shrugging in
response. "Well... We'll probably be staying here until Snivy is at 100% again. I can provide plenty of
food and other necessities here a lot easier than if we were on the go, and knowing centers will be right
up or down the streets, this place was a lucky find for us. I'll be helping train her too with some help
from Kirlia..." he told Lia as she raised an eyebrow with a "seriously?" expression, putting a hand on
her hip and shaking her head. "Not a good idea to encourage them to battle for whatever the reason right
now... You best hold off on that part of the plan." she told him, Chris blinking confused. "Wouldn't them
getting to vent like that be a good th..." he said before getting cut off as all three suddenly shouted
as if seemingly saying "NO!!!!" together, his head tucking between his shoulders like a nervous Squirtle
as he whimpered out a cautious "okay..." in response.

All three of them shook their heads, shrugging in response to his hopelessness in the moment yet unable
to resist showing a common smile as they faced him, finding him irritating, yet adorable nonetheless.