Chapter 29 - Its A Challenge!


As the two continued pouring affection on Chris, the three failed to realize that, throughout everything
that happened between them, they had been spied on by curious eyes... Outside of his balcony window, Lia
had been snooping around, hoping to learn more about Chris and his Pokemon. However... She learned a bit
more than she expected, having witnessed his naked rampage through his room and hearing everything that
went on between Kirlia and Snivy when he took them into the woods. Looking through his window with a blush,
she backed away and leaned against the wall, thinking over everything she discovered and finding herself
unable to really process it all in the moment. Deciding she had done enough snooping for one day, she shook
her head and climbed down the building, walking off calmly into the streets below, scratching her head and
so lost in thought she nearly walked into every pole in her path...


Back in the room, Chris pulled the two away and let out a sigh, looking at the two with a worn out smile
as he stood and set them on the bed. "You two... How about we just put this behind us for now and have some
dinner huh? I'm starved... And to be honest... I'm ready to pass out after the day we went through... Dine
and doze sound good to you for tonight?" he asked, rubbing them on the head. Nodding in response, Chris
turned the TV to a nature show about exploration Snivy could enjoy that Kirlia could also listen and relax
to while he went into the kitchen to plan out a meal. "Good thing that Lia girl showed us around and took
us trough the markets... I was able to get some good stuff..." he muttered, taking out what he needed and
lighting up the stove. After a while, the two began smelling the meal Chris was prepping, causing both
Snivy and Kirlia to drool slightly as they inched towards the edge of the bed. With Snivy still seemingly
starving more-so than Kirlia, she got immediately irritated when the blind Pokemon clumsily got too close
to her while sniffing the air, hitting her face against Snivys as they leaned against the edge.


In a moment of frustration, and out of a little personal space issues... Snivy suddenly shoved Kirlia away
from her face, causing her to flail and fall off the edge of the bed at the same time. Reaching out, Kirlia
pulled Snivy down with her, the two shouting loudly and landing with a thud, causing Chris to jump from
the loud startle and flip some hot drops of oil on his hand. Twisting his face in pain, he suddenly jumped
back and clutched his hand, letting out a loud shout of his own as he faced the two. "WHAT NOW?!!" he shouted,
furious over seemingly cooking his own hand because of the two's behavior. Laying on top of one another,
they faced him with "oops" expressions, quickly getting up and sitting as if well behaved on their knees.
"You two... Can't you get along for two seconds?! Don't fool around when a person is cooking!! If my hands
get fried NONE of us get to eat for a while..." he scolded, turning back to the stove with a grumble and
using a small rag to hold the pan now with his sore hand as he stirred the food. With their heads hung in
shame, they suddenly faced one another with irritated "your fault..." expressions, giving one another a
nudge and quietly growling.


"I hear that!!" Chris shouted, glancing back at the two causing them to jolt and immediately sit in silence
upstraight. Letting out a sigh, Chris finished the meal and set everything out on the table, looking over
his hand and washing it in cold water for a moment. "Man... Good thing I didn't flip the whole pan..." he
muttered, walking up to the two as they faced up at him with nervous yet innocent smiles. Shaking his head,
he picked them up and placed them each on a stool, pulling them up to the table as he sat in a chair. "Now
then... Get along while we eat or I might just decide to eat this myself and save the rest for later! You
two misbehave and you get leftovers!" he told them. Waving their hands with nervous laughs, his stern gaze
slowly softened until he was able to smile again, giving them a nod and giving each of them a plate full
of food. Watching the two, it wasn't long before the world around them ceased to exist as they took bite
after bite, and in Snivy's case, mouthful after mouthful of food. Giving them a chuckle, Chris enjoyed his
own portion, relaxing and enjoying the moment of peace. "...You know, you two really make life interesting.
At least I'm not bored... And you keep me busy in more ways than one... Guess no matter what its fun though.
Without you two randomly having your moments, it wouldn't give us as much to look back on and laugh about
someday! I'm sure eventually you'll be able to be close friends... But until then I guess its a ride I'm
lucky to be on. Well... Asides moments where I'M the one getting the brunt of it... Still, all part of us
learning to be a family I guess..." he laughed nervously, looking over his hand again as tiny red spots
remained from the oil. Facing one another, Snivy and Kirlia raised and eyebrow and shrugged, having no real
opinion on the topic as they instead focused on enjoying their dinner more than each other.


Slightly sweating, he sighed and continued eating with them as well until the table was nearly completely
cleared, all three of them groaning with buldging stomaches and dazed expressions. Picking up some of the
leftovers, Chris decided he wasn't able to take in another bite, instead looking towards Snivy and Kirlia
thinking they would want it. "Hey Kirlia... Bite...?" he asked, only for her to rapidly shake her head and
nearly fall backwards off her stool as she covered her mouth. Looking at Snivy, he fiured maybe she would
eat it, having the bigger appetite. But once he offered it to her and held it to her face, Snivy seemingly
went from green to blue as she hicked, waving the food away with spirals around her head. "Well... We ate
most of it... And there really isn't enough for leftovers... Shockingly... Guess we can just dump what
little is here and clean the dishes..." he told the two, looking towards the sink. "But... Really... Don't
feel... Like cleaning them..." he groaned with a slight burp. Not usually one to glutton over food, he let
out a sigh and shook his head, deciding to put it off until morning as he picked up the two and went to
the bed. Setting them down, he got his pajama pants and told the two to turn away as he stripped. Obeying,
Snivy was lucky enough... Well... You could say... To get an eyefull of him changing nonetheless, as by
turning around she was able to see his reflection in the sliding window as he changed, immediately flushing
and letting out an awkward giggle like noise as she covered her eyes, peeking through her fingers as her
tail swished, repeatedly smacking Kirlia next to her causing Kirlia to let out several "oofs!" before being
knocked over onto a pillow.


Now ready for bed, Chris turned just as Kirlia was standing about to pounce on Snivy, only to freeze when
she felt him sitting on the bed as he groaned and let out a yawn. "Alright you two... I'm layin' down. Out
of the way." he said as he tucked himself under the sheets. Looking down at him with a confused expression,
Snivy looked around the room, eventually pointing to herself and trying to ask something that caused Kirlia
to face her with a "say what?" kind of expression. In response, Kirlia shrugged and climbed up next to Chris,
feeling her way along the sheets and getting underneath them with Chris and scooting herself against his
side, happily placing an arm over him with a sigh. "H.. Hey now... Sharing a bed is one thing... P... Personal
space is still important here..." he told her, blushing embarrassed as she stuck out her tongue. Looking
at the two, Snivy blinked in a mixture of shocked and bewildered. Pointing at herself again, Chris let out
a groan, rubbing his face with his hand before letting out a sigh. "Yeah... Climb on in here... You can
sleep with me..." he told her, glancing away with a nervous scowl on his face. Looking a him in surprise
for a moment, Snivy slowly made her way up to him and climbed under the sheets as well, feeling them and
seemingly lost in thought for a moment. "...What? You don't want to be in the same bed? I can make you a
pallet if you want..." he told her, starting to sit up. Startled, Snivy quickly waved her hands and shook
her head rapidly, making random mumbles as she poked her fingers and looked away both, shyly and seemingly
sadly in a way... Patting his back, Kirlia pointed at Snivy then pointed at her head, trying to tell him
it was a subconscious thing going on again. Looking at her then at Snivy, he thought about what it could
mean for a moment, then rest himself back down between them with another sigh.


"...Not used to being allowed to sleep with the human you're with huh? Must have been part of that other
guys mistreatment... Always had to sleep on the floor or something?" he asked, glancing at Snivy. Letting
out a sigh, she nodded in response, admittedly not used to being allowed to sleep with someone. For the
longest time, she was usually confined to sleeping in a corner when they were in a hotel, and outdoors she
had to curl up under trees and brush. So the invitation to be in a bed, especially with the human she was
with... It was a surprise to her. Shaking his head, Chris put an arm around Snivy and pulled her close to
his side, holding her against him and causing Snivy's eyes to widen as a flush glowed across her face. "I
guess you two can get all close for tonight... But next time we need to talk about personal space!" he told
them, pulling Kirlia back against his other side under his arm as he laid with a scowl, admittedly blushing
from the closeness in bed. Although he didn't mind sleeping snuggled with Kirlia at first... After all of
the recent events revolving the two the situation felt a little... Different now... Embarrassing... Nonetheless,
he still wanted them to be happy, and wanted to remind Snivy her living conditions weren't the same anymore.
With her heart skipping beats, Snivy looked up at him, slightly having a hard time breathing as her heart
skipped beats while she struggled to grasp the sudden... Welcome... Sensations she was feeling, now even
allowed to sleep with the human she was with instead of having to sleep by herself now. Facing down, Snivy
hid her face shyly against his side, showing a slight smile as she continued to blush and closed her eyes.


On his other side, Kirlia was stretching with a yawn, holding onto him and rubbing her face agaisnt his side
as well while she started dozing off, quietly saying "Love you..." as she yawned. Blushing even worse, Chris
grumbled embarrassed, watching the TV as he tried to ignore the fact he was holding two girls against him
in the same bed, even if they were his Pokemon. Looking at the two, he told them he loved them too as they
dozed off, leaving him to deal with his mixed feelings of the situation as he tried to go to sleep himself.
Eventually, he managed to finally doze off, snoozing peacefully with the two throughout the night as the TV
went through show after show about nature, further keeping the three lulled into a deep slumber. And yet...
As quickly as the night had come, it wasn't long before it was over once again... With the sun rising into
the room, Chris woke with a groan, finding Snivy laying on top of him on her back, slightly drooling as Kirlia 
snoozed on the pillow next to him, her foot pressing into his cheek and giving him slight kicks as she mumbled
in her sleep. Soclwing, he pushed her foot away and sat up, stretching and looking outside at the morning rays.
"...Guess today is as good a day to start as any..." he muttered, looking down at Snivy as she scratched her
stomach with a slight snort. Shakin his head, Chris got up and prepared himself for the day, fixing himself up
and changing his clothes, cleaning the dishes from the night before, all while the two continued sleeping the
morning away. Once everything was finished, Chris took one of the pans and large spoons up to the bed, suddenly
grinning at the two. "Such happy... Peaceful faces... Sure would be cruel to ruin this... Then again... It was
cruel for you two to cause me to burn my hand last night too... So...


Taking a deep breath, he suddenly started slamming the pan with the spoon, shouting at them to wake up as he
laughed. Jumping high enough to nearly touch the ceiling, their eyes seemed as if ready to burst from their
sockets while their hearts seemingly exploded out of their chests, both of them freaking out badly as if having
heart attacks as Chris nearly fell back from laughing. Pointing at the two as they teared up from being terrified,
he took a deep breath and sighed, telling them they were even now as they both faced him with expressions of irritation
and confusion all at once, both gasping and struggling to swallow as they fell onto their backs groaning and
rubbing their faces. "Alright you two... Today we start working on getting Snivy back into shape. Once she's
in peak condition, we can head out on the road again. The sooner she gets back up to snuff, the sooner we can
continue on our way. Sound good?" he asked the two, getting a nod from them both as he gave them some crackers
to nibble on. Making himself some coffee and toast, he sat at the kitchen table to relax as well. Taking a sip
of coffee, he looked out onto the padio, suddenly putting up a hand to wave. "Hey Lia..." he said, causing
Snivy and Kirlia to face him, tilting their heads confused. Taking another casual sip, he suddenly spit out
his coffee as he saw Lia standing outside of his window, waving at him with a laugh. "L... LIA?!!" he shouted,
quickly getting up and letting her in. "Wh... What in the world...?" he asked as she walked in. "Sorry about
that. Just excited to see you guys again!" she told him, sitting on his bed with a flop. The three of them facing
her with confused expressions, Kirlia slightly grumbling about the human female being back in his room, she
laughed nervously with slight sweat on her face, telling them sorry about the intrusion.


"Listen you guys... I wanted to ask... How long do you plan to stay here exactly?" she said facing Chris. Rubbing
the back of his head, he laughed nervously, unsure of how to read the situation. "Well... I've decided to stay
here a while until we get Snivy back to a hundred percent... Its a great place to train her and give her everything
she needs along the way... Um... But..." he responded, causing Lia to blink at him. "But...?" she asked, tilting
her head. "I... I'm not really... Looking for someone..." he told her, smiling nervously with a slight blush. Giving
him a shocked look, Lia suddenly started snickering before bursting out in laughter, falling onto her back and rolling
on his bed. This reaction caused the three of them to look at Lia as if she might of had some sort of problem... Sitting
up, she caught her breath and wiped tears from her eyes, shaking her head with a snicker. "No no... Its nothing like
that I assure you. I wanted to know because... I'd like to challenge you to come fight at the towns gym before you
leave." she told them with a smile, unable to resist another snicker. "Y... You thought I was going for that...
I'm sorry but... That's pretty good..." she told them, laughing again causing Chris to look away humiliated and
scratching his cheek. "Ha ha... Y... Yeah... Misreading things is kinda my talent..." he told her. Slightly
irritated by her response to going out with him, Snivy and Kirlia sat with rather unhappy expressions, crossing
their arms and putting their noses up at her as they turned away.


"But... Anyways... The gym huh...? Well... It couldn't hurt but... Its gonna be a little bit before we're ready
to do any battles there... If we go to this one I'd admittedly like to give Snivy a shot at winning a badge this
time around. And for that... Well, she needs plenty of tlc first. But why would you challenge me? Isn't that
something the gym leader..." he started to ask, only to pause and slightly sweat as she stood up with a smirk
and crossing her arms. "...You're kidding me. You mean you're the gym leader in this town?" he asked, getting
a nod in response. Showing a worn out smile, Chris shook his head and chuckled. "Just like the old man back in
Saga City... I make some interesting friends..." he told her, looking at Snivy and Kirlia as well. "You're an
interesting guy... With an... Interesting relationship with your Pokemon...  So I wanna see how you do 
in battle! If you plan to challenge me with Snivy, its going to take a lot of work to get her on par with my
Pokemon!" she laughed, causing Snivy to turn red in rage. Shouting at her, Snivy crossed her arms and put her
nose in the air, proudly strutting herself in front of Lia and showing her confidence. "Ha ha. That's a Pokemon
spirit I like to see... Well then, can't wait for you guys to be ready for a fight!" she told Snivy, giving her
a thumbs up. Looking at Lia, she nodded in response before turning away smuggly, causing Lia to sweat a bit
as she faced Chris. "You've got a pretty proud one here... You better make sure she has the strength and experience
to back that pride!" she laughed, patting Chris on the shoulder.


Laughing nervously, he glanced at Snivy and muttered how he didn't know if that was possible, causing Snivy to
suddenly give him an irritated look and snap his butt with a vine, making him jump with a shout and rub the spot
she snapped. "Joking! Joking!" he told her, only for Snivy to let out a "hrmph!" sound as Kirlia sighed and
shook her head with a shrug. Heading back out on the patio, she gave Chris a thumbs up and wished him luck,
reminding him she would be waiting for their battle and would be keeping an eye on him until then. Chris gave
her a nervous wave back, laughing with a bit of sweat on his face as she jumped over the rail and climbed down
the building. "...How is it everyone around me has such wild energy? Even a gym leader, as busy as she must be
has more spunk in her step... Maybe I'm the one who needs training." he muttered.


Shaking his head, Chris picked up Snivy and Kirlia and left the hotel room, heading out towards the forest to
begin Snivy's recovery and preparation for her first gym battle by his side.