Dave returned to camp atop his arcanine before giving him a pat on the head, a "Thanks Windie." and returning him to his orb. The camp appeared much as he'd left it, had she even been living here?


Dave looked around real quick before removing a box from his hiking pack. Placing it on the wood table she'd made weeks before, Dave disrobed and headed down to the river with a towel and two pokéballs.


Most of the pokémon in this forest had gotten used to Dave's presence and there was only a little commotion when he arrived to bathe. Families of pokémon played together along the banks, some circled his legs. It was good to be among them again rather than in the human cities.


He only ever bothered returning to civilization to check in at the pokécenter or challenge a gym. Unlike many nations, if he didn't maintain active Trainer status this country might actually deport him. Not only was she not ready to leave, he really loved these forests more than any other he'd visited. They reminded him of his old home, before the developers destroyed it.


As he swam with a blastoise underwater he saw a shimmer of yellow on the shore. He recognized that distorted body easily and emerged. "Welcome home love. Hope you like the gifts." 


Wiping the water out of his eyes Dave looked at her again. The jolteon woman wasn't wearing any of the T-shirts or skirts he'd bought for her, she was adorned in a lovely sundress that barely came down to her upper thighs. From his slightly lower angle he was sure he was just shy of being able to see her cute cooch.


"I, I didn't, I'm just coming back myself. Welcome home love." She put the books she was carrying down on a nearby rock, but the swaying of her hips caused the dress to move just enough for Dave to see she was panties. Turning around she saw his erection rise from the flowing waters. She blushed and hid her smile with a well practiced 'bashful hand' pose.


He blushed and dipped down. "Uh, you, you look amazing, Deevs. Where did you get the dress? And, how are you a jolteon right now if you haven't found my gift? I took our only lightning stone with me."


She slowly lowered her other hand to her belt where a pouch hung with wires running along the belt to the other side. She swayed to reveal the small capsules wired up on the other hip. "I am charging the batteries with my electricity. I designed it myself, but I had help in town making it. And the dress, well, that's why I went to town. Jessica made it for me."


Dave was stunned. When he'd left Deeveeate could barely refer to herself as 'I' and here she was already integrating herself into human society on her own. Part of him was jealous, … jealous? He couldn't quite identify the first emotion, but he was definitely proud of her. "That's amazing, Deevs."


She held one wrist with the other hand down at her waist. "Um, I, I also did other things. A lot has changed this week. I still love you, and want to travel with you, be with you, in all ways, but, I need to tell you some things, and I'm not sure how you will take it. To me, it was fine, is, fine, but apparently humans don't think so?"


Dave walked up out of the water with confidence. "Deevs, I love you, and we just need to talk about things, ya know? I trust you. I can't promise I won't get mad, I might get mad and storm off, yes, but I won't stay mad if we talk things through. Whatever it is, I understand that you are new to being a person, our ways are strange to you. So, let's go to camp and talk."


She held up her hand to show a ring on a specific finger. "I got married. She understands that I can't stay, that my heart is with you. But I am now a citizen, and a Pokémon Trainer. My legal name is now Deevon Veroen the Eighth, but I mostly go by my initials, DV8."


"You, you got…" Dave leaned against the rock for support. "… she… Trainer?" As he started to topple forward he was caught by a pair of green vines. In his confused haze he saw Deevs holding out a pokéball, a bulbasaur at her feet.


"Sorry, I'd have caught you myself, but I'm still channeling a lot of electricity, and you are still pretty wet. Bulbasaur, bring him to camp, he's in shock." She picked up her books and his towel and balls.


While Bulbasaur lay Dave down, DV8 devolved into her younger looking Eevee form and rooted through his pack. Pulling out a few balls she laid them out and asked, "Clee, I think Dave could use your help." One of the orbs shook and DV8 picked it up pressing the release.


A giant Clefairy appeared, standing at least 8 feet tall, and walked to the tent. Clee lightly kicked Dave's foot a couple times before radiating light from their egg. Clee waddled back to DV8 and shrunk back into the ball.


DV8 flipped the switch on her belt and touched her sunshard fragment. Her short brown legs, mostly hidden under the large sundress, elongated into beautifully delicate lime green legs that left flashed her panties to the world. Her vulpine ears extended giving her an alien feline aesthetic as the red gem appeared between almond shaped blueish-black eyes. She always liked that her Espeon form was the rare 'shiny' variety, though why being green was called 'shiny' she still did not understand.


Approaching Dave's tent she saw herself in the mirror. <Hmm, I guess I forgot how tall this form is since Leafeon is so much more… curvaceous. Wonder if Jessica can do anything about showing my parties like this. She was pretty adamant that it's a bad thing to do in public.>


She laydown with Dave's unconscious form and placed her gem to his forehead.


In a city of shifting buildings DV8 could see Dave walking around the edges of the central park. He called out for her, but no sound emerged. The only sound was that of the buildings moving all about. Every time Dave got to the end of the park he would appear at the other end to restart his search.


DV8 slowly floated down to the park to interrupt the loop. <I AM HERE DAVID.> The voice echoed ethereally through the mindscape until she focused the thought-speech to only come from her body.


 Dave turned to see her, the worry mostly fading from his panicked face as she descended. He mouthed words that were drowned out by the buildings, but she could hear his intent as he expressed his joy to find her. He'd been searching for what felt like weeks.


Touching her gem to his forehead the buildings seemed to vanish, the park becoming lit by a large full moon, the sounds of urban nature at night all around them.


"I thought I'd lost you."


<Well I am here now, Dave. What is the last thing you remember?>


Dave was confused by the question but decided to humor her. He then realized that the memory was far more hazy than he'd expected. "Uh, well, we were talking, in the park, and, you had a dress. Some woman took you? Jessica? And, you're a Trainer, with a Bulbasaur?"


<That is close. We were in the forest.> Waving her hand down her body the sundress appeared. She then waved to the side to show a brown haired woman in a similar dress smiling at her. The florist's dress then changed into a stylized kimono holding a bouquet. She kneeled at an altar and on the other side kneeled DV8's leafeon form in a similar kimono.


A priest jangled her staff over each of their heads and tapped their clasped hands. "And now rise. The Temple proudly presents the Ladies Vereon. Jessica and her wife, Deevon the Eight. May your happy union bring prosperity and growth to your House, our community, and our nation."


Dave looked on as the priest sagely stroked her fake beard and the gathered people clapped and bowed to the new brides. He then saw the wedding band form on DV8's finger. "So, she… took you… from me? I'm still having trouble remembering this. Did I attend your wedding?"


<No, Dave. Had I known how important it was I would have wanted you there, would have discussed it with you first. This memory is the best I can grant in retrospect. She told me that night how humans normally only marry one person. How she felt she'd betrayed my naivety of human ways even though she knew she could not keep me. But I am not human, and I would like to marry you too, Dave.>


Remembering more, Dave looked to her hips where a belt formed with the curious contraption she had devised to empower her various forms. As intrigued as he was by that marvel, his mind cast further back. A trio of pokéballs materialized. "How did you become a Trainer?"


The world started to shake and rumble, but Dave didn't seem to notice. That must have been the trigger. <I am not the first Pokémon this nation has recognized as a person.> The calm trees of the forest flickered, almost revealing the churning city beyond. <The process, tests, and forms had all been established. When I got married I became a citizen and could thus apply to be a Trainer.> The façade remained around them, so she tried to push another detail. <I am the first Eevee yo be a person, but it also helped that I am the first poképerson who cannot be contained in a pokéball.>


That did it. The forest shuddered all around and a loud meowing filled the airwaves with a sense of despair. Tracking the silent emanation, DV8 spun to face the antagonist. She was slightly surprised to see a white feline with muted dark blue accents. <Oh, I had anticipated a ghost type, not psychic.>


Dave followed her gaze to look upon the random meowstic standing in the park. "If you expected a ghost, why didn't you come as Umbreon?"


<Because Umbreon cannot enter your mind.>


Dave blinked as he contemplated, "This is all in…" With the realization settling the façade fell completely, the trees and the quiet quickly overtaken by the rumbling city spinning all around them. The park itself twisted into a crude mockery of a gym arena. "How, when?"


<Windie and Clee told me about the attack on your way out of the city. This meowstic must have been sent into your mind with orders to bring me back for Team Rocket.>


"But since you are a person, that would be kidnapping, and being a Trainer, your movements are tracked by the government here. That would be far too much attention for even Team Rocket. She doesn't know what to do now."


<And thus, she is lashing out in frustration upon your mind. Team Rocket are not known for being kind to those who fail them. She fears their retribution.>


"But surely, by now she knows that if she kills me, they will never find the Cave of Wisdom."


The meowstic frowned with a mirthful laugh. DV8 translated for her, <She says that the Wisdom Stones are of no use to Team Rocket if this, meaning me, is what they do to Pokémon. Team Rocket seeks the obedience of powerful and rare Pokémon, such as the many you have collected, not to create new free willed people. Since they have no use of you, she means to shred your mind so you cannot enlighten others. This is the only way she might avoid punishment for failing to bring me in. She also says that I am an abomination upon what it means to be Pokémon.>


Dave pointed at the meowstic, "Yeah, you are."


<She meant me.>


"I know what she meant, and she's wrong. She believes Team Rocket's lies, that Pokémon are meant to be controlled by strong humans. But that isn't what Trainers are about, we forge a relationship and teach Pokémon so that humans and Pokémon can grow stronger together. You, DV8, are everything Trainers have tried to achieve for generations."


The city sped up, pulling in upon the arena and slowly breaking its outer walls. <She is destroying your mind, Dave, and I don't have the power to stop her in here.>


Dave gripped her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "You are what Team Rocket hates and fears, you are my Truth, you are my Love. I believe you can stop them, with or without me. You are strong, not because you are Pokémon, not because of your devolution ability, or being Shiny, but because of yourself, your own drive and desire. Your passion will see you through; even if I die here today, I am glad I got to love you."


A tear welled up from her giant almond eye and fell to his hand on her shoulder. Touching her forehead to his, she suddenly devolved into her eevee form. "I believe in your belief in me." Evolving again, she remained small before him, but other arms reached around him from behind and each side. Pulling apart from him, all eight eeveelutions looked to the meowstic while the eevee kept holding Dave's hand.


The meowstic cried out in audible fear before running. She tried to summon trees again to cover her escape, but between Espeon and Umbreon countering her mental command and Flareon burning the trees that did appear, Jolteon and Vaporeon managed to circle around the feline and corner her against the thicccness of Leafeon and Sylveon. Glaceon then formed a prison of ice.


Sylveon lowered her ribbons to the frozen meowstics head. The city's rumbling slowed as the buildings backed off, a palpable pressure releasing from the mental air. Umbreon and Espeon pried into her mind, going deeper and deeper until they found the seed of the lies on which she based her view of the world.


Planting a new seed, the eeveelutions nurtured it with love and compassion within the meowstics mind. She would never even know they had been there.


Slowly, Dave began to wake holding DV8's Espeon form in his tent, wearing her dress, her shard belt, and her wedding ring. He didn't remember quite everything that had happened in the mindscape, but he knew enough and he held his love tight, pondering if she would wear his wedding ring on the same finger, same hand, other hand… But there would be plenty of time to discuss that later.


The meowstic curled atop his head stretched and yawned. DV8 yawned with her and reached up to scritch under her chin before giving Dave a kiss on the cheek. "Her name is Ms. Muffin-Butt, or Muffy is fine. I blocked most of her traumatic memories. As she becomes ready to face them she will have me slowly return them to her. But for now, she wants to be my second Pokémon. I will teach her as you have taught me."