Pewter City was bigger than I’d expected.
Not that it was anything like a proper metropolis, especially having seen Saffron City with my own two eyes only a few days ago. But after spending so long surrounded by trees, seeing so many buildings gathered in one place was a welcome change, like a return to the land of the living. And the land of the living it was. There were Trainers everywhere, unlike the quiet streets of Viridian.
“S-so many…” I murmured, absent-mindedly stroking Maple’s soft, warm fur as she lay quietly in my arms.
“That would be because it’s the start of the season,” Charlotte commented. “Viridian’s usually fairly empty until later on because its Gym only opens for the second leg of the Challenge.”
“It does?” I asked, quite surprised by the news.
“Right. You probably missed it because you wanted to skip the type weakness so early on in your Challenge,” Charlotte speculated. “Well, it appears the Gym Leader’s a busy guy who only accepts challengers with a proven track record. Since a lot of Trainers give up by the third badge, if not earlier, I get where he’s coming from. I can’t agree with that attitude for a Leader, though,” she concluded spitefully.
I supposed the Galarian mentality was kicking in, and smiled in amusement. I wondered if she was a battle junkie herself as I continued looking around while we entered the city proper.
Most of the buildings were painted in muted shades of grey, beige and brown, which made the occasional splash of colour stand out all the more, like the Pokécentre’s red roof or the shops’ blue ones. The mountains towering over the city were impressive, though. They made the buildings look positively tiny, to say nothing of Mount Moon, visible on the horizon to the east.
“First time in a mountainous area?” Charlotte asked.
We’d been talking a lot as we walked over the past day. I was starting to feel somewhat comfortable speaking with her. Well, as comfortable as I could get, anyway. At least I wasn’t as scared that she would bully me anymore… She’d had plenty of opportunities and had remained nice all along. After all, she even had… pictures. I gulped.
“Of th-this scale, y-yes,” I replied.
The land between Aquacorde and Santalune was rather flat, and the mountains surrounding Ambrette Town didn’t hold a candle to Mount Moon.
“I get that. The snowy peaks of the mountains surrounding Galar’s Route 10 had me picking my jaw up off the floor as well,” she chuckled.
“W-will you challenge B-Brock, too?”
I hesitated for a moment. I still needed to train, especially once I received Fletchling. Fire wasn’t exactly effective against Rock, and a Flying type would be a glaring vulnerability.
I ultimately shook my head. “N-not me. I-I need to t-train Fletchy a-and come up with a strat.”
“Hmm. Makes sense. I’ve got the type advantage and experience, but I think you’re right to wait a bit,” Charlotte reflected, striking a thoughtful pose. “I’ll wait too. No point in going if we can’t be together. And getting some Trainer battles in for practice never hurts,” she decided before suddenly turning on her heels and pointing ahead. “Onwards to the Centre, then!”
I giggled lightly at her attitude. She had these bouts of playfulness that made her an absolute delight.
“W-what t-type?” I asked her. It occurred to me that I’d yet to meet any of her Pokémon.
“Grass. I had a Sprigatito egg sent to me by a breeder friend in Paldea. She fits right in with my oldest friend, so I chose her as my starter for this Challenge. I’ll let you meet her later tonight, at the dorms.”
My eyes were already shining at the prospect. Sprigatito were utterly adorable, although they were known for having rather distinct personalities.
“W-who’s your oldest—”
“Meowstic,” she replied with gleaming pride. “Met her as a little Espurr when I wasn’t much taller than three stacked apples myself. We’ve been together ever since. I got her a Luxury Ball a few years back, so she’s been fine resting for this Challenge so far. But if she gets restless, I’ll have to find myself an experienced Trainer to battle.”
Based on that, I assumed they’d fought in the Galarian semis together. If that was the case, Meowstic must have been one well-trained Pokémon.
When we finally reached the Pokémon Centre, we were greeted by a rather significant queue. Significant enough that a second Nurse Joy and her Chansey were helping out as well. It didn’t take us too long to get a dorm key. I left Caterpie with Chansey and followed Charlotte into the Centre’s corridors. We’d call Mum tomorrow to arrange the trade and introduce my beautiful girl friend… I smiled at the thought of turning that into a single word someday in the future.
Reaching the dorms took a bit longer than we’d expected, simply because the Centre was packed. Trainers were coming and going from the dormitories, and getting through the corridors was frankly a bit of a pain. There were too many people for my taste, but I realised I’d have to grow used to seeing and meeting people during my journey.
Our dorm had a similar setup to the one in Viridian, although this one had eight double bunks arranged in two rows of four, one on either side of the room. So far, a good portion seemed to be occupied, and judging by the Trainers’ belongings strewn about, it appeared to be fairly evenly split between boys and girls. The only bunk with both beds free, though, was the second from the back on the left side of the door, between two boys.
Charlotte didn’t seem to care. She strutted over confidently and claimed the bottom bed, turning to me with a little smirk.
“You’ll take the top. And I want you to wear a nightie rather than a two-piece—You know what? Scratch that.” She rummaged through her bag for a moment and pulled out the button-up top from a pair of pyjamas. “You’ll wear that.”
My first thought, when I took the shirt from her, was that I’d be wearing something of hers. I supposed my smile betrayed me, too, judging by the satisfied look she gave me. That was until I recognised the cut as one typical of women’s pyjamas with shorts: in other words, the sort whose hem reached just below the navel. Given our height difference, that meant the shirt’s hem would reach, at best, the front of my knickers.
By the time my expression had shifted to one of worry, Charlotte had already looked away, probably taking my initial, enthusiastic smile as approval. I looked around the room at the boys’ belongings and the few who were already there, lounging about, cuddling their Pokémon or scrolling on their phones, and gulped. What was she playing at? Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping(.)com.
She finished whatever it was one did when setting up a little corner in a dorm, sat on the bed and crossed her legs, one foot dangling.
“Take off my shoes,” she told me, not even bothering to look up as she started scrolling on her phone.
I cast a glance around the room, though none of our room-mates seemed to have registered her request. Then I knelt in front of her and undid her shoes before carefully slipping them off her feet. The sight of her socked feet, along with the faint warmth and scent wafting from them, provoked a reaction between my legs. Charlotte switched legs, and I repeated the process.
“Take my socks off, too. I’ll let you keep these ones. You’re in charge of doing the laundry for my socks from now on,” she stated matter-of-factly. “Make sure you give me the old ones back, clean.”
I saw one of the boys glance over at me, but I ignored him, feeling my ears turn red, and reached for the top of her sock, where it disappeared beneath her skirt. I slowly peeled it off, revealing her shapely, soft, hairless leg all the way down to her foot.
It was my first time seeing them bare from above, and they were objectively beautiful, however little I thought I cared about feet. Her toenails were so well cared for that I was sure she must have had a professional pedicure recently. As she spread and flexed her toes to stretch them, the little tendons stood out, thin and sharp, while the faint blue veins across the tops of her feet lent them an impression of finesse and fragility.
“Oh, stop it, you! You’ll make me blush,” Charlotte giggled, tapping her bare toes lightly against my lips.
I quickly folded the sock and put it aside, reaching for the second and repeating the process until the beautiful girl’s legs were bare up to her skirt. I folded the second sock with the first and tucked them away beneath my pillow, my ears burning with shame. I knew it was… wrong… Well, not wrong, exactly, but not normal either.
Charlotte herself had never mentioned needing… that to get pleasure. But now I was beginning to understand something. It wasn’t that I’d always been particularly interested in feet. I’d never given them much thought at all. Somehow, though, I’d started associating her feet, the warmth and scent of her socks, the way she asked me to take them off, with the attention she gave me whenever I obeyed and the ultimate pleasure of my orgasms. And now, even the simple act of removing her shoes was enough to make my body react.
I was wet.
The realisation made my stomach flutter with a mixture of embarrassment and something I was reluctant to name. I hadn’t consciously decided that I wanted this. I hadn’t even noticed when the association had formed. Yet here I was, kneeling in front of her, blushing at a boy’s passing glance and hiding her socks beneath my pillow as though they were precious treasures. Had I really trained myself to crave the scent of her socks whenever I got… excited? Or had Charlotte known exactly what she was doing all along?
Based on the way she looked at me, I was sure she had at least an inkling.
She stood up, bending forward a little and bringing her lips to my ear once more.
“Good girl,” she whispered, in a tone that made me shudder and crave her acknowledgement even more.
She straightened up, slipped back into her enthusiastic, playful demeanour and winked at me as she announced, “Shall we head to the showers?”