Brandy really liked Danièle, but sadly, she was gone. Stolen. Never to be returned.
She was up on Marina's shoulders, clutching the Lapras's head so tightly she couldn't see. Tess, Mahi, and Holly were clustered around her, giving her legs and ass comforting squeezes as they all praised her getting on Brandy's team. Or at least that's what Brandy hoped they were saying. Knowing Mahi, they were probably filling her head with some evil ideas too.
"They'll give her back eventually," Maple said, sitting on the pile of backpacks. She looked exhausted but contentedly so. Like she was at the end of a big holiday when you were just eager for a hot shower and a comfy bed to curl up in. "I had my bets on Adrianna, you know? You are overdue a horse girl."
"So are you! Are you sure you didn't just want her horn to stick around?" Brandy said with a grin and got a backpack lobbed at her. A little touch of Super Luck let her catch the flying backpack, slide her arm through a strap, and swing it around to put it on in one smooth motion. "I knew it! You got a thing for them."
"And you got a thing for everything," Maple said and poked out her tongue, wiggling it at Brandy.
"Had better."
Maple laughed, but it was the barking, hot laugh of someone who couldn't quite believe the joke she'd heard.
There was a yelp as Marina held onto Dani's legs and dangled her upside down, letting the trio around her kiss her and squeeze her chest. She didn't sound unhappy about it at all, so Brandy didn't need to step in. Brandy was keeping an eye out. Dani was her partner now, and she wasn't going to let people take advantage of her good nature. Not unless Dani was into it.
"Sounds like nobody is working up there!" Sparky yelled from below as she helped Calcine tie off the boat while Morgan organized a Recycle Move for them with the harbourmaster. Or at least that's what she should be doing, the bird was currently getting her hat fondled by a wiry lady with black and green streaked hair that was cropped jaggedly to keep it out of her face. Brandy liked her boots, big steel-toed things that looked great for stomping. Maybe she could find a pair here somewhere, if there was one thing Spikemuth's Punks and Goths agreed on it was how important good, heavy footwear was.
Sparky was also right, they weren't doing any work. But only because they'd all insisted the Trainers took a breather. Sparky was just trying to tease her, the not-so-little scamp.
"I'm looking after Dani!" Brandy yelled back. "She's in the clutches of monsters."
"That's hardly fair, Marina is lovely," Maple said. Not even trying to aruge that the rest weren't monsters. At least Maple knew the team she was building. "Girls! Give Dani back, please, I want to go to the city."
"Us Water Types stick together!"
"Tess, you're not even a Water Type!"
"Wow! Wow." the purple bunny popped her head up from the kissing pile. "You're buying me a cheesecake for that."
"All of us!" Holly said.
"Nope, just me. You all have to sit there and watch me eat it."
Maple pinched her nose and sighed as Tess was dragged down by Holly and Mahi, giggling madly as they blew raspberries on her fur. Brandy gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder. Controlling a big team was tough, but Maple was an incredible talent she'd work it out. The best Brandy could do is give tips.
"Buy her a cheesecake, but insist you feed it to her with a fork," Brandy said. "It'll drive her wild."
Maple leaned up to kiss Brandy's forearm. It was just a quick peck, leaving a vivid blue lipstick smudge on Brandy's arm. "C'mon, grab Dani, and let's make a move. I want to get off this boat before a Ranger finds out where all the Sea Pokémon came from and comes glare at us."
Unleashing the Sea friends they'd made in the city hadn't ever been the plan, but most of them had been keen to show Ara around the place, so they'd taken off before the ship even reached the docks. It was probably for the best. The goodbyes would have put Maple and Brandy in the Center, and Adrianna already had plans for all those nurses. Service there was about to get really slow.
Getting Dani back was easy enough. Marina dropped her into Brandy's waiting arms and replaced her empty shoulders with a beautiful blonde Trainer. Maple's Pokémon had picked up some of her style, and Dani's skin was covered in blue, neon green, and purple lipstick. She matched the city before them, glowing bright with all those colorful lights. Though now the sun was starting to set, Brandy could see that a lot of the city wasn't lit at all. It had looked like dull office space from a distance, but the dark brought out the strange angles of their construction, the way they lurked amongst all the neon's shadows. Just from looks alone, you could see Spikemuth was a city divided between the peppy light and gloomy dark.
"You ready?" Brandy asked the Magikarp, melting in her arms.
"Nope." Dani said, "But let's go anyway."
Incredible answer. Dani was going to fit into this team just fine.
---
"Holy fuck." Sparky said reverentially. "This city is huge."
Brandy was pretty darn shocked as well. Spikemuth had been a lot smaller when she'd visited as a kid. The place had grown a lot. Graffiti-covered walls were everywhere; they'd clearly had care put into them. For every scene of a brawling legend, there was also a sweet scene of a tough-looking Pokémon holding up a lady to kiss or sharing a bite of a donut. The people in the art were probably real, and all around them were little comical-looking doodles simpering over them. Bright and eye-catching, just like the people walking through the streets, their faces and bodies are painted as brightly as their clothing, or even tattooed with enough color to make the eyes ache. It wasn't just the teens; it was almost everyone, even the moms with arms of shopping bags and a kid dangling off each leg, who were painted up like art pieces. It made Brandy feel plain , like a blank canvas.
"It's got a charm to it," Morgan said, her eyes wandering just as badly as Sparky. Her tastes ran in completely the other direction. Cutting through all the colour like icebreakers, were women who even Brandy found hard not to just goggle at. Their pale skin gleamed under the bright lighting, wrapped up in black lace and leather that hugged bodies curvy enough to give Sparky a run for her money. They weren't all tall, but those that weren't wore towering boots studded with silver to make up the difference. Heavy eyeliner and deep red or black lipstick were applied artfully to give their faces a deep, undeniable confidence. They didn't make way for people because they sent people scattering, and while Brandy was sure it wasn't easy to get those ladies to smile, Morgan was picking up a few from those that passed, tipping her witch hat to them as they strode past.
"I could go for those boots," Calcine said. "Think the makeup would be wasted on me."
"You're tall enough," Brandy said, giving Calcine's butt a pat. She just snorted at the idea, which was fair. She had been several feet taller once before, and the gleaming red Fire Stone she wore on her necklace was ready to let her unleash her Coalossal form again. "We need to get rooms from the Center, but we're in no rush. What do people want to do?"
"Get tossed into a crowd and savaged worse than a buffet at a Snorlax convention," Sparky said with zero hesitation.
"Let's wait to get arrested until tomorrow," Calcine said, giving Sparky's neck a massage with a firm hand. "I'm sure someone can savage you."
If Sparky's grin got any wider, the top of her head would fall off.
"Tess got cheesecake." Dani said, "Can I buy you all some? I have money."
"Dani, you're my new favorite," Morgan said.
"You didn't like us much anyway!" Sparky huffed. "Aloof bird."
"Well, you never bought me cheesecake. It's amazing I even recognize your existence."
"Dani," Sparky fluttered her eyes. "Buy Morgan a cheesecake so I can eat it."
"I don't want to cause trouble!"
"Wrong crowd for that," Brandy laughed, hugging the Magikarp. "You buy, I'll stop them from starting a war."
Or try anyway. This city did seem the place to cause a bit of trouble. It was only so long before that happened.