The night can hide many things.
Sin, desire, conspiracy, and existences beyond common sense.
In the wild countryside, shadows gathered unnaturally, like murky liquid flowing in darkness, or massive black clumps. Anyone faint of heart would scream in terror.
Yet the boy standing within them, Yuzaki, felt no discomfort. Instead, he wore an excited grin, his red tongue flicking across the corner of his mouth—an expression that could only be described as... perverted!
The shadows seemed enraged by his reaction, surging and roiling, ready to spray his face.
But just before the shadows could strike, a brilliant white light flared in the darkness.
Pure, clean, starkly contrasting with the surrounding filth.
Where the light passed, the corruption retreated, carving out a sanctuary around the boy.
Yuzaki looked toward the source, his expression softening instantly. "Thank you, Kirlia."
"Kirlia~"
Accompanied by a crisp response, a peculiar girl emerged from the light.
She wore a white dancer's dress, her limbs impossibly slender by human standards.
Her hair was emerald green, adorned with red spikes arranged like hair accessories. Her eyes, also red, radiated a charm beyond human capability.
Kirlia danced lightly around Yuzaki in a circle. Though she made no sound, Yuzaki could clearly understand what she wanted to express.
As she floated to his side, he skillfully reached out and rubbed her head.
"No need to hold back. It's useless now. Sorry for suppressing you for so long. This time, let it all out."
"Kirlia~"
Kirlia nodded gently, her seemingly weightless body rising higher.
Meanwhile, the white light around her began to distort, rippling with irregular yet more brilliant rainbow colors.
Unlike the previous expulsion, these rainbows were more domineering. The shadows lurking in the darkness had no time to retreat before being swept up by the colors, ground into dust-like particles.
An evening breeze blew, carrying the dust away without a trace.
"Good work, Kirlia."
Yuzaki opened his arms to the slowly descending girl. She leaped lightly into his embrace, her "Kirlia Kirlia" cries now carrying a coquettish tone.
Yuzaki first lifted her high, then pressed his forehead against hers, his clear black-and-white eyes staring unblinkingly at this wonderful being who had always been by his side, whispering:
"This is the last time I'll call you by this name. Next time I call you, it'll be by another name."
After speaking, the boy closed his eyes. In the familiar darkness, a status screen appeared before him. The number that had stayed at 29 for so long finally ticked up to 30.
"Level thirty, finally. Come, I can't wait to see the new you."
"Kirlia!"
Like an elegant ballet dancer, Kirlia spun away from Yuzaki's embrace, lifted her skirt with both hands, and curtsied.
In the next instant, pure white light once again enveloped her petite form.
When the light dispersed, the girl was no longer small.
Her height had grown from 80 centimeters to 160 centimeters, her limbs becoming more slender.
Her hair, dress, and decorative colors remained the same, but the combination appeared more mature.
If Kirlia were an underage girl, then now she was an adult noble lady.
The lady maintained her aristocratic curtsey, greeting him with a more mature voice and pronunciation.
"Gar~"
Yuzaki's posture remained unchanged, but the excitement on his face couldn't be hidden.
Eight years. A full eight years. He had finally waited for this moment.
A perennial top contender in Pokémon popularity polls, number one on the Pokémon wife list, first in fan art count, and a member of the "Humans can't, at least shouldn't" series.
Beautiful, obedient, powerful... she single-handedly bridged the gap between Pokémon and Digimon.
Unconsciously, the corners of his mouth began to curve upward again.
Fortunately, he caught himself when he saw Gardevoir's puzzled profile and her half-step backward.
Whether Gardevoir or Kirlia, even the previous stage Ralts, they were all extraordinarily sensitive to emotions—preferring positive, sunny feelings while disliking negative, dark ones.
Yuzaki didn't want his unconscious thoughts to affect Gardevoir.
"Congratulations, Gardevoir."
"Gar~"
These words seemed to flip some strange switch, as Gardevoir skillfully pounced on him.
But now with adult height, she no longer needed Yuzaki to lift her high to meet his eyes. Standing on her tiptoes, she could press her forehead against his.
That wasn't all. After expressing affection for a while, Gardevoir exerted strength with both hands and actually lifted Yuzaki up.
"Hey, hey, this feels a bit unusual."
At first, Yuzaki wanted to resist, but catching sight of Gardevoir's joyful expression, he let her have her way.
"As long as you're happy. Before, you sat on my shoulders, then I carried or piggybacked you. Now it's your turn to lift me—it's nice."
Hearing this, Gardevoir became even happier, reversing everything Yuzaki had done to her before.
The shoulder-sitting from her Ralts childhood.
The being lifted, princess carries, and piggyback rides from her Kirlia adolescence.
Though Yuzaki was now sixteen and had long since passed 170 centimeters in height, Gardevoir performed these actions without any sense of incongruity.
Because Gardevoir had another nickname: the "Psychic Queen." She possessed psychic powers, able to twist and crush enemies at will with telekinesis. Lifting a person was child's play.
At the end of their play, Gardevoir maintained a floating state with Yuzaki, asking in her rustling voice:
"Good, let's go home."
Yuzaki stretched lazily. Though his posture was relaxed, Gardevoir, who had lived with him for eight years, could sense the excitement beneath his languor.
She had only seen Yuzaki like this twice before.
Once, when she first appeared, he jumped and shouted, "After so much bad luck, finally some good!" and "Ralts, Kirlia, Gardevoir are the best!"
And now, though he expressed nothing, it surpassed expression.
Though she didn't quite understand why her master was so happy, Gardevoir didn't mind.
If her master was happy, she was happy. She was the most loyal Pokémon, after all.
With a gentle motion of her hands, under telekinetic power, the boy and girl floated together toward home.
In the past, Yuzaki had led her home when she was small. Now that she had grown, she could do many things she couldn't before.
Their home was nothing special—an ordinary single-story house with a gravel path in front and flowers planted on both sides.
Not expensive items, but carefully tended, giving their ordinary little home a unique charm.
Since they flew back, Yuzaki and Gardevoir didn't use the front door; instead, they floated directly into his room.
With Gardevoir's psychic powers, even if the window was locked from inside, opening it was no difficult task, and it left no traces.
Back on solid ground, Yuzaki tapped Gardevoir's forehead: "It's getting late. Let's sleep first. Tomorrow we'll find a chance to talk to Mother."
Before he finished speaking, the door across from the window opened, accompanied by:
"No need. If you have something to say, you can say it now."
<><><><><><><><><>
Add to Library
Leave a review/comment if you like the story.
Bonus chaps for every 100 Power Stones!
Read advance chapters at Patreon.com/Yuuma046