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Was this it? Was this Finally, the place where you two would be accepted.
It was a dark alleyway like somewhere someone would get murdered in a movie.
You were worried, right? You shouldn’t be. Your girlfriend was right beside you, someone who’d you've known ever since you were 5, back when she was just a Ralts. I mean, it’s only natural that you both would fall in love with someone you’ve known your entire life… right?
But you still remember, remember when you told your parents, they were horrified, the sounds of your mother crying and your dad shouting at you to get out of his house and never come back still ring in your mind.
And once you told them, everyone in town knew you just couldn’t live a normal life anymore, not with the weird looks you got even when you weren’t out with your girlfriend.
Your limit was when someone graffitied your house.
'Pokephiles belong in the Distortion World.'
It hurt to know that no one would accept you two.
So were you going to break up and pretend that this never happened… you considered it but you knew just how much your Gardevoir loves you, and you just couldn’t do that to her.
After months of planning and saving, you both finally decided to move to Sinnoh.
But it's not like Sinnoh was more accepting; as Hoenn, well, it was, but not by much, but there were rumours about a spike in Human-Pokémon relationships in the region, and recently there were rumours about an underground club in which that type of stuff was allowed.
But those were just rumours… right?
Right?
“We’re here now, babe." Looking over towards your girlfriend, she had a smile, not so much of happiness but more so of relief.
You knocked on the metal door exactly eight times.
You could hear someone opening a bunch of locks more than you even thought were possible on a door, but finally a man appeared from behind.
He was a big man, the type you’d see in a gang, but you already knew he was the person you were looking for.
“Yes, hello, me and my… girlfriend want to… join the club."
A nod was given by the bouncer as he showed you both the way down a long staircase.
“You nervous?," you asked your girlfriend.
She just shook her head, giving you the confidence to finally go inside.
As you two walked further down, you could hear the music blasting from inside, just like any other club, but when you finally got inside, you saw just what you were hoping for.
Humans with their partners and you understood something you’ve been suspicious of for the longest time.
The lie you were told ever since you were young, that people in these types of relationships were unhappy, especially the Pokemon, but you could’ve disproved yourself, but just seeing other people and Pokemon who were happy made all these feelings feel even more valid.
You saw all types of relationships: a man with his Mismagius girlfriend, a woman with her human husband AND her Cacturne boyfriend, a girl and her Lilligant, a guy with his little Phantump boyfriend and even a man with his… Jirachi?
"Wow, even mythical Pokémon are ok with this," you thought to yourself.
Eventually, after just wandering around, a man approached you.
“Excuse me, are you ok? You've just been wandering around aimlessly." He seemed quite concerned.
“Oh, sorry, it’s just that I’m new here and have never seen so many relationships like this in one place," you answered him.
"Yeah, most people are like that on their first time here." He seemed to genuinely understand how it felt.
“You know what? Since it’s your first time here, I’ll buy you a drink completely on me." You've never received this kind of offer before, let alone from a stranger.
You, your girlfriend and the man all sat down at his table with his Lucario.
“So how long have you and your Gardevoir been together?"
"Well, we’ve known each other since we were both really young. My parents got me her for my 5th birthday, but we didn’t realise there were romantic feelings until we started travelling together on our Pokémon journey, and even then it took a few years."
“Same here, Lucario was my first Pokemon I got when I was a kid, but funnily enough, he was my first crush."
“Really!” You answered in surprise; even Gardevoir was a bit surprised by this.
"Yeah, I discovered these feelings when I was only 13, but my parents scolded me for that." He was looking down at the floor when saying all this; it's clear he’s also been through a lot.
“But when he finally evolved, that’s when I finally acted on those feelings, and luckily he felt the same way, but when my parents discovered me and him sleeping in the same bed cuddling, well, they didn’t exactly treat me the same after that."
"Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that." You understood his exact situation.
"Don't worry, I’m fine now. I’d rather be with my husband than my parents."
“HUSBAND?!” You and Gardevoir didn’t even know that was possible.
“Well technically it’s not a legal marriage, but it’s good enough for us." His Lucario was holding his hand tight at this point.
“So is this really a place where we can open with our love?" quickly changing the subject to be honest, "You were a bit jealous.
“Obviously everyone in here knows that that type of love is genuine."
“Of course, but another question is that actually Jirachi over there," you said while pointing to the man and his Jirachi
“The Jirachi says he’s the actual Jirachi, but we just don’t believe him; it’s obvious, just a Ditto." He squinted his eyes at the couple in the corner; to be honest, he wasn’t entirely convinced it was a Ditto.
And looking over to see Gardevoir and Lucario having a conversation with each other, you could see Gardevoir's eye light up when Lucario told her something, but you couldn’t exactly tell what was said.
“You seem excited, babe." you could see a wide smile across her face as she looked at you.
Before you could even question it, you could feel the full force of her body push you up against the wall.
"Gardevoir, what are you doi-?" you were cut off by a kiss.
It was happening; you were both kissing in front of other people, and they weren’t shouting at you.
This place was the exact place you’ve needed for so long.