197 – A Particular Set of Volleyball Skills

197 – A Particular Set of Volleyball Skills

They were at a stalemate, but Brandy didn't care. Everyone was having a ton of fun playing beach volleyball, which made Brandy's heart sing. She'd been worried they'd find it dull, but even Mahi had a smile on her face as she caught the ball in a sudden gushing waterfall, Calcine bursting through it, steam hissing off her body as she punched it clear over the net.

It wasn't enough to break the defense of Brandy's team. Maple had taken one side of the court and Brandy the other, with Holly and Sparky darting between them to cover the back and front. Sparky, with her Agility, was light enough on her feet to be anywhere in a flash, while Holly could hop up absurdly high without even the slightest run-up. Gracefully trailing through the air to slam back shots with a cackling punch. The bouncy mouse-girl could reach heights even Brandy couldn't, and Maple was preening as her Pokémon became the star of the Trainers team.

"You're moving so quick," Maple said as Brandy slid one arm outstretched to punch the ball to her. "And you haven't missed a punch yet."

"I'm really good at Volleyball," Brandy grinned as Maple laid the ball into the air. Sparky slung out a web for Holly to jump on, the springy strand letting her bounce even higher to drop a shot deep into the other team's lines. Wind and Water washed up to save the ball so they could throw it back.

"No, that's not it," Maple said as she danced on her feet, keeping herself ready to move at a moment's notice. "Every shot you've done has been near perfect, even at an awkward angle. You're quick and limber. Your inheritance is showing."

Brandy knew her eyes were extraordinary, an inheritance from Sparky, but she hadn't played with them much. She remembered she could catch cards thrown at her on the train. Did it help her hit things as well as see really well? She wasn't really a Trainer to wade in with fists into a fight, but maybe there was something useful she could do with a very precise touch. Brandy looked at the golden-haired Maple and blushed. Yeah, it's definitely something to experiment with.

"You're a bit of a monster yourself," Brandy grinned as she watched Marina freeze part of Mahi's wave and snap off a long icicle even taller than she was. It reformed under her hands into a long, smooth staff, and she planted it like a flag in the middle of their court. Mahi used Morgan's wind to scale it, twirling nimbly until she was high enough to bat the ball out of the air and back their way.

Maple smashed it back with one heavy wind-up punch, cracking right through the ice pole below the hanging Mahi and sending her tumbling down with a yelp. "TRAINER BETRAYAL."

"Mahi, Aqua Veil!" Maple yelled, a water bubble popping up around Mahi and lightly deadening her fall as she splashed onto the sand below. Maple flexed an arm at Brandy. It was still as skinny as ever. "I was always a Mom's girl, took after her strong. But I love the attention you're paying me. Compliment me more."

"Trainer betraaaayal," Mahi groaned as the water pooled around her, soaking into the sand. "You'll pay for it."

Maple just blew her kisses, Mahi catching them and munching on them noisily as she let the water drip off her body. Maple laughed and turned back to Brandy, looking expectant. "No compliments? Do I have to remind you of my good points?"

"I need to save some compliments for tonight," Brandy said as Sparky and Holly fielded the ball this time. Sparky dived low along the sand to punch it up, and Holly bounced over Maple's head to smash it home. She hopped back for a quick high-five from her trainer, her tail whipping behind her like an excitable puppy. Everyone was getting so worked up. It was great.

"You going to get taller than me?" Brandy said as she watched Calcine trudge back into the sand, turning to thick, clumpy mud from all the water the other team was dumping on it. Had Maple planned that? It was smart. Marina had bent to freeze it back firm, but she couldn't do it while people's feet were stuck in it. Morgan had to save her, taking off with a flap of her wings and soaring across the court so she could spin and blap the ball Calcine's way. Her feet were too stuck for a good hit, so Calcine just lobbed it over. It was slow and easy to return, but it gave them time to arrange themselves. "You take after Marina. I'll be the one scaling you."

"I'm not going to spoil that surprise," Maple bounced on her tiptoes, "It would be fun to be the big spoon. You'd melt if I looked down at you the right way."

"Oh no, a cute girl wants to make me melt. What will I do?" Brandy joked as a tail whipped around them and pulled them both together so fast that Maple bounced off Brandy's chest. Her groan from the impact certainly didn't sound like she was unhappy with her position.

"Makeout or Volleyball!" Holly said, water flowing along her tail and rippling against their skin. "You're being so distracting!"

Calcine's awful lob shot landed on their side with a sad thump. It was near Sparky, but Sparky was biting her fingers as she watched her two favorite humans get close.NewW novels updates at novelhall.com

"You're the one being distracting!" Maple retorted, and Holly giggled as Maple flicked the ball on her tail. "Getting grabby with your tail. I know you can think about more than sex. Control yourself."

Brandy covered Maple's mouth to hide her moans as Holly's tail teased away. The shivering woman in her arms getting redder by the second. "It's not usually like this, but I'm glad you enjoy it."

Pink spots flickered over Brandy, Holly, and Maple's skin, Brandy blinking at the little balls of energy in confusion before the world suddenly pinched together around her. Everything shrunk in on itself like it was being sucked through a tiny hole in the air. She tumbled forward, her legs struggling to find something to stand on that didn't whip out from beneath her before everything snapped back to focus. Brandy was dumped onto her back on the volleyball court, Maple was a few feet away, face down, and Holly was tangled up in the net.

A shrill whistle broke through the confusion, loud enough to sting Brandy's ears. She shuffled her head to look who it was and saw nothing but green. A huge, blobby-looking woman with bunny ears was towering over them all, taller than the court net and taller even than Marina. Her face was more of a suggestion, as dark shapes floated with the green goo of her skin. On her shoulder sat a tanned-skinned woman holding a tin whistle and wearing a blue baseball cap over some short-cropped brunette hair.

"Tanya!" Sparky squeaked. "Remi! Woah, you're here?"

"It's been a long while since you helped calm that Poké-center down," Tanya smiled. "Hello Sporby."

"I can't believe you remember that. It's Sparky!"

"I know. I'm glad you remember me. I am thankful for your help back then, but I need you all to help me now." Tanya said, voice firm. "Do you know why?"

"Oh," Brandy bit her bottom lip. "We were causing a scene, weren't we?"

"It's a polite beach before the sun's down." Tanya said, "Stopping people from being too frisky is my job today. Troublemaker."

"Sorry, Ma'am," Holly grumbled, "It was the Trainer's fault."

"Was it?" Tanya leaned over to look down at Brandy and Maple. "Care to explain?"

Brandy waved to Maple like it should explain everything. "Maple. Hot."

"Brandy. Delicious." Maple waved back.

"I think what our Trainers are trying to say," Marina said smoothly, "Is they're sorry for getting out of control. Should we clear the court and go cool off?"

"Oh no, I'm sure if I let you go do that, we'll have bigger problems shortly I'm sure." Tanya laughed, "You've got a little crowd watching your game. It looked fun. How about I act as a referee? Best of three points. Work out some energy, then cool off in the ocean. The sun will go down eventually. I'm sure you can wait till then."

"We already got a point." Morgan said, "It was really cool."

"Well!" Tanya said, "One nil to the Tall Dark Handsome Divas. Are the Horny Messes going to make a comeback?"

Brandy felt the team names showed unfair favoritism, but she couldn't argue against it. They'd earned that name.

"Horny Messes forever." Brandy raised a fist. "Let's win this game."