210 – A Shocking Twist

210 – A Shocking Twist

"Were they good at it?" Wren gasped in wide-eyed astonishment. "I can't believe that worked. I mean, I can see them doing it. Wooloo are so eager to please, but this seems devilish!"

"They absolutely devoured her," Brandy grinned, "They had to close the gym for a few days because they couldn't keep them off each other."

Brandy was telling Wren the story about how she taught the Wooloo to fuck, glossing over Calcine's part in it not to give her away. Wren was an amazingly good listener. Brandy wasn't the best at understanding human women, but Wren was obviously hanging off Brandy's every word. It was flattering in a way. She impressed the girl effortlessly, and it was charming, too. In any other circumstance, Brandy would have been fast friends with this girl.

This was not a normal conversation, though. Even if Wren's interest was genuine, and it certainly seemed so, the story was really fun; this was still a trick.

There were genuinely doe-eyed innocents in the world who Brandy would happily believe were just enthusiastically into her. But Wren was in the Tournament, which meant she had three Pokémon at least. Maybe a Ground Ace could be so shy as to make you think she was innocent, or a Grass Ace so polite you were charmed into thinking she was harmless. But nobody with three partners was harmless. Brandy knew how exhausting it could be and how it took real work to keep everyone happy.

"We just put on a show for them, told them some jokes. We made them an audience, and then we snuck off while they asked for an encore." Wren smiled, tussling one of her long, curly locks of black hair in a finger. "I loved my time with Orchid, too; we got along really well."

Wren had the Grass Badge herself, so Brandy could finally talk about a Gym challenge with someone. Not that she believed Wren's story one bit. To hear Wren tell it, she had a team of good-natured sweethearts who just loved her to bits, and they'd just bumbled through it on good spirits alone. It fit her personality and may have even worked for the right team, but Brandy knew her Joltik, and the idea that they wouldn't do something horrendously scandalous for a talent show was just too unbelievable.

Brandy wasn't mad at the deception. The Tournament was a game, and this starting set-up was part of it. Wren clearly had come in with a plan not just to trick her opponent about which Pokémon she had in reserve but which one she actually had walking around and even herself. It was certainly an ambitious plan, and even if Brandy had spotted her doing it, that didn't mean it had failed. She still had to work out the truth.

Sparky was enthusiastically talking to her sister Dinah, short for Dynamo. A silly pun as it wasn't actually that much shorter and just the sort of thing a Joltik would do. But Brandy had spotted the issue. Dinah was the same height as Sparky, and as Sparky loved to say, she was the tallest Joltik in Galar.

Dinah was a Sparky copy, pure and simple.

There were plenty of ways you could pull off a trick like that. A Ditto seemed unlikely; bonding with a Ditto made you almost as famous as bonding with a Legendary, and if a woman had recently tamed one in Galar, everybody would be talking about it. But Ditto wasn't the only shapeshifting Pokémon. It didn't have to be shapeshifting. A Zorua could use illusions to match Sparky or a Smeargle could paint themselves a perfect disguise. A strong enough Psychic Type could just drop a false idea straight into their brains, and this sort of mind game was something Psychic types loved. Then there was Pokémon like Zipper the Banette, who could possess things. It didn't have to be giant office buildings; it could be puppets, too. With a clever Move Combo, making a matching body to possess wouldn't be out of the question.

"You've such an inventive style," Wren said, giving Brandy a truly heart-melting smile. She was just so relentlessly saccharine-sweet that it made Brandy's teeth ache. "You must have a really varied team to take advantage of that."

Sweet and wicked smart. She reminded Brandy of Morgan a little, playing a game she knew the rules of better than anyone else and cheating anyway. But Morgan wasn't here, so it was up to Brandy to do her best Murkrow impression.

Rule one of being a dirtbag Murkrow. Lead the game. You have to be in charge to start cheating.

Wren was steering the conversation with her compliments, but Brandy was going to compliment the shit out of this girl, and she was going to do it while being so very observant.

"I know Turrfield can be seen as a bit sleepy, but my Mom gave me a lot of personal drive and a little bit of mischief. I just love thinking on my feet." Brandy leaned on her stool, tapping the bit of hair wrapped around Wren's finger. "You're not what I'd expect from a Postwick girl either. Everyone thinks you're all Wooloo daughters."

"There's a lot of Wooloo daughter," Wren said, "You think I'm not one of them?"

"Dark curly hair isn't very Wooloo," Brandy smiled. "But it is stunning."

"You haven't seen a Shiny Wooloo? Black as night and so pretty."

"And fluffy," Brandy said, twirling the hair around her finger. Wren watched her finger work with an intensity that could have burned Brandy's skin. "You're more sleek. Dark. Poisonous. Ghostly?"

Brandy was watching carefully for a reaction, but Wren didn't twitch. She was too busy being breathless, a hand over her heart as she looked at her hair tousled around Brandy's finger. Something about that little action had hit hard for her.

Sparky snorted. The idea she'd ever say quintessential, and it wouldn't be a pun, was ridiculous.

"I'm not questioning your taste, honey. I didn't mean to upset you," Wren said, pulling Sparky's clone into a hug. "She won't wear the dress forever. You can admire it when we get her out of it."

"It's art," Dinah panted, hyperventilating a little. She was really worked up at the idea of Sparky damaging it. "You'd look so pretty in it."

"Of course I would. I was an unfashionable mess before you started dressing me," Wren said, squeezing Dinah's hands. "You always make me look beautiful."

Brandy felt a tiny bit bad. Sure, this was technically all part of the game, but Dinah looked genuinely panicked at the idea of Brandy's dress getting torn. Time to take her shot with a few compliments.

"Your costume looks perfect, Dinah," Brandy said, "It looks exactly like Sparky. I know her so well, and you got every bit perfect."

Dinah twisted her head right around like an owl to look at Brandy and smiled. The creases in Sparky's neck did not look natural at all; they looked more like bunched-up cloth. "Thanks! I try really hard."

Brandy nearly swallowed her tongue in shock, recoiling back. Unfortunately, Sparky's reaction was even worse.

"GHOST!" Sparky yelled, muffled by Brandy's thigh as she bit down in shock, and her Bug Bite coursed through Brandy's veins, making Brandy's body twitch with pleasure. Her heart thundered as a shot of orgasmic adrenaline raced through her. She became so exquisitely sensitive for just the briefest moment, and Wren's hand felt divine as it dug into her thigh, making Brandy pant with lust.

Sparky let go immediately. "Fuck. Fuck. Sorry! She's a Ghost, though; you know how I am about ghosts!"

Brandy pressed two fingers to Sparky's forehead, rubbing it gently. She would have replied, but she was a little short of breath after a head-twisting scare and a surprise dry orgasm. The mix of horror and pleasure left her body halfway between panic and orgasm, a twin drumbeat in Brandy's brain that left her struggling to think.

"She might be a Ditto," Wren said, kissing Dinah's twisted neck.

"Oh, cool, that would be even worse." Sparky groaned, "But she's not. She doesn't move like a Joltik, and now I'm really looking at her. She's got seams."

Sparky leaned in, picking at a bit of Dinah's fur on her shoulder and pulling. Instead of tearing out like when Wren had taken out some of Sparky's hair, it stretched and just kept coming. A long yellow thread until eventually a tiny bit of inky blackness poured out from between the fur and snipped it away with a slash. Dinah smiled at Sparky, with way too many teeth for a Joltik.

"So, how are you about Ghosts?" Dinah said; the blue rows of Sparky eyes began to melt, turning into colorful blue swirls as the bottom two became an inky black. Dinah's real eyes that'd been hidden behind the fakes. "Because I loved getting inside of you, Sparky."

"Fuck nooooo," Sparky hid behind Brandy's thigh. "Brandy, why are they always so weirdly hot!"

"We can skip the fight if you don't want to go at it," Brandy said, and she meant it. If Sparky really didn't want to do this, she wouldn't march her into it.

"I can be scared and aroused." Sparky said, "I'm going to sweat more and scream more, but I've got your back."

"Dinah. Don't give them a heart attack before the match. Wait until it starts," Wren said with a slap of Dinah's butt. Her own eyes were changing, that missing life coming back. The dark brown becomes a pulsing blood red, her iris unwinding and becoming scribbled swirls painted onto the black. Shockingly strange but also pretty fucking cool. Though it ended any hope of Wren looking cute. She looked absolutely deranged, her black hair bunching into tendrils and writhing behind her like a swarm of tentacles.

No wonder they were both fakes. Dinah's ability was literally all about disguises.

"You're a Mimikyu," Brandy said, gripping Sparky's hand to comfort her. A black ooze that wore the shapes of Pokémon, her love of costumes made so much sense now. Sparky wasn't going to like the next bit. "And you're a Ghost Ace Wren."

"Very clever," Wren grinned, "I'm not even mad you worked it out. You put in the effort. I knew I was going to like you, Brandy. I'm going to enjoy learning everything about you. You're my new obsession."