Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Secret No More ❯ Chapter 6 ( Chapter 6 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: DefiantVixen 
Anime/Manga: Pokemon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Comedy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.15.2009 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.2K | Visits: 160 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Pokemon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Comedy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.15.2009 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.2K | Visits: 160 | Status: Work In Progress
Secret No More
Summary: With Tracey a female in hiding, and now his girlfriend, Gary has a hard time keeping his hands off her with his grandfather away...but then Ash and Co just had to pay a visit. When will they leave?
Pairings: Gary/Tracey
Disclaimer: I don’t own the series Pokemon or any character associated.
Warnings: Tracey is portrayed as female in gender in this story. Yes, I know he’s a guy, and yes there have been episodes where Tracey had been shirtless, let’s just pretend that never happened for the sake of it, ok?
AN: Comments and suggestions are always useful and well received. Thanks in advance.
-
Chapter 6:
Gary was steadily losing patience. He never had much to begin with, but what little patience he had left, it was slowly dissipating. Which was not a good sign for those who were involved with the demise of his patience.
In other words; if Ash, Misty and Brock don’t vacate the premises soon, things are likely to break out into a Pokemon battle free for all.
And he’ll kick all their asses, of course.
He was once again in the lounge room, sitting in the furthest chair from the group, his back turned to them as they talk amongst themselves merrily, just like they did yesterday. His eyebrow was twitching as he rested his chin in the palm of his hand, glaring gloomily out the large windows.
Just like he did yesterday...
What was making him lose his patience even more was the fact that Brock was overly friendly with Tracey, outwardly complimenting her while a subtle hint of flirting in the undertone. He wasn’t doing it in such a way that made the other’s question his sudden change of sexual preference, just appearing as if he and Tracey was such good friend. He was a shrewd guy that much was for sure.
And what really made Gary bristle was the fact that Tracey was blushing ever so cutely. He was the only person who should make her blush; she was his girlfriend after all, dammit!
To make matters even worse, while Ash stayed oblivious, Misty seemed to be encouraging Brock. He wasn’t sure if Misty knew about Tracey’s true gender, but she was making little suggestions and comments, causing Brock to laugh and place an arm around Tracey’s shoulders to tell her a tale of a search for love gone wrong in a very dramatic way.
Oh, Gary was certain they were doing it to annoy him. And it was working...
The only reason why he hasn’t snapped yet was because Tracey seemed to enjoy her friend’s company, and he would never purposely do anything to make her upset. He hated it when she was sad about something; her usually bright eyes would become dull, her facial appearance blank and downcast. She would never tell anyone she was upset as she preferred not to be the centre of attention, but he could tell when something was bothering her; her smiles weren’t as sincere or bright.
Glancing over his shoulder, Gary was quick enough to see yet another sly expression appear on Misty’s face and she shared a quick look with Brock. “Hey, Brock, why don’t you and Tracey make us some more of those cookies we had yesterday? They were delicious!”
Gary immediately bristled in his seat at the thought of Brock being in the same kitchen as his Tracey, and he abruptly turned around in his seat, inwardly growling as he glared daggers at his guests, who were quickly overstaying their welcome.
The spiky haired male nodded his head once and climbed to his feet. “Good idea, Misty.”
Suddenly, Gary sprung to his feet as well, a dark presence hanging over his shoulders. “We haven’t got any more ingredients,” he hissed dangerously.
Without thinking, Tracey took to her feet as well and stepped in front of Gary, her hands in front of her in a calming, soothing motion, silently telling him that their guests mean no harm. “Calm down, Gary,” she said softly.
Gary had to clench his hands into fists to stop himself from abruptly pulling Tracey into his arms, crushing her against his chest while he snarled the others, ordering them to get out. That action would only lead them to asking more questions, wasting more of his time.
“What’s wrong, Gary?” Misty asked in a sickly sweet voice.
Snapping his attention to the orange-haired female, Gary narrowed his eyes at her. “You’re really pushing it,” he said seemingly through gritted teeth.
Misty quickly took to her feet as well, her hands on her slender hips, her sea green eyes narrowed slightly as well. “I would stop pushing it if I knew what it was.”
Gary sniffed and stuck his nose into the air. Ok, so maybe Misty doesn’t know about Tracey’s true gender. “You know very well what it is.”
“No,” Misty said as she removed her hands from her hips and folded them over her bust. “Tell me the wonders of it.”
“All I’m going to tell you is that you’re really pushing it,” Gary hissed as he pointed an accusing finger at her.
“Guys, what’s going on?” Ash asked, once again noticing the tension in the room and how Gary seemed to be in the middle of it. “You two have been niggling at each other since we arrived yesterday. Did I miss something?”
“Nothing,” both Misty and Gary said at the exact same time, staring each other down in a showdown of some kind, never taking their eyes off one another as the stood tense and annoyed.
Suddenly, the unfamiliar sound of helicopter blades cutting through the air caught everyone’s attention and they all stilled. They shared a look of perplexity between them, their brows furrowing in a sense of concern. Then, the windows burst open from the pressure of the wind outside and a black helicopter with the letters T and R written in red on the side appeared in view. The windows were thickly tinted so they could not see who was piloting the machine.
Gary immediately growled and shielded Tracey from the majority of the wind as she subconsciously grabbed onto the front of his shirt in surprise, his annoying kicking up a notch when he realizes that his day is about to get even worse.
As the helicopter came to a gentle landing a few yards away from Oak Laboratories, two figures, one with bright orange hair, the other a dark brownish/blackish colour, stepped out of the cockpit. Getting ready to belt out their annoying introduction by moving their bodies into their usual poses in a very overly dramatic way.
Great, it’s Team Rocket. What else could go wrong today?!
To infect the world with devastation!
To ignite all peoples within our nation!
To denounce the goodness of truth and love!
To extend our wrath to the stars above!
Cassidy!
Butch!
We're Team Rocket circling the earth all day and night!
Surrender to us now or you will surely lose to the fight!
During the now world know introduction, Tracey had managed to run off and press an emergency switch that automatically locks the labs down from intruders, while the others scrambled out the windows, ready for the impending battle that will surely follow.
“It’s Team Rocket!” Ash said with a sense of surprise in his voice, to which Gary could only roll his eyes. He didn’t have to wait until after their introduction to know who they were. True, he hadn’t seen them, especially these two, for a while, but they were still frequently annoying.
“I can’t believe that after all this time, they’re still following us,” Misty muttered as she pressed the palm of her hand to her forehead, her posture slumping forward in frustration.
“Wow, haven’t seen you guys around much lately,” Brock said as he placed a hand on his hip and looked at the two Rocket members with a sense of mild interest. “Been on holiday?”
“Yeah!” Butch said as he scratched the back of his head and laughed a little. “We went to this-”
“Shut it!” Cassidy said, grabbing his by the ear as she successfully interrupted him from saying any more. “We’re not here to gossip, we’ve got important work to do!”
Butch grimaced and then rubbed his ear when she released it from her grip. “Sorry.”
Tracey had only dealt with Team Rocket a few times since becoming Prof. Oak’s assistance and she’s almost forgot about them, unlike the others. She also wasn’t paying that much attention to their speech before. “Wait, it’s Cassidy and Butch, isn’t it?” she said, remembering the two of them from previous experiences, she two moving to step outside for battle.
Butch immediately bristled, ready to repeat his name in annoyance as everyone seemed to get his name wrong. “My name is...wait...” he mumbled as something dawned on him and he gaped at Tracey in disbelief. “You said it. You actually said my name!” he suddenly leapt away from the helicopter and took her two hands in his, tears sparkling in his eyes. “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“Er, you’re welcome?” Tracey replied in a questioning tone, startled by Butch’s reaction to her.
“I’ve waited so long for someone to get my name right,” Butch said with tears now flowing down his cheeks like a waterfall. “You have no idea how happy you’ve made me.”
Tracey gave him a shaky and forced smile as she tried to tug her hands away from his. He was kinda creeping her out. “Um, that’s nice...”
Gary once again found himself bristling in anger and he wasted no time hurrying over to Tracey, ripping her hands out of the Rocket’s and pressing her to his side as he literally pushed the older male to the ground. “Hey, back off Buffo, or whatever the hell you’re name is!” he snarled with a sense of possessiveness, his eyes narrowed and fierce.
“It’s Butch!” Butch yelled, he too bristling.
“I don’t care what you’re name is, just back off!”
“Well, someone is protective,” Cassidy suddenly commented with a smirk and pulled out a Pokeball, her green eyes trained on Tracey. “You seem like the best person to start with. Go Houndour, steal his Pokemon!”
Gary immediately reacted, grabbing a Pokeball of his own and pushing Tracey behind him. “Watch it! Umbreon use Tackle Attack now!”
“Don’t forget about me,” Butch sniggered as he released a Pokemon of his own. “Let’s go, Mightyena!”
Tracey glanced up just in time to see a black and gray coloured wolf type Pokemon emerge from its Pokeball. She knew immediately how dangerous this type of Pokemon was, and with a Team Rocket member as its trainer, it was no surprise. However, she refused to call upon her own Pokemon as Marill, Venonat or Scyther wouldn’t be any match. Marill and Venonat are specially trained tracking Pokemon, they’re not cut out for battles, and Scyther is getting on in years, she wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to it.
There was a suddenly flash of white and Tracey unconsciously released a noise of surprise and jumped back. Thankfully, though, as she stumbled back but managing to stay on her feet in a defensive position, she dodged Mightyena’s attack, but by only the skin of her teeth, it seemed.
She really should go back to her watcher training. Gary and Prof. Oak has spoilt her, it seemed.
She lifted her head, her brow furrowing when she realized that Mightyena was circling again, seemingly irritated that its attack missed. Tracey immediately tenses, relying on her years as a Pokemon trainer to predict its next move.
“Hey, stop using your Pokemon to attack people!” Ash’s voice suddenly called out, causing Mightyena’s ears to turn in the direction of his voice, but never taking its eyes off Tracey. “Let’s go, Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!”
“Pika!”
Hearing the command, Tracey managed to jump back, not wanting to be anywhere near Mightyena when Pikachu struck it with its thunderbolt attack.
The ever amazing Pikachu dutifully leapt from Ash’s shoulder into the air, curling its tiny paws into fists and shuts its eyes tightly. A moment later, its cheeks began to glow as the air sparked and crackled. “Pika-chu~!”
And as usual, Pikachu’s attack was dead on, striking Mightyena, causing it to fall onto the ground, its eyes swirling with confusion.
“Tracey!” Gary called out with concern and alarm in his voice as he stood a few yards away, Umbreon dealing with Houndour. “Are you alright?”
Tracey took a moment to lean against her knees to catch her breath. “Yeah,” she said as she breathed a sigh of relief and straightened her posture, a reassuring smile on her lips. “I guess I’m getting a little rusty.”
“Shit,” Gary suddenly cursed, giving her his full attention. “Your shirt...”
“Huh?”
“Tracey!” Ash called out as he, Misty and Brock made their way over to her, appearing ready to shield her from more attacks if necessary.
“Are you ok?” Misty asked, but then paused; her eyes becoming wide and she stared at her in blatant shock.
Ash quickly followed with an expression of shock as well. “Why do you have...?” he began to comment on the bandages around her chest, but as he continued to stare, he realized that they were used not for healing purposes, but for hiding and binding purposes.
“Wah!” he exclaimed as he fell back in shock and scrambled away, pointing a shaky finger in her direction. “Tracey, you’re a girl!”
Tracey reeled back in surprise and abruptly looked down to her chest, her eyes widening when she realized that her shirt has been torn, jagged ripping exposing the skin coloured bandages wrapped tightly in a binding way around her chest. It must have happened when Mightyena lunged at her; those claws are awfully sharp.
Immediately, she took a step back and wrapped her arms over her chest, trying to hide the thick wadding around her chest that were, thankfully, still in one piece. Ash and Misty were both staring at her with their expressions adorning nothing but shock; Ash literally gaping at her like a fish out of water. Brock, on the other hand, was busy trying to determined his companions reactions, wondering if he should say anything to them at this point in time.
This was not how Tracey wanted the two of them to know...
“Nice to see you’ve noticed,” Gary hissed as he suddenly appeared by Tracey’s side. He whipped his overlaying black shirt off of his person and placed them around Tracey’s shoulders, offering her a bit of coverage. He then placed his hands on the small of her back and pulled her protectively into him arms, pressing her against his chest.
“Gary?” Tracey whispered with her voice uncharacteristically shaky as she curled her hands in the material of his shirt.
“It’s ok,” Gary said in a soothing voice as he ducked Tracey’s head under his chin, but his eyes blazing in an expression of anger, glaring with such hatred at the two Team Rocket members who were staring at them with blank confusion. “I’ll take it from here.”
“B-but...” Ash stuttered, unable to find the words to express his shock at that exact moment, Misty, for once, oddly silent in the background. “How long as Tracey been-?”
Gary narrowed his eyes in Ash’s direction, subtly telling him that he was in no mood to deal with him. “She’s been a girl her whole life, genius.”
“That wasn’t the question I was going to ask!” Ash practically yelled as he jumped to his feet and pointed an accusing finger at Tracey, who in turn winced and pressed herself further into Gary’s comforting arms. “Why is she-?”
“This is neither the time nor the place to discuss such matters,” Gary said sternly as he once again interrupted him. Umbreon had moved to stand in front of him, bristling in anger that the enemy’s Pokemon tried to harm its master’s mate. Gary looked at his loyal and beloved Pokemon, knowing that all his Pokemon was as fond as Tracey as he was.
“We have a problem with Team Rocket at the moment, if you don’t remember,” Gary continued, not even bothering to look in Ash’s direction, instead keeping his focus on the task at hand. “We’ll talk later.”
“Wow, these twerps are weird,” Cassidy commented as she looked at the now young woman in Gary’s arms, completely befuddled why anyone would hide their gender like she was.
“Yeah,” Butch said as he nodded his head in agreement, he too staring at Tracey. He narrowed his eyes suddenly and scratched his chin. “She’s kinda cute, though.”
Immediately, a scowl appeared on Cassidy’s face and lifted up her arm to literally smack some sense into her partner, planting him face first into the ground. “She’s the enemy! How dare you even say such a thing?!”
“Sorry,” Butch muttered wearily as he nursed his throbbing head between his two hands, squatting on the ground.
“Grr, we can’t let these buffoons take the Pokemon,” Gary growled, watching the two with distaste. He had heard Buffo’s (or whatever his name was) comments on Tracey being cute. That deserved a Double Slap alone!
“Gary?” Tracey said as she pushed gently against his chest so she could look up into his face.
“What?” Gary said softly as he reluctantly loosened his grip.
“I have an idea.”
Summary: With Tracey a female in hiding, and now his girlfriend, Gary has a hard time keeping his hands off her with his grandfather away...but then Ash and Co just had to pay a visit. When will they leave?
Pairings: Gary/Tracey
Disclaimer: I don’t own the series Pokemon or any character associated.
Warnings: Tracey is portrayed as female in gender in this story. Yes, I know he’s a guy, and yes there have been episodes where Tracey had been shirtless, let’s just pretend that never happened for the sake of it, ok?
AN: Comments and suggestions are always useful and well received. Thanks in advance.
-
Chapter 6:
Gary was steadily losing patience. He never had much to begin with, but what little patience he had left, it was slowly dissipating. Which was not a good sign for those who were involved with the demise of his patience.
In other words; if Ash, Misty and Brock don’t vacate the premises soon, things are likely to break out into a Pokemon battle free for all.
And he’ll kick all their asses, of course.
He was once again in the lounge room, sitting in the furthest chair from the group, his back turned to them as they talk amongst themselves merrily, just like they did yesterday. His eyebrow was twitching as he rested his chin in the palm of his hand, glaring gloomily out the large windows.
Just like he did yesterday...
What was making him lose his patience even more was the fact that Brock was overly friendly with Tracey, outwardly complimenting her while a subtle hint of flirting in the undertone. He wasn’t doing it in such a way that made the other’s question his sudden change of sexual preference, just appearing as if he and Tracey was such good friend. He was a shrewd guy that much was for sure.
And what really made Gary bristle was the fact that Tracey was blushing ever so cutely. He was the only person who should make her blush; she was his girlfriend after all, dammit!
To make matters even worse, while Ash stayed oblivious, Misty seemed to be encouraging Brock. He wasn’t sure if Misty knew about Tracey’s true gender, but she was making little suggestions and comments, causing Brock to laugh and place an arm around Tracey’s shoulders to tell her a tale of a search for love gone wrong in a very dramatic way.
Oh, Gary was certain they were doing it to annoy him. And it was working...
The only reason why he hasn’t snapped yet was because Tracey seemed to enjoy her friend’s company, and he would never purposely do anything to make her upset. He hated it when she was sad about something; her usually bright eyes would become dull, her facial appearance blank and downcast. She would never tell anyone she was upset as she preferred not to be the centre of attention, but he could tell when something was bothering her; her smiles weren’t as sincere or bright.
Glancing over his shoulder, Gary was quick enough to see yet another sly expression appear on Misty’s face and she shared a quick look with Brock. “Hey, Brock, why don’t you and Tracey make us some more of those cookies we had yesterday? They were delicious!”
Gary immediately bristled in his seat at the thought of Brock being in the same kitchen as his Tracey, and he abruptly turned around in his seat, inwardly growling as he glared daggers at his guests, who were quickly overstaying their welcome.
The spiky haired male nodded his head once and climbed to his feet. “Good idea, Misty.”
Suddenly, Gary sprung to his feet as well, a dark presence hanging over his shoulders. “We haven’t got any more ingredients,” he hissed dangerously.
Without thinking, Tracey took to her feet as well and stepped in front of Gary, her hands in front of her in a calming, soothing motion, silently telling him that their guests mean no harm. “Calm down, Gary,” she said softly.
Gary had to clench his hands into fists to stop himself from abruptly pulling Tracey into his arms, crushing her against his chest while he snarled the others, ordering them to get out. That action would only lead them to asking more questions, wasting more of his time.
“What’s wrong, Gary?” Misty asked in a sickly sweet voice.
Snapping his attention to the orange-haired female, Gary narrowed his eyes at her. “You’re really pushing it,” he said seemingly through gritted teeth.
Misty quickly took to her feet as well, her hands on her slender hips, her sea green eyes narrowed slightly as well. “I would stop pushing it if I knew what it was.”
Gary sniffed and stuck his nose into the air. Ok, so maybe Misty doesn’t know about Tracey’s true gender. “You know very well what it is.”
“No,” Misty said as she removed her hands from her hips and folded them over her bust. “Tell me the wonders of it.”
“All I’m going to tell you is that you’re really pushing it,” Gary hissed as he pointed an accusing finger at her.
“Guys, what’s going on?” Ash asked, once again noticing the tension in the room and how Gary seemed to be in the middle of it. “You two have been niggling at each other since we arrived yesterday. Did I miss something?”
“Nothing,” both Misty and Gary said at the exact same time, staring each other down in a showdown of some kind, never taking their eyes off one another as the stood tense and annoyed.
Suddenly, the unfamiliar sound of helicopter blades cutting through the air caught everyone’s attention and they all stilled. They shared a look of perplexity between them, their brows furrowing in a sense of concern. Then, the windows burst open from the pressure of the wind outside and a black helicopter with the letters T and R written in red on the side appeared in view. The windows were thickly tinted so they could not see who was piloting the machine.
Gary immediately growled and shielded Tracey from the majority of the wind as she subconsciously grabbed onto the front of his shirt in surprise, his annoying kicking up a notch when he realizes that his day is about to get even worse.
As the helicopter came to a gentle landing a few yards away from Oak Laboratories, two figures, one with bright orange hair, the other a dark brownish/blackish colour, stepped out of the cockpit. Getting ready to belt out their annoying introduction by moving their bodies into their usual poses in a very overly dramatic way.
Great, it’s Team Rocket. What else could go wrong today?!
To infect the world with devastation!
To ignite all peoples within our nation!
To denounce the goodness of truth and love!
To extend our wrath to the stars above!
Cassidy!
Butch!
We're Team Rocket circling the earth all day and night!
Surrender to us now or you will surely lose to the fight!
During the now world know introduction, Tracey had managed to run off and press an emergency switch that automatically locks the labs down from intruders, while the others scrambled out the windows, ready for the impending battle that will surely follow.
“It’s Team Rocket!” Ash said with a sense of surprise in his voice, to which Gary could only roll his eyes. He didn’t have to wait until after their introduction to know who they were. True, he hadn’t seen them, especially these two, for a while, but they were still frequently annoying.
“I can’t believe that after all this time, they’re still following us,” Misty muttered as she pressed the palm of her hand to her forehead, her posture slumping forward in frustration.
“Wow, haven’t seen you guys around much lately,” Brock said as he placed a hand on his hip and looked at the two Rocket members with a sense of mild interest. “Been on holiday?”
“Yeah!” Butch said as he scratched the back of his head and laughed a little. “We went to this-”
“Shut it!” Cassidy said, grabbing his by the ear as she successfully interrupted him from saying any more. “We’re not here to gossip, we’ve got important work to do!”
Butch grimaced and then rubbed his ear when she released it from her grip. “Sorry.”
Tracey had only dealt with Team Rocket a few times since becoming Prof. Oak’s assistance and she’s almost forgot about them, unlike the others. She also wasn’t paying that much attention to their speech before. “Wait, it’s Cassidy and Butch, isn’t it?” she said, remembering the two of them from previous experiences, she two moving to step outside for battle.
Butch immediately bristled, ready to repeat his name in annoyance as everyone seemed to get his name wrong. “My name is...wait...” he mumbled as something dawned on him and he gaped at Tracey in disbelief. “You said it. You actually said my name!” he suddenly leapt away from the helicopter and took her two hands in his, tears sparkling in his eyes. “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“Er, you’re welcome?” Tracey replied in a questioning tone, startled by Butch’s reaction to her.
“I’ve waited so long for someone to get my name right,” Butch said with tears now flowing down his cheeks like a waterfall. “You have no idea how happy you’ve made me.”
Tracey gave him a shaky and forced smile as she tried to tug her hands away from his. He was kinda creeping her out. “Um, that’s nice...”
Gary once again found himself bristling in anger and he wasted no time hurrying over to Tracey, ripping her hands out of the Rocket’s and pressing her to his side as he literally pushed the older male to the ground. “Hey, back off Buffo, or whatever the hell you’re name is!” he snarled with a sense of possessiveness, his eyes narrowed and fierce.
“It’s Butch!” Butch yelled, he too bristling.
“I don’t care what you’re name is, just back off!”
“Well, someone is protective,” Cassidy suddenly commented with a smirk and pulled out a Pokeball, her green eyes trained on Tracey. “You seem like the best person to start with. Go Houndour, steal his Pokemon!”
Gary immediately reacted, grabbing a Pokeball of his own and pushing Tracey behind him. “Watch it! Umbreon use Tackle Attack now!”
“Don’t forget about me,” Butch sniggered as he released a Pokemon of his own. “Let’s go, Mightyena!”
Tracey glanced up just in time to see a black and gray coloured wolf type Pokemon emerge from its Pokeball. She knew immediately how dangerous this type of Pokemon was, and with a Team Rocket member as its trainer, it was no surprise. However, she refused to call upon her own Pokemon as Marill, Venonat or Scyther wouldn’t be any match. Marill and Venonat are specially trained tracking Pokemon, they’re not cut out for battles, and Scyther is getting on in years, she wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to it.
There was a suddenly flash of white and Tracey unconsciously released a noise of surprise and jumped back. Thankfully, though, as she stumbled back but managing to stay on her feet in a defensive position, she dodged Mightyena’s attack, but by only the skin of her teeth, it seemed.
She really should go back to her watcher training. Gary and Prof. Oak has spoilt her, it seemed.
She lifted her head, her brow furrowing when she realized that Mightyena was circling again, seemingly irritated that its attack missed. Tracey immediately tenses, relying on her years as a Pokemon trainer to predict its next move.
“Hey, stop using your Pokemon to attack people!” Ash’s voice suddenly called out, causing Mightyena’s ears to turn in the direction of his voice, but never taking its eyes off Tracey. “Let’s go, Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!”
“Pika!”
Hearing the command, Tracey managed to jump back, not wanting to be anywhere near Mightyena when Pikachu struck it with its thunderbolt attack.
The ever amazing Pikachu dutifully leapt from Ash’s shoulder into the air, curling its tiny paws into fists and shuts its eyes tightly. A moment later, its cheeks began to glow as the air sparked and crackled. “Pika-chu~!”
And as usual, Pikachu’s attack was dead on, striking Mightyena, causing it to fall onto the ground, its eyes swirling with confusion.
“Tracey!” Gary called out with concern and alarm in his voice as he stood a few yards away, Umbreon dealing with Houndour. “Are you alright?”
Tracey took a moment to lean against her knees to catch her breath. “Yeah,” she said as she breathed a sigh of relief and straightened her posture, a reassuring smile on her lips. “I guess I’m getting a little rusty.”
“Shit,” Gary suddenly cursed, giving her his full attention. “Your shirt...”
“Huh?”
“Tracey!” Ash called out as he, Misty and Brock made their way over to her, appearing ready to shield her from more attacks if necessary.
“Are you ok?” Misty asked, but then paused; her eyes becoming wide and she stared at her in blatant shock.
Ash quickly followed with an expression of shock as well. “Why do you have...?” he began to comment on the bandages around her chest, but as he continued to stare, he realized that they were used not for healing purposes, but for hiding and binding purposes.
“Wah!” he exclaimed as he fell back in shock and scrambled away, pointing a shaky finger in her direction. “Tracey, you’re a girl!”
Tracey reeled back in surprise and abruptly looked down to her chest, her eyes widening when she realized that her shirt has been torn, jagged ripping exposing the skin coloured bandages wrapped tightly in a binding way around her chest. It must have happened when Mightyena lunged at her; those claws are awfully sharp.
Immediately, she took a step back and wrapped her arms over her chest, trying to hide the thick wadding around her chest that were, thankfully, still in one piece. Ash and Misty were both staring at her with their expressions adorning nothing but shock; Ash literally gaping at her like a fish out of water. Brock, on the other hand, was busy trying to determined his companions reactions, wondering if he should say anything to them at this point in time.
This was not how Tracey wanted the two of them to know...
“Nice to see you’ve noticed,” Gary hissed as he suddenly appeared by Tracey’s side. He whipped his overlaying black shirt off of his person and placed them around Tracey’s shoulders, offering her a bit of coverage. He then placed his hands on the small of her back and pulled her protectively into him arms, pressing her against his chest.
“Gary?” Tracey whispered with her voice uncharacteristically shaky as she curled her hands in the material of his shirt.
“It’s ok,” Gary said in a soothing voice as he ducked Tracey’s head under his chin, but his eyes blazing in an expression of anger, glaring with such hatred at the two Team Rocket members who were staring at them with blank confusion. “I’ll take it from here.”
“B-but...” Ash stuttered, unable to find the words to express his shock at that exact moment, Misty, for once, oddly silent in the background. “How long as Tracey been-?”
Gary narrowed his eyes in Ash’s direction, subtly telling him that he was in no mood to deal with him. “She’s been a girl her whole life, genius.”
“That wasn’t the question I was going to ask!” Ash practically yelled as he jumped to his feet and pointed an accusing finger at Tracey, who in turn winced and pressed herself further into Gary’s comforting arms. “Why is she-?”
“This is neither the time nor the place to discuss such matters,” Gary said sternly as he once again interrupted him. Umbreon had moved to stand in front of him, bristling in anger that the enemy’s Pokemon tried to harm its master’s mate. Gary looked at his loyal and beloved Pokemon, knowing that all his Pokemon was as fond as Tracey as he was.
“We have a problem with Team Rocket at the moment, if you don’t remember,” Gary continued, not even bothering to look in Ash’s direction, instead keeping his focus on the task at hand. “We’ll talk later.”
“Wow, these twerps are weird,” Cassidy commented as she looked at the now young woman in Gary’s arms, completely befuddled why anyone would hide their gender like she was.
“Yeah,” Butch said as he nodded his head in agreement, he too staring at Tracey. He narrowed his eyes suddenly and scratched his chin. “She’s kinda cute, though.”
Immediately, a scowl appeared on Cassidy’s face and lifted up her arm to literally smack some sense into her partner, planting him face first into the ground. “She’s the enemy! How dare you even say such a thing?!”
“Sorry,” Butch muttered wearily as he nursed his throbbing head between his two hands, squatting on the ground.
“Grr, we can’t let these buffoons take the Pokemon,” Gary growled, watching the two with distaste. He had heard Buffo’s (or whatever his name was) comments on Tracey being cute. That deserved a Double Slap alone!
“Gary?” Tracey said as she pushed gently against his chest so she could look up into his face.
“What?” Gary said softly as he reluctantly loosened his grip.
“I have an idea.”