The morning sun crept through the curtains of the Solaceon inn, casting long golden bars across the floor. It was a peaceful scene, right up until Julian's eyes flickered open and he realized his face was currently submerged in a sea of orange fluff.
"Ugh... so soft... why am I sleeping on a cloud?" Julian mumbled, his voice muffled by the thick mane of fur. He groggily sat up, picking a stray orange hair off his lip. His mind was still a haze of sleep and lingering dreams of giant marshmallows.
"Growlithe? Why are you here? And why do you look like you've been through a wind tunnel?" Julian asked, blinking at the disheveled puppy who was silently staring him down. Growlithe's fur was flattened on one side and sticking up in erratic spikes on the other.
"Woof... (Did you seriously forget?)" Growlithe sighed, his tail giving a weary thump against the mattress.
"Forgot? Forgot wha—" Julian started, but then the dam broke. The memories of the previous night—the "Social Destruction," the incoherent screaming, the confession of his secret obsession, and the subsequent dive into the fluff—came rushing back like a Tidal Wave.
Julian's face went from pale to a shade of red that would make a Cherubi jealous. He pointed a trembling hand at Growlithe, then at himself. "I... you... last night... did I really...?"
"Woof, woof. (Oh, you really did. You were sniffing me like I was a rare berry. Feeling better now?)"
Julian looked down at his hands. He felt the familiar weight of Sylveon's ribbons wrapped tightly around his wrist and Togetic's small body perched on his shoulder. Then he looked at Growlithe, who was currently licking a particularly messy patch of fur that Julian had apparently drooled on in his sleep.
He didn't just want to bury his head in his arms; he wanted to bury himself in the earth's crust. "I... I can't face the world. Just leave me here to become part of the carpet."
"Woof! (Hey, don't start that again! Don't go back into 'weird mode'!)" Growlithe nudged Julian's arm with a warm, wet nose. "(I already told you, I don't mind! If you're going to be a weirdo, at least be a happy one.)"
Julian peeked out from behind his fingers. "You... you really don't think I'm a creep? I literally told you I find excuses to grope your paw pads because they're squishy."
"Woof. (Pawn pads are made for squishing. If it makes you happy, go for it. Just keep the snacks coming.)"
"Pfft..." Julian finally let out a shaky breath, a small, genuine smile breaking through his embarrassment. "Alright. Since the cat—or the Growlithe—is out of the bag... I guess there's no point in being polite anymore. If you guys are really okay with it, then... no more excuses."
"Sylveon-fly! (Finally!)" Sylveon, who had been faking sleep to watch the drama unfold, suddenly sat up and hugged Julian's arm. "(I was starting to think you liked Growlithe's fur more than mine just because his is longer. I've been pouting for weeks, you know!)"
"Floette-flo! (I don't have fur, but I'm very aerodynamic. You can sniff my flower if it helps,)" Floette added, patting Julian's head with a tiny hand.
"Togekiss! (I just want to stay with Julian! Secrets and all!)" Togetic chirped, hugging his neck.
Julian looked at his four partners, his heart swelling with a warmth that had nothing to do with the sun. As he looked at them, a faint, almost invisible shimmer of blue light flickered around his body—a resonance of Aura that signaled a barrier had been broken between Trainer and Pokémon. He didn't notice it, and neither did they, but the bond had shifted into something far more profound.
"Alright then!" Julian declared, his eyes shining with a newfound, slightly terrifying intensity. "From now on, I am officially an out-and-proud Plushie Enthusiast! Prepare yourselves for the petting of a lifetime!"
"Floette-flo... (That's great, Julian. Truly. But can we eat first? My stomach is making noises like a Guzzlord.)"
"Togekiss! (She's right. And we really need to clean this room. It looks like a tornado hit a noodle shop.)"
The Unleashed Enthusiast
Julian looked at the mess on the floor—spilled takeout, overturned chairs, and clumps of fur. "Right. Breakfast first, cleaning second, then the Nursery. But... before all that..."
He turned his gaze toward Growlithe's big, fluffy tail. It was wagging slowly, like a beckoning finger.
"Woof? (Oh, you want the tail? Go ahead. You've been staring at it for five minutes.)" Growlithe teased, flicking the tip of the tail against Julian's cheek.
(✧◡✧) "Since you're offering... I'M GOING IN!"
Julian didn't hesitate. He dived forward, burying his face deep into the orange-and-black fluff. "Oh man... it's even better when I'm not worried about being caught! It smells like cedarwood and toasted marshmallows! Growlithe, your tail is a national treasure!"
"Woof! (Ack! Gently! That's attached to my spine, you know!)" Growlithe barked, his paws scrabbling against the bedsheets as Julian nuzzled into the fur. Despite his protests, his tail wagged even harder.
"Sylveon-fly! (Hey! What about me? My ribbons are soft too!)" Sylveon, feeling left out of the 'sniff-fest,' began poking Julian in the ribs with her feelers.
"Mmmph-fmm-ghh!" Julian's voice was muffled by the tail.
"Sylveon-fly? (What was that?)"
Julian popped his head out, looking slightly disheveled but utterly blissful. "I said, 'Don't worry, you're next! Nobody escapes the Petting King today!'"
While Julian was busy being a "fluff-terrorist," Floette and Togetic had taken matters into their own hands. Using Psychic, Floette levitated several boxes of high-grade Pokéblocks out of the backpack and started snacking.
"Floette-flo... (I didn't expect him to be this intense once he stopped being shy,)" she mumbled with her mouth full of a spicy-sweet block.
"Togekiss. (It's better than him being depressed. Master Lucario was right—seeing 'the other side' of Julian is actually pretty funny. He looks like a big kid.)"
"Floette... (A weird kid who sniffs dogs. But he's our weird kid.)"