Damn that Doug. Damn him to HECK!

Hideo had never been able to escape her hugs before he met that damned bugcatcher. She could hold her trainer for as long as she wanted, until he learned her ticklish spot. Now he could make her let go on command! It was the worst!

Squeeze considered tying him up first, but the last time she tried to do that, his other Pokemon got mad and tore it up. Thank goodness Hideo couldn’t see, or he’d have been upset with her too (even better that he didn’t notice that his Salandit had lit it on fire with her Flamethrower; it was good that he had a few water-types out too, though he wasn’t happy about the soggy bed).

And now, he’d dropped her off at a daycare. “It’ll be good if you spend some time away!” he’d said, “You can’t just cling to me all the time!” Nonsense.

But she was here, and there wasn’t much that could change that. Oh well; she’d pass the time until Hideo came back.

She caught eye of another bug-type webbing up a tree like it was making a nest. It was a small Pokemon, but she recognized it pretty quickly: Doug’s Joltik. The one that shocked him into near-unconsciousness when they first met.

He was good in her book.

She scurried up the tree, carefully avoiding being caught up in his webs. Seemed like he intended to make bridges too. “I remember you,” she said to him, “You’re Goran, right? Wanna work together on this? It’s a lotta trees for just one Pokemon to make a home outta.”

John Sullivan

As he worked his way through his super mega webby highway through the compound of the Daycare, he found himself taken out of task by a few cries nearby, his gaze drawn towards the familiar tones.

Oh. He knew that pokemon, didn't he? Who was she, again...?

Ah. Hideo's clingy pokemon. Right.

After hearing her words, the little spider scurried forward before leaping off the webs, shooting a string of webbing into another tree to swing near the larger spider before landing in front of her.

"Sure." He said a moment later, gesturing towards his web. "Was just thinkin' my super highway was takin' longer than it should anyway. How's yer crew, by the way?"

---

DAYCARE PLAYDATE MISSION
TAG: Hideo Kino

While she couldn’t emote well with her face, her back had a smile; Goran didn’t outright confirm if she was right, but he didn’t say she was wrong either.

And either way, he seemed fine with making this a two-spider web.

“They’re ok. Hiddywo’s been catching a lotta Pokemon, so he’s been busy taking care of ‘em all and showing ‘em what to do. We’re trying to help - Rocky, Pom, Elga, and me - so he doesn’t get too overworked. Plus, ya know, there’s some stuff he can’t teach them well; he doesn’t do well with questions.”

Obviously because he couldn’t understand them.

“Here, lemme set somethin up.” It only took her a moment of preparation to fire out a ball. It exploded at its peak, covering the trees in a neat web. Not enough for them to just lie in, but it would no doubt make it easier to go from tree to tree, and to serve as a neat framework.

Covering that much did take some effort, but she’d done it before.  And she had plenty of web to spare.

“So whaddabout you? How’s your crew commin along? Probably got a lot more bugs by now, huh?”

John Sullivan

"That's good to hear. The boss' pretty invested in Hideo's growth." He said as he worked on some path's, working the web like a crochet. He glanced up as Squeeze released a large, explosive web, nodding in appreciation as the framework was lain.

"Even better than before, I see." He said, remembering the large webs she had lain during the battle against the Oranguru. "You do good work."

He leapt atop the large webbing and began moving to connect it with his own, humming along.

Overall, he did not much resemble his trainer, barely emoting for the most part, keeping his words few.

At her next question, he nodded.

"Indeed. I believe we are... twenty six, at the moment." He said, stopping on his croquet like movements to peer up. "The boss understands us 'bugs' to almost frightening levels, so the training of the newbies is going well. I was left here to 'take a break', since I usually handle getting them up to speed."

---

TAG: Hideo Kino

“Yeah. He is.” That smile on her back went away. Yeah, Doug did teach Hideo some good stuff, but he also taught him some bad stuff too. Try as she might, she just couldn’t defend her horn and hug him at the same time.

Not without employing methods that would anger everyone else.

She laid her web as she walked, turning the lines she’d laid into solid bridges. “I lost count of how many he’s got a while ago. He’s got more than ten, I know that much.” “Lost count” meaning “I can’t count beyond ten.”

“Some of ‘em are pretty alright. A few of ‘em cause trouble sometimes...but we keep ‘em in line. It does take a lotta Hiddywo’s time, so he doesn’t do a lot with me anymore.”

Her web-weaving became hurried, less precise. “I feel like he doesn’t like me as much anymore. He brought me here because he said it’d be good for me to spend some time away, but I don’t wanna! I wanna be with him forever and ever! And I don’t do anything bad to him, so why is he pushing me away?!”

John Sullivan

Goran was unmoved by Squeeze slowly losing her sanity at her trainer's general need for space, only moving to place a leg on her head when her work got too sloppy.

"Calm down." He said, zen as a buddha statue. "Trainers do stupid things for our sake. My Boss thought I should take a break. I'm bored out of my mind here, but he believes he's doing me a favour."

He left those words hang in the air, trusting the other spider to get the message.

"Also your web crochet is getting sloppy. Fix it before the bridge falls off." He said after the moment was past, blinking all four of his eyes at her.

"So why do you hug your trainer so much anyway?" He said. Did he care? Not truly, but it seemed like something that would distract her from the depressing spiral she was throwing herself at.

---

TAG: Hideo Kino

Her spiraling stopped when she received a headpat. Seemed like headpats were a running theme with Doug and his Pokemon, and they were just as effective.

Though she didn’t hesitate to jump to her trainer’s defense, even if it wasn’t appropriate. “He’s-He’s not stupid! He’s just...I don’t wanna take a break from him.”

A deep sigh. “And, well, we always gotta be there for him, ya know? He needs as much help as he can get.” An attempt at a logical explanation for her very emotional actions. “All of us know we gotta keep an eye out for him - me and the other Pokemon, I mean - cause his eyes don’t work.”

She looked back down at her web once it was pointed out. “Oh. R-right. Let me fix it.” She still had plenty of web to spare, so there wasn’t much difficulty fixing or replacing what she had placed before.

As for why she was so clingy, literally and emotionally? The answer was straightforward, though she stopped her work, taking a seat on a much-more-stable bridge.

“I hug him so much because...I’m grateful to him. If he didn’t find me when he did, I’d probably be dead. Wouldn’t be here talkin to you and makin our web base. He can't understand me when I talk, so I gotta show him how I feel.”

John Sullivan

Goran had resumed his work at the net as the other spider spilled her guts at him, humming along to let her know he was listening. She was back to working properly, so he could do at least that much.

"Surprisingly considerate for someone so thoughtless." Observed the Joltik bluntly. "I like you, so I would just suggest you listen to your trainer's complaints more carefully in the future. Being pushy is not gonna help your case."

She would get it, eventually. For now, he turned his attention back to the bridge, appraising it with a critical gaze.

"Hn. We are making good progress." He said after a moment, before turning at her.

He looked her up and down.

"... Wanna go take a break in the tree foliage?" He said, before thinking it over. "No, pardon me the roundaboutness. I meant: Wanna fuck?"

---

TAG: Hideo Kino

Squeeze took a breath, her reasons laid out. “...thanks for listening. I don’t really talk about it that much. You’re the first Pokemon I’ve talked to about it that isn’t one of Hiddywo’s.”

She sighed as she once again received advice. “I...guess I can try. I won’t be a Spinarak forever, and if what he says is true, I’m gonna be too heavy for him to carry when I evolve.” Hopefully, that wouldn’t be soon.

She went back to working on their canopy, which had made some wonderful progress. “It’ll be our own little home ‘way from home, huh?” She giggled, putting a few more finishing touches on a bridge. “Guess we can take a break. Gotta enjoy it at some point, right?”

But she paused after Goran’s blunt request, blinking several times as she turned towards him. “I...uh...what’s a ‘fuck’? Is it like a dance, or something you can eat?” She’d heard humans say that sometimes - even heard Hideo say it a few times - but she never knew what it meant. “‘cause then I’ll gladly have some fuck with you!”

John Sullivan