Chapter 13: Skin The Hand

Skin The Hand: To clean up or get rid of the evidence after cheating.  For instance, a cheat at poker may deal himself six cards, playing only the best five.  When the cheat conceals the extra card among the discards, they are cleaning up the evidence, or skinning the hand. 

 

 

“Mister Holten?” Jennifer asked her custodian as they sat alone in the empty meeting room of the Pokécenter. Officer Mercury noticed that ever since the interview with the latest victim of their case, the human was not acting like his usual self. Instead of being chipper and playful with everyone, Joe was sulking and letting off a gloomy vibe. The pokégirl had a feeling that the recent mood shift was due to the victimized NurseJoy, but the blue-haired police officer was not positive. “Are you feeling okay?”

 

“Yeah,” Joe responded as he looked down at his hands that he had been fiddling with in his lap. The tamer had sent his harem to train with some of the Pokécenter’s starter pokégirls while he and Jennifer were finishing up their deal with the CLIB agents. “I’m fine.” 

 

The OfficerJenny did not want to pry on this issue so close to the meeting with the agents, so the pokégirl decided not to say anything. The two continued to sit in silence for another couple minutes until the door opened. The Pureblood and OfficerJenny both looked in the direction of the new presence and saw Lovelace enter with a familiar looking purple-haired pokégirl. “Sorry to keep you two waiting,” Charles apologized. “You remember Agent Yuzuko.” 

 

Jennifer nodded to the female agent, assuming that her breed was a Guntit. “How long will this take, Agent Lovelace?” the blue-haired pokégirl asked. In a joking tone, the green-eyed pokégirl added, “We haven’t eaten breakfast yet, and I think my custodian is getting a little cranky.” 

 

The CLIB agent smiled and looked at the brown-haired human. “It shouldn’t take too long, Mister Holten, or, should I say, Mister Trades.” The two CLIB agents sat down at the table, across from the dimensional traveler and the OfficerJenny. “That is the name you requested, right? Joseph Trades, Age: 23, Tamers License, Status: Active. Just like we agreed on. What was your reasoning for this change again?” 

 

“I didn’t want my brother coming after me again,” Joe lied. “If he doesn’t know who I am, I might be able to catch him off guard if he decides to go searching for me. He doesn’t know this name, so I should be able to get the upper hand on him. Plus, since I can’t leave this league, it would be much cheaper just to get a fake ID than to have a CLIB agent watching me, right?” 

 

“But wouldn’t have any other name done the trick?” the purple-haired pokégirl asked. “Why pick this particular name?” 

 

“I just like the name,” Joe lied again. “Plus, I’ll be able to remember it. Oh, will all my transactions be transferred without using my true name?” 

 

“Yes,” the green-haired human responded this time. “It will be as if you have legally changed your name, but without the official record of doing so. Only the CLIB and CLBP customs division will be able to have access to your real name, Den-Mar Holten. Everyone else will register you as Joseph Trades.” 

 

“It sounds fine,” Joe replied. “I’m not sure if he’ll go after mom and dad, but without a ‘girl that has transport capabilities, he shouldn’t be able to get out of the league either, right?” After the green-haired agent nodded, Joe continued. “Anyway, let’s get this over with.” 

 

“All I need is your Pokédex device,” Lovelace stated calmly. “I’ll make the adjustments and modifications, than you will be a changed man.” The agent smirked in an almost sinister fashion. The dimensional traveler took no notice of this action and handed over the device, which was in his coat pocket. Even though this was summertime, Joe continued to wear his coat. For some reason, it seemed comfortable; the human was not feeling warm at all with it on. 

 

After a couple minutes, Lovelace returned the device by sliding it across the table. “There you are, Mister Joseph Trades. May I ask what your plans are now?” 

 

“I’m going to head in the direction that that NurseJoy came from,” Joe answered coldly as he picked up the device. “I’ll ask around and see if anyone matches my description. I’m sure to find something. Maybe he’ll be dumb enough to cause some more problems and then I’ll be able to nab him. What are you going to do?” 

 

“Me? Well, I think I’ll head back to Ladyba’s Lagoon and see what else I can learn, probably not much. If that doesn’t pan out, I’ll head back to Peekabu Village and see what’s what. Maybe I can find something.” 

 

“You are going to let us know if you do find anything, correct?” This question came from Officer Mercury, who had been staying silent the whole time. “The case began with me, and now us, you will grant us that small courtesy, right?” 

 

Agent Lovelace stood up, but his partner stated, “We are not entitled to give you anything, Officer…” 

 

The pokégirl stopped when her human partner raised his hand. “We shall do so, only if you give us the same courtesy. Is that a deal, Officer Mercury?” After the blue-haired pokégirl nodded, the CLIB agent smiled and said, “Well, we wouldn’t want to keep you both from your breakfast, now would we? We shall take our leave. I hope to see you both soon, but not too soon.” With that goodbye, the two CLIB investigators walked out of the room, leaving the human and the OfficerJenny to themselves. 

 

Jennifer looked at her brown-haired companion, only to find him staring down at the Pokédex device. The Pureblood was wearing the same expression that he had on when they both entered the room. “Joe, are you okay?” 

 

“Yeah,” he responded with low tone and slow pace. “I said I was.” 

 

“Really? Because you don’t look fine, and you certainly aren’t acting like yourself.” 

 

“Well, I don’t know what to tell you,” Joe answered with a defensive, almost angry, tone. “I said I was fine, so that means I’m fine.” 

 

“No, that means that you’re lying.” 

 

The human leered at the pokégirl for about three seconds, as if he wanted to say something to upset her, but he turned away. “I don’t want to have this conversation right now.” 

 

“When can we have it then?” 

 

“I don’t know.” 

 

“That isn’t good enough for me, Joe.”  

 

“I don’t care,” the human sniped at the blue-haired pokégirl as he made his way for the door. He had just grabbed the handle when Officer Mercury put her hand against the door and pushed on it. With her strength, she knew that the human would be unable to open it. As she expected, Joe faced her and yelled, “Let me out!” 

 

“No,” Jennifer responded coldly. “You’re going to talk to me; and you’re going to do it now.” As she continued to stare into the human’s eyes, slowly beginning to fill with rage, Mercury started, “I know that it has something to do with that pokégirl, the NurseJoy. Why don’t you tell…” 

 

“MAPLE!” Joe screamed at the OfficerJenny, who was a little taken back by the human’s sudden outburst. Jennifer watched him turn away from her, as if he looked defeated and tired, and started moving toward the seat he had sat in before. “Her name is Maple.” 

 

As she watched Joe sit back down into the chair, Jennifer walked over to the chair next to him and sat down, moving the chair so that she was facing her custodian. “Yes,” Jennifer started.  “I remember her name. She was a service worker doing her job when she was attacked. Maple managed to get away from her abductors and found safety, and she’s going to be alright. She was very lucky, and it’s a miracle what happened.” Joe began chuckling after Jennifer said this. Trying to maintain her sympathetic demeanor, the police officer asked, “I’m sorry, did say something funny?” 

 

“A miracle,” Joe repeated Jennifer’s words in a bitter, sickened tone. “She was kidnapped, raped, and tortured, but you say that what happened was a miracle. I guess you and I have different definitions of that word.” 

 

The pokégirl reached out, cupped the human’s face, and turned his head so that he was facing hers. “It could have been a whole lot worse, Joe. She could have been killed a hundred times over, either by them or by ferals when she ran. But Maple didn’t die, did she? Maple’s alive and she’s received medical treatment. It looks like Doctor Tiffany is going to be helping her with her trauma and from what I hear, she’s a good doctor. I’ve heard that Tiffany does not like to have patients Level Fived. That’s why it’s a miracle.” 

 

The human stared into the pokégirl’s green eyes, his pupils aligning with hers. Joe then looked as though he was going to cry and broke his glance with Jennifer. Looking down at his lap, the male whispered, “It’s all my fault.” 

 

Officer Mercury was unable to completely understand what Joe had just said. “What do you mean? How is it your fault?” The pokégirl tried to comfort the human by rubbing his arm, but it did not seem to do anything. 

 

“Because if I hadn’t shown up here, none of this would have happened,” Joe softly sighed. “If it wasn’t for me, you’d still be with your owner…and Maple wouldn’t have been…” The human took in a breath, as if he was trying to hold back from crying. 

 

“Joe, look at me,” Jennifer ordered sternly. The human hesitated at first, but slowly began to comply with the blue-haired pokégirl. With a calm, but firm, face and voice, Mercury explained, “What happened to Jerry and Maple and everyone else is not your fault. Do you understand that? You are not responsible for that other man’s actions. He did those things of his own accord; you did not help him. If you did not come here, what would have happened to Alia, and Jade, and Mabella? 

 

“They would have either gone feral or would have been separated from each other. I doubt that the league would have sent them to live with Den-Mar’s mom and dad. You coming here caused them to remain together…and they seem very happy that you are their master. You need to be thankful that you have helped them; you cannot keep blaming yourself for what this guy is doing. It doesn’t matter if he’s connected to you in some way. He’ll be found, and he will be punished. But don’t punish yourself anymore, okay?” 

 

Jennifer waited for her guardian to acknowledge what she had just told him. When he nodded lightly to her, his chin was still quivering a little.  The police officer stated, “Alright then. Wanna go grab the ‘girls and get something to eat now?” Jennifer was about to stand up, but she stopped when the human shook his head. “Oh? What is it then?” Joe whispered something, but it was so faint, the pokégirl did not make it out. “I’m sorry, what was that?” 

 

“Could…” Joe whispered. “Could you and I just go back to the room for a while, please?” 

 

Smiling lightly at her custodian and taking hold of his hand, the OfficerJenny softly replied back, “Of course we can.” Helping the emotionally recovering human to his feet, Jennifer embraced the tamer with a warm hug and led him to their room. 

 

 

**********

 

 

“You two sure took your time coming to get us,” Alia stated to the OfficerJenny and her tamer as the two walked into the Pokécenter’s small battle arena. It had been about an hour since Den-Mar Holten’s name had been put into stasis, as it were, and Joseph Trades had emerged in his place. After the blue-haired pokégirl had “reassured” the human, the two sought out the rest of the harem. Alia and Mabella had both been fighting off a Pirouette and a Queenler. Jade was commanding the Fighting/Water types, and doing a fairly good job since the Cats could not seem to get an attack in. As soon as Alia or Mabella were able to successfully dodge or maneuver their way out of an attack by their opponents, the other would act under another one of Jade’s orders. It was not until the Firecat jumped into the air and blasted flames all around the Water types that the tide of the battle changed. While they were worried about the hot embers falling from above, Alia was able to give the Pirouette a strong kick to the head. As the Fighting/Water type fell from the blow, the crab metamorph turned her attention toward the white Catgirl. 

 

As Alia’s opponent was about to use Water Gun, she received a hard kick to the head. Mabella came down on the crab type and began switching from fire attacks to melee attacks at rapid speed. Alia started hitting the Pirouette with everything she could. It was struggle for the two to keep their opponents on the ground, but after Jade called the Queenler and her partner back, the Cat types were out of breath and were dripping sweat from their bodies. It was then that they realized that they are being watched by their master and when Alia commented on Joe and Jennifer being late. “I was beginning to think that you got arrested.” 

 

Joe smiled back at the red-faced pokégirl. “No, nothin’ I can’t handle.” 

 

The white Catgirl gave the human a look as though she did not believe him, the same look a parent would give their child if they were caught telling a lie. “Oh? And what did you ‘handle’?” Alia watched the OfficerJenny and human both share the same expression on their faces, but not looking at each other. “Oh, it was one of those handles. So you think that getting a ‘handle’ or two justifies you from delaying breakfast, hmm?” 

 

“It wasn’t like that,” Jennifer started up, defending both the human and herself. “He was just feeling bad about yesterday, so I comforted him, that’s all.” 

 

When the white Catgirl heard this response, Joe saw pain wash over her face. “Oh…I see…” 

 

Joe tried to say something to Alia to comfort her, but the human was interrupted by a sudden force that flew into his arms, knocking him over on his back. “MASTER! Did you see Alia and me?! Did you?! Did you?!” The excited Firecat continued to snuggle, kiss, and hug the human as he tried to get himself off from the floor. 

 

By the time Joe managed to get back on his feet, Jade had returned the two loaned pokégirls and was now standing over her owner. As the five made their way to the cafeteria for their meals, the brown-haired tamer asked if he could speak with his Alpha alone and stated they would catch up with Jade and Mabella. “Will you give us your ‘Dex then, Master?” Jade asked. 

 

“You can call me by my name,” Joe responded, as he handed it over with a wink. “Jennifer, can you walk a ways up so Alia and I can have some privacy?” Jennifer nodded and walked about fifty feet and waited for the two to be done with their conversation. 

 

Joe faced Alia, but the Catgirl was looking away from her owner. “You two seem to be hitting it off well,” she almost hissed out. 

 

“Alia…I…”

 

“She’ll make a good Alpha,” the Catgirl cut the human off. Turning to face Joe and staring into his eyes with her angry violet eyes. “Don’t you think?” 

 

“Jennifer is not going to replace you, Alia.” 

 

“So now it’s Jennnnifer,” the pokégirl said the OfficerJenny’s name in a mocking tone. “What happened to ‘Officer Mercury’, huh?” 

 

“Alia…” 

 

“Maybe I should reschedule you two to have taming sessions every day, since you two seem to find time for each other.” 

 

“Alia.” 

 

“That way you two can comfort each other every single…” 

 

“ALIA!” Joe shouted at the Catgirl. It stopped the Catgirl from talking and caught the attention of Officer Mercury, who looked back at the two. Alia looked away from the human and at the floor. “We both didn’t plan it out today. I was feeling bad from yesterday, Jennif…Officer Mercury was there and she talked to me about it. I was the one to ask her to comfort me, so don’t blame her on that. My feelings for you haven’t changed. I still remember our first night together…and all the nights we’ve shared after that. Nothing’s changed since then.” 

 

Alia looked back up at Joe, tears starting to form in her eyes. “I don’t want to be second, Joe. I want to be the one that you come to when you are feeling bad. I want to be the one to comfort you. I want to be the one that you can share anything with…no one else.” The tears had started to come down the Catgirl’s soft cheeks. “So when that…that…‘girl…comes into our harem, and starts stealing you away from me…I…I…” 

 

Joe did not want the distraught Catgirl to say anymore, so he grabbed her and tightly hugged her. Alia tensed up at first, almost struggled to free herself from her tamer’s embrace, but succumbed to him a few seconds later. Burying her face within the human’s chest, Alia began to sob softly. Rubbing her head and whispering soft reassurances into her ear, Joe tried to comfort the pokégirl to the best of his abilities. 

 

After about five minutes, Alia had stopped crying and calmed down. Joe whispered softly to her, “You’ll never be second place, Alia, because there is no “places”. Each one of you is special to me and all irreplaceable; I couldn’t be able to go on without either of you. Honestly, I don’t seem to understand why you and Jennifer are not getting along.” Alia looked up at her tamer, confused by what he was saying. “She lost her owner too; he was someone that she loved very much and would do anything to get him back.” Alia seemed to look a little ashamed of what she was previously feeling for the OfficerJenny, but Joe did not want the Catgirl to feel bad again. “Look, why don’t we all go and eat together and try to put this whole thing behind us, huh?” 

 

Alia and Joe both smiled at each other and started back toward the rest of the harem. When they came up to Jennifer, Alia hugged her and almost began dragging the OfficerJenny with them, smiling all the while. 

 

 

**********

 

 

“So,” the green-haired human asked the red-skinned pokégirl who sat across the diner’s table from him. “What have you and I got so far?” 

 

The two were in Peekabu Village and eating in the same diner that the suspect and the renegade Mini-Top stayed at. The CLIB agents Charles Lovelace and Nadie had just finished following up with the authorities in the town and decided to have lunch together in the place that rented a room to the human and his pokégirl. Charles thought that he and Nadie may be able to get some information out of Rosemary the Mousewife; Nadie thought that they were wasting their time and that they should go straight to Ladybra’s Lagoon for the follow up reports. If anything, the Alaka-Wham believed they should talk to Bimbo named Dahlia, or at least Corette the Dust Bunny. The pokégirl also did not think that the two should be spending money for two meals that would probably not be reimbursed. 

“Not much, Charles,” answered Nadie in a rather agitated voice. “If we don’t get anything from Ladybra’s Lagoon, we’ll need to wait until something else comes up.” 

 

“Why so grumpy, my Little Ladybug?” Charles grinned to the Alaka-Wham, who was now glaring at her owner. 

“We aren’t going to be paid for these meals, Dear. This is a waste of money. And why do you insist on calling me that?” 

 

“Because I know you enjoy it, Sweetheart. Anyway, why wouldn’t they be able to pay for this? We’re going to try to get more information out of some witnesses, so it’s a business expense. If you spend money to help the witnesses, they’ll help you out.” 

“I don’t think it’s gonna work like that, Sweetie. Buying meals doesn’t exactly count as supporting and warming up to witnesses.” The Alaka-Wham frowned again as she looked out the dining booth’s window. The scenery was nothing too great, just a view of the small town’s Main Street. “I miss Epoch…” 

 

The human stopped grinning and stared at the red-skinned pokégirl. It was not that he was angry or confused, but was a little shocked at what came out of her mind. Even after all the time that had passed since she had evolved, not including the time when he first bought her as an A-Bra, Nadie still seemed to surprise him. “You ‘miss Epoch’? Why’s that, Brown Eyes?” 

“It’s fast and exciting. It’s also safe and we don’t need to worry about Trinity and all those other cases that we needed to deal with.” Nadie looked at her owner, displaying a small and tired expression upon her face. “When do you think we’ll all retire from the CLIB and settle down?” 

 

This question came as a little bit of a shock to the green-haired agent. “Retire? I didn’t know you felt that way, Nadie. What brought all this on?” When the pokégirl did not answer, Lovelace asked, “Does it have to do with this case we’re working on?” The Alaka-Wham nodded. “This isn’t too bad of a case. Is there anything else that’s bothering you?” 

 

Nadie looked down at the table, breaking her eye contact with her owner. “I guess I’m just thinking about that police officer that died; Officer Mercury was killed in the line of duty and it was in front of his pet and partner as well. I guess I just keep thinking that I’m not sure what I’d do if I were to lose you and the rest of the ‘girls.” 

 

Before Charles could respond, Rosemary came to their table and gave the law enforcement couple their orders. She looked at the two for a second, knowing that she had interrupted a serious conversation between and two and walked away as soon as she was done laying out the food. As the pokégirl walked away, Charles assured the Psychic type.  “I’m not gonna get killed, okay Nadie? I’m not going to have us quit because of worry. Nothing bad is going to happen to us, okay?” The human smiled warmly at the pokégirl and waited for her to nod back to him. After the Alaka-Wham did so, Charles stated, “Good. Now, let’s get to our meal and see if the Mousewife will talk to us afterward.” 

 

 

**********

 

 

“Did something happen that I should know about?” the green-eyed NurseJoy asked her Pureblood owner. The human, the White Catgirl, and the OfficerJenny walked into the cafeteria of the Pokécenter and met up with the rest of the harem. Jade had made sure to stand next to Joe as they were receiving their food, since she forced Mabella to wait until the rest of the group arrived. As the human and the pink-haired pokégirl were the last ones in line, Jade posed the question, but silently enough so that she would not be overheard. “It looks like you three had quite a talk… based upon Alia’s face and your time delay.” 

 

Trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, the human stated, “Alia had just misunderstood what was going on between Jennifer and me. There’s nothing to really talk about. She’s knows now it was something that she had no reason to worry about.” Joe paid for the harem’s meals, catching the NurseJoy staring at him out of the corner of his eye. 

 

“If you say so,” the pokégirl cooed at the human as he finished paying for the meals. The two began walking toward the table that the Firecat had picked out, since she was the first one to get her breakfast. As the harem sat down, Joe noticed that his Alpha and the OfficerJenny were sitting next each other. He was worried a little at first, due to what had just happened between the two, but saw them both smiling. Jade must have seen the look on her owner’s face, because the pokégirl asked, “‘No reason to worry about’, huh?” The NurseJoy finished the question with a wink. “You know you should tell me about anything that is happening in the harem, Sweety. I might be able to help you out.” After the pink-haired pokégirl reminded her owner of this information, the two sat down next to the rest of the harem. 

 

The human sat down next to Mabella and Alia, while Jade took her seat next to Officer Mercury. As the five began eating their meals, Alia was the first one to speak up. “I don’t mean to use this as an excuse to bring up a conversation about work… but I think it’s something that needs to be discussed.” Alia waited until everyone’s attention was on her before she began. “I was going through the list of bounties and there was one that this town has that I really don’t think we should pass up. It’s quite large, and there has even been a bonus bounty put on this one.” Alia looked down at her food for a few moments before she started up again. “The reason why I’m so… hesitant, about this job… is…” Alia trailed off. 

 

After a few seconds, Jade spoke up. “Alia… what pokégirl are you thinking about having us go after?” 

 

Alia took in a breath and blurted out, “A Vampire.” Everyone stared at the Catgirl as if she had started speaking in a foreign language. “It’s reported that there could be up to three of them, but I think that the other two are probably Vampiras, though they are worth a little more than their frequency bounty. We should be able to take them down if we work together though.” The white furred pokégirl finished with a weak smile. 

 

“Just what gave you the idea that we can do this?” Jade asked her Alpha with a stern voice. “We don’t have any advantage over these ‘girls… it would be bad for us to do this job.” 

 

“I think that we can do it, Jade,” Mabella chimed in. “Master has been gettin’ pretty good with that gun, and Alia wouldn’t have us stray away from town too much, would you Alia?” 

 

The Catgirl shook her head. “No, these attacks seem to only be a couple hours away from Hollyton, so we would be able to come back and sleep during the day.” Alia looked at Joe with an almost wary expression. “What do you think, Joe?” 

 

“I’m not sure,” Joe started to say as he got out his portable device of his pokédex. Opening up the entries on both of the pokégirls, the human read through the entries. His eyes seemed to double in size as he read a certain section of the entry for the Vampire. “What’s does this mean, ‘…triggers the change into a Vampire. Males turn female before their transformation’?” Joe looked up at Jade. “Does this mean if I get bitten, I’m gonna turn into a girl?” 

 

“You could…” Jade started. “If you don’t get treated for that type of a bite. The change varies from case to case, but we shouldn’t be away from the Pokécenter for more than a day. I don’t think that that will be a problem. I’m just worried because we do not have an advantage over these two breeds, and no offense Jennifer, but you are probably the weakest link in this case. These ‘girls are strong against Fighting types.” Jade had turned her attention toward the OfficerJenny while she addressed the blue-haired pokégirl, but the NurseJoy now had her attention back on her owner. “I’m also worried about you too. If you decide to do this bounty, I’ll stay near you, but I really can’t guarantee your safety.” 

 

“I think Joe and I will be fine,” Jennifer stated confidently to the harem. “As Mabella said, he’s been getting better with the pistol he uses, and I will be using mine.” The pokégirl smiled lightly at the human. “I’ll stay next to you as well; I think that we can do this job.” 

 

Joe looked around the table at the four pokégirls harem. Trying to sound as lighthearted as possible, but having his nervousness shine through more than anything, Joe said, “So it’s all up to me, huh?” After a small pause, trying to find the words, the human continued. “I guess if you all think that we are capable of taking this job, I guess we should take it then, right?” The human made a soft grin at the harem to hide his anxiety, but they could see right through it. 

 

Mabella was the first of the four to speak up. “Aw, don’t look so worried, Master.” The Firecat wrapped her arms around the human and gave him a tight squeeze. “We’ll be able to take on these nasty Dark types without a hitch. You and Jenny’s pistols will be able to paralyze them, should you get a good shot in at them. Then they’ll be down for the count.” 

 

Joe looked at the blonde pokégirl and grumbled out, “Like I did with that Spiderwoman, huh?” 

 

“Aw, you just got a little nervous for your first feral encounter,” Mabella cooed. “And to be fair, they weren’t even ferals. It’s a completely different experience when you’re fighting a feral and fighting a pokégirl with a mind.” 

 

“An easier experience?” 

 

“It can be. But in this case, I think that they will try to get you to be their meal and sex toy, so you shouldn’t worry too much about getting ripped apart.” The blonde Firecat grinned madly from ear to ear after the statement. 

 

Joe wanted to smile at the dark humor the pokégirl was using for him, but it did not work. “That’s good, I guess. But won’t they change their minds if I start firing at them?” 

 

“They might,” Jade now spoke up. “But if you get a good shot off on them, they shouldn’t be much of a problem. I’ll try to use my Yell technique to stop them in their tracks so you and Jennifer can get a clean shot in on them. Hopefully, the Vampire will not use her powers to harshly; otherwise you might be in trouble.” After the NurseJoy saw the new look of worry on her owner’s face, she stated, “But I’m sure you’ll be fine. Jennifer and I will be right next to you should anything happen.” The harem began to eat their breakfast, thinking about what could happen to them during that night. 

 

 

**********

 

 

It was late afternoon when the CLIB agents arrived back at Hollyton’s Pokécenter. Lovelace and Nadie had made almost no progress on the case and they were beginning to wonder when the “Bonnie and Clyde” duo was going to strike next. They both did not like the idea, but Charles and his harem did not have any other choice. “Well, that was a waste of a day,” Charles stated as he took off the jacket for his uniform. 

“That’s a fact,” Nadie commented as she did the same. The difference between the human’s uniform and the red-skinned pokégirl’s was the former was wearing an undershirt beneath the uniform and the pokégirl was not. As the Alaka-Wham opened the uniform, her E-cup breasts seemed to pop straight out of the clothing. As the pokégirl slid the apparel off, she felt hands cupping her breasts. Moaning lightly, she communicated, “Did you want to get Celina out and all three of us go into the pool, or did you want some alone time here in the room?” 

 

Grabbing and rubbing the Alaka-Wham’s nipples with his thumbs and index fingers, Charles whispered into Nadie’s ear, “What do you feel like doing?” As he ended the question, the human increased the pressure. 

“I’d like to bathe with you, but I think Celina would like some swimming time.” 

 

“Whose night is it?” 

 

“How about you and I take a swim together and afterward you and I can have the fun with her. She won’t take too much to tame up and we can try out some of those ‘water techniques’ you were interested in while we are down there.” Charles nibbled at his Alpha’s ear a little. 

“I…” Nadie gasped for a breath of air. “I need to remove my skirt first…before we go to the pool. We also need to write out a summary report of everything we did today.” 

 

“We can write that out later,” Charles stated softly. The human then softly whispered into the aroused pokégirl, “And what’s stopping you from taking that skirt off?” It was not helping the Psychic type that her owner was picturing all the sexual acts he planned to perform on her either. After the skirt slipped off from the red-skinned pokégirl’s hips and fell to the floor, Charles released Nadie and ordered, “Get on your robe and help me into mine. The faster we get them on and get down to the pool, the faster we can begin.” Thanks to Nadie’s telekinesis, the couple was on their way to the pool in less than a minute. 

 

 

**********

 

 

“Christ this sucks,” Joe complained as he walked along the trail of the dark, night woods at about eleven o’clock. The Cat types were up in the trees, trying to keep as silent as they could as they followed the human, NurseJoy, and OfficerJenny. The night was not very bright, due to cloud and tree cover. Joe was using a flashlight, but the narrow beam of the device was not making him feel very safe. He kept wondering if a feral, not particularly any on their list, would pick any of them off. Joe also thought about if they encountered the Dark types that they were hunting. The harem needed the credits that the bounties would bring in, but with every step, the human was beginning to regret taking the job. Joe was not sure if it had to do with the fact that his pokégirls did not have an advantage over these ferals, if it was because this was happening at night, if it had to do with the fact that his gender and status as a human could be altered, or if it was a combination of all three. “Maybe this was a bad idea.” 

 

“What’s wrong, Master?” Jade asked. The NurseJoy was wearing a blue jean jacket the human had never seen her wear over her nurse uniform. Joe could not blame the pokégirl; it was chilly that night due to the temperature drop. “Are you getting cold feet?” 

 

“They aren’t the only things that are getting cold,” the human moaned as he began rubbing his arms with his hands. “Are we even sure that they’ll attack us out here, or that we are in the reported spot?” 

 

“I looked over the map, Joe,” Jennifer informed the human. “We are in the general vicinity of the reported attacks. It’s somewhat hard to tell exactly where the attacks occurred, since these all happened at night and so few have actually reported this incident.” 

 

“Is that because only the stupid ones travel at night…or is it because these ferals leave no survivors?” Joe asked in a cynical tone. He was trying to hide his fear through irritation, but the human had a feeling that his two bodyguards were not fooled. 

 

“Correct on both accounts,” Jade stated. “I told you this was a bad idea, but did you listen to me? Nope, you had to show the harem that you’re a ‘Big Shot’ and that this was an easy job. And now you’re gonna get bitten and turned into a pokégirl.” Joe turned around and gave the NurseJoy a snarl. The pink-haired pokégirl ignored the human and continued to tease him. “I’m just wondering how cute you are going to look as a Vampire. Do you think that you’ll get C-cups or Ds?” 

 

“That isn’t very funny,” Joe retorted. The human tried to ignore the two pokégirls that had started giggling behind him. 

 

As the three continued down the path, Joe started to move the beam of light that came from his flashlight over everything that started making noises. He could not place his finger on it, but the human was beginning to get the feeling that he was being watched by something that was not in his harem. It’s not just that, Joe thought. It feels as though I’m really starting to lose my edge. He turned back to his pokégirls, how were not in their joking mood anymore. “Hey, are you two doin’ okay?” 

 

The two were reluctant to nod their heads, which got Joe feeling a little better that he was not the only one getting this feeling. You don’t know why that is? the annoying voice that had not shown up in a while smugly stated. You really are clueless, huh? 

What do you mean? Joe thought to what he assumed was himself. This means I’m not a chicken-shit. They are nervous too. 

That’s exactly my point. Why don’t you get out your ‘Dex and turn to the Vampire entry. Joe did as he was instructed and began reading the entry. Right there. I think that this is the Fear Aura attack. Ask Jade what she thinks. 

 

Joe put his pokédex away and turned to the two pokégirls. “Hey Jade, did you and Jennifer start getting more nervous at about the same time as I was starting to?” 

 

Jade looked over at the OfficerJenny for a couple of seconds and nodded. “Yeah, it was about the same time that you thought you were scanning everything with you light off the path. I thought it might be a feral, but after nothing happened or it ran off, the feeling didn’t go away for me.” 

 

Joe nodded. “Call me crazy, but do you think that this is the Vampire’s Fear Aura?” 

 

“Maybe,” Jade started. “But that would mean that she is very close to our location. Try looking around for anything that does not seem to be acting the way it should be.” 

 

The three began shining their flashlights all over the area they were in. It was not exactly a clearing, but it would be a good area to make a campsite. As the three began shining light over the trees and underbrush, Joe asked, “What exactly are we looking for again?” 

 

“Vampires are supposed to be able to turn into bats or rats,” Jade explained. “Try to look for anything like that. They should be moving around or flying, so if you see you that is just staring at you, that will be her. Just pull out your guns and blast it.” 

 

As Joe was looking around the miniature clearing, thinking that the idea of finding either a rodent or a flying rodent that was not acting like an ordinary one was a completely stupid plan and trying to hold back the growing fear that was building up within him (his hands were beginning to shake and tremble, causing the light to shake and cause more of his sight to be distorted), when he saw something that caught his eye. He could not be sure if it was a person or not, due to the light running by the object so fast and the shaking, but when Joe turned the light back onto the “person”, there was nothing there. Fuckin’ Christ, the human thought. Now I’m seeing things. Joe turned and began looking into the direction and continued the search when she heard a spine chilling scream from above him. 

 

Doing everything he could to keep from screaming himself, Joe looked up toward the scream but saw nothing. It was not until he looked back at the NurseJoy and OfficerJenny when he did let out a small scream. Joe saw the pink-haired pokégirl lying on the ground and the blue-haired pokégirl trying to fight off another new pokégirl. The new pokégirl had dark hair and was about the same height as Jennifer. Every time Jennifer tried to throw a punch at the pokégirl, she dodged it or seemed to reflect the hit off of what appeared to be an invisible barrier, or at least something that Joe could not make out. 

 

The human was not sure what was happening, but it appeared to be a glowing blade that formed in the right hand of the dark haired pokégirl. As Joe watched in fear, she stabbed Jennifer through the chest. Still trembling as he heard Jennifer scream out in agony, the human’s mind went blank. He tried to force himself to reach for his gun and fire at the feral pokégirl, but Joe’s body refused to do so. Fleeing did not seem to be an option either, as his legs seemed to stop responding to him. All Joe could do was stand in the small clearing and watch as the Dark type pokégirl pulled the blade out from the OfficerJenny and turned toward him. The creature smiled sinisterly at him and began walking slowly towards him, the blade fading from her hand as she did so. 

Go for your gun, the voice screamed in Joe’s head. Joe tried to do as it ordered, but his hands just would not listen to him. The only thing that they would do was tremble, causing the light from the flashlight to move on and off the black-haired pokégirl as she came closer to him. GRAB YOUR GUN! The voice screamed at him. 

 

Joe dropped the flashlight as the pokégirl stood only three feet away from him. The pokégirl continued to smile with that sinister look upon her face, but her canines now began to show underneath the bottom of her upper lip. Licking her lips slowly with her tongue, the Vampire had just started walking toward Joe again when an ear piercing scream came from behind her. The Vampire froze when she heard it, but Joe heard a shout from the same origin the scream came from. “Shoot her!” 

 

Joe continued to stare into the pokégirl’s eyes, who was starting to come back from the shock of the Yell technique, but he still could not find it in himself to grab his gun from its hidden holster within his coat and shoot her. I’m really gonna turn into a pokégirl, Joe thought as the pokégirl shook her head from the trance she was in. I had my chance and blew it. Now it’s all ov… 

 

BANG! 

 

A gunshot rang out from behind the Vampire and her eyes filled with shock from the sound and the bullet that pierced her back. 

 

BANG! BANG! 

 

Two more shots rang out into the night and the Dark type pokégirl fell forward, her face landing at Joe’s feet. As the pokégirl and hit the ground, Joe was able to see that Jennifer had pulled out her pistol, despite her injury and pain, and shot the Vampire three times. The pokégirl had the gun pointing in Joe’s direction for a couple more seconds before she dropped it on the ground. Letting out a sigh, she turned on her back. Jade was slowly crawling toward Jennifer and shouted at Joe, “What are you doing?! Help her!” 

 

Jade’s screams began to break the human out of his frozen fear trance. Joe looked back down at Jennifer and started walking towards her. When he reached the pokégirl, he knelt down beside her, looking at the blood that was starting to cover the pokégirl’s entire police uniform. Turning his attention at Jade, the human tamer asked, “What do I do, Jade?” 

 

The NurseJoy looked up at the tamer. “Use that needle I gave you. Inject her with one shot near the area and she’ll be fine, but HURRY!” 

 

Joe fished into his coat and pulled out the needle that the NurseJoy gave to him. Removing the needle’s cover from the P-Med the human stabbed it into the OfficerJenny. Crying out lightly, Jennifer moved slightly, but Joe was able to inject her with one does of the liquid that was inside the needle. He pulled the needle out and walked over to Jade. The human knelt down next to Jade and asked, “You need one too, Jade?” 

 

“Yeah,” Jade said. “That bitch must have used Mega Drain or something on me. I was down before I even knew what was happening.” After Joe gave her the injection, the NurseJoy ordered, “Well, go ‘ball her, Joe. I don’t know if she’ll get back up so soon, but we won’t be able to take again if she does.” 

 

This realization washed over and he turned to look at the feral pokégirl. He let out a huge sigh of relief when he saw that the Vampire was still lying on the ground. The human walked over to the feral and tossed an empty pokéball at her. The Vampire was captured within the device, after a few shakes and wobbles from the pokéball. Joe let out another sigh and called out for the rest of his harem. “ALIA! MABELLA! Where are you two?” After the human picked up the Vampire’s pokéball and put it on his belt, he walked over to the OfficerJenny, who was beginning to breath normally again and began to sit up. Joe called for this Cat types again and knelt next to the recovering blue-haired pokégirl. “Hey, thanks for saving my ass back there.” 

 

Jennifer smiled tiredly at the human. “Just doin’ my job, Citizen.” Joe smiled back at the pokégirl, grabbed the back of her neck and gave her a small peck on the cheek. The human looked over at the NurseJoy, who was trying to rise to her feet, but was out of breath. 

 

“I think I’m going to need to be ‘balled up,” Jade stated. “That attack got me pretty well drained on energy. Could you get me back into my ‘ball when the Cats get back?” 

 

“Sure,” Joe said as he started reaching for the NurseJoy’s pokéball in the compartment in his boot. 

 

A couple of minutes later, the Cat types arrived into the clearing. Mabella was carrying a pokégirl across her shoulders and dropped it in front of the human. “Well, that’s all we could get,” the Firecat stated. “Alia and I only saw this one, no other Vampiras out here. Maybe she was given the night off or somethin’. Everyone else okay?” 

 

“Yeah,” Joe answered as he got out a spare pokéball. “Everyone’s okay. Jade got hit and is out of energy, so I’m gonna ‘ball her up. What about you two?” Joe tossed the pokéball at the feral and she was caught without even a struggle. 

 

“Are you kiddin’?” Mabella triumphed. “I was ready to take on another Vampira. I can stay out. How about you, Alia?” 

 

“I’m fine,” the Catgirl stated. “But if you are so full of energy, Miss I-can-take-on-any-feral-without-any-help, you can help carry Jennifer all the way back to the Pokécenter.” As the Firecat strutted over to the OfficerJenny, Alia turned to her master and stated, “How are you doing from your first night hunt?” 

 

Joe returned Jade back into her pokéball and faced Alia again. “Okay, I guess. I…” Joe tried to find the words. “I…froze…during the fight.” 

 

Joe wanted to say more, but the Catgirl put her finger up to the human’s lips. “We’ll talk about it when we get back to the ‘Center. Right now, we need to worry about getting back safe and sound. Okay?” Alia smiled and waited for Joe to respond. After he nodded, the pokégirl said, “Good, now let’s all get out of here. Oh, don’t forget to take the ‘ball too.” 

 

 

**********

 

 

“So what is it you wanted to talk to me about?” Alia asked as she and the human both lay on their bed in the Pokécenter as the sun began to peek its way in through the window. The harem’s trip to Hollyton’s Police Station went uneventful and they were able to turn their catches into the desk worker, claiming their bounty reward. The harem had gone back their room and went straight to their sleeping arrangements. Everyone was now asleep, except for the human and his Alpha. “Did it have something to do with the Vampire and your battle?” 

 

“Yeah,” Joe explained softly as he could. “Jade thinks that she, the Vampire I mean, used Fear Aura on me.” Joe waited for Alia to say something, but when she did not, he continued, “I…I just stood there. Everyone else was affected by it, but they were able to fight. All I did was just stand there, too scared to say or do anything. I watched Jennifer get stabbed in the chest…and I did nothing. I should have pulled out my gun and shot that feral in the back, but I didn’t; I just stood her. 

 

“Then Jade used her Yell technique, which worked. I couldn’t do anything then either. I just stood there, staring into that feral’s eyes…unable to move or think. If it wasn’t for Jennifer, pulling out her gun and firing, even though she was severely wounded, I don’t think that we’d be here talking and lying next to each other.” Joe looked away from the Catgirl’s violet eyes. “I really don’t know if I’m cut out for this line of work, Alia.” 

 

Alia continued to stare at her master. She touched the human’s chin and slowly turned his head so that he was facing her again. When they’re eyes met, she smiled softly at him. “You are cut out for this line of work. You just had to deal with something that you weren’t prepared for. I’ve been doing this for six years; you just started about a month ago. It’s okay to feel scared. Most tamers wouldn’t have done what we did tonight, that’s why the bounties were so valuable. We helped this community and we were able to turn a nice profit too. 

 

“Say, how about after we all get some sleep, we can walk around the city and just have a nice relaxing day. No training, no worries, just a day to forget about what happened tonight. We never did celebrate your new identity, did we?” 

 

A few seconds later, Joe smiled back at her and answered. “No, we didn’t, did we? I guess we can have a relaxing day. I’m not sure if it’s just the near having-my-blood-sucked-out-of-me-and-almost-being-made-into-a-pokégirl experience that’s got me on edge, or if it’s just my I- want-to-live compulsion getting in the way.” Joe chuckled lightly at his own dumb joke. 

 

Alia giggled lightly and commented, “Yeah, who wants to play it safe all the time. But…”  The Catgirl moved in closer to the human and whispered in his ear, “Maybe you wanted to be a pokégirl. I think that you’d look sexy as a dark haired Vampire.” 

 

“Na uh,” Joe responded. “I like my dick.”

 

Alia purred. “Why do you think I keep you around, Sweetie? It ain’t for your combat skills; it’s for your…bedroom skills.” The two lovers continued to giggle, slowly turning their talk into pillow-talk before they fell asleep in each other’s arms. 

 

 

**********

 

 

Tamer Bobby Leach stood on the dark, vacant streets of Cutiepie Creek at one in the morning of August 12. He had decided to go to one of the local bars and have a couple of drinks to get information from some of the locals. He was planning on capturing a few strong ferals that had been sighted near the city and was looking to get any information he could from the bar patrons. Buying a few rounds was worth the price of getting the information needed to get some nice catches. 

 

The seventeen-year-old tamer was still mad at the asshole that had beaten him up twice in two different towns. If I ever find that son-of-a-Byte-Bitch, he kept telling his Alpha and himself. I’m gonna make him wish he was ever fucking born! Leach was not pissed and drunk right now, he was just pissed. It had only been a few days, but the young human never had been humiliated like that before, especially in public. Leach was continuing to think these thoughts as he made his way toward the Pokécenter when he heard a noise from behind him. 

 

Bobby turned around and saw two figures walking into the city; they were coming in his direction. Since the street lights were not that bright, he could not make out what the two looked like. Leach tried to listen in on their conversation as they got closer. When the male spoke up, Bobby recognized the voice. That’s that prick! The young tamer waited until the two figures got closer, but leaned up against a nearby building, trying to look like he did not care about the two newcomers. I got to make sure it’s him though. 

 

As the human and his Bunny-type pokégirl got closer to the streetlight, Leach saw the same man that had humiliated him on two occasions. Big mistake, Chickenlittle, the young tamer thought. Big mistake. Moving off from the wall, Leach walked up to the two figures. “Hey Whorc,” he shouted. “What happened to your other pokégirls and that OfficerJenny? They aren’t gonna be able to help you out now, are they?!” 

 

The two newcomers, who had looked at the young human as soon as he called out to them, turned to face each other again as if they had witnessed someone turning into a giant fish that started to flop around on the street and wanted confirm that the other had saw the oddity too. “You know this guy, Bab-e?” the Dark Haired Man asked his Mini-Top. 

 

“Never seen him before, Jackie,” Babs responded. “He looks like a tamer though. See that belt he’s got on and all those ‘balls.” 

 

Bobby was starting grind his teeth now. “You mean to tell me that you don’t remember me?! You FUCKING PIECE OF PONYTAUR SHIT!” Leach’s hands were now clinched into fists at his sides. 

 

Jack Box frowned toward the young tamer. “He certainly does have some balls on him, don’t he, Babs? What do you say? Yay or Nay?” 

 

The Mini-Top smiled a sinister grin at the young human. Making a noise like almost sounded like a purr, the pokégirl answered, “Yay.” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Type: Near Human

Element: Dark/Flying

Frequency: Rare

Diet: human style food, with occasional blood or vitamin supplements

Role: uncommon Pokégirl type, makes an excellent night security guard

Libido: Average

Strong Vs: Bug, Dark, Fighting, Ghost, Ground, Plant, Psychic

Weak Vs: Electric, Ice, Rock

Attacks: Claw, Dark Blade, Dark Bomb, Drain, Kick, Tackle, Wing Attack

Weaknesses: Torpid during the day

Enhancements: Enhanced strength (x4), Elemental Affinity: Dark, Altered digestive system, Night vision, Ability to cling to walls and vertical surfaces, Low melanin level

Evolves: None

Evolves From: Goth (Wannabe Vampire Sub-type; Dark Stone)

 

 

 

Type: Very Near Human

Element: Ghost/Magic

Frequency: Rare

Diet: Blood

Role: Hunters

Libido: High

Strong Vs: Bug, Fighting, Ground, Ghost, Magic, Plant, Poison, Psychic, Infernal

Weak Vs: Dark, Electric, Ice, Celestial, solar-based attacks

Attacks: Vampire Bite, Drain, Invis (all levels), Night Shade, Phase, Illusion, Fear Aura, Mega Drain, Dark Shield, Cocoon of Darkness, Dark Mist, Dark Matter, Blood Blade, Blood Bullets, Vampiric Touch, Ghost Blade, Nightmare Syndrome

Enhancements: Enhanced Speed (x4), Enhanced Strength (x4), Enhanced Endurance (x4), Enhanced Durability (x4), Enhanced Healing (x3), Darkness affinity, Constant Ashen Wings and Dark Goggles effect, light transformation and illusionary capabilities

Evolves: Psivamp (Moon Shard), Lucarda (mechanism unknown), Starlady (Dawn Stone)

Evolves From: Humans, Dark-type Pokégirls or Amazon-type Pokégirls (infected through bite)

Bounty: Varies from league to league

Recommendation if you see one: Before anything is done, be certain that the Vampire is indeed a Feral one. Observe it, trying if at all possible to stay out of its way. The difference between a Feral Vampire and a Tamed Vampire is very subtle. If the Vampire seems even remotely animalistic in nature, then evac immediately, making sure to have a fighting-type Pokégirl at the ready if you are spotted. If you are spotted, be prepared to kill the Vampire as its bite is potentially lethal and has the potential to infect you or your Pokégirls, resulting in a transformation into a Vampire. (applies to Ferals only)