Disclaimer:
This work is fiction. The work is presented under fair protection where applicable.
Feedback will be read, processed, and if it’s a flame it will be given the finger, then I will burst into hysterical laughter. Constructive feedback, be it criticism or praise, will be read, processed, given a smile, and filed away. To contact me, please send an email to socom.seal@(SPAM)yahoo.com. Remove (SPAM) for a valid email.
You should not read this work if you are not of legal age where you reside. This work may contain concepts or written actions that some readers may find excessive or disturbing. This may include (but not be limited to) rape, BDSM, or death.
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Chapter 3
The Road to Mt. Moon!
Nicholas took a deep breath of the morning air. “Ready, Dahlia?”
The Bulbasaur nodded resolutely. “Yes, Master.”
They were getting a slightly later start than he’d wanted, but it couldn’t be helped. The orgy his girls had put him through the night before had necessitated some time to recover.
“I can already see tamers battling.” Nicholas muttered, gazing at where what looked like a Rattata and a Pidgey were duking it out. “That guy must have been telling the truth about how many people get stalled here.”
“Not us, Master.”
“No, not us.” Nicholas agreed. “I visited the pokemart and bought a lot of potions. We’re not stopping until we get through that mountain.”
Dahlia nodded. He had noticed that her attitude was becoming much more confident, maybe even forward after her latest fight. “Let’s do it!”
They quickly skirted the battling tamers but barely made it a few more steps before Nicholas heard a shout.
“HEY!” A girl ran up to him. “I challenge you! Pokegirl battle!”
“Alrighty, Dahlia, you’re up!” Nicholas slid back to give the Bulbasaur some room.
“Jenny, let’s win!” The girl cried, releasing a Pidgey.
“Jenny, huh? Brock has a Jenny as well.” Nicholas observed.
The girl grinned. “Yea, I was surprised when I heard.”
“Dahlia, just do what you do best.” Nicholas called.
Dahlia nodded, lashing out with her vines. The Pidgey squawked, blocking one hit before flapping in and clawing at the Bulbasaur.
Dahlia winced, shoving her opponent away and striking again. This time her hit landed and the Pidgey screamed from the pain.
“Jenny, don’t give up!” The girl cried.
The Pidgey struggled back up. “No, Mistress!”
“You’re stronger, Dahlia! Hit her with everything you’ve got!”
Dahlia started to attack again before a thought struck and her vines shot across the Pidgey’s body. Before the bird girl could react she had grappled her wings, dragging her down and slamming her face into the dirt.
“Oof.” Nicholas muttered, watching the other tamer recall her. “That had to hurt.”
“That’s alright, we’ve got this! Mary, do your best!”
Dahlia hissed when another Pidgey materialized. “Another bird?”
“Do it again!”
Dahlia nodded, feinting an attack before repeating the move on the new girl. The Pidgey struggled, avoiding a knockout blow but still taking a nasty blow to her body as she hit the ground. She was starting to get to her feet when Dahlia appeared in front of her.
“Wait-“ The Pidgey blustered before Dahlia slammed into her.
“DANGIT!” The tamer cried, recalling her Pidgey and dropping her gaze sullenly. “Isn’t she a grass-type? How’d you win?”
“Type matchups aren’t everything.” Nicholas replied.
“Guess not.” The girl muttered. “Here.”
Nicholas took the money. “Thanks for the battle.”
“Yea, yea.” The girl grumbled, walking back towards the city.
He and Dahlia shared a look before they burst into laughter. “I think we’ll be getting a lot of that, Master.”
“I sure hope so.” Nicholas chuckled.
Ashley took the next battle, Nicholas recognizing the mosquito net headwear on the next boy and giving her an easy 3-0 victory over the boy’s bug-types.
“Why are there so many birds around here!” The boy ranted.
“Because there are a lot of bugs?” Nicholas supplied helpfully.
The boy shot him a look before following the other defeated tamers.
Nicholas chuckled and moved on with Elizabeth. They fought back against two more before Nicholas heard someone calling from behind him.
“So! You’re the guy just waltzing through here.” Nicholas turned to see an older boy watching him. “You think you can just take over, is that it?”
“I’m just passing through.”
“That’s not how things work around here.” The boy chided. “Nobody just keeps going. The mountain is deadly, you know. All you really need is one badge.”
“Uh, thanks, but I’m going for them all.” Nicholas replied.
The boy’s friendly smile vanished. “I’ll show you that you’re not ready for that.” He threw out his arms to reveal two small pins on his chest. “Take a look! This is the kind of power you’ll need just to get two badges!”
Nicholas watched him release a strange new pokegirl. “What’s that?”
“Pidgeotto.” His pokedex chirped. “The bird pokegirl. An evolved form of Pidgey.”
“E-Evolved?” Nicholas gulped. “Uh oh.”
“I’ll only use her to show you how outclassed you really are.” The boy taunted. “Come on, then!”
Nicholas took a moment to get a good look at the Pidgeotto. She was bigger than Ashley, that was for sure, and the wings that hung from her arms now extended past her hands. He imagined this one might actually be able to fly.
“Elizabeth, you’re first, hit her fast before she can get out of range.” Nicholas hissed.
The Nidoran nodded, running at the waiting Pidgeotto. The bird took one look at the charging girl and flapped her wings, a cloud of dust flying into Elizabeth’s eyes. “FUCK! I can’t see!”
“Charlotte, drop her!” The tamer laughed.
The Pidgeotto started to swoop in and screamed when Elizabeth blindly lashed out, managing to land a solid blow to her opponent. “I felt that! Got you, you stupid-“
The Pidgeotto screamed angrily, her wings whipping into a blur and sending a mini tornado crashing into the Nidoran.
Elizabeth bounced as she hit the ground and Nicholas instantly recalled her. “Ashley!” The Pidgey materialized. “We’ve got a tough one. Do your best, weaken her!”
Ashley glanced over and scowled. “I hope I don’t look that ugly when I evolve.”
The Pidgeotto purpled in rage and struck, but Ashley was faster. She flipped past the dive, dropping her own wings to smash her feet into the Pidgeotto’s unprotected back.
“Stupid-“ She was muttering when the Pidgeotto whirled around and slammed her wings into Ashley’s face.
Nicholas waited to see if she would get up before recalling the unconscious Pidgey. “Shit.”
“See? You’re weak.” The other tamer gloated. “You wouldn’t even make it to the next gym, let alone beat it.”
“You know what, asshole? Yea. I am weak. I started as an actual tamer less than a week ago. Congratulations. You’re able to beat a guy who doesn’t even have a full harem.” Nicholas’ voice dripped with sarcasm. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own fucking size.”
The tamer smirked. “I’m doing you a favor, buddy.”
“No, you’re just a coward.” Nicholas spat. “Too incompetent or afraid to do anything more than pick on those weaker than you.”
The smirk morphed into an angry glare. “You prick.”
“Dahlia!” Nicholas released the Bulbasaur. “Take this bitch of a Pidgeotto down.”
“YOU DO NOT INSULT MASTER!” The girl screeched.
Dahlia stared at the incensed bird. “Master…?”
“She’s taken a lot of hits already. Do the thing.”
Dahlia blinked before nodding. “Got it.”
“Charlotte! Kill his Bulbasaur and then fuck him up too!” The tamer roared.
Dahlia gasped. “Kill- YOU WILL NOT HURT MY MASTER!”
The Pidgeotto shot at her but Dahlia was pissed. Before the diving bird pokegirl could get close her vines were snaking out, tangling her opponent’s wings. It wasn’t enough to snare her but it threw the Pidgeotto off target, forcing her to come back around for another pass.
Dahlia screamed in rage, sprinting after her and sending her vines out once again. This time she managed to snag the Pidgeotto’s foot, her vine coiling up the girl’s leg.
The Pidgeotto whirled, trying to shake her grip. When that failed she screamed her own battle cry, stalling in the air and beginning to whip up wind with her wings.
Dahlia’s second vine shot up before the Pidgeotto could attack, slamming into her stomach in an attempt to stun the girl before it began wrapping around her chest.
The Pigeotto’s eyes bulged as Dahlia’s grip tightened. “You… little…”
Dahlia bit back her screams when the Pidgeotto bludgeoned her with wind, grimly holding on to the struggling bird. “You will not hurt my Master.” She hissed.
“Charlotte, stop playing around and GET HER!” The boy roared.
Dahlia’s vines finally reached their target and the Pidgeotto wheezed when they tightened around her neck. “Kill- you.” She gasped.
Dahlia braced herself, drawing upon every ounce of strength she had left and yanking the girl out of the sky.
The Pidgeotto crashed to the ground, but Dahlia wasn’t done with her. The girl screamed when the Bulbasaur picked her back up, barely able to heft the larger girl before slamming her into a tree. She gasped, doing it again and the Pidgeotto cried when her wing crumpled from the impact.
“Not… Done… YET!” Dahlia howled, using the last of her power to send the Pidgeotto screaming headfirst into the trunk.
Her vines released, Dahlia falling to her knees and gasping for breath. The shocked Tamer could only stare at his motionless pokegirl.
“Dahlia!” Nicholas yelled.
Dahlia gulped air, her entire body trembling from her exertion. She… there had been nothing more she could do. Her body was so weak. Weak! She couldn’t protect Master this way. Not like this.
Nicholas shielded his eyes when her body began to glow. “Dahlia?!”
Dahlia felt her breathing begin to ease as her posture changed. She felt… better. Why? Was he healing her?
Nicholas watched as the flower on her back began to tremble, the bulb slowly opening to reveal light pink petals inside. As the flower came to a rest Dahlia gasped, jerking upright.
“Dahlia?” Nicholas asked hesitantly.
Dahlia slowly felt her body, one hand cupping her breasts. She could feel… Taller. Bigger, she guessed. She had definition before but now her hand actually folded around her breast instead of over it.
“You son of a fucking bitch!” The tamer roared. He’d recalled the Pidgeotto and now stood trembling with anger.
“I’m going to fucking kill you, you know that? Nobody makes a fool of me like this. NOBODY!”
“You’re not doing shit, Charley.” Nicholas jumped when someone pushed past him but they didn’t even give him a glance. “You’ve been bullying all of us for a long time. Finally someone is able to stand up to you? We’re not going to let you change that.”
Nicholas slowly looked around at the pissed off tamers around him. Charley gulped, slipping back. “No, no no no! Stay back! Or I’ll have Charlotte-“
“You’ll have Charlotte do what, buddy?” The speaker snarled. “What’s she going to do with a concussion and busted wing?”
“Um… um…” Charley stuttered before bolting off.
“GET HIM!” The speaker roared, the crowd yelling and charging after the fleeing tamer.
Nicholas stepped forwards as the others vanished into the distance. “Dahlia…?” The newly evolved Ivysaur slowly turned to look at him. She had grown at least four inches and he could see her breasts moving independently of her chest when she breathed. “You’ve really filled out.”
Dahlia blinked before throwing herself at him. “Master!”
“Whoah!” Nicholas cried.
“I… I thought, if I couldn’t stop her…” Dahlia’s breath caught. “I couldn’t let her hurt you, Master. I couldn’t.”
“You did nothing wrong.” Nicholas replied firmly, clutching her tightly. “Good job.”
Dahlia hiccupped. “You really-?”
Her words were cut off when he kissed her, pressing his mouth to hers until her breathing started to falter and he pulled back. Both stood gasping for a few moments before she kissed him back, sending them tumbling to the ground.
There was nobody around, not anymore. They were all busy chasing down Charley. And so the two celebrated her new body together.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
POKEDEX UPDATED
Tamer: Nicholas Topolski
Badges:
Pewter City – Boulder Badge
Harem:
Dahlia, Ivysaur – Level 16
Ashley, Pidgey – Level 13
Elizabeth, Nidoran – Level 14
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Stupid… Lucky…” Elizabeth was grumbling.
After cleaning up, Nicholas had gone back to the Pewter City pokecenter and gotten his harem healed before setting back out. The other two had been less than happy to find out Dahlia not only took down the Pidgeotto, but evolved from it as well.
“Maybe you’ll be next.” Nicholas supposed.
“I better be.”
He chuckled. “Why are you so obsessed with evolving, anyways? It’ll happen when it happens.”
Elizabeth scrunched her neck down. “’s cuz I should be Alpha.” She muttered.
“You’re still on about that? I don’t think we even need one yet.”
Elizabeth shrugged.
“Whatever.” Nicholas pointed at a waiting tamer. “Here’s your first battle.”
She traded a lot more hits than Dahlia had, so they were down a few potions when the grassy path began transitioning to loose stone and dirt.
Nicholas looked around at the rising cliff walls. “Wow. This route is carved right into the mountain.”
“Yea.” Elizabeth replied in awe. She’d never seen anything like this. “Are we going to have to climb, Master? Don’t we need to go over the mountain?”
“Ho! We got some newbies, do we?” They turned at the jovial voice to see a man watching them, his gear and boots marking him as an experienced hiker. “You don’t go over Mt. Moon, lass. You go under her.” He frowned. “Although, I don’t know if you’ll be able to do that either. There’ve been some shady folk around here lately. Police are on high alert.”
“Shady? How so?” Nicholas asked curiously.
“Some sort of gang it looked like. Wearing uniforms and acting like they owned the place.”
Nicholas frowned. “In the last few days, lately?”
“Yea.”
“Shit.” Nicholas grumbled. “Is there another way to walk to… what is it, Cerulean City?”
“Nope. This is the only path.” The man turned to look further up the route. “It’s unfortunate. The police might not let any traffic through for a few weeks while they investigate.”
Nicholas’ jaw dropped. “A few weeks? I can’t wait that long!”
“Just guessing, mate. I don’t know for sure.” The man gestured. “Why don’t you go find out? OH! But before you do.” He grinned and Nicholas sighed when the man pulled out a pokeball. “I’m getting antsy standing around here. How about a battle?”
“Truthfully, that’s what I was expecting from the beginning.” Nicholas replied. “Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth moved forwards and grinned when a Geodude materialized. “Oh, hello~”
The girl stared at her blankly. “Hi?”
“Right, let’s get this started! The man roared. “Hit her hard, Bo-“
Elizabeth dashed forwards, flipping onto one leg and smashing the other into the Geodude’s jaw.
“-nny!” The hiker finished. “Wait, wuh?” He stared at his unconscious pokegirl. “Wh-what just happened?”
“Nidoran know Double Kick.” Nicholas explained.
“Um…” The hiker slowly recalled his Geodude. “I… see.”
“Got anything else?”
The man shook himself. “Bleugh. Yea, I do. Tracy, knock this girl down!” He released a pokegirl Nicholas hadn’t seen yet. “She took down Bonny in one hit, so be careful!”
“Did she, Master?” The girl turned to Elizabeth. “That’s my job.”
Elizabeth frowned and danced back a bit. “Master?”
“One second.” Nicholas got his pokedex pointed.
“Machop. The superpower pokegirl.” His pokedex reported.
“She’s a fighting-type.” Nicholas noted. “You’ve got an edge, Elizabeth. Don’t waste it.”
Elizabeth took a real fighting stance. “Yes, Master.”
The girl surveyed Elizabeth curiously. “You know how to fight. Who taught you?”
“I did.” Elizabeth replied. “By surviving dozens of battles.”
The other girl’s eyes were drawn to the scars crisscrossing Elizabeth’s body. “I see.”
“Stop talking, get her!” The hiker yelled.
Elizabeth slid in, popping an exploratory jab in before falling back. The Machop gave chase, throwing two solid punches that Elizabeth barely blocked.
“You’re strong.” Elizabeth hissed.
The Machop jabbed in, trying to get a hit past Elizabeth’s guard but failing when the Nidoran turned away. She gasped when Elizabeth’s spikes suddenly rose and the Nidoran charged in with a roar.
The Machop spun away from the force of Elizabeth’s strike. “Me? YOU’RE strong!” She cried.
“Why thank you.” Elizabeth purred and bashed at the Machop’s block before flipping her arm and driving her spikes into the girl’s shoulder.
The Machop screamed in pain, wrenching herself off and clutching at the wound. “Damn you!”
Elizabeth was laughing when the hiker yelled. “Tracy! Did she get you?”
The Machop growled, causing Elizabeth to take notice. “She fucking poisoned me.”
“Ooh, probably shouldn’t have done that.” The hiker said cheerfully.
“What do you-“ Elizabeth began to ask when the Machop blitzed forwards and drove her fist into Elizabeth’s stomach.
The Nidoran gasped, tumbling away and groaning from the pain. “The fuck?”
“I hate people like you, who can’t win without your tricks.” Tracy snarled, stomping forwards. “I’LL DESTROY YOU!”
Elizabeth scrambled away, wincing from the pain. “Where the fuck did this come from!”
“Wherever it came from, don’t let her throw you off!” Nicholas yelled. “Hit her!”
Tracy smashed another punch into Elizabeth and the Nidoran reeled but managed to get her footing and throw a desperate strike in return.
She watched in surprise when the Machop collapsed. “What? But, I barely hit her…”
“She was already hurt pretty bad.” The hiker recalled his pokegirl and smiled. “She almost got you, though.”
“What in the world just happened?” Nicholas asked, recalling Elizabeth. “She just started hitting harder.”
“Pokegirls have special abilities, some that are situational, and some which can be very powerful.” The man explained. “Tracy, as a Machop, gets a power boost when she’s affected by a status condition. So if she’s put to sleep, paralyzed, poisoned, burned… Basically, when she’s crippled, she instead becomes stronger.”
“That’s crazy!”
The hiker chuckled. “It’s a nasty surprise, that’s for sure. Well you beat me, bud. Good luck in Mt. Moon.”
Nicholas watched him walk away before looking down at his pokedex. “Abilities, huh…”
Elizabeth used the calm limbo of the pokeball to catch her breath. That Machop, she- She’d lost. She’d been on the ground, stabbed, poisoned. Her energy had been sapping away. And she’d gotten stronger? That made no sense!
“So Elizabeth’s poison spikes are considered her special ability, since they’re a sort of passive poison vector.” Nicholas mused. He was lost in thought and didn’t notice when the bushes near him began to rustle. “And wow! So Ashley’s attack where she blinds her opponent wouldn’t work on her or any other Pidgey because their eyes are so sharp.”
“HUMAN!”
Nicholas yelled when a pokegirl burst into the open, the cuddly looking girl diving for him.
“Oh, shi-!”
There was a red flash and a scream and Nicholas found himself staring up at… he quickly shut his eyes. “Who?”
“Master, get back!” Elizabeth cried. “I’ll fight her off!”
Nicholas squirmed backwards, grimacing when he felt himself reacting to the quick glimpse he’d gotten of Elizabeth’s groin. “I wasn’t expecting a wild pokegirl this close to the path!”
“I’ve got her!” Elizabeth cried, jumping at the squealing girl.
“I didn’t release you, though.” Nicholas muttered, scrambling upright and preparing to help Elizabeth. “How did you get out of your pokeball?”
With a start he remembered that he hadn’t healed the Nidoran yet, a repeat of their first fight with Brock. “Liz!” He dug through his bag and pulled out a potion. “Here!”
Elizabeth turned, accepting the potion he threw. “Thanks!” She tore off the spray top, opting to drink the healing elixir instead.
The wild pokegirl made a frustrated noise and ran forwards, her soft fists almost bouncing off Elizabeth’s body. “HU-MAN! HU-MAN!”
“BACK OFF MY MASTER, YOU PINK SLUT!” Elizabeth roared, cocking her fist back and driving it directly into the wild pokegirl’s face.
The girl staggered back, letting out a few squeaks before falling back into the bushes.
“Yea, that’s fucking right.” Elizabeth snarled, stalking forwards and pulling back the brush. “Down on your-“
Nicholas frowned when she stopped talking. “You alright?”
Elizabeth looked about in confusion. “She… disappeared.” She blinked, one hand drifting towards her chest. “I feel…”
“Let’s get moving.” Nicholas called. When Elizabeth still didn’t move he stepped forwards. “Elizabeth…?”
Elizabeth suddenly gasped and her body exploded with light.
Nicholas let out an excited shout when she began to change. “Yea, Elizabeth! You’re evolving!”
As the light faded Elizabeth caught herself, planting her feet and feeling her new curves. Gone was the lithe girl from before. She could feel her new bodyweight, but it wasn’t useless fat that she had gained. It was muscle. She flexed and grinned when she felt her muscle and skin tighten in response. She’d worked with what she’d had, and now she had so much more.
“You look incredible!” Elizabeth glanced up at Nicholas’ call. “It’s the same as Dahlia, you’ve completely filled in!”
Elizabeth felt herself begin to blush and angrily pushed the feeling down. “Thank you… Master.” She grunted. “I’m, um…”
She jumped when he grabbed her arms. “Whoah! I can easily feel how tough you’ve become. This is awesome!”
Finally the blush broke through and Elizabeth tore her eyes away from him. “Th-thank you.” She squeaked.
“Hey, look at me.” Nicholas said gently, pulling her face back around. “This is what you’ve wanted, isn’t it? You should be proud of what you’ve accomplished.”
“It’s so embarrassing!” Elizabeth cried. “I’m just… and you, you’re…”
Nicholas smiled and placed his forehead against hers. “You’re a tough girl, Liz. Tough as dirt. I’m serious, be proud of this. You fought so hard with such a huge handicap and now you’re set to become a queen.”
Elizabeth slumped, her desperate eyes seeking his. “Master, you didn’t need to say it like that.”
“Except I’m serious.” Nicholas replied earnestly. “I’ve thought it ever since you jumped us back outside of Viridian. You’re a tough girl, and I’m lucky to have you in my harem.”
“Then why aren’t I your Alpha!” Elizabeth cried.
Nicholas sighed. “I’ve told you, Elizabeth. I don’t even need one right now. Don’t you know that it’s not like in the wild? You don’t just become some big girl by getting called Alpha. You get more work. You get more responsibility, more pressure to be best.” He stared at her. “Are you afraid, Elizabeth? Afraid that if you’re not the Alpha, you’ll be seen as weak?”
Elizabeth glanced down. “Why would you say that.”
“Because it’s the only reason I can think of.” Nicholas cried in frustration. “You don’t need to have some silly title to be strong, or respected, or any of that! Ashley thinks you’re incredible, Dahlia looks up to you, come ON Elizabeth!” He rubbed at his face. “When we first talked about this, I told you that I wanted to see you act as an Alpha without being one. Do you remember that?”
“I do.”
“You obviously haven’t understood what I meant. I didn’t mean that I wanted you to act as the strongest fighter so that I’d give you the title. I meant that I wanted to see you become a stronger person. To be someone incredible without giving up on being yourself.”
He sighed when tears began to drip down Elizabeth’s face. “I’m right, aren’t I.”
She sniffed, glancing back up at him. “I was thrown out.”
He nodded.
“Thrown out because my old master thought I was weak.” She sniffed again. “All I could do as I felt myself slipping away was to fight. To keep fighting, fighting to survive, to… And now here you are, telling me I didn’t need to do any of that? That it wasn’t me who was weak, but him? How can I just accept that?”
“I’m not asking you to.” Nicholas replied gently. “What I’m asking is for you to stand tall because you want to. I want you to be able to look at another pokegirl and meet her gaze, not because you think you can beat her in a fight, but because you’re content that you’ll still be stronger for it even if you lose. That’s what I want for you, Elizabeth. That’s what I mean when I say I want you to be a queen.”
Elizabeth swallowed. “I… I don’t get it, but I understand that you’re trying to support me.” She looked up at him. “Will you help me? Help me to understand?”
Nicholas smiled at her. “I will, Elizabeth.” He reached out to take her hand. “I promise you, I will not throw you away like your old master did. Because I know that you’re strong.”
Elizabeth felt herself beginning to cry again and nodded. “Thank you. Thank you, Master.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
POKEDEX UPDATED
Tamer: Nicholas Topolski
Badges:
Pewter City – Boulder Badge
Harem:
Dahlia, Ivysaur – Level 16
Ashley, Pidgey – Level 13
Elizabeth, Nidorina – Level 16
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The afternoon sun was dipping down towards the treeline while Ashley and Nicholas walked their way through the winding stone path. Elizabeth and Dahlia were resting and it was up to the Pidgey now to match her harem sisters and evolve.
“What’s that?”
Ashley winged back to his side and peered into the distance. “That… looks like a pokecenter, Master.”
“Huh.”
“Maybe it’s a way station?” Ashley asked hopefully. “We can get some rest!”
“Yea, that would be nice.” Nicholas picked up his pace. “Come on!”
It was indeed a pokecenter and Nicholas pushed inside with relief. They wouldn’t have to walk all the way back to Pewter now.
“Hello and welcome to the Mt. Moon pokecenter!” The NurseJoy on duty called cheerfully. “I hope your travels are going well!”
“They are, thank you.” Nicholas handed her his pokeballs. “I heard a rumor that the pass is closed?”
“Oh, it’s not a pass, sir. The underground cave system that links either side of the mountain is currently, while not quite closed, heavily monitored and many of the usual paths have been shut down in an attempt to catch a band of criminals.”
“Wow, so there really is a gang here.” Nicholas muttered.
“Well, hopefully not for long, sir.” The NurseJoy replied. “Both Cerulean and Pewter City officers are combing the mountain for them as we speak.”
“That’s great.” Nicholas grinned. “Does that mean I can make my way through to Cerulean?”
“That shouldn’t be an issue sir, just be sure to present identification if an officer stops you.”
“Oh, of course.” Nicholas took his pokeballs back. “Thank you so much!”
“Hey! You’re a tamer?” Nicholas turned to see a man waving him over.
“Um, yea?” Nicholas replied.
“C’mere.” The man waited for Nicholas to get closer. “I’m stuck out here. Been trying to get through to Cerulean for ages, but I’m too afraid to go through the mountain. Lots of pokegirls in the dark, right? But I’ve got this pokegirl here that I know will fetch a big bounty in Cerulean. They love water-types over there, and this one is pretty rare this side of Mt. Moon.”
“And what does that have to do with me?” Nicholas asked.
“Well, I can’t make the trip. But if you’re headed that way, you want to buy her off me? I’ll even lower the price so you can still make a profit if you decide to sell her on the other side.”
“Alright, and what’s your price?”
“Fifty bucks.”
Nicholas frowned. “That’s pretty cheap for a pokegirl.”
“It pays for the pokeball I used to catch her, plus a bit on top for my trouble.” The man waggled a pokeball in front of him. “Well?”
Nicholas sighed. He did like water-types. “Sure. Wait, what is she?”
“Oh, some sort of water-type. I don’t have a pokedex to check.”
Nicholas grimaced. “Alright, fine.”
“Here you are.” The man handed over the pokeball, accepting the money before jumping back. “No refunds!”
“Wait-“ Nicholas started but the man had already dashed out the door. He stared at the swinging door for a minute before looking down at the pokeball in his hand. “Did I just get scammed?”
He tapped the ball against his palm for a bit before sighing and stepping outside. “Let’s see what I got suckered into.”
The tiny girl that materialized flopped over with a confused cry, struggling to get her unwieldy tail under control before giving up and just sprawling out on the ground.
“Fuck.” Nicholas grumbled.
The girl’s eyes darted to him when he spoke. “He-hello?” She shoved herself upright a bit. “I haven’t seen you before, sir.” She gasped. “Are- are you my Master?!”
Nicholas let out a sigh. “Well, I wasn’t sure about that, but since you sound like you’ll cry if I say no… yes. Yes I am.”
“I- I finally ha-ha-have a Master?” Nicholas groaned when the girl’s eyes filled with tears anyways. At least these were happy. “I really have a Master…”
“Do you have a name?” He waited for her to stop crying. “Um, hello? Do you have a name?”
When the girl just kept going he moved forwards and squatted down to her level. “Hey, no need to cry. I’m still here.”
The girl sniffed, rubbing at her eyes. “I’m s-sorry, Master, I’m just so happy…”
“There’s no need to apologize for that.” Nicholas replied gently. “I would like to get to know you, though. I’m Nicholas. What’s your name?”
“M-Master Nicholas.” The girl hiccupped. “I don’t… I don’t have a name, Master Nicholas.”
“Alright.” Nicholas sat back and looked at her. She was, to put it simply, frail. He was honestly surprised that he couldn’t see her bones sticking out with how thin she was. And yet, even though she probably could barely handle her own bodyweight, she also had a massive orange fishtail sticking out from her tailbone. With the way she was struggling to hold herself upright, it probably weighed as much as she did.
Besides that, she wasn’t bad looking. A bit plain, maybe, with her short blonde hair and barely noticeable chest, which is why he assumed the slick salesman had dressed her up in cheap frills and lace to generally make her look more appealing.
He noticed her staring at him and waved. “Give me a minute.”
The girl nodded. “Okay, Master.”
“First of all, what are you.” He muttered, pointing the pokedex.
“Magikarp. The fish pokegirl.” His pokedex reported.
“Okay, that doesn’t really help.” Nicholas grumbled. “I’m assuming you evolve into something, but with the way Oak has this stupid thing set up I can’t just check.” He sighed to himself. Why the ‘world-renowned’ researcher would decide to hide every single pokegirl entry until he’d seen or acquired one was stupid. It made sense for a brand new kid, but he wanted to make informed decisions, not stumble along in the dark.
Whatever. He’d deal.
“What do you mean, Master?”
Nicholas glanced up in surprise. “Hm?”
“You just said something about… if I evolve.” The girl stared at him. “What do you mean?”
“Well, um… this might be rude.”
“Please tell me, Master.” The girls’ eyes started to water again. “I don’t like it when people laugh behind my back.”
“I wasn’t doing that!” Nicholas hurriedly explained. “I was just looking at you and seeing how you’re struggling to even stand up, how, um… weak you are. There’s no way you’re going to be forced to deal with that for your entire life, so you must evolve at some point to get a body that you can actually handle!”
The girl blinked back her tears. “You… were thinking about that?”
“Of course! I don’t want to see you suffer.”
The girl began bawling and Nicholas groaned in exasperation. This time he was pretty sure these were relieved tears. Even so, having a girl who cried for every emotion was going to get old pretty fast.
“I’m going to try to figure out a good name for you now.” He called. “Okay?”
The girl nodded, still crying.
What should it be? A regular name would be fine, but he almost wanted to give her name meaning, something that she could remember and hold on to when she was feeling miserable. And if she did evolve and grow stronger, a plain name might not fit anymore. Unfortunately he’d barely seen anything about her personality, with how it was constantly hidden behind her tears, making his job considerably tougher.
Hidden, wait. Hidden behind her tears, no. She had hidden strength. That’s what he should go for, so that when she did evolve, her name would have come true. And until then, she’d be reminded of what she was working for.
The Magikarp watched him pull up his pokedex and begin scrolling. “Master?”
“Just a moment.” Nicholas kept searching until he found what he was looking for. “Yea, I thought that’s what my name meant.” The girl made another inquisitive sound and Nicholas glanced at her. “Nicholas, it means ‘Victory of the People’, or something like that. I’m trying to figure out a name like that for you, too.”
The girl’s mouth popped open. “You… that doesn’t…”
“Hold on.” Nicholas continued to scroll. “I guess we could just feminize my name. Call you Nika or something, but that’s a bit narcissistic… Hmm, maybe Jayna? No…”
The girl continued to stare as he mumbled to himself. He was… Her Master really thought of her like that? How? She could barely stand!
“Elota is an interesting one, or I could always go with Victoria.” He mumbled. “Hey, would you rather be known as Elota or Victoria?”
The girl jumped. “I- I get to choose?”
“Sure. It’s going to be your name, after all.”
The Magikarp’s mouth worked. “Uhhhhh… I… I like Victoria, Master.”
“Then Victoria it is.” Nicholas replied. “Welcome to my harem, Victoria.”
He was expecting her to just start crying again and was surprised to see her force herself upright and dive towards him. She didn’t quite make it and would have faceplanted into the dirt if he hadn’t lunged forwards to catch her instead.
Just as he’d thought, she was light as a feather, but he did notice with surprise how her skin was firm to the touch. Not rough, or hard, but it didn’t seem as weak as she had first appeared.
Victoria clutched at his chest. “Master… Master Nicholas, th-thank you. Thank you.” She sniffed, still fighting back her tears. “I am Victoria. Victoria. Master believes in me. Victoria…”
Nicholas stroked her for a bit. “Want to meet the rest of my harem?”
Victoria nodded. “Please.”
“Alright.” Nicholas grabbed his other pokeballs. “Girls, say hello to Victoria.”
Dahlia bent down first, the Ivysaur peering curiously at the Magikarp. “She seems kind of…”
“Frail, I know.” Nicholas replied. “But she won’t stay that way. We just need to help her.”
Dahlia bobbed her head in agreement, Elizabeth peeking past her. “Chin up, girl.” She called.
Ashley glanced at the Nidorina before stepping over and sitting next to Victoria. “Victoria, right? I’m Ashley.” She held out a wingtip. “Nice to meet you.”
Victoria tapped her fingers against Ashley’s feathers. “You too.”
“Master, aren’t I taking the lead next?” Ashley asked.
“That was the plan.”
“Then Victoria, you watch me fight.” Ashley struck a pose and grinned. “We’re going to get you in shape in no time!”
Victoria gulped but managed to return the smile. “A-alright.”
“Let’s start slow.” Nicholas cautioned. “We can find some fights out here before heading under the mountain.”
Ashley nodded. “Alright. Let’s do it!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
POKEDEX UPDATED
Tamer: Nicholas Topolski
Badges:
Pewter City – Boulder Badge
Harem:
Dahlia, Ivysaur – Level 16
Ashley, Pidgey – Level 13
Elizabeth, Nidorina – Level 16
Victoria, Magikarp – Level 5
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nicholas kept his hand extended as they walked so Victoria had something to grab if she needed to. The Magikarp was walking on her own power, though she was just dragging her tail along. The rest of the previous day had been spent outside of the pokecenter, Victoria stumbling her way through a battle before Ashley swooped in to save her. But she was trying. And trying extraordinarily hard, he thought. Naming her the way he had had been a smart choice.
“There’s another one.” Ashley hissed, pointing at a low overhang and the figure sitting under it. “Ready, Victoria?”
Victoria took a deep breath. “Ready.”
“Go get her!”
The Magikarp stumbled forwards and the Zubat she was moving towards got to her feet in surprise. A barely mobile enemy was attacking her? HER?
“You’ve got this, Victoria!” Nicholas yelled. “Try to-“
The Zubat reeled back from the Magikarp’s weak slap and screeched, her fangs striking into Victoria’s neck.
“…Never mind.” Nicholas chuckled. “Ashley.”
Victoria whimpered when the Zubat was tossed away and Ashley helped her back to her feet. “You alright?” She asked.
“Yea.” Victoria mumbled. “Ow.”
“You’re starting to learn how to move.” Nicholas observed. “It’s slow, but it’s progress.”
Victoria brightened from his praise. “You think so, Master?”
“I do.” Nicholas replied, watching Ashley finish chasing off the Zubat. “Let’s keep going!”
Victoria beamed. “Yea!”
Nicholas trailed his hands over the stone walls as they walked. “I wonder where this light is coming from.”
Ashley glanced around. “It feels like… the stone is almost glowing, Master.”
“That’s so cool.” Nicholas breathed. “I wonder if it’s the same as we get further in?”
“Probably, Master.”
“If we can figure out which way even is further in.” Nicholas grumbled. “Oh, there’s someone over there.”
The tamer looked up when they approached. “Hey! Want to-“
“Look, my Pidgey will probably win.” Nicholas replied. “Which way to get to Cerulean City?”
The tamer’s eyes bugged. “What! How dare you so casually call me weak!”
Nicholas rolled his eyes. “Come on, dude. I just want to get through here.”
“Prepare for defeat instead!” The tamer cried, pulling out a pokeball. “I caught a really strong pokegirl in the cave here!”
Nicholas watched another Zubat materialize. “Ashley has chased off a dozen of them already.”
“Um, Sabrina is different.” The boy stuttered. “Go, drain her!”
“Maybe I should catch a Zubat.” Nicholas mused, watching Victoria scramble out of the way of the Zubat and Ashley swoop in to begin buffeting her with wind. “I’m a sucker for the vampire aesthetic she’s got.”
“SABRINA!” The tamer cried when his Zubat smacked into the ground with a whimper. “Damnit, I’ve still got pokegirls!”
Ashley barely even took a scratch from the two Rattata that followed, all three continuing their walk and leaving the dejected tamer behind.
“Is everyone this weak, Master?” Ashley scoffed.
“I don’t think any of these tamers are trying to train up their pokegirls.” Nicholas replied. “From what I’ve been hearing them say, they just catch them and then start battling each other. If you never train, your girls aren’t going to get stronger very quickly, and when someone like us comes along you’re just going to be taken down.”
“So that’s why you’re pushing me into battle, Master?” Victoria stared at him. “Even though I’m so weak I can’t even win?”
“That’s right.” Nicholas stopped walking to address her. “If you never fight, you won’t get better. Even though you can’t win right now, if we keep trying, and you keep improving, we’ll get to the point where you’re able to start winning. It just takes time and effort.”
To his surprise Victoria replied with a giggle. “I can’t wait, Master!”
Nicholas had to smile at her when she stumbled off in front of them. “She seems happy today.” Ashley noted.
“I gave her a reason to be.” Nicholas murmured wistfully. “I’m glad her spirit is blossoming like this. Even if she never evolves, she’ll be a stronger person from her efforts.”
“You keep saying stuff like that, Master.” Ashley murmured. “You truly care about us, don’t you?”
Nicholas glanced at her. “It would be stupid not to. You’re as much of a person as I am, not a tool like some of those coldhearted tamers think. And I’ve been happily getting to know the person you are.”
Ashley blushed and bobbed her head. “Thank you, Master.” She stiffened. “Uh oh.”
Nicholas chased after her, both rounding a corner to see Victoria struggling with a very round pink pokegirl.
“Get her, Victoria!” Nicholas yelled.
“Master?” Victoria cried. “She… I can’t…”
“Just get a hit in, at least!” Nicholas cried.
“Rrrgh… GAH!” Victoria screamed, managing to free one of her arms and throwing a random strike.
The wild pokegirl squealed in pain at the same time Victoria did, the pokegirl clutching at where the Magikarp had smacked her breast while Victoria nursed her bruised hand.
“That hurt.” She whimpered.
“Ashley, help her out.” Nicholas moved forwards with a potion while Ashley took care of the other pokegirl. “Here, Victoria. Nice try.”
Victoria groaned as he applied the potion. “I tried to hit her and it hurt me, Master!”
“You’re starting to learn how to fight, now you need to learn how to fight properly.” Nicholas teased. “You can’t just punch all willy-nilly like that, or you’ll bend something the way it’s not supposed to go.”
“Is that what happened?” Victoria mumbled.
“It looked like you didn’t punch properly, no.” Nicholas replied. “Here, look.” He took one of her hands. “When you just hit, you hit like this.” He turned her hand downwards slightly. “You didn’t curl your fingers in, and used the back of your hand to punch. Tell me when it hurts.”
Victoria yelped when he barely pressed on the back of her hand. “OW!”
“See how I barely even pushed on you and it hurt?” Nicholas asked. “Okay, now watch this.”
Victoria watched in rapt silence as he curled her fingers into her palm. “Feel how they sit there?”
“Yes Master.”
“Now hold out your arm with them curled like that.”
Victoria pointed her arm and gasped when her hand snapped up. “What?!”
“Drop your fingers.” Victoria watched her hand droop back down. “And make a fist!”
Victoria giggled when her hand snapped back up again. “That’s so funny!”
“Now make that fist and point at me.” Nicholas slowly began pushing on her hand, increasing his pressure when she didn’t make a noise. “See how it doesn’t hurt when you hold your hand like this?”
“Yea!” Victoria gasped. “That’s incredible, Master!”
“Now you know how to hit without hurting yourself.” Nicholas replied with a smile.
Ashley cleared her throat and the two turned. “I chased off that pokegirl, Master, and she dropped this.” She held out a chunk of softly glowing stone. “I thought it was interesting.”
Nicholas ran the stone through his hands. “It is, nice find.” He placed it in his bag. “I’ll keep it safe for you, in case you want to keep it as a souvenir or something.”
Ashley beamed. “Thank you, Master.” She glanced at Victoria. “Ready, Victoria?”
“Yup!”
“Alright, let’s keep moving.” Ashley giggled.
They probably were moving for another hour before Nicholas saw another human. “Hey!”
The girl turned. “Oh, hi!” She brightened when she saw Victoria in the front of the group. “Ah, you’re a tamer! I’m getting bored waiting here, so let’s battle!”
Nicholas groaned. “Fine, fine. What are you waiting for?”
“Laia, take her down! Vine Whip!” The girl blinked and turned back to Nicholas as a grass-type pokegirl materialized. “Oh, the police are chasing criminals down there. They told me to stay here and wait.”
Wait, did she just say Vine Whip? Nicholas began waving frantically. “ASHLEY, SUB IN!”
Victoria screamed when the grass-type began attacking but Ashley quickly swooped in, blocking the attack and landing in front of the Magikarp. “I got this!” She cried, flipping past another attack and whipping up a small tornado that she sent careening towards her opponent. They traded a few more blows before Ashley blew forwards and dealt a nasty slash.
“Crap!” The girl cried when her pokegirl was knocked down. “I didn’t see you had a Pidgey!”
“Sorry.”
“Eh, I think we can still take her.” The girl laughed, releasing another grass-type. “Suzy, paralyze her!”
“That’s just rude.” Ashley huffed, not giving the new pokegirl a chance and immediately dropping her too. “I already have to worry about poison when I train with Elizabeth.”
The girl sighed. “Yea, figured that might happen. Was hoping to keep your Pidgey paralyzed so we had a chance.”
Nicholas shrugged and watched the pokegirl stir. “She’s not quite down yet.”
“Oh hey, she isn’t!” The other tamer yelled. “Nice, Suzy!”
“Master?” Nicholas turned to see Victoria gazing at the battle resolutely. “Let me try!”
Nicholas blinked but nodded. “Okay. Ashley, sub back out!”
The Pidgey whirled in surprise. “Master?”
“Victoria wants a go!”
The grass-type got to her feet and watched in confusion when Victoria stumbled forwards. “You’re kidding me.”
“I can beat you!” Victoria cried.
“Erm… Paralyze her, I guess, Suzy?” Her tamer called.
The grass-type bounced a few times, powder drifting from her hair and lazily floating towards the nervous Magikarp.
“Can you get out of the way?” Nicholas called.
Victoria took a tentative step before sighing and bracing herself. “No!”
It was almost comical, Nicholas thought, watching her flail her way through the cloud. Somehow she must not have inhaled any because the stunned grass-type could only stare as she pulled herself in range and wound up for a punch.
“SUZY, GET OUT OF THE WAY!” Her tamer roared.
Suzy shook herself but Victoria was already throwing her desperate attack and the grass-type’s mouth popped open in surprise when the Magikarp’s fist sunk into her stomach.
The two stared at each other for what felt like forever before the girl vomited all over Victoria’s arm and fell to her knees.
“Oh for the love of-“ The girl groaned, recalling her pokegirl. “You’ve got to be kidding. She just stood there and let your girl hit her!”
“Ew ewwww.” Victoria whined, waving her arm around in an attempt to clean off the worst of the bile. “Masterrr!”
Nicholas was laughing too hard to help and Ashley wasn’t much better. Finally he calmed down. “Victoria! Here, use this.” He tossed a towel in her direction before roaring with laughter again.
Victoria stood perfectly still, the towel draped over her face. “Master.” She groaned.
“Oh geez! I’m sorry, Victoria, just- ahahahaha!” He took a deep breath. “The way you just- snrt- oh, Victoria. Nicely done.”
She grabbed the towel and began wiping her arm down. “I guess.”
“That’s it, I’m going home.” The girl growled, stalking past them. “Good luck and all that. How could she lose like that…”
Nicholas finally managed to stumble forwards and wrapped his arm around Victoria’s shoulders. “You won a fight, Victoria! Good job!”
“Not… really, though.” Victoria grumbled. “Ashley won, I just took the credit.”
“That’s fine, Victoria.” Ashley called from where she had collapsed from her laughter. “Congratulations on winning your first battle!”
“See! She doesn’t mind.” Nicholas pulled Victoria into a hug. “Think you can do that on your own next time?”
“Um… No.” Victoria confessed.
Nicholas laughed as he embraced her. “That’s alright, Victoria. You’ll get there.”
“Master, there’s a way down over here.” Ashley called. “Should we take it?”
Nicholas nodded. “Let’s see where it goes.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
POKEDEX UPDATED
Tamer: Nicholas Topolski
Badges:
Pewter City – Boulder Badge
Harem:
Dahlia, Ivysaur – Level 16
Ashley, Pidgey – Level 17
Elizabeth, Nidorina – Level 16
Victoria, Magikarp – Level 14
Tamer: Michael Thieme
Badges:
Pewter City – Boulder Badge
Harem:
Vanessa, Wartortle – Level 20
Petunia, Rattata – Level 19
Hannah, Mankey – Level 22
Riana, Sandshrew – Level 14