Disclaimer:
This work is fiction. The work is presented under fair protection where applicable.
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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 20
Yearning
The wind rushing by Nicholas’ ears was the only real indication of the speeds they were traveling. Every wave on the featureless ocean, no matter how small, caused him to flinch, but every time the ship sliced straight through with salty spray choking the air abovedeck in a fine mist.
He could feel the salt crystallizing on his skin as he stood near the observation railing. His hair was already ruined, damp with seawater and sticking together in odd spikes. He didn’t really care. He couldn’t stand being belowdecks. He wanted to be here. Looking towards their destination.
It was something of an instinct of his. There were a dozen reasons he could attribute it to, but he’d been the same way with every vehicle he’d ever traveled in. He had to be in the open. No matter what.
“You’re really making me come out here?”
Nicholas turned at the voice. Miruko was picking her way towards him, ears drawn low, sticking as close to the walls as she could. All in an attempt to avoid the worst of the salt water. “What’s that supposed to mean? I don’t care if you stay below.”
“If I do that then I won’t know if you’re avoiding me.” Miruko sidled up as near as she dared and shot him a sour look. “Well? Are you?”
Nicholas turned back to the ocean. “Wasn’t trying to. I just like it better in the fresh air.”
“Wonderful.” The two stood silently for a few minutes before Miruko grunted. “I’d complain about the salt getting in my fur, but that’s what the bimbo would do. I’m not going to whine about something that trivial.”
Nicholas’ lips twitched. “Then why say anything?”
“Because it still annoys me.” Miruko tapped her finger against some metal siding until Nicholas turned to look at her. “A few more hours and we’ll be in Sinnoh’s territorial waters. Not long from there to Pastoria. We need to talk.”
“Sure. Want to bring me up to speed?”
Miruko nodded. “We’ll start with what’s been going on since you left. Galactic is no longer an influence over Sinnoh. The news has been airing their crimes around the clock and public opinion has shifted heavily in favor of the government. Sure, there are a few anti-government sentiments still around, but they’re no longer using Galactic as any sort of hero figure regarding them. On that front, we succeeded.”
“I don’t care about politics. At all.” Nicholas leaned back on the rail and raised an eyebrow at the Buneary. “I care about the real, material threat Galactic posed. What’s going on there.”
“They are completely crippled,” Miruko replied. “Our… little raid in Veilstone wasn’t entirely legal. But with a little work, we managed to make it so. That allowed us to completely lock down the city. Every asset Galactic held there has been seized. Most of our efforts have been tracking down additional bases throughout the region. Decoding membership lists. Arrests. It’s been a busy few months.”
“That’s a relief.” Nicholas toyed with the rubber under his fingers. “What was the holdup, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Miruko raised an eyebrow back. “I thought you didn’t care about politics?”
“I’m a raging hypocrite.”
Miruko snickered. “Fair enough. The issue we were having was that Galactic had engrained itself in Sinnoh’s public identity. They were the counter to the oppressive government. The people’s hero. No local court would have validated our actions, and even if the IP had exercised the World Leagues’ authority we’d only serve to further glorify Galactic to the Sinnoh public.”
“They were evil.”
“Cyrus and the leadership of Galactic was evil,” Miruko corrected him. “The upper echelon. The grunts, the foot soldiers, the sympathizers, they were all told whatever would make them follow along. Veilstone didn’t have any homeless population, for example. Galactic’s seat of power. They provided public housing, food, services for any who walked in their doors, with no questions asked. Sure, you were… well, we’ll just say ‘expected’ to join the group and wear the uniform if you took them up on that, but it’s not like it was some evil entity abducting people. They intentionally brought stability to the city, and in doing so, they delegitimized the actual city government. To be honest with you, if not for what was going on behind the scenes, you and I might have ended up on very different sides in this.”
Nicholas frowned. “Oh?”
“You’re not shy with your views. I’m literally an agent of the shadow government’s shadow police.” She chuckled to herself. “It’s really an age-old story. Someone is in power. Someone else wants to take it for themselves. Galactic only became the villains because their methods worked at the expense of others. Though, to many in Sinnoh, those methods were perfectly acceptable as long as they were at the expense of the government. It’s all about who’s telling the story.” She shook her head. “Or at least that kind of philosophical argument could have worked if Galactic hadn’t been, well, what they were. On the surface they were sympathetic. They had a cause the people wanted to believe in. But it was built on lies. It was built on the lives of innocents. There is no justification for that.”
“That’s opening a can of worms I don’t think you want to set in front of me,” Nicholas replied quietly.
“I don’t know. Some part of me really, really does.” Miruko sighed. “Fine. Moving on. The bits you and I can fully agree were evil.” She looked at him. “Cyrus’ pokegirls.”
Nicholas blinked. “What were they?”
“The research we uncovered in Galactic’s labs talked about manipulating the soul of a pokegirl. Handwavey mumbo-jumbo I would have dismissed a year ago. Before all this.” She winced. “Before everything I’ve seen. Anyways, this process was meant to suppress a pokegirl’s self, or ego, personality, whatever you want to call it. By doing so the body and mind that remained would know only aggression. Granting them an incredible but self-destructive strength. A controllable feral state with pokegirls that could think and follow orders because they were tame.” She shuddered. “When… they died. Were they still in there somewhere? Could the process have been reversed?”
“I don’t know if that’s a question you want answered,” Nicholas replied gently.
Miru’s eyes stared at something only she could see. “…No. Maybe not.”
“It really is always about power, isn’t it?” Nicholas sighed. “All these horrible things humans do to pokegirls. To each other. It’s always about control and power.” He looked down, lifting a hand to gaze at his palm. “I’m really not much different.”
“There’s always a hierarchy. No use crying about wanting to be the Master of it.”
Nicholas looked back up to see Miruko staring at him with a solemn expression. “No. I suppose not.”
“So anyways, that’s the major bits you’ve missed. We’ve picked up rumors that what’s left of Galactic, like that Admin we’re chasing down, have abandoned the public face entirely. They’re unhinged. Dangerous. Aiming for as much destruction as they can manage.”
Nicholas grunted. “Have you considered the possibility of the remnants turning to terrorism?”
“Of course. There have already been attacks.” Miruko nodded towards the bow of the boat. “Just a few days ago we foiled a bomb threat in Pastoria. Big one. A few of the smaller ones have made it through. People have died.” She turned back to him. “That’s why I came to get you. We need all boots on the ground.”
“Really? I thought we were headed to Pastoria because it’s a gym I haven’t challenged yet,” Nicholas grinned.
Miruko stared at him. “You can’t be serious right now.”
“I set my terms.”
“Did you not hear what I just said? People have died, Nicholas. Sinnoh is at war. Aren’t you supposed to be a hero?”
“Sure. But I have never and will never just risk my life in a fight that isn’t mine.” Nicholas shrugged. “I won’t ignore Galactic but I’m not going searching for them. I’m more interested in my own harem, my own people.”
“But- You-“ Miruko stammered. “How could you be so heartless?”
Nicholas stared at her with his brow furrowed. “How? I’d think you would understand. It’s about the mission. My mission is my pokegirls. Everything else comes second.”
“I…”
“Hold on, why are you trying to lecture me here, anyways?” Nicholas scoffed. “You used to gloat about how you would do anything for the mission. I had to fight to keep Sohn around back when we were first getting started. You wanted to abandon her so she wouldn’t get in the way.”
“Well maybe I was wrong,” Miruko suddenly snapped. “Ever considered that about yourself? Maybe you’re wrong.” She took two angry steps towards him, seemingly intent on grabbing him with how her hands were coming up, before she stalled mid stride. Miruko’s jaw was taught, her body trembling when she whirled away with a frustrated shout. “GAH! Stupid fucking salt. I’m going to wash my fur out.” She shot a venomous look over her shoulder. “Don’t even think of trying to sneak something while I’m in the shower. Bastard.”
Nicholas stared after her with a stunned look on his face. He… hadn’t intended to? What was that comment after that tirade? What was the tirade? Even ignoring that what she had been arguing went against everything he thought he knew about Miruko, he had never seen the Buneary lose her cool. Except for… That one time. His brow furrowed again, this time in concern, as he stared at where Miruko had vanished from sight. Something was going on here. Something wasn’t right with Miruko.
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The ship’s engines roared as they reversed, the frame shuddering as the bow dipped towards the ocean’s surface. ‘Priority landing’, Nicholas had heard Miruko bark. He was hanging on for his life as the captain demonstrated his skill in handling his vessel.
Waves rocked the port as they drifted perfectly into place at the dock. A flurry of ropes and they were secure, and Nicholas managed to pry his fingers from the pole he’d been gripping long enough to give the mirrored glass of the wheelhouse a respectful salute before scrambling for dry land. His harem was in their pokeballs, leaving only Miruko to leap from her own perch and join him on the dock. Just as quickly as the ship had landed it was casting off, navigating the waters a bit more respectfully without its passengers.
“…So. Pastoria,” Nicholas gasped. “Why the hell did you have to tell the captain that whole ‘priority’ thing?”
Miruko swept past him. “I was getting tired of being on a boat with you again.”
Nicholas stared at her back with a groan.
“You said you only cared about the gym here right?” Miruko glanced back. “Go on. It’s on the west side of town.”
“No, wait a second,” Nicholas protested. “You said there was a major bomb threat here…?”
Miruko whirled, sending Nicholas stumbling back a step as she covered the distance between them and then some. “Keep your damn voice down,” she hissed, her hand flashing up and smacking over his mouth. “I said it was handled. Most people here have no idea.”
Nicholas’ eyes darted around to the few civilians he could see. It did look like a perfectly normal day. “mmkey.”
Miruko removed her hand and stepped back to let him get his balance. “Why do you care anyways.”
Nicholas blinked. Then again. “I said I wasn’t going to go looking, but there was trouble… here, wasn’t there? We’re here.”
Miruko stared at him for a bit before snorting and turning away. “You’re not going to expect me to believe you’ve had such a swift change of heart.”
“Change of heart? What are you talking about,” Nicholas growled. “Better question, Miruko, why do you care? Something’s been weird with you and it started when you decided to show up at my front door. You’re not going to expect ME to believe that this is an acceptable business arrangement? I traveled around with a Buneary who was pretending to be a braindead cocksleeve for months. I never forgot that the pokegirl sucking me off was a disciplined special forces officer of the International Police. Yet here you are, acting like a completely different pokegirl!”
Miruko looked back. “I remember telling you this would be nothing like before.” She turned away again. “Keep up.”
Nicholas scrutinized her as he followed the Buneary into the city. Some aspects of Miruko’s personality were the same as 1309. There was no trace of Miru either. With what she had said, the way she was dressed… Could this be the real her? If so, what had broken her away from the agent?
“The incident was targeting an area north of here called ‘The Great Marsh’,” Miruko was calling back to him. “It’s a pokegirl sanctuary and conservatory. Minor human presence, but if the plan had gone through it would have been a massive blow to… Pastoria’s… identity.” She slowly trailed off, her steps slowing as well and allowing Nicholas to catch up. “Looker?”
The man leaning against a wall in front of them looked up. “I have been kept waiting by you.”
“How did you know I was bringing Topolski here?” Miruko hissed. “Shouldn’t you be chasing Saturn?”
“A boat was purchased and not by me,” Looker replied. “It could be only you. I have waited to talk.”
“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Looker,” Nicholas offered. “I heard from Miruko that things have been pretty rough while I was at home.”
“Bad things have been happening, yes. Every day there are less. It is sad but the police, they are winning. Every day we stop more Galactic.” He jerked his head. “So Miruko is what you use now. Miruko. Come talk.”
Miruko shot a glance at Nicholas, obviously struggling with how to respond to the unexpected encounter. “Am I in trouble?” She finally muttered under her breath.
“Talk,” came Looker’s curt response.
Miruko grimaced and turned to actually look at Nicholas. “Guess you’re free to go mess with that gym you wanted. I’ll… Catch up.”
“What about the thing with the marsh.”
“…It’s handled.” Indecision warred across Miruko’s face before she gave in. “I… might have overplayed the situation on the boat. Just go.”
Nicholas looked to Looker and nodded. “I’ll leave you two to talk. Think you’ll have some time for me afterwards, Looker?”
Miruko immediately raised a hand to forestall any more conversation between the two men. “He won’t.”
Both humans shared a similarly perplexed look at hearing the Buneary say that but her expression brooked no argument so Nicholas turned away. “Okay then.”
Miru waited for Nicholas to have long gone before lowering her hand and turning pleading eyes to her watching superior. “I had to tell him something.”
“You did not have a right,” Looker retorted. “Today I am not punishing, so be glad. If you do not wear uniform, do not use uniform. Understand?”
Miruko bowed her head. “There was no other way to…”
“I came because this is only warning for you.” Looker pushed off the wall and circled Miruko while wagging his finger at the bowed Buneary. “This you chose. Your lies to him are clear. Careful, known as Miruko.” He leaned in and lowered his voice. “Or back you will be. Not by choice.”
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A few blocks away Nicholas found a small park and dropped onto the waiting bench. Triggering the four pokeballs on his belt he waited for them all to materialize before speaking. “Right! We’re being left to our own devices for now. I have just one question for my Alpha.” He smirked at Zisela. “Is your harem ready for battle?”
Zisela smiled back. “Kalmiya has told me Pastoria’s gym specializes in Water-types, so I believe I’ll allow Sammy to answer you, Weyrleader.”
Nicholas turned to the Rotom curiously. “Oh?”
“I can…?” Sammy asked, her face splitting in two when Zisela inclined her head slightly. “THANK YOU ALPHA!”
Nicholas chuckled as Sammy zipped into the air with her jubilant cry. “OI! It’s a yes or no question!”
“YEEEEEEEEEESSSSSS!” Sammy plummeted back to earth, slamming to the ground in front of him and lunging forwards to wrap around his neck as she squealed. “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
“What in the world has gotten into you? You’re crazier than usual, and that’s saying something!” Nicholas exclaimed, laughing as he tried to catch the crackling lightning swirling around him. “Sammy!”
“Don’t tell him, Sammy.” Zisela was smiling at him. “Show him. We will all show him.”
Nicholas glanced between her and the other two, Sammy still barely corporeal as she zipped around. “Will you. Hm.”
“If there is one thing I learned from the ones who came before us, Weyrleader, it is that you enjoy when we grow.” Zisela kicked her foot up, slamming it down as she barked a sharp command. “SAMMY! We’re going to the gym. Slow down.”
The Rotom froze in midair before quickly coalescing back down with the others. “Yes Alpha.”
“I absolutely love to see my pokegirls grow. What have you gained?” Nicholas asked curiously.
Zisela’s smile spread as her eyes found his. Challenging him. He had no reason to doubt that she spoke the truth. “If there is a second thing I learned, Weyrleader, it is that words are not worth nearly as much to you as actions are. ‘To see’ you say. We will show you. Where is the gym?”
Nicholas gestured down the road. “That way.”
“And who are we today?”
Nicholas paused. Looked around at the four. “Today… We challenge Pastoria’s gym as the sixth step towards Champion Cynthia.” He glanced towards Sohn and his lips twitched. “Something’s going on with Miruko and the International Police, but I’m not sure if it’s any of our concern anymore. Today, right now, we do what I should have done from the beginning. What you all want. Let’s take our place.”
“Then no more show.” Nicholas had been turning back to the road when he heard Zisela speak. “Recall them, Weyrleader. Let your Alpha speak for her harem.”
Nicholas slowly turned back. “Why?”
Zisela’s teeth glinted as she grinned. “Because I am all you will need.” Scattered chuckles from the others greeted her challenging statement and Zisela’s grin grew wider. “No, but any information for our opponents is more than they deserve. If we are true today then let us take every advantage. To win.”
Nicholas wagged a finger at her. “Are you sure you don’t just want to steal the spotlight if there are any cameras waiting for us there?”
Zisela’s grin faded and she gazed at him without any hint of humor. “An Alpha who would do that to her harem does not deserve to be a part of that harem at all.”
“…Fair enough.” Nicholas recalled Sammy and Quinn, but stalled when he turned to Sohn. After a few moments he looked into her eyes. “Sohn…”
Her furred tail flicked up from behind the Infernape and covered his mouth. “I know. This isn’t my time. I’m not stupid, Nicholas.” Sohn smiled softly. “I’ll just use the time I’m not being drowned figuring out the best way to celebrate my harem sisters.”
Zisela’s eyes narrowed as the Infernape’s danced with humor. “I thought you’d grown out of that, Sohn.”
“I have grown. I am a queen.” Sohn jumped, using Nicholas as a pivot to flip over his head and land before the glaring Gabite with a cheeky grin. “A trickster queen.”
She dissolved into light as Nicholas turned with her pokeball in hand. He rolled it between his fingers a few times before stowing it on his belt. “Ready to go?”
Zisela huffed, composing herself before giving him a stiff nod. “Yes, Weyrleader.”
There were no cameras this time. As Zisela had said, there was no more show to put on. Nicholas’ heart thrummed as he reached out and shoved through the gym doors with both hands. He had not felt this way in a long, long time. Not since… Kanto, even. There had always been some other reason for his presence in these regions. But right now, there was nothing but him, his Alpha, and the challenge in front of them.
Though even if there wasn’t paparazzi waiting here for him that didn’t mean everything was the same as in the beginning. The receptionist’s eyes flicked over him and his expression showed clearly that he recognized who had just entered the lobby. As Nicholas stepped forwards he heard more movement from the waiting area, a few voices beginning to chatter as Zisela swept in after her tamer. The cost of drawing attention to himself before. The whole of Sinnoh had to know him by now.
“Mister… Topolski,” the receptionist stammered when Nicholas got closer. “I wasn’t aware you’d be challenging us today…”
“I happened to be in the area,” Nicholas replied cooly. “No appointment I’m afraid. Do you have anything open?”
“Well… We are working through a few others, um, sir,” the receptionist replied. “I don’t think I can-“
“I’m not going to demand anything from you.” Nicholas glanced around. Picking out the other watching tamers. “I’m afraid my time in Sinnoh hasn’t been completely representative of who I am. I’m more than willing to wait my turn when my job isn’t to make a scene.”
“I… appreciate that,” the receptionist said in relief. “Would you like to submit your challenge then? Unless you have something set up with Leader Wake you will of course have to challenge the gym the same as anyone else…”
“It’s been a long while since I’ve had a real challenge,” Nicholas replied with a slight grin. “Sounds like fun. Sign me up.”
The receptionist took Nicholas’ pokedex and began inputting data. “Of course. You are third in line, and there is one challenger currently inside-“
“YO!” The receptionist looked up to see one of the other tamers standing in front of his seat. “Is that the guy? Are you the Indigo Champion?”
Nicholas raised a hand in greeting. “Yo. That’s me.”
“You’re challenging Wake?” The younger man’s eyes lit up. “HEY! Where’s the door for the stands?”
“Ah, Mister Mayer, you’re up next,” the receptionist called. “You’ll have more than enough time after your challenge to watch Mister Topolski…”
“Not if I’m watching him too,” the other tamer called with a massive grin, still lounging over his chair. “We’re the only ones in front of him, yeah?”
“Well, yes…”
“I think I can put off getting smacked around another day.” The other tamer stood and tapped the first on the shoulder. “Over here. The viewing area for the main arena is this way.”
The receptionist watched the two vanish down a hallway and turned back to Nicholas with a sheepish expression. “Well… I suppose you’re next, Mister Topolski.”
Nicholas chuckled and glanced at Zisela. She was standing completely still and he knew she was preparing for the battles ahead. “What’s the process?”
“The path to the main arena is just through that door,” the receptionist replied, pointing at a pair of large swing doors emblazoned with oceanic imagery. “I will let you know when you are free to enter and begin your challenge.”
Nicholas nodded and took a few steps back so he was lined up with the door. Zisela soon joined him, standing so close that he could feel her body flexing with every breath.
Around ten minutes passed until the receptionist cleared his throat. “The arena is clear. You have been announced. You may enter when ready, sir.”
“Here we go.”
Zisela moved with him. Perfectly in step before her toes dug in and she surged forwards, barging through the doors and sending them crashing against the walls to either side. Nicholas was barely a step behind, covering his face as the metal came back for him. Then he was through, taking in what was waiting for them.
A vast tiled room stretched out, with three distinct levels throughout. The entrance was on the top level, and ahead, Nicholas could see the center of the room as a raised arena. Surrounded by strange walls and terraced areas.
Nicholas took a step and quickly caught himself from falling. The tiling was damp and dangerously slick.
“Ohhh the riing is my roiling sea. The towering waves they shaped me!” Nicholas turned his attention back to the arena as a voice belted out the lyrics to some kind of song. “Crash! Crash! Crash-er Wake! Crash! Crash! Crash-er Wake!” A man clad like a wrestler, with his chest bare and face masked, could be seen raising his arms at the other end of the arena, his voice raising with every word he sang. “I’M THE TIDAL WAVE OF POWER TO WASH YOU AWAY! AH HA HA HA! THE RING IS MY SEA!” With a roar the man stepped forwards, his fist shooting towards Nicholas with a grin. “Welcome! Nicholas Topolski. You’ve got an audience today, Indigo Champion! And an audience is what I love!” To one side of the vast room Nicholas could see the other tamers and their harems spread out through spectator stands. “Let’s give them a good show! Because my pokegirls were toughened by the stormy white waters! We’ll take everything you can throw at us and then pull you under!” As Wake raised his fist a low rumble could be heard, water spewing into the room and cascading down into the lower levels so the area began to flood. “Come on! Let’s get it done!”
“Shit.” Nicholas quickly took in the geography of the room. The water was rising fast. “Is there a path to take?”
“What does it matter?” Zisela growled. The water seemed to be slowing a bit as it approached the second floor of the room. “We want more water, Weyrleader, not less. So we can swim straight to that man.”
Wake cocked a hand cheekily behind his ear and waggled a finger at the Gabite. “I heard that. Are you sure that’s what you want? Haven’t you considered what might be lurking beneath the surface?”
Nicholas placed his hand on Zisela’s arm to stall the Gabite from doing anything. He didn’t like that. “What exactly is that supposed to mean?”
“Is the challenge to reach me for your battle?” Wake threw his arms out again as he roared with laughter. “OR HAS YOUR BATTLE ALREADY BEGUN!”
Zisela shook off his hand and pointed further into the room. “Look, Weyrleader. Floating bridges.”
“I think the word is ‘pontoon’,” Nicholas replied. He could see what Zisela was pointing at. The strange paths and abrupt gaps along the second level were beginning to fill as the water lapped closer. He could see similar gaps in the upper level as well. “I think this entire room is a challenge. The water level controls where we can go. Do you see any way to change it?”
Zisela glanced around before scowling. “I- No, why does it matter? Are you afraid of getting wet?”
“I’m worried about what the gym leader is taunting us with,” Nicholas replied under his breath. “This is a Water-type gym. This entire room is designed to put us at a disadvantage.”
Zisela was beginning to growl deep in her chest. “Are we to cower, Weyrleader? We are dragons. No trick can stop us.”
Nicholas stared at her. Processed what had just come from Zisela’s mouth. She had referred to them both… as dragons. Referred to herself.
And he was reminded of her eyes, burning as they challenged him not less than an hour ago.
“You want to show me,” he breathed. “Very well.” He exhaled, his body relaxing as he let himself drift into the proper state of mind. When his fingers tightened down and he raised his head to Wake, arms held to either side with fists clenched tight, he no longer cared for whatever puzzle this room held. He cared only for the pokegirl in front of him. His Alpha. “I can feel something down there, Zisela. Let’s get started.”
“Oh-oh-oh!” Wake’s eyes lit up when Zisela began stepping towards the edge of their platform. “Careful, shark! It’s a long way to fall.”
“So let’s make it less,” Zisela snarled, finding a decorated pressure plate and slamming her heel into the tile.
Water burst forth, quickly filling the room entirely so that it was just the entrance, the arena, and a few islands scattered throughout. Without another moment’s hesitation Zisela dove into the water.
Not two seconds later she was back, breaching with a vicious roar as a Sharpedo in her aquatic form could be seen in hot pursuit.
“Shark! Versus! Shark!” Wake leaned back, shouting at the ceiling as he pumped his arms. “LET THE WATER RUN RED!”
Zisela torqued her body around, hanging just above the water’s surface as the deadly figure below pushed herself faster and faster up towards the Gabite. The Sharpedo’s eyes held no mercy. She had one goal. To savage Zisela’s body and, as her tamer had said, make the water run red.
Zisela was still roaring. The noise had been building, and now, in the instant before the two clashed for real, Nicholas felt Zisela snap.
Zisela’s pupils nearly vanished as she threw her arm down, her elbow sinking into the Sharpedo’s face. The Gabite’s entire body was in motion, her other hand seeking the Sharpedo’s neck, her legs driving back down into the water, her tail swinging to catch as much propulsion as possible. She may not have been designed for the water like her opponent was, but she’d be damned if she let that make a difference. Shark, shark, shark. She was no simple shark. She. Was. A. DRAGON!
The Sharpedo wasn’t about to go down from a single blow. Zisela’s other hand, going for her neck, grabbed nothing but water as she began falling back beneath the surface. Then pain. Crushing, stabbing pain as the Sharpedo’s teeth closed on her fingers. Zisela was jerked underwater, her arm locked in the Sharpedo’s teeth as the aquatic pokegirl began dragging her down to the depths.
Zisela fought the pull as best she could, but her sharklike features truly were not designed in the same way as this pokegirl’s. She was an imitation shark that swam through land and air. The Sharpedo was the true predator of the water. Even now she was not closing any more with her prey. She flung Zisela around, disorienting her, exhausting her. The Gabite would need air. She would not. It was only a matter of time.
Shark versus shark.
Zisela slammed against one of the submerged walls and used it to quickly catch her bearings. She could see the Sharpedo coming back in already. This… fish. Was not her better. Her bite was weak. Her strikes even more so. She could fight back. Had fought back. One side of the Sharpedo’s face was pumping blood into the water. Broken. But Zisela was no fool. She recognized her disadvantage. Her body wasn’t fully developed, her fins and tail granting her movement within the water above that of most terrestrial pokegirls, but still well below a pokegirl who was fully designed for this environment. If this fight was shark against shark, the Sharpedo would win.
That… was not the fight at all.
This. Was a fish against a dragon.
Nicholas felt it. When the Sharpedo turned, as deadly and aggressive as he had seen in Marin, to make the finishing blow against the flagging Gabite far beneath him. When the radiant core of Zisela’s being surged, and the pale flame that it had kindled, what had been slowly growing by the day, suddenly was blasted away. Only the core remained, but it was not simply the core of the Gabite’s aura, not anymore. It was everything.
The Sharpedo was coming straight for her target when Zisela’s jaw dropped, bubbles erupting past her fangs as a dull light began to glow from her mouth. Before the Sharpedo could react a roiling beam of energy exploded from the screaming Gabite. The water, even though the two were at least ten, twenty feet below the surface, flashed to steam in the face of Zisela’s rage and on the surface the room erupted, sending spray as far as the spectators in the bleachers. Below the surface the Sharpedo was blasted away, screeching in pain from Zisela’s attack. The Gabite herself was on the offensive now. She surged off the wall, a tail that was not yet strong enough pushing twice as hard to give her the propulsion she demanded. Fins that were more for show than function cut lines through the roiling waters, holding the Gabite just steady enough to stay on target. She crashed into the tumbling Sharpedo and with a roar, muffled by the water all around, sank her teeth into the shark girl’s throat.
…It still wasn’t enough. She didn’t have the leverage to tear. Her tail, her legs, her arms, all strained to grant Zisela the power she needed to rip out this fish’s throat. They couldn’t do it. Blood filled the water around the pair, but the Sharpedo was recovering from Zisela’s blast. Her hands were already moving to pummel Zisela until she had to let go. Already Zisela felt her lungs protesting, her entire body burning paradoxically within the cooling water. With a start she realized. She was drowning. Water streamed through her nose and mouth, not air. She had failed him.
No… This body had failed her.
The surface of the pool had returned to being mostly silent, save for the waves resulting from the battle taking place. Crasher Wake had sidled over to the arena’s edge and was gazing down with an eyebrow raised. “I’m sure glad we have cameras recording down there, eh?”
Nicholas’ lips slowly drew back as he felt what was rising towards them. “Don’t worry. She’s bringing the show to you.”
Wake was blown off his feet when the shadows beneath him burst into view. The fight had begun with his Sharpedo punching Zisela into the air. It now ended in the exact opposite way.
The Sharpedo’s body was flung onto the arena, slamming against the tile and sliding a few feet before coming to a halt. Her form was already melting as the pokegirl lost consciousness, returning to her humanoid one. Wake was getting to his feet when a thick arm sporting a massive fin reached from the water, thudding onto the arena with Zisela pulling herself up a moment later. She wasn’t speaking. It was all she could do to haul herself halfway up before her arm gave out, but thankfully it was enough. Her own body weight compressed her chest against the arena’s edge and she retched, water pouring from her mouth until she could begin taking tortured breaths to regain her strength.
Nicholas had dove into the water the moment he’d seen what state she was in. Zisela barely reacted when he pulled himself up beside her and hauled her limp body fully onto land, the only indication she was still conscious her eyes as they tracked his movements. She was far more interested in just breathing again. He was happy to help her with that.
“When shark met shark, the better shark won,” Wake called with a chuckle. “Your shark is better than mine, Champion Topolski.”
“She is.” Nicholas gazed down at the pokegirl he’d pulled from the pool, his eyes full of joy. “Because she is far more than a simple shark. She is my dragon.”
He’d rolled Zisela onto her side after pulling her from the water so that the liquid in her lungs could drain more easily. She was still shuddering, heaving as air slowly displaced the water that trickled from the corner of her mouth. She wasn’t in any more danger, and Nicholas’ awe could take full hold as he took in what she had become.
Many of Zisela’s aspects had remained similar. Her golden hair, her body scales’ coloration. Her overarching blue had darkened even more, yet still with a stomach and chest of vibrant red. But much like the other physical dragons of his harem, Kary, Lili, the Garchomp in front of him was as far from her pre-evolutionary form as could be.
Especially, he thought, like Lili. The Tyranitar had hatched from her Pupitar cocoon as a rampaging monster. Zisela seemed to have done something similar, ‘hatching’ from her half-formed Gabite body and becoming a pokegirl that rivaled the rest of them.
Short fins had grown into long, thick weapons. Zisela’s tail, once only a decoration, was now as long as her legs, and twice as thick. Sharp nails curled into wicked claws, and so did Zisela’s horns, no longer simply sitting on top of her head, but curling outwards, forming a wide barrier that would protect the crown of her skull from all but the most directed attacks. The tips jutted forwards, giving Zisela’s head a heavily streamlined appearance, one which was repeated across her body. A body that had gained an immense amount of bulk from what had been as a Gabite – perhaps even doubling in size.
Nicholas’ eyes were drawn back to the center of the recovering Garchomp and he chuckled silently to himself. Something had certainly doubled in size. Two somethings he quite enjoyed looking at.
He blinked when he noticed something new out of the corner of his eye. He’d only looked at Zisela’s face sparingly, enough to see her still conscious before moving on to the rest of her. The parts he’d assumed would have changed in her evolution. But overall, she was still the same pokegirl. It was her face that he now turned to, eyes widening as he took in what Zisela had become.
As a Gible, and a Gabite, Zisela’s ears had been slightly pointed at the tip. As a Garchomp they were as sharp as her fins, poking from her hair and adding even more to her streamlined look. But that was minor. An iteration. What certainly was not was the pattern of bright yellow scales that wrapped her face.
Zisela’s eyes tracked him, the golden irises within fully black sclera remaining, but modifying from a simple circle to a compressed oval that gave the Garchomp the appearance of perpetually glaring at whatever she looked at. The yellow, and red, now that Nicholas looked at her chin, scales that patterned her face added to the illusion, drawing his eyes past Zisela’s slack jaw and directly into her gaze. The red of her chest had spread up to her lower jaw, allowing a strip of blue below her nose and spreading outwards down her cheeks, before it was drowned out by a yellow X centered right on the bridge of her nose. One half vanished into her hair, above her eyes, while the other swooped across Zisela’s cheekbones before ending just behind her newly pointed ears. Her deep blue filled in the blanks on her forehead and above the outer corners of her eyes, adding yet another fierce aspect to the whole.
Another cough from Zisela and this time what came out was mostly air. She groaned, rolling onto her stomach and propping herself up on her elbows and knees as she worked to clear the last of the water. It was this motion that drew Nicholas’ attention to something he had no idea how he had missed. Zisela’s limbs, arms, legs, and tail, were lined with short bone-white spikes along the outer edges. Emerging from the dark blue of her scales to shine defiantly in the face of any opponent who might try and grapple with this pokegirl.
“A dragon, is she?” Wake had long since recalled his Sharpedo and was tossing another pokeball up and down. “I suppose then we’ve seen that she’s a superior shark… So let’s test whether she’s a superior dragon as well.”
Zisela was unstable as she got to her feet and snarled at the gym leader. “I… am…”
“Prove it.” Wake caught the pokeball he’d been playing with and triggered the release. “ROUND TWO! FIGHT!”
Nicholas stepped back when he saw what was materializing. A Gyarados, and while he was well aware that looks could be deceiving, this one looked far more savage than Victoria was.
“I can give you time to recover,” he urged as Zisela took an unsteady step forwards. “Bring out Sammy, Quinn-“
“NO!”
Nicholas gaped at Zisela’s back. The fin there had grown just as much as the others, if not more, curving behind the panting Garchomp with jagged cuts taken from the inner edge. It evoked violent imagery as the voice defying him bit and snapped at his ears. “Zisela…”
Zisela planted her feet and snarled at the Gyarados, her opponent lowering her stance and hissing back. “No,” Zisela repeated, less aggressively this time. “No, Weyrleader. This must be my fight.” Her tail slammed against the floor with an ear-splitting crack. “This man addresses me as a shark, and as a dragon. I am not either. I am both. Better than both.” Her lips had been drawing back and abruptly she lunged towards the Gyarados with astonishing speed. “LET ME SHOW YOU!”
The two clashed in the center of the arena, catching each other’s hands as they strained. Water streamed up the Gyarados’ head, her neck whipping around in an attempt to headbutt Zisela, and Zisela dodged, twisting back before whipping her own skull forwards. She, however, had horns. The Gyarados howled when one caught her beneath the eye and tore through her cheek, revealing the grimacing teeth behind. Zisela shrieked in pain when she felt those same teeth slicing into her ear as she tried to pull back and now as she yanked away both pokegirls held grotesque injuries to their faces, their blood streaming down their necks. The Gyarados lunged again, but Zisela was already in motion. Just as their hands had locked now too did their jaws, each biting down as hard as they could in this twisted mockery of a kiss.
“SLAM HER!”
Nicholas blinked. Wake had just shouted a command. How could this man still be maintaining his high energy in the face of this? The amount of savagery between these two pokegirls should be cowing any normal human.
Zisela felt her body jerked forwards as the Gyarados tried to separate their jaws and when that didn’t work she felt, rather than heard, as the other dragon began growling. Energy was rising around her and not long after Zisela felt the Gyarados’ fingers clench down on hers as she yanked Zisela bodily towards her.
The attack was less of a slam and more of a tap since Zisela’s newly enlarged breasts acted as a wonderful cushion. Zisela even began to laugh before her laughter was cut off by the Gyarados surging back forwards again. Taken off guard Zisela fell backwards, still locked in place, staring up as water came crashing down.
The Gyarados was hissing with laughter as the water she’d condensed battered Zisela’s body but those noises too died when she felt the Garchomp under her twist. Suddenly there was not just the breasts of these two pokegirls pressing against one another. There were also the deadly claws tipping Zisela’s feet.
Claws that were at the end of two powerful legs. The Gyarados was ripped free of their jaw lock, a wordless howl rending the air as she was thrown over Zisela’s head and slammed onto her back with massive lacerations all across her body. Zisela rolled, getting her feet under her and spitting to clear her mouth. When her jaw hung open slightly to facilitate her heavy breaths Nicholas could see a massive chunk of her tongue missing, not to mention her broken and missing fangs. Neither dragon had been the victor of that struggle.
With a grunt Zisela was brought back to the ground, the Gyarados spinning and using their still locked arms to similarly throw her opponent. This went back and forth for a moment before Nicholas felt Zisela’s frustration boil over once more.
This time, however, she did not simply ‘snap’ as she had against the Sharpedo. That had been the petulant anger of a Gabite. This… was the righteous fury of a Garchomp.
The Gyarados yelped when she was lifted from the ground, Zisela’s body straining with her muscles drawing hard lines across her skin. With a bloodcurdling roar Zisela slammed the Gyarados back against the ground, letting go of her grip as the Gyarados was forced to do the same. Then she was on top of her. Her claws slicing into the Gyarados’ body. Nicholas staggered back as he felt the power erupting from Zisela’s body. She was completely out of control. In fact, as she continued to savage her opponent, Zisela’s eyes bled red, her gold and black completely overtaken by her rage.
For the first time in their battle Wake reacted like a gym leader, with no pomp or boasting words. His Gyarados was recalled and before Zisela could more than turn her head another pokeball was activated. “Tiria! Handle this threat!”
The sleek pokegirl that appeared shot forward instantly at her tamer’s command. Zisela was turning, mouth opening in a roar, when the new pokegirl smashed into her. A jab to the face turned Zisela’s roar into a strangled gurgle and she staggered, still fully lost in her rage, while Wake’s pokegirl Tiria landed, spinning with deadly precision and lunging back. Her teeth glistening with crackling ice.
Zisela’s body shook the arena when she fell, Tiria landing easily and stepping back to her tamer without another glance at her handiwork. Nicholas smiled as he raised Zisela’s pokeball and recalled the unconscious Garchomp. She had shown him. That’s for sure.
“Guhahaha!” Wake had both hands on his stomach as he belted out a rousing guffaw. “Wow! Watching that was a BLAST! You’ve really put a grin on my face, Champion Topolski! A battle like that – It’s my favorite! Something where both sides enjoy the experience without caring about the winner or loser!” He looked back down with the aforementioned wild grin. “However, I can’t just let you have my badge! Oh no! Tiria will make up for all our losses!”
Nicholas took in their next opponent as she slowly turned to face him. She was kind of cute, ignoring the wild expression on her face and still-dripping fangs. Twin furred tails twisted behind this pokegirl, each a rich orange with creamy tips and her fur spreading from them to cover her lower body and legs. She was more human above her waist, though, the orange fading into a creamy white as it climbed her torso and the fur fading to skin, though color returned with an orange head of hair that spiked up above her in one large fin.
“Kalmiya?” Nicholas asked.
“She is a Floatzel, Master. A Water-type pokegirl known for their speed and ferocity. Do not let her appearance fool you.”
“Oh trust me,” Nicholas replied, watching the ice melt away from the Floatzel’s fangs, “I wasn’t fooled.”
“Would you like my recommendation, Master?”
“I mean I only have two real options, don’t I?” Nicholas asked. “Sohn’s not coming in this gym. So it’s between Quinn and Sammy. Quinn would probably appreciate the exercise, but there’s really only one correct answer now that Zisela is down.” He raised Sammy’s pokeball. “Besides. She and Zisela were making it sound like something’s new with them. I’ve seen what Zisela meant.” He triggered the Rotom’s release. “Now I want to see Sammy.”
“That’s part of my theme song, you know,” Wake said, pointing dismissively at Sammy as she appeared. “’Run from electricity, Crasher Wake’.” He smirked when Sammy stretched and sparks began zipping across her limbs. “Think you can make me run, Champion?”
“Welcome to the battle Sammy.” Sammy glanced back and brightened when she saw Nicholas smiling at her. “Your Alpha forced out their ace. Mind taking care of her for me?”
“Absolutely!” Sammy squealed, starting to turn back when she suddenly froze. A sly grin began to spread as she finished turning to the Floatzel and raised her hands. “Hey, Master… Did she show you anything?”
Nicholas chuckled. “Zisela?”
“Yeah.”
“She absolutely did. She showed me that she is well and truly a dragon now.” Nicholas grinned when he asked his next question. “Didn’t you want to show me something as well?”
“I want to show you what I’ve learned to do. To fight,” Sammy replied. “For so long, I was confused. But you showed me what I could be.”
“Right, with the metal, and the segments-“
“No… No, Master.” Sammy’s body was beginning to vibrate as sparks flickered to life deep within her slime. “I’ve figured out how to use it to be something more. So much more. To be… What I’ve always wanted to be.”
Nicholas blinked. There was no point wondering what Sammy could mean by that. Their time home had allowed Zisela to learn from her ‘older’ sisters what her Weyrleader liked, and she’d obviously acted as the Alpha to this harem and instructed the others. She’d given him an incredible show. If Sammy was planning even half of what he’d just seen he didn’t want to miss a moment.
The Rotom pokegirl had no known evolution. That didn’t stop Sammy now. As she spread her arms a light began to grow from the core of her form. A few moments and it was discernable as dozens, hundreds, thousands of individual sparks of electricity. As they expanded, drawing distinctive shapes and pathways to create a sparking skeletal structure, Sammy’s entire self began to glow softly. Glittering points rippled through her like waves. Each one arcing her current back and forth as the Rotom took the rare earth metals she had been gathering and used them not to falsify a physical form, but to empower her own slime. With the way her electricity had supercharged the material making up her body Nicholas wondered if, for the first time, he was truly seeing Sammy with a body of plasma.
If that had been all she’d been planning it would have been enough for him. The Rotom was incandescent. Not only in her body but her soul, as Nicholas clearly heard her laughing joyously between the electric whining. But it was not all. She still had more to say.
“I don’t remember who I used to be.” Nicholas started when he realized Sammy was talking to him, having pulled the same trick as when they’d first met and reforming her body so her back was now her front. She was staring straight into his eyes. “I know that everything I have said, Master, everything I have tried to do, was with reason. But I do not remember what the reason was. Like my name.” She cupped her hands together and stretched them out to him. “I begged you to name me. You named me Sammy, and this, this body, is what I decided Sammy would be.” Her eyes sparkled. Both with her electricity and her humor. “This body, is Sammy. But I am not Sammy. Sammy is just a name, and names are not what defines anybody. Which means this body… is not mine.” She slowly separated her hands again. Something was changing deep inside her. The electrical skeleton was beginning to grow more defined, almost as if it was… separating from her energized plasma. “I am something else. Something far more. I simply choose to answer to Sammy, because it is the name my Master chose for me.” Her eyes flickered again. The humor was gone. The sparks of light snuffed out as an inky void began to make itself known, wrapping around the electricity surging throughout Sammy’s body but without consuming it. An… emptiness. The same ‘something’ Nicholas had witnessed Sammy exude rarely in battle. It was meeting the rest of the Rotom’s form and merging with it. Until Sammy seemed to exhale, sparking electric nuclei blazing to life within the eye sockets of an empty skull. A body, nearly transparent, with a glowing orange shell containing the Rotom’s essence and within which hovered a buzzing skeleton formed from pure electrical power. It moved as naturally as any human’s might when Sammy raised her hand, gazing at it for a few seconds before she began to giggle, then chuckle, then laugh, spreading her arms and legs and tilting her head back in her joy. Nicholas could hardly restrain himself from rushing forwards. Sammy had found herself. As a shapeshifting pokegirl such a thing must be incredibly special to witness. And here she was, displaying it, no, giving it to him. Finally, after all this time, giving him what he’d asked for from the start. Her true self.
It really was everything she’d ever asked for, he realized. Perhaps that was because her true self was her truest desires. She had wanted a body, a real one, and the pokegirl standing before him certainly had a fully defined and detailed figure. She was material, at least on the outside, the ‘skin’ of her feet deforming from her own weight pressing down on them. But inside, at her core, was the nebulous, ghostly self of Sammy’s true form. Wrapped in energized electric plasma and manipulated by surging currents. Some of which even arcing to nearby surfaces, a few constantly jumping from Sammy’s ankles and causing vicious buzzing noises as they raced across the tiles around her feet.
“Are you about done?”
Sammy stilled. Took a half step to twist her body around and stare at Wake as Nicholas growled a response. “I thought you liked flashy things, Crasher Wake. Is this not enough for you?”
“Dolling up your girl in a costume isn’t flashy, it’s expected,” Wake sniffed. “You’re just trying to intimidate Tiria. Well we’re not running from a mask, no matter how flashy you make it!”
“Master?” Nicholas turned his attention back to Sammy when he heard her softly ask a question. “May I please show you more?”
Nicholas smirked and gave her an exaggerated bow. “Please do.”
“This man wants something flashy?” Sammy extended one hand, reaching over with the other and taking a firm grip on her forearm. Bracing herself. “Fancy it is.”
Tiria lunged. Sammy was straining, focusing entirely on her outstretched hand as a corona of light began to build. The Floatzel had covered half the distance between them when Sammy opened her mouth and screamed.
The bolt of lightning that speared through the air was so powerful Nicholas swore he tasted the ozone left in its wake. It would certainly be enough to electrocute the vulnerable Floatzel it was about to engulf. A massive cannon of power that blasted from Sammy’s arm.
As the light faded away, leaving Sammy breathing slightly more heavily than before, Nicholas blinked. Tiria was gone. Sammy’s attack hadn’t been enough to vaporize the opposing pokegirl… had it?
Of course not. As the remnants of the attack cleared Nicholas’ eyes narrowed. There was a different pokegirl standing where Tiria had been moments before. A chubby pokegirl with a massive dumb grin on her face.
“That tickled!” she squealed, spreading her arms and bouncing towards the recovering Rotom. “I loooove zappy girls! Hug!”
“What is she…?” Nicholas asked, trailing off when Sammy leapt away from the strange new pokegirl and something in the girl’s expression flickered.
“Scanning… A Quagsire, Master,” Zisela urged. “A Water and Ground-type. Sammy can’t touch her with electricity!”
“I heard that,” Sammy’s voice retorted in Nicholas’ ear. “No electricity? No problem, Master. I’m still not done showing you what I’ve learned to do.” She laughed out loud when the Quagsire seemed to trip, her body slamming against the tile and a shockwave exploding across the arena. Sammy didn’t budge an inch, even as the wave passed under her, displaying how she, too, was unaffected by her opponent’s attacks. “She’s here to stop Electric-types. That. Is only half of what I am.”
“Ooh, does this make it a draw?” Wake was musing. “Can you even drown a ghost…?”
The Quagsire was rolling back and forth, seemingly stuck on her belly, which allowed Sammy time to refocus. She ignored her dopey opponent entirely. Trick or not, she could hold no pity for this pokegirl. Not if she wanted to show Master what she had learned.
“She really doesn’t look like a fighter, does she,” Nicholas mused quietly. The Quagsire had managed to force herself onto her side, revealing her struggles to be due to the pair of oversized breasts spilling onto the ground. This girl’s entire body was oversized. Chubby, even. The soft and squishy exterior matched her fumbling nature as she continued to get up only for her thick tail to trip her and send her crashing down on her back. This fall was accompanied by a second shockwave that passed under Sammy as harmlessly as the first. “She reminds me of… that Snorlax. Abigail, I think her name was?”
“I was unaware you had a Snorlax, Master,” Kalmiya said in surprise.
“Oh. Yeah, she came and went before your time, didn’t she.” Nicholas tapped his chin as he watched the Quagsire push herself into a seated position, her legs sprawled out as she stared at Sammy with her jaw hanging open. “It’s kind of cute. Seeing a pokegirl fight without ever appearing to throw an attack.”
“Just admit you like her curves, Master,” Kalmiya growled in his ear.
Nicholas couldn’t help but snicker and shrug at nothing in particular. “Whoops. Guilty.”
“Well? Send out your answer, Champion,” Wake called as water began dripping from his Quagsire’s slack mouth. It sprayed across the room while a few compressed missiles lobbed in Sammy’s direction, though only one impacted the Rotom and caused her to stagger. She was still focusing on something. “Your girl’s trick to keep from being shaken up is a good one, but she can’t touch Mori.”
“That is what appears to be the case,” Nicholas conceded. He glanced over at the Rotom. Something was certainly happening. Her form was… shifting. Still very similar to this new body she’d created but different enough for him to notice. He just wasn’t quite sure what was changing. “But I trust my pokegirls. I trust Sammy. She says she can win this. I’m waiting to see how.”
Facing away from him, he didn’t see Sammy’s lips turn up in a teasing grin. “You trust me, Master?”
Nicholas blinked. He couldn’t see her expression but he certainly could hear the tone of her voice. It was Sammy, but… if it was even possible, she sounded even more peppy than usual.
“Yeah? Of course I do.”
“KAY! Master here I gooo!” As Sammy squealed she thrust her arms in the air and dozens, hundreds of small shimmering objects were thrown into the air alongside her. For a moment they hung there, but when Sammy leapt straight up the cloud surged, following the gleeful Rotom and beginning to draw together.
Nicholas’ jaw dropped when he realized what had changed. Sammy was still herself, still the transparent ghostly fusion, but her entire physique had changed. From perfectly average in every way to a lithe, wiry frame more akin to a human teenager than a grown adult. And her body itself. The color of her skin as she soared through the air was no longer just her vibrant orange. If his eyes weren’t deceiving him the Rotom was glowing green.
She was. But what he could see from behind couldn’t reveal the most important of Sammy’s changes. Her eyes, as she reoriented and dove down towards the slack-jawed Quagsire, were not simply sparks within the empty sockets, but instead blazed with a kaleidoscope of color that served to transform the deathly seriousness of what she had shown into a wild, crazy look fit for the scrappy body she’d changed into.
The odd cloud around her began to take shape now. Glittering razor blades, formed from the particles of metal Sammy’s electricity was pulling from her body, began circling the attacking Rotom in a whirlwind. Like leaves caught in a tornado, all the way down to the patterns on each individual blade. Metal veins branched throughout each one, no two the same, displaying the precise manipulation of her current that made Sammy’s incredible transformation all the more wonderful.
“LEEEEAF! STOOOOOOORM!” Sammy’s yell echoed through the room as she sliced past the Quagsire, landing on all fours with the blades surrounding her peppering the ground around her hands and feet. She remained there for a few moments. Crouched among a field of metal grass. Until the Quagsire slowly turned her head, her eyes beginning to water.
“O-Ow.”
The unfortunate pokegirl’s knees gave out, her eyes rolling back into her head as she slammed to the arena floor one final time. This time there was no shockwave. As the girl’s blue and speckled brown skin began to darken red with her blood, oozing from infinite tiny cuts, Wake recalled her, and only then did Sammy jump to her feet with a jubilant cry. “BOOYAH!” She leapt backwards, her metal leaping from the floor with her and dissolving into streams of glittering dust that circled her body. “Is that it? Did I win?!”
“We’ve seen quite the show today, Champion Topolski.” Wake rubbed his fingers over his Quagsire’s pokeball before smiling and withdrawing another, releasing his Floatzel Tiria back onto the field. “I could concede now. But that’s not very exciting, is it? What do you think, Tiria?”
The Floatzel stared out at the waiting Rotom before a wry smile spread across her face. “You always taught us to go down in style, Master.”
“That’s right! Let’s finish this, Champion!” Tiria crouched, coiling up like a spring. “Make it flashy! HIT US WITH YOUR BEST SHOT!”
“Sammy!” Nicholas threw out his arm with a wild grin. “LET’S GIVE IT TO THEM! SHOW ME EVERYTHING YOU’VE GOT!”
As Tiria sprang forwards, the metal streaming around Sammy’s body sank back into her luminant slime. Instantly it seemed to reignite her plasma and Sammy drew both hands in front of her chest, trembling as bolts of lightning arced between her fingers. With a joyous scream she ripped her hands apart, the crackling ball she had formed hanging in midair for a few agonizing moments before it zipped forwards and sank into Tiria’s chest.
A heartbeat. Two. Then The Floatzel was gone, engulfed in a crackling white orb of light that filled the entire arena and shook the walls with a deafening explosion. Nicholas was roaring as he charged towards where Sammy hovered just above the ground. What he had witnessed. What these pokegirls had chosen to become in order to impress him. He felt a flame he’d once thought dying blazing to life in his chest as Sammy turned, lunging for him with her gleeful laughter echoing in his ears. What did it matter if no human could match him? The limit of humanity on this planet was not one he had any reason to meet. He would surpass it, and so would any pokegirl he brought to his side.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
POKEDEX UPDATED
Tamer: Nicholas Topolski
Badges:
Mine Badge
Forest Badge
Coal Badge
Relic Badge
Cobble Badge
Fen Badge
Harem:
Zisela, Garchomp (Alpha) – Level 49
Sohn, Infernape – Level 46
Sammy, Rotom – Level 48
Quinn, Gallade – Level 46
Non-Com Harem:
Kalmiya, Porygon-Z – Level 30