Earthford Showdown Ch. 1 of 3: A Bustling City
#1 of Earthford Showdown
Earthford Showdown Ch. 1 of 3: A Bustling City
By Anonymless
The hotel was a relatively large, two story building, constructed from concrete and adorned with giant glass windows on each side. In front of the hotel was a garden almost as large as the building itself, with an avenue in the middle, and together they composed the entire block. The avenue road was paved in a bright white color and lined with small, verdant lime trees all the way to the entrance, where it ended in a few stairs and a pair of glass doors. On the street near this block people of all kinds were walking along and chatting with each other, while the traffic and noise of the shopping district could be heard in the distance.
The doors swung open and a young man stepped out on the stairs dressed in a plain white t-shirt, a green jacket and blue jeans. He was followed by a purple catlike creature about a meter high, with a long, forked tail and a small round gem on its forehead. They stopped in front of the building and the trainer looked around. "Phew! This place sure is different from camping in the woods, isn't it?" He looked at the cat beside him, and it blinked and glanced back. "So. Tomorrow's the day it begins. We've booked a room in the hotel for the rest of the tournament, and we've got all of today to prepare ourselves. I feel like shopping a bit. We could get some berries from the market and a new TM or two. What do you think?"
The cat nodded, and he started digging through his pockets. "Let's see... ah, here it is." He pulled out a folded piece of paper and spread it out to reveal a map. "We're currently at the hotel in the northern part of the city. A few blocks south from here is the shopping quarter where most of the people are gathered. Then we have a training ground west of there, and the Pokemon Stadium is to the southeast. We have enough time to go check it out later today, if we want to." He took a few steps forward. "Let's go, shall we?"
They both started walking through the avenue at a leisurely pace, the Espeon on his right, while he examined the trees growing along the side of the passage. They were bright green, well-kept and almost identical to each other, spaced out in such a way that visitors could get a clear view of the surrounding garden. As he approached the beginning of the avenue he could hear a bird's song from ahead and looked up to see a lone Starly on top of the hotel sign, regarding the two passers-by with its head tilted. The trainer slowed down and walked carefully to not scare the gray little bird away, but then it jumped off the sign and landed on the grass right in front of him. He stopped and stood there while the bird hopped in a full circle around him and his Espeon, giving them odd looks all the while, and he snickered. "I don't have any food, pal. Go bother someone else, will you?"
The bird was still for a second, then let out a short, high-pitched cry and took off into the air, flying away above the rooftops on the eastern side of the hotel building. The trainer shrugged and resumed walking, his feline companion following suit. They reached the street in front of the avenue and walked over to the other side, in the direction of the shopping district. They passed by a few other trainers on their way there, most of them even younger than him; he reckoned that they lived here and had not yet gone out on their journey. He reached inside the right pocket of his jacket and thumbed a small sack inside, containing some metal objects. "Heh... we've come pretty far, haven't we? I can barely remember when I was a little kid like them, and you were just an Eevee..." He trailed off as a car drove by, and they continued walking in silence for a while. The Espeon was alert to the environment, glancing at things like bus stops and benches as they passed them. "Hey, maybe we can find some of the other people who are going to battle tomorrow. I wonder what they're like."
They neared the corner of the block where the buildings ended and the town square began. The pavement was dotted with market stalls that sold various Pokemon-related items, and the place was packed with a chaotic mass of people. He looked around, examining the various stalls. "Hm, there's one that sells berries over there. Let's take a look." He started walking toward it, navigating around other people on the way. He bumped into a kid that was a third shorter than he was and recoiled. "Oh! I'm sorry."
The kid was dressed in shorts, a t-shirt and had a cap on his head with the image of a Poke Ball on the front. He looked up and adjusted his cap a little. "No worries! My name is Simon! Who are you?" The Espeon sat down beside its trainer and waited while the two conversed.
"Uh. My name is Peter. And this is my Espeon." He looked down at the cat sitting beside him. It was facing away from him, watching the other people in the square. "We are visiting Earthford to participate in the tournament tomorrow."
The kid walked up and took a closer look at the Espeon. "Aww! It's a she, isn't it? She's pretty!" He stroked the cat lightly on the top of its head, and their eyes met.
Peter shifted his weight to the other side and looked away. "Yeah... thanks. She is... a she."
"Cool! So you two are gonna battle together tomorrow? He stopped petting the cat and stood up. "That means we might battle with each other, because I'm going there, too!"
Peter raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Are you qualified for entry? You need all the badges, you know."
The kid straightened himself. "Ha ha! I've got all of those. No problem!" He pulled out a plastic card from his pocket and presented it. There were eight symbols fastened to it - one for each gym leader. A moment later he stuffed it back into his pocket. "So. What are you gonna do today? Go shopping or something?"
Peter laughed. "Hah. Actually, I was going to look for the other contestants and maybe get to know them better before the tournament started, but it seems like I've already found one of them."
"Oh, then I think you should go to the training area." The kid turned and pointed to the side of the market square, at a street going west from there. "The others are probably hanging out over there, if they're not buying items at the market."
The Espeon scratched itself behind one ear, then resumed its idle stance next to the two trainers. Peter looked down at the cat while he responded. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I'd like to have a look around here first, though. What do you think, Espeon? Wanna go there?"
The cat nodded, and Peter smiled. "Alright! It's decided." He then turned to the kid with a cap in front of him. "It was nice talking with you, Simon. I hope we'll meet each other tomorrow... until then, see you!"
With that, they walked off towards the berry stall they had sighted earlier. When they reached it, Peter walked up and took a close look at the assortment of fruit, picking up one he liked. "I'll take a bag of these." The merchant, an elderly man, nodded and smiled. "Ah, those are Oran Berries. Quite popular. A slew of flavors, mixed into one, both sweet and sour... an excellent choice. Five hundred."
He extended his hand, and Peter dropped some coins into it, then filled a plastic bag with the berries. He thanked the old man and moved away from the stall, to the Espeon that was waiting for him a few meters away. "Well, I got the berries. Let's find somewhere to rest a bit. My legs are tired." He walked past the cat while looking around. "There doesn't seem to be any unoccupied benches around here. Let's keep going to the training grounds. We should be able to find a place to sit on the way there."
He started walking again, and the cat followed, its forked tail waving slightly with each step. While they did so, it closed its eyes a moment, and the gem on its forehead glowed faintly. It looked up again and turned its head to their side, watching the various people standing and talking with each other on the sidewalk. It turned again, its eyes narrowing a little when it saw a Mightyena chained to a hydrant on the other side, but soon after it blinked and resumed the walk with its trainer.
Peter sighed. "Sure is a lot of people around here, isn't it? I'm starting to doubt there's any empty place to rest. Man, all this walking is starting to get to me. I guess we'll just move on to our destination..."
He heard a shout from somewhere. "Hey!" He looked in the direction of the voice and saw two men sitting on a bench there. One of them was dressed in a hood that hid most of his face from view, and the other just had a black coat without headwear. It appeared to be a middle-aged man, bald but with a thin dark beard, and he was looking at Peter. "Hey, you! Yeah, the guy in the jacket! Come over here!"
Peter raised an eyebrow. "Huh? I wonder what they want..." He started walking to them, stopping a small distance away and waiting for them to speak up again.
The man crossed his arms and leaned backwards, eyeing Peter and the Espeon all the while. "Greetings, my friend! Sorry I had to yell to get your attention. From the looks of you, it seems like you're going to the tournament tomorrow. Are you looking for a way to earn some extra cash? I have a task that you might be able to handle."
"Yeah, that's true... I'm not desperate for money, but I guess I could help out... what were you thinking of?" While Peter responded, he felt a tug on his left leg and looked down to see that the Espeon was nudging him. The cat growled a little and narrowed its eyes while it stared at the man in front of them. Peter whispered. "What is it, Espeon? This is uncalled for."
The bald man shifted his position a little and straightened himself. "Oh, it's not much. The job itself is quite trivial, you see, but we have been prevented from carrying it out because of a troublesome rule in the Showdown, which restricts access for non-participants to the center of the arena... and, uh..." While the man was speaking, he became distracted by the cat's growling and stopped for a moment. "What I mean is, we need a contestant to do it."
"Cut it out, Jim." The hooded man, who had been completely still and silent the whole time, interrupted their conversation while remaining motionless. "This one will be more trouble than he's worth. Let's keep searching."
The bald man planted his palm on his forehead and sighed. "Jesus, how long is this gonna take? I guess you're right though." He looked up at Peter again. "Sorry to have bothered you. Please, forget I said anything and move along."
Peter shrugged. "Uh, if you say so. Goodbye." Then he turned around and looked at the Espeon while he took a step away from them. "Let's go, Espeon."
They walked away from the two men and continued their walk while the young trainer mumbled for himself. "Man, what was that all about? Why did you do that? I looked like a fool." They passed the corner of a block, and there stood a sign at the crossroads with directions. "Hmm, seems like there's only a small distance left to the training grounds from here. Let's get this over with."
In the western quarter of the city, there was a rectangular, asphalted area surrounded by tall residential buildings. There were two benches on opposite sides of the field, and right in the middle a metal pole stood wedged into the ground that was about the same width and height as a street lamp, only without the lamp. The place was silent except for the flapping wings and irregular breaths of a two meters tall, light green dragon with antennae on its head that stood on its hind legs twenty meters away from and facing the pole. As it breathed, small jets of flame erupted from its mouth, only to dissipate quickly afterwards.
"Okay, Flygon! Let's see if you can hit another time. Flamethrower!" The voice came from one of the side benches, where a girl with long red hair was sitting and watching the dragon. Next to her on the bench was a black, half-filled handbag.
The dragon took a deep breath, then jumped up in the air, flapping its wings several times a second and ascending to an altitude of about nine meters. Then it exhaled quickly and a huge burst of fire came out diagonally downwards, searing the metal pole in its path. Soon after, it slowed down and landed where it originated, breathing heavily.
The girl smiled. "Good work, Flygon. We'll take a break now." She reached into the handbag and felt her way to a rectangular object, pulling it out. It was a Pokeblock, similar in appearance to a candy bar but slightly larger. "Catch!" She threw the object to the dragon, aiming high. It leaped and grabbed the 'block with its teeth, landing and munching on it while holding it in its claws. Meanwhile, the girl opened a can of soda and drank from it with an audible slurp.
Around a corner of the buildings came a trainer in a green jacket, walking into the area and looking around, closely followed by the purple cat, and the trainers looked at each other. He walked closer and spoke up. "Hello! Are you one of the trainers going to the tournament tomorrow?"
The girl nodded. "Correct. I suppose you're going to it too?" She took another slurp from the can of soda in her hand.
"Yeah." He looked around himself. "Whoa, you've got a Flygon... that's pretty awesome. My name is Peter. I'm not from around here; I came to Earthford just to participate in this event. And you are?"
"Rachel." The girl looked away and watched the insect-dragon take another bite of the Pokeblock. "I have a house on the other side of the city. I've never entered this tournament before, though, because I didn't have all the badges earlier." The dragon finished eating and looked back at her, its antennae waving lightly. "You may go for a flight now. Come back here in ten minutes or so and we'll do some more combat training."
The dragon jumped straight up with its wings in rapid motion, and when it had risen above the rooftops it tilted and sailed away, coasting on the winds. Then it was gone, leaving the two trainers facing each other, one on the bench and one standing at a small distance away from it, with the Espeon curled up on the ground beside them. Peter laughed. "Wow, you're really serious about winning the tournament, aren't you? I can't say I've been training much in the past few days..."
Rachel smiled. "This is nothing, just a little warm-up for tomorrow. I really couldn't care less if I win or not, but I want to be in good condition so I can enjoy the challenge at least." She turned toward him. "I think you have the right approach... there's no sense working your ass off to get this medal. In any case, I'm fairly certain there's no prize money involved."
Peter laughed a little and looked away. "Hah, I guess that's true. Still, the tournament interests me for other reasons." He turned back toward her. "You do know about the rumors, don't you?"
When he only received a blank stare in return, he stood up and looked around himself, at the buildings that surrounded them. After that, he walked a bit along the wall and stopped in front of a large poster. "Take a look at this."
"Okay..." Rachel set aside her belongings on the bench and stood up, then walked up next to him so that they were both looking at the poster. It depicted a Pokemon trainer giving orders to his Charizard, and underneath the image was a bunch of text that advertised the Earthford Showdown. "Yeah, this is a poster, just like all the other posters they put up to announce the tournament. I don't see anything out of the ordinary here."
"Look more carefully. There are shadows in the background of the picture." He pointed above the trainer and his Charizard, at a dark silhouette with a long tail hovering in the air behind them. "This one, in particular, interests me."
He turned to Rachel as she examined the poster. "A friend of mine told me about it a few months ago, which is why I came here. It's no accident that they put a Mew right there on the ad. The rumors say that once every five years, the legendary creature has been sighted in the vicinity of the arena, watching the battles from high up in the clouds... it has been five years since the last time anyone saw it, so if the pattern is correct, Mew is going to appear this week."
Rachel laughed. "And you believe this? I haven't heard anything like it. Sounds like something they made up and spread to generate publicity." She looked at the poster again, then looked at Peter. "What makes you think that the most rare of all the Pokemon in the world would want to look at us fighting each other in this backwater city, where hardly anything ever happens?"
She walked back and sat down, and Peter followed, taking a seat on the bench next to her. He put down the plastic bag of berries beside himself and looked up into the clouds in the sky. "It is possible. That's good enough for me."
"Hmph. Believe what you will. I won't get my hopes up." She picked up her half-full can of soda and drank from it. Meanwhile, the light green antennaed dragon swooped in from above the rooftops and landed feet first on the middle of the asphalt in front of them. The Espeon glanced at it calmly, then turned away.
Peter smiled and watched the dragon as it stood still in front of them. "Heh. I guess I should be going now. I would like to take a look around the city today, and I shouldn't disrupt your training any longer." He stood up in front of the bench and stretched.
"Oh, are you going already? You don't want to have a practice match with us? Come on."
He scratched the side of his head and smiled. "Nah. Let's save it for the tournament. Then we will find out who's the best." He turned to the resting cat. "We're going, Espeon."
The cat blinked and got up, then trotted to his side with its tail waving lightly and touching his legs as it walked up close to him, making him blush.
"Fine. I'll see you there. Until then, farewell." The girl finished her can of soda, stuffed the empty can into her handbag and looked up at the green dragon that was standing and waiting in front of her. "Alright, Flygon! Time's up. The next move is Dragon Claw, and I want you to attack the pole three times in a row..."
While the dragon turned and readied itself in front of the metal pole, Peter and the Espeon walked away around the corner to where they came from, with the cat on his right side and holding the plastic bag in his left hand. "Heh, this is pretty nice. We've found two of the other trainers already. I'm not sure about the kid from before, but this girl will be a challenge!" He stopped a moment and pulled out a map, unfolding it. "Let's see... we've been at the market and the training grounds now. That means we have one place left to go - the arena itself. If we follow this street, it's not far away." He folded the map again and held back a yawn as he put it back in his pocket. "After that, we're going back to the hotel. It's starting to get late."
The arena was located on top of a hill, a distance away from the shopping streets and surrounded by grassy slopes. It was not a single building, but rather two structures connected to each other. On one side there was a rectangular structure about half the size of a football stadium, and on the other side a smaller office-like building stood, two stories tall and painted light red. This building sported the main entrance of the facility, and from there a gravel road ran down the hillside in a curved shape, where it connected to a parking lot near the base of the hill, in between it and the rest of the city. There were a few oaks on the hill but most if it was plain grass.
From the curved road the sound of footsteps on gravel came, and a trainer and his cat arrived at the scene, both examining their surroundings. When he came up on the hill he stopped to take a look and saw the doors of the arena in front of him with a sign next to them, an oak tree on the right side some distance away, and on the left side there was a blond woman leaning against the wall of the building. She had a purple dress with gray arms and a pair of sandals. In her right hand was a plastic bag filled with what looked like bread crumbs. She looked up at him a moment when he arrived, then resumed her idle posture on the wall.
The trainer walked along on the road, approaching the entrance, while his cat slowed down and walked off towards the edge of the hill. It stopped and sat down, curling its tail around itself as it watched the horizon. When the trainer was almost close enough to the sign to read it, the lady cleared her throat. "It's closed."
Peter flinched and looked back at her. "Oh. Yeah, I just came here to take a look at the place. I don't mind." He then turned back to the sign in front of him.
The lady smiled. "Hm. I take it you're new here, then, like I am." She took a few steps away from the building while she continued. "Originally, I came here looking for a challenge... I had thought that there were more powerful trainers in this region. In retrospect, it was a silly idea." She looked away at the nearby oak tree, and as she paused speaking, a bird's song could be heard from there. "No, this place won't do. In a few weeks I will start my journey to the Victory Road... hopefully I'll find some worthy opponents there."
The trainer stopped reading the sign and turned to her. "Okay, but... why are you here at the arena, if you don't want to battle?"
She smiled again. "Oh, it's nothing important, I'm... looking for someone. I don't want to bore you with the details."
"Well, I could help if you tell me what they look like. I met a lot of people on the market today. But yeah, pretty much everyone here is going to watch the tournament, so you'll probably find them there."
The lady turned away and looked at the Espeon sitting quietly near the edge of the hill. "I think you'll do well. Psychic is a strong type, and their innate mental abilities are even useful for other purposes than battling. It is clear that almost all of them can manipulate matter and read thoughts, but it's sometimes hard to tell to what extent."
"Heh, yeah... she is intelligent." He gazed at the cat while it looked out over the rest of the city. "I... don't know how that psychic stuff works, though. I don't think about it a lot." He turned away to the nearby oak tree, watching the leafy branches in silence.
A bird flew down from the tree and landed on the road between the two humans, hopping a few times forward before stopping and looking around. It was a lone Starly, colored grey and white. When the lady saw it, she stuck her hand in the bag and took out some of the bread from it, then threw it in the grass. The bird quickly hopped over to it and nabbed one of the bits, cutting and chewing on the bread with its beak.
Peter watched the bird eat for a moment, then checked his watch. "It's getting kinda late."
"Indeed it is. I was expecting that they would turn up here a day in advance, but it seems that this is not the case." She threw some more bread to the bird, then walked over to the road while she continued talking to herself. "I'm quite certain that they are somewhere around here, though, and they can't have gone all the way to this city for no reason. I have to find out what they're planning."
"Uh... who are these people you're talking about, exactly?"
The lady turned around and faced Peter, and their eyes met. "I don't want you to get into trouble. I can tell you, but you must promise that you won't try anything foolish."
Peter gulped and stuttered. "Uh. Sorry... I was just curious."
As they talked, the gem on the Espeon's forehead began to glow, and it closed its eyes a moment. Then it turned around to face the Starly that was eating bits of bread in front of the building, and it watched the bird silently, narrowing its eyes.
The lady tied the plastic bag in her hands into a knot, walked over to a garbage can and threw it inside while the bird consumed the last few bits of bread, and she turned back to Peter. "I should introduce myself. My name is Glacia, and as you'd expect, I specialize in Ice Pokemon. A few weeks ago I arrived from a long trip to this continent... I was looking for any trainers that could match my skill, but all I have met so far is weak trainers and their Pokemon. I was just starting to give up and move on towards Evergrande when I saw something strange."
She stopped talking for a moment and looked out over the twisting road. "When I passed through this city, I saw a familiar face... the face of an officer from a criminal organization in my home region, Team Galactic. I remember him because he was shown on the air not too long ago after being caught in the act trying to steal Pokemon. He was arrested, but escaped, and no one had seen him since."
She stepped slowly forward on the road, while Peter listened quietly to her. The Starly flew away as she got too close to it, and the Espeon's eyes were fixed on the bird until it was gone. "So it seems that he came all the way to this place, where surely no one would know who he was... an intriguing coincidence. I didn't get the chance to talk with him, though, which brings us to why I am standing here talking to you now. I was thinking that he would show up and try to steal Pokemon from the tournament. If I'm lucky I will catch him here, and personally see to it that he doesn't get away this time."
She drew a long breath, and walked back to her original position next to the building entrance. Peter blinked. "Whoa. That's... awesome. That makes you, what, a vigilante detective or something? Why don't you just go tell the police about this and let them take care of it?"
"As I said, they already failed once. I don't expect the police of Hoenn to be any more competent than the police in Sinnoh. Furthermore, I don't want to spoil the tournament. If the media finds out that someone wants to steal Pokemon from the tournament, they'll probably cancel it. And most of all, it would ruin the challenge." She stifled a laugh. "Don't worry about it. I know he's coming, and I'm going to find him. But as I said, you must not get into trouble. There's no telling what he'll do when cornered. I have already told you too much for your own good."
She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall of the building, and it was silent for a moment as Peter contemplated what she had said. He coughed, then looked back at her. "Okay, I promise. Whoever it is you're talking about, he sounds pretty dangerous. I'll try to be careful tomorrow. But for now, I have to go."
Peter walked away from the building and onto the descending gravel road. As he passed the Espeon, it arose and took on the same pace. He turned around toward Glacia for a moment and said "See ya!" then began walking down the hill with the cat at his side. "Wow... this tournament keeps getting stranger and stranger, huh? Apparently there's a Pokemon thief on the loose. I would have told this to the organizers of the tournament at least, but I guess a promise is a promise..."
They walked down from the hill and passed the parking lot, then walked along the streets in the direction of the hotel, passing closed shops and residences on the way. "She told me that Psychic Pokemon can read minds... I never really thought about it that way before." Peter smiled a little. "It's funny. Why am I talking to you if you already know what I'm going to say? Or is it more like you can get a general idea of someone's thoughts, but not the details?"
The cat glanced back at him, and they looked in each other's eyes for a second. "Espeon... is there anything more you need?" In response it shook its head, and Peter smiled. "Then I guess it's time to go back to the hotel. There'll be a lot of stuff to do tomorrow so we'd better get as much rest as we can now."
He turned to start walking again, and the Espeon quickly walked up and stroked his legs with its forehead, and he laughed. "Hey! Stop that!" Then it zipped past him and ran toward the grassy block in the distance, where a long avenue led to the entrance of the hotel. Peter kept walking in his own pace and watched Espeon, enchanted by the even waving of its forked tail. He sighed and entered the avenue, walking along the small lime trees as Espeon sat on the stairs waiting for him.
Peter stepped up on the stairs and pushed the door open, letting Espeon inside before he let go and it closed. The lobby of the hotel was a square room that had a desk in the middle, a closed door on the right side of the desk and an ascending staircase to the left. Behind the desk sat a young man with glasses and a neat black suit, occupied with writing in a little notebook. When Peter walked up to the desk, the man looked up. "Hello again. Are you checking in for the night?" He set aside the notebook and opened the top drawer of his desk, placing the item inside before closing it again. "Food will be served in about half an hour. There will be a buffet as well as poffins and berries for the Pokemon."
"That's nice, thanks!" Peter gestured for Espeon to follow him, then went up the staircase to the second floor and looked around. There were three corridors, one in each direction, and they were lined with numbered doors. He went to the left and read the numbers until he saw the door with number 24, which he unlocked and opened. "Take a look at this."
Inside the hotel room was a large bed with a red blanket and a little table next to it. There was a filled backpack in the furthermost corner of the room, and on the floor between the bed and the backpack was a basket with a soft pillow inside it. While Peter stood in the doorway to the room his Espeon walked up next to him and glanced inside. "They've even got beds for Pokemon! I love this place."
He walked in and picked up the backpack, then sat down on the bed while Espeon sniffed the air and looked around in the room. He opened one of the pockets and pulled out a broschure with a red and white cover labeled "Earthford Showdown", then started flipping through it. On each page there was an image of a Pokemon and its trainer next to the text as well as a short description of them. He yawned and checked his watch. "Hm, I'd better go down to the buffet before I forget about it." He looked over at the Espeon who had taken a seat inside the basket and was grooming itself. "You can wait here if you want."
He stood up, and with a short stretch he walked out of the room and into the hallway.
About an hour later, the door to the hotel room opened and Peter stepped inside. He glanced at his bed with the backpack and a heap of clothes on top of it, and the Espeon who was curled up in the basket on the floor, eyes closed. He sat down on the bed and sighed. Checking his watch, he saw that it was ten o'clock, so he picked up the clothes and backpack from the bed and placed them in a pile on the floor, then began undressing, putting the used clothes next to the others until he was only in his underwear. He sat down on the side of the bed and looked over at the resting cat, whose only movement was a gentle respiration and the occasional twitch of one of its long, furred ears.
He averted his eyes and noticed that he had gotten an erection from watching it, which caused his underwear to bulge lightly. He blushed and looked back at the cat, who seemed to be sound asleep now. A moment later, he pulled off his underwear, rendering him naked and with his hard penis sticking out in the air. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, then started stroking it slowly, speeding up until he just gripped it and began to beat off at a steady pace. Some minutes later he stopped to regain his breath, his eyes still closed...
He felt something wet touching the base of his penis and froze. Opening one eye, he saw the Espeon sitting right in front of him, with its head in between his legs and its tongue brushing against his member in a short upward movement. "Ah...!" His heart began to pound and he grasped the bed clothing with both of his hands. "Espeon, what are you..."
The cat did not respond but kept licking him in his most sensitive area, now sweeping over it in longer motions and each time starting at a higher point on the penis until it was licking all the way up to the top. The trainer just sat still and stared at the large cat while it continued cleaning his penis with its tongue. When it was done, the cat withdrew its head and sat up, licking its chops and looking casually back at the trainer.
He was panting, and his erection was still as severe as before, sticking out in the air between them. The Espeon rose up and brushed against his leg with its side, making him blush again, and then it turned around and stood on all fours with its back turned to him. He was completely still and stared at the Espeon's now revealed hindquarters, who to make matters worse bent down in submission in front of him.
"I, uh..." He gulped, still staring at the cat before him. "I want this, but... don't you think...?"
He shook his head, and drawing upon a newfound sense of determination, got off the bed and stood on his knees in front of the cat, who seemed to shiver in need. When on his knees his crotch was conveniently located at about the same height as her entrance. Only a few inches away from each other, he placed his hands on her back and pushed forward, his member nudging the soft fur below. He felt her opening a little bit above that point, and placed himself with his knees closer together. Now at an elevated position, he slowly pushed forwards again and slipped inside.
The Espeon gasped and closed its eyes, digging into the mat with its claws as her trainer's hard member entered her, their genitals rubbing against each other and sending a tremendous wave of pleasure. He stopped when it was half the way in and pulled out of her, then pushed inside again, this time getting about two thirds of his dick inside her before the smooth walls stopped him. Panting heavily, he grabbed her long tail and put it over his shoulder, then started thrusting steadily like before, each time feeling a rising sensation within him. "Aahh...! I'm gonna..."
Espeon gripped the mat tightly with her front claws and braced herself, feeling the thrusts growing more erratic by the second. Then, with a last push he buried himself inside, letting his orgasm send several jets of sperm into the Pokemon's vagina. His member firmly entrenched, he paused to catch his breath. "Hahh... ah..." He looked down at the Espeon, who huffed and puffed with her mouth open and her eyes closed, hugging the floor. When her breaths became more relaxed, she closed her mouth and smiled.
Still breathing heavily, he pulled back and descended to sit with his rear on the heels, his erect but waning member glistening with the combined fluids of the two. Between him and his pokemon there were some drops of it splattered on the floor. "Hhh... wow. What a mess..." He looked around in the room hoping to find a piece of paper or anything absorbent, but seeing nothing. While doing so he felt a familiar sensation touching his lower regions, and looked down to see Espeon prone between his legs and lapping the traces of semen away from him. "Heh... thanks, Espeon."
A moment later they were all done having cleaned up after themselves, and the trainer was lying in the bed face up while Espeon had curled up to rest in the basket again. Lying completely still, he opened his eyes and looked up at the boards in the ceiling. "We'll win tomorrow... I'm sure of it."