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Pokemon: Further Evolutions

CH 12

Don't Hold Back

The shore side was especially beautiful today. The sun shined upon the waves in a way that made them appear like they were sparkling. The sky was sunny and clear, with a few clouds here and there spread around. It wasn't too hot, and wasn't too cold either, with the spray of the ocean and the soft breeze accommodating for the sun's harsh rays. Yes, this was the perfect weather to just kick back and relax, and that was precisely what many of the morphs there were doing. Many laid themselves on the sand and lazed around, enjoying the soft spray of the ocean. Some were swimming and riding along with the waves. Some of the younger morphs were running around and playing with their friends and family. One group even started a pseudo volleyball game with a beach ball one of the morphs had brought along with them. It truly was the image of peace here.

Which is why Kyo felt so odd to be in the situation he was in now.

Only a few meters off to the side, Kyo and Lucario were going full out against each other. Whilst Kyo used his focused Aqua Jets to attack the female with a flurry of combo punches and kicks, Lucario used her Extreme Speed to match his own speed and meet him blow for blow. Of course, that was all in a metaphorical sense, as neither of them could land a hit on each other. In fact, neither of them had been able to land a hit for the past minute they had been doing this. They were both constantly missing each other, though Kyo had less control over that than Lucario. Whilst he had been able to suddenly learn how to release the water within himself out through his body rather than through his throat, it was extremely difficult to properly control his movements and even more so to aim his attacks. The force of the water jets forced him to just resort to blindly swinging and hoping for at least one of his punches to land.

That was exactly why Lucario had decided to hold this training session. Once she had seen Kyo perform the attack for the first time in his match and later had him perform the attack on herself, she found out about Kyo's dilemma and wished to fix that. She decided that the only way for him to get the move down was to practice, practice, and practice. This was their fourth fight of the day, and still no progress. He was still missing nearly all of his attacks, and whenever he tried to perform a proper Aqua Jet, he ended up getting predicted and countered. It was already clear that it was going to take much longer than a day for him to properly master his new fighting technique, which Lucario pointed out she had never seen anyone else in her time of fighting use that particular move in that particular way. Regardless though, Kyo still wanted to learn what he could before tomorrow rolled around.

Because that day was the one that mattered the most.

"HaAIYA!!!" Kyo cried out as he threw a hard punch from his right. Lucario acted fast, knocking his arm away in a counter before grabbing hold of him and hurling him into the air. As his feet hit the ground, Lucario tossed an Aura Sphere his way. Thankfully, Kyo landed in time to roll out of the way. Once he was back up, he rocketed forward as he used his Aqua Jet to give him a boost of speed. However, rather than shooting towards his opponent, he ended up firing too far off. He quickly tripped and fell over, landing on the ground hard and causing the jets to cancel out. For a moment, he just laid there groaning. Seeing this, Lucario let out a sigh and stood straight.

"'Alright, good effort Kyo,'" she began as she walked towards him, "'just take a rest now.'" With a sigh of his own, Kyo sat up and crossed his legs, keeping his gaze low to the ground. "'Awww, come on now,'" she said before patting him on the shoulder, "'You'll get that move down eventually. Just gotta keep at it, ya know?'"

Kyo shook his head. "It's not that..." Lucario tilted her head at this, so he went on, "I just wish I could stop launching all of my shorts off whenever I use that attack..." Lucario and Teddy couldn't help but break into laughter upon hearing that. Kyo merely blushed and laid his tail over his lap. Lucario patted him on the shoulder again.

"'Well wardrobe aside,'" she went on, "'you're doing very well. I'm sure that if you practice with those moves enough, you should do well in the final match.'"

"Thanks Lucario," he thanked her. His mind began to drift back to Grovyle at the mention of the finals. Man...I feel kinda...bad..._he thought to himself, _I'm getting all of this help with learning new moves and such, and Grovyle's still just a beginner... Maybe it was...unfair of me to seek out help...

Lucario tilted her head again at the water type's silence. "'Hey...something the matter hun?'"

"Hm?" Kyo shook himself back into reality, "y-yeah I'm fine." Lucario frowned at this.

"'Come on now, I can tell that you're lying...'" Kyo only turned away from her slightly to avoid eye contact. She blinked once and snapped on her Aura Sight, confirming that he was definitely lying. She blinked again and snapped it off. "'Alright, what's wrong?'"

Kyo bit his lip. "It's...a personal problem. I'd rather not bother you with it..." Lucario frowned again. She looked back to Teddy and gave him a questioning look, but the Ursaring only nodded reluctantly in response. So she simply shrugged and turned back to Kyo.

"'Well,'" she said as she stepped away from him, "'it's your choice I suppose...'" She turned away and began to leave. "'But you know...I had a friend that did the same...keeping hir problems all to hirself... And let me tell ya, things got a lot better for hir once shi talked things out with everyone...'" Kyo was about ready to dismiss her comment, only to be caught off guard as he realized that she had said "hir" rather than "her." By the time his mind had clicked and he had turned around ready to ask, she was already far off waving goodbye to the two of them. With a sigh, Kyo stood up whilst keeping his tail wrapped around his waist.

"Welp," he began, "once I figure out where my shorts went this time, I think I'm gonna head over to the eatery and drink up on water."

"I think I shall accompany you as well," Teddy replied, "I am feeling rather hungry myself..."

It took about ten or so minutes before they finally did find Kyo's shorts. After Kyo had slipped them back on, they made for their usual eating spot. However, once they arrived, they were surprised to see the place bustling with various morphs. One of them noticed the two of them standing in the distance and called out to them, causing all of the others to turn and notice them as well. The crowd quickly grew excited and called out to them, particularly Kyo. Teddy chuckled and turned to him.

"Looks like they were waiting for you," he commented.

"B...but how they heck did they know to come here of all places?" Kyo asked in an exasperated tone, making Teddy laugh.

"Perhaps someone shared the fact that you eat here often," he shrugged. He turned to look at him and was met with an angry glare, making him laugh even more. "Oh do not look at me. You know I would never do such a thing." Kyo groaned and slumped slightly. Reluctantly, he followed Teddy towards the counter as they were crowded around by the group of admirers. Whilst Teddy went off to get something for himself, Kyo got his usual bucket of water.

"Um, 'scuze me. Sorry. Just gotta get through. Sorry," Kyo excused himself as he inched his way through the crowd to get to a seat. As soon as he sat down, the crowd quickly filled up the seats around him in an attempt to try and get close to him. Kyo laughed nervously and glanced over to Teddy, who was only now receiving his food.

"'So Kyo,'" one of the many female morphs said to him, "'what's it like to be one of the most wanted males on the island?'"

Kyo froze upon hearing her statement. He turned to her with a surprised expression across his features. "Wait...you're serious?"

"'Mmhm,'" she cooed, "'Just about everyone on the island knows about you now. And let me tell ya, a lot of em want a piece of you.'"

Kyo laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head, "Oh? Eheheh, is-is that so?" He snatched up his bucket and began to gulp down his water. He paused so that he could speak. "So like...they wanna fight me or something?"

The morph smirked and rested her muzzle on a paw. "'Well what can I say? Some wanna slam you, and others wanna get slammed by you.'" Kyo choked on his water briefly, forcing him to set the bucket down on the table as he took the time to recover. The morphs around him began to giggle at the sight, commenting on how red his cheeks were getting with resounding "awww"s.

"'The rumors were right,'" another morph hummed happily, "'He really is cute when he gets all embarrassed like that.'" The entire group began to giggle again, and Kyo hid his face behind his tail "fin." He peeked out of it briefly as he tried to spot wherever Teddy was. He glanced over only to see him not only sitting several tables away from him, but also sitting among the trio of Lopunny-morphs and talking to them animatedly. Kyo growled inwardly as his eye ridge twitched from contained anger.

Dammit Teddy..._he cursed to himself as he sniper glared the Ursaring, _flaking out on me at a time like this? Uuuuuuuggggggghhhhhhhhhh...

"'So hey,'" said one of the morphs, catching Kyo's attention, "'we're all dying to know; are you looking for any mates right now?'" Kyo's entire face became flushed with red and he froze on the spot. It took a moment before he found his voice again.

"N-n-no actually," he stammered nervously, trying hard to avoid contact with everyone as they voiced their disappointment, "I-I'm just not looking for a relationship, ya know?"

"'Relationship?'" said one of them before the rest of the group began to laugh, "'Honey, all we're lookin for is a mating. It's not like we're trying to...what do the humans call it?'"

"'I think it's marriage,'" another said.

"'There we go, yeah,'" the first morph nodded and laughed along with the rest of the group, "'Yeah, we're not looking for any of that. We just wanna, you know, take you for a spin. Ride things out? Wink, wink, nudge, nudge?'" Again, the group began to giggle from her statement. Kyo merely nervously laughed along with them before stuffing his face into his bucket and gulping down as much water as he could as fast as he could.

"'Yeah, we just can't help it,'" said a morph from his left, "'You just looked so strong in your match against Meowstick. And lemme tell ya, these gals get really hot and bothered whenever we see a strong male in a fight.'" The other females all nodded and laughed in agreement. Kyo only kept his head in his bucket and continued to gulp down water. "'Oh come ooooon. How can we convince you otherwise?'" The rest of the group followed suit and began to speak at once, all trying to convince him to try things out. One of them clung to one of his arms, so he had to set his bucket down. He stammered as he tried to come up with excuses only to stop mid-sentence. Off a bit farther off, he had noticed Grovyle disappear amongst the various trees. Kyo's blush quickly faded, and his flustered expression soon degraded to a slight frown. He glanced back and forth between the morphs and where he had seen Grovyle before he stood up.

"Sorry everyone," he began, causing everyone to go silent, "I gotta...use the restroom..."

"'The...what?'" By the time the question had left the morph's lips, Kyo was already walking away. "'Oh-okay! We'll save your seat then...'" A few seconds passed before Kyo heard them begin to talk amongst themselves. He tuned them out though; he had something else he wanted to focus on. Once he stepped through the trees, he looked around and spotted Grovyle, whose back was turned to him.

"'...Hello...Kyo...'" she greeted him coldly.

"Hey...Grovyle..." Kyo replied. A moment of silence passed between them. Kyo scratched the back of his head before continuing. "So...looks like the finals are tomorrow--"

"'I know...'" she cut in suddenly. Another moment of silence passed between them. It took Kyo a bit longer before Kyo broke the silence with a sigh.

"Listen, I want you to know that I'm not trying to make this personal--"

"'I do not want to hear it,'" Grovyle cut him off again, still keeping her back to him, "'Regardless of the outcome of that match, I'm going to continue hating you for the rest of my life.'" Kyo bit his lip, holding his tongue and allowing her to go on. "'Kyo...do you know how...betrayed I felt when you told me your goal in the tournament?'" Again, Kyo held his tongue. With her back still turned to him, she went on. "'I was...heartbroken over the fact that the one_person I thought of as my friend, my _actual_friend, turned out to be my _biggest obstacle.'" Kyo felt his heart both rise and sink at the same time, and he felt it begin to ache. Still, he held his tongue and continued to listen. "'I thought...'" she choked for a moment, and her composure wavered slightly, "'I thought...we could've been great friends... Maybe...maybe even...more...than just friends...'" This statement caught the Feraligatr off guard. But before he could speak up about it, Grovyle continued on. "'But I'm not here to talk about what could've been.'" Her head raised slightly as she went on, "'I'm here to tell you that you shouldn't be expecting an easy victory on me tomorrow. I've been going through training, I've perfected my moves, and I know for a fact..._that _I'm going to be the one to win tomorrow's match.'" Yet another moment of silence passed between them. Kyo was glad that her back was turned to him solely because he didn't want her to see the tears of regret and sorrow running down from his eyes. "'I'll see you tomorrow,'" Grovyle went on, "'And by the way, it will be the last time I see you, and the last time you will see me...'"

At that, with her back still turned to him, Grovyle silently walked away. It wasn't long before she disappeared from sight, and Kyo was left to himself. His gaze fell down to his feet, allowing the tears to slip down his snout and onto the ground. I'm so sorry Grovyle, he thought to himself, I'm sorry for doing this to you...I'm sorry for betraying your trust...and I'm sorry for breaking your heart..._He clenched his fist and wiped the tears away. _But I still believe I should do this. I've come too far to just give up now. If I win tomorrow, and if I get you a day to think about your final decision, then I'm going to try my damn best to convince you to not wipe your memory... Count on it... Wiping his eyes one final time, Kyo stepped out from amongst the trees and made his way over to Teddy's table. The Ursaring took notice of him and turned to him in surprise.

"Teddy?" Kyo began, "can we go for another round of training?"

Teddy blinked in surprise. "Already? But you trained just mere _moments_ago. Are you sure you do not wish to rest for a bit longer?"

Kyo nodded firmly. "I'm fine." Teddy blinked again, taking notice of something.

Such...determination in those eyes, he thought to himself, placing a paw to his chin, Whatever it is that happened, it seems Kyo has come to a resolve and truly wishes to improve himself further... He smirked before nodding to him. "Very well, but only after you've finished what is left of your water." Nodding back to him, Kyo walked back over to his table and sat back down amongst the crowd. Teddy watched him go, smiling to himself. You truly have come a long way, young Kyo...

Meanwhile, back amongst the trees, Grovyle came to a stop as she arrived at her destination. With a sigh, she turned towards a shadow standing before her. "'Oh?'" a deep, yet feminine voice sounded out from the shadow, "'all done already?'" Grovyle nodded.

"'Let's not waste any time,'" she said to her in response, "'I'm ready, so let's continue training.'"

"'Heh, sounds like someone's fired up,'" the figure chuckled. She stretched her arms and legs around before finally stepping out into the light, revealing her strongly built, orange furred, stripped athletic form. A confident grin spread across her muzzle as she cracked her knuckles. "'Well, let's not waste any more time then. Let's get down to business.'"

Grovyle bowed before her. "'Yes, Arcanine, let's...'"

***

The sun was shining bright upon the arena. Numerous morphs were chatting about as they were taking their seats. The judges soon followed, walking over to their tables and seating themselves quietly. The crowd was murmuring lowly, though their excitement was apparent despite their lowered volumes. It was here; the day of the finals was finally here. Many were eager to finally see who would come out on top, making them even more eager to find good seats to watch the fight. Among one of those morphs was Lucario, who was having a bit of difficulty finding a seat in general. Thankfully, after careful inspection of the crowd, she spotted Teddy already seated and saving a spot for her (at least she hoped). She slowly shuffled her way through the crowd and, soon enough, sat herself down next to the Ursaring.

"'Thanks,'" she sighed as she sat down, "'So, big day today, huh?'"

Teddy nodded in agreement, "Yes it is. Now we will finally be able to see the results of all our hard work."

"'Mmhm,'" Lucario nodded before looking around, "'And it seems we're not the only ones that wanted to see as well.'" The two of them chuckled slightly.

"So are you excited?" Teddy asked curiously.

"'Oh yeah,'" Lucario laughed slightly, "'All of that work has led up to this, so I'm in high hopes that Kyo will make it through.'"

"'Heh, I wouldn't be too sure about that,'" a deep, feminine voice sounded from behind the two of them, making them jump slightly in their seats. The two of them turned and Lucario caught her breath in surprise. A toothy grin spread across Arcanine's muzzle. "'Heheh, how's it goin' love?'"

"'A...Arcanine,'" said Lucario in a shocked tone. With a smirk, the fire type hopped over to their side and sat down next to Lucario, heavily placing her arm around her. "'It's certainly a surprise to see you here,'" Lucario continued, leaning slightly into her, "'I thought you would've been with Ninetales and helping with the baby.'"

"'Heh, I wouldn't worry. Arctales has it covered,'" said Arcanine before nuzzling her slightly, "'But what's your excuse? I thought you'd be with Espeon and helping with her pregnancy.'"

Lucario rolled her eyes playfully. "'She's at Floatzel's right now. She's hanging around with her and Jenny.'"

Arcanine chuffed and averted her gaze. "'Hmph, touché...'"

"'Anyways,'" Lucario continued, "'why'd you comment on Kyo the way you did? Don't think he's strong enough?'"

Arcanine smirked at that, closing her eyes. "'It's not that, no. It's something else...'"

Lucario tilted her head slightly. "'Well...what then? You are gonna tell me, aren't yo--'"

"'I was getting to it,'" Arcanine cut in, "'Just had to build up the suspense, ya know?'" Lucario huffed slightly and smiled at her, waiting for her explanation. Arcanine grinned before continuing. "'You see, you weren't the only one training a newbie here.'" She then pointed her thumb to herself and looked her in the eyes. "'I've taken someone under my own wing myself, and that peer is Grovyle.'" Teddy and Lucario both gasped in shock, their jaws falling agape. Arcanine smirked again and folded her arms under her generously sized chest. "'Figures. You wimp out of our rematch in the veteran tournament, so you instead decided to train a noob to fight in the beginner tournament in your place.'" She opened her eyes again and turned to face Lucario. "'So once Grovyle came up to me and requested me to be her training partner, I knew that it was the perfect opportunity for me to keep our rematch, albeit in a different way.'"

This time it was Lucario's turn to smirk. "'So what, you think you trained your pupil better than I trained mine?'"

"'Oh I don't think so,'" Arcanine retorted before pressing her bust against Lucario's, "'I know so.'" Lucario smiled right back at the fire type as they went snout to snout, staring each other down like proper rivals.

"'Hmph, we shall see...'" said Lucario. As the two of them stared each other down, Teddy merely twiddled his thumbs awkwardly, not knowing how to go about the situation.

The crowd continued to murmur lowly, each morph and pokemon talking excitedly amongst one another. However, their excitement was only spurred on further, if not completely ignited once they took notice of a familiar Raticate taking center stage. "'HELLOOOOO EVERYOOOOONE!!!'" The crowd exploded into a mass of cheers and roars. "'Here we are, at the final match of the beginner rank tournament!'" The crowd cheered again, matching the pokemon's enthusiasm by tenfold. "'Now there have been some amazing matches so far, and it's all led up to this. And it all ends HERE!!!'" The crowd exploded into cheers again, somehow managing to surpass the excitement they had shown prior. "'A few days ago, we started with 8. And now...only two remain...'" He paused for a moment, looking down at the ground. He slowly rose his head back up with a broad smile spread across his muzzle. "'AND HERE. THEY. ARE!!!!!!!'" The entire stadium became filled with cheers and whistles as Grovyle and Kyo entered the arena. "'Standing to my left! He will rush you with the swiftness of a coursing river. He will strike you down with the force of a great typhoon. Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for KyyyyOOOOOOOO!!!!!'" The crowd roared loudly for him, but he merely stood there silently, keeping his eyes on Grovyle. "'And standing to my right! The beautiful rose with the sharpest thorns. If her stunning beauty doesn't kill ya first, she will most certainly take you down herself. Everyone, let's give it up for GrOOOOOOOOOVYYYYYYYYYLEEE!!!!!'" The crowd once again exploded into roars, but just like her opponent, Grovyle kept her silence and kept her gaze locked on Kyo. Raticate looked back and forth between the two combatants with a broad smile before continuing, "'Alright you two, let's have you take center stage!'"

They both nodded and walked forward, stopping at about a meter from each other. They both stared at each other for what seemed like a very long time. It was Kyo that decided to speak up first. "So...looks like we're finally here..." Grovyle only nodded in response. "I guess it's time to finally settle things, huh?" Grovyle nodded again, still refraining from saying anything else. Another moment of silence passed between them. "Well then...you better not hold back..." Kyo slowly raised his hand before pointing his thumb to his chest. "Cuz I certainly won't..." Grovyle then narrowed her eyes at him, each of them able to see the determination in each other's eyes. Suddenly, Kyo offered his hand to her. She looked at it a moment, glancing back and forth between him and his hand. Reluctantly, she took his hand and shook it, prompting another roar from the crowd. Without another word, the two of them moved to their respective sides of the arena.

The crowd quickly fell silent as they waited in anticipation for the match to start. Not a single word was whispered as Kyo and Grovyle took on their battle stances. All eyes were upon them now. Nobody moved, nobody shouted, and nobody even coughed. Raticate sat on his side of the ring, smiling broadly as the anticipation began to build. Kyo gulped nervously, narrowing his eyes slightly and trying his best to keep his breathing and heartbeat at a steady pace. There was no beating around the bush here; this was it. He was either going to make it or break it. If he screwed up here, there was no telling if he'd even have a shot at a second chance. Lucario's paws clenched into tight fists, Teddy sat straight up in his seat, and Arcanine's smile faded as she watched the arena intently. Then...Raticate's paw began to rise. "'Both fighters...at the ready...'" Kyo took a deep breath in, swishing his tail behind him gently, and released his breath. "'...Both fighters...set...'" Raticate raised his paw slightly higher. At that point, the entire crowd disappeared from Kyo's mind. All that he could focus on now was the arena, Grovyle, and Raticate, who only had one thing left to say...

"'BATTLE START!!!'"

Kyo took off like a bullet, deciding that he would be taking the initiative this time around. He rocketed forward with his Aqua Jet pushing him onwards, and Grovyle merely waited there, allowing him to come. Kyo canceled out his Aqua Jet before leading with a swing from his left. Grovyle easily Detected the move and countered by batting his arm away and striking him in his side. Kyo grunted and stumbled a bit, making sure to whip his tail out to create some space between them. Both of them stopped in place before quickly turning around, locking gazes with each other. They slowly began to circle each other, both of them taking on a different defensive stance.

I've gotta win this, Kyo thought to himself, I can't just let her run away from her past like this...

I_absolutely _cannot lose to Kyo, Grovyle thought to herself, I've come too far to lose now. The only thing left in my way is Kyo himself, and I know him well enough to defeat him. I've known him ever since we arrived on this island. He's just an insecure, immature, possessive...overbearing...concerned... Her mind suddenly began to drift back, going back to the times when fighting was the least of her worries. However, she was quickly thrown back into reality as Kyo lunged forward and charged again. With the same amount of ease, Grovyle countered the attack before kicking him in his gut. This made Kyo stagger back and clutch his midsection in pain, creating a wide opening for the grass type. She whipped her arm forward and swung at him with a Leaf Blade. But Kyo wasn't about to allow her to get such an easy blow in on him. Without thinking, he opened his maw and let loose a Water Gun, blasting her back with just enough force to stagger her back. Kyo quickly cut it off, breathing heavily and adopting another defensive stance.

Dammit,_he cursed to himself, _I can't use that move too much. On top of the fact that I can't afford another gagging fit in the middle of the finals, I need to preserve my body's water supply... Kyo grimaced as they circled each other, watching her take on a defensive stance herself. She's definitely improved on her close range combat. Damn, that means I'm not really safe in any range, close or long range. Suddenly, something clicked in his mind. Wait a sec, she hasn't been using her Magical Leaf on me at all. Hell, she even allowed me to close in on her... What could she be thinking?

Grovyle tensed slightly, realizing that Kyo seemed to be catching on to her new strategy. Not wanting to give him time to think about it, she closed the space between them and lashed out at him with her Leaf Blades. Kyo did his best in trying to dodge and parry all of the swings. But despite his best efforts, it only took one slash to stagger him and create an opening for a second slash. In just those instances, Kyo could immediately feel the weakening effect of his type disadvantage. He tried his best to back away from her and gain more space, but she just kept the pressure on and continued to hack and slash at him mercilessly. It didn't take him long to realize that now was the time for his Aqua Jet technique. After blasting her back a meter or two with a short Water Gun, Kyo clenches his fists as a sudden whirlpool of water burst from his body. Not even caring about the fact that his shorts had once again shot off of his body, he rocketed forward and all but glided towards Grovyle.

And she smirked.

Using her Detect, she countered Kyo's charge and redirected him off to the side. She quickly turned to face him and crossed her arms in front of each other. Once she had him in her sights, a cluster of leaves formed around her. However, it didn't end there. More and more leaves began to appear out of nowhere, seemingly to no end. Eventually, they began to swirl around her at an increasingly fast pace. She locked her sights on where Kyo would be going at his pace and thrust her arms forward, causing the storm of leaves to shoot towards where she had aimed. She predicted correctly, and the Leaf Storm landed a direct hit on the water type. The leaves cut straight through the jets of water spewing from all over Kyo's body and slashed him nearly everywhere, causing him to cry out in pain. The blows caused him to cancel out his Aqua Jet and tumble to the ground, hitting it hard and laying there groaning. Grovyle smiled proudly, lowering her arms and crossing them again. That's right Kyo, she thought to herself, all of my training allowed me to exchange my Magical Leaf for Leaf Storm. I bet you hadn't been expecting me to learn a move at the last minute. She focused again, using her mind to summon forth more leaves for another attack. Lucario and Teddy shouted loudly at Kyo for him to get up. Kyo gritted his teeth as he rushed to get back up to his feet, but only getting up to his fours. Grovyle thrust her arms forward again and sent another Leaf Storm his way, only for him to dash away at the last second with his Aqua Jet.

"'Why Kyo!'" she shouted at him as she crossed her arms again, "'why do you have to try and deprive me of my wishes? Tell me!'"

Kyo canceled out his Aqua Jet and took on a defensive stance. He growled as he answered her, "I don't see how running away from your past is the right thing to do! I can't just let you do that to yourself!"

"'I'm free to make my own decisions!'" she growled back, "'What gives you the right to deny me of that?!'" The leaves around her completed forming, and she shot them forward in another Leaf Storm. Kyo shot forward again with his Aqua Jet, dodging the majority of the storm but still getting struck by several stray leaves. He quickly closed the space between the two of them and focused his jets on his arms, rushing her in a flurry of rapid punches. Using a combination of Detect and her own predictions, Grovyle was able to counter most of his attacks. Despite this, Kyo managed to land several hits on her, striking her shoulder and sometimes her chest. "'I'm NOT some damn trained pokemon meant to obey orders blindly! I belong to MYSELF, and NO ONE ELSE!'" This statement struck Kyo right in the heart, causing him to waver. This gave Grovyle the opening she needed to counter attack, and she had no reserves in taking advantage of it. She slashed out with her Leaf Blade and staggered Kyo. Now it was her turn to go on the offensive. She rushed forward and swung at him again and again with her Leaf Blades, forcing Kyo to go on the defensive.

"'YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE!'" Grovyle went on, "'You have NO IDEA what it's like to watch your dearest friends get BEATEN AND ABUSED, sometimes to the point where they just can't go on anymore!'" She managed to land a slash across Kyo's torso, knocking him back and almost out as his vision went black for a brief moment. Urgently in need of some space, Kyo spun with the momentum and, with the aid of a quick Aqua Jet, whipped his tail hard enough to knock Grovyle back several steps. He only grew further away as he launched another Aqua Jet to repel the grass type back even further and jet himself away from her a good distance away. As he did this, Grovyle conjured up another Leaf Storm. She thrust her arms forward and shot the leaves at him, forcing him to burst into an Aqua Jet run.

"All I'm asking you to do is to reconsider!" Kyo shouted out, trying his best to avoid as many of the razor sharp leaves as he could. The statement, however, seemed to hit one of Grovyle's nerves, as she found herself incredibly angered by it.

"'Are you KIDDING ME?!'" she exclaimed, continuing to hurl leaf cluster after leaf cluster his way, "'I was forced to watch my friends be raped in front me, and soon after come to the realization that eventually that would be what my life would become. And you're saying I should RECONSIDER?!'" The leaves forced Kyo to come closer and closer to the grass type, and he soon found himself fast approaching her. Left with no other option, Kyo focused his jets and began to rush her once more. But Grovyle anticipated his movements all too easily. Using her Detect once more, she dodged his swing and countered with a firm kick to his back, soon following up with a swift Leaf Blade to the same area. Kyo was met with a hard blow which caused his Aqua Jet to fade out on him. Once again given an opening, Grovyle dashed forward and began to rush him. Kyo hastily tried to Tail Whip her away again as he desperately tried to bide his time to regain some stamina, but he was left with little chance to do so. After being knocked back by his tail, Grovyle thrust her arms forward and launched another Leaf Storm at point blank. The storm hit Kyo dead on and he was blown onto his back several feet away. He fell onto his back, panting heavily as the blow had taken much out of him. However he found that the attack had been weaker than it had initially been.

"'I WON'T let you take this chance away from me,'" Grovyle growled, looking down upon him and staying where she was. "'I refuse to allow ANYONE ELSE make decisions for myself any longer.'" Her hand clenched into a fist as the emotional barriers she had tried to set up before the match started began to break down. "'I had to endure that for most of my life, and I REFUSE TO GO BACK TO THAT! I REFUSE TO CONTINUE GOING THROUGH THE PAIN THAT I'M GOING THROUGH NOW!'"

This caused Kyo's eyes to snap back open. Clenching his teeth, he struggled back up to his feet and stood back up. He continued to pant heavily, his gaze kept low and to the ground. "Do you think..." he panted heavily, "...that you're the only one...who went through...that kind of PAIN?!" Without warning, Kyo rocketed forward with his Aqua Jet and rushed Grovyle with everything he had left. Grovyle hastily began countering and parrying him, but it didn't keep Kyo from going at it. "I was forced to say goodbye to my loved ones! All because I was endangering them in the first place...JUST BECAUSE I WAS A MORPH!" Several stray hits landed on Grovyle, and still he kept going. "One of my closest friends attempted to MURDER ME as I left, and came very close to succeeding!" He was suddenly struck in the head by a good counter from the grass type which knocked him back, but Kyo quickly recovered and closed the space between them again and continued his assault. "And we aren't even the only ones that have gone through incredibly hard times! FAR FROM IT ACTUALLY!" He landed several more hits, causing Grovyle's defenses to falter. "Everyone here on the island is here because they all went through similar, if not the exact same circumstances you were in! And none of them have chosen to forget! Because if everyone just chose to forget about their problems, then those problems would NEVER be solved and instead CONTINUE to go on in the world!" He landed a heavy punch on Grovyle's shoulder and staggered her back. Thinking fast, Grovyle launched another Leaf Storm at him and repelled him back. Thankfully, it was weak enough for him to endure it, but even so, it weakened him by a considerable amount. "And by choosing to forget about what happened to you, you'd be choosing to allow it to continue to happen to others!"

Grovyle growled loudly and Detected one of his swings, allowing her to counter him and cause him to stagger. Left with an opening, she went on the offensive once more and forced Kyo to defend. "'BUT I'M NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO FIX THE PROBLEM!'" she screamed back, "'I'm only ONE MORPH! One that only wants to be relived of her ongoing pain!'" Tears began to fall from her eyes as she made her counter attack. "'My past isn't worth remembering. I am not worth remembering!!! NO ONE NEEDS TO REMEMBER MY ORIGINAL SELF!'" She launched another Leaf Storm, which was only strong enough to stagger Kyo back. With her stamina beginning to give out on her, Grovyle went from her Leaf Blades to punches and strikes. But on that transition, Kyo found his opening to strike back. He went on the offensive once more with the aid of his Aqua Jets.

"You're WRONG Grovyle!" Kyo shouted back, "Because you're the one I want to remember the MOST! You're the nicest, most genuine person I've ever met in my LIFE!" The statement caught Grovyle off guard, making her waver slightly in her counters and parries. "You're one of the closest friends I've made ever since I became a morph. So I can't STAND the thought of letting you go!"

Grovyle clenched her teeth and shook her head. She countered a hit and created an opening for her to go back on the offensive. She roared out as she rushed him without abandon. "'But I RAPED YOU!'" she screamed back, "'I shouldn't be FRIENDS with you! You can just find another morph to become friends with! One that you can become mates with. One that won't RAPE YOU!'"

Kyo countered one of her blows, taking back his turn to attack. "That will never happen!" he roared back, "You're too special to me! And because of that, I don't WANT to get that close to anyone else! And that won't change over something you didn't have full control over! It didn't before, and it never WILL!"

Grovyle growled out loudly and launched one final Leaf Storm, breaking Kyo out of his Aqua Jet and allowing her to counter attack. With what little stamina he had left, Kyo's counters and parries became slower and less effective. "'Stop it!'" Grovyle yelled, "'Just stop it! Stop trying to mess with me! Stop trying to confuse me with your fake words!'"

"But they're not--" Kyo was cut off as he was met with a sudden uppercut to his chin. His vision went black for a split second upon the impact. His body nearly gave out on him there, but he kept pushing through. He took a step back before spinning and using his Tail Whip to open up Grovyle's defenses. With her now opened up, Kyo gathered up the little strength he had left, rushed forward as fast as he could, and threw the hardest punch he had in him.

Unfortunately, with the slowed reflexes he had now, it was all too easy for Grovyle to Detect the attack and counter it. She knocked his arm upwards, causing him to open up. With one last cry, she whipped her arm forward and landed a critical strike on him with her Leaf Blade. The blow knocked out what little stamina Kyo had in him, and he fell to his knees before the grass type. The entire arena was filled with gasps. Teddy's eyes went wide with shock. Arcanine closed her eyes, already knowing what was to come next. Lucario stood from her seat, feeling her heart drop as she saw Kyo fall. Grovyle caught him before he could hit the ground, and he leaned against her weakly. He panted heavily, and his vision began to blur. As she took hold of his shoulders, he struggled weakly against her in a vain attempt to wriggle himself free. Grovyle grimaced as she realized that even more tears had begun to stream from her eyes and would not stop. Wiping them off of her with her shoulder, she closed her eyes and began to focus on draining what was left of his energy.

"...G...Grovyle..." Kyo croaked weakly, leaning his head against her stomach, as it was all he could do at this point, "...please...just...reconsider..." Grovyle didn't respond, instead trying her hardest to focus on draining him. "...Grovyle...please..." She grimaced as she felt more tears fall from her eyes. She tried to hold them back, but it seemed as though that had only made things worse for her. Now she was full on sobbing, and she couldn't figure out for the life of her why. "...G...Grovvv..." Gently, she placed her other hand atop his head and continued to drain him. "...Grovyle...I...I think I..." Kyo never got to finish his sentence. Within a few seconds, his vision went completely black...

...and he fell into unconsciousness...

***

"Hrrmmmmm...Grovyle..." Kyo mumbled softly, "Grovyle..." He began to shift around slightly, slowly coming to. As he woke up, he felt himself wrapped in a blanket, laid atop a soft bed. He slowly opened his eyes, but his vision was too blurry to see anything clearly. He blinked several times, allowing his vision to gradually clear up. Once it was finally clear enough, saw that he was staring up at a ceiling. With a bit of effort, he tried to sit up. However, a sharp pain shot up his abdomen, forcing him to lay back down. He closed his eyes and breathed evenly to try and ease his pain. Once it lowered down to a tolerable level, he lifted his head up and saw that he was lying on a makeshift bed. Looking past himself, he saw that he was in his standby room. The sight confused him at first, so he looked around the room. But when his eyes fell upon the sight of a familiar grass type, he jerked in surprise and froze. Seated beside him and looking down upon him was none other than Grovyle herself.

The two of them held each other's gazes for a moment, with none of them moving a muscle. After a bit of hesitation, Kyo decided to be the one to break the silence. "What...happened?"

"'You lost, Kyo,'" Grovyle explained bluntly, making Kyo's heart drop.

"...Oh..." he said as his gaze fell down to the floor, "I...I see..."

After a few seconds of silence, Grovyle decided to continue, "'After you knocked out, you were taken in here for a bit of treatment.'"

"...So I was..." He didn't say anything beyond that. Again, another moment of silence passed between them. Seeing that Kyo had nothing else to say, Grovyle spoke up again.

"'So, are you feeling any better?'"

"I...feel fine..." He fell silent again, keeping his gaze down, and letting the silence to hang between them for longer. A minute of this passed, then Grovyle spoke up again.

"'Alright, get up,'" she said simply. Kyo blinked in confusion, taking a moment to process what she had said. He looked up at her.

"Wait, wha--ACK!" Before he could ask, the fellow reptile took hold of his head 'fin' and tugged at it, pulling him upwards. Kyo stammered in further confusion as he hastily stood up from his bed. But even after he was standing at full height, Grovyle kept her hold on his fin. She tugged him along all the way to the outside. It was only then did she finally release him. As he stood up straight and rubbed at his fin, she continued to walk forward. Kyo looked at her in confusion and saw her walking ahead, beckoning for him to follow with a gesture of her hand. He hastily caught up and asked, "Wh-what's going on here?"

"'We're going out on a date,'" she answered simply, keeping her gaze forward.

Kyo blinked once, unsure if he had heard her correctly. "We're...wh-what?"

She stopped in her tracks turned to face him. And with an almost unreadable expression across her features said, "'That's what you humans like to call it, right? A date?'" Kyo felt his heart skip ten beats. He had an increasingly hard time in believing what he had just heard. His jaw had long since fell open, but he was far too shocked to even take notice of it. Because of that, the two of them stood in a long, yet familiar silence. All the while, Grovyle looked back at him with her still blank expression. She raised an eye ridge. "'Well? Stop standing there and get moving.'" Kyo abruptly shook his head to bring himself back into reality and hastily walked up to her. Once they were side by side, Grovyle walked forward and took the lead.

What...the heck happened? Kyo thought to himself as he followed the grass type along, Did I knock out and fall into a coma? Did I take some obscure medicine and I'm just experiencing some weird side effect? Am I just imagining all of this? IS THIS REAL LIFE?!

"'Kyo,'" Grovyle spoke up suddenly, "'come on, you're falling behind.'" He snapped himself out of his thoughts and realized that she was right. Deciding to just roll along with it, he hastily caught up to her so that they could continue. The both of them kept their silence for a while, with Kyo twiddling his thumbs nervously. He contemplated what to say to her in his head, but by the time he managed to come up with a subject, Grovyle spoke up. "'Kyo?'" she called to him, keeping her gaze forward, "'Tell me about your journey to the island.'" The question caught him off guard, and he wasn't sure how to respond. Regardless, Grovyle continued. "'I want to know about what happened to you. I wanna know how exactly you became a pokemorph, how you found out about this place, and all of the struggles you had to face that forced you to come here in the first place.'"

Kyo's gaze fell to his feet as he held his silence for a moment longer. What...happened to her? She won, so she should have gotten her wish... But it's clear that her memories are still intact. So what then? Has she decided to hold off on it then? Or... Kyo's eyes widened. Did she...change her wish? Did she...ask about who I was...before I was a morph?

"'Well?'" Grovyle spoke up, catching his attention away from his thoughts again. He looked back up to her, who still had on that blank expression.

Kyo gulped slightly, unsure of what to say. "Well...I just don't know where to start..."

"'Well you used to be a human, right?'" Kyo caught his breath at that, freezing and saying nothing for a moment. Still, Grovyle looked back at him with a blank expression across her face. Hesitantly, Kyo nodded slightly to answer her question. Nodding back to him, Grovyle turned back around and faced forward, beckoning for the two of them to continue walking, which they soon did. Again, she was the one to break the silence. "'Start with the change then. How did you become a pokemorph?'"

Kyo held his tongue for another moment, but not out of hesitation. It was becoming clear to him as to what she had done. He sighed, and took a moment to think. "Well...it all started...when my partner and I came across a cave..."

From there, as they walked down the beach, Kyo told her the entire story. He told her about how they had found the strange, purple gem at the end of the cave. He told her about Nurse Joy and the Pokemon Center. He told her about seeing his mother, and how she fainted upon seeing him for the first time in his form. He told her about coming home for the first time, and how his life had changed due to his own change. He told her about the brick, and the threat that had come along with it. He told her about leaving his home, his family, and his partner. He told her about his run in with Asako, and then with Michi. He told her about Eidin attacking him, and how the kids had come to his aid. He told her about Teddy's brave front, and how if it weren't for him, he probably wouldn't be here in the first place. And finally, he told her about leaving the kids and his departure to the island.

"And...well..." Kyo went on, "I think you remember what happened from there..." He took in a deep breath and let it out, having completed his story. He glanced over to Grovyle, who was seated next to him on a ledge overlooking the horizon, and allowing them to watch the sun set from afar. Grovyle's eyes were closed, as she was simply taking all of the info in. Deciding to leave her be, Kyo turned away and looked off into the sky. Suddenly, he felt a head rest against his shoulder. He turned to look and was surprised to see Grovyle sidling up next to him. He blushed slightly, but otherwise allowed her to continue. Once she found a comfortable position and settled in, she let out a sigh. She still didn't say anything, so the two of them just continued to watch the sunset.

"'I still want to forget everything...'" she spoke up, causing Kyo's heart to drop. Regardless, he held his tongue, and she continued. "'I just want to live my life without having to worry about my past for any longer...'" She stopped there for a moment, allowing their familiar silence to hang between the two of them. "'It's strange,'" she went on, "'Now that I know the truth, I can see that the two of us are rather different from where we came from. Whilst I was locked away by the humans, you were kicked out by them... You got to see the world, while it remained a mystery to me. I'll probably never find it in myself to forgive humans as a whole...'" Kyo held his silence, struggling to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill from his eyes. "'...But...I will give it a try...'" Kyo caught his breath again. Then, Grovyle sat up from his shoulder and turned to face him. "'Starting...with this one...'" At that point, Kyo couldn't help but allow several tears fall from his eyes. "'No matter how I look at it,'" Grovyle went on, "'I just can't seem to get you out of my mind... You've been all I've been thinking about ever since we arrived on the island, and it only got worse as the tournament went on.'" She turned away slightly. "'When...my heat started to affect me again, there were several morphs that offered me...assistance. But it was then that I realized...that I didn't want anyone else but you...'" She looked back up to him. "'I don't know why. It could just be my heat cycles, but I just know...that I want to be around you... It's...comforting to be around you. I feel...cared for when I'm around you. And that's why I was so devastated when you told me what you were aiming for in the tournament...'"

They stared each other in the eyes for what seemed like ages. Tears continued to spill from Kyo's eyes, but he could see that the same seemed to be happening to her as well. She turned away from him again. "'After our match...I really thought about whether or not I wanted to have my memories erased. But the more I went through my thoughts...I realized that most of them...consisted of you...'" She turned back to him again. "'And I couldn't bring myself to want to let go of your thoughts...'" Gently, she placed a hand on his shoulder. "'So...Kyo...I'm asking you... Can you be at my side? Can you help me forget about my past...by making my present just a little more bearable?'"

Kyo was speechless. He felt as though he had forgotten how to speak in the first place. This was by no means what he had expected to happen, but he was nothing short of being overjoyed that it was happening. They stared into each other's tear ridden eyes for a long moment. Then, with a trembling voice, Kyo replied, "I...I will... I promise..."

Grovyle smiled, and more tears fell from her eyes. "'I'd...I'd really like that... Thank you...'" Kyo smiled back at her, wiping the tears away from his eyes. Once they were clear, he noticed Grovyle beginning to move closer and closer to him. His heart skipped a beat, and he wondered; were they about to have their first...real kiss? Her muzzle was coming awfully close now; it wouldn't be long now. So, Kyo closed his eyes and waited for their lips to meet...

But rather than feeling that, he instead felt her resting her head back between his shoulder and neck. Kyo opened his eyes, a bit flustered about his mistake, but still rather content with the actual outcome. Hesitantly, he leaned his head against hers. Thankfully, she didn't reject, and instead reached out to hold his hand. He gently took hold of it as the two of them got settled into a comfortable position.

This feels...nice, he thought to himself, just...sitting here...leaning against each other like this...out in the open...in...the...nude... He sighed inwardly. ...I still don't have shorts on... He smirked a bit. As odd as it was, around Grovyle, he felt perfectly comfortable with this, and not in the least bit embarrassed. With that in mind, he gently nuzzled his cheek against Grovyle's, who did the same in return. He didn't even mind the slight stings that came with rubbing his scales. He was still as comfortable as he could ever be.

"'Let's...watch the sunset for a bit more,'" said Grovyle, "'and afterwards, I'll walk you home.'" Hearing this made Kyo snicker slightly, which in turn made Grovyle raise an eye ridge. "'What's wrong?'"

"Oh, it's nothing," Kyo replied with a slight chuckle, "it's just that in my culture, it's a lot more common for the men to be walking the women home."

"'Ahh,'" Grovyle said with a slight nod, "'Well, I'm still gonna be the one to walk you home.'" Kyo laughed lightheartedly at that.

"That's perfectly fine with me." Grovyle smiled and pressed into him. Kyo did the same with a smile of his own. With the both of them now held in a comfortable embrace, the two of them settled into each other as they watched the sun set over the horizon.

***