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When they found Matt on the porch, transformed just as much as Lucas into a blend of his partner pokemon, Lucas barely had time to process what he saw before Leor hauled off Joule and River, ordering Lucas to wash… well his pokemon's cum off his poke-drugged intern. Joule and River had made a makeshift stretcher and dragged Matt home on it. He was in too much pain and in too deep a stupor to move without support from someone.

As Lucas walked Matt to his bathroom, his intern babbled: “Sorry… didn't… I fell in… River Joule good… love…" Matt's words came stumbling and slow from his longer tongue, his pointed muzzle covered in blue fur. His shambling footsteps, on legs not native to his bodymind, +kept bumping into Lucas's new legs and almost tripping them both.

One hand holding the wall for support, other arm wrapped around the younger man, Lucas pulled them both into the master bathroom. It was nothing extravagant, a standard tub with a shower in it fit into the wall, a toilet and small vanity with a sink along the opposite wall. Lucas got Matt next to the tub, but had to reach down and help him hike those now seemingly delicate digitigrade limbs into the tub one at a time. Lucas's three digits and thumb wrapped around Matt's similar hand and guided it to a bar set into the wall for balance and support, and asked, “Can you hold this?"

“Yu-yush," Matt said. He shut his now heterochromatic eyes, yellow one slitted like a feline's, and gripped the bar tight. “Stand hard…"

Lucas rubbed his back. “I know, I'm sorry."

“No I'm in trouble… I'm sorry—ah!"

Lucas cut him off by starting the shower. Cold water made Matt jump, and Lucas had to catch him to keep him upright. Shirt and head now wet, Lucas released him and Matt stood, trembling in the hot water. “Just let this wash over you for now, I'll be right back. If you need to sit down then sit down, okay?"

“Uh-huh, sit." And Matt tried to fall onto his rump, Lucas catching him and almost tumbling into the tub again. He gently lowered Matt, cursing the entire time.

“Watch your tail, try not to lean too far back. If you put too much weight on it you're going to hurt yourself," Lucas said as he got Matt situated. He threw the shower curtain close and grabbed a towel from a cabinet over the toilet. He dried off his head best he could, and when he lowered the towel he really saw himself in a mirror for the first time.

Arceus, the changes to his skull were as bad as Matt's. He looked more like a typhlosion than a human at this point. Kypha had totally transformed him, and while he was sore in places, his body had seemingly adapted to the rapid metamorphosis better than Matt had. Whether it was a factor of Matt's HPS or Kypha's alpha pokegenics Lucas couldn't say. What he knew was that he would never really be human again, no matter what he did, no matter how advanced medical science got, he had become this hybrid thing—alien and unwelcome in human society.

A groan from the tub reminded him there were bigger problems than his future. He went out and upstairs, briefly catching sight of Leor berating Joule and River. In the guest bathroom, Lucas found two bottles labeled as shampoo and conditioner. They were otherwise unmarked travel bottles, but Lucas assumed whatever an equalist used to manage their fur would work for Matt.

He returned to the bathroom, finding Leor heading with the others to the barns. He was glad she had learned how to take care of things for him—Matt and Lucas certainly weren't in a place to care for any pokemon right now.

Lucas found Matt with his head bowed under the shower, fingers running along new, pointed ears. Lucas set the bottles on a nook along the wall of his shower and fumbled through unbuttoning his shirt. He set it aside and began thoroughly washing Matt off.

It took a good ten minutes to lather and wash off Maat's head, back, and chest. Between his pectorals, Lucas noticed under the thick black fur a hard nub, the beginning's of a spike like River's. Under the fur of his hands, Lucas found similar calcified spots, as if the bone had pushed out to try and form a point.

By the time Lucas reached Matt's waist, he had washed away most of the discharges of whatever rutting his intern had been subjected to that day. Matt, at Lucas's insistence, stayed silent except to mention when something hurt. Several times, Lucas needed to pull black/blue clumps of fur from the drain.

At this point, Lucas sat backwards, knees sore. He asked, “Are you feeling any better?"

“I… I think my head's cleared enough, I can try to get the rest."

“Alright, I'm going to get a chair so I can sit with you, and after you're clean, we'll talk, okay?"

“Uh… yeah, um…" Matt licked his lips, blinking back tears. “I'm really sorry…"

“Sh-sh-sh, later, focus on this right now. I know it's upsetting. I'm upset, too, but not at you, okay? We'll figure this out together."

***

It took Matthew another twenty minutes to finish up, though, some of that time he couldn't help but spend with his head tucked between his legs while he cried. The clearer his awareness became, the more Matthew's anxiety built, and part of him wished to be buried under Joule and River's pheromones again so he at least would not feel this way, not feel so much pain.

Pain like someone threw him down a flight of stairs. Every part of Matthew's body sore, and the hot water only helped until the water heater's reserves waned. At which point Matthew cut it off, grabbing the bar next to him. He tried to get up, and almost fell again.

“Easy there," Lucas said as he grabbed him, “Let me help you, no need to push. How are you feeling?"

Matthew wrapped an arm around Lucas, legs trembling as he got out onto the towel Lucas laid out. His paws against the terry cloth still felt alien. Leaning hard against his teacher, Matthew noticed Lucas's scent now matched Kypha's which, even though Matthew had tried his best to avoid, was still seared into his brain by that single encounter weeks ago.

“Hey, you with me?" Lucas asked when Matthew didn't answer, trying to look him in the eyes. Dr. Willow's were fuschia now.

“What happened to you?" Matthew asked.

Lucas's ears went backwards. “I mean, isn't it obvious?"

“Di-did Kypha rape—"

“No, no, I agreed to this," Lucas said as he guided Matthew to the vanity. “Sort of—lean against this. I'm going to dry you off."

“S-sort of?" Matthew asked, staring at the foggy mirror and the hazy reflection of himself.

“Kypha wasn't going to let me breed him without letting him breed me first. I agreed—assumed it would be a few miserable weeks on antipokegenics while I got eggs from the two typhlosions I had transferred to us." Lucas said as he dried off Matthew's back, tail, and legs best he could. “We're going to need another towel."

“Oh, I'm sorry things got so messed up, sir."

“Come on, Matt, we're a little past formalities," Lucas said, touching his shoulder. “Can you turn around for me?"

Wobbling, Matthew managed it.

Lucas held up the new towel between them, every one of his navy blue. “Do you want to try and dry off your front? I don't want to make you uncomfortable by touching, well," with the towel he gestured at Matthew's dangling sheath.

Reflexively, Matthew covered his privates with his new paws. “So-sorry."

“I was washing my pokemon's cum off your face half an hour ago. I'm not going to be weird if you need help here, too."

“I'm so sorry—I should have told you—"

Lucas tossed the terry cloth over his face. Strangely, it calmed Matthew down as his teacher gently dried him off. Lucas asked, “Was it mutual?"

“I-it was…" Matthew muttered as Lucas moved to his neck.

“How long have you three been interested in each other?"

“I don't know… I mean I don't know when Joule and River, well, you know?"

Lucas chuckled as he worked his way down Matthew's left arm. “Oh, I know Joule is never subtle about what he wants."

“It was before Leor showed up, maybe a week before?" Matthew shook his head. “I just… being with them felt more natural than…" He trailed off as Lucas reached his waist, pushing the towel into Matthew's paw.

“You finish up and I'll get you some clothes."

It embarrassed him how good the terry cloth felt against his sheath as he tried to rub his genitals dry.

Lucas returned with a tropical print t-shirt and gym shorts. “Let's get you into these, yeah?"

“Is… are you sure you're not mad at me?"

Lucas answered while helping him get the shirt on: “I promise I'm not. Maybe annoyed that no one told me about this until now. I assume Leor knew?"

“Uh, yeah. She… It's not her fault though," Matthew insisted as his muzzle and ears popped out of the shirt.

Lucas stepped back, right brow raised and left ear fallen back. “What does that mean?"

“It… she was the one who encouraged me to go to the cabin today. To…"

“I figured that out."

“You did?"

“I saw the way she laid into Joule and River earlier. I assume she told them to be careful with you and they instead took what they wanted."

Matthew didn't know what to say to that.

Lucas sighed. “Joule has always been forceful when he wants something or someone. Originally, I got River to be Joule's companion to keep him from trying to make advances on me after I tried to end our relationship."

His jaw dropped.

Lucas blinked. “Leor didn't tell you?"

“No…? Leor knew?"

Lucas shook his head. “We can talk about my days of dabbling later. Think you can walk to the bed? It'll be easier to get you into shorts if you're sitting down."

***

“Sorry about your lawn," Leor said as she came back inside with Strypes. Kypha, River, and Joule all ate on the deck.

“What happened?" Lucas asked only to glance outside to Kypha and say, “I wasn't speaking to you."

“I was taking Kypha to task. He didn't like what I had to say, but no one's hurt," Leor said. “We have to talk about what comes next." Strypes took a seat at the table, and Leor followed suit, motioning for Matt and Lucas to join her. Matt opted to stand at the table, leaning against it while Lucas sat next him, across from Leor.

She started by asking, “Have you two talked about what happened?"

“We filled each other in. I don't like how many secrets you've been keeping," Lucas said.

Leor scoffed. “I kept yours, too. Can we please not fight about this? I don't think any of us are really up to it."

“Um, what do I tell my parents?" Matt asked.

“We tell them there was an accident today. Something lab related, with blood preferably, keep them as far from thinking you slept with anything," Leor said. “You're going to stay here overnight while you sleep through a fistful of antipokegenics."

“My mom's going to flip…"

“I'll handle the call," Lucas said. “We're trying to buy some time, right, Leor?"

“What we can. I'm… I'm really sorry, to both of you. I never intended for this kind of thing to happen. Matt I made River and Joule promise me that—"

“They're both headstrong and stubborn when they have their minds set on something," Lucas said. “If you'd talked to me about what you wanted to do I could have warned you—"

“Tsk, I'm sure you would have told Matt that love is love and he should take his chance while he has it."

“Please you two," Matt said.

Strypes grunted, getting their attention before walking his right claws down his left arm and then spinning them in a circle.

“Right, this is going nowhere. You can both blame me if you want to, if it makes things easier. It won't change what needs to happen next."

“Much as I'd like to," Lucas grumbled, “Kypha knew exactly what he was doing."

“So did River and Joule," Matt mumbled.

“I hope for your sake they didn't," Leor told Matt. “If they knew how dangerous this was to do to you…" She trailed off as Matt's ears flattened and his whip-like tail wrapped around him. “I'm sure they were clueless, but it doesn't change the fact that as long as you stay in Johto, Matt, you're going to be considered a criminal, and if they find out it was Lucas's pokemon who did this to you, your parents will be able to and likely will press charges."

Grimacing, Matt told Lucas, “My mom definitely would, assuming she didn't kill you first."

Kypha poked his head through the open sliding door and snarled.

“Would you calm down? No one is threatening me," Lucas said.

Matt did back away some, at least until both Joule and River shoved their way past the alpha and came to his side.

“We're all in this together," Leor said. “I hate to say it, but the best thing for both of you is to leave the country immediately. Unfortunately, given your current states, any ID you have isn't going to be considered valid."

“So we go overland to Kanto?" Lucas asked.

“No," Leor said. “Things are just as bad there, and if the cops pick you up they'll deport you right back here. Our best bet is Alola, at least for Matt. They don't restrict people with HPS from having pokemon, and there's a commune of HPS people south of Blush Mountain called Kaawale that has been growing for the last decade."

“I-I have heard about it," Matt said. “After I got my degree, I was going to try to get a work visa in Alola."

Leor said, “Well, now you don't even have to wait for that. I have a contact in Kaawale who can make sure there is a bed waiting for you when you get there. They're used to taking people in on asylum and will help you with establishing an identity over there. It will take about a year or so, but once it's done, you should be safe to contact your family again."

“I… I guess I don't have much of a choice…"

“If they find out where you are before you have any legal protections in Alola, there's a chance you may still be extradited," Leor said. “I know you don't want to disappear on them, but you're going to have to, at least for a little while."

“Where does that leave me?" Lucas asked.

Leor said, “Being an equalist isn't illegal by any means, but trying to register Kypha as your pokemon is anothering thing."

“I know," Lucas mumbled, elbows on the table, warped hands clasped tight.

Kypha from the doorway rumbled.

“Does he know?" Leor asked Lucas.

“He does now."

Internationally, all pokemon were categorized on the Callery-Buckthorn Scale, which measured how dangerous it was for a pokemon to be outside its pokeball in human towns and cities. Alpha pokemon, with their heightened pheromone production, territoriality, and general power difference from their peers, existed in a classification of their own. They could not be registered by citizens or even by people with specialized licenses such as rangers or gym leaders, and it was illegal for one to be in a city of any kind.

“You said Penumbra exists without being registered," Lucas said. “It's not impossible to be outside the system."

“Yes, but Kypha isn't a zoroark. So long as she's careful about what she touches and where she goes, Penumbra can get by in cities just fine." Leor leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling, until she heard Strypes tapping a claw on the table.

He signed to her, “Work for rangers?"

“Doing what?"

Strypes shrugged.

“Wanna loop us in?" Lucas asked.

“Strypes suggested you become a member of the IRG."

“I doubt I'm cut out for it."

Strypes signed, “More to it than us," gesturing to himself and Leor.

“That's true," Leor said. “You don't need to be doing my job. Hmmm…" Leor drummed her clipped claws on the table. “I'll have to talk to Nina about it. You could stay in Kaawale, maybe, but to be honest, a community of people with HPS might have issues with an alpha pokemon living among them."

“I'm actually a little dizzy right now," Matt admitted.

River pulled out a chair and chirped, helping him sit down.

“How about we stop here for now," Leor suggested. “Lucas needs to contact Matt's parents, meanwhile I'll work on getting us passage to Alola. It won't be comfortable, but it should be safe."

***

“Tired?" Leor asked Lucas as they trekked through the woods with Strypes, Kypha marching ahead of them. It was dark now, and more than once Leor had to steady Lucas when his new feet tripped on an errant root or underbrush.

“No, actually. I feel more awake now than I have in a while," Lucas admitted.

“It is only natural for you to be invigorated," Kypha said to him.

Lucas told Leor, “Kypha's taking credit for that."

“Given we don't really know how alphas really affect humans, he might be right," Leor said.

“You're telling me that you've worked with an Alpha Zoroark for years and she's never—"

“Penumbra finds humans beneath her. She says we give weak offspring," Leor said. “She's toyed with me before, but she's never had a relationship like yours and Kypha."

“Some relationship."

“You will have to accept me eventually."

Lucas ignored Kypha and said, “Penumbra's not wrong about offspring, though." Pokemon born from humans were always weaker than the parent pokemon. A human parent, much like a ditto, essentially offered a genetic copy, and like any species, a lack of genetic diversity only weakened a pokemon population.

“She's not, but as long as your children find their own mates in the wild it won't hurt the actual species." Leor said. “I don't think it was some accident that Arceus made our bodies so receptive to our pokemon. It's a natural part of this world."

“Have you ever had any eggs?"

“Five," Leor said. “Pushing them out is easier than you think."

“All Strypes?"

“Who else?"

Lucas muttered, “I didn't want to assume you two were exclusive. Especially after Matt told me that you two—"

“Ugh, of course he told you. Listen, unless they come to an arrangement with another, most pokemon don't like sharing their human partners. Sure Strypes has bed other pokemon, but I'm his human and he's my pokemon."

“Do you keep your offspring? Do you keep them with you?"

“They live in a Galarian safari run by the IRG," Leor said. “It's where a lot of us equalists end up surrendering our pokemon. Some keep families, but the fieldwork me and Strypes specialize in is as dangerous as it gets, so it isn't safe to take them with me. "

“Goon-obst!" Strypes stopped to grab Leor's hand. In the dark, he signed something in her palm.

“Why are you stopping? We're almost there."

“We will meet you there," Lucas muttered under his breath.

“Now that we are finally truly bonded, there is one last thing we must do together to be equals."

“That might actually work," Leor said, keeping Lucas from asking what Kypha meant.

“What might?"

Fortunately, Leor and Strypes made to catch up with Kypha, saying as Lucas followed them, “You could live in and work for one of the IRG's safaris. We don't have one in Johto, but Galar, Unova, Sinnoh, take your pick. It would let you live in proximity to other people, equalists mostly, and also give Kypha a safe haven as well."

By the time Leor finished explaining, they had reached the clearing where the night before she had her confrontation with Rocket. It had been Leor's suggestion to come out here, and, as she had guessed, there waited the spirit of the man she killed.

When Lucas witnessed Kypha practicing what he called the Rite of Crossover, it had always been a scene of lights and wisps, but now he saw the silhouette of a man. And through Kypha's senses even knew the shape of his face, the color of his eyes. His body had turned spectral, transparent with violet aura around it. He seemingly spotted Kypha, because he tried to run, but only managed a few paces before something, like a harness around him, yanked him backwards. He tumbled, turning to a gaseous mass before reforming beside Kypha, who had approached him solemnly, head bowed, palms held out facing the sky.

Kypha's collar flared, belching out pink flames that scattered into the air, forming into willow-wisps that surrounded them both. The wisps began to dance, and the spirit now stared into Kypha's eyes, as if in a trance.

“Come to my side."

Lucas took a step without thinking. There was something hypnotic about the dance of flames. Leor grabbed his arm, making Lucas start.

“Easy, I just don't want you—"

“It'll be fine," Lucas said, noticing a strange heat building in his chest. As if something burned beneath his collarbone, ready to spew flame from his maw. He had memories of Raana sharing moments like this with Kypha, but all of it still felt like a distant dream compared to whatever gravity now drew Lucas to the circling wisps. Kypha took his hand and pulled him into the circle. Lucas gasped as that heat shot down to his toes and up to his ears. He swayed, dizzy, then coughing as heat worked up his throat. He choked.

“Relax yourself. You are safe with me." And Kypha's thoughts, this close, reverberated through Lucas, not becoming orders, but simple statements of Lucas's being. He let go, and between his lips spilled pale pink flames. His wisps, which joined Kypha's, and in the joining, a wave of anxiety and pain washed through his body. It was not his, but the spirit of Lionel who Kypha had hypnotized.

“We must take this regret and cleanse it."

Lucas understood, feeling his body temperature skyrocket with Kypha's, the wisps growing brighter, not hurting them, but burning away these feelings his body now held, sure as cardboard tossed in a bonfire. The wisps around them turned burgundy, shifting darker as they burned paradoxically brighter until the pain they carried had been turned to ash.

Lucas bowed his head, praying in tandem with Kypha to the spirit: “Oh restless spirit, you are freed of this world's burdens and will find peace in the next."

Lionel stared vacantly ahead, the once human form to his spirit being compressed, drawn inward to a ball of violet light, which, with Lucas left and Kypha's right, they took in their palms and tossed into the air. The violet light flew overhead, dissipating as it climbed into the air, crossing into its next plane of existence.

They watched it go, the wisps around them fading. “You did well," Kypha said as he faced Lucas.

His sight had changed somehow. Lucas now saw as Kypha saw: the light of spirits drifting in the dark, faintly glowing under the flesh of the living like Leor. Strypes he saw nothing at all, but Lucas assumed the obstagoon's normal typing caused this. Looking back at Kypha, he couldn't help but be both overwhelmed and warmed by the intensity of the alpha's spirit: a rippling cascade of ethereal fuschia, violet, red, and pink flames. Lucas could reach out to it, see his own golden light touch Kypha's and—

“So this is how you speak," Lucas said without moving his mouth. It felt as if he moved a new limb, which rubbed along Kypha's, conveying language like Strypes signing words into Leor's palm earlier—

“Would you two like us to leave you alone?" Leor called out.

Lucas started again. He said, “I…"

“There is still much to do tonight. I have to fulfill my end of our bargain."

Lucas took a step back, head spinning. So much light in this world—he had to look up at the moon and stars to remind himself it was night. He said, “We can talk later. We still have too much to do."

“Unfortunately," Leor said with a sigh.

This time, Kypha stayed by his side as they hiked back to the house.

***

The two typhlosions Lucas had transferred here were wary when released from their balls since Kypha rebuffed their previous advances. The three stood in the blackened field Kypha had scorched earlier. Lucas watched from a dozen paces away, wrestling, Kypha knew, with a perverted desire to join them, while holding onto the sense of betrayal from this afternoon.

“You do not need to witness this if it is too much."

“This is my job. I need to make sure both these females end up pregnant."

“There will be no doubt of that," Kypha said smugly.

He sucked in a deep breath then bellowed into the night sky, an explosive roar turned to a raging wave of fire arcing high enough to be seen from miles around. Both females bowed their heads, their collars flaring bright into the air. They roared and stamped their feet, widening their stances as Kypha's ended. He bowed his head, collar now exploding flames with four times the others' might. The fuschia flames jetting from Kypha's collar arced into the air, forming massive, blinding wings before he drew in a breath, the wings wrapping so their tips touched and formed an oval. Kypha smacked his chest with his paws, then slammed down on the ground. The great blazing wings were dragged down with the slam, creating an oval ring of dancing fire around the four of them.

If the two typhlosions did not leave the ring, which meant this mating display had been successful; that they wished to carry his eggs. But Kypha did not watch them, looking past both to Lucas.

“You are not stepping out."

“I told you—"

“You can be a bystander outside the ring."

Lucas said nothing, as both typhlosions approached him. Kypha knew from Lucas their names, where they came from: Plume and Pyre, a prize-winning pair of typhlosions raised by a single trainer who currently rented them out to breeding agencies and safaris. Pyre was taller, more lean, her flames less impressive than Plume's. She was almost svelte for a typhlosion, but Kypha saw in her a lean, muscular strength as she took the initiative, her shining turquoise eyes darting from Kypha's loins to his fuschia ones. The aroma of her moistening sex made Kypha huff, his sheath swelling as she rubbed her snout to his chest, pushing her warm body into his. Plume moved more warily, carrying a softer, rounder body. She watched the two of them, nostrils flaring as she scented the air.

Pyre's paw groped his sheath, digits rubbing inside the heated, slimy tube of fur and flesh. She already panted against Kypha, who pushed his knee between her legs and ground her wet snatch against it. A keening whine from the girl, only for her to back up, bringing her pre-slickened paw to her snout to sniff his musk up close. Her pupils dilated. An aching groan poured through her as she fell to all fours and snaked her way to his balls.

Pyre dragged her broad tongue up his fuzzy scrotum, worshipping his nuts while her pussy heated up. The sharp, almost anise aroma spreading through the air as Kypha's musk jumpstarted her estrus. Pyre opened her maw wide, letting his balls slide into her mouth. She wrapped her lips over them and gently suckled, purring, eyes half-lidded.

Plume did not get any closer to Kypha, opting instead to nudge her muzzle under Pyre's backside. Pyre shivered as her partner began tasting her estrus, sampling her heat with a rumbling growl. Plume grabbed her rump and kissed Pyre's drooling cunt, wedging her tongue inside and making her partner yowl around Kypha's sack.

He reached down, stroking the slender typhlosion's head as her heat's odor made his cock drop. The magenta tip slipping, fattening from its sheath like a bud hatching, throbbing and leaking across Pyre's face. His shaft so hot in the cool night air that it was steaming, its emissions stinking up the air.

And on the other side of the fire ring, Kypha watched Lucas fall to a crouch, clutching his stomach. His now feral dick tenting his shorts, the tip so sensitive rubbing against fabric, his body so hot that he was tearing off his clothes just to find relief.

His turmoil rippled off him, and Kypha reached out, gently smoothing the edges of it and offering, “You're welcome to join us."

“I am not a typhlosion. I can't interfere. I can't interfere."

“Once I'm finished with them—"

“Don't even say it."

“Like it or not, you are closer to us than to what you once were."

Kypha cut things off there, returning his attention to Pyre, who stopped suckling his testes to lick up the precum flowing down his meaty spire. Her broad, spongy tongue a perfect bed for his cock to rest upon. When she wrapped her lips around the spade tip, a single suck on the glans gave way to a shrill cry as she squirted. Plume grumbled approval, sucking on a swollen, flushed labia to coat her palate in Pyre's emissions. Plume dug her tongue deeper into that convulsing cunny, pushing Pyre further down on Kypha's cock. Pyre's orgasm came in juddering waves, her eyes rolling backwards as she nursed the alpha's potent precumming prick.

Kypha was not here for her pleasure, however, so he shoved Pyre's face off his shaft, barking a command. Pyre grunted, still wracked with tremors as she rolled over onto her back. Plume backed off a bit, still watching Kypha dubiously. He snarled a command to her, and she snapped at him, collar sparking. He growled, reaching out to her spirit, pushing a command into her body: “If you do not wish to carry my spawn then leave."

But Plume stayed her ground, watching him, collar still blazing until Pyre whined at her. A keening, pleading sound that stayed her fire. Kypha understood, then, that these two were actual mates, and Plume felt threatened by how attracted her partner was to him. Kypha stopped, and pushed into Plume's consciousness an image of dispassionate pleasure for all three of them. His mate watched them, concerned now but letting Kypha resolve things.

Plume snarled, but surrendered her flames, backing off and allowing Kypha to climb on top of her partner. Pyre wiggled underneath him, paws running through his fur before they found his shaft again and guided it down to her sex. His glans ground into wet, quivering lips that boiled with heat. His tip found her entrance. She gasped, clawed at his chest, wrapped her legs around his waist, begging till he rolled his hips forward. Pyre's back arched as Kypha sank into her sex: a sauna, a hot spring of feral need that bubbled up and burst around his shaft, cum coating his crotch and balls as she squirted again. Only ten paces away, Lucas watched on all fours, panting, as Pyre howled beneath Kypha.

He sent to his mate, “Would you like to know how she feels?"

“Arceus…"

Without a no, Kypha plowed his shaft deep enough to hit Pyre's cervix. At the same time, he thrust the sensation into Lucas's subconscious: the feeling of his tip grinding against that firm, spongy barrier, the cloying, clinging heat of her walls as they clenched down, trying to hold the throbbing meat inside her as precum flooded her pussy. Lucas moaned, forehead pressed into the dirt, his cock now rigid, knot swelling to match the one grinding against Pyre's clenching cunt.

“The heat…"

“You crave it, don't you?"

“Kypha, please, this is too much."

But Kypha didn't believe him. He started to rut Pyre, hard and fast, overwhelming Lucas with the sensation of cock drilling in and out of a desperate bitch in heat. His poor mate could only writhe on the ground, humping blindly while Kypha fucked Pyre into bliss. The typhlosion's howling broke to clipped little squeals and whimpers, tongue lolling from her mouth, steaming tears running down her face.

Plume, meanwhile, had actually taken an interest in Lucas. After all, any typhlosion remaining in the ring was offering their consent. She moved on all fours to Lucas, studying him carefully before shoving him on his back. Totally helpless, Lucas stared up at the night sky, hips bucking into the open air and shooting a jet of precum across his stomach. Plume leaned in and sniffed his magenta cock, which matched the size and shape of a normal typhlosion's shaft. She growled and closed her maw around it. Lucas bucked, claws digging into the back of her head to shove her down. He screamed as he gave in.

Kypha felt his mate's shaft sealed in suckling lips, tongue wrapped around it as Lucas's balls clenched. His shaft exploded into Plume's maw, and the feedback made Kypha arch his back and roar, unable to keep from cumming into Pyre's pussy. He hadn't even wedged his knot inside her, his cock jumped—tip scraping across her cervix—then the first explosion of seed flooded her walls, wringed out by her clasping, cumming cunt. Her fluids and his semen both flushed out around his knot, coating it, sheath, and balls in a sticky waterfall of gushing fluids. Kypha shut his eyes and kept rocking his hips in shallow thrusts, working his shaft in tandem with her rippling walls to eke out both their pleasure while Lucas jerked his hips, tugging his knot on the tight seal of Plume's lips.

Feeling that tug made Kypha's balls clench more, pumping so much seed into the fertile bitch beneath him that it quickly pooled into the dirt, enough that when she released her leglock, they fell with a splash in a puddle of gooey cum.

Huffing, panting, Kypha dragged himself out of her, admiring a moment her gaping folds and the seed still seeping out like water running from a storm drain. His dick still pulsed and twitched, pushing out fresh strings of cum as Plume continued sucking Lucas off, her paw massaging the helpless hybrid's nuts. She was so caught up in the familiar yet exotic flavor of his hybrid seed that Plume did not notice Kypha till he mounted her.

Plume tried to growl, but the weight shoved her nose flat to Lucas's stomach, making her choke and gag. Kypha grabbed her by the collar, flames sparking over his paw as Plume tried to force him off. He yanked her maw off Lucas's dick and told him, “I have finished with Pyre. She is yours to play with while I tame this one."

Dazed, panting, dick still achingly hard, Lucas sat up, having to scoot backwards to get out from under the two tangled typhlosions. Kypha still made Lucas feel the sensation of Plume's collar blazing against his chest, testing him. Kypha wasn't so much as singed as he held her down, grinding his shaft against her dripping folds. Her scent gave away the start to her estrus, that sharp, musky spice perfuming the air when she swallowed Lucas's load.

“I know you want to be bred," he thrust into her spirit, reminding her of all Pyre's pleasure. “Surrender to it."

Plume snarled, trying to face Lucas. She wanted him because she knew she could control him, but that was not what needed to happen tonight. He bit down on her nape, shoving her face into the dirt. Fire spilled around his mouth as Plume screeched, defiant and angry, trying to wriggle out from beneath him, all while her cunt smeared his shaft in more fluids. Snarling, Kypha rolled his hips and bucked, finally hitting his mark and spearing her on his shaft.

Plume cried out as she clenched down, cumming just as hard as Pyre had when he penetrated her. She clawed at the dirt, but the flames of her collar stuttered, body quaking as Kypha made her submit. He began rutting her hard, finding her cunt tighter than Pyre's, making it more satisfying to break its resistance down with his rut. His balls slapped her thighs, and she yowled weakly as she came again, her flames finally dissipating. She panted and slobbered on the ground, struggling to remain standing as Kypha adjusted his stance, wrapping both paws around her shoulder as he pounded her hard.

***

Lucas sat on his knees in front of Pyre, staring at her cunt. Coated in fluids, it glimmered in the light of the fire, his shaft sore, needing to be closed around something as Kypha tormented him with the sensation of breeding Plume. Those thick furry bodies grinding together, his knot pulverizing her pussy. Plume finally simply shoving her body back into Kypha's, trying to tie them. The force of an alpha over her, subduing her, made Plume all the hotter, needier, the flaming flower of her sex ejecting its nectar with every thrust.

What did Pyre taste like? Before Kypha, Lucas had only done things with Joule. Their coupling came from a place of love, but this? All these perverted desires pouring through him, he felt his blood pounding through his skull and shaft alike, body a thing of pure lust. He leaned down between the still stunned Pyre's thighs, paws planted in the muscular, furry flesh as he shoved his muzzle into her snatch. He opened his maw and began dragging his tongue across her abused folds, groaning, his tool twitching. Her heat almost reminded him of the flavor of mulled wine mixed with the heady, salty virile cream of Kypha's semen. He sucked and kissed her cunt, Pyre moaning sweetly. He didn't understand why eating her out was so intoxicating, surprised when her vagina squeezed his tongue, smearing it with more fluids.

He wanted to keep savoring Pyre, but the ache in his loins became such a burning need that Lucas blindly climbed on top of her. They were roughly the same size, so when Lucas's dick slipped inside that wet tunnel, he was face to face with Pyre as they both moaned. She wrapped her paws around his head and pulled him into a kiss. Lucas whimpered as their maws met, tongues sliding up and down against each other. Her oral muscle still tasted like Kypha's shaft.

Her sex hypnotic, he humped her soft, furry hips while she shuddered and moaned into his mouth. Her vent boiled with so much heat that Lucas was sweating all over. Thanks to Kypha spreading her, his hybrid knot popped inside her folds at the same time Kypha's bulb caved in Plume's pussy. Both Kypha and Plume roared as they climaxed together, Lucas feeling both Plume and Pyre's walls clenching down on him at the same time. Plume's rippling and spasming, cervix speared through with his/Kypha's spade, ropes of cum exploding into her receptive womb; Pyre's milking Kypha's/his spade gently, massaging up and down his shaft as he squirmed and humped against her soft body, cunny clenching and coaxing his seed to spill inside her already flooded passage.

Both shafts became surrounded in pressurized, liquid heat as their seed filled both canals till thick, viscous streams of semen began to squeeze out around their knots. Pyre the entire time purred as Lucas whimpered and wiggled on her, filling his maw with her tongue.

It was Kypha who recovered first, Lucas practically being absorbed into Pyre's body. Kypha yanked his knot out of Plume, whose howl drowned out the pop and splash of bodily fluids around her weary feet. Kypha plodded over to Lucas and Pyre, Lucas still mashing his hips against hers. He yelped when Kypha grabbed him by the scruff and tore him off of Pyre.

“Don't forget who your mate is."

Lucas tried to get to his feet, but his head was spinning and he fell over onto the ground. Kypha grabbed his tail and tugged Lucas's rear into the air.

“There's still one typhlosion in this circle to breed."

Lucas gasped as Kypha positioned him on all fours. His messy, cum covered cock pressing against Lucas's rim. Arceus, “typhlosion"? Was he anything else when he surrendered himself to this beastly lust so easily? Kypha hadn't just changed his body, but his mind—

“You've always wanted this. Craved this. This is what you are. It is why you are mine." With every word, Lucas felt it press into his mind as if this had always been true. Rewriting his memories to prove this. After all, it did take a Hypno's hypnotherapy to bury all these desires years ago. That's the real reason he originally became a pokemon breeder: to sample their different sexes, to dance in their mating rituals, to drown in their desires and lust—it had always been in him, he always wanted to be a part of their bestial, feral fucks.

“Tell me what you want."

“I-I want you to breed me."

“Again."

“Breed me. I want to carry your eggs, I want to cum while I push them out of me!" Lucas pleaded. “I want to walk around swollen with your spawn, coated in your musk—please Kypha. I need it."

“That's it. Accept what you are."

“I'm your breeder!" Lucas groaned as he tried to push back onto the spade tip drooling against his aching asshole. He needed to be filled, but Kypha's grip on his rear kept him in place. “Please Kypha, use me to fill the world with your spawn."

“I am your alpha, now and always."

And Kypha thrust forward, impaling Lucas on that enormous shaft. Unlike last night, Lucas rolled his hips backwards, eagerly forcing more of his alpha's cock inside him. His rim collapsed around that magenta pokedick that blessed him with a body molded to serve it. Kypha panted, tongue hanging out his mouth, drool falling onto Lucas's back. The pressure of that massive shaft inside him sent radiating pleasure down Lucas's tool, crushing his prostate. His toes curled as he spurted pearls of semen. He couldn't quite have the orgasm he had in Plume then Pyre, instead reveling in an ecstatic inferno blazing through his body. All over he felt itchy and needy, only relieved by Kypha's cock sawing in and out his body.

His ass squeezed on each thrust, trying its best to wring the seemingly endless supply of sperm from his alpha's nuts. Kypha jammed his knot against Lucas's entrance, grinding down. The towering mast inside him created a bulge in his lower abdomen. He felt Kypha's heartbeat through it, as blind rut took over his alpha. Panting, in a bliss of his own, Kypha both felt the snug passage gripping and slipping up and down his shaft along with the pressure and electrifying pleasure shooting through Lucas on each stroke. Both of them entered a sex crazed stupor, surrounded in the heady, smoked cedar musk as cum, now matching Kypha's own odor, poured out of Lucas's leaky tip with each pounding thrust.

Kypha huffed and doubled over Lucas. He grit his teeth and pounded harder, faster, dick stabbing deep, bulb at its base bludgeoning Lucas's butt. The hybrid's whole body jerked back and forth with each piston, becoming little more than a lust-dumb toy Kypha used. Then the knot punched inside Lucas and the pair moaned together. Kypha bit him again, and Lucas screamed as his alpha tugged and bucked, Kypha working his knot. Lucas felt Kypha's balls churning against his, boiling with heat. Lucas's whole body felt primed for it, clenching down tight, his cock twitching and jumping, only able to squeeze fat globs of cum, too full of alpha pokedick to ejaculate.

“Please Kypha, I need it. I'm going crazy."

Kypha answered with a snarl, then the throbbing, gushing virile pokecum filled him again. Lucas's head went blank, body suddenly knocked with a sudden surge of ambrosia, as if Kypha drugged him. Every part of him buzzed and tingled with pleasure—brimming with seed sloshing around in his core, filling him to the point he thought he might burst. The pokegenic enzymes flooded him with endorphins, doping him so much his mouth hung open as he drooled into the dirt.

Yes, this is what he needed. What he was. Kypha's slut. His breeder. An addict for alpha cum. His old life washed away by potent, dense wads of semen that stained and corrupted everything it touched. Corrupted? No, liberated. Freed him of any concern but servicing his alpha. Worshipping his alpha. Being the vessel for his spawn, for the next generation of Hisuian Typhlosion. That was his real life's purpose. Not to keep pointless grass types from dying out naturally, but reviving a lineage so powerful humans already tried once to kill it off.

They had failed. Would fail. Lucas would see to it that not only would the world have a new generation of Kyphas, but that he would help his spawn find other humans to become breeders. It would be easy. No one would ever resist this intoxicating, all-consuming pleasure once they tasted it.

***

Lucas woke with a start, still in the field, once again wrapped around Kypha. They both stirred early in the morning as a semi-truck crunched across his gravel driveway hauling a shipping container. Leor was already going out to greet the driver.

The depravity of last night simmered through him with a warm satisfaction. He shivered, touching his still full stomach.

Kypha licked the top of his head with a rumbling purr. “You did excellent last night, my little breeder."

Lucas huffed, feeling his sheath flush with heat at the compliment. “Now is not the time," he said. Shakily, he got off the ground. He stank of Kypha's cum and needed a shower before he faced the others. Not far from them, Plume and Pyre laid together, heads lifted to watch the truck. Lucas went back to where he left his clothes, digging the pokeballs left in his pocket and balling both females. Once he got back to his house he would transfer them to the Sinnoh lab that originally contracted him.

He scooped up his clothes and marched to the barn, Kypha following him.

“I will just mark you again later."

“Then mark me later," Lucas said. Within each barn was a contamination station with an overhead shower for washing off any fluids. He ran the water, saying as he waited for it to turn hot, “It'll be hard enough for Matt to be stuck in that storage container with you without me stinking of cum."

“Fair enough." Kypha waited by the ruined doorway as Lucas stepped under the water. “Will you miss it here?"

“Of course I will," Lucas answered through their bond, “Didn't Raana miss her home when they drove her out?"

“She made the choice herself."

“And I didn't—I'm still mad at you."

“I know."

Lucas scrubbed and scrubbed, doing his best to get his fur clean. He would never really get Kypha's smell out. It was a part of him now. He shut off the water and stepped out, going to Kypha's side with his fur dripping. Lucas held up his paw between them and said, “I can accept this. I can be with you, but I can't replace Raana, so promise me you won't regret doing this."

“I swear on the first fire and flame."

Lucas sighed and leaned against him. “Maybe we can make this work."

“You want this to work."

He buried his muzzle into Kypha's chest, mumbling, “I do. I feel stupid for it, but I want everything you've offered. And it's not just about the pleasure you bring, but the world you live in is far more beautiful than I could have imagined." Lucas thought of the lotus of fuschia flames their first night together, the willow-wisps dancing, those great burning wings. “You're not like any other pokemon I've ever met."

“I love you, Lucas."

He looked up at Kypha, blinking back tears. “Do you? Or is it just her you see?"

“I see a man who cares for pokemon so much he'll put them before himself at every turn. A man who deserves to be protected just as fiercely as he protects them. That is what you and Raana share. But in this life it is your fire, your light, which is something sacred and precious."

Lucas shoved his face into Kypha's fur, crying as he hugged his mate tight. “F-fine you big dolt." And then spirit to spirit, “I love you, too."

***

By 08:00 they had finished preparing for the trip. All the pokemon in Lucas's care were returned to their owners, Pyre and Plume sent to Sinnoh with Kypha's eggs already growing inside them. Leor told Lucas he could pack a bag, but aside from some clothes, nothing in his home grabbed him. There were his diplomas, letters written by colleagues in the field, but all he grabbed was his research log, even though he wasn't sure he could hold a pen to write with anymore.

The storage container had inside it four car seats bolted to the floor, cots folded and strapped to a wall with bedding, three cases of water bottles, pokefeed and dry goods for humans. A closet had been erected in one corner with a toilet and drain for disposing waste into a tank built into the container's rear wall.

All of them gathered outside the doors for the container, Leor's arms folded over her chest as she told them, “The five of you are going to have to wait things out for twelve hours in this thing. The first five I recommend you stay seated, as the drive into port and then the cargo transfer will be bumpy. Then it's a matter of waiting until we leave port and get out into open waters. Once we do I'll let you all out. You'll be able to get some air, but you will have to sleep in this thing."

Matt raised his hand. “How long will the trip be?"

“Two days. Then we'll be in Alolan waters. From there a boat will come pick us up and take us directly to Kaawale. We'll get you settled, then Lucas, Kypha, and I will be headed to the Sinnoh Ranger Reserve, a safari where Kypha and Lucas can start over together."

“Will we ever see you again?" Matt asked with his ears bowed.

Leor went over and hugged him. “We're not saying goodbye yet, silly. And of course you'll see me. I visit friends there at least once a year."

When she released him Lucas asked, “What will happen with my home?"

Leor said, “My handler is making arrangements to sell it for you. They'll forge any signatures and flip it for whatever the land's market value is. You will get a percentage of that sale—"

“A percentage?"

Leor slapped the trailer, “How do you think we're paying for all this? Smugglers don't work for charity."

“Fine."

“Whatever's leftover from our travel expenses will be forwarded to a new account in Sinnoh established under your name. We'll talk more about what working and living in the safari will entail, but for the time being, we need to get going. I'd like to be at port before Matt's parents realize something is wrong."

As they climbed in, Leor went around to get in the cab with the driver. Lucas took one last look at his home, trying his best to etch in his memory the life he was leaving behind. He didn't want to go. He wished he and Kypha could live here. That he could continue his work in the land that birthed and raised him.

But this country would never accept him changing, so he could no longer accept that Johto was his home.

An Epilogue in Triptych

The World We Live In

Fall had come quickly to Galar that year. Against the cold Leor wore a red leather jacket that matched her eyes, sitting under a maple tree with its red-orange leaves half shed. She waited on a park bench with a paper cup of coffee, legs crossed and enjoying the crisp air until she heard Nina say:

“You never try to blend in, do you?" She wore an orange sweater dress with black heels and jacket.

“I learned from the best," Leor said as she got up and gave Nina a hug. Nina was a tall, dark skinned woman in her thirties, totally human despite having an Alpha Zoroark as her partner for nearly a decade. Though she did dye her braids the same red as Penumbra's mane.

“It's good to see you," Nina said as she let her go and they both sat together. “Even if you made the last month a real pain in the ass."

Leor shrugged. “I told you I wasn't good at playing guard dog."

“Always getting into trouble when you idle, I know," Nina said before tapping the plastic lid of the cup with a long crimson fingernail. “Can I get a sip of that?"

Leor handed it over, letting Nina get a drink before she handed it back. Leor asked, “So how much trouble am I in?"

“I smoothed things over with Gerard. Swear the older that man gets the more money obsessed we get." Nina held up her hands, gesturing dramatically in a raspy voice, “But did they pay their contract, Nina? How's this Dr. Willow going to bring in money?" She rolled her eyes. “I told him we'd make a fortune selling Hisuian Cyndaquils. Just let them breed the things for two years in the safari then start marketing them to the public. The Sinnoh lab will have a harder time reproducing the hisuian line quickly when their eggs only have half the DNA needed."

“I don't really care for that, but I guess if that's what they have to do."

“Your boy Lucas seemed for it."

“Maybe he hasn't changed much at all, then," Leor said with a sigh before taking another drink.

“Meaning?"

“I mean, if they were my offspring I'd care about them being bought and sold, and I'm not even going to touch the poke-trafficking element of this."

“It's easy to live on ideals when all you do is fieldwork in the frontier, but at the end of the day, this is the world we live in."

“Yeah… I know."

“Hey, that don't mean you stop fighting, we just gotta pick and choose our battles," Nina said.

“Right, so what's next for me?"

“I think a vacation. You've got a lot of PTO saved up, and I'm making you cash it in."

“Come on, Nina." Leor shifted in the bench to better face her. “I don't want to just sit around."

“Who says you gotta sit around. You and Strypes should do some traveling, take a break. Especially after this last case."

“I promise that I'm fine—"

“Great! You should have tons of fun then."

Leor glared at her.

Nina faced away and took out her phone, going through her notifications as she said, “You can pretend like things are fine, but you and I both know you're a sore loser who isn't okay with what happened in Johto."

An unwelcome memory came of Matt crying in her arms while she comforted him about leaving. Maybe it had been the shock, but he didn't really break down until their first full day on open waters, when it sank in he may never see his friends and family again. He'd cried so much that Kypha offered to knock him out for the rest of the voyage.

“They'll both be okay," Leor mumbled. “Change that sudden is hard for anyone."

“Yeah, there's that." Nina took Leor's hand, fingers running along the blunt ends of her clipped claws. “There's also this. Umby told me she and Strypes have seen you having nightmares."

“Fine. I'm not okay. It was a shitshow. I made bad calls. I fucked up people's lives."

Nina wagged her finger in Leor's face. “Don't put words in my mouth. You did the best you could, in fact, things would have ended up a lot worse if you'd not been there. Do you honestly think that Matt kid would've gone another five years without messing up with a pokemon?"

“I'm the reason he wasn't taking his HPS drugs in the first place—"

“Girl, I am trying to help you!" Nina snapped. “Listen, I don't care if you spend your vacation here with a therapist, but burying your feelings in work won't change what happened. We're not perfect, we mess up. You saw someone who clearly did not want the life he had and saw no real way to what he wanted. You knew Matt was a poke-fucking equalist the second you met him, yeah?"

“Yeah," Leor hung her head in her hands. “He asked me one time if I thought he was, but you know how it is, you can't just tell them."

“Mmmm, I don't really, but I see where you're coming from," Nina said as she rubbed Leor's back. “You didn't do wrong trying to give him the space to be what he wanted to be. It was messy, but a kid with HPS in Johto? It was always going to be messy. Take some time to process what's happened, some time to accept it, and when you're ready we can talk about your next case."

“Strypes will probably be happy to have a break," Leor said, sitting up. She wiped some tears from her eyes.

“Where is the big lug?"

“With the kids," Leor said. The Galar Ranger Reserve's entrance was a mile down the road.

“Have some fun with your boys. You've earned that much. Call me in sixty days, and I'll have something simple and juicy for you."

“You told me Kypha would be simple."

“I promise the next case won't involve a time traveling alpha pokemon."

“Pshh, let's hope so."

***

Two Deliveries

Matthew knew from Leor and his neighbors in Kaawale what to expect when it came time to lay his first egg, but he still panicked the afternoon he woke from his nap drenched in sweat and shivering. He groaned, feeling too full and sore. His noise woke River and Joule, who slept on either side of him in their small cottage.

Calling it a cottage was generous. It was more of a shack with only a wardrobe and old bed and mattress stuffed with shed fur from various pokemon. A single glass window let in some morning light, and there was a door, but most of Kaawale's housing existed like this. They were set in lines down a small road that opened into a townsquare that had a communal cafeteria, a health center, a few different workshops, a market, and theater/recreational building. Certainly more humble a living than any place Matthew had been before, but at least it came with a community of peers and pokemon.

Matthew rolled on his side, holding his swollen belly as cramps ran through him. He grit his teeth and said, “It-it's the egg."

“Lu-lux," Joule mewled before yowling at River. The lucario jumped out of bed and rushed outside to get Miles, another Johto refugee who'd become one of the commune's doctors.

Joule licked Matthew's cheek as he curled up into a ball. It hurt, for certain, but Matthew had food poisoning that felt worse than this. He grabbed Joule by the mane and yanked the luxray close to his face, burying his snout in the familiar black fur and sucking in a deep breath. The scent of his mate quickly soothed some of his discomfort. Joule curled up around Matthew's head, pushing his soft forepaw pads in his face.

Matthew whimpered and nuzzled into those pads. The musky, petrichor scent sucked straight to his brain. He relaxed, licked between those digits. He used to repress his HPS to access the larger world, now he used it to manage his experience of it. The cramping in his stomach turned, his insides buzzing and burning. His red, leaking tip peeked from his swelling sheath. All the heat in him made Matthew stretch out on the bed, humping a little against his sheets.

River barged back in with a human/grovyle hybrid. “Alright, River says it's egg time. How you feeling? Hey—" A green scaled hand touched his muzzle and turned Matthew's face from the paw he licked. Miles snapped a few times, “Don't be getting monned up yet. Can you tell me how you feel?"

“Hot," Matthew groaned as he rolled onto his back. He looked down, unable to see around his swollen middle but feeling his red pokedick pushing out against the fur of his lower abdomen. He couldn't help rocking his hips forward.

“Any pain? Any at all?"

“Cramps—ahhh!" Matthew groaned as his swollen tummy clenched, the egg visibly moving beneath the flesh.

“First egg is always the hardest kid. If you want we can move you to my office. It won't be private, but getting you squatting in stirrups will make things easier if the pain is too much."

Matthew shook his head. “I… ugh, I can manage."

“Gonna stuff your head with pheromones and ride it out, huh? I'll let you three be, then." Miles pointed at River and Joule. “If he starts hurting too much, come get me, alright?"

The pair chirped, and when Miles left, Matthew said, “C-can we do it like we talked about?"

River licked his chops and already grabbed Matthew by his shoulders, helping him move so he laid across the mattress with his head hanging off the edge. His view quickly became entirely obscured by the sight of River's balls. Matthew nuzzled into them, huffing deep breaths of the canine's sweat and metallic-tinged musk. River growled, reaching over Matthew to grab his thighs, pulling his legs up and keeping them spread for Joule.

Already Matthew felt the egg moving inside him—sliding through his guts with more pressure than River's knot. It flattened his prostate, making Matthew buck his hips. Precum jetted from his only half-hard cock. Now stuck on this ride, Matthew buried his snout in River's nuts, licking off musky sweat with little whines. Getting monned up to ride out any birthing pains. Against his rear, Joule dragged his tongue against Matthew's winking rim. Clear fluids, lubricant from the egg, leaked from his hole. The puffy, inflamed flesh squeezed around the abrasive tongue wedging its way inside him. Little jolts of electricity rippled across his anus, numbing and relaxing the surrounding muscle.

River meanwhile, had taken Matthew's muzzle in a paw, squeezing his maw open and feeding him the lucario's meat. Matthew moaned, eyes half-lidded as that pulsing shaft slid down his tongue. The sharp, musky flavor only deepened his drugged state. His mouth now so sensitive, feeling every little pulse along River's shaft, each twitch and jerk through his muzzle, every jab into his throat a sharp ecstasy. Euphoria unlike any other, that Matthew only felt when servicing his mates. Precum spilled and pooled in his maw, its salty flavor making his tastebuds tingle.

River hunched over and fucked Matthew's face, balls slapping his snout. Joule meanwhile had stopped eating Matthew out, leaning back. Joule's cock so stiff the luxray couldn't help but grind into the mattress while the tip of the egg crested. Matthew's rim spread wide around it, rippling and wet. Matthew moaned as his inner muscles compressed, the egg working out an inch before sucked back in when he stopped pushing. Too drugged on pokedick to properly focus on expelling the egg, Matthew's body would clench in orgasmic waves. More and more of the slimy shell came out, bit by bit, only to rock back inside him, the surge of pressure making Matthew hump into nothing. His now hard dick squirting cum on every convulsion. His fur matted in slick fluids.

Joule sucked against his teeth, Matthew's scent sharper, more spiced as he gave birth. It almost matched the scent of a pokemon in heat. River smelled it, too, snarling as he doubled over, snout inching to Matthew's gaping rear to huff more of that heat. Both pokemon were absolutely drooling at this point, River's knot grinding against Matthew's slackjaw.

Still gaping, his waist and rear both burned from exertion but also tingled all over. He felt empty even as the egg remained half inside him. His bladder and prostate so smashed that he would've burst and pissed all over himself had he not emptied it before his nap. His balls buzzed as, with each orgasmic clench of his muscles made more sticky semen jet from his cock across his front. At least till River let go of one of Matthew's legs to grab hold his knot and point his length right for River's muzzle.

Matthew screamed, flooding River's palate with gooey ropes of jizz, inner muscles clamping so tight the egg shot from his rear. The lucario growled, hips jerking, jamming his knot into Matthew's muzzle before he too unleashed his load. Liquid silver cascaded down Matthew's throat. The rushing heat unloading so fast he couldn't swallow quick enough, choking as some seed flooded back up Matthew's mouth and sinuses. His eyes streaming tears of pleasure, viscous cum leaking between his cheek as he swallowed and swallowed.

Joule moved the blue-spotted egg to the head of the bed before returning to Matthew's still gaping, leaking hole. The luxray eagerly ate it out, the birthing fluid a mixture of enzymes and pheromones that had Joule nearly frothing at the mouth as he lapped up the sharp, salty fluids.

River stopped swallowing Matthew's dick to bark at Joule, who tried to mount their doped out partner. They had already agreed the next egg would be River's. Joule hissed at him, but relented, releasing Matthew as the two switched suddenly. Black-furred balls were shoved in Matthew's face, the petrichor aroma dreamy as he started worshipping what had impregnated him. Just as River climbed on top of his spread legs. His soaked, gaping anus easily pierced by the pink pokecock.

Before the day was over, Matthew would already carry another egg inside him.

***

“Hey! That's fantastic, that's great. Have you three decided what to do with the current egg?" Micah asked Matthew as the two walked out of town. She was a houndoom hybrid, with black fur, a pointed tail, and horns that she'd been growing in for the last four years. She leaned a little forward when she stood, body almost finding it more natural to be on all fours, even if she would never quite be that accustomed to it.

“I guess keep it? I… I didn't expect to have this first one so soon."

“We can pop them out almost as fast as pokemon can," Micah said. “Some of us will have six in a year."

Matthew flushed, thinking of how good it felt to be used while pushing out Joule's egg—he couldn't blame those that did it so often. All around them, equalists with HPS went about their day with their pokemon. Going in and out the cafeteria, playing football in a field, lounging in chairs on the beach while the sun set, having heated debates about where HPS came from and why it existed, and some, even, doing pokemon battles or competitions. Joule and River had gone on into the cafeteria, while Micah, Leor's friend who had been Matthew's sponsor since arriving here, took him over to the post-office.

“I barely feel prepared to raise a shinx, I don't know what I'd do with six more."

“Mmmm, it's something we've started debating here. We're already overcrowded with mons as it is, but we don't want to just separate families. But some people are just laying eggs to lay eggs, and that's not necessarily a healthy way for a community to exist."

The post-office was a wooden building just off the road from Route 13, a ten minute walk from the rest of the commune. It acted also as a welcome center for visitors, making sure strangers didn't just stroll into Kaawale. Around a bend and screen of trees, it appeared suddenly. They stepped inside, a window mounted A/C blasting cold air into a hot and humid front office that was empty except for a noivern hybrid behind the desk.

“Hey Micah," they waved.

“Cleo," she answered. “You got the letter I asked you to set aside?"

“Right here," they said, holding up an envelope between their slender, webbed digits. They handed it to Matthew, saying, “Sorry it's open. Protocol."

“He knows the score," Micah said.

Before releasing mail to those in asylum, it was inspected before being forwarded to Kaawale to make sure there were no tracking devices or poisons first. Right before Matthew took it, he spotted his mother's handwriting for the address, and felt a pit in his stomach drop. His paw hung in the air.

Micah took it from Cleo, saying, “Thanks, anything else come in today?"

“Papers for Patricia and Michael, some first-aid stuff, it's already been picked up."

“Alright, where's Stella?"

“Wanted to stretch her wings for a flight. Should be back in a few minutes, she's keeping over the road so if something comes this way she'll rush right back."

“Hmmmm, don't know if I like that."

“Come on Micah, it's been a year since someone tried to start trouble—"

“And trouble would've never started if Alaina hadn't let her machamp wander off."

Cleo folded their arms over her chest. “Fine. But Stella is going to take it out on you, not me."

“She can try me," Micah said before putting a paw on Matthew's shoulder, “Come on hun."

They walked out, Matthew's heart beating so loud in his ears he didn't hear Micah the first time she spoke.

“Hey, come on, don't go freaking out yet."

“I just—they have to be so mad at me," Matthew mumbled, glancing at the envelope Micah still carried.

Matthew had been able to send word to his parents, in a roundabout manner. Kaawale had equalists friends in Johto, most of them in the IRG. Matthew sent them the letter, and they left an unmarked envelope at his parent's door with instructions for an IRG mailbox in Unova to send the letter. From there it was inspected and forwarded to Kaawale.

“I can read it for you, give you a summary and save any of the worst parts," Micah offered.

“No… I can do this. It shouldn't be a big deal, I just—"

“It hurts, we know. We've all been through it." She held out the envelope.

He took it, slid the letter out, read the first line, and a trapdoor opened in his chest when he read, “Baby we love you but you hurt us—" He shouldn't have even tried without River and Joule with him. He hunched over on the road, sucking in deep breaths.

Micah knelt down beside him, taking the letter out of his quivering paw. “Here, I'm going to read it, okay?" Matthew just nodded and sat down, pressing his paws into the warm dirt, trying his best to just ground himself. After a few minutes, Micah folded the letter and placed it back in the envelope. Then she hugged him tight.

Matthew started crying, blubbering, “T-that bad?"

“Shhh, no, not at all. They're hurt, they're hurt that you left, that you didn't tell them, that you didn't trust them. But they understand—or they're trying to. They still want to see you. They still love you. Your mom, sniff, shit, now look what you made me do." Micah let go of him and wiped away her own tears. “Your mom says she wants you in her life, no matter what life you choose to live or where you live it, you're more important to her than what the news says is right or wrong about pokemon."

Vision cloudy with tears, Matthew muttered, “S-she wrote that?"

“I was paraphrasing, but yeah."

Matthew broke down bawling, throwing himself against Micah and letting his tears fall on her chest. She held him tight, whispering, “Hey, that's a good thing, right?"

“I just… I didn't know if I'd feel guilty for the rest of my life for leaving—an-and now I… I don't have to. I don't want to feel guilty anymore for being happy. I just… I just don't know what to do…"

“Oh you silly boy," Micah said into his ear. “That's easy, now you live."

***

Through This Life and the Next

The Sinnoh Ranger Reserve and Safari was a few miles north of Hearthome City, stretching across the foothills and forest of the Coronet Mountains to Celestic Town. Lands protected and patrolled by a team of a dozen rangers. Normal citizens needed to register with the safari in order to enter it, and it was near this registration office that Lucas built his new home.

Compared to his ranch in Johto it was a definite downgrade: a small cabin with a large front door for Kypha, its walls and floors made of flame-resistant materials. It only had room for necessities to Lucas: a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and a den doubling as his office. He had it built with what little money his ranch sold for, which had taken months to sell.

It had been a year since he left Johto, a hard year of change, but any regrets about his transformation were long gone by now. He enjoyed the crisp mountain air, the smell of the blue spruces surrounding his cabin on all sides. He sat under one such tree now, at a picnic table set there, reading a letter from Matthew. His young pupil updated him on River and Joule's health, and talked about finishing his degree in Alola now that he had an official visa.

From down the road he heard a car driving up. He set the letter down, expecting this visit. The vehicle parked in the Welcome Center parking lot, so Lucas got up and walked over. Kypha, who slept on the porch, lifted his head. Lucas called back, “Just going to get Dr. Banyan."

Alexi Banyan had been Lucas's mentor then research partner for years before Lucas met Kypha. When his relationship with Joule could not be hidden, it was Alexi who sat Lucas down and convinced him to get hypnotherapy and end the relationship before it ruined his career.

Lucas crossed the road over into the parking lot, waving at the blue beamer that had just parked. Alexi stepped out, an older man with his silver hair in a combover and face pocked with acne scars. He plainly gawked at Lucas as he approached.

“It's me, Alexi, I promise."

“Arceus, I knew you warned me, but…"

Lucas held up his paws. “Just the way I am now."

Alexi pursed his lips, glanced around, and stepped closer to whisper, “Are you sure this is what you want? Do you need help? Is that pokemon—"

“I am happy with my life, don't worry."

“Why does every human doubt the strength of our bond?" Kypha complained.

“I will deal with it, don't worry." Lucas gestured to his cabin, “Come, I can put on some tea for you."

As they walked, Lucas said, “I appreciate you taking the time to come out here."

“The conference in Hearthome made it convenient. Sad you could not be there, you would have loved Dr. Osmanthus' keynote address."

“Oh?"

“She called into question the IBA's current best practices around relationships with pokemon. Even cited one of your recent blog posts."

“I'm surprised anyone in our field is reading those," Lucas said. Thanks to his experiences with Kypha, Lucas had in his head over a dozen different papers he wanted to publish, a whole manuscript's worth of material, but without his license no peer-reviewed publication would consider his work worthy of review.

“Your name still carries weight, even if it is mostly infamy at this point," Alexi said, stopping as they reached the porch. “What is that smell?"

Kypha rolled over and stared at him.

“I-I meant no offense. It's um, not an unpleasant odor."

“Makes your nostrils tingle, doesn't it?" Lucas said as he moved past Kypha and opened the front door. “It's something you get used to, though, you might need to take an antipokegenic if you stick around too long."

“Should we not—"

“Nonsense," Lucas waved inside. “Unless you're planning to stay here for the night you'll be fine."

Alexi cleared his throat, “Very well." He bowed to Kypha, mumbling, “A pleasure to meet you," before quickly stepping inside.

Lucas waved to a roundtable in the middle of his cabin, which aside from the bathroom, was open concept. In one corner, his bed had a hammock hanging over it in which six balls of purple fur were cuddled up and sleeping.

Alexi pointed at them and asked, “Are those—"

“My children? Yes. Kypha and I have kept busy trying to preserve his line."

“By breeding with you?"

“Yes," Lucas answered as he went to the kitchen and asked, “Any preference for tea?"

“Something non-caffeinated."

“Peppermint it is," Lucas said as he filled his electric kettle at the sink then pulled a small box of tea from a cupboard.

Alexi had taken a seat, massaging his wrists while he studied the interior of Lucas's home. There were no degrees or certificates or honors on his walls. It was fairly bare of decoration, except for two pictures: one a photograph of Kypha and Lucas together, and another a watercolor of Kypha and Raana.

“What are your plans with your… the offspring?"

“To breed them once they're mature enough. I'm going to work with the IRG to introduce and pair them with pokemon in their egg group. At which point, we'll isolate the offspring born with Kypha's line, have that generation breed with dittos to reproduce its diversity in greater numbers before introducing that generation to the wider world," Lucas said while setting out two mugs and tea bags for them both. “I'm expecting it to be roughly five years of work, but my hope is by the end of it there will be at least a hundred in the hisuian line that can be reintroduced to wilds."

“That's incredibly ambitious. The eggs you sent to the Coronet Wildlife Preserve expect it will take ten years to do that."

Lucas's kettle beeped, and he retrieved it, pouring them both water before he said, “I have the advantage of having Kypha with me."

“Certainly, but you're not the least concerned about how this will look to your peers? You're talking about a pokemon population based on human/pokemon breeding."

“Come now, Alexi," Lucas said as he dunked his teabag. “We wrote a paper together on the viability of using dittos to strengthen declining populations. It's the same end, just different means."

“I know, but," Alexi glanced out an open window behind him where he could still see Kypha's massive form dozing there. He leaned in and whispered, “You're making it harder, not easier, for people to accept this method by using it so blatantly. I mean, you won't even consider using a ditto instead?"

“Kypha won't," Lucas said. “Also, there's no need to whisper. Kypha hears everything I do."

“Excuse me—how?"

Lucas had to explain how his soul was bonded to Kypha's, something he hadn't tried to write about yet, even if he wanted to. By the time he finished, the peppermint had steeped enough that Lucas removed the teabag and took a sip of it. Alexi stared at his steaming mug. “I know it's hard to believe, but there is precedent. Researchers in Kalos have recorded powerful ghost types being able to communicate through this method."

“Rudimentary speech perhaps—" Alexi was cut off when Kypha reached out to him.

“I am anything but rudimentary."

Alexi almost fell out of his chair, craning his neck over his shoulder and patting his back to make sure nothing was on it.

“Like someone's turned your spine into a lyre and plucked it, right?" Lucas said.

“Arceus, that's something… Is it safe?"

“How so?"

“In terms of contamination—"

“No, you're fine. This isn't some trap, my friend, I promise."

“Very well," Alexi said, grabbing his mug and taking a long drink. When he set it down he said, “I know you're not very interested in my advice as your colleague, but I worry this… lifestyle you're living will only lead to a brilliant mind in our field shriveling in exile."

Lucas shrugged. “I can't control what people choose to believe."

“A time traveling, extinct alpha pokemon is a lot for anyone to believe."

“Do you?"

Alexi opened his mouth but trailed off. He took a breath and admitted, “I don't, but until a better explanation arises, I will take you at your word."

Lucas stretched his paw out on the table. “See this? It took a single night for Kypha to change my whole body, change my life really. At the time, the ranger they sent out there fought with me constantly about how being like this wasn't so bad. I knew she wasn't wrong, but I was terrified of losing all my work as a researcher and academic, and certainly my access to those things is not the same, but I have so much more knowledge as I am now that our world would benefit from. But I need someone willing to believe me, vouch for me."

“We do," Alexi said, “Some of us, at least. But there are reactionaries everywhere telling people you are a delusional pervert who has nothing to offer but ravings."

“I know… Arceus I'm not even sure what they're afraid of."

“Humans being overtaken and destroyed by pokemon," Alexi said. “It is that simple, really."

“I suppose so… but I'm not really interested in convincing those people. What I want is to use this," Lucas touched his chest then gestured to the sleeping cyndaquils, “and them for a new research study. I'm thinking a whole book, really, testing how willing humans can safely and responsibly help rebuild an endangered pokemon population."

Alexi chewed on his lip, took a sip of his tea.

“What do you think?"

Alexi said, “Our research on dittos didn't really warrant a whole manuscript. What would be different here?"

“Besides the obvious? The parent line is being established by an alpha pokemon and human partner. Not only are we making an argument for using humans, we're also making an argument for how alpha pokemon can be safely and responsibly paired with human partners."

“Safe, if the human is willing to shed their humanity."

“Am I not human to you?" Lucas asked.

“Do you think you're human?"

Lucas scratched at the table, claws digging furrows into the softwood as he mulled over an answer. “I suppose, the only real way to know is by testing my fertility with another human. There has to be equalists out there who have had children—fine, that will be another part of the book. This research study isn't just about our reproductive viability, but what the boundaries of human and pokemon really are. Am I human? I certainly think I am, I think I'm entitled to rights of any human, I just think pokemon should have those rights, too—where's my notebook, I should be writing this down."

Alexi watched Lucas pick up his notebook from a desk catty-corner to his bed. Alexi let him write a moment before admitting, “Lucas, I don't know if I can help you with this."

Lucas's ears flattened backwards and he set down his pen. “I was afraid you might say this. Without your credibility, I'm afraid I will exist on my own island."

“If I put my name on this manuscript, I won't have any credibility, either," Alexi said.

“You know me, Alexi. Nothing I publish isn't thoroughly considered. My relationship with Kypha has not affected my ability as a researcher. The work we do will speak for itself."

“I believe you, I do, but most will think you're advocating for changing our profession to suit your perversions."

From outside the window came a growl.

Alexi faced the door that opened and held up his palms, “I'm not saying this is what I believe, I swear, I am just quoting what they will say: 'Dr. Willow's research is based in his own self-interest and too biased to be considered worthwhile.'

“Tsk, of course they will. But this could be groundbreaking work!"

Alexi solemnly shook his head. “I'm sorry, I can't risk my livelihood on this. I'd be happy to advise you on any problems that might arise in your research, but I can't be associated with this," and he gestured to Lucas's sleeping offspring.

“Coward."

Alexi started again, shuddering all over before he collected himself. He turned to Kypha and said, “Call me what you will. I supposed we are at an impasse." He and Lucas both stood.

“I'll walk you out," Lucas said. “Thank you for hearing me out, at least."

“Thank you for the tea."

Kypha stepped aside and let them both make their way to Alexi's car. Lucas struggled to say something that might convince his old mentor. He didn't want to just abandon his career, but if his work existed in obscurity, was labeled as pseudoscience and disregarded, what would be the point of writing anything?

Alexi opened his car door, but before ducking in, he turned and said, “I will tell Dr. Osmanthus about your pitch. If there is anyone in our field who might be willing to risk their career to publish with you, it would be her."

“I… thank you. We've never formally met, so even an introduction—"

“I will do what I can." Alexi looked him up and down, and then held out his hand to shake. When Lucas took it, Alexi said, “Don't give up on your work. They might not value it now, but if this world is going to survive, it will be because people like you are showing us how to live with pokemon instead of trying to dominate them."

“That… I really appreciate you saying that."

“Till we meet again, Dr. Willow."

***

Tryph, Kuph, Lyspha, Makpha, Xolph, and Oxpha all woke after sunset, when the Coronet Mountains slashed long shadows across the entire reserve. Kypha named each cyndaquil, insisting when Tryph was born that, “We will not call my children nonsense nouns from your language."

Tonight, all eight of them moved through the reserve together. Kypha and Lucas worked to teach their offspring their role in the world. The little pokemon tumbling around, playing, seeking out strange scents, and getting dragged back to their parents to watch them cleanse an errant spirit from the woods.

By midnight, they had hiked up to the treeline. The woods at their back, before them a moonlit meadow that climbed a slope before rock jutted skyward in a massive cliff-face that stretched up to a snow-capped peak. Kuph ran out into the open, practically dancing around on all fours. The other children barreled after, chirping and squealing as they tumbled into one another, wrestling, bursting fires on their backs. They'd occasionally singe the grass, but a fresh rain that morning kept anything from bursting into flames.

Lucas and Kypha sat together at the meadow's edge.

“All this hiking and they still have this much energy," Lucas said.

“Lively little flames," Kypha agreed. “You're still troubled."

“Worried about the future," Lucas said. “It's hard here in the safari to know what the outside world is like. Alexi just reminded me how hostile the world still is for us."

“All this time, and I still cannot love a human without sending them into exile," Kypha ruminated, thinking of long nights comforting Raana. She swore being with Kypha was right, but it did not ease the grief of her own people rejecting her. He could do nothing but bear witness to it and hope he was enough.

Lucas reached over and squeezed Kypha's thigh. “Hey, you alright?"

“Do you regret what I did?"

Lucas laughed wryly. “I mean, no. Would I be here with you if I didn't want to be here?"

“We did not mean to take everything from you."

“Kypha…" Lucas shuffled closer and leaned against his mate. Kypha wrapped an arm around him. “I'm sorry if I made you feel like that. Yes, I lost my home, but my work hasn't gone anywhere, my mind is still my own, we still have friends. My life changed. Change means losing something for something else. I lost my home, and I gained you, our children, our home here. If I could go back the only thing I'd change is I wouldn't have made you wait."

Kypha did not know how much he needed to hear those words. He leaned over and nuzzled Lucas's head, licking it with a purr. “I won't let you take that back."

“Mmmm," Lucas hummed, “We'll take whatever challenge comes together. We're going to bring your line back, fuck what any anti-equalist tries to say or do."

“That's the spirit little hybrid."

Kypha snarled, instantly recognizing the scent and presence in the woods behind them. He wheeled around onto his feet, snatching Lucas by the scruff of his hoodie and throwing his mate behind him. His collar exploded and bathed the meadow and cliffside in rhodamine light, beating back the shadows of the woods to reveal the silhouette of the alpha zoroark who threatened him in Johto.

She leaned against a trunk ten paces into the woods, arms folded across her chest. “Peace, Kypha, I'm not here to hurt you."

“Then what are you here for," Kypha sent to her.

“Oh, I just wanted to see if you were interested in a trade. See, my ancestors were driven from this land to Unova, but once we roamed here as fellow ghost types. I'm curious if you and I share an egg group—"

“No."

“Oh come now, think of how powerful our offspring would be. And what if your Hisuian lineage was enough to revive mine? We could see the return of my ancestors—"

“Your ancestors were predators who killed and fed on the spirits of the dead. They were a plague on this world." Kypha snarled, smoke pouring from his maw as a warning.

Penumbra tossed her paws up, then clutched her chest. “Oh! You wound me. Surely we weren't so bad, or is it that you blame my kind for what happened to your little Raana?"

Kypha charged, trees bursting into flames as he slammed into the trunk Penumbra stood against. The aspen burst into flaming splinters, but Penumbra had already darted around into the meadow. Kypha felt Lucas snatched up by the zoroark, spinning around with a roar. Penumbra knelt with Lucas under her, a knee driving into his sternum and keeping him pinned to the dirt. She had her claws around his throat.

“Do that again and your little pet dies," Penumbra barked.

Across the meadow, Kypha's children watched. He smelled their fear at the sight of the strange, massive pokemon threatening their parent.

Kypha smothered his flames, the forest all around him an inferno of crackling wood. He stepped from the conflagration back into the meadow.

“That's far enough," Penumbra said.

Lucas coughed and asked, “How did you know about Raana?"

“Leor's report was very thorough. As the other agent on the case, I had access to it," Penumbra said. “You know, I'm coming to you as a courtesy, I could just wait until one of your little ones is older and abduct them."

“Touch them and I'll kill you myself," Lucas snapped.

Penumbra tossed her head back laughing. “Hahaha! Oh you would not be the first human to threaten me. I love seeing that fight before I break it down into despair—"

Lucas used her distraction to reach into his pocket. From it he pushed an empty pokeball against Penumbra's chest. Even a monster powerful as her would still be converted to energy for just a moment if hit with a pokeball set to capture. Her eyes went wide, her figure wavered into a red light, and Kypha rushed in.

When she rematerialized Kypha caught her throat in his paw, ripping Penumbra off Lucas and slamming her into the earth. He bellowed flames across her front, the zoroark screeching and lashing out. An obsidian shadow claw raked across Kypha's collarbone, trying for his throat. Kypha released her, kicking the burning lump of zoroark away from them. Kypha's children already ran over to Lucas's side. Kypha got between her and his family, roaring as Penumbra rolled onto her feet, on fire, air stinking from burned fur and flesh.

She ran, calling back, “This isn't over!" When she got to the other end of the meadow, she fell onto the ground, rolling around to put out the flames. Kypha watched her till she scaled over the mountainside.

Lucas meanwhile released the two pokemon he kept with him when they went out: a starmie and drednaw named Lux and Ripple. He had them work on putting out the forest fire, thankful that the rangers insisted he keep a pair of water types with him. Then he got up and went to Kypha's side.

“You're hurt."

“A scratch, nothing more."

“You're bleeding."

Kypha huffed, faced Lucas and wrapped him up in his arms. Not caring that he smeared blood on Lucas's muzzle as he hugged him tight. “I almost lost you."

“She wouldn't kill me," Lucas said.

“She is a killer."

“Yeah, but she also knows you're too powerful for her."

Kypha held Lucas out and licked his face clean, the metallic taste of blood staying in his mouth the rest of the night.

***

“Shit, are you serious? Lucas I am so sorry," Leor said over the phone to Lucas. He sat out on his porch, Kypha playing with the little ones in the early hours of dawn. “Me and Strypes are on the other side of Coronet right now. We were planning to see you after this job, but I didn't expect Penumbra to wander so far off. She'll likely be back here in a few hours if she wants to treat her burns. Do you know how bad Kypha got her?"

“Good enough to send her running. Leor, she threatened my kids."

“I know, I know," Leor sighed over the line. “I promise she's all talk. She's already on thin ice with the rangers, and if she tries to break bad with us the IRG will likely kill her."

“Can't say I'm upset to hear that."

“Mmm, I hate to say it, but we know Penumbra will never accept being quarantined in a safari. It'll be ugly if we try to force her into one."

“If you need help, I'm sure Kypha would be happy to settle their score."

“Easy there, I know you're mad—"

“Leor, I'm fucking furious—"

“Let me deal with her. She wasn't so bad once… I don't know what it was about Nina, but Penumbra was a different mon around her."

“I don't need excuses, I just need to know you'll keep her on her leash."

“I will, I promise. If you want, we can talk about protection for you."

“Kypha can keep me safe," Lucas said, listening through the open window to the rumbling hum of a lullaby Kypha sang.

“He'll need to. Penumbra's an arrogant idiot, but she won't be the only one who tries to get something from Kypha. I hate to say it, but you should really consider learning some self-defense, because any smart person will try to get to Kypha through you."

“I'll consider it. Let me know how things go with Penumbra."

“Take care of yourself—"

Lucas hung up the phone. He bent over, elbows to knees, holding his muzzle in his hands while he rubbed his eyes. The cut along Kypha's clavicle was still tender, Lucas could feel it through their bond. He needed to be able to defend himself—Lucas wouldn't be able to stand it if something happened to Kypha because of him.

“We'll weather these storms together," Kypha told him. “The babes are settled, ready to join me?"

“In a minute." Lucas released Lux from its pokeball, telling the starmie, “I'd like for you to watch out for any intruders while we sleep. If someone tries to come in here, wake us up immediately."

Lux assented with a twirl of its back star.

Exhausted, shoulders slumped, Lucas trudged through his cabin to the bed, stripping off his clothes as he went. Kypha swept him up and onto the mattress, holding him tight.

“Fighting with humans I can handle—I didn't expect we'd have to fight pokemon, too."

“Conflict is one of the natural states of this world," Kypha answered. He pressed Lucas into the soft, warm fur of his throat. Lucas slid his left arm over the typhlosion's shoulder, his right arm folded against Kypha's chest. Their sheaths bumped together, but neither wanted anything from the dash of pleasure the stimulation gave them both.

“I just want a happy life with you."

“We will have one, but it does not mean we will not have to fight for it." Kypha purred, the rumble low in his body and reverberating into Lucas's. “You're scared."

“Hard to not be," Lucas said as he finally relaxed, feeling the golden light of his spirit mingling with the fiery fuschia energy of Kypha's. “I really don't know what I'd do without you."

“It is a good thing I'm not going anywhere."

Lucas pushed his right hand against Kypha's heart, its strong, rhythmic beat soothing. This heart that kept time in an entirely different era once, that chased his soul through time. Lucas sucked in a deep breath of Kypha's smoked cedar scent. He said, “I don't care how hard anyone tries to stop us, we're going to make this world one that we can live freely in. That our children can live freely in."

Kypha rumbled, hugging him tight, nuzzling between Lucas's ears. “This fire in you is unquestionably why we are soulmates."

Soulmates, unquestionably. Lucas saw that so clearly now. “I love you, Kypha." The words muffled in Kypha's fur came so naturally from Lucas now. As if his body had been shaped for these burning devotions.

“I love you, Lucas, will love you through this life and the next."