FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Palkia came to laid out on Her back with the kind of throbbing headache She hadn’t experienced in at least a century, surrounded by empty barrels that smelled strongly of liquor and, perhaps most embarrassingly, with the scales around Her crotch feeling conspicuously sticky. She had a vague impression of those mortal heroes She had grown so fond of in the last few years, and the mixed scents of Sceptile and Luxray filling what passed for a ‘room’ in the malleable geometry of the Spacial Rift confirmed what had happened, even if Her memories did not. With a grumble, She banished the barrels (they would appear outside the dungeon entrance and Her mortal friends would retrieve them after their next visit) and folded Her localised space over to a different part of Her domain: an island floating by itself in the infinite pink void, one with a bath created by wormhole-ing in a constant stream of water from a hot spring on the mortal plane and then sending dirty water back out again to ensure a perpetually clean bathing environment. As She relaxed into a bath that would qualify as a large pool to most Pokémon, a smattering of memories surfaced in Her mind. The two explorers had come by to celebrate the three year anniversary of their triumph over Darkrai and to share stories of their travels, and they had brought with them a very impressive supply of hard liquor. The cheri-vanilla rum had been a particular treat, if She remembered right – She would have to put out a mission to get a substantial batch delivered. After the point where She got a few barrels in Her, the memories became patchy, though She did remember being on Her back with the Sceptile mounting Her and the Luxray’s muzzle buried under his partner’s tail. If She remembered correctly, drunkenness had not dulled the reptile’s performance overmuch. It was unfortunate that the pair had apparently left at some point, but She supposed they must have felt uncomfortable sleeping in the depths of a mystery dungeon, even if Her realm was technically not part of the dungeon at all, but a separate space that could be entered from any one of a myriad of dungeons.

Come to think of it, had She ever actually explained that to them? Maybe they would stay next time if they knew?

“ Sister!” Dialga’s rumbling fury combined with the hideous scrape of His primitive space manipulation rending a jagged, ugly hole in the fabric of Her domain brought back the headache that had been receding. Could He not politely ask to be let in? She didn’t go around clumsily tearing up the temporal bubble of His Hidden Land any time She needed to speak to Him.

“Sister Palkia.” The much more agreeable voice of Her other sibling followed, along with a more graceful distortion akin to a ripple on the surface of a pond, and the triplet gods that together governed spacetime and the fabric of reality were all in one place for the first time in centuries.

Or it could be the first time in five minutes from Her brother’s perspective. Even their Parent had difficulties keeping Dialga’s personal timeline straight in Their head sometimes.

“What is it, Brother, Sibling? And can you please keep the volume down?”

“Of course, Sister,” Giratina sombrely agreed, while Dialga just shook His head and rolled His eyes. Oh dear. Her brother’s anger was one thing, as easily provoked as He could be, but Giratina was being uncharacteristically glum.

“Sister,” Dialga began, fuming. “What did you do?”

“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about, Brother.”

“The heroes are gone.” Palkia blinked.

“Sorry?”

“The human-Sceptile Simon and the Luxray Sparks-In-Shadows. They’re gone, and at the latest point in universal time that they existed in our world, they were entering the Spacial Rift. What. Did. You. Do?”

“I… Don’t remember,” She admitted sheepishly, and Dialga froze in place, taking several deep inhalations. Thankfully Giratina came to Her rescue.

“I sense the remnants of a great distortion over… There.” Reality around Them rippled with shadow in that elegant-yet-disturbing manner, and the serpentine god was gone, Their presence shifting to the ‘room’ She had awoken in. Sighing, She levitated out of Her bath, the water slipping from Her and leaving Her dry in an instant, before opening a wormhole to Giratina’s location so that Dialga wouldn’t have to further violate Her space.

Her brother looked around with distaste in His eyes while Giratina flew overhead in a slow circle, as if chasing Their own tail.

“What is that smell?” the former complained.

“It’s alcohol, Brother.”

“I know what alcohol is, Palkia.” He rolled his eyes. “The other smell.”

“I know what it is~!” Giratina sang teasingly, Their mood apparently lifted by the thought. “The not-Sceptile is good, is he not? Too bad the Luxray has eyes only for his love, I imagine they would be quite a treat together! Oh! Brother, when we find them, you should invite them to Temporal Tower, maybe they could relieve your stress!” Palkia was thrown for a moment. Giratina had been with the Sceptile too? Did Their avatar even have genitals? Somehow the question had never occurred to her.

“Oh Sister, if you are so curious about my anatomy I would be happy to indulge you!” the great serpent offered, a reminder of Their uncanny ability to read others.

“We are getting off-track,” Dialga interjected with a stamp of His forefoot. “Silence while I work.” Closing His eyes, He began to part and gaze back through the flowing tides of time as easily as one might a pair of curtains. A deep and rumbling growl emerged from His throat soon after, apparently very irritated with whatever She had done. “Of all the irresponsible-!” He stopped Himself, breathed, and projected what He had seen into the others’ minds.

Simon rolled off of Palkia’s body, leaving a trail of sticky seed, and immediately ducked under his partner’s belly to provide his love with relief.

“Mmm,” Palkia drunkenly mumbled, “you’re good. Imagine if we had the other you, too…” The Sceptile briefly pulled off his partner’s twitching member to ask a question.

“Other me?”

“Yes, the you that exists naturally in this time. Grovyle was born in the dark future, but you already existed before time stopped.” A pause. “Or stops, or will stop, or would have stopped. Brother makes everything so confusing.”

“Th-then how come w-we haven’t met the other S-Simon?” Sparks queried between heavy pants and mewls as his love’s skilled tongue caressed him.

“He’s in the human world,” Palkia explained with a lazy wave. “Dialga never told me what brought, or brings, or will bring him here though. I might go to get him myself, or I might send Hoopa to fetch him, or my Parent might intervene.”

“Who’s-?” Sparks’ question was interrupted by his own yowl of pleasure as he shot his load down Simon’s hungry gullet.

“Hoopa? My herald, like Celebi to Dialga. You haven’t met, he’s too irritating to keep around unless I need his services.”

“So this ‘other me,’ can we meet him?” Simon asked, greedily licking Luxray cum from his lips.

“Sure, no problem.” Palkia closed Her eyes to focus, and a bright pink wormhole opened directly underneath the mortals, who cried out in surprise as they fell through. “Ow,” She groaned and rubbed Her head. “Have fun.” She promptly passed out, snoring loudly.

“Oh.” Palkia immediately realised She’d fucked up, badly.

“Yes. Oh.”

“Ooh, our Parent is going to be so mad,” Giratina mumbled nervously. “You need to go pick them up, Sister!”

“I can’t just show up in the human world!” She protested. “You know what they’re like! I’ll have ‘trainers’ hounding me the moment I appear, and I am not letting my avatar get stuck in one of those capture devices for decades.”

“It is not that bad, I still have a portion of my being over there with a very agreeable human after that incident with the blue-maned one.”

“The one who tried to bind us? What happened to him, anyway?”

“Still wandering the Boundary, I believe.”

“Can we please stay focused!” Dialga once more slammed a forefoot down to refocus their attention. “We can still fix this without getting the Parent involved. Our heralds should be inconspicuous enough to locate and retrieve the heroes without causing a fuss.”

“I do not have a herald in this world, but I will inform my champion over there of the mission,” Giratina said. “She will no doubt be happy to aid us. Such a good pet she is!” They slipped out of Palkia’s domain, leaving the other two to finalise the plan.

“Pet?”

“15 billion years and I still don’t understand Them,” Dialga muttered.

“You’re more than a billion years out, Brother.”

“Subjective years, Sister. You don’t remember all the aborted timelines.”

“Hey Simon, you need to wake up.” The Sceptile groaned, rubbing his head and pushing himself to his feet.

“Mornin’ Sparks,” he grumbled groggily, reaching for his satchel only to find it missing. “Where’s-?”

“I already found it. Here.” The bag was dropped at his feet, alongside a pecha berry. He ate the berry first, its anti-toxin effects a useful hangover aid, before slinging the bag over his shoulder and adjusting the shiny black badge that symbolised their rank. It took a moment for the events of the previous night (if ‘night’ could even be said to exist in Palkia’s extra-dimensional lair) to come flooding back.

“We really gave her too much to drink, didn’t we?” He rubbed his arm awkwardly. “So this is the human world?” It didn’t seem all that different from home at first glance, though in fairness, they were on a mostly-deserted stretch of beach with a thick treeline behind them. A few Wingull wheeling about overhead were the only creatures in sight. Judging by the position of the sun, it was either mid-morning or mid-afternoon, depending on whether they were facing north or south. Simon checked the wonder map, but of course it only showed their home continent.

“What do we do?” Sparks asked, deferring to his leadership as usual. He tapped his chin, then shouted to the Wingull above.

“Hey! Where’s the nearest human settlement?”

“Just past the trees back there, you can’t miss it!”

“Thanks!” He left an apple behind to repay the bird, and the two set off in search of Other Simon.

Sparks was speechless, and Simon couldn’t blame him. The moment they had gotten past the trees and emerged atop a hill, they had seen a settlement spread out before them that dwarfed Treasure Town, the largest town on the Grass Continent, dozens of times over. The vast sprawl of boxy brown and tan stone structures, some of which were of incredible height, seemed to tickle at his memory.

“I’ve been here before,” he mumbled.

“You have?”

“Definitely. I think… I think I lived here at one point?” With a shake of his head, he began heading down towards the city. “Come on, I think I know my way around.”

The familiar cobbled streets greeted him like an old friend, even if the city’s inhabitants kept a wide berth, nervous whispers following the explorers everywhere they went.

“So this is what humans look like?” Sparks asked, fascinated. “They’re so… Varied. But why do they cover themselves up like that? It’s not that cold here.”

“Propriety,” Simon answered without thinking, then shrugged. “Whatever that means. I kind of remember, but I don’t really get it.” They turned a corner, and a woman who had been coming the other direction hastily backed away. “Not very friendly, are they?”

“Maybe it’s because we smell bad? We didn’t have a chance to bathe last night.”

“Don’t remind me. My scales still feel filthy.” He really needed to get the remnants of his and Palkia’s fluids off before meeting his alternate self. Having dried cum on his scales, even if half of it came from a literal goddess, would not make a good first impression.

They walked on for over an hour, following some half-remembered route buried in Simon’s mind, occasionally passing big metal boxes that trundled down tracks set into the larger grey-paved roads.

“Trams,” Simon explained when asked. “They move around specific routes at specific times, and you can climb in to get places faster. I don’t think they let Pokémon on without a human escort, though.” He tapped his chin as another memory came to him. “There’s something similar called ‘trains’ that run underneath the streets in big tunnels as well, but there are only… Five stops for them, I think? They’re faster, but the trams are more likely to get close to where you’re going.” He pointed out a large building up ahead, a few blocks down the street, with a red roof and a very different aesthetic style than the surrounding structures. “There! I think we can get help there.”

“You two! Sceptile and… Mysterious Pokémon! You’re causing a scene!” a voice shouted from up ahead, and the already wary humans in the area quickly cleared the space between it and the explorers, revealing a brunette human girl wearing a predominantly grey and pink outfit, hands on her hips.

“Um, I think you’re the one causing a scene, actually,” Sparks replied, only to go ignored. Instead, she shouted into the crowd.

“Where’s their trainer!?”

“Humans can’t understand us, partner. Though some of them can get pretty good at interpreting Pokémon they’ve been around for a long time.” Simon tapped a claw against his chin. “I’m sure I’ve seen this one before. I think her name was… Roxanne?”

“No trainer?” Roxanne continued. “Then I’ll need to take you two in and move you out of the city.” She reached into her pockets and drew out two small round objects.

“Is she going to use those orbs on us or something?” Sparks asked.

“No, those things have Pokémon in them. I think she’s going to have her teammates try to subdue us.”

“Go, Aggron and Armaldo!” Simon blinked as the evolved Pokémon took shape in flashes of light. He glanced around at the crowd of onlookers.

“We’ll have to be careful. Humans are pretty fragile, one wrong move and we might kill someone.”

“Seriously!?” Sparks shouted, alarmed. “Why are they hanging around then!?”

“They probably trust her to protect them.” Simon sighed and raised his right arm, growths glowing and lengthening with the power of Leaf Blade. “No Earthquake and no Discharge. At least they can’t use wide-area moves either. You want Aggron or Armaldo?”

“Armaldo’s a Bug-type, so I’ll take her.”

“Right.” He grinned as he prepared to make his opening move, bringing his right leg forward and getting ready to push off with his left, Leaf Blade held diagonally across his body in a guard position. Sparks acted similarly by his side, widening his stance, tail whipping about and flames spilling forth from his mouth as he readied a Fire Fang. “Drop ‘em!”

As one, they moved, the world blurring around them as each acted to secure a quick win, the value of short, brutal battles drummed into their heads over years of dungeon diving. Speed was king, and Simon had honed his species’ naturally prodigious speed to the highest degree possible. And while Sparks may not have possessed the same natural advantage in the area, he had long ago learned to cover this weakness with Agility. He could not match his partner, but he was certainly far and away faster than most of his kind.

“Protect! Double Edge and Dig!”

So it was surprising that such slow fighters as Aggron and Armaldo managed to react in time, green barriers shimmering into existence just before they were struck. Simon used Detect to predict and slip around the former’s attempt at a full-body counterattack, leaving her stumbling, while the latter slipped underground before Sparks could strike again. Ordinarily Simon would drop to all-fours and Sparks would jump on his back, allowing the Sceptile to safely crush the Digger with Earthquake. The human crowd, however, meant he had to improvise.

“To me!” He spread his arms and, without hesitation, Sparks leapt into his embrace. A spread of Bullet Seed was aimed at Aggron’s face, forcing her to stop and shield her eyes, and another Detect let him jump out of Armaldo’s reach as she resurfaced. Simon dropped his partner, and they retook their stances.

“It’s like when you lead a whole team,” Sparks breathed, impressed. Simon’s grin widened further. He was getting into this!

“Flash!” He charged as he gave the order, avoiding his partner’s move to strike while the enemy was disoriented. “Electro Ball!” he commanded while he himself brought his hands together at his side and concentrated, forming a pale blue sphere of energy between them. He thrust his palms forward, unleashing the Focus Blast at point blank range into the blinking Aggron while her trainer was temporarily blinded and unable to give orders. The steel-plated behemoth tore up the cobble as she was pushed away, and a follow-up Leaf Blade put her on her back, unconscious.

Meanwhile, Sparks slammed into the similarly-impaired Armaldo with his Electro Ball. Thanks to the speed difference between them, she was launched off her feet, allowing him to follow up with a Thunderbolt that finished her off. Roxanne, who had just finished rubbing her eyes and blinking to regain her sight, gaped at the swift defeat, but quickly withdrew her fallen Pokémon and called forth two more.

“Probopass, Cradily! Thunder Wave green, Toxic blue!”

“Switch places!” Just as the enemy fired, Simon dropped to three limbs and threw himself right, one hand reaching into his satchel for a pecha berry, while Sparks leaped over him to take his place. The Sceptile took the Toxic before immediately healing it while the Luxray harmlessly allowed the Thunder Wave to pass through his body.

“It has items!?”

“That’s right!” Simon tossed a sleep seed as he closed in, leaves on both arms shining with the light of Fury Cutter, while Sparks Roared to send the Probopass flying into a building.

“Probopass, Stone Edge!” The sleeping Cradily was unable to defend from Simon’s rapid onslaught of strikes and had to be recalled, and while the Probopass’ point blank attack did hit Sparks, it was not enough to put the Luxray down.

And against an experienced team with a well-stocked explorer’s kit, anything less than a one-hit knockout might as well have been nothing at all.

“Catch!” Simon called, tossing a sitrus berry at his partner before firing an Energy Ball at the Probopass. The magnetic Pokémon dodged, but was unable to intercept the berry as a result, and Sparks was good as new once more.

“Go, Tyranitar! Fire Punch! Probopass, Earth Power!” The air filled with flowing sand as a terrible roar heralded the arrival of Roxanne’s heaviest hitter, forcing Simon to cover his eyes.

“Clear the sand, quick!” he shouted before being struck from his blind spot by a brutal burning fist right in the ribs, sending him rolling across rough cobble and leaving a painful burn behind. A Sunny Day from Sparks dispersed the sandstorm, replacing it with blazing sunlight that had many in the human audience tugging at their collars, only for him to be struck by the golden glow of Earth Power shattering the street beneath his feet and sending him flying.

“Flamethrower! Target Sceptile!” Simon clutched his burning side and leaped upwards, jumping between two close-together buildings to gain altitude, barely ahead of the stream of flames that washed harmlessly over the stone walls beneath him. Once atop the roof, he slipped out of view just long enough to heal with Synthesis and down a rawst berry. Peering back over the edge, he saw a roughed-up Sparks desperately dodging Earth Powers and Rock Slides from both enemies with the aid of Double Team.

“No you fucking don’t,” he muttered, bracing himself and using the intense sunlight to rapidly charge a Solar Beam, the bulbs on his back glowing bright before the green-tinged laser lanced forth from his mouth, blasting the Tyranitar off her feet. Both Roxanne and Probopass looked in his direction, giving Sparks a chance to hit the latter with a Wild Charge, sending both Pokémon reeling. A second Solar Beam struck and finished off the Tyranitar before she could stand, and a limping Sparks managed a Thunderbolt that was just enough to put down the Probopass before falling. Dropping down from the roof, Simon ran to his partner’s side and fed him an oran berry that got him moving again. “Sorry, but we need to conserve sitrus berries if there are going to be more fights like that,” he apologised. “The Pokémon Centre will heal you, so just hold on a little longer.”

“Heh, why couldn’t I get any recovery moves?” Sparks complained, though there was no heat to it. Suddenly, his eyes widened. “Incoming!” A quick Detect told Simon that a small object was flying at them at high speed, so he spun and slammed it with his tail. The Pokéball was launched into a wall and shattered on impact, and the thrower, some kid in the crowd, practically pissed himself when Simon’s golden eyes narrowed in his direction, sending the boy fleeing as fast as his legs could carry him.

“Come on.” Simon picked up his partner in a bridal carry, the Luxray blushing hard beneath his fur, and set off towards the Pokémon Centre, nodding respectfully at the stunned Roxanne as he passed.

Apparently their battle had either impressed or terrified the local humans, because they all hurried out of his way as he approached the desk. To her credit, the pink-haired nurse just smiled warmly and asked him to follow her in to a back room.

“Put your friend on the bed, please, Sceptile. Do you have a Pokéball?” He shook his head. “Okay, in that case, Chansey, please fetch a full restore.”

“Yes, Nurse!” The Pokémon went off to retrieve the item while the human took up some kind of handheld device and waved it over Sparks, raising an eyebrow at whatever she saw.

“Very strong for a wild one,” she said to herself, then looked at Simon. “May I check you out, too?” A nod, and she waved the machine over him as well, only to furrow her brow and smack the scanner a couple times. “That’s strange,” she muttered, looking him up and down. “It’s giving some very unusual readings, but you look healthy. Anyway, your friend just needs some medicine, and you could both use some rest.” As she said this, Chansey returned with a spray of some kind. “Thank you, Chansey.” The pink Pokémon saluted cutely and left to attend to whatever business she had, while the nurse approached Sparks. “This may sting a little, but please bear with it, okay?” She began applying it to various wounds on his body.

“Does it hurt?”

“No, just tingles, and it’s kinda cold. You’d hate it.”

“And done! I suggest you both take it easy for a while, okay? Maybe don’t pick battles with more gym leaders.” Before she could leave, Simon held up a finger in a ‘one second’ sign, then gestured as if he was writing something down. “You know how to write and you want to give me a message?” A nod, and the nurse asked him to wait before leaving to grab a clipboard and pencil, handing them over when she returned. He did his best to write legibly, and apparently it was enough. “You want us to contact this person?” Another nod. “Alright, we can do that.” He wrote another message and showed her. “A bath won’t be a problem either,” she answered with a smile. “Follow me.”

Elsewhere in the city, an androgynous human with long brown hair tied up in a ponytail and soft hazel eyes sat on a park bench enjoying the breeze and the fresh air. He was on break from his job with a local Pokémon breeder when his phone buzzed suddenly.

“Hello?”

“This is Rustboro City Central Pokémon Centre. Am I speaking with Simon Clark, ID number 70730?”

“That’s right. What can I do for you?”

“Not long ago we got a Sceptile and a Luxray in here without a registered trainer. They wanted us to get in contact with you.”

“...Sorry?” He took a moment to process this. “You’re saying two Pokémon asked to see me?”

“The Sceptile gestured for something to write with, so it was given a pencil and clipboard, and it wrote your name and ID number with the words ‘please call’ underneath. Then it asked for a bath.” Simon blinked.

“I’ve never met a Sceptile or a Luxray before. I’m not even really a trainer, I only have the license because of my job.”

“I don’t know what to tell you. They seemed very insistent about meeting you.” The nurse audibly hesitated. “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but I really don’t know what to do with them. I can’t legally release foreign Pokémon back into the wild, and they seem to be a mated pair. If someone doesn’t come to pick them both up, they’ll be separated, and I think they’d fight back if that happened. If someone were to get hurt in the process…” Simon swallowed.

“I see. Alright, I’ll come take a look. I have to get back to work today, but I can drop by tomorrow.”

“That’s fine, thank you.”

After a nice, long bath in a huge tub filled with delightfully hot water, the nurse had come and informed them that Other Simon would be arriving the next day. In the meantime, they were led to one of the rooms the Centre apparently let travelling trainers stay in for free. Simon amused himself trying to remember what all the appliances were for and how they worked. Sparks, on the other hand, was mostly concerned with how comfy the bed was.

“Seriously, it’s so soft!” he enthused, rolling around atop the covers. “Maybe not quite as nice as our blanket Flaaffy and Mareep made for us, but so much better than the straw beds from when we were apprentices!”

“You think?” Simon went over and plopped down beside his mate. “Huh. It actually is really good.” He made a show of shifting his weight around. “It’s nice, but there is something softer around here I can think of.”

“Yeah, what?” Bait taken. Before Sparks could react, Simon flopped down on top of him, pressing him into the bed with his weight and staring him in the face.

“You, of course.” He nuzzled the Electric-type’s cheek, enjoying the light tingle of static against his scales.

“H-hey, I’m not soft!” Sparks protested, though his laughter ruined any attempt at sounding indignant. A hand rested on his hip, scales cool against his fur.

“I love you, Sparks-In-Shadows,” the former human spoke softly into his ear, taking it in his teeth and nibbling gently, sending shivers through his body. Arceus, hearing his full name spoken with such obvious desire melted him every time. “You know, don’t you? All the famous explorers, all the gods and legends – none of them hold a candle to you.” The hand shifted, slid up to his belly, ghosted over sensitive nipples one by one. “You.” A kiss on his forehead. “Are.” One on his nose. “ Perfect.” On his lips, and Sparks whined, opening his mouth and angling himself so their muzzles interlocked, shivers intensifying as that absurdly long tongue slipped into his mouth, suckling at the invading organ. He wanted to answer, to assure his love that yes, of course he knew, but as always the big reptile’s affection left him completely at his mercy. Even if Simon’s tongue wasn’t currently working its way into his throat (and Arceus if its length didn’t continue to blow his mind every time, no matter how often it happened), he knew he would not have been able to speak. He belonged to Simon, had belonged to him long before either of them had realised it, from the moment that strange amnesiac Treecko claiming to be human had led him into Beach Cave for his relic fragment despite not even knowing how to use a move, without even an instant of hesitation or consideration. Because Sparks had been in trouble, and that was all he’d needed to know.

Simon withdrew his tongue slowly, staring into his love’s half-lidded eyes as he did, relishing that totally relaxed, trusting expression. Sparks was his , completely and utterly. This wonderful, courageous, beautiful creature who still did not understand the depths of his own strength was his in body, mind, and spirit. Unbidden, a deep, possessive rumble rose from his chest. He buried his muzzle in Sparks’ fur, kissing a path down over his throat, his chest, his sternum, giving each of the leonine Pokémon’s four belly nipples a tug between his lips that drew out the most adorable mews and twitches. A slow, deliberate lap to his partially-emerged cock, tongue teasing fleshy barbs, before nuzzling and kissing that fat sheath and those heavy balls. He was peeking himself, the tapering tip of his own erection beginning to slide free of his moist slit. Further down, inhaling the faint musk that remained under Sparks’ tail even so soon after bathing.

Maybe they should have done this before their bath? He would just have to get back down here again later, after his mate had worked up more of a sweat.

Regardless, he eagerly extended his tongue and swiped it over that puckered tailhole, feeling the muscle clench instinctively as Sparks gasped. A second lick, then a third, the Luxray’s hole relaxing a little more each time until, with just a little pressure, Simon’s tongue slipped inside, and he moaned as the mucous of those innards coated his organ with exactly the heavy, earthy musk he so loved. Lips pressed against that ring in a filthy kiss as he worked his tongue against Sparks’ prostate, drawing out the most wonderful noises from his love. Hearing his moans and hitching breath, watching him squirm and kick his legs, feeling his passage clenching and relaxing rhythmically, it all came together to create his own personal slice of heaven.

Unfortunately, this paradise was but a temporary thing. Even his experienced tongue would tire eventually, and besides, he could feel the tiny pinpricks of electrical discharge that signalled Sparks’ approaching peak, and he wasn’t ready to push the Luxray that far just yet. Regretfully, he slowly withdrew, leaving one last sloppy kiss on that ring of muscle before pushing onto his knees, pulling Sparks towards him, resting his now fully hard member atop the smaller spire of his mate, precum dripping onto soft blue belly fur. He rolled his hips, letting those barbs scratch at the underside of his cock in a way that, accompanied by a static prickling sensation, perfectly straddled the boundary between pain and pleasure.

“Please.” He ignored the request, instead giving himself a slow stroke. “Please!” Drew himself back, angling his dick to let his tapered tip ever so lightly touch that damp ring. “Please fuck me!” Just what he wanted to hear. He smiled wide.

“As you wish.” He pushed hard, narrow tip parting Sparks’ pucker and sinking into his depths with a single stroke, battering past the clenching resistance and burying himself to the hilt, scaly slit pressed up against soft fur. The Luxray cried out as he was stuffed full of Sceptile meat, tears forming in his eyes that Simon gently wiped away. “You can handle it, can’t you love?” Sparks nodded eagerly. “Good.” He started with a series of sharp, shallow thrusts, only pulling out a little bit before pushing back in, working to loosen up the his mate’s tight passage. Little by little, the Electric-type’s walls relaxed, becoming more accommodating, and Simon increased both the length and power of his strokes, watching that needy tailhole grip and pull at his cock as it sawed in and out. It wasn’t long before he felt the faint prickle of building electricity again as pleasure once more surpassed pain for his partner. Soft, needy mewls filled his ears, spurring him on. He leaned forward, planting his hands beside his love’s head, bringing himself in close enough to feel Sparks’ breath, to see every detail of his expression in the moment of release. “ Mine!” he growled out as deeply and possessively as he could, knowing exactly what the reaction would be.

He was not disappointed.

Sparks seized up, closed his eyes, and moaned out loud, asshole clenching down hard, balls churning, shooting rope after sticky rope hard enough to send a few strands onto his own face and neck while the rest painted his chest and belly. A low crackle sounded as an involuntary electric current arced into the Sceptile, sending a pleasant tingle through his nerves. Simon’s own breath hitched at the pleasure, and with a grunt and a long exhale, he hilted himself hard and let loose a flood of his own seed into Sparks’ intestines, some of it leaking out around him though most remained deep inside his love’s innards. Breathing heavily and deeply satisfied, he wrapped his arms around his mate and rolled onto his side, his dick slipping free in the process and leaving the smaller Pokémon freely dribbling cum from his abused asshole.

The two fell asleep in this embrace, Sparks nuzzling into the Sceptile’s chest.

Simon drew his coat around himself as he pushed his way through the crowd that had, for some reason, formed around the Pokémon Centre he had been called to, carefully avoiding letting anyone touch his skin. If he had one of his episodes amidst a crowd like this, he might get knocked over and trampled. Making it through the throng of people, he reached the frazzled-looking nurse on duty and showed his ID.

“You’re the one here for the Pokémon!” The relief on her face was palpable. “Thank Arceus, we can get away from this crowd!”

In no time at all, he was standing before the door that separated him from two monstrously powerful wild Pokémon that had expressed a specific interest in him, and he couldn’t help being anxious. If they had hostile intent for some reason, he had little hope of escape. He swallowed, hand on the doorknob, and opened the door to a sight he had not been ready for.

The Sceptile was sat on the bed, Luxray held lovingly in its arms with forepaws on its shoulders, lips locked in a shared moment of intimacy. Obviously startled, the lovers fell off the bed in a heap. They grumbled to eachother as they stood, eyes tracking warily over him and the nurse. The Sceptile’s golden eyes bored into his own, and his breath instantly caught in his throat. He found himself drawn to those eyes as if by some strange magnetism. Unthinking, he stepped forward, the Sceptile mirroring him, until they stood face-to-face, both the same height. Before he knew what he was doing, he had pulled off his right glove and taken the reptile’s hand in his own. Immediately, the dizziness hit, and he was forced to release his grip as he stumbled back. Interestingly, the same thing seemed to be happening to the Pokémon.

A flash of white, an ear-piercing screech , and he was elsewhere.

An empty road in the evening, Mt. Chimney rising in the distance, smoke billowing from its caldera. A massive dragon P __okémon_ , bipedal with white and pink scales ,_ loomed over _him._

“Will you aid us?” it telepathically projected into his mind.

“If you really think my visions can help, I’ll do whatever I can.”

Another one of his visions, and a strange one at that. It had clearly been triggered by the Sceptile, but he (and he now knew the Pokémon was a ‘he’ without having to check, even if he couldn’t explain why) hadn’t actually been in the vision, which was not how they typically worked – Simon’s visions always centred around whatever he had touched to trigger them. A grunt drew his attention to the Sceptile, who was rubbing his head and grumbling to himself.

“Thought I’d stopped having those after we fixed everything.” Simon blinked. Had he just-? No, of course not, it was his imagination. The Luxray was saying something, and he couldn’t understand that, so obviously he was just a bit disoriented from the vision. “I was stood in a road somewhere I don’t recognise, Palkia asked if I would help them, and I agreed.” Okay, nevermind. For some reason he could understand the Sceptile, and the two of them had seen the same thing. The Pokémon looked at him again, and once more he found he couldn’t break eye contact. The reptile lifted a hand as if to lay it on his shoulder, then seemingly thought better of it, rubbing his own arm instead in a remarkably familiar gesture. Without thinking, Simon reached out with his left hand, the one with the glove still on.

“It’s okay, that only happens with direct skin contact,” he assured the hesitant reptile.

“Wish I’d known that four years ago.” They shook, and for a breathless moment, something seemed to pass between them.

“Well, looks like everything’s going smoothly here!” the nurse announced, clapping her hands. “I’ll just be out of your hair, then.”

As soon as the door closed and the nurse was gone, Simon’s human counterpart relaxed.

“It’s funny,” the human began, rubbing his arm in the exact same way Simon did when he was nervous. “I’ve definitely never met a Sceptile before, but I swear I know you from somewhere.” Simon began moving to the desk in the corner where he had found paper and pencils earlier that day, only to be interrupted. “You don’t need to do that, I can understand you.” He paused.

“You can?” The human nodded.

“Only you, though. I’m afraid your, uh…”

“Mate.”

“Your mate is still beyond my understanding, unfortunately. I’m Simon, but I guess you already knew that.”

“This is Sparks-In-Shadows, or just Sparks for short, and I,” he smiled, “am also Simon. I’m you, from a timeline that no longer exists.” The human blinked.

“How could a different version of me be a Pokémon?”

“I was human too, once,” he explained. “As for why I’m like this, it’s a very complicated story.”

Human Simon went quiet, seemingly considering this revelation, crossing his arms and tapping his chin.

“Hey, he does that thing you do when you’re thinking!” Sparks commented. The human nodded to himself, apparently having come to a conclusion.

“Alright, this seems far fetched, but I can’t think of a better explanation for how you could know me, or how I can understand you. I guess I’ll at least hear you out.” He sighed. “I can already tell this conversation is going to give me a headache, so why don’t we go to my apartment where it’s more comfortable? The nurse can’t let you go by yourselves, but if I take responsibility for you, it should be fine. Just try not to get me into trouble.”

The crowd thankfully kept their distance as Human-Simon left with his new charges, wary of the powerful Pokémon following behind him.

“So what do you think?” Sceptile-Simon quietly asked his partner as they walked.

“He’s not quite what I expected,” Sparks admitted. “He seems a lot more hesitant than you are.”

“Remember, I had to survive in the dark future, and I’ve had all our experience as explorers since then. Plus we don’t know how becoming a Treecko affected my personality.” A claw tapped at his chin. “Come to think of it, we don’t know when I was sent to the other future, so we don’t know how much older than him I am. Age might also have something to do with it.”

“Alright, here we are,” Human-Simon said, unlocking the apartment door. The Pokémon entered while he removed his coat and gloves. “Make yourselves at home, I guess.” Sceptile-Simon looked around the apartment. It was a small, one-bedroom affair with minimal furnishings that felt strangely nostalgic. “Well, take a seat and let’s talk.” The three of them all sat together on the sofa, Sceptile-Simon cuddling his mate.

“Our story starts about four years ago,” the Grass-type began, “with a certain Shinx finding me out cold on a beach, transformed into a Treecko and with no memories of my past…”

Other Simon listened intently, occasionally asking clarifying questions as he told the tale, and Sparks sometimes reminded him of things he had forgotten. He had to take a moment to control himself as he recalled watching Grovyle, or Mint as he had revealed his name to be, charge Dusknoir through a time portal, and another when it came time to recount his own temporary erasure from the timeline. By the time he reached Darkrai’s defeat, the sun was setting.

“It’s been three years since then. We both had our first evolutions right after that. Sparks had his second a few months later, but I held off and stayed as a Grovyle for a while longer because it helped me feel closer to Mint. I didn’t deal with his loss very well,” he admitted. “Especially after I started remembering the other timeline. We were in the dark future for about 18 months before Celebi sent us back, I think, but there wasn’t any reliable way to keep track since everything was frozen.” Sparks licked gently at his cheek, rough tongue clearing away a tear he hadn’t even realised he’d shed. He took a deep breath to get his emotions under control, then continued. “Anyway, after the Darkrai situation was resolved, things started to calm down. We still keep doing missions and we’ve been on a couple more expeditions since then, but nothing world-threatening.”

“So how did you get here?”

“That’s…” He rubbed his arm. “That’s a bit of an embarrassing story actually. We were visiting Palkia to celebrate the anniversary of us beating Darkrai, and we brought a few barrels of Spinda’s homemade liquor with us. We all got really drunk, things happened, and Palkia made an offhanded comment about wishing She could, ah, ‘have’ both versions of me at once. That was how we found out you existed. Then I very stupidly asked about meeting you, and She launched us through a wormhole that dropped us on the beach north of the city, and here we are.”

“Wait, so you’re telling me that the reason you’re here is because you got a goddess drunk and horny?” the human asked incredulously.

“Drunk and satisfied is more like it, but basically, yes.” The Sceptile grinned. “You know, Her offer might still be on the table if we get a chance to talk to her.” His counterpart blushed adorably.

“I, uh, I’d better see about getting some dinner! Let me grab some menus and we can order in!” Simon chuckled as he watched his other self hurry off to rummage through some drawers. Had he really been that easy to fluster once?

“He’s cute,” Sparks commented, eyes fixed on the human.

“You could make a move if you wanted.”

“You know I’m yours and only yours.”

“And he’s me, remember? Besides, I’m happy to share if that’s what you want, love. Arceus knows you’ve shared me enough times.”

Dinner was a lively affair, sitting on the sofa eating curry and rice while the Sceptile regaled his counterpart with stories of various adventures he and Sparks had been on over the years. They’d fought legends, rescued veteran teams from danger, explored far-flung places and brutal dungeons. It was amazing, Human-Simon thought, how much his other self had achieved. His Pokémon counterpart was proud, courageous, confident – honestly it was hard to believe they were actually the same person. Could he be that way too, or was his own humanity holding him back?

He certainly couldn’t see himself ending up like that if his life continued on its current trajectory. Not that he hated his life or anything, but Pokémon breeding was not exactly the kind of career that came with a lot of excitement.

“Are you okay?” the other him asked.

“Hm?” He realised he had been idly pushing a piece of onion around with his fork. “Yeah, sorry, just thinking. Do you mind if I ask something kind of personal?”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you like being a Pokémon? Compared to being human, I mean.”

“That’s a little hard to answer, honestly.” The Sceptile tapped his chin in thought. “For a long time I had no memories of being human, and even after I started remembering things, they’re all from the dark future, so I don’t have much to compare my current life to.” He looked over at his mate, gave him an affectionate scratch behind the ear, and smiled. “I can say that I’m very happy, and I wouldn’t trade what I have for anything.” The smile faded. “You… You’re not, are you?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m especially un happy,” Simon answered with a sigh. “I think I’m just realising how boring my life really is. In the last four years, you’ve saved the world, fought and apparently fucked gods, and become a famous explorer. In the same time period, the most interesting thing I’ve done is masturbate a shiny Rhyhorn so I could inseminate a shiny Aggron in hopes of producing shiny Aron eggs. It didn’t work.”

“I suppose I’d be bored too if I only got to handle a nice dick once in four years.”

“Lux,” Sparks nodded in agreement with his mate’s assessment.

“That wasn’t quite the point,” Simon shook his head. “But you’re seeing my problem, right? I’m just kind of… Inadequate, I guess.”

“…Shit.” Sceptile-Simon shuffled over beside the human, setting aside both their plates before pulling him into a tight hug. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.” Sparks padded over to join them, snuggling up to his other side and purring softly. “You’re not inadequate, okay? You’re me, after all!” Despite himself, Simon laughed. “Seriously though, anything I’ve done, you could do too.”

“Thanks, Me.” He leaned into the reptile’s hold and scratched behind the Luxray’s ear. “But you’re so cool, and I’m… Not.”

“Would you believe that’s exactly how I felt about Mint?”

“You felt inadequate? He must have been quite the Pokémon.”

“More than you could know. I was only a Treecko with less than a year’s experience, and he was a hardened survivor with a level head and an answer for every problem. I actually aspired to be as cool as him when I evolved.” Sceptile-Simon smiled bittersweetly. “I felt so far beneath him that I couldn’t work up the courage to have a proper on-on-one conversation until the night before he died, when we were in the Hidden Land. It turned out he had been the one who looked up to me before I lost my memories. He credited me with a lot of his tactical ability as well. Apparently I even gave him his name.” The Pokémon made a point of looking him directly in the eyes here. “He also confessed that he’d loved me almost since we met. The me from the dark future, without the strength of a Pokémon’s body or the experience of an explorer. In other words, he fell for the me that was closest to you. If that amazing Pokémon thought you were worth loving, then I assure you, you are far from inadequate.” The Sceptile’s sincerity was clear, and that was enough to soothe his self-doubt.

“Thank you.” Closing his eyes, he rested his head on the big reptile’s shoulder.

He must have dozed off, because when he next opened his eyes, he was being carried in his other self’s arms, the Sceptile effortlessly handling his weight. He shifted, only to be gripped more tightly.

“No moving now,” his counterpart told him, smiling down at him. “You fell asleep so fast, we figured you must need the rest.” Simon knew himself well enough to know that arguing would be useless, so he simply relaxed and allowed himself to be carried. Soon enough, he was gently set down on his bed, and was joined by Sparks, who flopped down beside him and began grooming himself. He started pushing himself up, only to be held in place by a firm hand. “What did I just tell you?”

“I’m not going to sleep in my clothes.”

“Then let me take care of that.” His cheeks burned with embarrassment at being undressed, but he relented as scaled hands tugged his shirt up and over his head, brushing lightly against his skin as they went. Next, clawed digits carefully worked at his jeans’ button, trying not to tear his pants.

“Struggling?” he asked, amused at the apparent difficulty Other Simon was having.

“It’s harder with claws, and I don’t remember doing this from this side of things,” the Grass-type grumbled.

“That’s because we’ve never done it before.”

“We’ve never undressed anyone?”

“We- I mean, I’ve never been with anyone.” Both Pokémon stopped and shared a look.

“Ray?”

“Yeah, really?”

“Don’t make it sound like such a big deal,” he mumbled awkwardly.

“Sorry.” The Sceptile went back to fiddling with his button. “But seriously?”

“Is it really that hard to believe?”

“Lux!” The feline nodded emphatically before getting up and resting a paw on his chest. “Ray Luxray!”

“Sparks says it’s very hard to believe, and he thinks we should be fixing that problem,” Other Simon translated for him. “And I’m inclined to agree on both points.” The button finally came undone without putting a hole in his jeans, and a claw immediately went to his zipper.

“H-hey! That’s not for you to decide!” he protested, cheeks burning.

“If you don’t want it, we’ll leave you be and go take care of ourselves,” the Sceptile promised, “but at least give us a chance, would you? I swear, you can tell us to stop at any time.” Two sets of golden eyes peered into his with naked hunger, and the Luxray’s paw pressed down just a little harder as the cat leaned in close and nuzzled at his neck, luxuriously soft fur rubbing against his skin, spreading the feline’s scent. He swallowed hard. He should give them a firm ‘no.’ If he went through with this and anyone found out, he’d lose his career – no breeder in Hoenn would ever want to be associated with a Pokémon fucker. He might even lose his apartment if his landlord took exception to it.

“Ray~!” He gasped as a rough tongue lapped at his throat.

“I- I shouldn’t-”

“But do you want to?” Other Simon asked, shoving a hand down his pants and giving his junk a firm squeeze that drew an involuntary shuddering moan from his throat. “It certainly feels like you do.” Despite himself, he was achingly hard and leaking in his boxers. “Please, just say yes and let us look after you. You deserve to feel good.”

“I…” He needed to say no. He shouldn’t even be considering this.

“Lux?” Sparks’ gentle nibble at his ear made him throb in Sceptile-Simon’s grip.

“...Yes.” The reptile licked his lips and gave him another squeeze.

“Perfect.” His pants were roughly yanked off and tossed aside, leaving him in only his socks and undies, and both Pokémon took the time to get a good eyeful of the tented fabric. “You have plenty more of these, right?” The Sceptile asked, hooking a claw in the waistband. He nodded in reply, and with an unceremonious rip , his boxers were torn open and yanked away, leaving his hefty, uncut cock to slap against his belly. “Fuck, that’s a nice dick. I’m getting ideas here. Sparks, give me one of your ‘special’ Thunder Waves,” the reptile requested with a lick of his lips, climbing onto the bed and kneeling at his feet. The Luxray nodded and padded over to his mate, resting a paw on his crotch and channelling an electrical current that buzzed faintly. “Thanks love.” A smooch on the nose and a scratch behind the ear drew a happy mewl from the Luxray before the big cat returned to nuzzle and lick at Simon’s throat.

“You asked him to paralyse you?”

“Just a few specific muscles and nerves.” Other Simon reached down to rub at his genital slit. “Otherwise what I’m about to do would be over much too quickly.” He shuffled forward until he was straddling the human’s waist, then dropped, pressing his moist vent against his other self’s dick.

“Ah, that’s…” Unthinking, Simon humped up into the cool, wet scales.

“Mmph, that’s it. Let’s get you nice and slick.” The Sceptile ground against him, soaking his cock in musky, sticky slit juice. “I’m told I’m unusually wet for a male. Well, one who isn’t a Water-type anyway,” the lizard proudly informed him. “Being human, you probably can’t tell, but I actually look a bit girlish as well, which might be related. Funny how that carried over through the transformation.” Apparently thinking he was sufficiently lubricated, Sceptile-Simon lifted up a little. “Hold yourself up, would you?” As requested, he took hold of his erection and angled himself straight up. “Good boy.” Smooth scales gave way to slick flesh as the Pokémon lowered himself, vent parting around Simon’s turgid meat. His eyes rolled back in his head at the overwhelming tightness and pressure enveloping his cock.

“F-Fuck.” He gripped the bedspread tightly beneath him as inch after inch was welcomed into the Sceptile’s sodden slit. Amidst the silky soft walls, a more firm presence rubbed up against him, aligned with the top side of his shaft, twitching as it pressed into him. The lizard’s own flaccid manhood, smooth and tapering, throbbed as he hilted beneath it, a shot of pre leaking from the reptile’s stuffed hole. Shuddering breaths left both of them at once. Looking down, he marvelled at the sight of his own cock buried in that scaly slit, hints of pink flesh barely visible. It looked for all the world like a pussy stretched around his tool, the illusion only broken by physical sensation.

“That’s it.” The Sceptile rolled his hips, giving a sharp inhale as Simon’s cockhead pressed up against his own base. “Nothing like a good slitfuck.”

“Ray ray?”

“Kind of like a Machoke, but bigger.” A shudder ran through the lizard’s body, one that Simon felt around his buried dick. “Fffuck, that’s good…”

“Bigger than a Machoke?” he asked, sceptical.

“Definitely, seems we’re both gifted in the size department. You’ll see my side of things when the Thunder Wave wears off.” Another roll of those hips. “You’d better fucking cum in me before that happens, though.”

“Don’t think that’ll be a problem.” Simon lay back and enjoyed the ride, thrusting up into the Sceptile’s accommodating vent in time with his other self’s movements.

“Luxray-ray?”

“I’m sure he’ll love it as much as I do.”

“Ray!” With a parting lick to his cheek, Sparks moved to stand over him, facing the other Pokémon, rear end above Simon’s face, tail flagged to give him an unobstructed view of his tight pucker and hefty balls. That ass began its descent, little by little, until the Luxray was squatting just over his face, twitching pink tailhole centimetres from his mouth and nose, an earthy, musky scent filling his nostrils. “Lux~!” He didn’t need a translation to know what Sparks wanted. Before he could think too hard about it and psyche himself out, he lifted his head to plant a soft kiss on that fleshy ring, getting a happy mew as his reward. Just a brief kiss, then he licked his own lips and, finding the taste surprisingly tolerable, went back for more, reaching up to take hold of the Luxray’s ass and spread his pucker for easier access as he eagerly ate out Sparks’ asshole. The Pokémon purred in satisfaction and sat back on his face, pushing his head into the pillow below.

Distantly, some part of him felt like he should be disgusted with himself. Here he was losing his virginity to two Pokémon, balls deep in one’s genital slit with his tongue buried under the other’s tail.

The rest of him thought this was hotter than anything he’d ever imagined and was telling that small, distant part to go fuck itself.

“L-Lux…” Sparks huffed, grinding back against him.

“Let me.” The Sceptile’s weight shifted forward, and the sound of a sloppy blowjob reached his ears. His other self’s new position allowed him to get more leverage, pumping up into the lizard’s slit, drawing muffled moans from around Sparks’ prick. Simon moved his hands to grasp the feline’s hips, pulling him harder against his face.

He was getting close now, the wet tightness of Other Simon’s vent combined with the scent and taste of Sparks’ tailhole driving him ever closer to the finish line.

“Ray~!” The big cat cried out, voice accompanied by the buzzing of weak electrical discharge that flowed into and through Simon’s body, dancing across his nerves and making his muscles twitch. It was too much, and he groaned as he finally emptied his own balls inside his other self’s tight confines, the Sceptile grumbling happily as he was filled in two holes. Soon enough, Sparks dropped onto his chest and rolled off to the side, turning back to give him a brief kiss before curling up against his side and watching Other Simon pull off of him, dribbling seed from his slit.

“Fuck,” the human panted out, trying to catch his breath. “That was… Incredible…” The Sceptile grinned down at him.

“Hold on one sec,” he stated, reaching into the satchel he wore and pulling out a cheri berry that he downed in one go. “I didn’t get to finish just yet.” Paralysed no more, his hefty cock spilled forth from its home, underside coated in Simon’s thick white cream. He reached down to take that pink spire in hand, shuddering as he stroked himself, twitching and leaking preseed onto the human’s belly. “You.. Are… Mine!” he declared in a possessive growl that became a triumphant roar, shooting his load all over Simon’s stomach, chest, and face. The latter moaned at the feeling of being covered in his counterpart’s cum, opening his mouth to catch what he could, savouring the thick, goopy treat.

“Oof!” The breath was knocked out of him as the spent reptile fell forward, landing atop him and smearing his scales with his own offering. With his right arm he hugged the Sceptile, with his left he held the Luxray close against his side. “Hey, you need to move. I need a shower.” Other Simon waved him off.

“Tomorrow,” he mumbled, slipping his own scaly arms around the two he shared the bed with. Simon rolled his eyes, but there was no way he’d be lifting Sceptile-Simon off of him, so he resigned himself to a very sticky night.

“I can’t believe I did that,” Human-Simon muttered to himself in the shower the next morning. He sighed and rested his head against the wall. Just thinking of the previous night set his heart soaring.

And his loins stirring, of course.

“There must be something wrong with me.” Even as he said it, he grasped and stroked his rod, thoughts of the two Pokémon in the next room guiding his hand and bringing a warmth to his cheeks that had nothing to do with the hot water pounding down on him. “Ngh, fuck…” He breathed hard as he came and watched his spent seed disappear down the drain, and he had to admit to himself that those two had given him the best night of his life and ruined him in the process. He had fallen hard for them.

Could he keep them? Regular Pokéballs usually weren’t reliable for Pokémon that strong, but if they were willing, it wouldn’t matter. Of course, they were adventurers, so they probably wouldn’t want to sit around town all day while he worked. Maybe he could become a proper trainer, or a ranger?

He would do whatever he had to for their sake, he decided as he dried and dressed himself. He was so caught up in his own thoughts, he almost missed the person in his living room.

“Who the fuck are you!?”

“Hm?” The girl standing around with two small, pink Pokémon clinging to her shoulders glanced up from her phone. She had blue hair and was dressed very traditionally, in a style that couldn’t have been common in at least two centuries. “Oh, you must be Simon. I did get the right apartment, right?”

“How the hell did you get in here!?” Responding to his shouting, the bedroom door opened and his Pokémon guests rushed out.

“What’s going on? Is something- Celebi!?” Sceptile-Simon and Sparks froze.

“Bi!” One of the pink Pokémon waved happily.

“This is getting loud,” the girl complained. “To answer your first question, I’m Dawn, from Sinnoh. As for the second: locked doors don’t really mean much to me anymore.” As if to emphasise the point, the air around her seemed to shimmer with a faint purple haze for just a moment, briefly enough that he wasn’t sure he hadn’t imagined it.

“Wait, you mean you’re Champion Dawn?” That couldn’t be possible. Aside from the fact that the Sinnoh Champion shouldn’t be anywhere near here, Dawn had taken the post last year at age fourteen, and this girl was at least seventeen or eighteen.

“You’re wondering about my age, right?” the alleged champion asked. “Time travel’s a bitch, two years in the past, sick of explaining this over and over.” She cocked her head like she was listening to someone before continuing. “I was getting there! You’d think an ancient god would be more patient. Alright, look. Those two,” she pointed at Sceptile-Simon and Sparks, “need to go back home. This guy,” she jerked a thumb at the pink-and-grey creature clinging to her left shoulder, “can get them there. Then I can get back to my job, Giratina can stop yelling in my head, and you can continue doing whatever it is you were doing before they showed up.”

His head was swimming with so much new information and implications that he would no doubt need to sit and sort through it all with a cup of coffee and some headache pills later, but the thing that stuck out to him and made his heart sink was simple: Other Simon and his mate were leaving.

“We’re going, huh? That was fast,” Sceptile-Simon commented, then drew his human self into a hug. “It was great meeting you, Me. Especially last night.” He winked. “Remember what I told you, yeah? Anything I can do, you can do just as well. Don’t be so damn down on yourself.”

“Luxray!” Sparks rubbed against his legs and pressed his head into his hand, demanding to be petted, which he of course obliged.

“You guys…” He swallowed and fought to hold back his tears. Of course he wouldn’t get to keep them, how could he have been such an idiot? There was so much he wanted to say, but he wouldn’t burden them with his sadness – better for them to think they were leaving him in good spirits rather than ripping out his heart.

“Alright!” a juvenile-sounding voice shouted in his head, making it pound painfully. “One Hoopa Hyperspace Special coming right up! Alee-oop!” The Pokémon that could apparently send his other self home flew around the room in a big circle before tossing a gold ring into the air. The metallic object hovered in place and began to expand, growing bigger and bigger until its diameter reached about two metres. Arcs of electricity danced around its edges, then with a sound like tearing fabric, a strange purple void opened up inside it, one that made him feel ill just looking at it, as if its existence was wrong in some way. The Pokémon hovered before it and gave a performer’s bow. “Hoopa Hyperspace Special ready for action! Thank you for flying Air Hoopa!”

Sceptile-Simon squeezed his shoulder and entered the ring, followed by his partner, who gave him a parting lick on the hand. With them gone, Celebi and Hoopa followed, leaving the two humans alone in the apartment.

“Goodbye.” He wiped a tear from his cheek.

“You really got attached, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. Heh, and I only knew them for a day.” He laughed, but it was hollow.

“That Sceptile was literally you though, wasn’t he? Only natural you’d form a connection.” Dawn shook her head. “The gods keep fucking with us without a care for our well-being, don’t they?” She took out a Pokéball, a primitive thing like the ones he’d seen in museum displays, and ran her fingers over it reverently, a faraway look in her grey eyes.

“You said something about time travel earlier. Is that where you got that old ball?”

“This and a few hundred more. I only got to bring a handful back to the present though.”

“A few hundred?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “I caught at least one of every Pokémon in Hisui – sorry, Sinnoh – back then. Multiples of most of them.” Something clicked in Simon’s memory.

“You’re the mysterious teenager who helped compile the first Pokédex.” She laughed.

“Helped? I wrote the whole thing, and drew the illustrations too. Everyone else back then was too terrified of Pokémon to do it themselves. I spent two years working on it – Arceus was very insistent on me completing it before I could come back.” The way she casually namedropped fucking Arceus like talking to Them was no big deal threw him for a loop. “It’s a really long story,” she said, seemingly picking up on his bewilderment from his expression. “Point is, the gods don’t always understand how much their little interventions can affect us until after it’s already happened, but they usually at least try to make amends for it afterwards.” He perked up at that.

“So you’re saying-”

“I’m not saying anything definite. Just… Don’t completely give up hope, alright?” She started heading for the door. “See ya.” A casual wave, and she was gone.

His day fucking sucked after that, regardless of her pep talk. He could barely focus at work, not when every reptile or quadruped reminded him of what he’d lost. The cup noodles he had for lunch were tasteless to him, and when he got home that evening, he couldn’t bring himself to bother with dinner, simply falling face-down onto his couch and laying there for an indeterminate amount of time before falling asleep.

He felt himself falling, and his eyes shot open, revealing a black void stretching infinitely in all directions. Despite the pitch darkness, he could see his own body as if he were in broad daylight.

“Hello?” he called out into the vast emptiness, the sound seemingly swallowed up by the stillness.

“Hello.” The echoing voice that responded to him was smooth as silk, pleasant to the ear in a way that made him want to just sit and listen to the speaker for hours, the subject irrelevant as even the dullest of topics would be captivating from the mouth of this being. The greeting was accompanied by a golden glow as whomever had spoken manifested before him in a warm, comforting light, their form obscured by the radiance they shed. “Human, thou hath been done a great disservice. Having met thine other self, though art doomed to feel his lack. For thou art two of the same soul, bound tighter than mortals were ever intended to be. Thou already feeleth this, yes?”

“Yes.” The answer slipped out without thought, as if the entity compelled him to speak and speak truly.

“Thy other self doth feel this too,” the voice continued, and his heart ached at the thought of Sceptile-Simon suffering the same depression he did. “Neither of thee shouldst know of the other, as thy souls are naturally compelled to seek one another out. And while though art powerless in this matter, thy counterpart will inevitably take drastic action to reunite with thee. This, I cannot allow.” Dread pooled in his stomach. What was the voice going to do? Was his other self in danger? He couldn’t let something happen to him.

“Leave him alone!” Something about the golden being instinctively told him not to challenge them, but he couldn’t do nothing. “It’ll happen because our souls are bound now that we’ve met, right? So one of us has to be removed? Then kill me and let him be!” It was the obvious answer, really. Sceptile-Simon was important. He had friends, admirers, a lover, a purpose. He had saved his world. Human-Simon was nothing by comparison. A resonant chuckle flooded the inky void.

“Thou hath courage. But killing thou wouldst not be enough, it wouldst only drive him to take his own life to reunite with thee in the hereafter. To remove the compulsion, thou wouldst have to be completely unmade, and I wouldst not inflict this upon thee.” Well, that was good. He wasn’t going to be completely erased from existence.

“Then what are you going to do?”

“Thou must be reunited with thy counterpart. The additional strain on space-time for the next few decades may teach my errant children to be more careful in the future.”

“Children? Then you’re-” he froze. Had he not been falling through an empty void, he would have bowed low before the divine presence that had deigned to speak with him. The revelation even briefly overshadowed Their response. “You’re going to send me over there?”

“Indeed. Thy other self still has things he must do. Perhaps thou shalt aid him in these endeavours? However, thou canst not remain a human in that world. Prepare thyself, mortal!” Simon was engulfed in a bright light that burned away his body like a cleansing flame, his voiceless scream lost in the eternal emptiness through which he fell.

Sceptile-Simon clutched at his chest as he wept, his heart feeling like it had been torn from his chest and crushed into paste. He hadn’t expected this kind of overwhelming loss. Sure, he had been upset at the prospect of being separated from his other self, but it had been a bearable sadness, something easily concealed for his counterpart's benefit. This, however, was an agony he had not felt since Mint’s passing. No, even that did not compare.

Something strange was going on. He had known Other Simon for literally a single day, and yet he was already contemplating an attack on Palkia Herself just to get back to the human. It was irrational, absurd, but he needed to be with his other self perhaps as much as he needed to be with Sparks.

The Luxray didn’t get it. He was hurting, sure, but he didn’t feel the bone-deep loss that Simon did. It was like half of himself was missing, which in a way, he supposed, was the case. Clearly there was a good reason he had never been informed of his human self’s continued existence until Palkia had gotten too sloshed to consider the consequences.

“Simon, please, you need to eat.” Sparks pawed at his side, trying to get him to move. Rationally, he knew his mate was right, but he just didn’t care. What he needed right now was to cry until he fell asleep. Maybe the pain was because of the shock of rapid separation and he’d feel better in the morning. Sparks sighed, and he heard soft quadrupedal footsteps as the Luxray padded over to the opening in the cliff face to look out over the sea. “Huh? Hey, there’s something down there. Some kind of bright light.” It was probably nothing special. “I think there’s a Pokémon down there, and they’re not moving! We have to go help them before the tide comes in!” That stirred him to action. No matter his personal condition, he was an explorer – he could never abandon a Pokémon in need!

“Let’s go.”

“It’s a Treecko! Wow, talk about deja vu!” The voice sounded familiar, but Simon couldn’t place it. “Hey, little guy, you need to get up. It’s almost high tide, you’ll be washed away if you stay here.” He groaned. His limbs felt like lead.

“I swear he looks familiar.” This one set his heart aflutter for reasons he couldn’t quite understand.

“He does look a lot like you when you were a Treecko. Identical, even! You’re sure you don’t have any kids?”

“I know what I look like, but I can’t lay eggs. Come on, buddy, we’re not leaving you here.” He soon found himself being carried, cradled against a strong scaled chest in a way that felt familiar and comforting.

Soon enough he was laid down atop something warm and soft, the heat and crackle of a fire nearby. Opening his eyes, he saw a feline face staring down at him, one that jogged his memory.

“Sparks?”

“Have we met?” the Luxray asked, cocking his head. “I don’t think I’ve met any Treecko in quite some time.”

“Treecko? But I-” he stopped. Looked down at himself. “Oh, shit.” He pushed himself into a sitting position and examined his hands, now three-fingered and covered in green scales. Blinking, he started looking around. He was in a cave, one with a huge opening that overlooked the ocean, suggesting it was high up in a cliff face. “Where’s-” his question caught in his throat as he locked eyes with a larger reptile, one that stole his breath just by looking at him. His heart soared in his chest.

“Other Me?” They spoke in unison, and before Simon could say anything more, the Sceptile had rushed over and pulled him against his chest in a tight hug.

“Simon?” Sparks asked awkwardly.

“It’s him, Sparks! It’s the Other Me! The human!”

“It is!?”

There was much weeping and hugging and even full-on kisses from both excited Pokémon who were overjoyed to have him with them.

“I had a dream,” he explained when he was asked how he had gotten there. “Or I thought it was a dream. I was in an empty space, and there was this golden light that spoke to me.” After telling them what he had seen, the Sceptile was left tapping his chin in thought.

“Arceus.” He spoke with reverence for the Alpha Pokémon. “We’ve never met Them, but I guess it’s only natural They’d take an interest in fixing their kids’ screw-up. Maybe we should try and meet Them, say thanks properly.”

“You are not going to try and seduce Arceus,” Sparks asserted. “No way. Going after Palkia almost got Human-Simon erased!”

“Alright, alright,” Sceptile-Simon agreed before turning to his other self. “So, uh, what do we call you now? You’re not human anymore, and eventually you’ll be a Sceptile like me, so Treecko-Simon isn’t going to be useful forever. I feel like I can’t just keep calling you Other Me, though.”

“I’ll need to come up with a new name. What kind of names do Treecko usually have?”

“I don’t know,” the Sceptile admitted, rubbing his arm. “The only other member of our species I’ve ever met was Mint, and his name was given by me.”

“Maybe someone in the Guild would know?” Sparks suggested.

“Maybe, but what do we tell them? ‘Hey guys, we found another me, help us name him!’”

“Why not? It’s not the weirdest thing we’ve had happen.”

“Whatever we’re going to do, can we talk about it tomorrow?” Treecko-Simon asked, rubbing his eyes. “I’m really tired.” The others agreed, and in short order he found himself snuggled up with two other Pokémon, safe and content, ready to start a whole new life with his mates.