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[b][u][center]Pokémon Polyamory

Chapter 7: Dreams of Reality

Sponsored by Lorvianne

By Draconicon[/center][/u][/b]

Thankfully, the Pokémon Center was as well-equipped for humans as it was for Pokémon. Perhaps it was because it was the last stop before going into a mountain, or perhaps there were just a lot of accidents in the area, but there was a nurse on standby for human injuries waiting to see to him as soon as he showed up. Jared allowed them to take his Pokémon to the back room to make sure that they were okay – Croconaw might need the rest, he supposed – and he let the bandaging and salving begin.

It took a good bit of time to get him completely covered and fixed up, but eventually, he was able to sit up without his ribs aching. The nurse shook his head as Jared got up, sighing.

“What happened to you? Really?”

“A bunch of crazy fangirls.”

“…Fangirls? That’s a new excuse.”

“Not an excuse,” he said, testing his flexibility by bending left, then right – ow. Yeah. Still some sensitivity there. “I just beat Falkner, and his fans didn’t really like the fact that I did that so easily.”

“…They chased you all the way down here from Violet City?”

“Impressive, huh?”

“Yeah. That’s impressive, alright. What’d they do, run you over with their bicycles?”

“The first time, yes,” Jared nodded. “Then they started picking them up and swinging them at me.”

“Were these girls or Primapes?”

“Honestly, when they get that angry, it’s a bit hard to tell.”

The nurse chuckled, getting up from where he was kneeling.

“Well, at least you got your sense of humor.”

“Must have been beaten into me, because I didn’t really have one before.”

“You just take care, okay? You didn’t break anything, but a bruised rib isn’t anything to sneeze at. Take the night off, and keep going in the morning.”

Jared’s slight smile faded. He had been hoping to keep moving, to get at least partway through the mountain before having to stop for the night. There was something waiting for him in Azalea Town, and whether that was just Kurt and the organization they both reported to, or that thing in his dream…

But at the same time, he felt the twinges in his ribs just by leaning forward. There wasn’t going to be an easy passage through the mountain with that. And considering they were willing to let him stay the night, that was better than nothing. A lot better than nothing when it came right down to it.

Jared nodded, staying on the exam table. The nurse gave him a pat on the shoulder.

“I’ll get you some painkillers, then I’ll show you to your room, okay?”

“Yeah, fine.”

“…Seriously, though. Fangirls?”

“Fangirls.”

“Yeesh.”

In short order, he was alone again, and the urge to just lie down and relax was almost overpowering. He managed to resist it by leaning back on his arms instead, looking at the soft glow of the roof lights.

[i]This is going to be an interesting night…[/i]

Not least because Croconaw was going to have a lot to talk about. Not just about his new body – though that was going to be a thing – but also about whatever else he knew about the facility that they were looking for. They had a deal, and that meant that Jared was entitled to whatever the little – well, not so little anymore – guy knew about what had happened to him, what had been done. Hell, maybe the evolution would clear his mind a bit, let him remember things a bit better without as much psychic power pushing everything down and out.

And then there were his other Pokémon, creatures that he should honestly spend a bit more time with. Just because they were secondary, battle-wise, didn’t mean that they weren’t worth giving attention to. He should be getting used to all of them being on his team…

And hopefully, he wouldn’t have the same sort of…attraction…to them that he had for his main. That had been awkward as all fuck.

Eventually, the nurse came back with a small cup of painkillers. Jared washed them down, then accepted the hand to get to his feet. His nurse gave him the four pokéballs that he’d turned in when he first arrived, then led him up to the second floor and the long hallway that led to the different guest rooms that they had.

He was thankful when the nurse was gone, despite his helpfulness. He had been dealing with people all day, either by avoiding them or by getting beaten up by them, and Jared was honestly a bit sick of all the pressure that they brought along with their existence. It was finally time for him to relax.

Well, as much as his Pokémon would let him relax.

[i]One at a time,[/i] he thought, looking at the balls. [i]Then we can have more of a group chat.[/i]

He thought that Pidgey would probably be one of the easier ones to start with. It hadn’t been given the time to really be free of the ball save for the time it had done that sand attack earlier, so it would probably be very happy to stretch its wings. He tapped the ball, and out it popped.

Pidgey formed out of the white light, flapping slowly in the middle of the room. As soon as it was fully formed, however, it flitted to the window that overlooked the water to the east. It pecked it idly, and then looked back at him.

“Pi-pi.”

“Yeah, I bet you want to have more open space to fly in, don’t you?”

The bird nodded.

“Don’t worry. When we’re on the move tomorrow, I’ll let you out.”

“Pi?”

“Not now. It’s late, and we’re supposed to rest. Or at least, I am.” He held out his hand. “Come here?”

After a moment’s hesitation, the bird Pokémon spread its wings and flew to him, landing in the palm of his hand. He curled his fingers gently, cradling it where it lay, and it started grooming its head against his fingers. A small smile crossed his face, and he started stroking down its back as he sat down on his bed. It was a bit firm for his tastes, but considering the bruised ribs, that was probably not a bad thing.

As he got more comfortable, Pidgey hopped from his hand to his shoulder, giving his ear a little peck. Just a little one, compared to what the bird could do, but it was still enough to be rather sharp.

“Gah,” he grunted, sliding one hand up between his ear and the bird. “What was that for?”

“Pi-pi-pidgey!”

“Is this about not letting you fly much?”

“Pi!” it said with a sharp nod.

“Fine. You’ll get more flight time. I’m new to this, okay?”

“Gey!”

It hopped onto his head, and pecked him again. Rolling his eyes, Jared slowly laid himself down, forcing Pidgey to move from the top of his head to his nose, and then down to his chest to avoid being completely dislodged.

Thankfully, it seemed to have worked out its irritation, and it fluffed out its feathers before sitting down on his chest. Stroking the side of its head and helping it with its preening, Jared chuckled.

“You’re really a vain little thing, aren’t you?”

Pidgey tilted its head slightly to the side, holding itself still, and he gave it the petting that it was asking for, scritching under its chin and rubbing along the side of its beak. It was rather cute the way that it was trying to present itself for more affection, and he took his time to help it get its feathers into the right position.

Every so often, it would flick itself about, fluffing out its feathers, and by the time that a few minutes had passed, it seemed more comfortable. It nestled itself in, almost like it was getting ready to make a nest in his jacket.

“Ah,” he said, stopping it before it could push its head under his jacket. “I’m not a nest, or a tree.”

It fixed him with a sleepy look, but seemed to get the message. Instead, it flapped its wings again, moving over to a corner of the guest room, perching up on high. It covered its head with a wing, and soon it was snoring softly.

[i]Well, at least I know you. A bit picky, a bit prideful, but hey, at least you can take some affection.[/i]

Bellsprout next, he thought. He tapped the next ball, and the plant Pokémon popped out in another little flash of light. Pidgey didn’t respond, so he imagined that it had completely fallen asleep.

As the little plant waddled over, going ‘Bell, bell, bell’ as it did, he leaned over the side of the bed to look at it. A little yellow bell-head turned up, and it leaned its entire body off to the side, going ‘Sprouuuut?’ in a questioning way.

“Hey there. Not had a lot of chances to talk yet, have you?”

It shook its head from side to side.

“Well, I’m your new trainer. I guess you figured that out already, though, didn’t you?”

It nodded, holding out its leaf-arms towards him.

“You want up?”

“Sprout.”

“Alright, come here.”

He held out his hand, and the little Pokémon extended a pair of vine whips to him. They weren’t the brutal vines that he had encountered before, but gentle graspers that helped the little guy – well, little Pokémon – hold onto him as he lifted him from floor to bed. Bellsprout looked around, then back down at the floor, leaning over the side of the bed like a curious kid staring over a cliff.

“Sprooooout.”

“Heh, curious, or a bit afraid of heights?”

“Sprout? Bell…BELL!”

Suddenly, the little plant wiggled back from the edge, slamming against Jared’s stomach as if he was the cliff face that would keep the little guy from falling over. The vines circled around him again, the little plant shivering so much that he looked like he should have been covered in sweat-drops. It was actually…well, both comical and cute.

Shaking his head, he gently wrapped an arm around the little plant.

“It’s alright, you’re not gonna fall over. You’re fine. You’re fine.”

“Bell…bell…”

It seemed to calm down little by little. The vines stopped squeezing him quite so hard, and the plant looked up at the light. It reached its leaves up, stretching them out, then drooped in disappointment.

“Right. You need sun, don’t you? Tomorrow?”

“Bell bell.”

“Guessing that means it’s okay. You’re not going to hurt without it?”

The Bellsprout shook its head.

“Good. We’ll make sure that you get some before we head into the cave, okay? Sound good?”

“Sprout.”

“Awesome. Ball or floor?”

As the plant nodded towards the ball, Jared called it back, letting it settle back in. He imagined that it would like to be out of the darkness when it came time for him to sleep, all things considered. He didn’t know enough about Grass-types to know whether they did well in the moonlight or not, but he imagined that they did better in the daylight even if they were just fine in the dark.

Shaking his head, he looked down at the last two. Croconaw would be wanting some time soon, if there was any awareness in the pokéball of what was going on outside of it, but for now, he still had time to spend with Ekans. The newest Pokémon would be interesting to get to know, particularly with how snuggly it had been in the field. Shaking his head and bracing himself, he tapped the ball.

With a flash and a flail, the Ekans popped into being. Purple and yellow, the serpent had a silly smile on its face, tongue sticking out just past its lips in a happy grin. It saw him and immediately slithered his way, going up his arm, past his neck, and then on top of his head.

As it coiled into a tight circle on top of his head, all Jared could do was look up through his eyebrows at it, wondering how it was managing to balance that easily.

“You really are a snuggle-snake, aren’t you?”

“Ekaaaaans.”

“You warm enough?”

He felt it bob a bit, and imagined that it was probably nodding.

“You know, I can’t sit up for long. Do you mind if we lay down?”

“…Ek?”

“You know, like, flat on the bed.”

“Kans.”

He held out his hand, and the snake Pokémon slithered onto his outstretched palm. It wrapped its tail around his arm and he laid down again. Almost as soon as he was flat on his back, the snake slithered up his sleeve and then into his shirt, coiling all around him. Or, at least, it tried, going from one side to the other as if it was trying to wrap around him, When that failed, it laid its head on his chest, poking its head out through the neck hole of the shirt. It booped him on the chin, and then closed its eyes with a snake smile.

“Hello to you, too.”

Ekans wiggled its tail slightly, the rattle at the end bumping his belly a few times before it went still. As he rested one hand along the bulge it made in his shirt, he wondered just why it was so friendly. He knew that there were Pokémon out there that were quite genial – he remembered the Chanseys from the Pokémon Centers, in particular – but this was the first time that a wild Pokémon had just slithered right up and joined him.

For that matter, it felt a bit weird that creatures that so many used to battle were this kind and open to affection. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at the Pidgey resting on the shelf, shaking his head. For all that they were his Pokémon, they were being gentle, kind…even caring, in a way.

[i]Weird. You’d think they’d hate me.[/i]

Shaking his head, Jaren kept up the slow petting of the snake through his shirt, leaning his head back on the pillow. Every now and then, Ekans gave a little hissing rattle of its tail, but it was never an aggressive sound. It was more like a happy little shake that happened to give the tail a rattle by accident rather than by intent.

Boop. The snake got his chin again, and he looked down again.

“Yeah?”

Boop. He rolled his eyes, booping it on the nose with his own. Almost immediately, Ekans went wide-eyed and wide-mouthed, staring at him in shock.

“Heh, got you with your own game, huh?”

“Ekans!”

And just like that, Ekans did a reverse-slither, sliding out from his shirt and coiling up between his thighs. It looked out from over his pants with a playful snake smile, almost like it was trying to catch him not looking, like it was waiting for him to not be paying attention.

[i]Well, well. Something playful AND cuddly. Not something that you expect out of a snake.[/i]

Well, he had a bit of energy to kill. He turned his head, expecting a sudden pounce, and he was not disappointed.

“EKANS!”

The purple snake flung itself forward like a tightly-coiled spring, lunging through the air right at his head. Jared couldn’t help but laugh, grabbing at its neck gently just before it could reach his head. The aerial boop was canceled, and he leaned forward to deliver one of his own. Once again, it caused the comical face of surprise on the snake, and as soon as he let Ekans go, it slithered off to the side, disappearing at the foot of the bed, this time hiding off of the mattress.

[i]Heh, it really wants to play, doesn’t it? Wow…who would have thought a snake like that would –[/i]

“EKANS!”

“GAH!”

It got him from the side, and this time it booped him right on the nose before he could react. As soon as it did, it slithered back, swaying back and forth in a victory snake-dance, hissing as it did.

“Okay, okay, you got your fun,” Jared said, rubbing his nose. “Ready to go back in the ball?”

“Ek,” the snake said, shaking its head.

“You want to stay out for the night?”

It nodded.

“Alright, alright. But stay off to the side for now, okay? I want to talk to Crocanaw, okay?”

Ekans nodded again, slithering off to the side of the room, coiling up in a circle by the door. He smiled at it, nodding in approval, and then opened his last pokéball.

Croconaw popped out with a laugh and a rumble, his voice deeper than it had been as a Totodile. The bigger, lump-jawed Pokémon stretched his arms over his head, then grinned up at him.

“Heh, how do I look?” he asked.

“Well, definitely bigger,” Jared said with a nod. “How do you feel?”

“Stroooooong. And biiiiiiiig.”

As the bigger croco-saur strutted around the room, it took everything Jared had not to chuckle. If Totodile had been a playful kid, then this guy was a showboat and a half. He was like some guy that had just gotten into college, trying to strut his stuff and prove that he was the big man on campus. He had the strut down pat, and he even had the whole swinging his arms around like he owned the place down, too, almost like he had been practicing.

Hell, maybe he had been. Jared was a bit clueless as to what actually happened in a pokéball.

Before long, the big-jawed Croconaw stopped his strutting, turning to stand with his hands on his hips facing towards Jared. He grinned.

“So, we beat that bird boy. How are you doing?”

“I’m doing alright. You seem to be feeling [i]really[/i] good. Is it that different being a Croconaw now?”

“Different? Yeah…yeah, I guess. Feels…weird. Kinda like I gotta…gotta do things. Gotta move.”

Certainly, the Croconaw seemed a lot less comfortable when he was just standing in place, almost like he had too much excess energy to burn. Jared crossed his legs on the bed, giving the croco-saur room to move back and forth across the room as he kept talking. Unlike Totodile, there was a bit more water to him, too, dripping from his mouth and along his skin, almost like he carried more in his body at all times.

It was a bit different, for sure. He watched for a while, cocking his head to the side as his star Pokémon kept pacing.

“It’s like I’m…I’m strong, but I gotta be careful, too. Like if I push too much, I could do something. Break something. Oh, wow. Didn’t think of it like that before. That’s kinda scary. Cool, but…you know, scary. Don’t want to hurt something.”

“Do you think that you can control it?”

“Yeah…yeah, I think so. Long as I don’t stay still too long.”

“Well, keep moving as much as you want. By the way, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Yeah?” Croconaw asked, turning his head as he paced forward, back, forward, back.

“Do you have a name?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, a name, besides your species. I mean, you’re obviously not a Totodile anymore, so…”

“Huh…never thought about that. But, I kinda hatched right into being with humans, so…”

Croconaw shrugged, and as he did, Jared wondered how names would work for wild Pokémon. The same species couldn’t all have the same name, could they? They had to have something to tell them apart, but without being raised in the wild, what sort of name would they have? Did some of the Pokémon pick a name for themselves? Or did they all just go with whatever a trainer slapped on them if they were caught early enough to not be named in the wild?

Honestly, the more he thought about it, the worse he felt, particularly about the poor Pokémon that had been in the lab with the old group he’d been with. They’d never had nicknames, only a species. The time that they’d had a lab full of Eevees…

A shiver ran down his spine, and he shook his head. No, that was not a thought that was worth going back to. Not in the slightest.

He must have shown some of the bad thoughts on his face, because Croconaw came to a halt. The thick guy wandered over, leaning against his legs, shifting from one foot to the other to keep his movement up.

“What’s wrong, master?”

“Just thinking of stuff from the past.”

“Bad stuff?”

“Really bad stuff.”

“Bad like…you know…”

“Kinda. Might actually have been worse,” he said, rubbing the back of his head. “But…there’s a reason I let you out. We have to talk. Remember the deal we made?”

Croconaw nodded.

“Yeah…I was wondering when you’d get to that.”

“Well, that’d be now. But first…I think you do need a name. How do you like Croccy?”

“Croccy, huh? Like a big fast crocodile?”

“Yeah.”

“…I like it.” Croccy grinned, showing every one of his teeth. “I’m gonna be the fastest Croconaw around.”

“I bet you are.”

He smiled, petting the little guy, scritching along his head and the new spines that were running down his neck. That was all it took to get the Croconaw letting out a happy little growl, nuzzling into his thighs. Jared shook his head; it was amazing how little it took to keep the Pokémon happy.

[i]Why don’t more people do this?[/i] he wondered, thinking back to all the assholes that he had seen. The trainers that forced their Pokémon to battle relentlessly, the ones that pushed their teams to their limits to try and make them stronger, the ones that waited to ambush other trainers specifically to strengthen their own team, and those that fought to the fainting point and never stopped…

He had seen all of them, and their Pokémon never seemed anywhere near this happy. What the hell was wrong with people?

As Croccy calmed down from his pacing strut, finally settling in with more of a sleepy attitude, Jared pulled him onto the bed and gently laid him over his lap. The Water-type got comfortable, and he asked his question.

“When you were taken away for…breeding…”

“Yeah?”

“Do you know where they took you?”

Croccy shrugged, leaning his head back so that he was lying down with his back on the bed, his head in Jared’s lap.

“I dunno. It was hard to tell.”

“Did they take you in your pokéball?”

“No, but I was kinda…floaty.”

“You were probably drugged.”

“Maybe.”

“Do you remember anything about the lab?”

“Kinda…” Croccy rubbed his forehead. “It’s kinda blurry, but…there were rocky walls, and metal ones. You went through the rocky ones to find the metal place.”

His hand paused in mid-stroke, his eyes going wide. Jared flashed back to the dream that he had, the dream where he’d been fucking that evolved form of a Cyndaquil. He remembered that, his cock stirring slightly for a moment, but more than that, he remembered the last part of the dream.

There’d been rock walls leading into a facility of metal, of black walls and chrome floors, of white lighting strips on the ceiling and a softer light in the other rooms. The Psychic voice in his dream had told him to look under Azalea Town, too, and they…

“Master?”

“Hmm?”

He looked down. Croccy was looking back up at him with some concern, his eyebrow lifted.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just…Croccy?”

“Yeah?”

“This place. Did it have rooms where Pokémon were being…milked? You know…” He gestured as if a machine was jerking a dick off. “Or where they were having that pushed into them?”

“…Come to think of it, yes.”

“And were the floors kinda silver-like, and the walls black?”

“And the ceiling bright in white lines?”

Jared slapped a hand over his face, falling backwards. Unfortunately, he didn’t take into account that the bed was pressed right against the wall, and ended up cracking the back of his head against the wood paneling. Thump.

“Ow!”

“Master!”

All of a sudden, Croconaw was up and pulling him away from the wall, cushioning his head as it spun. Jared held up his hands, trying to say that he was alright, but his head was definitely spinning from that. Not to mention that it fucking hurt. He groaned, slumping forward and back, barely held in place by his Pokémon’s surprisingly strong arms.

Eventually, he just let himself be held, patting the blue limbs around his head. He was able to sit up, even though he had one hell of a headache after that.

“I’m alright. I’m alright.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, was just a bump to the head.”

A bump to the head that still had him dizzy as hell, but no reason to worry Croccy about that. He slid back, forcing himself to stay upright even as he wanted to fall on his back. The moment passed, and he smiled.

“There, see? Fine.”

“Okay…”

“But you’re sure? You’re sure that’s how it looked?”

“Yeah. How did you know?”

“Would you believe a dream?”

“…I would…”

“…Croccy?”

His Croconaw had pulled back, staring into space. There was a moment or two where he was half-sure that the croco-saur’s eyes completely faded, going almost a bright blue-pink, but then the moment passed. Croccy looked back at him, shaking his head.

“I…I’m sorry. I slipped there a bit.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know. I started thinking about it, and…and…mmm…”

Jared didn’t need to look down to know the source of that moan. Whatever other shifts that Croccy had gone through going from Totodile to this new form, he certainly hadn’t left his libido behind. In fact, he seemed to have gained a bit since then.

As he spotted the long, pink shaft slowly emerging from Croccy’s crotch, he grabbed for the pokéball. This time, he was the faster, and he managed to zap his Pokémon back into the ball before anything else could happen. He stared at the pokéball for a moment or two, then put it down beside Bellsprout’s.

[i]The dream…it was real?[/i]

He had already wondered if it was, considering that Psychic types were the ones that were best at delivering those, and there were definitely some Psychics involved in what had happened to Croccy. But he hadn’t had any real proof…until now.

If there was something down below Azalea Town, then there was a Psychic type that was sending him there as well as Croccy’s memories. That meant that there was a possibility that someone down there would know he was coming.

[i]That’s going to make things a bit more difficult…[/i]

If he was expected, then that would throw everything that his new employers knew about him into question. They’d wonder if he had spilled the beans, if he was getting ready to switch sides. They’d wonder why he hadn’t told them about it, and then they’d ask how he knew that it was there.

He was already due to meet an agent in town, and that…well, that could become problematic in a hurry if he had to explain all this.

[i]Shit…shit shit shit shit…[/i]

Jared flopped back in bed, and was shortly joined by his Ekans. The snake looped itself around the top of his head and pillow, forming a scaly cushion. The occasional squeeze actually relieved his headache, and soon, he was drifting off to sleep with less worry than he expected.

[b][u][center]The End[/center][/u][/b]