FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

After the trio organised themselves, the driver - Dash - informed them he'd have to go straight back to the Depot. It wasn't too far to the city from there, but he had some things to sort out before the day was over and thanks to Rocket's intervention earlier along with some bad traffic, he was running behind. They could either wait around for him to give them a lift into the town center once he was done - which would take a couple hours at least - or they could get out at the depot and head into town themselves. Jeremy was hoping for the lift, but Zana wanted to hit the shops before they closed. As the key vote, Thomas sided with the Zoroark; wanting to re-stock for the first time since Owlra the week prior.

It didn't take too much longer before the truck slowed, taking regular turns down what felt like city streets. With the truck coming to a halt Thomas gave Jeremy a quick hug before zapping him away. He hated doing it, but they both knew it was still a risk for the Hakamo-o to be seen in public. Zana seemed fine with it though, and as the rear door was flung open, the two jumped down onto the concrete below. They were inside a small warehouse loaded with various palettes of gardening supplies. A couple other trucks were lined up, their doors open but no drivers in sight. Dash checked his watch before nodding with a grunt. “Smoko. Boys'll be out back. You best leave through the front." He pointed to the large roller door they must have driven through.

“Thank you, again." Thomas said, shaking Dash's hand firmly. “You've no idea how much you've helped us."

“No worries, mate. Just try to keep yerself outta trouble, right?" Dash's grin was infectious.

“I avoid trouble if I can." The Machamp offered Thomas a high five, which the man accepted then regretted. “Agh! But trouble seems to find me regardless. Sonnuva..." Nursing his now throbbing palm, Thomas feigned a smile and bid the two goodbye. Stepping out into the bright afternoon light had the man squinting until his eyes adjusted. “I gotta get myself some sunglasses."

“Add that to the shopping list!" Zana said gruffly before dragging Thomas in the direction of the town center.

“Okay, okay!" Thomas chuckled, matching pace with the overexcited Zoroark. But after a few streets he noticed a Police Station off to one side. “Aaaaaactually…" He managed to slip free of Zana's grip. “It's been weeks since I checked in with Professor Colman. He'll want to know about everything going on." Thomas felt the bionic upgrade to his ear, circling the metal shell with his finger thoughtfully. “And probably give me a talk about responsibility."

“That can't wait?" Zana asked in a huff.

“Don't know what'll happen in town. Might get a chance later, might not. At least there, the line will be secure." He pointed to the station. “We'll still have plenty of time to shop. I promise." Zana growled but gave him her answer by storming towards the blue building. “I'll be quick." Thomas reiterated catching up with her.

But as soon as he walked through the door, he froze. Sitting at the front desk was a particularly sleazy-looking man in an ill-fitting police jacket trying to dislodge a large bit of spinach from between his teeth with a toothpick way too brittle for the task. As it snapped and he reached for another, he noticed the trainer and pokemon standing in the entryway. “Hey! How ya doin'?" Thomas and Zana looked from the man to each other and back. “I uh- I mean Welcome to Wooloobell Police Station, what seems to be the problem?"

Thomas eyed the man with suspicion. “I just came to make a call…" he said pointing to a couple vid-phones along one wall.

“Yeah, they're out of order." The man said, abandoning the spinach removal in favour of using the latest broken toothpick to dig under his nails.

“They're what?" Thomas couldn't help himself, given at a quick glance they appeared to be working normally.

“Out. Of. Order. What, your ears don't work so good or somethin'?" Finally taking a proper look at Thomas the man glanced at something on his desk. Clearing his throat he stood up and went to walk to the back room before turning at the last moment to address Thomas. “Wait just there, I'll… call the… phone service… person."

“Yeah, that wasn't weird." Zana said the moment the guy was out of sight. “Let's get out of here."

“I'm with you there." Thomas agreed, doing an about face and walking smack into the automatic doors. “What the-"

“Fucker locked us in!" Zana snarled. Their gaze immediately fell on the door he left through. They quickly made their way over to hear the tail end of the call. “-definately him! No mistake. Nah, not pink and yellow, black and red. And fluffy." Zana's eyes shone red as she ground her teeth. “Yeah. How long? Shouldn't be too hard. Nah, they're locked. Well hurry then." With the sound of a click, the man stepped back out of the office to see Thomas and Zana glaring at him. “Heh, so whatcha-gonna do abouddit?"

“AAAAAAGGGHHH!" Zana leapt at the man's face, slashing at it with a sharp claw. Taken by surprise, the man's cheek gushed crimson as he stumbled backwards. But quickly he drew a pokeball, flinging it to the ground to reveal a very scarred - and very angry - Primeape. Zana's eyes went wide, but before the Primeape could land a punch, she was back in her ball. The pokemon's swing went wide, collecting Thomas in the gut and sending his crashing back through the lobby. Grumbling, the man stood, summoning Griffin to the air beside him.

The Novern looked at his opponent and smiled. Sweeping his wings forward the air whipped towards the Fighting pokemon, a miniature tornado flinging it around. Unable to get footing, the Primeape could only look on as Griff shot forward, biting down hard on it's furry back before maneuvering back into the lobby for another whirlwind. BThe Primeape tried to fight back, a series of Fury Swipes jutting into the air in rapid succession, but Griff was too nimble.

“Griff, Razorwind." The pokemon looked to his trainer unsure. He knew that if he released a Razorwind in such a small corridor, it would hit the man as well. But he could see in Thomas' eyes that the man knew this too. Gulping he turned his attention back to the man in the police jacket and caught a glimpse of a Rocket Rising insignia on the shirt almost hidden by the jacket's lapel. Realisation struck the Noivern and dodging another attempt to fury swipe him, Griff snapped the air ahead of him with several powerful gusts, the sharp eddies slicing through the doorway to shave yet more hair off the primeape and practically shred the police jacket.

“What the FUCK?!" The man shouted, taken aback by both the trainer and pokemon putting his life at risk.

“You don't like it?" Thomas snapped “Then open those doors and PISS OFF!"

The man instead doubled down, whipping off the jacket to reveal his Rocket Rising duds before sliding on a knuckle duster. “Right Reggie, Downtown rules."

It was Thomas' turn to be taken aback, quickly dropping the pack as he sidestepped a poorly executed haymaker. He let the overswing of the impostor carry through and landed a couple quick hits in the guys ribcage before stepping back. The suit whipped around, rage in his eyes as he struck out at Thomas again. And again the trainer managed to avoid the strike by a quick dodge to the side, able to land an uppercut with his off-hand before spinning around to face his human opponent.

Griff was too distracted by the turn of events to notice the Primeape leap from a nearby desk, but quickly became aware of the fighting type using it's weight to Smack Down the flyer, sending the two crashing into a bench. Reggie was quicker to his feet than Griff, and his third attempt at a Fury Swipe hit home, landing several painful blows on the Noivern's chest and shoulder. He tried to retaliate with razorwind, but couldn't quite get the bluster building while his wings still ached from the fall. Before the Primeape could take another swing, Griff rolled off of the broken bench and tried to calm his mind. He knew if he could just focus he could block out the throbbing pain in his wings and finish the fight. After several deep breaths, he felt the world slow down a little.

The Primeape burst from the debris next to him, lashing out with a Karate Chop while timber and plastic tumbled gracefully through the air. Griff barely managed to sidestep the attack, and after doing so took another deep breath, focusing even more. The world continued to slow around him. Out of the corner of his eye Griff could see the black-shirted man lunge at Thomas, the trainer unable to get out of the way in time as his body is grappled by the larger man. The notion of helping his trainer flashed through the Noivern's mind, but it was quickly abandoned as a blur or grey-ish white rapidly approached him from another direction.

This time Griff could react appropriately and with a flick of his wing, sent a flurry of sharpened gusts into the fighting pokemon's center of mass; stopping it dead in the air. The Primeape's eyes flashed red as it fell, it's rage building. But Griff was going to have none of it. He pulled his wings back for another whirlwind but was stopped mid gust by the unanticipated speed of the Primeape's punches. The strikes were random and lacked technique, but were relentless.

As Thomas smashed to the ground he looked over to the flurry of motion nearby. It was almost too fast to see; the Primeape was matching Griff for speed, the two a blur of black, white, grey and purple. He felt the knuckle duster strike his cheek, snapping his head away from the action before he could rationalise what had happened. As his blurry eyes looked up to the second fist approaching at high speed, Thomas rolled his head to the side. “FAAHK!" The thug scrambled as his unprotected fist crashed into the concrete below.

His cry of agony gave Thomas a brief opening and he struck the man's head with several blows before a pair of meaty fists grabbed the trainer's wrists, pinning them to the cold, hard ground. Another cry of pain sounded from the other fight as the two men turned to see the Primeape deliver a knockout blow to the Noivern. “GRIFF!" But the Primeape wasn't done. It turned to it's master and waited.

“Downtown rules. For Roger." The thug growled, grinning madly. Thomas' eyes went wide at the slow realisation of what that meant. The Primeape grinned, turning back to the crumpled body of the unconscious Noivern, raising it's fists.

“STOP IT!" Thomas screamed. “DON'T KILL HIM!" But the thug just smashed his head down onto Thomas', sending the man's mind reeling. His consciousness was fading, his mind too full of conflicting thoughts to function properly.

Instinct took over.

Thomas' knee rose sharply.

Thomas' wrists were released in a shriek of pain.

Thomas' hand slid along the ground to his bag.

Thomas' fingers pushed into a pocket.

Thomas felt something.

Thomas found a solution.

---

Officer Jenny paced from one side of the cell to the other. The confrontation out front had her quietly hopeful but deeply concerned for the well being of whomever decided to take on Billious Johnson. She sneered at the mere thought of him. His pokemon were able to take down hers with little effort, a fact she sought to rectify as soon as she was clear of this mess. But it wasn't the pokemon battle that she detested him for, it was his use of force afterwards. Kicking her downed comrades as he strut past them before beating several shades of blue out of her.

That was several hours ago. With her in the large holding cell were two unconscious Arcanines and a barely conscious - but quite immobile - Salamance. She checked on them again as the sound of furniture breaking echoed through the station.

“FAHK!"

Her lips curled into a sinister grin as the sound of that thug in pain gave her satisfaction. But it was short lived as a screech of pain sounded the end of one pokemon's fight; and it didn't sound like one of Billious'.

“GRIFF!"

She sighed heavily as the unknown man called out to his pokemon, looking to the floor in dismay. “STOP IT! DON'T KILL HIM!"

Jenny's heart stopped. “Kill?" Eyes wide she ran to the reinforced ceramic bars. She could hear a sickening crack, like the sound of a Watmel berry being broken open. “No-" her whisper was lost in the next deafening sound.

BOOM!

“Was that?"

BOOM!

Jenny was silenced by the gunshots, heart racing now as the flash of a pokemon returning to their ball bounced down through the corridor. The Salamance growled to a stand, blood seeping from it's leg as it motioned for her to hide behind it. But Jenny was frozen in shock. Footsteps echoed down the corridor, their owner drawing closer each second. Listening closer she could hear the sound of something being dragged. Something heavy. Something big.

The barrel of the shotgun was the first thing seen swung through the doorway, but what she saw next she was unprepared for. The Trainer from the posters. The one the station in Milra had sent a priority message about. It was undoubtedly him. She looked from the gun to his clothes to his face before looking into his hollow eyes. Then a flash of light reflecting from something shiny in his hand brought her back to reality.

With a sharp beep the cell door swung open, the keycard in Thomas' hand pressed against the pad. “I..." He spun wearily in place, slamming his back against the bars before sliding down them to the floor. The shotgun clattered down along with the keycard as he brought his hands to his face, weeping into them.

Jenny knew he needed help, but she needed to assess the situation. With a gulp she stepped over the pack he'd dragged down the hallway and strode into the lobby. It was a warzone. And in the middle of it all, two bloodied - and very still - bodies. She checked the pulse of both the man and pokemon. Finding no signs of life she turned to her desk, grabbing the three pokeballs atop it along with her keys.

Returning to the cell Jenny summoned back her pokemon before turning her attention to the man at her feet. “Thomas is it?" There was a subtle nod from the sniffling ball of trainer huddled on the floor. “I get you've been through a lot. But we have got to get moving." Thomas looked up at her with empty, bloodshot eyes. Her hand came down to meet them. Hard. The slap across his cheek echoed through the station almost as loud as the gunshots. “SNAP OUT OF IT!" She all but screamed. “Get up!"

Between the slap and Officer Jenny's barked orders, Thomas collected enough of his sanity to stand. Swinging his pack over one shoulder he grabbed for the gun but was intercepted by the policewoman, her firm grip showing him she meant business. “That stays here." A smash of glass from out front heralded the arrival of Billious' brethren. Gasps of horror and threats of revenge wafted down the corridor. “Shit!" Jenny spat, thrusting the gun into Thomas' chest, winding him. She then wrenched open a nearby locker, retrieving a box of cartridges from the shelf before tossing them to the the man. The box was covered in a jumble of letters and numbers, designating the contents as emergency flares. “Reload. It won't kill 'em, but it will give those bastards something to think about." Then she took off down the corridor, further into the back of the station.

Following close behind while fumbling to reload, Thomas soon found himself in the back dock where Officer Jenny was preparing her bike. She threw him a spare helmet which - thanks to the adrenaline still pumping through his system - he managed to catch and don before reaching the bike. Jenny patted the pillion seat, Thomas gladly sitting astride it when the sound of several thugs bursting into the dock caught his attention. “Hold on tight." With the roar of an engine, the police station quickly disappeared behind them. The man was lucky he had wrapped an arm around Jenny's waist when looking back at the incensed thugs, otherwise he'd probably still be in the dock, just on the ground instead. But it didn't take long for the suits to recover, as a black SUV tore out of a side-street to give chase.

The bike accelerated through the warehouse district, afternoon traffic not too much of a concern given their location just on the outside of the town's limits. But as they came to the exit a pair of black cars screeched to a halt, blocking their path. Jenny swerved, taking the bike off-road as she maneuvered through the bushes lining the warehouse district's fence. “Dammit!" She scowled, trying to come up with a new plan. “I was hoping to get to the pokecenter that way." She spotted a long series of interconnected warehouses and smiled. “Plan B."

Officer Jenny gunned the engines and burst out of the bushes into a waiting line of black SUVs. With the grace of a professional racer the policewoman wove between the cars with ease, braking to avoid attempted pit maneuvers while throttling up to prevent being rammed from behind. After a couple close calls, she managed to skid under a trailer and into the long warehouse. Aside from one car - which was unable to stop in time and found itself well and truly wedged beneath part of the road train that was just about ready to set off; given the particularly annoyed driver shouting obscenities - the rest of the Rocket thugs peeled off to find other doors of the warehouse to enter.

Jenny didn't give them the time. The rear wheel spun from a buildup of dust on the smooth concrete floor, but once it gained traction the bike was off like a shot, dashing between palettes of rice and other packaged foodstuffs. The revving engine echoed off the walls, giving workers ahead plenty of warning. But Jenny was keeping watch on the quickly approaching far wall, along with the blurred shapes of the cars racing along outside. Eyes wide, she yanked the brake, skidding the bike sidewards. “GUN!" She demanded.

Thomas slapped the shotgun into her hand as a car he hadn't noticed burst through a doorway, ramping off a stack of pallets to sail through the air above them. Jenny, without so much as a hesitant blink aimed and fired both rounds, searing orange streaks arcing from the barrel straight into the car's fuel tank.

An intense heat washed over them as the black SUV became wreathed in fire, the acrid smoke trailing behind it in a billowing arc before it slammed into the ground at the back of the warehouse. The occupants burst from every door, throwing themselves - flaming - onto the cold, hard ground, attempting to put the fire out by rolling around. “Reload." Jenny ordered, handing the shotgun back to Thomas as she righted the bike.

The Trainer managed to get both barrels loaded before he was pulled back onto the pillion. He held her waist tight, one hand serving as a holster for the weapon as she accelerated back out into the afternoon light. Off in the distance, the pair of cars could still be seen blocking the exit. “We've only got one chance..." Jenny shouted over the sound of the engine.

“One what?" Thomas shouted back, wondering exactly what she had planned.

“Just… hold on…" Thomas wasn't about to stop holding on, but he sure did grip Jenny's waist a little tighter. The bike made several turns through the complex of warehouses until it came to one of the edges; a chainlink construction erected a few feet from the edge of a sharp drop leading down to a river. Jenny focused her attention on a section of broken fence. The poles had been backed into by a truck several days prior but hadn't been repaired yet. She stopped only long enough to do some mental arithmetic before turning away from the fence and accelerating into the district. They managed a few hundred feet before being blocked by a series of black SUVs.

Jenny swung the bike around to face the river. “We're not gonna-"

“Yep." Jenny cut Thomas off.

“Hold on?"

“Yep."

She sprayed the cars with gravel as the bike pulled up into a wheelie. Once the front wheel slammed back down to earth, Jenny cycled through the gears like a pro, the engine whirring with more life than it had seen in years. In seconds the fence was upon them, and the barest sliver of a moment after that, they were airborne. Thomas had his eyes closed for the initial jump, but opened them as they sailed majestically through the air, confused Chatots flitting above them, clueless Magikarp splashing below.

The man looked up to their destination, a parking lot at the top of a small cliff edge that marked the other side of the river. The ground rose quickly to meet them, then with the horrifying realisation dawning on him, Thomas saw the carpark disappear from sight as the bike dipped below the edge of the cliff. Closing his eyes again, Thomas winced as the bike slammed onto the ground… and continued rolling. Blinking, he looked around confused. The bright circle of afternoon light faded behind him, the splash of a car flying into the river signalling the end to their chase. Or so he thought.

Officer Jenny had slowed, but wasn't stopping as she turned down one branch of the concrete tunnel, then another. The bike's front light illuminated the occasional Garbodor and Trubbish, along with an assortment of what appeared to be outcast pokemon. The majority looked at those two with surprise, but he could detect a certain level of malice behind some of their stares. Thomas' arms continued to hold tight against Jenny's waist. “Those Rocket Rising pricks have crossed the line." She padded her hip, feeling the pokeballs securely fastened there. “I won't be much help to you until I get my Pokemon healed."

She took a couple more turns before coming to a standstill, shutting the bike off. She sighed. “If they spot you aboveground, you're good as dead. Especially as given all the stuff they've said about you, folks would probably be willing to turn you in at the drop of a hat." Thomas rubbed his temple with his thumb and forefinger. She was right. “But," He looked at her with curiosity “They wouldn't dare attack me in the open, in the middle of town." She pointed to Thomas' pokeballs. “I can take any injured pokemon of yours to the pokecenter, get 'em fixed up."

Thomas looked around him into the darkness lit one way by the bike's headlamp, and the other by it's red taillight. “What about me?" Jenny swivelled the front of the bike around to point the headlight at a small gap in a pipe covering. “In there?"

“If they're still here, they owe me." Jenny walked over and thumped hard on the metal plate beside the small opening. There was a few seconds of silence before a big white muzzle poked it's way out of the gap and huffed. She lowered her voice to a growl. “He's also an escapee. You keep him safe. One night. Then we're even." She pointed to Thomas, who's shock was battling against curiosity in the expressions department of his face. There were a series of grunts - some didn't seem to be made by that muzzle - but apparently some agreement had been reached as a massive white paw rotated the broken panel out of the way, revealing darkness within.

“What was that?" Thomas gulped, tightening his pack straps.

“A few pokemon fled a private zoo some weeks back. During the investigation we found the owner was badly mistreating pokemon. Then after he was taken in, I found these guys down here on a routine patrol. The local pokemon shelters are full, so I said they could stay here if they didn't cause trouble, and the next opening we had I'd escort them there personally."

Thomas nodded, taking a deep breath. “Well, if you trust them…" He pulled Griff's pokeball off the belt and held it out for Officer Jenny to take.

She looked at him a little shocked. “You're not even gonna ask what they are?" She took the pokeball and clipped it to her own belt.

“I trust you." Thomas said, smiling weakly. “Besides, I've dealt with all sorts of pokemon lately, I can handle whomever's in there."

Jenny continued staring at him with one eyebrow raised as she got back on the bike. “Well, I know where you are, so don't get curious and leave. They'll keep you safe 'til I get back." The engine revved. “Oh, almost forgot." She held her hand out expectantly. “Gun." Reluctantly Thomas handed the officer the firearm. “I'll write it up as you taking it off one of those thugs. Even though you didn't." Thomas was about to argue but she shushed him into silence. “Say anything and I have to add it to the report."

Then with a roar and a spray of mud - at least what Thomas hoped was mud - the bike shot down the next segment of tunnel and around a corner, the dim red light fading to reveal the sewer system lit by holes in the occasional manhole cover above. There was a gruff grunt from the opened pipe. Not wanting to leave them waiting too long, Thomas made his way over to see who he would be staying with for the evening.

As he stepped into the tunnel, he reached to a back pocket and cracked a pair of glow sticks. A surprised trio of pokemon stood before him in the blocked off sewer segment. On his left stood a Pangoro, it's black and white pattern stark in the dim lighting. To his right the large round belly circle of an Ursaring undulated gently with the pokemon's breath. And lastly, between those two stood a tall, white Beartic; a cold puff of air blasting down from it's muzzle to reinforce the icy beard with every breath. The Beartic snatched the two glowsticks from the man, attempting to break them to shut off their glow. Unfortunately, all this served to do was split the plastic canisters open, spraying the four of them with the glowing fluid.

“Dammit, why'd you-" The Pangoro slapped a hand over the man's mouth, pointing to the sounds of the streets above. The Beartic grunted - annoyed - as he considered the splashes of orange and green on his otherwise white fur. He pointed to where Thomas walked in, pulling him away from the Pangoro's grip before slapping the man upside the head. Thomas held back the urge to retaliate, which gave him enough time to realise what he'd done. “Ah." He whispered. “Because if they come looking then they'll notice the light." The beartic slapped the back of his head again for emphasis.

The Ursaring, only slightly annoyed at the interesting glowing patterns splashed across his belly, waved for the trainer to follow. They walked a hundred feet or so into the tunnel, the lively sounds of a weekday afternoon filtering down from the manholes above. If Thomas had to guess, he figured they'd be below one of the main streets. Then once the group had stopped, the Pangoro pulled him into a side tunnel. It was small enough that the pokemon had to practically crawl to get through while Thomas merely crouched. It was only a few feet of the confined space before it opened into a large room.

The subtle glow emanating from the splatters of glow-stick juice across the three pokemon indicated the room was perhaps ten feet cubed. Coming out of the large, rusted roof pipes were a series of similarly sized plastic pipes that led off through one of the walls; the drainage or sewage systems this particular room having been modernised enough to render it's existence moot. The floor was lined with all sorts of soft items, from discarded mattresses and pillows to what appeared to be torn up car seats and even the occasional plush pokemon toy.

“Believe it or not guys, but this is more like 'home' than most places I've stayed in the last month." The three pokemon gave him a strange look. Thomas dropped his bag to the ground - placing his belt on top - and spotted a section of the padded floor that didn't appear to have a pokemon-shaped indent in it. The others nodded in approval as the man gestured towards it. Sitting down, he leant his back against the wall and let out a long, deep sigh. Pulling his bag up he retrieved a pack of human rations as well as a couple packs of Poke Treats. He considered bringing out some of his crew but decided the room was already crowded as is, and the less he had to explain as to the missing Griff and Zana, the better.

Holding out the poketreats to the three pokemon was like offering a group of starved children chocolate bars. They were swiped up in an instant, all three happily tearing open the packaging to devour the contents. Thomas chuckled as he set to his own meal. “Well, given I have a captive audience…" He proceeded to detail his journey from Milra to the three, describing the Zygarde and his strange mission to keep the legendary pokemon out of Rocket Rising's grasp. The pokemon - especially Beartic - seemed to have a particular dislike of the thugs, with cracked knuckles echoing through the room at each mention of their name.

Upon letting slip that he attended a human-pokemon orgy of sorts, Thomas read his audience's reactions. The Beartic and Pangoro looked a little shocked, but the Ursaring gave him a friendly punch to the arm, and giving a signal for the man to go on. When he realised the other two were more curious than disgusted, Thomas nervously went into his relationship with Jeremy and upon being encouraged by the Ursaring, ended up listing off the various pokemon He's slept with.

“Rrrring…" the pokemon growled, impressed. “Urrrsa." He waggled his eyebrow.

“Tic!" The larger pokemon interrupted, scolding his friend. “Bear, Beartic. Grrrr… Tic!" The Ursaring looked disappointed, huffing as he kept his eyes to himself.

The Pangoro stepped in. “Pan… goro?" He said to the Beartic before turning to Thomas. “Goro?"

“Tic. BEAR!" He growled, before realising how loud he'd raised his voice.

“Goro!" The black and white pokemon stood his ground before being pushed away by the larger ice-type.

“Ursa!" The third pokemon noticed all too late that the push had sent the Pangoro toppling over onto Thomas' pack, and the belt of pokeballs resting atop it. A bright flash bounced around the stony chamber as the red and black fur of Zana materialised in the center of the room.

“Uh…" Thomas looked from one pokemon to another, gulping. Zana was still charged with adrenaline from the police station and was dressing down the other three in a way Thomas understood as a fighter sizing up their opponents. “It's okay, nobody's fighting here. Let's all just keep calm."

“Calm?" Zana growled, still not ready to let her guard down.

“Yes dammit," Thomas hissed quietly at her, signalling for her to keep it down. “Griff's on his way to a pokecenter, but other than that, the rest of us are safe and hiding out down here." He pointed to the other balls on his belt. “These guys are my guardians, for the night at least." Thomas waved towards Zana. “Zana, everyone. Everyone-"

“Bear… tic?" Zana cocked her head towards the Beartric, staring at him. “Tic?" Zana took a step towards him. “Tic?" The ice-type sounded as if it were choking back tears.

Zana's eyes looked the bear up and down before going wide. “Snowy?" She gasped. It nodded, holding it's massive arms open wide. She took another hiesitant step towards the 'mon but after a quick sniff she leapt into his embrace, hugging him with just as much force as he was hugging her. Thomas looked from the two embracing to the other two, who seemed just as confused.

Then something Officer Jenny repeated itself in his mind, flicking that switch to make the connection. “Hold up. Jenny said you three escaped some private zoo thing? Was that-"

“You got out!" Zana was all but weeping into the thick white fur. “I'm so proud of you!" Thomas and the other two let the old friends have their time, taking a seat beside each other and finishing their respective dinners. Eventually the Zoroark was released from the embrace and turned to the trainer. “He was just a cub when I… left. I… I'm so sorry. I should have come back."

“Beartic. Bear." Snowy took a deep breath before brushing a tuft of red hair from Zana's face. Then reality seemed to set in and he hurriedly pointed out the other two pokemon in the room.

She nodded through his long winded explanation before translating for Thomas. “There was this… monster of a man. He had a private collection of us pokemon. Some - like Snowy - performed tricks. Some - like me..." She sighed heavily. “He was just a little Cubchoo last I saw him." Zana shook her head, breaking away from the memories of times past with a weak smile. “Tux and Karat were 'acquired' as security after I left. Probably because I left. But when they found out what was really going on, they helped Snowy break a whole lot of pokemon out." Zana patted the still weeping Beartic on the muzzle lovingly.

“You three ended up here, where did the others go?" Thomas asked, looking to the pokemon in the room for an answer, the original inhabitants either growling or sighing in response.

After a bit of explaining to Zana, she explained the Beartic's story. “The other pokemon escaped, reaching a pokecenter at the edge of Wooloobell. But these brave boys were caught on camera absolutely wrecking the human guards. Apparently they're wanted."

“And I take it Officer Jenny understands why you did what you did and is letting you stay down here until it's sorted out?" Zana turned to Snowy for a response but he just nodded, smiling. Then realising he'd just spilled the beans to a random human the Beartic glanced somewhat panicked to Zana.

“Oh, you don't have to worry about Thomas. He'd have been right beside you if he could have." Snowy raised an eyebrow. “I take it he hasn't talked much about where he's been?" Snowy mumbled a few things dismissively. “Yeah, sounds pretty far fetched, but from what I can tell, all true." She listened to another series of mumbles before coming to a realisation. “Wait, what happened back at the police station?" Thomas let out a strained huff, looking at his feet. Zana's pupils shot open. “You didn't!" She leapt to the man's pack and reached for the shotgun, finding only a few stray shells where it should have been stowed. Then she noticed the missing ball. “What… who?"

“Griff."

“Of all the- WHY HIM!?"

Thomas slunk further into the corner of the room. “I- I panicked. Flying is superior to fighting, so-"

“So you sent the chronically ill, barely capable one in instead of - oh, I dunno - the insanely devoted, hot tempered KILLING MACHINE?!" Her words roared through the room, Snowy quick to hug her from behind, not relenting to her struggles as he whispered forcefully in her ear. She took a few deep breaths before calming herself enough to quieten her voice. “Then where is he?"

“That mankey, it… it wouldn't stop." Thomas was visibly shaken from the memory, Tux wrapping a long furry arm around him in comfort.

“Then what did-" Zana looked from Thomas to the empty pocket and back. But the man just turned and wept into Tux' shoulder. She quickly strode over to him, grabbed his chin in her claws and wrenched his head around to face her. Looking into his eyes, Thomas could feel the Zoroark's very soul burning into his, his mind laid bare for her as she spoke “Why?"

Thomas couldn't tell if what erupted from his mouth was a solemn howl of pain, or a descriptive account of events. His mind blurred and seemed to run at a different speed from his lips, though whether it was faster or slower was anyone's guess. The faces of the four pokemon staring at him intently dropped in and out of focus, three of them almost seeming to swirl around Zana's as it remained fixed in the center of his vision. Eventually she let go of his chin and he heard his last few words dribble out. “...keep you safe…"

There was silence in the stone room once more, the only sounds filtering down from the street above. Thomas wanted to cry, but it was as if his body were just too exhausted. He looked to the quartet of shocked faces, none of them knowing how they should feel though Zana seemingly the most composed, and most angry. He could feel the lethargy in his muscles seep deeper and deeper, noticing the heaviness of his breathing and pulse before the room slowly darkened, fading to black.

Thomas dreamed of walking through head-high fields of some sort of wheat or hay, the leaves softly bristling against his skin as he moved through the never ending expanse of gold beneath a bright blue sky. He was looking for something. Something he'd lost. He grabbed for the pokeballs around his belt but as he did so they crumbled to dust.

Returning his gaze to the grasses he noticed each one appeared to have a corn-cob-like sprout at the top, the same size and shape as a pokeball. Reaching for the first one he peeled away the husk until all that was left was a damaged ultraball. His damaged ultraball. He grabbed another stalk, tearing the cob from it, and the husk from that until another identical ultraball fell into his hands.

Breathing deeply he started pushing his way through the every thickening field as the sky above grew darker, clouds rolling in far too fast from all angles as lightning began to flash within. The crop was almost impossible to struggle through as Thomas tried desperately to keep going, until eventually he was free. And there, at the center of the clearing he'd just stumbled into was a lone stalk. It was blackened, maybe diseased. He cautiously stepped towards it.

The husk fell off as he approached, revealing the Zygarde's Cube. The lightning that was once held within the cloud now struck the ground between Thomas and the stalk. Thunder cracked the air, smashing Thomas in the chest. But as soon as the sound assault was over, another shockwave struck him as a fireball of a meteor smashed down into the ground not far from the lightning strike, spewing up a cloud of dirt while shaking the ground beneath the mans feet. Then another bolt of lightning struck. And another meteor. He could feel the impacts reverberate through him as he stood there.

But as he reached out to grab the cube, the crop behind him dashed forward, wrapping around his limbs and mouth, dragging him back into it's cold, dense foliage.

Thomas awoke with a start. Barely able to breathe, he was being tightly embraced by Snowy, limbs also restrained by the other two bears where necessary as Zana stood in the center of the room, claws digging into her temples with extreme concentration. Beyond her was the exit, a flashlight beam occasionally flitting down that corridor as mumbled voices floated through. But there was something odd about them, it was as if they were ever so slightly muted.

Karat gasped, quick to bring a hand to his mouth as a human face peered through the hole in the wall. It quickly scanned the empty space as a hand appeared brandishing a flashlight. The beam fell upon everyone in the room, causing Zana to flinch and clench her teeth. But as though invisible to the man's eye he just shook his head and kept walking. Another followed behind, glancing into the room to do his own check before disappearing out of sight. Thomas tried to wriggle free but Snowy held him tight, shaking his head.

“Dead end." One of the men said, their voice clearer than before, but not by much. “Fuck this place."

“Next branch ya pussies." came a grumble from the main sewer line. A pair of groans echoed through the room as the two men stumbled back over the refuse dotting the tunnel before the telltale screeching of the metal panel being shut could be heard. “Stop ya whinging."

“But the footprints went in there. Thought he'd-"

“You dumbass." the smack of hand-on-head cracked through the tunnels. “They probably did that to make us spend time checking it out. Probably miles gone by now." The revving of several engines - more like a dirtbike than Officer Jenny's performance cruiser - roared into the room before slowly revving off into the distance.

As soon as the sound was gone, Zana released the claws from her temple and slumped to the floor. Finally able to push Snowy off him - or rather, Snowy realising he needn't hold the man back - Thomas dashed to his Mistresses aid. “Zana!" He whisper-shouted. “Zana, c'mon, you okay?"

She smiled up at him, eyes hollow and exhausted. “Just… just need a rest." She chuckled “And that's Mistress Zana."

“Yes Mistress." Thomas smiled, holding her close. He could see Tux holding her ball and nodded, the Zoroark bursting into multicoloured light before fading from existence, safely housed in her ball. Thomas sighed, relieved the danger had passed and his new mistress was safe, along with everyone else. Tux clipped her ball back into Thomas' belt and padded over to him, helping him up and back to the corner where Karat and Snowy were taking a moment to collect themselves. Karat pat the space between his legs and Thomas gently sat down, the pokemon's arms wrapping him up in a tight hug.

“Beartic, tic." Snowy growled amidst several grunts, pointing at Zana's ball, then it's 'owner'.

Thomas tried to think what the large pokemon could be asking; “You want to know if I 'own' her?" He shook his head, then pointed back at her ball and mimed a yapping mouth with his paws. “Oh, she talked to you about me?" He nodded. “About how we met and stuff?" Snowy nodded again, but this time Karat began swirling a claw playfully around the man's shoulder. “Ah." The man blushed, realising she probably told them everything. “So you understand what relationship we have…"

“Tic." the Ice type responded, before jabbing a claw towards Zana's ball, then into the man's chest, then to the other two pokemon.

Thomas gulped. “And she promised you guys could… well…" Karat and Tux nodded, but Snowy just kept the man's gaze. “Yeah, that sounds like her." He sighed thinking that given It was Zana's request - apparently - and he knew Jeremy would only really care that he wasn't out to watch, it couldn't hurt. “Can't say I've been triple teamed before, but-" Snowy grunted, sidling away with outstretched paws. Thomas looked a little confused, but it didn't take long for his mind to come up with a ream of possibilities as to why a pokemon wouldn't want to have a sexual romp with a human. “Fair enough. If you don't want to-"

“Ursa!" a rumbling laugh vibrated down Thomas' back. The tan-coloured pokemon shook it's head, pointing to Snowy's crotch then groping the man's hips, pulling on them forcefully. Tux held his paws closed in the imitation of an anus then dramatically widened the hole.

“Oh." Thomas' eyes widened. “Oooh… You uh, don't want to split me in… in half…" Snowy nodded bashfully, the larger pokemon showing a modicum of shyness for the first time. The man took a deep breath, escaped the Ursaring's grip and took several steps over to his pack. Once arriving he stripped off his jeans and flannel, tossing them in a pile along with his shoes and socks; the only thing covering his birthday suit being the two leather bracers strapped to his arms. He fumbled through one of the pockets before producing the now considerably more empty bottle of Desert Pea lotion.

The three pokemon looked puzzled at the stuff, sniffing the air very confused. Thomas grinned. “What, you boys not come across this before?" All three shook their heads. “Oh, this is gonna be fun." He looked at the three pokemon's claws before signalling the Pangoro to come over. “Gonna need you to hold me open a bit." The man explained before bending over. The pokemon - wide eyed - stepped up and using a claw from each hand gently inserted into and then parted Thomas' hole. The hard nails did not make for a comfortable experience, but the man forged ahead and upended the bottle into his rear, almost draining it entirely in one squeeze. He gently pushed against Tux' hands and the two separated, Thomas lightly tossing the near-empty bottle to Karat.

He took a few calming breaths, the icy heat of the lotion spreading through his rear beginning to distract him. Then, mind a little clearer he walked over to Snowy, pressing his hand against the pokemon's cool, furry chest. “Ever met a Rhyperior?" He whispered. Snowy nodded slowly as Thomas leaned up, the pokemon leaning down so the man's mouth was right next to his ear. “With that lotion, I took one to the hilt." And gently bit the pokemon's ear.

The Ursaring had opened the bottle and taken a deep sniff of the contents, while Tux was examining the few drops of lotion that had dribbled down his claws. But having had the more concentrated whiff, Karat could stand by no more. Before Snowy could react to the man's advances, Karat had strode across the room and grabbed Thomas by the arm, yanking him away to lift the man bodily into the pokemon's embrace.

Facing the tan muzzle, Thomas pressed his lips against it in a vague attempt at a kiss. An act the Ursaring was more than happy to reciprocate. To Thomas' shock and delight, a long thick tongue pushed past his lips to lap at his own, running along every part of his mouth playfully. Thomas moaned at the wonderfully prehensile intrusion, shuddering as a cold blast of air splashed across his back. Snowy pushed the two down, Karat collapsing on a worn mattress with Thomas on top.

The Ursaring slid a large paw up Thomas' back, but with a bare chest to play with the Ursaring got distracted scraping his claws over Thomas' tight pecs and hard abs. Thomas sat facing the curious pokemon, his legs splayed around it's thick waist as claws raked sensually against his fur-less torso. The man's heart skipped a beat when he felt a throbbing protrusion press between his cheeks. He didn't need to guess what that was, but he did grin cheekily before grinding down onto it. The Ursaring moaned lustily while Thomas made a show for the other two.

Reaching down with one hand Thomas softly ran his digits down the length of the pokemon's cock, all the way to it's base before tightening his grip and pulling back up. With a growl, Ursaring closed his eyes in pleasure. Thomas moaned like the little slut he was. “You want to stick that somewhere don't you?" He asked playfully. Karat nodded without hesitation. “You want to fuck my ass don't you?" Again Karat nodded, growling a little louder in the affirmative. “Well so do I." Thomas all but commanded “Claim this human pokeslut's ass…"

The Ursaring didn't hesitate. After a couple test thrusts to find the man's welcoming hole, the pokemon grabbed Thomas by the waist and pushed down. Pent up lust poured forth from that crimson rod in the form of thick beads of pre, coating Thomas' insides as he was impaled further and further upon the turgid member. “Arceus yes! Keep… Keep going…" He moaned, though after only a few seconds more he felt the warm fur of the pokemon's crotch against his rear. It was a rather large cock that now occupied Thomas' arse, tapered from base to tip so that it would stretch him just a little more every time the pokemon bottomed out. “Fuck… right there…" he muttered, smiling at the goofy face of the sensually charged Ursaring.

Tux finally snapped out of his shocked stupor and approached the two, his slightly more muted red cock having well and truly extended from it's sheath after watching Thomas play with Karat. With the man bouncing atop the Ursaring's slick rod, Tux levelled his member with Thomas' face. Grabbing it as both a way to steady himself and line it up properly, Thomas wrapped his fingers around the meaty shaft and gently kneaded it. Looking up to the monochromatic face with it's predatory grin, the trainer gave his best 'fuck me stupid' stare alongside a breathy moan before practically inhaling Tux' member.

The pokemon's cock left a heavy, musky taste on Thomas' pallette, only washed away by the saltiness of it's precum. The man pulled himself back along the length of Tux' cock in time with the bouncing he was performing on Karat's girthy member below. In comparison, the Pangoro's was longer, but not quite as wide at the base, meaning Thomas was capable of deepthroating the nearly foot-long member until his lips met the fur of the pokemon's sheath. He moaned along its length when it was deep inside his throat and lashed his tongue against it's tip when pulled back to spread the pre around and prepare his throat for the next thrust.

Snowy placed a large paw on the man's shoulder, getting Thomas' attention enough for his gaze to fall upon the frankly monstrous cock twitching in the air beside him. His eyes widened and his bouncing slowed as he took in the sheer amount of throbbing meat the Beartic was proudly putting on display. The widest the Rhyperior had been was about the width of this one's base, the thickness narrowing only slightly over at least a foot until the last few inches where they tapered to a point around a particularly wide slit. Thomas gulped as the cock bobbed in the air before him, a glob of pre tantalizingly dribbling from the tip.

With Snowy's grip pulling back a little more forcefully, Thomas got the point and stumbled back off the Ursaring's cock. Karat looked up as a flash of anger flew across his face, having been robbed of his human fucktoy when he was so close to release. Tux too seemed a little miffed as Thomas released his grip on the Pangoro's member. But Snowy had plans. Snowy gestured to Karat to spin around, the Ursaring doing so a little grumpily, but curious as to where things were going. Thomas was then pushed forward, guided onto all fours; his cock flopping down upon the tan pokemon's muzzle as his own face came to rest inches from the member that had until recently been occupying his rear. Thomas gulped at the girth of it, but wasted no time sucking the throbbing rod into his mouth.

Next Snowy indicated for Tux to mount the man from behind, the monochromatic bear more than happy to do so. It didn't take long for Tux to make his way behind Thomas and line himself up. Given the gaping hole still reducing from Karat's earlier fucking, it was almost trivial for the pokemon to thrust himself in to the hilt. Thomas' chin drove into Karat's belly as he was forced down by the pressure. His human cock pressed against the Ursaring's long, broad tongue as it curiously licked at the protruding member. The man's body was almost entirely hidden by black, white and tan fur, the meaty center of a pokemon sandwich.

But Snowy was still not done.

Tux' cock was indeed long, but had less of a girth than Thomas' own, even at its base. And as the man had boasted taking even larger cocks than the Beartic's, Snowy planned on giving the man something to remember them by. Pushing himself forward slowly but forcefully, Thomas' rear was soon tightly stretched around the two members.

He moaned lustily into Karat's cock, the sensation from behind unique from the addition of a second cock, not to mention the overall size of the second intrusion. As Snowy's thick member pushed ever deeper, it also pushed the Desert Pea Lotion - and thus the man's rectal elasticity - to the limit. Fortunately, as the Ice-type increased in depth, he was careful to pace himself. The gradual thrusts also helped to grind THomas' member along the bottom of Karat's mouth, his teeth lightly grazing the human's shaft as his tongue worked overtime keeping it in place.

Thomas' eyes bulged as he felt the foot of pokemon cock come up against its first major obstacle, a bend in his colon. The lotion was doing its best to numb any sort of pain, as well as help keep the tissue elastic enough to deal with the force of it. And with a decent amount of prodding and poking from Snowy, he found an angle that allowed him to push another few inches in, bending the tip of his flexible member around the man's inner corridors curves. As he felt his insides shift around to accommodate the monstrous member, Thomas groaned.

With his body electrified by lust, the man thrust his face down onto Karat's member, taking it to the hilt as his jaw opened wide to accommodate the base, his tongue roiling around the shaft as he gave in to the intense pleasure. Karat returned the sensation in turn, sucking the man's cock into his muzzle, the long prehensile tongue sliding around the man's length until it found his swaying balls. With a grunt, the Ursaring slathered those twitching orbs with it's thick saliva, causing the man to climax on the spot. Thick spurts of creamy human spunk fired into Karat's throat, the pokemon happily sucking up every drop as he felt himself closing in on a similar fate.

Meanwhile Tux was just laying atop Thomas, allowing Snowy's slowly building thrusts to do the majority of the work. When the Beartic had withdrawn most of the way, Tux would pull out by about half before thrusting back in to the hilt. But as Snowy's pace increased, the Pangoro just had to hold on and brace himself for the ride. Thomas' climax had tightened his rear, but after coming down from that blissful high his body was responding by becoming more relaxed and as such, Snowy was able to thrust just a bit harder and faster.

Thomas was having a second wind slowly fucked into him, his cock once more throbbing with need in Karat's muzzle as the Ursaring's cock filled the man's belly with glob after glob of delicious honey-like pre. Tux on the other hand was having his member squashed between the sides of Thomas' welcoming hole and the slick, veiny shaft of Snowy's cock. It was altogether too much. His paws - which had until now had pressed down on Karat's legs for stability were suddenly used to grab ahold of Thomas' shoulders as he rammed his cock as hard and deep inside the man as possible.

Thick, hot Pangoro cum flooded from Thomas' rear, the pea lotion helping to turn it more to a gel than its usually more fluid state. Karat had his face coated in the pearlescent seed, setting off his own climax. Thomas practically choking as he felt the chain reaction in his mouth, but the man was determined to swallow as much as possible, the heat of the moment overcoming his common sense and need to breathe. The rippling of his throat muscles against the Ursaring's pulsing shaft caused Karat to growl lustily around the man's member, bringing him again to the edge of orgasm.

Snowy could feel Thomas clenching in bursts, signalling the approach of a second climax. He inwardly chuckled, Zana had told the three of them how much this human loved pokemon cock, but even he was surprised by how far Thomas was willing to go for thrills. It was beginning to get altogether too much even for the stoic Beartic. His thrusts became more needy, helped along by Tux's thickened seed providing the perfect cooling lube to go faster and harder than before.

---

“I told ya there was somethin fishy 'bout this tunnel!" Tony slapped his compatriot on the shoulder. “Hear that?"

“Yeah, I hear that, it sounds like something we should stay clear of." Dave replied. He wiped his face with his black jacket sleeve. “Like, really clear of."

“Dumbass. When's the best time to catch a pokemon?"

Dave sighed, vaguely remembering the textbooks from his trainer days. “When they are exhausted, asleep, or distracted."

“And do you think they're gonna be entirely 'with it' after fucking?"

Dave looked nervously at the dusk ball in Tony's hand. “I just think you might underestimate how pissed off it's partner is gonna be."

“Which is why-" Tony thrust a second dusk ball in Dave's direction “you're helping."

“What if it's a couple ah' wheezing, or something… toxic?"

“Nah…" Tony listened carefully, nodding with a grin “Nah, those aren't your usual sewer dwellers. Those are something else." The two slid through the moveable panel, the grunting moans from beyond covering any squak of metal on metal. Then creeping slowly up the tunnel, the two men paused by the entrance, with dave holding his fingers up dramatically.

Three. The two heard a mighty roar, followed by a muffled moan of delight as the male unleashed into its partner.

Two. Several hearty grunts heralded the repeated spurts of cum no doubt filling whomever was the bottom. Dave looked nervously to Tony, but Tony just curled back one more finger.

One. The sound of heavy breathing bounced around the walls, the pokemon clearly worn out from their exertions, and a prime time for the two to strike. Tony grinned. Dave gulped.

Zero...

---

Tony whipped around the corner and took aim from the middle of the opening, with Dave stepping just behind him. Their eyes went wide in shock as before them - caught in the man's flashlight beam - were three massive bear-like pokemon, seemingly tied together after a massive fuck session. The larger Beartic had just stopped his thrusting, turning to face the two with snorts of cooled air visible from his nose. Tony panicked and threw his dusk ball. The green orb whizzed through the air until a blur of white whipped forward, Beartic catching it in one hand, it's eyes incandescent with rage as the ball crumbled to metallic fragments in it's massive paw.

Dave dropped his ball and flashlight in shock, a smirk flashing across the ice-type pokemon's muzzle. He inhaled deeply then let loose a vicious Frost Breath. Icicles formed on the men's eyebrows as they had to lean into the wind to prevent themselves from losing their footing. Tony reached for his belt and the two pokeballs attached to it, but Dave grabbed his elbow, yanking him to the side as another superchilled gale blew past them.

Snowy could hear the men bickering as they made a hasty exit. “Fuck that shit!"

“Let's get em!"

“All Three?"

“We got FOUR between us!"

“HE LOOKED STUPID PISSED!"

“Then we call for backup!"

“Boss lookin' fer some trainer and YOU want to call everyone back here to a fuckin' pokemon orgy?" The two men had stumbled out through the metal cover, the heavy panel sliding back into place with a clank to muffle any further words.

But before they moved further down the tunnel, Snowy heard the more aggressive one say “Fine... fuckin' trainer, then... back. ..Big white… fuckin' mint!"

Snowy growled at the displeasure of it all. Tux leaned back to a semi-standing pose, allowing Thomas to pull up from Karat's throbbing member. He coughed a little - drops of the honey-like cum spattering against the Ursaring's belly - before asking “What was all that?" He looked to the entrance of the room then over at his bag, thankfully hidden by the bulk of the several large rutting pokemon.

Snowy brushed the remains of a pokeball from his paw before turning back to the man, a satisfied snort from his nose as he slowly pulled out. Thomas began to moan loudly but was quickly silenced by Tux on Snowy's order. The Pangoro shoved a finger in the man's mouth, so he just moaned into that, suckling the digit lewdly. When the Beartic had pulled itself all the way out, Thomas was able to catch his breath again, Tux' member easily falling free of the slowly closing but still gaping hole. Receiving a face-full of spunk, Karat growled, pushing Thomas off him to find a rag to wipe himself down with.

Snowy got the naked Thomas' attention, and attempted to use his paws to indicate the recent happenings. The man took a deep breath, cleared his mind and tried to follow along in the dim luminescence of the abandoned flashlight. “A man - a couple of men - showed up. You scared them off. You think they're coming back?" Snowy nodded, pleased it only took one go to get his point across. “Well shit." Thomas grumbled. “What are we gonna do?"

“Goro. Pan, pangoro pan." Tux growled, pointing out to the hallway, then to the streets above. Thomas listeend, it was very quiet up there. Instinctively he checked his pokedex for the time but it was still smashed. “Pan?" Tux asked Thomas.

“My pokedex is bust, wanted to know the time." Thomas replied, which caused Tux to put his paws up as though asking the man to wait. The four of them stood silent as the Pangoro took a deep breath, listening carefully and occasionally sniffing the air. Then, looking at Thomas he held his left arm out horizontally while waggling the fingers of the right hand, bringing them from below the left elbow, up in an arc before going back down below the left wrist. “Morning… noon… night…" Thomas was doing his best to keep up as Tux nodded approvingly. Tux' right paw continued down into an inverted arc, before stopping just past the bottom of the curve. “So what… just past midnight?" The Pangoro waggled it's paw as if to say 'or thereabouts'.

“Beartic. Tic." Snowy grumbled, pointing to the mans clothes.

“Yeah, shame though, would've loved to spend the night curled up with you three." All three take turns patting him on the back or giving him a hug as Thomas got dressed. At least they too felt like their time had been cut way too short. Perhaps when all this was over - Thomas reasoned - he could come back and get them set up somewhere better than the sewers. He spotted the abandoned duskball and after checking it was empty, slipped it into the packs holder. Then after checking the pokeballs were all there, he threw the pack over his shoulders, strapping it down tight.

“Right then. Onward and outward I guess." He smiled weakly at the other three, who returned his smile best they could. Snowy pat him on the shoulder as he walked past, taking point. “Jenny's gonna be mad…" He grumbled to himself as he took one last look at the stone-walled room. Then he saw the icy outlines of the two shocked men on the corridor wall. “Though she'll probably understand."

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