FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

It was early in the morning. The sun shined through the window as drops of water left over from last night's rain storm slowly slid down the glass. The light hit Atty in the face, waking him up from his deep slumber. He gave a yawn and stretched out in a downward dog pose. He then noticed the spot next to him was empty. Juniper was gone. He just shrugged and didn't give it a second thought as he jumped down from his bed and left the bedroom. He headed downstairs and noticed the girls were hanging out in the living room, except for one, namely Juniper. _"Good morning, Atty," _said the ninetales. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, actually," the umbreon replied. "Better than usual in fact."

"Maybe because you were with Juniper last night," Jewel said with a huff. "You two have a nice time together?" Atty blushed at her comment.

"Nothing happened," he proclaimed.

"Are you sure about that?" the espeon said with a smirk.

"We cuddled. That's it," said another voice. Juniper had entered from the kitchen.

"You know," said Luna, "you seem to get jealous whenever another girl so much as looks at Atty. Weren't you the one who said you didn't mind sharing?" Jewel just sat there speechless at the lycanroc's comment.

"Come on, Atty. I saved some food for you," the leafeon added.

"You made breakfast, June?"

"Nothing special, just your usual recipe," she replied. Atty followed her into the kitchen. There was a bowl waiting for him, filled with blended up berries. "I added some pecha to it. I hope you like it," the leafeon said with a smile. The umbreon started eating. It had a hint of sweetness to it. His taste buds practically melted at the flavor. He couldn't help but really gobble it up. He suddenly stopped himself when he realized he was eating like a starved animal. He looked up and smiled sheepishly at June.

"S-sorry. I don't think I've had a decent meal since I became a pokemon."

"It's fine, Atty," she assured him, "I'm glad you like it."

Atty finished his meal and returned to the living room with the others. Luna was holding something that looked like an envelope in her mouth. "What do you have there, Luna?" asked Atty.

She laid it down in front of him. "A letter, I think. It's for you." The umbreon picked up the envelope. It wasn't like his normal mail. It had a heart shaped seal that kept it closed. He opened it and pulled out the letter inside, then unfolded it and began reading out loud.

"Dearest Atemis. I heard about you from Okumura. I could use someone of your talents. Please meet me at the pokemon village when you have time to spare. Thank you kindly in advance. Jasmine, high priestess of Arceus."

"Jasmine," Jewel said under her breath as Atty finished reading the letter. "I think I've met her once. I believe she's a delcatty."

"Well, at least we know who to look for then," the umbreon stated. "Seems like we might have another job on our hands. Who wants to go with me this time?" He glimpsed at the lycanroc and espeon. "Jewel, Luna, you two should stay here. I'm sure you're both still worn out from the last time." The two nodded. The lycanroc sighed.

"I'll go," said Valentine.

"I second that," Juniper added.

"That settles it, then. Give me a moment. We'll leave shortly."

---

The trio readied themselves for an adventure, and set out west for the village across the rainforest. Atty still felt exhausted from his previous mission, but forced himself to press on despite it. After a while, they finally reached their destination. _"Here we are." _Val and June looked puzzled, as there seemed to be nothing. "It's alright, it confused me at first too. It's just an illusion. Watch." The umbreon stepped forward and phased through the invisible barrier, disappearing from sight as the girls watched in astonishment. "Come on. It's safe. I promise." The ninetales and leafeon looked at each other for a moment, and nodded before finally stepping through themselves. The village suddenly appeared before them, as well as many kinds of pokemon. Atty saw some familiar faces. A little ralts ran up and hugged his leg and giggled cheerfully. "Hello, Faith. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing great. Things are much more peaceful here in the village, thanks to you mister Atemis."

"Glad to hear it." Atty smiled. "Any idea where to find Jasmine?"

"She lives in that tent over there." She pointed towards a white teepee with golden decorations and surrounded by flowers.

"Thanks, Faith. You take care now." He waved goodbye to the young ralts, who waved back as he and his team left for the tent. Atty looked at the two females following him. "Wait here. I'll be back." The ninetales and leafeon both nodded as he entered the teepee. It was quite lovely inside. There was a bed made of hay and surrounded by more flowers, and there was a small table with an incense burner that gave off a sweet scent. Next to it was a small statue of Arceus. In the center of the room was a small dining table with a bowl of fruit sitting on top, and cushioned seats at each side. He saw a pokemon standing in front of the table with the incense. She was a feline with a mostly tan body, and had a pointed whisker-like protrusion on each cheek. Her purple ears had three tufts of fur at the tips, and there was a purple ruff-like collar with pin-like extensions around her neck. She had slim legs with tiny, digitless paws. There was also a purple, flower-like tuft of hair on the end of her thin tail. Hanging from her ears was a pair of silver earrings in the shape of a sun, and a diamond encrusted choker around her neck with a similar sun hanging gently from it. There was a pink gem in the center of each of these suns. Atty knew this must have been the delcatty that sent the letter. He cleared his throat and began to speak. "Excuse me, miss?" The cat pokemon jumped a little in surprise and turned around to meet his gaze. He was looking into a pair of dark brown eyes. "Are you Jasmine?"

"Why yes, I am," she answered. "And you must be Atemis, correct?" Atty nodded. "So it's true. An umbreon with blue rings. Welcome to my home." She purred and gave a seductive smile and gaze. "I must say, you're much cuter than I imagined."

Atty blushed. "Um, thanks?" He chuckled sheepishly. "You said in your letter you had need for someone like me. So, what exactly is it that you need?"

"Straight to business, eh? That's fine. We can make time for small talk later. Anyways, yes, I do have a bit of a problem that I'm hoping you can resolve." She took a seat at the dining table and grabbed a leppa berry, and started munching on it. "There's a settlement upstream of the river that we trade with, but our shipment is running late. We sent someone out to investigate, but they haven't returned. That was nearly four days ago now."

"And now you want my team to go to this settlement and figure out what happened, correct?"

"You nailed it," the feline stated. "The pokemon we sent is a mienshao by the name of Nina. She's highly respected in our village, and also a close friend of mine. Find the village, find her, and discover what happened to our supplies."

"Sounds easy enough," the umbreon proclaimed.

"It always does. Just be sure to stay vigilant. I suspect maybe bandits have made off with our shipment, but you never know. Just follow the river upstream, and you'll be there in no time." She stood up and approached Atty, and gave him a lick on the nose, "I will ensure it is worth your while." The umbreon blushed hard at the gesture.

"Uh, th-that's not necessary," he stuttered. "Helping those in need is its own reward."

"Cute AND noble hearted? I may just swoon, Atemis." She giggled. "Well, I suppose you'd better get going, then. Good luck. And be careful."

Moments later...

Atty walked outside to meet his companions, who were waiting patiently for him. "So what's the word?" said the ninetales.

"We need to head upstream. I'll brief you on the way."

---

Val and Juniper followed Atty along the river, traveling upstream through the forest. It felt like hours have passed, with nothing but the sound of local wildlife catching their attention, if only temporarily. It was almost noon, and it was getting kind of hot.

"I hate the heat," the ninetales griped. "It's not good for my complexion."

"I think your looks are the least of your worries, Val," June stated. Atemis suddenly stopped in his tracks. "What is it, Atty?"

"I smell something," the umbreon said. "Smells like... smoke. We must be close."

"Finally. Feels like we've been walking forever," said Valentine. They emerged from the forest and into a more open area. The river had led them to a tall waterfall. In the neighboring rock wall were numerous caverns, and small buildings on the lower level that looked like they were for commercial purposes. One of these buildings, however, appeared to have collapsed, and was smoking. There were also signs of battle along the road and some of the other buildings. There was also an eerie feeling in the air.

"Looks like we found it," Atty stated.

"Yeah, and it looks like something definitely went wrong with the supply run," Juniper added.

"Where is everyone? said Val. "It looks abandoned."

"Judging from the carnage, I'd say they either skipped town, or are in hiding," the leafeon answered.

"Let's have a look around," Atty ordered, _"see if you can find any clues as to what happened here. And if there's any sign of Nina." _The trio spread out to cover more ground. They investigated the settlement. The signs of battle included deep scratches along the buildings, as well as ice shards. Atty looked closely at the claw marks for a moment. "Something was certainly trying to leave its mark on this place." He then turned his attention to the shards. "In this warm environment, these shards should have already melted. They clearly haven't been here for long. Whatever did this is probably still close by. Definitely an ice type," he thought to himself. He then noticed something on the ground. "A red feather? What could this be from?"

"Over here! I found someone!" _Juniper called out. The others rushed over to the collapsed building. The leafeon and ninetales dug out the pile of rubble and pulled an unconscious body out. It was a white, long-bodied pokemon with a small head and small, triangular ears. The forehead had a purple spot adorning it as well as a yellow one on its snout. It possessed a pair of long, yellow tipped whiskers that had split ends. The arms were almost completely covered by a large amount of fur that was tipped in purple and split at the end. Its torso had one purple ring of fur around its midsection, and also had purple fur at the bottom section of its torso. Its bottom paws were clawed, and it had a long, skinny tail that, like its paw fur, was tipped purple and split at its end. After observing this pokemon carefully, Atty was certain this was the mienshao he was looking for. She was beaten, covered in dirt, scratches, and bruises. There was a trail leading out to the road from underneath her, indicating her body dragged across the ground and into the building. Juniper was trying to waker her up. Her nudging and shaking seemed to have some effect, as the mienshao finally opened her eyes. _"Are you okay? What happened to you?"

"Who... are you?" she said weakly.

"We're friends," Atty answered. "Jasmine sent us to look for you."

The mienshao huffed. "Good old Jasmine. Always looking out for me." She groaned in pain."

"What happened here, Nina?"

"A pokemon... with strength unlike any I've ever seen," she stuttered. "I... didn't stand a chance." Nina coughed. "I at least... was able to hold it off... long enough for everyone to escape. You should get out of here, too. It's probably still lurking nearby."

"Not without you, hun," Val replied. "You're the whole reason we came all the way out here." The girls tried to help her up. Atty's ears suddenly perked up, and his entire body began to quiver. "Atty? You okay?"

"I feel a... resonance," he shuddered. It was then they all heard what sounded like a war cry from nearby.

"Too late. It's here..." They looked up and saw a silhouette standing at the top of the cliff, but couldn't quite make out what it was, until it leaped, and left cracks in the ground as it landed. Its form became clear. It was a bipedal pokemon with a pale, gray body that resembled both a cat and a weasel. It had a bright red crown and collar made of wide feathers and a single, thinner feather on each ear. It had two tail feathers and three claws on each paw. There was a yellow, oval marking the center of its forehead. Its eyes were red with three eyelashes, and it had four fangs protruding from its upper jaw. When Atty looked directly at it, he noticed something was off. A reddish-black aura was surrounding the pokemon.

"Is that a weavile?" he said out loud. "Why is it glowing? Is anyone else seeing this?"

"What are you talking about, Atty?" June replied. "It looks just like any other pokemon." The umbreon was confused, and shuddered at the very sight of this foe, but he didn't understand why. Why was he shaking? Why was this pokemon glowing? How come only he can see it?

"D...don't be fooled," the mienshao stuttered. "It's extremely dangerous."

The weavile hissed and raked its claws together, making an ear piercing sound as they seemed to shine. It glared at Atty with a toothy grin. _"Tread carefully girls," _the umbreon said aloud. "This is no ordinary foe." The weavile suddenly dashed at lightning speed towards Atty, claws ready and glowing a silver color. It made several swings at him. The umbreon managed to avoid several before one finally connected. It hit hard and knocked Atty back. He endured and dragged his paws across the dirt. He flinched as his body tried to process what just happened. "That... really hurt," he said under his breath. The weavile suddenly vanished, catching Atty off guard as his opponent suddenly appeared behind him, and struck him in the back and dug him into the ground. The umbreon was dazed. Suddenly, a flash of bright, pure light shined from afar and knocked the weasel off its feet, and left it momentarily blind and kind of glittering from the attack. Val was by the umbreon's side all of a sudden, and helped him up. Juniper came by as well to check on him.

"Are you okay, hun?" Val asked.

"Yeah, I can still go." Atty got to his feet and assumed a fighting stance, and suddenly charged for his opponent, dashing at lightning speed and striking the weavile while it was still dazed. It was staggered, but quickly recovered and took more swings at the umbreon. Atty only managed to dodge one of the swings, but took three more directly and was knocked back a short distance. He was by the fox's side again. "Watch yourself, Val. I'm pretty sure that's a metal claw attack. If I recall, you're extremely weak to steel attacks."

"Yeah, don't remind me." She shuddered and readied another attack. The weavile took note of this and suddenly vanished again, appearing behind the ninetales, surprising her as she was struck by a very deadly metal claw. She whimpered as she hit the ground, struggling a bit to get back up. As the weavile glared menacingly at its fallen foe, it was suddenly struck by a blade-like attack from behind, making it flinch and bleed a little as it turned around to meet the attacker. Juniper had stepped in, and her tail was glowing green. She made several attempts at the weavile with her tail. It dodged most of them, but was hit by a fifth attack. It shuddered a bit, then cackled as it jumped up high in the air and pointed both its arms at her. They glowed light blue as ice shards extended and were launched at the leafeon, who jumped out of the way in the nick of time as they stuck into the ground. The weavile dived towards her, claws extended. Juniper charged another attack, but this time, her tail glowed a brownish yellow. She swiped for the dark type, and her tail collided with its claws. They crossed several more attacks with one another before they both took a leap back. The weavile huffed, though whether it was from exhaustion or irritation, was difficult to tell. Val seized the opportunity to strike while it was distracted, took a stance and pointed her tails forward as she unleashed another ray of bright light at her opponent, once again knocking the weavile back and blinding it temporarily. Atty came in with a quick attack, striking it from the side and knocking the wind out of it. The trio all looked at one another and nodded, surrounding the weavile and preparing to attack in sync. It glanced at all three of them, and growled, then suddenly gave a sinister grin. It took a fighting stance and shrieked loudly as the entirety of its eyes glowed red, and a blackish red aura emitted from its arms. Atty gasped and shuddered at the sight. Val attempted another dazzling gleam attack, however, this time the weavile anticipated it and made a quick dash at her, claws ready, and smacked her in the face. She was staggered, and suddenly was struck from above and plowed into the ground. She was out cold and twitching.

"Val, no!" Juniper cried out as she tried to rush the weavile with an x-scissor attack with her glowing tail. It quickly turned around and gave a quick parry with its claws, stunning the leafeon, then countering her with several blows to the face and chest, a final sixth hit sending her flying across the battlefield and into a building. She too was knocked unconscious, shuddering as her body reacted to the brutal blow.

"June!" Atty was astonished, and nervous as the weavile glared at him and chuckled. Atty was frightened, now all alone to deal with this brute. He was backed into a wall, cowering as his foe approached him. He suddenly had an idea. A sort of last resort attempt as he charged up a bright ball of energy and shot it directly at the weavile. It was a direct hit. The weavile was suddenly confused, and looked around frantically as illusions began forming, swinging recklessly at nothing. Atty took this opportunity to strike, and dashed forward with lightning speed to hit the foe in the back, knocking it down. He seized the opportunity to land several more blows. As the weavile struggled to stand, it looked directly at the umbreon and growled lowly as it regained its form. Its eyes returned to normal, and the aura around its arms faded. It looked as though it was about to fall over. Atty saw his chance, and suddenly disappeared, and reappeared behind the weavile, striking it from behind once more and knocking it off its feet. It got to its feet once more, but was struggling to stand, holding its side as it took one last look at Atty, and suddenly ran off, somehow managing to find the strength to climb and ascend the cliff. It took one final look down at the umbreon from above, and then fled the scene.

Atty took a moment to catch his breath as the battle ended, then suddenly remembered the state of his comrades. He went to Valentine first, who just laid there in a small crater. He grabbed a sitrus berry from his pouch and force fed it to her. She chewed and swallowed, then suddenly woke up from her unconscious state. She looked at the umbreon. "What happened?"

"You took a big hit and passed out," he answered. "You feeling okay?"

"A bit shaken, but I think I'm good." With the ninetales tended to, Atty then turned his attention to Juniper, who was in a small pile of rubble. He and Val both ran to her side, and gave her a sitrus berry as well. She perked up as she swallowed, and the first thing she saw was the umbreon.

"Atty..." she said weakly.

"You alright, Flower? Can you stand?" She struggled to get up, but managed to get to her feet.

"That weavile... its power was unnatural," she said.

"Yeah, it took an awful lot to drop," Val added. "Where'd it go, anyway?"

"It ran off," Atty answered. "I don't think we'll be seeing it again anytime soon." He suddenly remembered the reason they came to the settlement in the first place. "Oh! Nina!" He and the others rushed to the mienshao's side, who had passed out again during the spectacle. The umbreon gave her a berry as well. She didn't spring up like the others, however. She opened her eyes slowly and sat up. She groaned and held her arm. She looked around and noticed some extra damage to the town, as well as the cuts, bruises, and dirt covering the trio.

"The weavile... what happened?"

"We won, Nina," Atty assured.

"Did you? I'm rather impressed." She chuckled weakly. "I mean, I had an extreme type advantage, and I still couldn't beat it. I'm surprised the three of you managed it."

"How do you feel, Nina?" the umbreon asked. "Can you move?"

"Yes. But I think my arm's broken." She winced in pain when she tried moving it.

"Let's just focus on getting you home. I'm sure Hope will take care of you." Nina nodded.

"Lead the way." The mienshao followed closely as they began leaving the area. "By the way, are you a rescue team?"

"Not officially," Val answered.

"Well, you definitely should be. I think you have what it takes to be a top notch team. Maybe even a guild if you build up."

"A rescue team?" Atty whispered to the ninetales.

"I'll explain it to you later, hun," she answered.

---

Atty and company followed the river downstream as they made their way through the rainforest. The sun was starting to get low, and it cooled down a little. After about an hour of traveling, they eventually reached the village. Nina sighed contently. "So good to be home."

"I know the feeling," said Atemis.

"Where do you live, by the way?"

"We live in a cottage nearby," Val replied.

"Like a human home? I didn't realize you were domestics." Atty became a little nervous. Juniper took note of his expression and chimed in.

"Well, the human we live with is usually never home, so we're pretty much free to do as we please," she lied.

"Sounds nice," Nina responded. "I'd love to visit sometime." They noticed someone approaching. It was the delcatty, Jasmine.

"Welcome home, Nina," she greeted with a smile. "I'm glad to see you still in one piece."

"The feeling's mutual," the mienshao replied. She then winced as her arm flared up in pain again. "I'd love to catch up, but I need to head to the infirmary. Like, urgently."

"That's fine, love. We'll talk later." Nina nodded and left the group, limping as she passed by. Jasmine turned her attention to Atemis. "Thank you for finding her. Did you run into any trouble?"

"We... would rather not talk about it," the umbreon answered.

"I see... what about our supplies?"

"I'm sorry, Jasmine. I'm afraid we weren't able to recover them."

"That's too bad. But the important thing is you brought Nina back home safe and sound. Thank you again." The cat pokemon then reached in a little satchel she was carrying and threw down a small bag. "I managed to scrape together a little something for you. It's not much, I know."

"It's fine," Atty assured.

"Oh, and this." Jasmine approached him and gave him a surprise kiss on the cheek. The umbreon jumped and blushed. She giggled at his reaction. Juniper frowned a bit at the scene. "You be careful on your way home. And be sure to come and visit me sometime. I'd love to get to know more about you and your friends." Atty gave a coy smile.

"I'll be sure to do that." Jasmine smiled, then turned around and left.

"Well, Atty," Val said, "you're just popular with all the girls, aren't you?" The umbreon smiled sheepishly and blushed.

"Let's go home, shall we?"