FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

**********8***********

_'I don't know when I woke up, but I believe it to be sometime in the morning. The scent of cold metal and sterilized air fill my nose, along with the unmistakable faint smell of blood and fear. It smells like mine, so that tells me I've been here at least once. I don't bother to open my eyes; the blindfold would prevent me from seeing anything anyway. I should be able to say that I'm used to being in the dark most of the time, but it terrifies me to the core of my being. My worst dreams come from the darkness. The daily night-terrors and the constant physical and mental torture... I can't even tell the difference between my night-terrors and the waking world most of the time. When I do realize that I'm awake, I usually find myself with one more bruise than I remember having before going to sleep and moved to another location. The bruises in the morning don't hurt so bad, rather they're a reminder that I'm still alive in this never-ending Hell.

I hate waking up. At least when I'm suffering from my night-terrors, there's a chance I might be relieved of such haunting images by the endless darkness of sleep. While I'm awake, it's the only time when I consider killing myself. To end the pain I'm forced to endure... to stop all these frightening visions I'm forced to watch... To end it all, would be peace on my tortured soul. It's the kind of darkness I'd be willing to embrace at a moments notice. There's nothing in that darkness that could hurt me... Because there will be nothing there, not even Arceus himself.

Arceus... I once believed that Arceus was a kind and benevolent god... That he protects all his children from harm and, if prayed to, can guide you on the right path out of any situation. No matter how hard I prayed or how much I wished otherwise, I'm still trapped and He doesn't exist. Either that or He doesn't consider me one of his children. I don't care either way. I wouldn't want to share my peaceful darkness with such an uncaring, unjust God. Yes, to die would mean sweet release from my pain; to hear nothing... to see nothing... to feel and be nothing all at the same time. Death will be like sleeping, only without the feeling of sleeping. Just imagining it is enough to give me chills... but I can't die yet. No matter how much more I have to endure, I have to see Lani again...to make sure she's still alive...'_

The loud click of a lock and the slow creaking of a metal door distract the dragon from his thoughts. He almost curses the fact that he can't see, but his other heightened senses have helped him determine who's been paid him a visit in the past. He hasn't forgotten a scent yet and this one is... unwanted. The footsteps treaded heavily across the floor as one of his own personal "wardens" made his way to the dragons' cage. Although it's been proven useless in the past, he attempted to feign sleep. As expected, he hears a heavy sigh.

"Skylar...do you honestly think that I wouldn't know the difference between you sleeping and being awake?" a gruff voice asks. "If that's the case, then you clearly haven't learned your lesson from your previous attempt to fool me. It seems like you want me to reeducate you, which I have no problems in doing." The dragon shutters as he mentions their last encounter. If he could help it, he'd rather not go through that experience again.

"No... That won't be necessary," he replies as he moves to a more vertical position, feeling every ache in his body scream at him.

"I didn't think so." The dragon could practically feel the ursaring's smile, his words laced with amusement as he watched the wounded dragon get up. "I have a task I need you perform, since you're so... good at what you do. I want you to get me ready for this female I'm about to meet. She's not much of a looker, but I lost a bet. So if I'm already prepped, we won't have to waste time with the foreplay. There's a surprise in it if you do a good job."

The dragon felt the ursaring's large paw grab the back of his head and could smell his arousal start to build. He mentally cringed at what the large bear expected of him, especially with the mention of a surprise, and made the split-second mistake of resisting. As brief as the resistance was, the bear smashed the Skylar's face into the iron bars of the cage. Pain erupted in his skull and nose, instantly dazing him. Even still, he could feel the plump sheath grinding against his cheek. The dratini obediently opened his mouth to lick the furry pouch containing the large bears' pride, hearing a satisfying growl from above. A foul stench filled his nose, as if his keeper hadn't bathed in days, which is probably the case. There had been times when he admitted to it and ordered the dragon to clean him while getting him off.

The blue dragon felt the tip poking out and began to lightly suckle on it. He then felt the bears' other paw on his head and push more of the swelling length into his mouth. It's at this point the dragon tunes out what's happening in the world and tries to think of happier times. Truth be told, in his honest opinion, this treatment is sunshine and butterfree compared to what he's been through so far on a daily basis. Most of his memories are centered on his closest kin counterpart. He both misses and never wants to see her again. His captures constantly use her image to torment him; killing and defiling her in every way imaginable, sometimes by his own actions or from a loved one. He often wonders what she's doing in the outside world.

"Ack! Cough!" Skylar's thoughts are violently interrupted as the Ursaring thrusts the entirety of his pride into his throat, literally suffocating him.

"Heh, don't choke now," the brown bear chuckled darkly as he keeps himself hilted for the better part of a minute. The blue dragon almost blacks out by the time the large bear decides to let him go. The ursaring pushes the smaller dragon violently toward the floor, where he coughs and struggle to regain his breath. The faint taste of the foul-smelling semen on Skylar's tongue almost makes him want to vomit while the large bear continues to laugh. "I was gonna blow my load just then, until I remembered I had somewhere to be. Anyway, I'll be a nice guy this time and let your surprise in. I'll be seeing you around."

Skylar wasn't paying him any attention at the moment, but he heard the door open. It closed a few moments longer than it should have and he smelled the scent of someone he's never met; female if he's not mistaken. Her footsteps are light and by the smell of it, she was bringing him breakfast. "Um, hello," she says shakily. "I've been assigned to f-feed you from now on. Could you... Come a bit closer?" The dratini slides his way closer to the bars and brings himself up to where he believes is to be her height. He mentally noted that she was relatively short compared to the height he usually stands at. "Say ahh..." The dratini probably would've laughed, or at the very least smiled, at the childishness of her request if he weren't so hungry and hurt, but he opens my mouth and accepts the surprisingly warm food she feeds him.

The taste of oats and berries somehow gave him a new sense of comfort, almost like he was back at home in the loving arms of his mother. Infantile memories of being gently caressed and protected by her assaulted his mind like a raging gyarados, causing him to feel a certain warmth he hadn't felt since that day. The blue dragon chokes back a sudden sob that threatened to escape, not wanting to give this newcomer something else to fret about. "T-thank you," he says after swallowing.

"For what?" she asks.

"My food is usually barely lukewarm at best and thrown near me, so I'm... very grateful that you're actually feeding me."

"Oh, well... You're welcome, I suppose."

The two stayed silent after that. She kept feeding the wounded dratini spoonfuls of oatmeal and chopped berries. Even though he knew the meal wouldn't be very filling and won't hold him over any extended length of time, he still ate it. It's been too long since he's had a warm meal in his stomach. "M-my name is Ren and... I-I'm a buizel, in case you wanted to know, since you can't see me." It's a given that she was nervous, that much Skylar knew. He assumed it was either because of her role here, his scars and bruises, or just being in this place. It's understandable in either cases and he guesses it would be bad of him not to treat this, he's assuming, 'sweet girl' to some common courtesy.

"That's a nice name, Ren. I'm glad there's someone like you with me right now. It's an absolute nightmare here, although that's putting it very lightly."

"Oh, thank you. It's no problem, really. So what's your name, if you don't mind me asking?"

"It's Skylar. I'm a little surprised that no one has told you who you'll be feeding for... however long you're going to be doing this. Then again, it's not like I care whether or not they treat me as a sentient being anymore. I'll probably end up dying here anyway."

The dratini hears a small gasp escape the buizel, along with the clatter of the spoon hitting the floor. "Y-you're not serious, are you? They're going to kill you?" Ren asks uncertainly, almost afraid of his answer, to which Skylar couldn't help but frown at. Something didn't exactly sit right with him about her. She seemed a little too ignorant of her surroundings to actually be in the same room as him, let alone feed him.

"How long have you been here... in this place? You don't act like the others around here and you don't seem like the type to partake in the 'nightlife' or any other pleasure-filled activities the others here do. What's your deal?" The sea-weasel picks up the dropped spoon and rinses it off with a light spray of water before using it again.

"I was... recently captured by a human, maybe a few days ago. I don't know anything about this place or what the others do here. No one wants to tell me anything because everything is on a need-to-know basis and I'm only here to do one job; and that's to feed you. I don't understand why I'm even here if this is all I'm going to be doing... no offence."

"None taken. It's good that you don't know the things going on in this god-forsaken place. The less you know, the better off you'll be; trust me."

The two went silent again. Skylar wondered why they would bring someone in just to feed him when they've had no problem doing it before. His first guess was that maybe this was another dream he thought was real again, but his half-full stomach told him otherwise. His other, more likely, assumption was that she was here for some other, unfriendly purpose. There was too much guesswork as to what unfriendly purpose she's being used for, so his only option was to remain on-guard against her. He couldn't give her too much information about his family, let her ignorance fool him into letting her get close to him personally, and, above all else, he couldn't trust her...

Ren, on her part, wasn't certain what to think about her current situation, and was even more unsure about the dratini she's in charge of feeding. The bruises were a bit unsettling at first, but she was told of his injuries beforehand. She assumed that he had gotten injured during a fight, but, after their conversation, she feels that may not be the case. Upon closer inspection, she could see that some of the bruises look older than others. He smelt of blood, dirt... and shame... like he hasn't had a proper bath in days. She frowned. 'He can't live like this.'

As soon as the last spoonful of oatmeal was swallowed, the door swung open. Both pokémon turned their heads toward the door. Ren saw, while Skylar smelled, a medicham standing under the frame. "It's time to go, girl," the medicham said sternly to the buizel. Ren hesitantly stood up, empty bowl in her paws.

"I'll see you again soon," she whispered to the dratini before leaving. Skylar heard the door close again, but he could tell the medicham was in the room with him.

"Sleep..." It was last thing the dratini heard before darkness overcame his senses and his mind was once again plagued with haunting visuals.

*****8*****

In another part of the world, a young trainer was in the process of starting his day. Chris had just finished brushing his teeth and was now brushing Tora's fur. Four days have passed since Alice won her forth badge. After making a trip to the pokémon center, she took everyone out to eat at a pokémon-friendly family restaurant. With two tables pushed together, due to Alice having all her pokémon out, they all enjoyed a delicious meal. It turned into a lively lunch as Alice was telling Kishan the entirety of her battle with the gym leader. The wartortle was enthralled with the story and praised everyone for their efforts. Although the cubone wasn't all that keen on being praised for "putting a weakling in his place", he did recognize it as the blue turtle's admittance of his superior fighting prowess.

It was only after lunch did Chris and Alice part ways, the former wanting to get some training in before his gym match. He spent most of his time at the dojo training Kaden to learn a new move. The gym leader even assisted in helping with the training a bit by giving them pointers here and there. When he wasn't training Kaden at the gym, Chris was training Tora and Lani, with Aaron's help, in a secluded area outside the city. The psychic was more than happy to help in their training and pushed the two to their absolute limit. After everything was said and done, Chris was fairly confident that they had grown strong enough to challenge the gym.

"So, are you ready for our gym match today?" Chris asked; which earned him a smile from Tora.

"You already know that I am. I don't even know why you're asking me that now," she replied, almost completely immersed in the feeling of the little bristles of the brush going through the fur of her back.

"Well, you could've woken up with an upset stomach and be feeling under the weather or something. I wouldn't want you to fight under such conditions. Other than that, it seems like the right thing to ask before a battle." The chu suddenly leaned back against him, forcing the grooming to come to a stop.

"I guess you've got a point, but you don't have to worry about me so much. I'm a big girl now." Chris embraced her in a hug from behind as he chuckled.

"But you're my big girl."

"True, but I'm not just your girl anymore. You have to share me with Aaron."

"As long as I get to have you on the weekends, I think I'll be alright."

"You're so silly," she laughed, quickly joined by Chris a moment later. Sighing, feelings of clam happiness swelled from within the chu. Feeling his arms around her, pleasant memories of their past blossomed forth in her mind, reminding her how lucky she is to have a Chris as her best friend and trainer. "Hmm... Chris? I was thinking... maybe we could spend an entire day together, just the two of us. I think we're a little overdue for some of our own alone time."

"Oh yeah? What did you have in mind?"

"I don't know. Let's just see what happens. How does tomorrow sound? It would really feel like our day if we spent the morning fighting in some gym and I kinda want to spend some time with Aaron later."

"Sure; tomorrow sounds great. Speaking of Aaron, I think it's about time you wake him up. I'm just about ready to leave."

"Alright."

Giving her one last affectionate squeeze and kiss on the head, Chris let her go. It was then he realized that he's been letting her go a lot lately. As an afterthought, he wondered when would be the last time he would let her go. Seeing her hop on the bed and affectionately nuzzle Aaron awake was probably one of the cutest things he's seen her do. The psychic, of course, returned her affection before they traded verbal greetings. He still couldn't get over how happy she looks whenever she's with him. In the back of his mind, he wondered if she would, or has even thought about, leaving him to live the rest of her life with Aaron. He wants to believe she hasn't, but there was an inkling of uncertainty in the pit of his stomach.

"Nope; not gonna think about it anymore,"_he mentally sighs. _"She's a big girl now and, even on the off chance that was to happen, I'd have to respect her decision." Checking for all the gear on his person, he steps out of the bathroom. "You ready to go, Aaron?"

"Now that I'm awake I am," Aaron replied, stretching in place. "I suppose I don't have to ask if either of you are, seeing as you both look ready to bolt out of here."

"I don't know what made you think you even had a choice to begin with," Tora commented lightly, which earned her a playful shove from her mate.

The trio then left the room, going down to eat breakfast in the cafeteria. The room was moderately packed with people, some being trainers with their pokémon out. Chris spotted Alice, with April next to her, already seated at a table along the opposite wall, so he joined them once they retrieved their food. Conversation was casual between the two trainers, mostly consisting of talk of the upcoming gym battle and plans afterward. Whether they wanted to head to either Vermillion or Celedan City was still a toss up, although it seemed like the decision was already made with the way Alice was talking about how big the mall and department stores were.

"You're looking pretty chipper today, April," Tora commented, noticing the pink sheep humming to herself a bit while eating. Since her victory over the poliwrath, April seems to have regained, or has even found, some self-confidence. The flaafy was still being a lot more talkative and expressive than usual, an almost complete personality flip from the timid sheep they knew, which made conversation with her an actual conversation. Alice was happy with the change, as it seemed that the sheep would be more adventurous and open to meeting new pokémon without clamming up first.

"Oh, you could tell? I guess I am feeling good today," the flaafy replied, smiling widely as she took a bite of the berry that was on her plate. "I've been waking up feeling like I could take on the world or something. Heh; I guess it sounds pretty silly."

"Not at all. It's nice to see you so happy for a change. You have an amazing smile," Aaron said, causing the cheeks of the sheep to visibly darken.

"Oh, t-thank you, Aaron. You have a n-nice smile too," she said nervously, not completely sure if either of them could compliment each other like this in front of his mate. Since Tora didn't say anything, or give any indication of dislike towards the comments, she assumed that the chu didn't mind them at all. "S-so, Tora, you're going to be fighting in a gym battle today? Good luck out there."

"Thanks. I've been training really hard with everyone, so I'm pretty confident in my abilities."

"Don't let that confidence swell that head of yours. I like it the way it is right now," Aaron joked, which was followed by a light shove by the chu.

"Oh hush. I'm not that confident. Besides, you'll love me no matter how much my head might swell." The two lovers laughed and nuzzled each other. "So, April, how is everyone else liking the new you?"

"Well, I guess everyone is glad I'm more... confident in myself," the sheep replied. "I'm talking to Fang more now, although he still looks kind of scary to me. And Kishan said that he's missed joking around with me and that he's glad to see me so happy again."

"What about Jari? Did he say anything to you... even about your match?"

"Oh, he, um... he hasn't... Well... He didn't really say anything about me or my match. He's the same as usual, I guess..." The pink sheep had a less cheerful smile after confessing that little bit of information; one that didn't go unnoticed.

"You sound... disappointed..." Aaron pointed out.

"N-No, not at all!" April quickly blurted out. "It's just... I mean... I wish he would recognize me a little more, is all. At least praise me for working hard once in a while instead of... almost never... I don't know. Maybe I'm like this because Kishan always praises me and I expected the same thing from Jari this one time, even though I know he's not the type to do that kind of thing."

"Well, then I suppose you'll just have to do something even more amazing to get a compliment out of him." Both April and Tora gave the psychic bewildered looks; the former more out of how she could possibly top her current personal feat. Tora had no idea why Aaron would suggest such a thing, seeing as the flaafy has already done so much already and didn't get any form of recognition from the cubone.

"Aaron, what are yo-"

"H-how do I do that?" April asked, cutting the chu off and surprising her. The psychic smiled.

"I'm sure that if you show-off that strength you showed us at the gym, he might say something to you. The pink sheep pondered over his suggestion, liking it more and more as she imagined opportune times to prove how strong she is.

"Alright, I'll do it. I'll show him just how strong I am. All I have to do is figure out how to do it."

"I think I can help you with that." The two started coming up ideas on how to put this plan into action. Although Tora had doubts about their little plot, she was more interested in why Aaron was so invested in it. Was there something going on that she's missing out on, or was Aaron just being nice? In either case, she was going to have to ask him about it later. Right now, her focus was on the gym battle ahead of her.

After everyone had finished their breakfast, the group headed out in search of the dark type gym. It didn't take them very long to find the place, seeing as it was on the same side of city as they were. As they walked through the automatic double-doors, Chris took a deep breath in order to still his nerves. The lobby area was lined wall to wall with pictures of different dark type pokémon. Directly across from them was the front desk, the loud clicking of keys being struck made it apparent that the receptionist was busy on the computer. Approaching the desk, Chris tapped on it to get her attention.

The woman jumped at the sudden tapping and turned to Chris. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"Yes, is the gym leader in right now?" Chris asked. The woman looked between him and Alice.

"Are you both looking to challenge him?"

"No, just me."

"Just a moment, please." She pressed a button on the phone next to her. "Carey, you've got a challenger waiting for you." A loud, piercing screech erupted from the speaker that made everyone cringe.

"GO AHEAD AND SEND 'EM IN!!!" a man shouted. The woman pushed the speaker button again.

"Turn your microphone down!" she shouted.

"Ah, right; sorry about that," came a reply a few moments later at a more reasonable level. "I'm still trying to get used to this thing. Anyway, send the challenger on back here." Resting her head on her hand, the woman sighed as soon as an audible click was heard.

"I swear that man is barely understandable at times. Anyway, just head through those doors over there and you'll be right at the battle grounds. Good luck in there."

The group, after a word of thanks to the woman, went through the doors on the left and walked down a short hallway. Like the lobby, the walls were lined with pictures of dark-type pokémon. They soon reached the end of the hallway, which expanded into the large room in which Chris was to have his battle. A man stood at the center of the battlefield. He waved the group down and walked toward them. Once close enough they saw that he looked to be somewhat of an elder man. There were strands of gray throughout the hair on his head and his moustache. He wore a black and red suit and seemed to have a gentlemanly aura about him.

"Hello; and welcome to my gym." he said. "Which one of you is here to challenge me?" Chris raised his hand.

"I'm here to challenge you," he said.

"Great. My name is Carey Odin. If you couldn't already tell from my statement earlier, I'm the leader of this newly founded gym. It's a pleasure to meet you..."

"Chris."

"Right, Chris. If you're ready, let's get this match underway. Forgive me if I seem a little eager to get started, but I still don't get that many challengers, being a relatively new gym and all. How many badges do you have so far?"

"That's alright. I'm really looking forward to this too. I only have three badges so far." The older man smiled.

"Then I'll be sure to give you a treat today."

That said, the gym leader turned and walked off toward his side of the field. Alice and Aaron took his leave as their cue to find a spot to watch the battle, wishing both Chris and Tora good luck before leaving. "Are you ready over there?" Carey asked once everyone seemed to settle in their places.

"Yeah, we're ready over here," Chris replied.

"Good. This will be a two-on-two match. Of course, you're free to substitute your pokémon at any given time and the match ends when one of us is out of useable pokémon. Since this isn't your first gym battle, I'll assume you understand the rules. Now, let's get this started. You're up first, houndoom."

The gym leader tossed a pokéball and released his pokémon onto the field. As soon as it fully materialized, the dog pokémon let out an ear-piercing howl that sent a slight chill up Chris' and Tora's spine. "Oh, how scary," Tora commented lightly.

"Yeah, he looks tough. You feel like going first this time?" Chris asked.

"And show off my skills? Of course."

"Good luck out there." Without another word, Tora took her place on the field. She locked eyes with the fire dog across the battlefield, both of them briefly sizing each other up before the fight.

"We'll let you have the first move, seeing as you're the challenger," Carey said.

"That's fine with us," Chris replied. "Tora, start off with Quick attack." The chu nodded and sprinted toward the houndoom at an incredible pace. The gym leader smirked.

"Your raichu is pretty fast, but that speed will be proven useless here. Use Smog, houndoom," the gym leader commanded. The houndoom tilted its head back slightly before releasing a massive cloud of toxic air. Tora's eyes went wide as the cloud quickly enveloped her and the entire middle of the battlefield, isolating her from her surroundings. The chu was forced to stop her attack, every inhale from the smog burned her throat and lungs, sending her into a coughing fit. "Now; use Dark pulse."

"Move, Tora!" Chris shouted urgently.

The chu couldn't put any effort into defending herself in time for the attack that came next. A black, purplish beam of energy sailed through the smog and hit her square in her face. Pain erupted in her head as she was sent flying, tumbling back near to where she took her place on the field. "Well... shit..." she muttered. Tora's vision blurred for a moment, before she shook off the effects of her dizziness and got back up. The smog had mostly dissipated and both she and Chris could see their opponents once again.

"Are you alright?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, I'm still good," she replied with a slight hoarse voice.

"Okay, switch tactics. Let's give them a shock since they won't let us get in close." Tora didn't reply back, instead began preparing her attack.

"It looks like they're going to keep their distance this time. Let's use Crunch," Carey said. The houndoom barked in recognition to the orders and took off.

Tora fired a massive thunderbolt at the quickly advancing fire type, but it easily dodged her attack with ease. She fired off a couple more bursts of electricity, all evaded seemingly easily, before the houndoom was upon her, its teeth glowing white as it leapt at her. The chu readied her Iron tail and whipped her body around to intercept the incoming attack. The fire dog bit down on the lightning bolt-shaped end of her tail, making her wince slightly. The dog then pulled back and turned, lifting the chu off her feet and throwing a little ways across the field. Tora quickly rolled back to her feet, glaring at her opponent with sparks emitting from her cheeks.

"Go for it," Chris said, seeing how tense her body is. She was getting mad, becoming almost deadly serious. They were clearly being outmatched so early in the battle and the two needed to step it up quick. And to do that, he needed to let her do her own thing for a moment.

Tora sprinted off with a Quick-attack. The houndoom waited until the last second to evade her, but that was expected. The chu didn't stop there. Pivoting on her feet, she chased after the hound and successfully tackled her opponent to the ground. The dog yelled upon getting hit, but rolled back on its feet just as fast it was knocked down.

"Not bad, but let's see if you can keep that up. Heat things up, Houndoom." Tora was already preparing a thunderbolt by the time the dog launched a stream of fire from its maw. She countered with a strong burst of her own element and the two attacks met, resulting in a huge explosion of fire and electricity that could be felt even outside the battlefield. A cloud of debris followed, blocking the middle of the field.

"My, what power," Carey commented as the dust settled. Both Pokémon were relatively unharmed by the blast and were staring intensely at each other. "I'm highly impressed by your raichu, seeing as she can go toe-to-toe with my houndoom... Once she's warmed up it seems." Chris smirked.

"That may be true, but she still has much more to show ifyou're impressed by that little bit."

"Then by all means; show me what you two can do. Dark pulse, houndoom."

"Dodge it and move in for an Iron tail."

Tora sprinted off toward her opponent, her tail glowing a silvery-white. The houndoom finished charging its attack and launched a black and purple beam of energy from its maw. The chu leapt to the side to evade the blast. The first was followed by another. Dodging it by a small demeanor, she leapt into the air, tucking her head in for a flip to bring the most out of her attack. Her tail slashed through the air as it came down hard on the houndoom's head. The fire-dog grunted and leapt back to distance himself from the chu.

"Don't let him get away," Chris said. Tora nodded and chased after her opponent with a Quick-attack. The gym leader's smirk grew into a full grin, completely enthralled at the growing intensity of the battle.

"Smog, houndoom. We'll not let them get the best of us."

The houndoom barked and released another massive cloud of smog, right as Tora leapt at him for the tackle. The chu skidded to a stop, holding her breath as to not breathe in the toxic air while she tried to track down her now invisible opponent. There weren't any noticeable movements that she could hear, because seeing was out of the option, nor could she sense the fire dogs' presence. "Use Crunch, Houndoom." The chu heard the light pitter-patter of paws approach her from the left. Gathering the energy in her cheeks, she discharged a quick thunderbolt in the direction of the sound.

A loud yelp let her know that she scored a hit, so she whipped around and dashed out the smog for some refreshing air. Chris saw Tora escape the cloud and take her first breathe of air. "I got him... One good time," Tora gasped out.

"Great job, girl. Just focus on catching your breath," Chris replied. From his point of view, the battle seemed to be locked in a stalemate, which was okay, but he needed a way to tip the scales in their favor if they were going to win this match.As the smog finally cleared he could see the state their opponent was in. The houndoom was crouched in an attack-ready position, its teeth bared as it growled very intensely at Tora.

"Heh, someone's mad. I guess he wasn't expecting to get hit like that."

"Don't get cocky now. We still have a whole battle to go."

"I must say, Chris, your raichu is certainly keeping us on our toes," The gym leader commented. "But it looks like Houndoom here wants to 'kick it in full gear', as they say. I hope you're ready for the kid gloves to come off."

"We've been ready since the start of this match and we're not holding back either."

"That's just the sort of enthusiasm I like to hear from my challengers. Alright then, go in with a flamethrower, houndoom."

"Give him another shock, Tora." Both pokémon unleashed both their attacks simultaneously, fire and electricity clashing in the middle of the field, resulting in another massive explosion. "Quick-attack!" Chris ordered over the boom of the explosion. Tora heard his mostly muffled command and took off into the dust cloud. She thought, just like Chris, that their opponents wouldn't expect an attack from their side so soon, thus taking them by surprise.

The chu soon emerged from the dust cloud at full speed, ready to deliver a hard tackle to the dog, but quickly stopped and leapt to the side to dodge a Dark pulse attack. She wasn't able to completely avoid it however, the attack having grazed her right hind leg and sending her into a mild spin to the ground. She gritted her teeth in pain; her leg feeling like it was suddenly set on fire. "Hmm, it seems we thought of similar strategies," Carey commented. "Only your raichu was fast enough to get over to this side before my houndoom could attack."

Chris gritted his teeth as he watched Tora get back up, noticing her favor her other leg just a little bit. They needed to end the match soon or else things will turn out badly for them later on. 'If things have gotten this difficult already, then there's no telling what's in store for us in the next match.'

"It looks like your raichu is reaching her limit. It was an entertaining match, but I suppose it has to come to an end sometime. Houndoom, end this with Crunch." The fire dog barked and wasted no time sprinting after the chu.

"Charge your electricity, Tora, and keep him away with Iron tail! We're gonna finish this!" The chu ignored the pain in her leg the best she could as she got her Iron tail ready and began filling her cheek pouches with power. As the dog made to snap at her, she took a small sidestep and swung her tail from a low-to-high position, catching the dog in its chest. The houndoom suddenly froze up, seemingly a bit shaken from her attack. "Double-up, Tora!" Even as he was saying it, the chu was already taking advantage of the momentarily stunned opponent and tackled the dog with a Quick-attack, sending it rolling on the ground.

The gym leader realized they were trying to get their second wind and made an effort to stop it before it got started. "Flamethrower, houndoom." The fire-dog quickly got back up and set a torrent of flames at Tora, which she managed to dodge by rolling to the side, only to be engulfed by a second stream of fire that came at her a lot faster than the first. She let out a scream as the searing heat sent every nerve in her body into overdrive.

"Tora!!!" Chris shouted worriedly, fighting every instinct to run onto the battlefield that very moment. Seeing his best friend engulfed in flames like that felt like he just got punched in the heart by a hitmonchan.

The feeling lasted no longer than a few seconds and was replaced by awe. A sound similar to thunder, followed right after a bright flash of light, resounded in the area as a massive burst of electricity completely eradicated the flames around the chu and went straight for the houndoom in the blink of an eye. The fire dog howled in pain as its body surged with a powerful current of pure electrical power. The attack lasted a few seconds and, once it was over, the dog nearly toppled over. Tora didn't look any better than her opponent. Her shallow breathing, coupled with the patches of singed fur in some places and her noticeably favoring her left leg, gave everyone the impression that she was at her limit as well. Chris knew that last attack took nearly every ounce of strength she had and was coming up with their next plan of attack.

"It seems you've won this match, young man," Carey said, moving to get a pokéball from his belt.

"W-what?" Chris stuttered, not understanding why the gym leader would suddenly say something like that. "What do you mean? Your houndoom is still standing... and growling." Carey chuckled.

"That may be, but my houndoom is, to put it simply, too damn stubborn to lie down unconscious before an opponent. He won't give any opponent that manages to best him the pleasure of seeing him fall in battle... so he remains standing even while he's unconscious. Believe me; you and your raichu have won this battle." As he was saying this, Carey recalled his pokémon back into its ball.

Chris looked back to Tora, thinking of doing the same. He reached for her ball and pointed it at her. "Tora!" The chu looked back him. Due to her exhaustion and slightly blurry vision, it took her a couple seconds to figure out what he was holding out to her. Even though she didn't like going into her ball, she knew she wouldn't be able to make it back to Chris without collapsing. Giving him a silent nod of resignation, she experienced the foreign feeling of being recalled into her pokéball. "Sorry girl. It'll just be for a little while," Chris whispered to the ball before putting it back on his belt.

"If you're ready, let's start the next match," Carey says as he pulls out another pokéball.

"I'm ready," Chris replies.

"Then here's another of my pride and joy's. Take the stage, Umbreon." In a flash of light, an umbreon materialized onto the field. The eon pokémon yawned and shook its body, the yellow rings on its body flashing briefly. It looked completely relaxed, despite being on a battlefield. It almost made Chris wonder if the pokémon even knew that it was going to battle in a few moments.

Chris reached for his next pokémon. "Let's go, Kaden," he said as he tossed the pokéball. The blue beetle materialized onto the field in his usual relaxed posture. The heracross looked across the field at his opponent and took note of its similar disposition. He figured that if the umbreon was similar to him in any way, things wouldn't get serious until after the match has officially started.

"Ah, I see you have a heracross. Hoping for a little type advantage, are you?" Carey commented with a light chuckle. "Well, you're not the first to try such a method against me, so don't expect this match to go as smoothly as you hope."

"I never thought this would be an easy match," Chris replied. "I wouldn't be challenging myself or my team otherwise."

"Hmm... such tenacity and trust in your pokémon deserves a reward. Unfortunately, you're going to have to earn it."

"That's fine with me. Kaden, start off with Horn attack." The blue beetle immediately took off in flight after the umbreon, his horn glowing white.

"Umbreon, intercept with Hidden power." The eon pokémon became rigid, its eyes glowing as several small, semi pink-luminescent orbs of energy swirled around it before flying toward Kaden.

The heracross dodged the first few of many energy balls, though only by a hair. The rest came too fast and he was assaulted by the entire volley, each hit feeling more painful than the last. The blue beetle fell hard on the field, skidding to a halt near the middle. "Kaden, are you alright?!" Chris shouted concernedly. The heracross shook the dizziness from his head, grunting slightly as he slowly stood back up.

"I'll be fine," he told Chris. "It'll take more than that to take me out." "Just don't get overconfident and play to your strengths. Let's try Brick break."

Kaden flew off once more, with both his claws glowing. "Still coming straight at us, eh? Fine, we'll play your little game. Umbreon, use Quick-attack." The eon pokémon took off, almost appearing as a blur as it sprinted toward the heracross at full speed. Kaden was surprised at the umbreon's impressive speed, but it paled in comparison to Lani's. He could easily keep up with it at this pace.

As soon as his opponent was in range, he made a swipe at it, only for the umbreon to dodge left in order to evade his attack. He had already anticipated this and allowed the eon pokémon to hit him square in his chest. He stifled a small grunt, taking the brief opportunity of close contact to grab the umbreon and toss it into the air. The dark type was obviously not expecting this and flailed about as Kaden quickly flew up and delivered two back-to-back Brick Break chops along its abdomen, sending the pokémon flying uncontrollably to the ground. The umbreon bounced on impact, only managing to slowly roll into an upright position thanks to direction of the fall.

"Great job, Kaden!" Chris said excitedly, knowing that some real damage had just been dealt thanks to the super-effective move coupled with Kaden's strength. The heracross felt proud of his new strength as well.

"I guess all that training really paid off. That didn't hurt nearly as much as that medicham's punches," Kaden said.

"Yeah, those were pretty nasty. Anyway, stay focused; the match just started."

When Chris turned his attention to the other side of the field, he saw that Carey realized he made a grave mistake in letting his pokémon engage in close-quarters with Kaden, his concern for his umbreon showing as it struggled to stand up. "Are you alright, Umbreon?" he asked. The dark type growled in response, shaking off the dizziness it was likely feeling after the last attack. When at last it finally got up, The umbreon looked undoubtedly displeased and its trainer saw that. "Settle down; the battle's not over yet. Let's try our luck with plan b."

Chris and Kaden went to full alert at the mention of a 'plan b', the eon pokémon seeming to calm down a little. As the pokémon began stalking closer, the heracross stood ready for any sort of attack. It suddenly took off in a full sprint once it reached the middle of the field. "Kaden, get in the air!" Chris shouted. The blue beetle immediately took to the air, getting out the range of his opponent. That was when the umbreon's eyes turned white and used Hidden power once again. "Deflect any you can't dodge!" Kaden flew to the right, both his claws glowing as he tried his best to dodge the barrage yet again. Just as he was told, he batted away all the small energy he couldn't avoid.

Near the end, the Herculean beetle was struck, but he didn't feel any pain. He was overcome with an emotion that was completely foreign to him. The felling increased ten-fold once he set his sights on his opponent again, a strong attraction for the dark type reaching unbelievable heights in the pit of his stomach. The umbreon was no longer an opponent in his eyes, but a beautiful, absolutely stunning entity that no other can compare too. "So... Beautiful..." he muttered.

Down on the ground, Chris was wondering what was going on. Kaden was just hovering in the air and had, for the most part, stopped moving. "Kaden... Kaden!" Chris called out, only to get no response from the bug. "Kaden, what's wrong?"

"Your heracross has fallen for my umbreon," Carey interjected. Chris turned to the gym leader, a perplexed look etched across his face.

"What do you mean he's fallen for your umbreon?"

"To put it simply; my umbreon used Attract while your heracross was busy dodging the first attack. Needless to say really, but this umbreon is female... and now your pokémon won't be able to attack her."

As he was explaining this, the blue beetle had landed back on the battlefield and was carelessly approaching the dark type. "Kaden, stop!" Chris shouted, only for his order to fall on deaf ears.

"Ah, and you'll be hard-pressed to know that love has a tendency to somewhat deafen the fallen to others around them. Some also say that love is a sign of madness. Allow us to demonstrate. Umbreon, use Quick-attack." The eon pokémon wasted no time in charging forward and ramming its head into the Kaden's chest. There wasn't any sort of defense put up before or after the hit, the beetle getting sent tumbling on his back. His reaction the most bizarre thing Chris has ever seen. The heracross actually laughed a bit... and mumbled an 'I love you' to the umbreon with a goofy smile. "Keep it up."

The eon pokémon was relentless, attacking the helpless bug left and right with a bombardment of attacks that were quickly piling up damage. Chris didn't have any idea what to do. No matter how much he tried to snap Kaden out of his love-induced haze, his words wouldn't seem to reach him. The option of switching out him out for Tora was out of the question. He already knew the chu would collapsed as soon as he released her on the field. It was a little more than frustrating for Chris to be put in such a situation, where there didn't seem to be anyway out.

"Umbreon; it's time we finish this battle. Use Last resort," Carey said. The umbreon barked in affirmation and charged at Kaden.

"Kaden, move it!" Chris shouted frantically, knowing the heracross would be knocked out with this attack.

"It's too late!" The Umbreon lowered its head as it closed in, just a few strides away from dealing the finishing blow.

"Counter it!" Chris' hands were clenched as he watched the umbreon make the final stride to hit Kaden with all its power. It was at that moment the Herculean beetle's entire body glowed for a split second, followed by him blocking the attack by crossing his arms. The impact sent him skidding backwards a bit. He then pushed the umbreon upward, taking it by surprise as he grabbed the eon pokémon by the tail and slamming it on its back. The eon pokémon gasped as the air was forced out of its lungs.

"Umbreon!" Carey exclaimed, not expecting the counter-attack. Chris was too stunned to comment on what just happened, so he decided to try pushing his luck while he still has it.

"Horn attack," he said.The blue beetle, in a somewhat drunken fashion, lifts his head up and brings down his massive horn on the still fallen umbreon, eliciting a cry of pain from the dark type before it fainted. A few moments later, Kaden returned to normal. The glassy look in his eyes disappeared and he looked around, confused as to where he was at the moment.

"I don't believe it..." Carey said, at a loss for words at the sudden turn of events. Chris fell to his knees, the intensity of the last moments of the battle having overwhelmed him, and let out a held breath he didn't know he was holding.

"So, did I just win?" Kaden asked as glance between Chris and the unconscious umbreon. Chris turned to the beetle and nodded.

"Kaden... you were great, although you had me worried for minute there," he replied. "How do you feel?"

"Sore all over; now that I'm not feeling... 'In love' anymore, I guess."

"You took a real beating."

"I would actually like it if you put me in that ball thing. I feel like I'm about to pass out."

"Sure thing, buddy; and thanks for your hard work today." Chris pulled out a pokéball and returned Kaden inside of it. He then stood up, just in time to see the gym leader approach him and return his own pokémon into its ball.

"I must say, that was a very impressive victory, albeit the maneuver your heracross pulled off at the end was somewhat unexpected," Carey said, sounding not the least bit disappointed in losing. "Nevertheless, you and you pokémon managed to overcome another hurdle in your journey through strength, trust, and willpower. For that, I'm giving you the Shadow Badge as proof of your victory here today." He fished out a circular, black badge with a crescent moon on it and held it out to Chris.

"Thanks," Chris said as he accepted the badge. "I learned a lot today and this was one of the most intense matches I've ever had."

"It'll only get tougher from here on out, but I believe you'll pull through well enough."

"Chris," Alice shouted before embracing Chris in a surprise celebratory hug. "Congratulations on getting your fourth badge! Now you're all caught up to me again! You know what that means, right?"

"Uh... no; what's that mean?" Chris asked, looking completely clueless.

"It means we're both halfway there to having our all-out battle at the pokémon league... and we get to celebrate your victory when we get out of here!" she said excitedly. Chris chuckled. He had almost completely forgotten about their promise to battle at the pokémon league.

"Yeah, that sounds about right, but let's put the celebration on hold until after I get everyone healed."

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