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Pokemon: Further Evolutions

CH 6

The Tournament

Nurse Joy's laughter was heard through Kyo's poke-gear. His cheeks flushed red as he waited for her to settle down. "Oh my gosh that's hysterical." She let out a sigh. "And you say you ran almost all the way around the island?"

"Yeah," Kyo answered her, curling his tail around his leg, "it was...really hard to lose them, and more started following when they saw me. I eventually buried myself underneath a ton of sand and waited them out."

"How did you even manage to dig fast enough?" Joy asked curiously.

"Oh I didn't. A Diggersby-morph figured out the situation I was in and offered me some help."

"That's nice. Did you," she snickered, cutting herself off from what she wanted to say, "pppppppfffffttt, did you tell your folks back home about this?"

Kyo's cheeks flushed even redder. "N-no of COURSE not." Joy broke into laugher. "I mean, I didn't even tell them about how it's mostly females here. My mom would flip out from just knowing that, and I don't even want to know how she'd react to how pretty much everyone on the island is naked."

"Very...very true," Joy replied. Kyo could practically feel her smile from her side of the line. "Anyways, I've got work to do. Talk to you again some time alright?"

"Will do," Kyo said to her, before hearing a click and the low ring of disconnection. With a happy sigh, Kyo placed his poke-gear back onto the table. Nodding to himself, Kyo made his way out of the room.

"All done?" Captain Shino asked him upon seeing him exit.

"Yup," Kyo answered him, "and thanks for letting me do this."

"It's no problem," Shino dismissed, "the two of us are pretty much the only ones who use the signal on S.S. Gyrados, so I don't really mind sharing it."

Kyo bowed briefly. "Well, in any case, thank you for this." The captain returned his bow, and the water type made his way out of the captain's quarters, and eventually out of the ship itself. He nodded to some of the crew members as he walked down the bridge leading back to the island. He raised an eye ridge in surprise as he spotted Teddy waiting patiently at the other end of the bridge. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Kyo walked over to the Ursaring-morph.

"So this is where you have been my friend," Teddy said, taking an outstretched hand and shaking it, "I felt rather concerned after we were separated to find our huts. When I was finally informed on where your area was and went to find you, you were not there, and my concern grew." Kyo smiled, letting his hand fall to his side.

"Yeah," Kyo began, "well, some things..._happened..._but I'm fine either way. I just came here to make some quick calls to some people back home."

"Ah, I have no doubt your family is included." Kyo confirmed this with a nod. "Are they well?"

"They are," Kyo answered, "nothing's happened over there, and my partner's happy that we can still keep in touch."

"That is good to hear," Teddy said with a nod and a grunt, "So, I have been meaning to ask you something."

Kyo tilted his head. "What is it?"

"Do you recall the tournament Zeke spoke of during the tour?" Kyo's head tilted the other way as he thought back.

"I...think I heard," he told him, "but I wasn't really paying attention at the time. What is it exactly?"

"Well, as I have said, it is a tournament here on the island," Teddy began, folding his beefy arms across his chest, "It mainly comprises of morphs, however any normal pokemon that wishes to enter is permitted to join." Kyo nodded, slipping his hand back into his pocket. "There are three categories: Advanced for the well experienced, Veteran for the slightly less, and the Beginners for...well you get it I'm sure." Kyo nodded once.

"So is there any reward for winning if you make it to the top?" he asked curiously.

"They do not have much truly," Teddy explained, "They do have medals prepared, but they cannot offer much else when it comes to physical objects." Kyo nodded in understanding. "That is why they have a different sort of prize." Kyo's head tilted again. "If a pokemon or pokemorph were to win, that individual is granted a single request within the power of the island leaders to grant." Kyo whistled.

"Sounds pretty interesting," he commented.

"That it is," Teddy replied, "and that is why I wanted to ask you something. I was wondering if you would be willing to train with me for the tournament. I figured that since you are not entirely comfortable with the island's...pass time..." Kyo's cheeks flushed red again, "then you would probably wish to partake in the tournament. I would enjoy having you as a sparring partner."

"Heh, well you've got me there," Kyo replied, allowing his blush to fade, "but in all honesty, I don't think I'll be joining in on the tournament. I have literally no experience in actually taking part of a battle. Still though, I'll keep this in mind."

Teddy nodded in sad understanding. "That is a shame, though I understand your reasoning."

"Yeah, sorry," Kyo replied, "Out of curiosity though, what would you do if you won?" Teddy let out a low grunt, and looked up in thought.

"In truth, I have no real desire for the prize," he told him, "I simply wish to fight against strong opponents. That prize would simply be a bonus to me." He tilted his head one way. "I suppose if I did manage to win, I would ask to fight one of the island leaders. They seem fairly strong, and should be, considering they're leaders." He looked back to Kyo. "And what of you? What would your request be, young Kyo?"

Kyo chuffed. "Come on, like I'd ever make it that far into the tournament."

"But if you did," the Ursaring-morph went on, "what would it be?"

Kyo put a finger to his chin. "I'm...not sure really." He looked off to the side, thinking about what he could consider. He went through a list of things, but couldn't find anything that really suited him. Eventually though, before he could stop himself, he let his mind drift back to Grovyle.

"Um...Kyo?" said Teddy, snapping Kyo out of his trance.

"S-sorry," he apologized, "I couldn't think of anything."

"It is fine," Teddy said dismissively, "So you have no intentions to join, but would you still like to train with me anyways?"

Kyo shook his head. "No thanks. I doubt it would do much for me." Teddy shrugged.

"So then," Teddy went on, "what is it that you have planned for today?"

"Probably something solitary," Kyo answered, "I dunno, I...really just wanna be alone for a bit."

"Ah, I see, still having troubles dealing with the events from yesterday I presume." Kyo blushed hard, looking away and not responding. Teddy let out his booming laughter. "So it is then. Well my friend, I shall leave you to it then. I am off to train."

"Alright then, see ya later."

"Farewell my friend," Teddy waved and started for the other direction. Kyo waved back to him until the ursine turned away from him. Nodding to himself, he looked to the forest, and began his trek over.

***

Along the way, Kyo caught a glimpse of several morphs training for the tournament as well. He felt rather mystified as he watched them go through the motions, almost as though they had been fighting like this for their entire life. It almost made him feel ashamed at his own weakness. While they hadn't been morphs their entire life, it very much seemed like it was natural to them. Kyo, (fortunately or unfortunately, he couldn't really tell), had originally been human, so he was able to adjust to his body fairly quickly.

And yet, even with his easy adjustment, he found himself unable to match the beauty and grace of the others' movements. Nothing seemed out of step, and nothing seemed alien to them. They just _did_it. The Feraligatr-morph let out a small sigh to himself.

"'Not training today huh?'" a familiar voice spoke up behind him, snapping him out of his thoughts. Turning to look, he saw Grovyle walking up the path to meet him.

"Oh, hey," he greeted her, giving her a small wave.

"'Hello to you,'" she waved back, motioning for him to follow as she continued to make her way up the path. "'So, have you been doing any practice for the tournament lately?'" Kyo chuffed. "'What?'"

"Oh nothing," he replied, "it's just that my friend asked me that earlier." The grass type nodded in understanding, and folded her arms under her pert breasts, raising them up slightly. "I...uhh..." he shook his head, snapping his eyes back to her eyes, "I actually haven't decided if I'm going to join in or not. I'm really just thinking about it for now."

"'That so?'" she said to him with a raised eye ridge, "'Well, I suppose not _all_morphs are completely comfortable with fighting just yet. For me, I've been training for a fair amount today. I'm planning on signing up for the beginner's category, since I don't really have that much battle experience.'"

"I see," Kyo replied, "it...must be difficult for you... I mean, you guys never really got any battle experience before you were rescued, huh?" Grovyle gave him a confirming nod. "So what...was your life like...back then...?" It was only until after his words left his lips that he realized how insensitive his question had been. He immediately regretted asking as the grass type looked down at her feet, not saying anything for a moment.

"'I...I prefer not to say...'" she answered him, hugging herself with her arms as her leafy tails sagged behind her. Kyo bit his lip.

"I...I'm sorry," he apologized, "that was insensitive of me, I-I shouldn't have asked that..." He scratched the back of his head, trying to think of a way to turn the conversation to a different topic. "To be honest...I'm...kinda jealous of you."

Grovyle looked up at him. "'...Really?'"

"Well, yeah," he replied, nodding, "I mean, I don't have any battle experience either, yet you're able to train and fight. I don't think I can do that, at least not as easily as you can..."

"'You were...a sheltered pokemon...right?'" Kyo nodded, reminded of his false back-story, "'I see...I guess that makes sense...'" At that, she faced forward as she continued walking. A moment passed, and a warm smile crossed her muzzle. A small laugh escaped her muzzle, and a blush rose to her cheeks. Kyo tilted his head.

"What is it?" he asked curiously.

"'Oh, it's just...'" she turned away for a moment, "'it seems we have another thing in common with each other.'" She turned to him, causing their eyes to meet again. Kyo couldn't help but blush as well as her bright yellow eyes gazed into his. "'From the way you've described your life, I feel like I've been a sheltered pokemon for all of my life as well. None of us have ever really been let outside, none of us have ever battled before, and none of us have ever been given the chance to be wild.'" She smiled warmly at him. "'So I guess you could say I'm a sheltered pokemon too.

Kyo almost winced as he felt his guilt hammer down upon him from her words. If guilt were an actual person, he was sure that it would be kicking him in the gut by now. After that, not much was said until they reached their huts.

"'Well,'" Grovyle began, "'I guess I'll be seeing you then.'" She turned towards her hut and began to walk towards it.

"H-Hey um..." the grass type stopped in her tracks upon hearing him, turning to face him. Kyo blushed as he realized he didn't really have anything to say. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he tried to come up with something to say. "Uhh.....just...take care alright?" Grovyle chuckled slightly, nodding in response before making her way into her hut. Kyo mentally kicked himself as her door closed, bagging on himself for not being able to come up with anything better. He shook his head and started for his hut, only to stop as his stomach grumbled loudly. He looked down at himself as the grumbling eventually came to a stop.

Oh man, he thought to himself, I forgot to eat on the way here. During his journey to the S.S. Gyrados, Kyo had eaten all of the food in his bag, which meant that he would need food from the island. If I remember correctly...I think there was supposed to be a make-shift eatery on the island somewhere... He thought back, vaguely remembering Zeke's words. He remembered something along the lines of trying not to threaten the integrity of the island's natural wildlife, as the morphs' presence wasn't the most natural of things to occur.

Another low grumble from his stomach snapped him out of his thoughts, and he hastily made his way through the forest. After several minutes of wandering, he quickly realized that he wasn't going to be finding it anytime soon. Taking a different approach, Kyo aimed for the shore-side, planning to circle around and hopefully find the eatery that way. Once he made his way out of the trees, he was met with a surprising sight.

A large amount of morphs were crowded around an even larger mass of blue and white. Looking closer, Kyo could see that the blue mass was a Wailord that had apparently beached itself. The crowd around it was slightly parted, allowing room for a very muscular and impressive-looking Nidoking-morph, as well as a powerful looking Bastiodon, one of the first few normal pokemon Kyo had seen on this island so far. The two large pokemon struggled to move the large behemoth, but barely managed to so much as cause it to budge. They struggled again and again, but to no avail.

Jeez,_Kyo thought to himself, _this looks pretty serious... Temporarily forgetting about his need to eat, the Feraligatr-morph walked over to join the crowd in watching. He maneuvered to a spot that allowed him to see at least most of what was going on, and watched in high curiosity. As a child, he remembered a few moments when there had been beached Wailmers and Wailords on the shores of his home town, Olivine. He watched in concern, as he remembered times when help had arrived too late.

"'One...two...thrreEEEEEE,'" the muscular Nidoking-morph counted out as he pushed at the large water type, tensing his muscles and causing several veins on his body to bulge. The Bastiodon pushed hard as well, digging his feet deep into the sand as the steel type pushed with everything it had. A few seconds passed before the two of them ceased their pushing once again. The poison type huffed as he straightened.

"'I don't think we're gonna be able to do this Trey,'" the Bastiodon said to the other male in a deep voice, "'Do you think we should just call in Celest?'"

"'I already called her in ahead of time, Ben,'" the one now identified as Trey replied, folding his arms across his muscled chest, "'I don't think she'll take long, she never does anyways.'"

"'Good,'" said Ben, nodding in satisfaction, "'because from what this one has told me, he's been here for quite some time. We're lucky he was found when he was.'"

"'So will this whale be returning to the home soon?'" the Wailord spoke up, his eye flicking between both pokemon.

"'Don't worry bud,'" Trey assured him, patting him gently, "'we're just waitin' for the other leader to arrive. Once she's here, then you can get back to the ocean.'" The massive water type made several sounds of happiness, the side of his mouth that Kyo could see curling up to a large smile. The two males laughed in amusement, putting most of the morphs around them at ease, Kyo included. The poison type caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He smirked, and turned to look. "'Ah, here she is now...'"

Kyo followed his gaze. At first, he wasn't sure what he was looking for. However, it was only a moment after that he realized who he had indicated to. Making her way past the trees was a stunningly beautiful figure. Her graceful movements gave her an almost surreal image, as she seemingly glided over the sandy ground beneath her. Her bright red eyes stood out from amongst her white skin and her grassy-green hair. Her modestly sized breasts did little to hide the strange red protrusion coming out of her chest. Her dress flowed elegantly in the breeze as she practically glided over to stand between the two strong males. Kyo found himself speechless, stunned from seeing the beauty of an actual Gardevoir-morph for the first time.

"'So this is the Wailord you notified me about, I presume?'" Celest asked Trey, not looking at him as she placed a gentle hand upon the Wailord's snout.

"'Heh, well I don't think there are any others around here,'" Trey chuckled in amusement. The psychic type turned her head towards him, giving him a look that told him that she was not in the mood. Wordlessly, she turned back to the Wailord, running her hand up and down his snout soothingly. "'Right...so we tried to move him, but he's just way too heavy for the both of us.'"

"'Please don't tell me anything irrelevant,'" Celest replied, "'Besides, I don't care to hear your excuses.'" The two males chuffed.

"'Pleasant as always, Celest,'" Ben said sarcastically, "'So what got you into your mood this time?'" Celest closed her eyes, letting out an irritated sigh.

"'This matter is irrelevant,'" she snapped, "'Right now, I require absolute focus.'" Nodding in understanding, the two males backed off, indicating to the other morphs around them to do the same. The psychic type stood straight, taking her hand off of the large whale. She took in a breath, and let it out slowly. Then, she slowly raised her hand, holding it out in front of her. A moment passed, before she flicked her wrist, causing a pink aura to surround her form, and soon after the Wailord's. She raised her other hand, and the aura around the Wailord brightened. The Gardevoir-morph then opened her eyes, revealing them to be glowing brightly. She slowly raised both of her hands higher, and the Wailord's body began to rise up from the ground.

The morphs around them moved farther away, allowing them space to move. Once the water type was suspended at a height that satisfied Celest, she made her first step forward, with the Wailord moving along with her. The crowd behind them began to make sounds and cheers of approval, many of them applauding her feat. Celest paid no heed to their praises, preferring to focus on the task at hand. She walked several meters, stopping just at the edge of the shore. Her brows furrowed as she concentrated more, now forced to rely completely on her psychic abilities to move the whale far enough out to sea. Splaying her fingers farther apart, she moved the Wailord further and further away from the group. After one final push, she released her psychic hold on him, allowing him to fall back into the water, and causing the morphs behind her to burst into even more applauding and cheering. Celest relaxed, allowing her arms to drop to her sides and letting out a heavy breath. She straightened herself, and turned to face the two muscled males.

"'Alright everyone,'" Ben spoke up, looking to the other morphs, "'nothing left to see here. Please go back to your daily lives now.'" Once the crowd had settled down, many of the morphs began to disperse, walking back towards the forest or wherever it was they were headed to. Kyo stared at Celest in awe as she slowly glided towards the forest.

Wow..._he thought to himself, _that was...really impressive... Soon enough, she glided past the trees and disappeared from sight.

"'Quite something huh?'" Kyo nearly jumped out of his scales as he heard a voice very close behind him. He quickly turned around, meeting the eyes of a gray furred vixen. He quickly came to the conclusion that she was a female, judging from her generously sized breasts, which had an almost reddish-brown fur coating that led up her shoulders. Her bright yellow eyes stood out greatly from her, even more so thanks to the purple fur around her eyes and at the corners of her muzzle. What stood out the most, though, was the bright purple shading of her long, and rather thick hair, which was accented at the ends with the same reddish-brown fur of her chest. It took a moment for Kyo to realize that she was a Zoroark-morph.

"'Do you like what you see?'" she said slyly, a cheeky grin spread across her muzzle. Kyo blushed and looked off to the side, having been caught staring again.

"I-I'm sorry," he quickly apologized, "it's just...I don't think I've ever seen a Zoroark with your particular fur color..." The vixen raised a brow.

"'I hope this isn't a bad thing,'" she said to him, to which he quickly shook his head. She laughed pleasantly. "'I'm kidding, it's fine. I actually quite like the attention my fur brings me.'" She ran her paw through her hair. "'Anyways, I should properly introduce myself.'" She held out her paw to him. "'The name's Rina, and I'm the social leader of this island.'"

Kyo caught his breath in surprise. "N...nice to meet you," he replied, shaking her paw. Rina smiled in satisfaction, flicking her ears happily.

"'So, I'll take it that you saw those three earlier?'" she continued, motioning to the area behind him with her muzzle. Kyo briefly looked back, turning back to face her and give her a confirming nod. "'Well, if you didn't already know, those three were also island leaders.'" Kyo nodded again, remembering what he had overheard from the males' conversation. "'Yeah, the two guys over there are in charge of taking care of any problems that involve any heavy lifting.'" She smiled. "'Yup, all muscle, but no brains.'" Trey sneezed off in the distance. She chuckled before continuing. "'The Gardevoir that you saw and ogled is in charge of taking care of any jobs the two muscles can't handle. She's also in charge of helping out with negotiations between us and the humans.'"

Kyo's cheeks were red. "I...I wasn't--" Rina laughed again, placing a paw on his shoulder and rubbing it gently.

"'No worries Kyo,'" she said, "'that kind of behavior's normal around here anyways, so feel free to stare at as many tits n' dicks as you want.'" Kyo's cheeks reddened further. He blinked, suddenly realizing that she had called him by his name. "'And if you're wondering; yes, I know who you are, and I know about your secret.'" Kyo nodded in understanding.

"S-so," he began, wanting to change the topic of conversation quickly, "there are a lot of leaders around here huh?"

"'Yup,'" Rina nodded, "'ever since the morphs around here were able to have kids again, the population has been booming. Because of that, more leaders were needed so to keep track of all of them.'" She placed a paw on her breast, seeming to purposely squeeze it slightly. "'I'm one of the newer ones, and so is the Gardevoir-morph.'" She gestured towards the two males again. "'The two muscles over there are some of the original leaders, though they've only come out of hiding recently. I'm assuming you were told about the issue with the males.'" Kyo nodded. "'Yeah, Zeke was one of the few brave souls that decided not to hide. Then again, he was still sterile at the time, so I guess there wasn't much of a reason to hide in the first place.'" A sly smile crossed her muzzle. "'Which reminds me...'" she looked over to him, leaning in closer so that her nose nearly bumped into his, "'have you mated with anyone yet?'"

Kyo's cheeks flushed to a deep red. He turned away, biting his lip. Images of the incident on the ship flooded his mind once again. He felt a tent quickly forming in his shorts, and he hastily curled his tail around his lap in an attempt to hide it. After a minute of him not responding, Rina laughed in amusement, straightening and giving Kyo his space back.

"'Well, just so you know, I'm always open to a handsome fella such as yourself.'" Her paw playfully brushed against the side of his tail, and Kyo's blush deepened to a point where it almost hurt. He turned back to her, and she gave him a wink.

"I......uh...I-I....." he stammered, unable to come up with anything to say. The Zoroark-morph began to laugh once more. Before he could come up with anything to say, Kyo's stomach reminded him of his hunger with a low and rather loud growl. Rina smiled in amusement.

"'Hungry I presume?'" she cooed, tilting her head slightly.

"Y-yes," Kyo answered, snapping himself out of his stammer, "I was actually looking for the eatery."

"'Oh I could take you,'" she replied cheerily, taking a step forward, "'I was thinking of grabbing a bite as well.'"

"N-n-no thank you," he stammered again, taking a step back, "I-I don't want to be a bother. Besides, I-I'm sure you're busy."

"'Oh it's fine,'" she assured him, taking another step forward, "'I'm not that busy today. It really isn't a problem.'" She smiled warmly. "'Also, you don't have to be so nervous around an attractive morph such as myself, hun. It's cute, but you can relax.'"

"I'm...I'm fine," Kyo replied, recollecting himself, "I think I can find it on my own."

"'Aw...you sure?'" Rina said, her ears lowering slightly and a glum expression crossing her face. Kyo bit his lip, but eventually nodded. "'Daww, well...okay then.'" She smiled again, ears perking back up. She raised a paw and pointed behind him. "'I believe it should be somewhere in that direction. You should pass a weird lookin' rock formation on the way there.'"

"Thank you, I'll be on my way then," Kyo bowed in thanks, and started for the pointed out direction.

"'Take care hun,'" Rina waved to him, turning towards the other leaders, "'call me up if you need anything.'" She cupped her paws around her muzzle. "'And I do mean anything!'" Kyo's blush flared up again, and he quickened his pace.

***

Eventually, Kyo found the rock formation Rina had pointed out. And soon afterwards, he made it to his destination. The eatery was a somewhat larger sized hut compared to the ones the morphs resided in, and was also more open, having a lack of doors in exchange for a larger opening. Inside, there was a mix of human and morph workers walking around and handling ingredients, though the place seemed to be a tad emptier in terms of worker attendance, probably due to the lack of customers around the area. As Kyo made his way inside, one of the workers noticed his presence, and quickly took position behind a stand.

"Good afternoon mister Kyo," the Lilligant-morph greeted him in English, "what would you like today?"

"Heh, so you guys know me too huh?" Kyo said to her, scratching the back of his head, "Umm..." He looked at their menu, which was rather sparse in selection. "I'll just have a cooked fish please." The grass type nodded.

"Okay, we'll get that ready for you soon." Kyo nodded back, and the Lilligant went over to her fellow workers to inform them of his order. It was only a matter of minutes before his order was ready, and Kyo soon made his way over to one of the few tables set up and took a seat. As he did, he briefly thought about why the place seemed so barren and empty. He eventually came to the conclusion that many of the morphs here still had their original hunting instincts, and didn't need others to help them find food.

And I guess that tournament could be a factor, he added, but either way makes sense. Looking down at his food, he instinctively reached for a fork, only to remember that he hadn't been given one. I guess...they also don't want many reminders that they're more..._human_now... He let out a sigh, propping his head against his hand.

"You know that it is quite disrespectful to do that in front of your food," a deep voice sounded from behind him. Confused, Kyo turned around to find the owner of the voice. He blinked in surprise, finding that it had belonged to a tall, muscular Garchomp-morph. He didn't need to guess his gender, as his frame and build simply screamed masculinity, (well, that, and the large meat stick hanging from his groin that was his cock). Quickly snapping his eyes away from...that, Kyo sat up straight and looked the dragon type in the eyes, noticing that he was also carrying a tray of food in his hands.

"The cooks will think that you do not see their cooking as appetizing," the Garchomp continued, moving next to him, "May I sit here next to you?" Kyo blinked again, contemplating what to say.

"Um...sure," he eventually said, "I don't...see anything wrong with that..." The other morph nodded, placing his tray down and taking his seat. He closed his eyes for a moment, lowering his head as he murmured what seemed to be a prayer under his breath. Once he was done, he nodded and opened his eyes, tenderly picking up his food before sinking his teeth into it. He let out a low murr as he chewed his food slowly, seeming to savor its flavor. He raised his head and swallowed, licking his lips and opening his eyes. He gingerly sank his teeth in for another bite. His bright yellow eyes flicked towards Kyo, then down at his own food, then back to him.

Kyo suddenly realized what the dragon type was trying to convey, and quickly picked up his food. After muttering a silent prayer of his own, he sunk his teeth into the cooked fish, scarfing down his first bite. The Garchomp-morph's eyes did not leave him, and Kyo paused in his chewing. Blinking once, he chewed his food slower, and the dragon type's eyes finally left him. Kyo looked back down at his food awkwardly, but continued to eat in this manner.

After a few minutes of eating this way, the two reptiles finally finished their meal. The Garchomp-morph licked his chops, bowed briefly to the table, and picked up his tray to return it to the employees of the kitchen. Kyo did the same, intending not to upset the dragon type more than he already had. Once both of the trays were properly put away, the other male turned to face him fully.

"I apologize if my actions made you uncomfortable," he apologized, bowing briefly before him and confusing him somewhat, "but, as you can already tell, I treat my meals in a serious manner."

"Oh uh, it-it's fine," Kyo replied, waving his hands to drive in his point, "I was just...kinda stunned I guess you can say." The Garchomp smiled, folding his arms across his chest.

"I treat every meal as a blessing," he explained, "There are many who must struggle for the smallest morsel in order to survive. Because of that, I cherish every bite I take, and I choose to take the time to enjoy what I have." He held his hand out to him somewhat abruptly. "My name is Garo, the Dragon of the Forbidden Fangs. I am one of the leaders of this island."

"Oh, I see," Kyo nodded, taking his hand and shaking it, "That explains why you speak in English too. For a second there, I thought you just knew it." Garo shrugged in response.

"That is also a possibility," he replied, "I am sure that there are many other morphs besides us who simply know it."

"Like the Lilligant over there?" Kyo asked curiously, indicating her with a point of his snout. Garo shook his head.

"She learned it in order to have an easier time working with both morphs and humans," he explained, "Besides, most of the morphs that do come to eat here have been around humans enough to learn the language anyways." Kyo shrugged.

"Still though, I'm kind of surprised to have met another island leader," he stuffed his hands into his pockets, "so far, I've run into...six...seven other leaders over these past two days." Garo's eye ridges raised in surprise.

"Hmmm, I suppose that would be rather likely for you," he commented, "After all, your habits do not seem to match that of the other morphs, and us leaders tend to stay out of their lives unless it is our job to do so." Kyo nodded in understanding, agreeing in his words. "As for everyone else, most morphs have either been dealing with their heat cycles, or practicing for the tournament. Which...brings me to my question." He looked around the area before leaning in closer and continuing in a low voice. "I understand that, because you are human, you are not entirely comfortable with hanging around so many naked morphs. So, simply out of curiosity, have you considered joining in the tournament that is coming up?"

Kyo chuffed. "Heh, it seems like everyone so far has asked me about that today." Garo smirked.

"Well, it is a big event," he explained, "but other than that, the island doesn't hold very many events such as this. It brings the inhabitants of the island closer, and provides the inhabitants on the island an opportunity to let out frustrations or sate their desire to fight without completely endangering themselves."

"I see," Kyo's tail swayed gently behind him, "well, as I've said to everyone else whose asked me so far, I'll consider it, but I don't think I'll be joining any tournaments any time soon."

"Hmm, this is surprising," Garo commented. He gestured for the both of them to take a seat, which they did before the dragon type continued. "So you do not desire the winning prize then?"

"The request? Not really. Truth be told, I wouldn't even know what to ask for even if I did win."

"Hmm, good point." The other reptile looked up in thought. "Now that I think about it, there would not be much to ask for anyways. Over the years, the majority of the winners have simply asked to be coupled with a desired male or female." Kyo's cheeks flushed red, and he looked down at the table, twiddling his thumbs. Noticing this, Garo let out a chuckle. "It truly is interesting to come across an individual such as yourself." Kyo looked up at him. "After hearing about your story and seeing the way you act first hand, I cannot help but be reminded of another morph Zeke has told me about with a similar scenario."

Kyo remembered the morph Captain Shino had told him about, the one that had also been a human. "The...herm, right?" Garo nodded in confirmation.

"Yes, shi was very much like you during hir first days here from what I have been told." He folded his arms across his chest. "Just like you are now, shi used to wear shorts to hide the fact that shi was a herm. It was not for that primarily though, as shi still felt the need to cover hirself out of habit from hir human days." Kyo's hand brushed the side of his shorts. "Now though, shi's grown used to our culture, and shi now acts just like all of us. Shi's adjusted very well, and now it would be hard to tell that shi had not originally been one of us." Garo let out a brief sigh, having been slightly winded from the long explanations and story telling. His head suddenly jerked up. "Oh dear, it seems I have lost track of time." He stood from his seat. "My apologies, but I really should be heading back now. There are issues that I must attend to now."

"No worries, I understand," Kyo replied, standing as well. The two males bowed to each other, and the dragon type turned to walk in the opposite direction, swaying his tail gently as he left. Nodding to himself, Kyo walked towards the shore and stared out to sea.

Hmm, I...guess I'll just go for a walk around the beach today, he thought to himself, Not entirely in the mood for exploring anyways. At that, the Feraligatr-morph began to walk along the shore line, stuffing his hands into his pockets and swaying his own tail with every step.

***

As he walked, Kyo sometimes caught glimpses of some of his fellow morphs doing various things. Some were talking, some were simply relaxing on the beach, some were running around and having fun, some were doing...more intimate things...some were having friendly sparring matches, and some were training (he assumed for the tournament) either by themselves or with a partner or group. One of the morphs that were on their own was one he easily recognized.

Farther away from many of the other morphs, Kyo saw Grovyle going through her motions. Seeing how intensely focused she was, Kyo did his best to not bother her as he approached, stopping to lean on a nearby palm tree several meters away from her.

Her movements were very fluid, even with the rigid stance she took. Her leg snapped up, flicking out to perform a high kick before she turned and stood straight, keeping her stance. She flicked her hand out to her side, opening her palm. Suddenly, leaves began to form above her palm, floating in the air in front of her before she whipped her arm forward, launching a barrage of leaves out to sea. She quickly whipped her other arm, sending another barrage out before she quickly returned to her original stance. Her shoulders heaved as she breathed heavily.

Kyo couldn't help but blush as he watched, her movements causing her B-cup breasts to bounce around, despite their petite size. He quickly caught himself, trying to focus on her overall as he adjusted his shorts to hide a tent that had begun to form. Grovyle continued, performing various kicks and spins at her imaginary opponent. Suddenly, her pace quickened and she thrust her arms out, causing the leaves along the side of her arms to glow and extend, forming long blades that lashed out in front of her with every thrust of her arms. She alternated her arms with every lunge, lashing out repeatedly before finally stopping, crossing her arms in front of her. Her shoulders heaved as she panted heavily. She allowed herself to relax, letting her arms fall to her sides as she stood straight.

Seeing that she was done, Kyo decided to make his presence known, clapping as he walked up to the grass type. She looked over to him and smiled. She made an exaggerated bow as he approached. "'Thank you, thank you,'" she stood straight again, looking at him in amusement, "'I thought I recognized your scent. Were you watching me this entire time?'"

Kyo shook his head. "I only got here like a minute or two ago." He slipped his hands into his pockets, letting his tail sway gently behind him, "Still though, you are really good. I mean, I haven't seen any other morphs fighting a lot to compare but...I-I mean you still looked pretty great, t-to me anyways, considering I wouldn't know...what..." He looked off to the side, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Y...you looked pretty good." Grovyle snickered, placing a hand on her hip.

"'Thank you, I...guess,'" she giggled pleasantly, shaking her head, "'Honestly though, I doubt I'm very good. I'm pretty sure that I can't handle anyone past beginner rank.'"

"Aw, come on," said Kyo, recovering from his stutter, "you should have a bit more faith in yourself. You should be proud of your skills." Grovyle smiled warmly.

"'Thank you Kyo,'" she replied, "'that's...really nice of you.'" Kyo blushed, looking off to the side as his tail swished around a bit more. She laughed lightly. "'Oh, by the way, I just remembered something I wanted to ask you.'"

"What is it?" he asked curiously. Grovyle put her hand thoughtfully to her chin, her warm smile shifting to a slyer smile as her eyes drifted upwards.

"'Recently, there's been some talk about a certain water type male running around the island...'" Kyo's smile slowly began to fade, and his blush slowly deepened in shade. "'Apparently, he's been catching a lot of attention from a lot of females. And, from what I've heard, he's left a couple of them...craving..._for more.'" Her eyes flicked back towards him, tilting her head slightly. "'Would..._you happen to know anything about that?'" Kyo bit his lip, his tail curling tightly around his leg as he continued to avert her gaze.

"I...n-noooooooo," he replied, looking upwards, "whyyyyy...would I know anything...abou-about that?" Grovyle laughed pleasantly.

"'Well, if you say so,'" she chimed, folding her arms under her bust, "'Sooooooooo...'" she leaned in slightly, "'have you done anything..._intimate..._with anyone lately?'" Kyo's cheeks reddened to a point where it almost seemed to be his normal scale color.

"W...well I..." his tail thrashed around behind him, "I mean I...I didn't mean to...I-I mean I..." His eyes flicked towards her, seeing her head tilted and her smile fading slightly. "I haven't...gone like...th-that f-far yet but..." He pursed his lips, curling his tail tightly around his left leg. He finally turned back to her, seeing her with a sad yet sympathetic expression across her features. "Um...wh-what about you?" The words escaped his lips before he could stop himself. Biting his lip, he hesitantly continued. "Have...you gotten into anything...like...that?"

Grovyle made a small smile, shaking her head. "'No, no one so far.'"

"Oh," Kyo replied with a raised eye ridge, his body language immediately changing, "that's...really?" The grass type nodded in confirmation. "Wow, that is _really_surprising to me. I mean I thought for _sure_that a lot of morphs would want someone as cute and attractive as-" He slapped his hand over his muzzle, too late to realize that he had let his tongue slip again. Grovyle caught her breath and covered her muzzle with a hand as she looked to the side, trying to hide a blush that was quickly forming. Her other hand stroked the long leaf trailing from her head, playing with it in her fingers.

"'You...really are too nice, you know that?'" Grovyle's eyes flicked back to him, her hands doing little to hide the broad smile across her muzzle. Kyo couldn't help but blush as well, and he turned away, not really trying to hide _his_smile.

"W...well," he began, scratching the back of his head awkwardly, "I just...hope that you can find someone special one day."

Grovyle's head tilted slightly. "'Special? What do you mean by that?'" Kyo blinked in confusion.

...Oh...that's right, he thought to himself, _inside, she's still a pokemon. They don't usually have a sense of attachment to mates..._Quickly recovering, Kyo shook his head. "It's nothing..." he replied, trying not to show any signs of sadness, "my tongue just...slipped again is all." Kyo shook his head again, simply to try and get the thought out of his head. He quickly tried to change the subject. "A-anyways, so you're definitely participating in that tournament right? Do you have an idea of what you're going to ask if you win?"

The grass type bit her lip, eyes flicking downwards slightly. She appeared very hesitant to answer, as she was constantly looking back to him, then back down to the ground. Seeing this, Kyo's tail tightened around his leg. Dammit,_he thought to himself, _how is it that I keep coming up with the awkward topics? After a moment, Grovyle let out a sigh.

"'I suppose there's no harm in letting you know,'" she replied, "'After all, you've been a rather good friend to me so far.'" She straightened up, and faced him fully. "'If...it is possible...I'm going to ask the leaders...to erase all of my memories...'"

Kyo caught his breath, standing there completely speechless. His tail uncurled from is leg, hanging limp from his body. He had to take a moment to fully process what he had just heard her say. He shook his head once, bringing himself back into the moment, and out of his initial shock.

"Why..." he began, still having trouble dealing with what she had said, "why would you want to do that? Isn't that...you know...a bit extreme?" Grovyle sighed, looking off to the side.

"'My past was...not something I enjoy looking back on,'" she told him, hugging herself slightly, "'Even though I never really did anything during my enslavement, I had to go through a lot of...unpleasant times...'" She slowly closed her eyes, only to clench them tightly soon afterwards. "'Those memories alone are...just...too painful to remember. I try_and I _try to bury those memories away, but every time I look at this body, I'm reminded of how I became like this, and why I am like this.'" Her body began to tremble, and tears began to spill out from her eyes.

"I...b-but," he began, unsure of how to go about this situation, "c-couldn't you just...have the bad memories be erased?" Grovyle shook her head, eyes still closed.

"'That would only be a temporary solution,'" she explained, having difficulty speaking clearly as she felt a lump begin to form in her throat, "'Sure, I wouldn't have those memories for a while, but eventually I'm going to begin to question why I'm not a normal pokemon. Then I'm going to remember why I am here, and eventually how I got here, and then eventually...where I was...before here...'" Her eyes opened, but they did not look towards Kyo. "'Everything that has happened so far is because of what happened back then. If I have my mind wiped completely clean, I'll just think that this has always been my way of life, that I was just a morph born on this island.'"

"G...Grovyle..." Kyo took a step forward, but hesitated. He wanted to comfort her, but found that he couldn't find the courage to go in and embrace her. The grass type looked to him with sad eyes, and his heart skipped a beat. It ached, yet he couldn't find it in himself to move forward. He soon realized that he found nothing that could outweigh such a burden on her mind. Sure, it was rather extreme, but if her memories were as bad as she claimed, then who was he to object?

Yet, he wanted to object.

Inside of himself, he still felt something wrong in that. The idea of her completely erasing her mind just didn't sit well with him for some reason.

"'Thank you for...listening to me,'" Grovyle spoke up as he contemplated his thoughts, "'I'm...actually kind of surprised I told you this much...'" She wiped a few tears from her eyes, and smiled warmly at him. "'I guess it's because you're the closest thing I've had to a friend in a while. Who knows? Maybe if I do go through with it, we might end up becoming friends again, huh?'" Kyo opened his muzzle to speak, but found that he couldn't. Grovyle's smile faded slightly. "'Well...I'll...see ya around...kay?'" Attempting to speak again, but failing, Kyo only managed to nod dumbly in response. She gave him a small wave in goodbye before walking past him and up the path towards her hut. Kyo watched her leave, still dumbfound and speechless. It was when she was out of sight did Kyo finally come to his senses. He lowered his head in shame, mentally kicking himself for his silence.

Dammit,_he thought to himself, _why didn't I say at least something back there? She was clearly looking for support... Yet, he knew that he couldn't support her decision. Was it because he wanted them to remain friends? Was it because he felt like he was beginning to have feelings for her? Was it because he just wanted her to remember him? He couldn't tell what. He just knew that he didn't like it.

He turned around, walking over to a nearby tree to lean on it. He looked out to shore and watched some of the morphs training along the beach.

Any one request...huh? The words of all of the other morphs he had met throughout the day echoed through his head. Anything he wanted. Anything within the leaders' power to grant. All for winning the tournament.

A long moment of silence passed, and eventually, had come to a decision, and he had found his resolve. He knew what he wanted to, no, was going to do.

As much as I don't like the idea of getting in the way of someone's wish...especially in her's...I can't just let her do such a drastic thing. He stood straight, and walked out into the sun. I'm entering the tournament, and I'm going to stop her.

_ _

***