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Pokemon: Further Evolutions

CH 13

Rising Tensions

Somewhere, deep in the Island of Pokemorphs, a small group was gathered. Among this group was Zeke, the Persian, who was one of the island leaders. Seated around him were some of his fellow leaders. Sitting the closest to him was Celest, the Gardevoir. The rest of the leaders were all of different species. No one had a perfectly matching type either, as had been intended when the leadership roles were being set up. Not a sound was made by anyone as they waited for the rest of the leaders to gather. A meeting had been scheduled today, and no one was in the mood to make conversation with each other.

Soon enough, more leaders began to walk into the area, with everyone seating themselves quickly and efficiently. They had done this many times over the years, so everyone already had their own personal spot to sit in. It wasn't long before everyone was settled in. Once Zeke had confirmed that enough people were here, he clapped his paws together and spoke up. "'Okay everyone, it's time to call this meeting to order.'" He stopped briefly as he noticed the sounds of soft, wet smacking nearby. He sighed internally and turned to where it was coming from. As he had expected, the sounds were coming from a pair of female morphs, a Plusle and Minun, pressed flush against each other and their muzzles in a passionate lock. "'Ashley. Kelsey,'" he called to the two of them, snapping his fingers to try and grab their attention. Unfortunately, they were far too enthralled with each other to notice. With an audible sigh, he turned to the Gardevoir beside him. "'Celest? If you could?'"

Celest nodded in understanding before closing her eyes. Suddenly, a soft pink glow radiated from her. Once it was gone, the two electric types opened their eyes and separated.

"'Sorry,'" said one of them sheepishly.

"'Force of habit,'" said the other. Zeke merely waved his paw dismissively before nodding to Celest in thanks.

"'Okay,'" he began, "thanks to everyone for coming. We've got a lot to discuss today, so let's just get right to it." The other leaders nodded in agreement, keeping their silence as he spoke. "Let's get through the smaller issues first. As per usual, we've got a few reports of morphs being raped by females in heat that need to be handled. We're also in need of some help with maintaining the volunteer breeding house, and of course we've got the usual island cleaning shifts, and fruit harvesting shifts." He clapped his paws again. "'So, let's start with the rapes. Monica? Eileen? I'll take it that you two will be doing the investigations?'" A Froslass morph and a Mismagius morph bowed to him in response.

"'You know us,'" whispered the Froslass, "'We'll track them down.'"

"'Yup yup,'" said the Mismagius whimsically, "'You can count on us.'"

Zeke nodded in satisfaction and returned his attention to the group. "'Alright then, on to the next issue at hand.'" He then turned to the Nidoking morph, Trey, and the Bastiodon, Ben. "'I'll take it that you two will handle the construction and maintenance work?'"

"'That's right,'" said Trey, "'The boys 'll be more than happy to lend their paws on anything that helps them get a nice lay.'" Off to the side, a Tyranitar scowled and rolled his eyes. Zeke's ear swiveled at this, but he elected to leave the dark type be.

"'Okay. Looks like we're flying by these first few issues.'" Ben laughed at the Persian's statement.

"'Well considering that we're already assigned specific tasks, it's not like there will be many arguments.'" A chuckle was shared amongst the group, one which Zeke happily joined in.

"'Well, it feels less rude of me to simply command everyone to do stuff. After all, there's always a possibility of a leader not being able to do his or her given task.'"

"'Which is why I said not many.'" The group laughed at Ben's retort, all save for the Tyranitar, whose arms were folded across his chest, and his features stoically still.

"'Well then,'" Zeke continued, "'I suppose we should move on to everyone's favorite then.'" He clapped his paws together. "'Anyone would like to volunteer for this week's island clean up?'" The group fell silent, and everyone averted Zeke's gaze with mocking smiles. Zeke smiled back at them, knowing full well the game they were playing.

"'I think you should go for it Zeke,'" a busty Charizard morph said to him, "'After all, you are soooo good at it.'"

"'Very funny Ember,'" he replied slyly, "'But since no one's chosen to volunteer, we all know that it's your turn this time around.'"

The fire type chuffed in defeat and smiled at him. "'Fine, you win this round.'" She glanced over to the Zoroark sitting next to her. "'Unless Rina wants to volunteer this time?'"

"'OOooooohhh no,'" she shook her head with a sly smirk, "'I'm not gonna let you weasel your way out of this one. Especially if it means sticking the work to me.'"

"'Aw come on,'" Ember leaned against her slightly, "'You know the boys love it whenever you bend over in front of them.'"

"'Yeah, but the difference is that I'm not enticing them with picking up debris,'" Rina retorted, emphasizing her point by jabbing a finger at Ember's generously sized chest.

"'Okay, okay, settle down you two,'" Zeke said with a smile, "'Now then, that just leaves the fruit gatherings for this month. Any volunteers for that?'" He looked around for any raised paws.

"'Oh, I'm up for it this time Zeke,'" said Jenna, the Leafeon morph, "'It's been a while since I've berry picked, and I'd like the chance to meet with some of the volunteer morphs as well.'" Zeke nodded with satisfaction.

"'Excellent, now we can move on to the general reports.'" He turned to the twin electric types and Rina. "'Ashley? Kelsey? Rina? As usual, we'll start with you three.'"

"'Residential morale has been quite alright, all things considered,'" explained Rina, "'As you'd expect, I've done quite a fine job keeping our horny little morphs content with my...services...'" The Tyranitar rolled his eyes at that, looking away in the other direction.

"'Same for us~'" Ashley and Kelsey sang in unison, "'No one can seem to get _enough_of us, but you know how they all run out of steam after a couple of rounds with us.'" The twins giggled to each other.

"'The conflicts that have arisen as of late have all been dealt with for the most part,'" said Sheena, the Mienshao morph, "'They all have a tendency to back down whenever they notice our presence.'"

"And the same goes for all of the troublemakers," continued Garo, the Garchomp morph, "'and the ones stupid enough to not back down quickly learn their mistakes a short moment afterwards.'"

"'The island's flora has been more or less the same,'" Jenna reported, "'with most of the noticeable damage seeming to come from natural events or territory disputes amongst the natural pokemon of the island.'"

"'My patrols of the island haven't changed,'" said a Staraptor morph, Nephthys, "'Nothing has looked out of place. And the morphs...'" she sighed slightly, "'have remained on their respective sides of the island.'" An awkward silence fell upon the area, but the ghost types quickly filled it with their reports.

"'The people have all been behaving nicely,'" whispered Monica, the Froslass morph, "'save for the couple of bad eggs we need to investigate.'"

"'Same for the morphs I've been monitoring~'" said Eileen, the Mismagius morph, "'other than our naughty residents, no one has been searching for any real trouble.'"

"'Good, good, good,'" Zeke sighed with a nod, "'Seems like everything's been going smoothly...for the most part...'" Any smiles worn by any of the other leaders soon faded away. They all knew what the next topic of the day they had to go over was. "'Well then...let's move on to the main issues...'" He took a deep breath and rubbed his paws uneasily. "'So firstly, the next batch of morphs that will be joining us here on the island are going to be arriving soon, so we need to work out where everyone will be staying. Secondly, we need to discuss how we are going to balance the resources from the island along with the resources we receive from overseas so as to not interfere with the natural order of the island. And...'" he sighed grimly, "'lastly...we need to go over the biggest issue. I'm already sure that all of you are familiar but...to ensure that everyone here is on the same page, I'll have to reiterate...'" He noticeably hesitated before continuing, something that was rather uncommon for the handsome Persian. "'The...population of morphs is...rising at a very rapid pace. And because of that, we are at risk of overpopulating the island and breaking the oath we've made to the island...'"

The Tyranitar nodded his head stoically at Zeke's statement. Like the rest of the leaders, he kept his silence. However, in contrast to most of the other leaders, with him being a normal pokemon, he still held a foreboding presence.

"'Unfortunately...'" Zeke continued, doing his best to maintain his calm demeanor, "'even the morph count at the sister islands is reaching a fairly high number, and approaching overpopulation as well...'" The other leaders all looked amongst each other, all except for the Tyranitar, whose eyes were closed. Zeke waited a moment before he spoke up once more. "'So then...let's begin the discussion. First, we'll go over the incoming morph group. From what I've been told so far, this group is going to be just as big as our last group, if not bigger.'" He shifted in his seat slightly, doing rather poorly in hiding his distress. "'The problem with that is that we are running out of space to accept very many newcomers. On top of that, we're running out of space to make new huts in. Anyone have any suggestions?'"

Garo raised his hand. "Perhaps we can expand the huts that we currently have? That way they can accommodate larger families?" Zeke nodded his head thoughtfully.

"'It's a good start,'" he began, "'But the issue of other incoming morphs lacking a place to stay still stands. Once we're out of our allowed space, that's it. So what else can we do?'"

This time, Nephthys raised her wing. "'What if we had close friends live with each other in the same hut? Maybe that'll reduce the amount of huts we need build?'" Zeke twiddled his thumbs.

"'But that may lead to huts being overcrowded...'" His gaze fell down to his lap as he tried to think of something.

"'I think we should keep in mind,'" said Trey, "'these huts are primarily used for sleeping and shelter, so it's not like very many morphs stay in their huts for very long.'"

"'Very true Trey,'" Zeke replied, "'but there are going to be seasons where everyone has to stay inside theirs for long periods of time due to the island's weather. And that could lead to some internal tensions...'" He pointed a single finger up. "'Plus, there are several morphs who prefer living alone, or at the very least prefer to have minimal contact with others.'"

"'Oh, how about this then?'" said Jenna, raising a paw, "'How about we just have everyone live with their families in a single hut, and offer the choice of housing close friends as well, if they aren't already?'"

Zeke let out a small sigh. "'Well, I guess if we're gonna start anywhere, it'll have to do. We'll just have to sort out the specifics once we get there. Though I have no clue when we'll be able to finish renovating all of the huts... We might need to request help from some humans if we are ever going to pull this off.'"

At that, the Tyranitar let out an audible growl. He chuffed in irritation. "'Feh, adding even more loud noises and commotion no doubt.'" Zeke tensed slightly. He struggled to maintain a level headed composure.

"'The cargo for supplies and domestic food should be on its way with the new morphs,'" he went on, "'so we should be able to put in a request for helpers and additional supplies before they go. Only problem is...I doubt that we'll have the proper funding for such an amount of supplies...since we've been working solely off of donations...'" Reluctantly he glanced Tyranitar, whose arms hadn't moved from their spot. The dark type took notice of his glance and looked back at him.

"'What?'" he said to the Persian, "'Do you think I will be okay with letting them cut down even more trees? Because you'd be sorely mistaken if that were the case.'" Zeke shook his head.

"'I was merely checking to see if you were happy about the fact that our expansions may have stopped for good.'" Drake chuffed at this and looked away.

"'I'll never be satisfied as long as you mutant abominations continue to multiply on this island...'"

Zeke sighed. "'Look. While we are expanding in population, us leaders are doing our best to keep it from spilling into the wildlife.'" Drake openly laughed at this.

"'And despite your best efforts, the island is still in grave risk of being overrun by you morphs. Just like the humans did to so many other homes of my fellow pokemon.'" He locked gazes with the feline once more. "'Even in the sister islands, the number of morphs just keeps multiplying. Tell me this Zeke.'" He spat the name almost as though it were a curse. "'How exactly do you plan on countering that issue?'" Everyone held their tongue, looking to Zeke and awaiting his response. Drake chuffed again. "'Do you plan to try and get everyone to stop mating? Ha! Because I have seen you sex-crazed morphs before, and how blindly you mate SHEERLY for the pleasure of it.'" He upturned his chin. "'Not a single morph I've seen has mated to produce children meant to carry on their legacy, meant to survive and continue their generation.'" Another chuff sounded out, but this one belonged to Sheena.

"'Why don't you look around more before you make such assumptions,'" she snapped, refusing to grant him so much as eye contact. Drake rolled his eyes.

"'Okay, fine,'" he shook his head, "'you are one exception, Sheena.'" The Mienshao huffed and upturned her chin, crossing her arms and turning away from him. "'But really now; what is the point in mating if not for bearing children?'" This time, Rina was the one to speak up.

"'Psch, as if you would know,'" she quipped, "'There's more to it than making babies. Some of us just want to do it for fun.'"

"'And that's what bothers me,'" Drake snapped back, turning to the vixen, "'None of you privileged morphs have to go through the challenges us normal pokemon are tried by.'" He then turned towards the whole group. "'All of you morphs are just privileged pokemon that were kicked out of your society for being naughty. The mere sight of your presence sickens me. You all should have just crawled back under those rocks you call homes.'"

That made Zeke snap.

No longer able to hold himself back, he slammed his fist against the tree stump he was sitting on and stood up. "'NEED I remind you that none of us are here by CHOICE?!'" he boomed, "'NONE of us chose to be this way! And their desires to mate aren't their fault either. If you are going to complain to ANYONE, then complain to the ones responsible for turning us into...into-th-THIS!'" A long silence passed between everyone. Only Zeke's heavy, fury filled breaths filled it.

Drake snorted. "'Typical, passing the faults of your own kind off to the humans...'" Had Celest not held Zeke back, he most definitely would have introduced the Tyranitar to a face full of Fury Swipes. As Celest cleared Zeke's mind, he took slow, deep breaths. Once her hand left his shoulder, he cleared his throat.

"'I...apologize for my behavior just now,'" he finally said, "'I admit, it was...out of line...'" He sat back down, with Drake looking back at him with his stoic expression. "'Look, I don't blame human kind in general,'" he went on, "'but there are still _humans_at fault. It's clear you have forgotten that the morphs are all victims as well.'"

"'All of the morphs, huh?'" said Drake, glancing over to Garo, who avoided eye contact with him.

Zeke sighed. "'Okay, mind you, there are some exceptions. However, for the most part, the morphs are simply victims of a cruel injustice.'"

"'Yes, the injustice of mating,'" Drake remarked, "'Tell me, if it is such an injustice, then why do you morphs enjoy it to the point of it being recreational?'"

Zeke sucked in a sharp breath, clenching his fist tightly. Seeing this, Celest reached out with her hand to try and calm him once more. However, he raised a paw, signaling that he was alright. As Celest set her hand back down, Zeke looked back at Drake. "'It's just something that you wouldn't understand yourself, Drake.'"

"'Clearly...'" huffed the dark type. After that, the area fell silent once again. But even so, the place was still heavy with a tense air. It didn't take much insight to know that there were some unspoken words being exchanged. Zeke closed his eyes and clapped his paws together.

"'That about does it for this meeting. Everyone, you are all free to go.'" He then looked over to Celest. "'But Celest, I'd like to have a word with you and Octavius. Hopefully he isn't too far away.'" He looked back at the others. "'Everyone else though, you are free to do as you please.'" With that said, the others all stood up and dispersed. No one was particularly keen on sticking around after all, especially after such a tense exchange. Garo followed Sheena out, but the Mienshao held a paw up.

"'You may go back to the hut on your own,'" she said to him without a backwards glance.

Garo tilted his head in confusion. "On my own? Is there something you wish to take care of yourself?" Sheena nodded.

"'I wish to pay a visit to that beginner tournament runner-up,'" she explained.

"Kyo?" Garo said in surprise, "But why would you want to do that?" Sheena furrowed a brow, but kept her gaze forward.

"'Why is it that you are so insistent on knowing about everything I do?'"

"I'm merely curious," Garo said dismissively. Sheena chuffed.

"'Well if you must know, Drake's argument today reminded me of my own desires. I still wish to bear strong kits.'" She glanced back at the Garchomp. "'Then again, I'm sure you're familiar, what with our many, many attempts.'" Garo smirked at that. "'And after seeing Kyo's performance in that last match, I believe he may be able to help me grant my wish...'"

***

Kyo sat in the sand nervously twiddling his thumbs. Beside him sat Grovyle, whose face appeared calm and collected. Seated before the both of them was Teddy, whose arms were crossed, and eyes closed. The Ursaring breathed in deeply and steadily let it back out.

"So," he began, "the two of you are together now."

"'More or less, yeah,'" Grovyle answered.

"But didn't you hate him?"

"'Correct.'"

"And yet you two are together regardless?"

"'That's right.'"

"Do you still hate him?"

"'I do not.'"

"Is there still any bad blood between the two of you?"

"'Some.'"

Teddy raised a brow at this. But Grovyle continued to look back at him blankly. Teddy opened his eyes and glanced at the water type seated next to her. Kyo laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. Teddy shook his head and shrugged. "No matter. Either way, I am glad that the two of you have resolved your conflict."

"So am I," said Kyo, "I wasn't sure how much longer I would've lasted with the knowledge of her hating me to the very core." Hearing this, Grovyle turned to face him.

"'I never hated you to the core,'" she explained, "'just...hated you in general...'" Kyo let out another nervous laugh. He blinked, noticing some movement from his peripheral vision. He glanced over and saw Lucario wobbling towards the three of them. It didn't take long for the others to take notice as well, and soon everyone was looking in her direction. It didn't seem like she took notice of this though, because as soon as she reached them, she turned around and plopped onto her back, kicking up a bit of sand into the air. As the others waved their hands around to clear the clouds of sand from their eyes, Lucario let out a groan.

"Um...hey Lucario," Kyo greeted her awkwardly, "Um...what happened to you?"

Lucario didn't respond for a moment, panting heavily and staring up at the sky. "'I...I lost...a bet,'" she explained, panting between words, "'I didn't...realize that...when Arcanine said my...punishment would be...for a day...that she actually meant...a full 24 hours... Oh Arceus I'm tired...'" Kyo blushed, eventually realizing what she meant. With a grunt, she rolled over to her belly and properly faced everyone. "'Oh, Grovyle,'" she said with a surprised tone in her voice, "'You're...the one Kyo lost to, right?'"

"'Mmhm,'" Grovyle confirmed with a nod.

"'I see... Huh...'" She tilted her head slightly, looking to the grass type intently. She then leaned closer to Kyo and hid her muzzle with a paw. "'Psst, Kyo. Is that really the same gal? The one that you fought really seemed to hate your guts.'"

Kyo nodded. "Yeah, that's her. The two of us made up, so everything's okay between us now."

"'Oooooooooh,'" Lucario nodded thoughtfully. She leaned in again. "'Was it the make up sex?'"

"Wh-wh-what?!" Kyo's face practically glowed bright red at the mention. "N-n-no-no-no! We didn't do anything like that!"

Lucario laughed and rolled onto her back. "'It's what I would've done~'" Grovyle couldn't help but smile slightly. Staring up at the sky, Lucario let out a sigh. "'So, any of you have any particular plans for the day?'"

"N...not really," Kyo answered, coming down from his earlier high, "The three of us just sort of met up here, so we all just decided to hang out here and enjoy the nice weather."

"'The weather is surprisingly nice this time around,'" Lucario commented with a thoughtful nod, "'Normally, it's a lot more humid this time of the year, so I'm glad that we're getting a nice cool spell. At least for today. Phew, esp_ecially_after the rutting I received earlier today...'" Kyo's face lit up again, making Teddy and Lucario laugh.

"Oh, I just remembered," Kyo spoke up, "Teddy, Lucario, I've been meaning to ask you two something."

The two of them looked to him. "What would you like to know?" asked Teddy.

The Feraligatr narrowed his eyes at them. "Where were you guys when I finally woke up?" The two morphs froze before looking away awkwardly. Kyo let out a small growl. "...Well?"

Lucario scratched her head. "'Well,I was taking care of my lost bet.'" Kyo then looked to Teddy, who was twiddling his thumbs.

"...Teddy?" Kyo said sternly.

"...Wwwwellll, you see..."

Kyo sighed. "Don't tell me..." The Ursaring laughed nervously.

"The Lopunny triplets really desired my attention, and you were out cold for quite some time, young Kyo." Kyo groaned and shook his head. "Eheheh, my apologies."

"Apology accepted," Kyo sighed with a smile, "Honestly, I'm just glad that I got to resolve things the way I did with Grovyle." The two of them looked to each other as he continued. "It really gave us the chance to really talk things out. And because of that, I got back one of the closest friends I could ever ask for..." Grovyle blushed, leaning into him, which he did happily as well.

"'Awwwww,'" Lucario cooed as the two of them nuzzled up against each other, "'you two look so cute. Looks like our little boy finally grew a pair to ask her to be a pair.'"

"Heeeeyyyyyy," Kyo narrowed his eyes at her with a slight smile.

Lucario laughed at this. "'Come on, I'm just kidding around.'"

"'For the record, Kyo wasn't the one who asked me out,'" Grovyle spoke up, "'Actually, I was the one that asked him out.'"

"'Ooooohhhh,'" said Lucario in a surprised tone, "'Wow, you two really did make up.'"

Grovyle smirked and nudged Kyo playfully with her elbow. "'I wouldn't be here if we hadn't.'"

Lucario chuckled. "'I suppose you're right.'"

"Ummm," said Kyo, "not that I wanna bring a nice moment like this to an end, but...I think someone's coming this way." The others turned to look and saw that he was right. Kyo squinted slightly, trying to make out just who it was. And he was surprised when he recognized the figure as Sheena, one of the judges at the tournament.

"'Huh, that's the unpleasant chick from before,'" Lucario commented, "'Wonder what she's here for.'"

"You mean you didn't call for her?" Kyo asked curiously, eliciting a chuff from the jackal.

"'Like I'd have any reason to call for that killjoy,'" she commented bitterly, "'No, I didn't call her.'"

"Teddy? Grovyle?" Kyo asked, looking to the two of them. Both of them shook their heads, looking just as confused as he was. Soon enough, the Mienshao came upon them.

"'Greetings to you all,'" Sheena said with a respectful bow. The group returned her greeting politely. "'I hope that you've had a good day thus far?'" She then turned to Kyo, not really bothering to wait for a response. "'Kyo, if it isn't of any inconvenience, I would like to have a word with you.'"

Kyo blinked in surprise, glancing at the others nervously. "Ummm...okay," he began, standing up hesitantly. He turned to the others. "I...guess I'll be back in a bit."

"'No, no, no,'" said Sheena, raising up a paw, "'it isn't a private affair. You are free to remain here if you wish.'"

"Oh..." Kyo replied, sitting back down, "okay then...what's up?"

"'It is concerning your performance at the beginner rank tournament,'" Sheena began, "'I must say, I was rather impressed by you during your time there. Especially during the finals.'" She glanced at Grovyle before returning her gaze to Kyo. "'Both you and Grovyle displayed excellent skills. Certainly a sight to behold.'"

Both morphs couldn't help but smile proudly. "Thank you," said Kyo, nodding to her slightly.

Lucario raised her paw from where she lay. "'I helped too ya know,'" she piped up.

"'Hmph, quite,'" Sheena said dismissively, keeping her attention on the Feraligatr, "'So Kyo, I don't normally do this to pokemon of the beginner rank, but I would like to offer you the chance to fight me.'"

Kyo caught his breath in surprise, which was echoed by the rest of the group. It took a moment before he managed to come up with a response. "I'm...honored," he began, "b-but I'm pretty sure I'd be demolished by someone of your level of skill."

"'Oh come on, I think you've got a shot,'" said Lucario, earning her a shocked and confused look from Kyo, "'I'm serious. You've shown that you can handle yourself against a veteran like me, so I'm sure you'd be able to hold your own against her.'"

"B-but she's an island leader," Kyo pointed out, "I mean that has to be a rank in it of itself."

"'Come ooooon,'" urged Lucario, "'Just give it a shot.'"

"'I would most appreciate it if you did,'" Sheena continued, "'And if you win, I will allow you to pass your genes onto me.'" At that, Kyo froze.

"...Wwwwwhat...do you mean by that?" he asked reluctantly.

Sheena let out a slight sigh. "'How do I say this in a way that you would understand?'" she placed her paw to her chin thoughtfully, "'Well, as Rina usually puts it, I will allow you to...ahem, get 'frisky' with me.'" At that, Kyo choked on absolutely nothing. Regardless, the Mienshao continued. "'I would extend my challenge to you as well, Grovyle, but seeing as you are a fellow female, this chance would be of no use to either of us.'" Grovyle bit her lip as her gaze fell down to her lap. But Lucario didn't notice, as she was too busy laughing.

"'Okay, now you have to do it,'" she chimed. Kyo stammered with his words, looking back and forth between Sheena and Grovyle.

"B-but," he began, "I'm not sure if...it'd be right to do...that."

"'Right?'" said Lucario with a tilt of her head, "'What are you talking about?'" Kyo shifted around uncomfortably, glancing over to Grovyle whose gaze was still down at her lap. Noticing the awkward air settling in on the group, Teddy cleared his throat and spoke up.

"It seems you do not understand, Lucario." The jackal glanced over to him. "You see, young Kyo does not partake in the open relationships that most of the other morphs do."

"'OOoooooooh,'" Lucario replied with a thoughtful nod, "'Oh jeez. I'm sorry Kyo, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable.'"

"It's fine..." he replied, shuffling around in his spot a bit nervously. Sheena let out a disappointed huff.

"'That is a shame. Well then, my apologies for intruding on your peaceful afternoon.'" She closed her eyes and bowed respectfully to the group. "'I shall be making my leave then. Good day to you all.'"

"'W-wait a sec,'" said Lucario as Sheena turned to leave. The Mienshao turned to face her. "'Would you still be okay with, you know, going through with the fight anyways?'" Kyo shot her a look, though going unnoticed by her. Sheena raised a brow at this thoughtfully.

"'Well...I did come all of this way, so I suppose there wouldn't be any harm in it.'"

"L-LUCARIO!" Kyo exclaimed ecstatically, "I'm just not ready to face someone so skilled."

"Come on, Kyo," Lucario urged him, "You've gotta stop doubting yourself. You're stronger than you give yourself credit for. You just need to be more confident in your abilities."

"B-b-b-b-b-but," he stammered, struggling to come up with proper words. He looked over Grovyle. "H-hey Grovyle, do you wanna give it a shot instead?" The grass type glanced back and forth between him and the island leader.

"'Well...'" she began, "'I really only trained to get through the tournament... I never really wanted to continue to be a fighter after that.'"

"'Aww, come on, not you too,'" Lucario sighed in defeat.

"'Buuuut~'" Grovyle continued with a smirk, "'I do find the idea of fighting an island leader rather interesting...'" She then locked gazes with Sheena. The two of them stared each other down for a moment. "'But on one condition.'" She then turned back to Kyo and placed a hand on his shoulder. "'In order to make things a bit more balanced, I'd like to have Kyo fight alongside me.'"

"W-what?" Kyo stammered, followed by the 'ooohhs' of Lucario and Teddy. Sheena raised a brow at this.

"'So would that be alright?'" Grovyle asked the island leader.

"W-wait a sec Grovyle," Kyo said in a hushed, yet urgent tone, "I just don't think I can handle this. I'll just end up getting in the way." Grovyle shook her head and placed both of her hands on either of his shoulders.

"'Kyo,'" she began, looking him directly in the eyes, "'stop kidding yourself. I know you can do it. You know you can do it. I mean, maybe you're not skilled enough to take Sheena down, but it's not entirely going to be a one sided match.'" Grovyle glanced a bit off to the side, lowering her voice. "'Besides...I wanna make up for the time I spent avoiding you...'"

"...Grovyle..." said Kyo, gently taking hold of one of her hands. Grovyle looked back into his eyes.

"'I wanna try to do something fun with you, and I think that this might be a good start.'" She smirked and leaned closer to Kyo, lowering her voice to a whisper. "'I mean, you were a trainer after all, and trainers fought those um...whatever leaders right?'" Kyo nodded in confirmation. "'So, you can think of Sheena as one of those leaders. It's more or less the same thing, right?'" Kyo nodded again, easily making the connection now. Grovyle then leaned back. "'Of course, it's still up to you. If you really don't want to, then that's fine.'"

Kyo hesitated, glancing back and forth between the two females. Yes, he was still intimidated by the fighting type. Her presence alone made him want to sit back and give her some space. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he actually...quite liked the idea. Kyo never got around to fighting the gym leaders back home, and he always did have a lingering regret in the back of his mind about that. But with the way Grovyle compared them to Sheena's rank, he couldn't help but feel that old urge flare up again. On top of that, Grovyle would be fighting alongside him. Sure, they weren't trainer and pokemon, but he never felt that way with himself and Totodile. No, they were more than that.

They were partners.

Totodile was still back home yes, and Grovyle was by no means replacing him. But she was also his partner now. If anything, he was her partner now, and the idea of fighting alongside her against an island leader was almost...thrilling. So with a nervous, but confident smile, Kyo nodded to Grovyle. The grass type nodded back before turning to Sheena. "'So then,'" she asked her, "'are you okay with this proposition of mine?'"

Sheena took a moment to think about it before letting out a slight sigh. "'I suppose I shall allow it. It should prove to make things interesting after all...'"

Grovyle smiled and turned to Kyo. He looked to her and smiled back. Turning back to Sheena, he said, "Well then, you'd better not hold back..."

Grovyle turned to her as well and continued for him, "'cuz' we certainly won't.'"

***

With no actual proper arena available to them, they all decided to move to a clearer section of the beach. Farther off to the side, several morphs had crowded together in curiosity, having taken notice of the three of them.

"'I apologize for the lack of an arena, or privacy for that matter,'" said Sheena, "'but our main arena is currently being prepared for the intermediate tournament, so this is the only way we can do this.'"

"'It's fine,'" Grovyle replied before turning to Kyo, "'So, you ready?'"

Kyo chuckled and shrugged. "More or less." After spacing out properly, the three of them took on their own battle stances. Seeing that everyone was set, Teddy stood up to act as the referee. He raised a paw up.

"Let the battle..." he paused, glancing between each morph. The morphs off to the side began to cheer, realizing that a battle was about to ensue. Kyo couldn't help but smile. It really was starting to feel like a proper gym leader fight, and one with an audience no less.

Well then, he thought to himself, let's give em a good show.

"START!!!"

No one moved for a moment, each morph still remaining where they stood. Grovyle and Kyo glanced over to each other briefly, hesitating on what to do.

"'I shall be allowing the two of you to make the first move,'" Sheena announced. The two morphs looked to each other again before nodding. Grovyle was the first to move, albeit rather slowly. She began by circling Sheena in one direction before indicating for Kyo to do the same on the other side. He very quickly caught on and began to follow her lead, with neither of them faltering in their stances. Soon enough, both of them stood at either side of the Mienshao. Sheena glanced between the two of them, smirking slightly and remaining completely still. The two other morphs waited for a moment, preferring to scope out the situation. Eventually, Grovyle looked over to Kyo and nodded to him. Seeing this, Kyo quickly realized that she was signaling for him to attack first. Not wishing to disappoint, Kyo rushed forward with the aid of his Aqua Jet. Sheena waited for him to close in before acting. Just as he reached her, she delivered a counter that redirected him to Grovyle.

The grass type yelped before using her Detect to counter him away so that he wouldn't run her over. But her movements weren't quick enough, so the two of them stumbled over each other and fell to the ground. The fighting type then rushed towards the two of them. Realizing that they needed to act fast, they hastily scrambled over each other to try and get up. As they did this, Sheena leapt up in the air to launch a Jump Kick at them. Kyo acted instinctively, using his Aqua Jet to propel himself out of the way. But unfortunately for the both of them, his tail was still entangled in Grovyle's legs. As a result, after Kyo let loose his Aqua Jet, the two of them hit the ground with an audible thud. But with them on the ground, Sheena ended up missing her attack.

Which was...a plus.

Of course, it was hard for Kyo to think that way with sand in his mouth, and his head aching from the impact. Slowly, the two of them got back up on their feet, both groaning and clutching the sides of their heads. "Sorry...," Kyo apologized sheepishly.

"'It...it's fine,'" Grovyle replied, her head still spinning, "'A-anyways, focus!'" Kyo shook his head and got himself back into the fight. Just in time too, for as soon as he opened his eyes, Sheena was right in front of him. Her arm suddenly thrust forward, and Kyo reflexively raised his arms up to block the incoming blow. But the blow never came, at least he didn't feel one. By the time he realized that he had been faked out, he felt a strike to his side which prompted a yelp of pain from him. As soon as his arms opened up, Sheena moved in and followed up with a solid punch to his chest. He cried out as he was knocked back, but he quickly recovered charged at her again with an Aqua Jet.

Sheena's arms shot out in front of her just before he reached her. Before he could figure out what was happening, his entire body slammed into an invisible wall, stunning him temporarily as he reeled from the force of the impact. Sheena took this chance to move in, closing the little space between them and holding him in a lock. Kyo exclaimed in shock and confusion, struggling against her grip. Grovyle meanwhile was standing a few meters behind Sheena. She hesitated for a moment before launching a Leaf Storm at her turned back. Of course, Sheena didn't plan on taking such an easy hit. Anticipating the attack, she whirled around and threw Kyo straight in to the attack. As he was struck, Grovyle hastily canceled out the attack before it could do any further damage on him. With the leaves gone, Kyo fell to his knees weakly. Sheena didn't back away at all, instead mercilessly moving in to strike Kyo with an even stronger punch, this time to his shoulder. The blow made him yelp out as he rolled forward towards the grass type.

Grovyle quickly caught him and stopped him from rolling. Holding him up as best she could, she looked into his eyes in concern. "'Are you alright?!'"

"...Y-yeah," he groaned, "Doin great. Never better, heh." With a slight smirk, Grovyle helped him back up to his feet. As soon as the two of them were standing straight, Sheena rushed forward at them. Grovyle panicked for a moment, unsure of what to do. Sheena eventually closed in on them and lunged at them. Still panicking, Grovyle couldn't figure anything else out other than simply backing up, so she had the both of them do just that. But as they stepped back, Grovyle tripped over Kyo's ankle, causing the both of them to fall backwards. As they toppled over, Sheena adjusted herself to dive over them so that she wouldn't trip over them. As soon as she hit the ground rolling, the two morphs fell onto their backs. They both groaned as they tried to get back up to their feet...again. This time around, Sheena decided to keep her space and carefully circle the two of them.

Once they were up, Grovyle grimaced and glanced back at Kyo, who was glancing back at her. Seeing that the two of them were left open, Sheena rushed forward again. Both of them took notice of her approach and hastily took on defensive stances. But the fighting type was quick, striking at Grovyle faster than she had anticipated. She reflexively used her Detect to counter, but ended up accidently sent her straight for Kyo. Sheena didn't even miss a beat, swinging at Kyo with a punch in a way that it almost seemed choreographed. The punch landed on Kyo's chest, and he was met with a blow that was somehow even stronger than all of the punches he received from her before. He staggered back and acted upon his own reflexes, using his Aqua Jet to gain some space. But what he forgot was the fact that both Sheena and Grovyle were standing in front of them. So both of the females were drenched and forced back by his jets. As soon as he saw this, he cut off his jets so that Grovyle could get away. But the second the jets stopped, Sheena shot towards him and closed the space between them yet again. What happened next all went by in a flash.

With Sheena's back turned to Grovyle, the grass type used this chance to prepare another Leaf Storm. And just as she launched it, Sheena grabbed hold of Kyo's shoulder and threw him into the attack. Grovyle gasped and quickly canceled out her attack. Once the leaves stopped coming, Kyo collapsed forward and fell face first into the ground. Grovyle exclaimed and rushed over to his side, kneeling down and holding him in her arms. "'Kyo!'" she shook him slightly, "'are you alright?'" He merely groaned in response, seemingly still conscious, but clearly pretty weak. Grovyle bit her lip and looked up, seeing that Sheena standing in a defensive stance. Hesitant to continue further, she looked back down to Kyo. "'We...we can stop here if you want.'"

That made him laugh weakly. He grunted as he tried to sit up with her help. "Are you kidding?" he laughed, "The fun just started." Grovyle chuffed and rolled her eyes, unable to help herself from smiling. With another grunt, the two of them stood back up, once again taking on battle stances. Sheena huffed slightly, loosening up her stance a bit and deciding to wait on them. Left with no other option, the two of them charged blindly forward, with Kyo using his Aqua Jet to speed ahead. Once he closed in on her, Sheena used her Quick Guard to counter him away. As Kyo jetted off to the side, Grovyle used the opening to launch another Leaf Storm, despite how weakened it was at this point. Due to the abruptness of the attack, Sheena was caught off guard and didn't have any time to counter. As a result, she staggered as she was struck and shielded herself with her arms.

This time, it was Grovyle's turn to attack mercilessly. Rushing in on her, she swing at her with a succession of Leaf Blades. Now forced to go on the evasive side, Sheena stepped and tilted as she dodged and avoided each swing. But suddenly, Kyo jetted in from the side to join Grovyle in her assault. Sheena reacted as soon as his first punch was thrown, once again using her Quick Guard to counter and bounce him back with the protective barrier. However, doing this left her open for an attack, and Grovyle wasn't one to let an opening pass her by. She swung with an upwards Leaf Blade and staggered Sheena once more. And as she stepped back, the two morphs went at her with everything they had. Now forced to an entirely defensive role, Sheena's movements went from few and far between to rapid and plentiful, even as she had an increasingly difficult time with keeping up with such a river of attacks. But despite that, her movements were elegant, precise, and almost artful. She truly was a master martial artist.

Once Kyo and Grovyle began to show signs of their stamina beginning to give out, Sheena took advantage of their slowed movements. On one of Grovyle's Leaf Blades, Sheena redirected her swing towards Kyo, who had little to no space for him to evade. Kyo was forced to take the hit as a result, and the blow made him waver noticeably. And as soon as Grovyle wavered from realizing what had happened, Sheena took her opportunity and thrust out her arms, punching them with even greater strength than before. Both of them cried out as they were struck back, the pair once again finding themselves on their backs. Kyo groaned as he struggled to get back up, finding it to be much more difficult this time around. Noticing this, Grovyle rolled closer to him and helped him back up, apologizing for the accidental blow as she did this. As the two of them stood, Sheena took on another defensive stance.

Everyone stood in place, with the two morphs' breaths being the only sound filling the silence. But it wasn't that way for long as the sound of Kyo's weak laughs began to fill it. Soon after, Grovyle's laughs joined as well. As they heard this, Teddy and Lucario smiled before laughing as well. Even Sheena, with her ruthless behavior in the battlefield, found herself smirking. "'So then,'" she spoke up, "'I'll take it that the two of you are having fun?'"

"Yeah...a little," Kyo replied with a bit of effort, "I mean...it hurts...but it's still fun." Grovyle smiled at that. With a huff, she patted Kyo on the back and straightened up. He followed her lead as well, straightening himself out and once again taking on a stance. Sheena's smirk faded and she readied herself. Everyone was serious again, so it was time to act accordingly.

Grovyle took the lead this time, launching a heavily drained Leaf Storm at the fighting type. Sheena side stepped out of the way, just in time for Kyo to Aqua Jet towards her. Sheena acted quickly, once again using her Quick Guard to block and repel the Feraligatr. As Kyo bounced off of the protective barrier, Grovyle closed in on her from the side. She threw a punch at her, forcing her to block. But of course, she didn't just leave it at that. Her paws moved quickly, and in the blink of an eye she had Grovyle in a lock, holding the both of them in place.

But Sheena was quickly reminded that Grovyle wasn't her only opponent, as Kyo jetted in from the side and struck her with a lightning fast punch. The blow stunned Sheena, causing her to lose her grip on Grovyle. Once she was freed, Grovyle slashed out at her with a Leaf Blade. The attack landed, which created an opening that allowed the two of them to rush her yet again. But Sheena quickly rebounded, and all three of them went back and forward at each other. A counter by one, a block by the other, a combo from both, and a strike from her. Each side had a turn to advance, and each side went at it with vigor. Suddenly, everyone's attacks collided at once, and the morphs were forced to jump back.

Kyo made sure to keep things going by Aqua Jetting straight back at Sheena, who ended up using her Quick Guard to repel him. But as he bounced off of the protective barrier, he made sure to jet off to the side to give Grovyle an opening. The grass type quickly closed in and attacked. Once Sheena blocked, Kyo circled around and tried to attack her from the rear. But Sheena saw him coming and swung Grovyle into the way. Thankfully for the both of them, Kyo stopped in time to catch her. Sheena wasn't ready to let them off though, so she lunged forward and delivered powerful twin punches to them. The resulting blows knocked the two morphs back and down, both of them hitting the ground considerably hard. Whilst Grovyle was able to get back up, Kyo wasn't as lucky. The blow alone had been enough to do him in, and as a result left him unable to fight any longer.

Shoot...he's down? Grovyle thought to herself, Damn..._For a brief moment, she contemplated on whether or not to continue from there. She wasn't given a chance to decide though, as Sheena charged right for her. Snapping herself back into the situation at hand, Grovyle Detected Sheena and repelled her. Sheena moved in for a Fake Out, and Grovyle fell for it. In the short instance that she flinched, Sheena lunged forward and swung with an even _stronger punch. Grovyle, not too keen on taking another hit, parried the punch away from her and used her other arm to follow up with a Leaf Blade right to Sheena's midsection. The Mienshao stumbled forward from the blow, and before she could catch her balance, she was knocked to the ground by a well-timed back kick from Grovyle. As Sheena rolled into a crouch, Grovyle spun around and took on a defensive stance.

Sheena lunged again, feigning her with another successful Fake Out. In the small time frame of Grovyle flinching, Sheena closed the space between them again and threw her a punch. Grovyle recovered in time to see it coming and barely managed to dodge it. But even as the attack missed, Grovyle could feel the power of the attempted strike pulse through the air. From that alone, she could tell that the fighting type's punches were growing with even more power. Sheena threw another Power Punch at her, but she countered with a Detect and followed up with a weakened Leaf Storm. The attack staggered her, giving Grovyle a chance to back away several steps. But Sheena made sure to stay close to her, assaulting her with a rush of Power Punches. Having a hard time keeping up with the fighting type, Grovyle tried to repel Sheena with Leaf Blades whilst trying to dodge her every attack. But Sheena's persistence won out in the end as she landed a powerful blow on Grovyle's shoulder. The grass type cried out as she was knocked back hard, hitting the ground rolling, and groaning as she came to a stop. Again, Sheena took on a stance, waiting for her opponent to make the next move.

But for a moment, it didn't seem like there would be a next move. Teddy tensed up, leaning in slightly as he watched Grovyle closely. Her shoulders shifted, and soon she managed to stagger back up to her feet. She panted heavily and looked back up at Sheena, whose brows were raised noticeably.

"'I'm surprised you still wish to go on,'" she commented, "'Most morphs I've fought have usually given in by the time my strikes reached the peak of their power.'" Grovyle smirked weakly.

"'Yeah, well...'" she began, "'I won't lie. I'm tempted to give in at this point.'"

Sheena tilted her head. "'So why don't you then?'"

With a smirk still spread across her muzzle, Grovyle straightened herself out before replying, "'Because I wouldn't be satisfied if I gave in just because Kyo can't help me out.'"

This made Sheena smirk. "'You are...an interesting fellow...'" Getting her head back into the fight, Grovyle evened out her breathing as best she could as the two of them began to circle each other. Slowly, gradually, their circle tightened and tightened until they were but a mere two meters from each other. Again, Grovyle took on the initiative, launching another weak Leaf Storm at Sheena. However, with the little amount of leaves actually thrown, it made it easy for her to lean away from the attack. But that had merely been the lead, which Grovyle proved as she moved in to swipe at her with another Leaf Blade assault. Again, the two of them were caught in a back and forth rush. With both sides, using all of their concentration to avoid each other's moves whilst throwing their own. Their arms were nothing but blurs, with pulses of air shooting out from Sheena's fists. Grovyle knew that if any of those landed, she would be out. And that only made her want to go in, all or nothing.

Swing miss dodge, swing miss dodge, swing miss dodge, it was a pattern that she repeated again and again. She was running out of stamina quick, but she wanted to see this through till the end. She wanted to see just how far she could make it in this fight. Swing miss dodge, swing miss dodge, swing miss dodge. It felt like hours to her that she did this, yet in reality it had only been a couple seconds. But then, in one split second, she saw her opening. She moved in and slashed straight up, landing a successful critical hit. But unfortunately, it left her open as well, and Sheena was just in the right position.

Thrusting her arm forward, she landed a devastatingly strong blow to Grovyle's gut, knocking the wind straight out of her. Her vision blackened, and she passed out just before hitting the ground.

***

"'Ugggghhhhhhhhhh,'" Grovyle groaned as she came back around, hearing a similar groan from next to her. Once her vision returned to her, she blushed as she realized that Kyo was lying next to her. The moment after, they realized that they were cuddled up next to each other. The two of them locked eyes, with Kyo flustered and stammering, and Grovyle blushing and smiling.

"'Looks like the two love birds are finally up,'" rang a familiar voice just above them. They both jerked in surprise and scrambled off of each other. The sound of Teddy's and Lucario's laughter filled the air as the two of them got themselves situated again.

"What...happened?" asked Kyo awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

"'Dang,'" Lucario breathed, "'did Sheena knock you that hard?'" She chuckled a bit, nudging Kyo's shoulder playfully. "'You got knocked out first in your fight with Sheena. So Grovyle kept going for as long as she could. She did a pretty good job too, I must say.'" The grass type smiled at that.

"'So...'" she spoke up, looking around their area, "'...where'd Sheena go?'"

"Ms. Sheena had business to attend to, I'm afraid," Teddy explained, "The two of you were out for a good amount of time, and she didn't have much time to wait. However, she told me to inform you two that she says the both of you preformed wonderfully for your ranking, and that she looks forward to seeing the two of you progress as fighters." They smiled at that and looked to each other.

"'...Well?'" asked Grovyle with a small laugh. Kyo laughed a bit as well.

"Well what?" he asked her.

"'What are your thoughts about this whole...experience?'"

Kyo laughed again. "Well, if I'm being honest, it was probably the most fun I've had getting my rear handed to me." This made Grovyle laugh even more.

"'Same here honestly,'" she replied. The two of them broke into a laughing fit, making the other two morphs smile.

"Honestly though," said Kyo after settling down, "I don't think I'd be okay with having a rematch with her in a while. Not after experiencing what she's capable of first hand."

Grovyle laughed again. "'I dunno, I'm kind of tempted to try again one day.'" She grinned at him and planted a hand on his shoulder. "'Though I'd prefer you to be by my side when I do.'"

Kyo couldn't stop himself from smiling, nor could he hide the blush forming on his cheeks. "Heh...well...I did promise to always be by your side, so I'll be sure to be there." Grovyle practically mirrored his expressions at that, though she wasn't afraid to hide it. Kyo looked away in embarrassment, and Grovyle wrapped her arm around him happily.

"'Well!'" Lucario spoke up, clapping her paws together, "'It was certainly fun watching your match, but I believe it's time to get down to business.'"

Kyo tilted his head at her in confusion. "Business? What do you mean by that?" With a smirk, Lucario pointed down. Blinking once, he traced her finger down to his lap. "Arrrrgh, DANGIT with my shorts!!!"

***