FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Thomas was dressed by the time Doctor Coral arrived at his room in the morning. “Ah, getting ready for your dismissal already?" She chuckled, grinning as her stylus tapped away at documents on her tablet screen.

“Nah, just felt like wearing clothes that can't be described as 'draughty'." Thomas replied with an equally cheeky grin. “How's my release looking?"

“Release…" The Doctor groaned “This is not a prison. Dismissal, Discharge, try one of those." Thomas withheld a snicker at the mention of 'Discharge'. “I'm sorry, I didn't realise you were thirteen." She stated sarcastically “In that case, 'release' isn't much better."

Thomas shrugged. “Rather have a release than a discharge…" He realised what he'd said the moment it was out of his mouth, and took a moment to savour the awkward silence, hoping it would end that aspect of the conversation. Fortunately it did.

“I've cleared your 'release'," The Doctor couldn't help but say that word with a tinge of sexuality, if only to tease the man “So you've just got to sign a couple forms and you can head out whenever you want." She handed the tablet and stylus to Thomas, indicating the tabs he needed to click on to sign. “Of course, I'll want to see you for a quick checkup tomorrow afternoon, just to make sure everything is adapting properly."

Thomas made his way through the signatures as he spoke. “No problems. Gonna probably stay at the hotel down the road," He gestured off out the window “Backs out onto the reserve in case I need to… disappear…" He sighed. Signing the last box and handing everything back to the Doctor. “Might hit up the Gym as well. What's the Gym Leader's preferred type?"

“You." She looked Thomas up and down judgmentally. “You reckon your Pokemon can take Hailey?"

“Hailey? The Gym leader's name is Hailey?"

“How long have you been at this whole trainer thing?" The doctor asked, putting her hands on her hips.

“One… maybe two weeks?" Thomas replied cautiously. He could tell something was off, as though going to the Gym would be a bad idea.

“Yeah, might want to skip this one." She said dismissively, patting him on the back before turning to leave.

“What? Why?"

Doctor Coral sighed, turning back to face the man and his shocked expression. “Your Pokemon look pretty good. I did some research and while your Mudbray and Whirlipede might not be particularly experienced yet, that Hakamo-o of yours has seen a fair bit of fighting, and the Zweilous and Noibat didn't evolve into those forms without a lot of time sunk into battles." She walked back over to him, putting a hand on each shoulder. “Thomas, to be honest, given you have no Gym badges to your name, I find it absolutely miraculous that those more experienced Pokemon stick around, let alone listen to anything you have to say."

“Owlra Gym is a Fighting Gym." She looks to the window, staring out at the medium-sized town. “They teach many styles, and the Leader even holds a Champion's rank from her early days. She is nothing if not a fair competitor, which is why she will scan your pokeballs when challenged and choose her team based off the general experience level of your Pokemon."

“Wait, she'll know what I have? That's cheating isn't it?"

“Not exactly. The software gives a readout on how experienced and powerful the whole collection of pokemon are, not what individual species they are. Look, you'll have to talk to her students if you want to know anything else." She squeezed Thomas' shoulders comfortingly. “Just keep this in mind: she is real big on the whole 'discipline' thing. Be respectful and you won't have any problems."

“Thank you." Thomas said, smiling at the doctor before wrapping her up in a big hug. “For everything you've done."

She hugged back briefly, holding the man close before extracting herself from his grip. “Just doing my job."

“You did more than-"

“Oh, that reminds me!" The Doctor interrupted “I have a friend - works the party circuit - he gets certain 'official looking' documents for those too young to have them, if you get my meaning." She glanced over her shoulder at the nurses milling around outside. Making sure nobody else was listening in or watching, the doctor handed Thomas a small envelope. “I never gave this to you, Mister Pine." She looked Thomas dead in the eye, hoping for the appropriate response.

“Uh, nope." Thomas blurted, looking around “Don't know what you're talking about. It fell through the window." He opened the envelope and out slid two card-sized objects, one being a proof of age card for a Mr. Albert Thomas Pine, complete with a photo of his face reasonably well photoshopped beneath someone else's haircut. The other item was a thin plastic sleeve about the same size as a bank card, and designed to look like a card for a local bank but with Albert T Pine and what he could only assume was a fake account number. On one side a small post-it note stated he should place his real card inside and use a hairdryer to shrink the sleeve to fit. He assumed anyone holding the card to inspect it might be able to notice the difference, but most folks only check IDs, not bank cards. “Again, thank you."

“Don't mention it." She said, smiling. “But seriously though, don't mention it. It could cost me my job."

“Fair enough." He smiled kindly as the two stepped back. He took a deep breath, looking around the room to find something to break the silence. “So I'll come back tomorrow afternoon."

“If you can't make it in then, Friday morning is fine." She said, offering a hand to the man. “It's been a pleasure Mister Pine."

Thomas took her hand in his, shaking it firmly but not aggressively. “The pleasure is all mine." And with that, the doctor strode back out into the hospital.

Thomas finished getting ready, strapping his leather bracers on along with the pokedex, repacking the hikers bag before setting off to sign out of the ward. It was mid-morning before everything that needed to be signed and authorised was completed, with several prescriptions for both his and Griff's medication folded neatly within the waterproof pocket for another time. After a week in the hospital, he was finally free. His first step was to head over to the hotel and secure a room for the evening. Fortunately there were several rooms that backed out onto the forest, so he chose the one that had two queen-sized beds.

He deposited the backpack in there before quickly popping off to the shops, acquiring a selection of poke-treats and rations to restock their supplies, along with a trainers belt so he wouldn't have to rely on the backpack to hold his pokeballs. Fortunately he could afford one of the high-quality ones with non-slip grip on the grabbers and a unique unlock system that would prevent the balls from shaking loose. He did not want a repeat of the cave. He also stopped by some of the clothing stores and acquired himself some swimwear and beach towels, along with a classy suit.

By lunchtime he was back in the hotel room, laying out the fresh fruits, meats, cheeses and other nice and tasty food he'd bought for everyone out on the coffee table to make up for the last few meals of rations. One by one he popped them out of their balls. “Okay folks, it's been a long and stressful fortnight. But we've made it to the coast. Well, almost. About another five miles down that river and you hit ocean." He said, pointing east. “But, I'm out of hospital-" The room was filled with a collection of chirps, cheers and whistles “And that means we need to decide what we're gonna do from here." He took a bit of a cheese-laden slice of salami, moaning at it's salty goodness. As Jeremy looked on with a cocked eyebrow and a smirk. “SO…"

“Sli?" Before he could finish his train of thought it was derailed by Carmen. “Sli, sliggoo sli, goo. Sli-sli."

Thomas looked at her confused. Jeremy stepped over, holding up two claws. “Two?" She nodded, urging him on “Two things you… want to do?" Again she nodded. “Sure, name 'em."

“Goo…" Carmen pointed to herself before acting as though she were cowering from something. Then she pointed at Thomas “Sli!" and stuck out her chest all proud-like and stood with arms in a 'strongman' pose. She pointed at herself again and pretended to throw punches a cutely determined expression on her face.

“You want to train?" Carmen nodded, sinking down a little as all the other Pokemon looked from her to the man and back. A moment of silence filled the room as the soft-tissue Pokemon that had never done so much as shout at an opponent realised she just asked to train to physically fight other Pokemon. But Thomas reached down and swept her up in a huge hug. “I am so proud of you!" The other Pokemon breathed a jovial sigh of relief, the tension in the room was released. “Well, I wanted to chat to the Owlra Gym leader about badges and stuff anyway, so I suppose it's perfect timing really. I can ask her about you. I mean… You're not a fighting type, but she might have some advice." Thomas was full of smiles as he lowered the Sliggoo back to the floor. “Okay, and what's number two?"

She mimed something small attached to her waist, then drew lines up to the side of her head. Holding her stubby little hands to her ears she began bobbing along to an imaginary beat. “You want to listen to music?" He asked. She shook her head. With a sigh, she wandered over to the hikers pack and opened it up. “Hey, what're you-" She held a hand up firmly, so Thomas stopped talking, the man consuming some cured meats as he waited for her to find what she was after. After a bit of digging and she held out a square package made of large leaves. Everyone looked at it questioningly. With a deep breath she opened it up, revealing a lightly scratched CD. “Is that a trainers disk?" Thomas asked, his eyes wide.

She shook her head hesitantly. “Goo. Sliggoo, goo." When Thomas reached out to take it from her and have a closer look, she pulled it back. Jeremy cleared his throat, his eyes looking at her very seriously. “Sli…" Carmen whimpered before offering the disk to Thomas.

“Jeremy, it's fine." Thomas pushed the CD away. “Carmen, if you want me to get a player for that, I can. You don't need to tell me what's on it." He chuckled. “Damn curious though. Sure it's not music?" She shook her head. “And it's not a TM?" She signalled no again, but a little more hesitantly. “Okay, keep yer secrets." She looked at the leaves then the CD and back to Thomas, a sheepish grin plastered across her face. “Fine, I'll wrap it back up. C'mon folks, eat up. It's been a while. Unless someone else wants to ask something?"

Griff raised his hand timidly. “What's up?" Thomas asked, tucking into more of the salami. The Noivern whistled and clicked, making obvious side glances to the Mudbray who was happy chilling out munching on a ground-type poketreat near the couch. He drew a line over his chest where a nametag would be. Thomas realised what it was the Pokemon was asking, and sighed. “Now, really? Can't I have more time to think about it?" Everyone looked confused, especially the Mudbray as suddenly eyes were on him too.

“Haka?" Jeremy tried to get something more out of the Noivern, but Griff was staying silent as it looked anywhere else other than the eyes upon him. “Mo?" Jeremy directed the query to Thomas.

“Yeah, I didn't want to because I wasn't ready, but here goes." He stepped around the coffee table and knelt down next to the Mudbray. “Right, so I believe if you're gonna give a name to a Pokemon it should be meaningful. And so I've been puzzling and puzzling but I just keep coming back to one name. And, well…" He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly “Well it kinda breaks some of my rules." He pressed one index finger against the other, counting “First, no alliteration: Diego the Deino, Victor Venipede, etc. Second, no descriptors; Pinky," he said, pointing at Jeremy “Slick," he pointed to Carmen then threw a thumb over his shoulder at Griff “Uh, Clicky McWhistleface. You get the point." Griff looked at him through narrowed eyes, but couldn't hide the smirk that managed to escape.

“Third, no wordplay of species or type; Sliggy, Draggo, Whirls, and so on. And lastly, it's gotta be something the Pokemon agrees with, ain't that right Dennis?" A Whirlipede-sized raspberry rang out from the other side of the room as thomas chuckled. “See?" He ruffled the Mudbray's ivory fringe. “So look, every time I try to think of something it always comes back to this one name. No pressure, if you don't like it, just say." All eyes and ears were on Thomas, except for Mac, who was trying to eat food as noisily as possible as revenge for being called Dennis. “How does Dusty sound?"

The Mudbray raised an eyebrow, and looked at it's hooves. “Oh, no, no. It's not because of those. First I tried thinking about what's a cool name. And I remembered there was this world champion extreme sports guy who was famous when I was growing up. Snowboarding, surfing, if it meant going fast down, up or across something, he was there. His name was Dusty Oceans. Probably just a stage name sort of thing, but he was awesome." Thomas sighed, looking into the Mudbray's blue eyes. “But why I keep coming back to it is because when you saved me, all I could see, and taste and smell before blacking out…. Was dust." Thomas smiled, though everyone could tell it was not the happiest of memories to recall. “You came outta nowhere and blasted the Seviper away. Then you stayed with me until I was conscious."

Thomas leaned back against the edge of the couch, his team of misfit Pokemon all around him. He owed so much to each of them. The Mudbray for saving him from the seviper, Griff and the cave. Cav took out the Salazzle and her harem, Mac fought almost to the death against a Feraligatr a dozen times his size, Carmen had stuck with him through thick and thin, and Jeremy. Jeremy; his own personal saviour. Saved him from a life of picking berries. Saved him from a vicious Crobat. Saved him from Rocket Rising goons and showed him what it was like to truly live. Thomas was snapped out of his little daydream as the Mudbray whinnied. The Pokemon looked him in the eye and nodded. “Dusty it is then."

The gathering of Pokemon cheered as another name was added to the roster, Thomas updating his pokedex and the pokeball in turn to display the new name. For another hour or so they all sat and chatted, for what little Thomas could while not knowing any of their languages. But the rest were happy to talk about things amongst themselves and eat fresh food. Jeremy seemed to be getting Thomas-related goss from Cav, while the other four sat in a circle and whistled, grunted or otherwise spoke their various conversations. But eventually lunch was over, and Griff's alarm was going off. Thomas had acquired a small dosette container from the hospital which he'd organised fourteen doses into. He popped one open, grabbed a glass of water and helped Griff out. Everyone else stared. But instead of making a big deal about it, Thomas felt he should educate them.

He opened one of the small compartments and took each pill out in turn, noting what each one did. He then pulled out another couple of pill bottles and described the difference between the two and that they were daily. Then he showed the small red pill container on his belt. In there were a handful of pills, which he described as the 'panic button', describing the possible episode Griff might have and how to administer the pills in that situation. “But if all else fails, back in the ball." Thomas said, making sure everyone understood the severity of it. “Griff is a part of the team now, he's one of us." Thomas slapped him gently on the back. “Righty, well if everyone's done, let's head to the Gym."

The crew got ready to be zapped back into their balls one by one, Thomas making sure they knew the next time they'd be out would probably be in a Gym battle. Except for Carmen, he hoped to get her out and have a chat with the Gym Leader beforehand. He left the pack, but strapped his new belt up and used Parker's old backpack to store a couple towels. And with a deep breath, Thomas set off towards the Gym.

The sky had started mildly cloudy, but by the time Thomas had made it to the Owlra Gym, the white puffy clouds had turned grey and menacing. Rumbles of thunder echoed through the mountains as the oncoming storm blindsided the sprawling village. The first spatterings of precipitation struck Thomas' neck as he made his way in through the front doors of the large building. Inside, several groups of trainers were having their Pokemon spar against each other, the room filled with grunts and the earthy hits of fists and feet connecting with their intended fleshy targets.

Just as he walked past, a Sawk flipped his Hitmontop opponent so hard onto the mat that it's spike got stuck, the trainers pausing the bout to help it out. On his other side was a brilliant display of dodging as a Mienshao deftly maneuvered around an onslaught of punches thrown by a Machamp before tauntingly stamping the grey Pokemon's forehead with a blue smiley-face stamp. In fact, now that Thomas was looking closely, it seemed almost all the Pokemon in here were holding small rubber stamps in their hands, or had them affixed to various limbs. Some sparring pairs had an equal number of marks dotting their bodies. Though those Pokemon tended to belong to the younger trainers while the older ones had Pokemon that looked exhausted - as though they'd been on the mat for hours - without a mark on them.

Thomas was so entranced by the fantastic display before him that he didn't notice an old man wander up. He was wearing a grey blazer with the Gym's colours - brown and orange - in a candy cane stripe down the edge of it's lapel. “G'd afternoon, champ." He said with a wide grin, startling Thomas just a little. “What brings you to our Gym?"

“Ah, well…"

“A Well? Strange way to travel. I came by cab." Thomas couldn't help but smile at that one, letting loose a brief chuckle before taking the man's outstretched hand. “Folks round here call me Clem."

“Thomas." He said, shaking the man's hand. “Nice to meet you Clem."

The old man looked Thomas up and down, then to his belt with the six pokeballs strapped to it. “Come here to train, or challenge for a badge?"

Thomas looked around at all the fighting Pokemon. “First one, then the other?"

Clem looked satisfied with that answer. “Okay, so who you looking to train up? Pierre focuses more on traditional martial movesets," he gestured to a man throwing punches at a bag as fast and steady as the Hitmonchan beside him “Silva over there excels with big sweeping moves," two Lucario spun and flipped across a mat as their hands and feet were barely avoided with yet more flips and spins “Ronda works close up with grabs and misdirects," A woman stood before a group of close to a dozen assorted Pokemon demonstrating a low sweep against one of the younger - and considerably more helpless - trainers “while Dwayne works with special attacks." The last man Clem indicated was standing next to a Golem that was demonstrating a move for an eager Combusken. The Rock type seemed to slip into a state of deep concentration before swinging a punch towards a target several yards away. The punch itself didn't connect but the energy blast created from it's swing certainly did.

Thomas looked the four trainers over. “I'm, uh, I'm not sure. It's for Carmen, and-"

“Carmen?" Thomas grunted at his own stupidity - 'like anyone else would know who Carmen was' - and withdrew her pokeball, zapping the purple and green Sliggoo into existence in the middle of the training area. Several Pokemon turned to look, and he could hear a couple of them snicker. “Ah, I see." Clem said somewhat unsure of what Thomas hoped they could help with.

“Look," he waved Carmen over, and she happily slid up to his leg, staring up at Clem with her large cloudy green eyes “She's decided she wants to train up a bit, to keep up with my other Pokemon. I'm not expecting a Fighting-type gym to be able to help with getting a Dragon-type ready for a battle, but I thought since I was in town…"

Clem thought about it for a minute or two before a mischievous smile crossed his lips. “Y'know, we might be able to help." He pushed Thomas aside and waved to Ronda. “Hey R, you still got that Scraggy?"

Ronda had just sent her teaching aid to the ground for the third time in as many minutes, and much to his relief she took a moment to take a swig from her water bottle and towel her face off. “Yeah Clem. Whatcha need Scrags for?" Clem waved her over to meet Thomas. “Right, pair off and take turns." She said to her class before extending her hand to Thomas. “Ronda. Just call me R."

“Thomas…" he replied, having a hard time equalling her strong grip. She smiled at him with a hint of victory on her lips.

“Thomas here has a Pokemon in need of training," Clem gestured to the Sliggoo lost in thought while staring at all the buff Pokemon slamming each other to the mat or trying not to be through the use of fancy footwork and strong grapples.

Ronda looked at the Pokemon with a cocked eyebrow. “What in Arceus' name do you expect me to teach a Sliggoo?" At the mention of her species, Carmen looked up to the woman and smiled. She smiled back. “And what does Scrags have to do with it?"

“Can't think of many fighting moves one of her kind can learn, but Counter comes to mind." Clem turned away with a self satisfied grin. “Good luck!" He waved from over his shoulder.

“So," Ronda knelt down so she was at eye level with the Sliggoo “You wanna learn some fighting moves, eh?" She sighed, shrugging. “Righty, come with me." She waved trainer and Pokemon over to the area she was demonstrating her sweeping kick, motioning for Thomas to wait off to the side while Carmen stood up front. She opened her mouth to say something, but instead quickly turned to Thomas “Name?"

“Carmen." The sliggoo looked at her trainer with a concerned expression, but Thomas whispered “You'll be fine." and gave her a thumbs up.

“Okay, Everyone, Carmen. Carmen, everyone." she gestured to the small audience of trainers and their Pokemon before pulling out an old pokeball. With a flash a small yellowy-orange Pokemon popped into existence. “This is Skrags. He's going to demonstrate Counter to our visitor Carmen and her trainer Thomas. I know it's not on the lesson plan, but consider this a special exception." She waved one of the assistant Pokemon up, the Medicham rolling it's shoulders and stretching in preparation for the demonstration.

Ronda whispered something to Skrags, who nodded as he moved up beside Carmen on the mat. He manipulated her stance and posture, though was unsure what to do about her slug-like body as opposed to his feet and tail. Ronda waved the issue away and he went back to giving the Sliggoo a run down on what would happen. With the Medicham all stretched and both Carmen and Skrags posed to take the incoming blows, the Scraggy nodded to his opponent.

With astounding speed, the Medicham darted across the mat and flung itself into the air, attempting a high jump kick into the Scraggy's face. A stubby orange arm takes the brunt of the blow, but his posture simply pushes him back along the mat for a split-second before - with a twist of the wrist - Skrags grabbed the Medicham's foot and with a quick downward shift in weight managed to bring the Pokemon crashing to the mat below. Carmen stood stunned as the pink Pokemon picked itself up, dusted itself off and hobbled back over to starting positions.

“Another. Then Carmen, I want you to try." Despite being unable to see through them, Carmen's eyes went wide as she slowly turned to look at her teacher. Ronda pointed back to Medicham as everyone focused on the second round of attacks. “Go." The Medicham bolted forward again, this time staying low until the last moment when it leapt into the air, bringing a heavy one handed chop down upon the orange Pokemon. But Scraggy shifted slightly to the right copping the blow on his shoulder as a stubby little fist shot upwards with lightning speed right into the Medicham's solar plexus. Both Pokemon stumbled to the ground with that blow, helping each other back up and smiling as they dusted each other off. “Excellent work." Ronda waved both of them over, giving each of them a quick spray from one of the potion bottles near her towel.

Carmen looked back to Thomas, a little more uneasy after the second strike. But he just gave her another thumbs up, mouthing “You can do this" with a smile.

“Okay, you, the Machop. Yeah, come on up." She motioned for one of her students to get onto the mat as the two exhausted fighters took a seat to let the potion kick in. “Okay. Nothing fancy, nothing special. Just swing on in with a fighting or normal type move when I say go, okay?"

“Chop!" He responded with a grin, cracking his knuckles menacingly. Carmen gulped.

“Okay Carmen, get your stance right." Ronda walked over as Carmen got into the pose she'd been shown, the woman just altering her torso slightly. “The first time can be a bit tense, but you're gonna need to loosen up to take the hit well. Just remember, use their force against them." Backing off, Ronda held up a hand for silence. A small crowd had gathered to watch the Sliggoo go up against the Machop, and Thomas could see the occasional coin being exchanged hands as bets were made. He sighed, shaking his head with a smile.

“And, go!" The Machop took two steps before leaping through the air, bringing the blade of his hand down towards Carmen's head. She didn't shift quite in time, and copped the blow on her neck, sending her body lurching to one side from the force of the blow. Fortunately her foot-pad was stuck firm to the mat, so she barely moved an inch in relation to floorspace, while the Machop - with nowhere to properly land - collapsed on the Sliggoo's shoulder. Carmen was more shocked from the impact rather than the pain, as she recovered quickly and helped the fighting-type to his feet.

“Good sportsmanship. You've taught her well Thomas." Ronda commented, nodding her approval as Carmen blushed.

“Wish I could take credit for that, but she's been like that since we first met." Thomas chuckled, giving Carmen another thumbs up. “Good try, give it another go." Then an idea came through his head and he jogged up to the mat, kneeling next to Carmen as he explained his thought. “You've got something none of these other Pokemon have; If you don't want to move, nothing they do can make you. Use that to your advantage, know that whatever punch, kick or… slam that Machop sends isn't going to shift you. Not one inch. Redirect like Ronda said. Take his energy and use it on him." He gave the Pokemon a quick hug before retreating back to the audience.

“Okay, ready?" Both Pokemon nod, Carmen having a steely look of determination in her glossy eyes. “Go." The Machop once again dashed forward, but instead of leaping like before he instead darted to one side, bringing in a low sweeping kick to Carmen's midsection. Perhaps he thought a hard enough strike from the side could dislodge her, but Carmen refused to let that happen. His foot connected with her abdomen in a loud slap, but with a twist of her body, Carmen put pressure behind his knee with one stubby hand and tucked her body in, sending the Machop flying into a nearby wall; the crunch of his impact visceral to hear.

Carmen looked over to the crumpled grey mess at the bottom of the wall and quickly sped over. “SLI! Sli! Gooooo…" She grabbed a potion bottle on the way and sprayed the dizzy looking Machop with it.

“He'll be fine." Ronda chuckled as the Machops trainer came over to take care of his Pokemon. He pat the Sliggoo on her soft shell for a job well done before sitting down next to his slowly recovering Machop. Ronda turned back to her class. “We still have a few more minutes for this lesson. Anyone else want to have a go?" Only one hand went up, a Heracross. Ronda gestured to the empty stage as Carmen slowly made her way back to it. By the time the Sliggoo was in place, so too was the Heracross. “Okay, again, fighting and normal moves only, and no specials. Counter is not something you can use against every attack, it has a very unique set of circumstances to be effective. But when it is effective, it can be devastating."

The Heracross nodded, her heart-shaped horn glinting in the artificial light of the gym. Carmen looked back to Thomas, who was grinning madly, overjoyed at his Pokemon's success. “Ready?" Asked Ronda again, waiting for the go ahead from each one. “Go!"

The Heracross charged straight towards Carmen, not flinching or altering her course as she barreled towards her purple target. Carmen exhaled, focusing on the bug Pokemon's horn. At the last second the Heracross dipped her head, the blue horn straight impacting Carmen's chest with a squelch. But rather than merely absorbing the damage, Thomas could see the ripple from the impact spread throughout the snail-like body to Carmen's tail, her torso bunched up against the soft cushiony growth on her back as her muscles compressed like a spring. Then in one swift movement she pushed back, her purple form lunging forward as she held the horn in place on her chest. A look of surprise flashed across the Heracross' face as she was sent flying in the direction she came from at almost the same speed as she approached.

Hitting the mats at that speed, it took the blue bug several dozen feet of tumbling before she came to a stop. “Gooo…" Carmen apologised from across the sparring space as Thomas ran up to hug her. “SLi! Sliggoo!" She proudly squealed.

“I know! Excellent job! You're a natural!" Thomas replied, ruffling her antennae.

“She just might be." Ronda interjected. “Most non-fighting Pokemon take a fair while longer to get the basics of Counter. But I think your Sliggoo is built for it. I don't know many Pokemon that could take a Horn attack straight to the chest like that." She scratched a small spot behind one of Carmen's antennae, causing the Pokemon's tongue to loll from her mouth. The teacher looked to Thomas' belt, counting the pokeballs and lack of badges anywhere on him. “I haven't seen you around town before, have you come to battle the Gym leader or just train up a bit.?"

Thomas shrugged, “I haven't earned a badge yet, so was kinda hoping to start here. But Carmen wanted to get some training in beforehand. Dr Coral said Hailey-"

“'Doctor' Coral?" Ronda said, a confused tone in her voice. “Oh, wait, you mean her sister."

“Sorry?" Thomas became the one confused. “Sister?"

“Gym leader Coral. Her sister is a doctor at the hospital. Hey," She squinted at Thomas, eyeing him “Hey, you're that Crobat guy right? The one from the cave?"

Thomas gulped, he wasn't sure he'd been made. “Uh, yeah. Tho- I mean, Albert Pine."

“Albert? But you said your name was Thomas."

Thomas was ready for this one. He'd wondered why Dr. Coral had chosen this name, but it was perfect. “Thomas is my middle name. You live your life with the name Al Pine and tell me you wouldn't use your middle name."

“You got me there." She said, chuckling. “Well, Coral's got no other challengers this arvo, so feel free to weigh up over there." Rhonda pointed to a small Pokeball station next to a set of large double doors. “Battle type is a three round, one vee one. Coin toss determines who chooses Pokemon first at the start of each round. You can bring in six Pokemon, but there will be no substitutions; Pokemon fight till knockout, then the next round begins. Best of three."

“Wow, that's… that's a bit more involved than I thought it would be."

“Yeah, you said you haven't gotten a badge before? I find that hard to believe." She said looking between Carmen and Thomas suspiciously. “Never mind. If the rest of your Pokemon have as much experience as her and you've never taken on a Gym before, then you're doing something right. Little tip though, before you go in." Ronda leaned in so nobody else could hear her clearly. “If the rest of your group are Carmen's equal, best save the water moves for last."

Thomas thought carefully about his Pokemon. As he was ushered towards the door. Taking his Pokemon and placing them in the Pokeball analyser with one hand he quickly read through his teams available moves. Only one Pokemon had a water move. The machine pinged, showing his challenge rating as hard. Everyone gathered around, their training forgotten with the rare sight of a hard battle possible that afternoon. Thomas gathered his pokeballs and clipped them back to his belt. He placed Jeremy's on last, knowing with so many eyes it would be tantamount to suicide for him to release the shiny Hakamo-o here. The fact that nobody had noticed Thomas himself from the wanted posters was a miracle in and of itself.

The doors hissed open to a large circular room underneath a massive domed glass ceiling. The sky above roiled as the storm blew in, streaks of water cascading down the glass from the rain. Thomas noted how impressive the soundproofing was as a bolt of lightning passed overhead with barely a rumble audible, even the direct assault of precipitation on the dome was silent. The whole thing gave an unnerving and eerie feel to the dimly lit room. What added to that feeling was the entire circumference, when unlit it revealed the silhouettes of onlookers staring in through darkened windows.

However as the lights came on one by one, the windows turned to mirrors providing a one-way viewing platform behind the safety of - what Thomas hoped - was very thick safety glass. The battle arena itself was dotted with various forms of exercise equipment. Medicine balls and atlas stones were stacked in pyramids to either side, while dumbells of increasing sizes lined the walls. And at the center of it all, in the middle of some stretches was the spitting image of Doctor Coral, except instead of scrubs and a doctors coat she was dressed in three-quarter length brown pants and an orange polo shirt; with her hands and feet wrapped in fighters tape. Thomas slowly walked toward her. “Hello, Hailey?" He said said politely about halfway.

“HA!" The woman laughed, causing Thomas to stop in his tracks. “That's a new one!" She wiped herself down with a towel before closing the distance with her challenger. “No. Miriam. Miriam Coral. How do you know Hailey?"

“I, I mean, your sister, she said-"

“Of course she did." Miriam huffed. “She tell you how to beat me? Or just complain?"

“Uh," Thomas thought back to their conversation. “Neither? She just sounded surprised I'd be sending my team against Hailey. Sorry, I thought you were Hailey."

“You'll meet Hailey soon enough." She said cryptically, gesturing to the small shielded square on one side of the arena. “Someone give you the lowdown on what to expect?"

“Yeah, Ronda. Three rounds of one verses one, right? No substitutions?" Miriam pointed her fingers at the man like a gun and shot him an affirmative. “So, uh, who flips the coin?"

“Heads or Tails?"

“GAH!" Thomas reacted, spinning round to see Clem standing there, holding a commemorative championship coin. “Tails, Arceus…" Thomas groaned, clutching his chest as he tried to calm down. Clem nimbly flipped the coin, the disk rocketing towards the ceiling before plummeting back down to be slapped against the back of the old man's hand.

“HEADS." A flash of light in the arena brought Thomas' attention back to the matter at hand. A Gallade stood ready on Miriam's side, ready to rumble. Thomas reached for his first Pokemon, casting Cavalier into the fray.

“Interesting choice." Miriam commented from behind her shield. “Dark trumps Psychic, sure, but it's weak against fighting… Let's see how that plays out." A small flashing orange light shone from the center of the floor, it's glow casting eerie highlights on the opposing Pokemon's features. Then after a random number of flashes it changed to green and the fight began.

Gallade began by jumping straight in between Cav's heads, slashing at his necks with it's blade-like elbows. The Zweilous was quick to respond with a dual headbutt, but the Gallade was too fast and backed out before Cav could connect, his neck bleeding in several places from the furious cuts. He dug his claws in and breathed in, readying a Dragon Pulse to fire at the psychic type, but his long wind up telegraphed the attack too far in advance, and with a swish of his hands, the Gallade created a protecting disk of energy that absorbed the violently spewed beams of violet light. With the blinding interaction of the two moves serving as a distraction, Gallade flanked the dragon type, getting around Cav's left side before dashing in to deliver a series of solid strikes against the Pokemon's midsection.

“Cav!" Thomas shouted, worried for his friend's well being. He knew it was standard rules that a battle is to the knockout, not to the death. But Cav was stubborn, and after taking that severe beating he spun around with another headbutt, connecting this time to send the Pokemon crashing to the floor in a blur of green and white. Revelling in his attack landing, Cav got worked up, readying himself for the next blow. The Gallade sprung to his feet and ran in a wide arc around the two-headed challenger, Cav followed him keenly, the sound of the Pokemon's footsteps on the mat enough to localise it's position. Then as it leapt towards Cav, the psychic type vanished in a blast of purple light. The Zweilous' jaws crunched empty air.

A Brief second of confusion was all Cav had before the Gallade burst back into view high above the dark Pokemon, striking him with a Fury Cutter attack before Cav could so much as hear his opponent return to the arena. He readied himself for another blast of draconic energy but a swift fist to each head knocked the Pokemon unconscious. The floor glowed orange as both Pokemon were returned to their balls.

“Coral wins round one!" Clem shouted from behind Thomas, giving him another minor heart attack. He looked at the old man with wide eyes, silently pleading him not to do that again. Instead, Clem just approached him holding the coin up for him to choose again.

“Tails." Thomas sighed, watching as yet again the coin was flung high and slapped down.

“HEADS!" Clem revealed, still smiling kindly despite the intense battle that just occurred. “Got a bit of luck tonight."

“Were you and I watching the same fight?" Thomas halfheartedly laughed as a Blaziken appeared on the field. Was this Pokemon the one Ronda was hinting at? He thought about his options. He hasn't seen what the Noivern is capable of - especially in his current condition - so Griff was out. Fighting types and bugs are just as bad against each other, so he ruled out Mac as well. The last fight was damn close, and he knew Dusty was in no way up to the same level as Cav just dealt with. Which really only left two options.

But before he could properly choose, the Blaziken looked Thomas up and down, staring at him through one eye, then the other like an indecisive Murkrow. Then it took a few steps back to Miriam's little shielded section and had a brief exchange with her trainer. Thomas shook his head, 'Later, focus on the fight.' He reminded himself, realising his only option was probably the worst timed decision of his life. As the Blaziken returned to her spot in the center of the arena, she was met by a timid purple Sliggoo. The two stared at each other, one in awe, the other in confusion. Neither noticed the orange light turn green until Miriam shouted “Brave Bird!"

It's trainers voice snapped the Blaziken out of it, leaping to the dome as Carmen stared at her the whole way. “Rain!" Thomas yelled, Carmen also returning her mindset to the battle at hand, her body jolting to an unheard rhythm as an orange streak of fury screamed down from above. As the Blaziken barrelled into Carmen, the arena began gushing water, as though the dome above had simply opened up. The two Pokemon were sent tumbling into a set of medicine balls, sending the heavy training equipment scattering in all directions. Carmen coughed up a small amount of blood, as did the Blaziken, who had to roll it's shoulder back into place with a pop. “Give it the Dusty special!" Thomas shouted, hoping the cryptic move name would confuse the Blaziken more than the concussion of impacting a Sliggoo at mach 1 was.

As the floor was already wet from Rain Dance, it didn't take much for the swell of water to build in size, pulling up all the loose dirt and dust from the mats to assault the firebird in waves. The surprise water attack knocked the Blaziken back, but once recovered she dashed through the slowly dissipating water and launched into a high jump kick. “Stance!" Thomas yelled, but Carmen was already there, rain pattering against her smooth skin as she held firm and breathed slow. The kick came in and connected with her neck, but keeping her foot pad firmly planted, she took the blow unguarded. Then before the fire-type could react, Carmen had gotten one of her stubby little arms against the bird's knee, and with a twist backwards, she changed her opponent's trajectory. Everyone could only look on in horror as the Blaziken was sent face first into the pile of atlas stones.

With the painful crash of a dozen concrete balls smashing to the ground, the Blaziken was beamed back into her ball. Carmen had enough time to turn around and see Thomas pumping the air with his fist and shouting “You did it!" before the arena was filled with a strange light. Thomas stared in awe as Carmen's body began to sparkle and glow. Her form shifting and changing, growing as her shell-like hump was pushed down, and her tail up. Her neck elongating along with her antennae.

And just as soon as it had begun, it was over. “Goo-" She threw hands over her mouth, Carmen's once squeaky voice now considerably deeper and resonant. “Goo-dra. GOO!" She sprinted to Thomas, wrapping him up in a big slimy hug. She looked him up and down, then blinked looking him over again. As a sliggoo, her sight was quite restricted, but after evolving she could see her trainer clearly. Another big tight hug lifted the man off the ground, green gloopy tears of joy running down her cheeks.

There was a polite cough behind Thomas. He turned to see the beaming grin of Clem “Congratulations. But round three needs to begin." Thomas nodded, giving Carmen a peck on the forehead before recalling her to her ball. “Last one, heads or tails?"

“Tails."

“That's three. You youngun's always chasing tail…" He chuckled quietly before flipping the coin high in the air and catching it. “But at least you get- HEADS!"

Thomas blushed, shaking his head as Clem stepped back out of the way. “Cheeky bastard." His grin turned to a frown as the flash of light from Miriam's third ball revealed the hulking shape of a Crabominable. It smashed the ground with it's pincers, roaring a challenge to Thomas. There was no other option. “Don't suppose you'd be willing to make that one way glass Zero way for this last round?" He shouted to the Gym leader, hoping she may agree out of the kindness of her heart.

“Not a chance!" Thomas' shoulders sank. “This is the most entertaining challenge I've had all year! Congratulations on your evolution by the way."

“Thanks." Thomas mumbled. He took a deep breath. “Fuck, I can't do it. Not now." He sighed, putting Jeremy's ball away. The safety of the group outweighed his need for a badge. They were following him - despite his lack of achievements - and losing a gym match wouldn't stop that, not after all they'd been through. “At least Carmen evolved." he sighed, pulling Dusty's ball out. As the Mudbray fizzled to life before him and the orange light began blinking, Thomas shouted to his friend "Use the equipment!"

The floor flashed green and it was on. Their opponent's first move was to slam a mighty ice-coated claw down onto the Mudbray's head, but the donkey Pokemon dodged it fairly effectively. He galloped over to the loose stack of Atlas balls and with a Double Kick, launched two of the concrete orbs at the Crabominable's mass. It was too surprised by the ingenuity of the attack to truly register what was going on and took both balls square to the face, the second hit sending it flying backwards. Thomas had simply meant to dodge the Crabominables attacks by weaving between the loosed concrete balls, but what Dusty did was much better.

Without waiting for his opponent to get back onto its feet, Dusty turned up the speed and took off along the outer edge of the arena in a wide arc towards the fluffy white crab. His body began to glow orange, hooves striking the mat with orange and red sparks before he barrelled headfirst into the Crabominable. The two were sent sprawling, but landing awkwardly on a medicine ball caused the Mudbray to be last up. Unfortunately, that left him both close enough and open enough for the massive ice-type to land a devastating Dynamic Punch. Dusty's body was sent sliding across the mats. Thomas could see by his unfocused eyes that his Pokemon was confused and disoriented by the strike. He barely made it to standing when the Crabominable landed another blow. And another. A third - even more powerful - strike sent Dusty back over amongst the atlas stones.

Thomas was out of ideas. He could tell Dusty was still stirring, but he didn't want to subject the Pokemon to any more of this torture. He had one last thought, one possibility that could possibly buy them some time. “Mud Slap! Carmen got everything started for ya!" As Crabominable charged towards the rising Mudbray, Dusty snapped back into the zone and kicked up an errant patch of mud, marking the snow-white Pokemon's face with an orange streak. An icey punch swung wide, crashing into one of the large concrete balls. “Again!" Another splat echoed through the chamber as more mud was added to the first. The Crabominable, unable to wipe it off with his massive claws, began stumbling around. “Horsepower! You can do it!"

A streak of orange circled the arena, occasionally splitting off from the outside ring to crash headlong into the Crabominable, but Dusty became accustomed to the impacts and after only a couple failures he was landing on his hooves after each strike. The Crabominable could barely get to it's feet before it was dropped again, the few wild swings it took unable to bring the Mudbray down. Then in a surprise final move, Dusty skidded to a halt behind two atlas stones, and gave an encore of his earlier move, the double kick sending each one crashing into the Crabominable just as he cleared his eyes enough to see them coming.

In a multicoloured flash of light, Crabominable was returned to his ball, Thomas taking a deep breath as he knelt down at the edge of the arena. Dusty cantered up, his neck slamming into Thomas' shoulder as he came to a stop Thomas hugging his friend close. “Excellent work out there! Fuckin' amazing work!" He could feel the laboured heart pumping away, adrenaline in the Mudbray's system still well and truly present.

“Good job to you too." Came Miriam's voice from above. Thomas gave Dusty one last squeeze before standing. “After your Zweilous fell so… quickly, I had my doubts. But you really turned it round there." She pulled a pin from the lapel of her polo shirt and handed it to Thomas. “You earned it."

“Thank you…" He replied, still lost in awe of his victory. He turned the badge over, examining it's form. Two stylised orange marks ran parallel with each other; one having a barb jutting out one side. The two shapes sat on a brown circle, with a strong pin jutting out from the back to attach to whatever fabric he chose. For the time being, he pinned it to the wrist-mounted pokedex.

“Now, Thomas. I have a few questions I'd like to ask you, if you don't mind." Miriam smiled back at the man as she walked through the double doors back into the training area of the gym. Thomas followed on behind and was met with joyous applause and cheer. He sheepishly held the badge up as a sign of his victory but was hurried along by the gym leader clearing her throat. Ronda gave a smiling thumbs up as Thomas peeled away from the group to follow Miriam to her office.

With the door closed behind them things went back to a nice calm quiet, Miriam sitting at her desk and placing her three pokeballs in the healing station. She offered for Thomas to place his three next to them, which he did with a nod. “Thomas, I need you to be honest with me."

“I'll do my best." He said, taking a deep breath and holding it, knowing while the healing process was going Miriam effectively had his Pokemon held captive. Removing them halfway through a cycle could be fatal, as far as he'd been taught.

“I don't want your best, mister Drake." The name hit Thomas like a tonne of bricks. “Don't worry, I'm not going to hand you in. And before you ask, it wasn't me who figured it out."

“Your Blaziken? She recognised me?"

“Yes. And her name is Hailey."

“That's Hailey?" Thomas asked, stunned.

“The most accomplished fighter still working here." She smiled, the look of shock still playing out over her features. “I truly am amazed at how your Sliggoo took her down so effectively. That counter was a thing of beauty."

“You can thank Ronda for that one." Thomas admitted, amazed himself at how quick that fight was. “I came in this afternoon looking for advice-"

“She taught your Sliggoo that move this afternoon!?!" Miriam exclaimed in disbelief. Thomas nodded cautiously. “She was right, you are special."

“Hailey?" Thomas said, trying to keep up with the conversation.

“She's seen you once before." Thomas thought hard about where he could possibly have- “No…" He remembered back to the adult shop in Cannab where a Blaziken gave him a sultry wink. “In, the, the… uh…"

“The Naughty Delphox." She held up her arms, showing off a pair of leather bracers almost exactly like Thomas' except black and with embossed vines around the edges. “I thought those were an interesting clothing choice when you first set foot in my arena. But it all clicked when Hailey pointed you out." Thomas sighed, amazed at how small his world seemed to be. “But that leaves me with an interesting problem. Regardless of how much you love and care for your Pokemon, rumor is you're a thief and a murderer."

“I swear I didn't-" Miriam held up a hand, silencing the man.

“I don't trust Rocket Rising as far as I can throw them. But I need to be sure." As if on cue the Pokemon healing station pinged, designating its completion. She retrieved one of her balls but stared Thomas down when he tried to grab his. Popping the orb open, Gallade appeared in the office. He looked around until he was facing Miriam. “Nathaniel. If you wouldn't mind, could you please 'observe' mister Drake while I ask him a few questions."

“Is he gonna read my mind?" Thomas asked nervously, worried about the Zygarde's safety.

“No, just pick up on surface emotions. Think of it this way." She said, standing up to pace behind her desk “He'll be able to tell you're lying, but not to the extent of knowing what the truth of the lie is. Ready?" The man nodded, gulping. “Have you ever killed anyone? And by anyone I mean both Human and Pokemon"

“No." The Gallade looked carefully at Thomas before nodding.

“Have you ever ordered your Pokemon to kill anyone?"

Never!" Thomas was appalled at the answer, and it was only a split second before Nathaniel nodded again.

“Have you stolen a Pokemon?"

Thomas grumbled “No." Nathaniel took his time, but eventually agreed.

“What are you keeping away from Rocket Rising?" Thomas sat in silence, Nathaniel unable to make heads or tails of it. He turned to his trainer and shrugged. “Fine, keep your secrets. I know now you're no danger to me, or my gym, so I'm happy to let you go." She handed Thomas back his pokeballs, but as he grabbed them she held firm. “However, I was wondering if perhaps you and your Hakamo-o would join me in the Gym Sauna? To unwind from both the battle and your extensive stay in hospital. Hailey will be joining us…"

Thomas wasn't initially sure if what she was saying was more than just an invitation to the sauna, but the way she dropped in Hailey's attendance all but confirmed it. The image of the blaziken back at the Naughty Delphox snapping her beak seductively flashed through his mind. Thomas swallowed his nerves and smiled. “I would be honoured. Lead the way." He re-clipped the pokeballs to his belt and grabbed his bag, following Miriam through a side door into the rear hallway. The large spiralling ramp started near Mriam's office and wound down beneath the building following the shape of its outer wall. Underneath the Owlra gym was a large array of showers and several spacious saunas.

But Miriam walked instead to one of the boiler rooms, holding the door open for Thomas. “Just through here." She said, leading the man down a narrow walkway to another Sauna, below the rest. Unlike the other rooms Thomas had passed, this one had no wooden seats, no coal box in the center, nothing remotely modern looking at all. Insead, at the center of the rough hewn stone room was a smooth bowl of water a couple yards across, the hot springs beneath keeping it at a balmy temperature while the rest of the room steamed up beneath a concrete roof. Between the walls and the edge of the natural jacuzzi was several feet of walking space. At two points along the rock wall alcoves had been carved, one large enough for a half dozen people to sit in, with a second large enough to fit a king sized bed.

Thomas' gaze drifted up the wall to a rather unceremonious slab of concrete which served as the roof. He assumed that was the Gym's foundation and that it being located on top of this hotspring was probably done on purpose to either preserve the hot spring or utilise it as a way of heating the sauna. But the thoughts of why and how were pushed aside as he became aware of the many metal chains, hooks and tracks criss-crossing the ceiling, and at the centre of them all a large iron chandelier with flickering candle-shaped lightbulbs. There were eye-screws affixed in several places across the walls and ceiling, even a couple the man noticed were sitting flush with the floor.

But before he could inquire about those, his attention was drawn to the bright flash across the room, heralding the arrival of Hailey. Her red feathers glinted even more fiery in the dim orange light, her eyes flitting about the space before realising she was no longer in battle. Recognising the room, the bird Pokemon seemed to grin, the skin around her eyes wrinkling as she sized Thomas up. “Blaz. Zii?" She asked sideways to her trainer. Miriam nodded, gesturing for Thomas to release his own Pokemon.

With a deep breath, Thomas pressed the button on Jeremy's new ball and he burst into the underground natural sauna with a hollow electronic whine. It was a moment before the Hakamo-o realised he wasn't anywhere familiar. In fact, the cave-like scene immediately got the Pokemon on edge. Seeing this, Thomas tried to calm him down. “It's okay Jeremy, it's just a sauna. It's cool." Jeremy found Thomas in the dim light and gave him a quick hug before turning to face the other two figures. “These are Gym Leader Miriam Coral and Hailey."

“Hak?" Jeremy bowed politely before turning to whisper in Thomas' direction. “Hakamo, Hak?"

“Yeah, it's safe."

Jeremy slumped, a little more relaxed as he turned back to the two and bowed apologetically. But as he looked over to them, he began to take in their body language. The Blaziken, tall for her kind stood nearly a head above her trainer, and was standing behind her with a claw possessively grasping the woman's shoulder. Meanwhile Miriam was standing prim and proper, with her hands clasped in front of her crotch, her wrists bound with leather bracers. His eyes went wide at the realisation, turning to face thomas who held one leather clad arm up to drive the point home. “Mo…"

“I didn't know it at the time, but I bumped into Hailey back at the… Naughty Delphox was it?" Hailey nodded as Thomas explained further “The uh, the place with the Venusaur." Jeremy let loose an awkward laugh. “Yeah, Cannab is a damn small place for a city that big."

“When I get stuck here with official Gym business, there are few other than Hailey I trust to run my errands. And, well, sometimes we need to stock up on other things you just don't get down this way." She smiled up at Hailey, who nuzzled the top of the woman's head. “And it's so very rare to come across another pokephile, let alone one Hailey approves of." Thomas blushed as the Blaziken gave him the same sultry beak snap she had back at the adult shop, sending shivers down his spine. “So, get comfortable, take a seat and lets just relax, eh?"

Jeremy looked up at thomas with a grin, motioning towards one of the alcoves. The man began to disrobe, stopping at his briefs as he noticed Miriam stopping at her red lacy undergarments. The man gulped, before being pulled into the seat by the impatient Hakamo-o. He was seated barely a foot from Miriam, with Hailey on her other side, and Jeremy beside Thomas. “This is an amazing place." Thomas said in awe, while trying to break the semi-awkward silence.

“The Gym was not the first building to be built on this site. First there was a Mansion; Owlra House. But fifty-odd years ago, it burned down." Thomas watched as Hailey began sliding her claw along Miriam's thigh, eliciting a short gasp from the woman. “It-It had been abandoned years before that, so most everyone reckoned it was an accident waiting to happen." Thomas felt Jeremy's claw grasp his knee, mirroring the Blaziken's cheeky attempt to interrupt her trainer. “My grandmother bought the site with the intention of building a Pokemon Gym, as Owlra's population was growing and had gotten high enough to warrant its own arena and training area." Miriam sighed, biting her lip as Hailey's claws suddenly squeezed the woman's thigh, talons sensually scratching across her skin as they inched closer to her panties.

“So did- ahn…" Jeremy skipped ahead of Hailey to grope Thomas' growing bulge. “Did your grandmother f-find this place in the ruins?"

Miriam nodded as her Pokemon caught up with Jeremy,Hailey pressing a claw against the folds in the middle of the trainer's silken red undergarment. “Fffffuuu…" She took in a deep breath, holding it for several seconds with her eyes scrunched shut before continuing on the exhale. “Ffffound it under the rubble. Decided - Arceus! - decided to use the hot water for the baths and saunas of the Gym and here we are." Miriam was retaining her pose for the Blaziken Mistress, not moving aside from talking.

Jeremy noticed this and every time Thomas shuffled to get in a more comfortable position, he'd squeeze a little too tight or almost imperceptibly growl to get the man back in line. All this served to only push Thomas closer to the edge. “A- and the… Chains?" Thomas stuttered, his manhood being fondled firmly under both Jeremy and Hailey's gaze.

“The ah-ah-attachment points are llllleft over from b-building this place." She stammered, blurting the last part out.

“Blaz." Hailey got Jeremy's attention, pausing her assault on her trainer's nethers to ask something. “Blaziken? Ken?"

“Haka." Jeremy nodded, grinning wickedly first at Thomas, then Miriam.

“The chains though," Miriam spoke while the two Pokemon stood up to swap places “Those we've had to replace over the years." Thomas looked closely at the chains. Every tenth link or so he noticed the distinct locking nut of a carabiner. He looked down to Miriam's leather bracers and the metal ring embedded in them; the very well worn metal ring. As thick feathery legs brushed against his own, Thomas wondered what he'd gotten himself into. “Replaced many times."

Hailey traced a talon up Thomas' leg, the point not quite sharp enough to break skin from merely touching him, but more than capable of tearing his last item of clothing off. With a staccato rip, the man's bulge sprang free, sending beads of pre flying across the sauna to drop into the calm pool. He could hear an approving moan from the bird Pokemon as a claw slowly made it's way up the throbbing shaft. Thomas sat still, and let the Blaziken do with him what she wanted; he saw the way she reacted to Miriam's shuffling, though how much of that was Miriam playing the brat, Thomas couldn't tell.

But as he tried to calm his breathing, Thomas allowed his gaze to fall on the fire-type. Every feather had the slightest waxy sheen to it, no doubt to stop it from burning up during a fight. But that coating gave it a glossiness and shine that Thomas had been unaware of in the arena. As she moved her head down to better observe his member, Thomas was able to get a better look at her eye as well. There weren't very many Pokemon with yellow 'whites', but the blue of Hailey's eyes was like the sky just before dawn; crisp and sparkling, full of life.

It of course didn't take long for Hailey to realise Thomas was staring at her. Her claw-like hand wrapped around his turgid shaft and squeezed. She looked to him for a response, or apology, he couldn't tell. “Sorry, I- I've just never seen a Blaziken close up, and-" another squeeze, tighter that time “Gah! It's just your feathers. And your eyes… Sorry…" She squeezed again, harder.

“Mistress…" Miriam whispered.

“Sorry, Mistress." Thomas whined through gritted teeth as she released her grip. To his credit he hadn't tried to stop her, he barely even flinched through the whole painful process. For his reward, Hailey descended upon his reddened prick and licked it. Her tongue was hard like rubber, but very wet. She was barely able to stretch it past her beak, and ended up resorting to looking down on it so the head could press against the flat part. A moan to one side caught Thomas' attention, his eyes barely able to tear away from the blaziken fellating him to see Jeremy gently sliding Miriam's underwear off her athletic frame. She looked a little confused at the level of care Jeremy was taking, which only made Thomas feel like he had gotten the more hardcore end of the stick.

He snapped his attention back to Hailey in time for her to raise her head back up, the warmth of her saliva still tingling against his member as she looked him up and down. She looked over to the other pair and grinned wickedly. Reaching to the side to grab a length of chain from the wall, she pulled Thomas to a standing position, his arms above his head. She used the bracers around his wrists and a carabiner to lock his arms together, his body almost hanging from the ceiling as his toes scraped against the ground ineffectually. It was uncomfortable, but far less so than he imagined the iron cuffs hanging from the chandelier might be.

Hailey moved behind him, her feathery body brushing against him in a symphony of sensual tickles raising a giggle that Thomas barely had the willpower to stifle. Then, facing him towards his Hakamo-o partner, she pressed her body against his; her chest pushing into his back as she lay her beak on his shoulder while wrapping a claw around to grasp his shaft. The man shuddered, Hailey chuckling at his response as she made him watch as Jeremy knelt down in front of Miriam and ate her out.

The shiny Pokemon had the woman's legs spread wide, her beautifully manicured mound sporting a short arrow of hair pointing towards her glistening slit. Thomas had never seen a woman with her pussy lips so neatly tucked away before. While he knew it was something that was plenty common, the sight of Jeremy's tongue pushing against skin to get to the honeypot within made it that much more erotic. His cock throbbed, precum beading at the tip only to be rubbed into his length as the Blaziken's claw made another pass up the fleshy staff.

At first, Thomas couldn't place the sound. But at the sight of her trainer being licked, Hailey's soft warble slowly became a throaty coo that reverberated through Thomas's neck, causing him to shiver with anticipation. Hailey noticed this and held him closer, thinking perhaps he was cold. Her feathers working more of their magic and sending smaller shivers cascading up the man's back. He was in heaven. A weird, perverted heaven, but heaven nonetheless. And as such was in no mood to complain.

Miriam was quite obviously in more of an advanced state of arousal than Thomas, given her barely contained expressions and squeals of delight as Jeremy's long draconic tongue explored her depths. Not hearing any commentary on his performance, but feeling as though his oral work was bringing her to the edge, Jeremy pulled back, allowing the woman to take a deep breathy sigh. He looked to her flushed chest then over to her Mistress, going bug eyed at the sight of Thomas chained up and being slowly jerked off. Jeremy snapped out of the subtle shock and nodded in the vicinity of Miriam for Hailey to see.

“Blaz." Hailey commanded, or offered. It was hard to tell with the Pokemon's tone being so different from Jeremy's. Then she snapped her beak a couple times and nodded, the sharp beak inches from Thomas' eyes.

“OH ARCEUS!" Miriam exhaled. Thomas and Jeremy caught on quickly, that the other's relationship was a fair amount more Dominant and submissive than theirs, with Miriam not allowed to talk unless otherwise given permission. Or perhaps the only restriction was about her state of pleasure? Thomas couldn't decide. But Jeremy shifted back down to kneel before his submissive human for the evening, and thrust his tongue back inside her like nothing else mattered. “FUCK!" She cried, her hips ever so slightly bucking forward into the Pokemon's muzzle as his tongue thrashed inside her. She lasted seconds before her first climax.

Witnessing that brought Thomas close to his own crescendo, but he kept his calm. He was playing by Hailey's rules now. And watching her trainer cum was getting the bird Pokemon riled up as well, her claw moving faster, harder with each whined cry of pleasure from her loaned human toy. Thomas' breathing became heavy and his heartrate increased. Having this Pokemon who was as large as him but far stronger, controlling his erection was one of the hottest things he'd ever experienced, and not just because he was chained up in a sauna being jacked off by a fire type.

He bit his lip, trying not to cum yet, in his mind it was far too soon. And thankfully his body was given a reprieve. Just before he was pushed over the edge by a lust-fuelled gaze from Miriam, Hailey released him, turning the man to face the opposite wall. He took that moment of freedom to take several deep - but quiet - breaths and focus on slowing his heartbeat and breathing. He smiled widely as he heard an interestingly toned conversation from behind him, Jeremy and Hailey obviously trying to decide what to put their 'trainers' through in round two.

Whatever decision was made was made quickly as Thomas felt his hands being untied. He allowed Hailey to move him however she wanted, guiding him to a smoothed spot on the floor. She positioned Thomas kneeling before pulling down more chains from the ceiling. This time each hand was tied individually off to the sides, his knelt form creating a 'Y' shape next to the natural jacuzzi. Then, pulling some mats down from within the larger, bed-sized alcove, Hailey made herself comfortable in front of the man. Some more rattling of chains heralded the arrival of Jeremy, who placed Miriam on the floor next to her Pokemon before shackling her wrists and ankles to hard-points on the floor. She struggled lightly, though it appeared to Thomas to be more testing whether the chains were affixed properly than actively trying to break her bonds.

Then as Jeremy knelt next to Thomas, the man realised what this was about. He was being put in the position where he couldn't touch, he couldn't instigate. Hailey was in control. But he was the one doing the work. She could play with him, grab him, force him here or there within the bounds of his chains and he'd have to follow. Conversely, Miriam was forced to the ground, to be Jeremy's play-thing. And from the hungry look in her eyes she was more than willing. But no amount of trying would enable her to lock her legs around the Pokemon's waist, or embrace him. She, like Thomas was there for one reason and one reason only. Pleasuring their Master.

Jeremy began, his already rigid cock spearing the woman's pussy as he pushed himself to the halfway point. He savoured the feeling of being inside the female before withdrawing to his tip. Enjoying the power he had over the writhing woman, he played with her; rubbing his pre-spewing tip up and down her slit, coating her in his juices as he had her whining for release. Release he gave her as he rammed his length home. It speared her almost to its fullest length, but given how Miriam was shoved back, Thomas realised Jeremy had too much meat for her to handle. He suppressed a smirk, and returned his gaze to his Mistress for the afternoon, but she was busy staring at Jeremy's massive member, and drooling.

Thomas waited patiently, his throbbing member teased by his Mistress' inattention and his attempts not to stare at his friend ploughing away into the Owlra Gym leader. He could tell by the look in her cerulean eyes that she was going to be getting a Hakamo-o injection before the afternoon was done. When she did eventually turn to face Thomas, he was looking at her attentively, waiting patiently for his mistress' orders, bringing a smile to the edge of her beak. “Blaz." She sighed, nodding to the man in appreciation of his self control. Getting herself comfortable Hailey placed a claw either side of her entrance, pulling her puffy lips to the side, giving Thomas a target for his throbbing spear.

The man slowly pushed forward, his hands unable to help him align himself, he had to rely on his leg and hip muscles to do the work. But he needn't have worried as his glistening cock head pressed against his Mistresses crimson folds on the first attempt. His heart was racing but he kept his demeanour cool, trying to mimic Miriam's earlier display of only showing pleasure when Hailey allowed. Those specific psychological cuffs seemed to be well and truly off as the woman moaned whorishly with each of Jeremy's hard thrusts, Hailey no doubt allowing her Trainer's dom for the day to decide how and when to discipline the woman.

Thomas slid into the Pokemon slowly, savouring every twist in her passageway until eventually hilting himself within her. He'd half hoped to bottom out and show the Blaziken his cock was nothing to trifle with. But the look of pure unadulterated lust spread across her face would have to suffice. He allowed his cock to rest in her depths, the Pokemon's pussy adjusting to his size as it tensed every few seconds. But when the tight grip waned, Hailey nodded slowly to the man, allowing him to continue.

Hailey's pussy was different from the others he'd encountered. With the Sliggoo, it was more an all-in-one kind of hole. And with the Camelrupt it was a very bestial affair but entirely separate from the beasts anus. The Blaziken had a similar mound to a human, but he could feel inside her there were two channels. The larger, more pliant one is where his cock was currently residing, the majority of his shaft being massaged by the Pokemon's passage which he assumed was the one he was supposed to be in. The other felt almost like empty space above his cock's back third. It wasn't unpleasant, but it did raise several questions that the man filed away for later.

At first Thomas went slow and steady, withdrawing all the way to the tip before pushing back into the Blaziken. But after several slower thrusts, he noticed small thrusting motions from the Pokemon's hips and began to pick up the pace. He thought back to the Venusaur, and how she made it known in no uncertain terms that he was there for Jeremy's pleasure, not his own. Once his Master had climaxed, so could he. And if Hailey wished for him to go faster, it was for him to do so without her having to mention it. Thomas picked up the pace, seemingly to the approval of his Mistress, as Hailey moaned happily at the increased tempo.

Thomas chanced a peek to his side, watching as Miriam was taking an absolute pounding from Jeremy's tool. The Hakamo and his trainer shared a quick glance, the former giving the latter a sultry wink as the Pokemon went into overdrive. Thomas could tell Miriam was in the throes of a rather sizeable orgasm, which seemed to double in intensity; if her arched back and expression from Jeremy's wild and deep thrusts were anything to go by. Hailey was entranced by the carnal act next to her as Jeremy reached his peak, releasing his seed within the flushed woman in huge spurts. Her body could barely contain the sheer volume of Jeremy's cum and as such the Pokemon pulled out, coating her lower half in hot draconic spunk.

But Jeremy wasn't done. Miriam may have been a mewling cum-covered mess, but Thomas was still up and going. Better yet, he was chained up too, unable to stop the Hakamo-o as he shifted around behind the man. As Thomas wedged himself deep inside Hailey, Jeremy lined himself up and pushed his well-lubed fuckstick into the man's rear entrance. Thomas tried to hold back on the expressions, tried to not show how wide he was being stretched by the sudden application of pokecock to his rear, but as Jeremy's hips collided with the man's arse, Thomas couldn't help but let out a sigh.

As punishment, Hailey pulled herself back across the mat, angling her hips slightly and slammed herself down on the man. The second passage was tight and badly lubricated. Thomas' cock ground against the impossibly tight walls as he was forced inside. Tears welled in his eyes as his moan became a silent scream. Jeremy could tell from the way Thomas' arse had clenched tighter than a vice that something was wrong and was prepared to pull out as the man finally inhaled, body going limp to take a moment and collect himself.

The second passage had been the Blaziken's rectum, her anatomy seemingly more human on the outside, but more avian on the inside. Hailey pulled back and realigned Thomas with her vaginal passage. She'd pulled that move on other Pokemon before, but never a human. His reaction was far more extreme than even she was expecting, but after Thomas had taken a few calming breaths he returned to the pace they had set before, even with the newly inserted Jeremy in his rear.

The two Pokemon only had to remain still as the man pinballed between the two of them, his emotions under better control now that he'd become used to Jeremy. But Thomas had had an idea, and the mere thought of it rolling around in his head was too much to contain. He thrust forward into Hailey with force, their hips slapping together despite her feathery coating. She blinked, looking at him. He kept his mouth closed but hummed the word “Mistress". Hailey, curious as to what her little human sex slave wished to voice at this moment, nodded her permission to allow him to speak. “Mistress, I would like to propose an idea for your pleasure."

Jeremy, intrigued as well, leant around to look at Thomas as he spoke, though the man did not acknowledge anyone other than the Blaziken. “Hak?"

Hailey raised a claw to Jeremy, allowing the man to continue. “My human cock is nothing compared to my Master's. And you deserve a climax as grand as Miriams." Jeremy pulled back until his cock head pushed against the tight confines of her internal anus. “If you enjoyed punishing me that way more than my humiliation and pain alone," He took a deep breath, trying not to remember the sensation of being roughly crammed in there “then perhaps you would permit me to enter that space again while my master shows you - and me - how to really bring pleasure to a woman."

Hailey mulled the concept over for a moment, looking to Thomas then Jeremy and back. She clacked her beak at the Hakamo-o “Zik. Blaziken Blaz?" Her eyebrows waggled as she conferred with her male counterpart.

“Hak, Mo Kamo. Hak." Jeremy responded, smiling wickedly.

“Blaz!" Hailey squawked loudly at her trainer. Miriam - barely able to keep up with what was going on - attentively knelt, Jeremy's fluids still gushing from her gaping passage. “Zik." She pointed at her lap, and Mirian obediently shuffled over, a gloopy white trail left in her wake. Sitting on the Pokemon's lap, the Blaziken reached around, pushing Thomas out and realigning him with the woman's pussy. Any softness brought about through inaction and talking was immediately reversed as the man realised what Hailey wanted him to do. Pulling out of her entirely, Thomas dipped his cock in Miriam's pussy, slathering his pole in Jeremy's jizz. Or it would have been a dip if Jeremy hadn't ploughed into his arse, forcing the man to the hilt in one swift thrust. Miriam moaned loudly as Thomas' cock slammed against her cervical barrier.

Thomas - noting he'd have to somehow get Jeremy back for that later - pulled out, the looseness of the woman's passage allowing him to withdraw with a considerable coating of Hakamo-o cum. Then placing himself back at Haileys entrance he angled himself for her arse and slowly pushed inside. It was devilishly tight. But with lube, making headway was far less painful. It was significantly more rough than her pussy, the ridged walls almost grabbing at his cock as he pushed the lube further in. But by halfway he was already at that painful point. He began to pull out, but Jeremy Thrust into him, forcing another inch of distance. “N! Need more…" Thomas whined as he pulled back again.

Jeremy could hear the pain in Thomas' voice and laid off the dom aspect for a moment, visions of pushing the man too far back at the hotel in Cannab flashing through his mind. He was less worried about the man leaving than he was then, but now it was more about causing actual physical harm to him. Hailey may be a pain-based Dominatrix, but his relationship with Thomas was different.

The dive back into Miriam's pussy was heavenly. It was warm and soft, inviting and comforting. But he knew he should not keep her mistress waiting, so returned his cum-frosted cock to the waiting Cloaca. This time he managed to push almost to the hilt, where he felt the rectal passage curve away. Thinking perhaps he wouldn't need a third trip to Miriam - and hoping to save some of Jeremy's cum for fun with the trainer himself - Thomas pulled back to Hailey's entrance before pushing in again. He just barely fit, the bird Pokemon cooing as her eyes shut in pleasure, savouring the moment. Most Pokemon were too large to enter there fully, and those who were small enough generally were quick to the finish. But Thomas was a worthy human in her books - as much as she would hesitate to admit so - and fit perfectly, as though he were made to be her butt plug.

Thomas, sighing at finally having entered the Mistress fully, felt Jeremy fully withdraw from his arse. Then with a hand under each thigh, the Hakamo-o pulled the mans legs up and to the side, forcing Thomas to crouch rather than kneel. “Hak." He said, tapping Miriam's leg as a way of shooing her off Hailey. Miriam did as she was told and curled up in the bed-like alcove, watching the show intently. Then a slickness pushed past Thomass' coinpurse.

Jeremy's grand entrance.

The draconic cock easily stretched the Blaziken's lips wide, filling her far more than the man ever could have. The pressure of his girth pushed against the base of Thomas' member, the ridges massaging his balls as they slid past. It was a wholly new experience for all involved, but as much as Thomas and Jeremy were enjoying themselves, it was Hailey who was over the moon. Never before had she felt as full down there as these two were making her feel. Recieving anal was a rare treat for her, usually because her subordinates couldn't last in there before she was able to get off. And most Pokemon were too large or inconveniently shaped to attempt a double penetration. But here, she had the best of both worlds; a stuffed pussy, stuffed arse and a pair that looked like they could go the distance.

Jeremy started the rhythm, pumping into and out of the Blaziken with little regard for Thomas' hips. The man tried to withdraw and thrust in time with his Master, but after a few attempts, he just let himself be the dot at the bottom of Jeremy's exclamation point. As the Pokemon rammed his thick draconic member into the suckling pussy, his pelvis would smash against Thomas, causing enough quick movement in Hailey's arse for her to shudder with each thrust. “B- Bla-..." The bird Pokemon blurted between thrusts, her body being overridden with pleasure from the double team.

Thomas finally found a use for his arms, wrapping his hands around each chain he used them to pull his body up with each smack of Jeremy's hips, gaining himself another inch of penetration inside Hailey, and letting go to drop back down and slide back out a little with his Pokemon. The pair were truly working as a team now, with Thomas guided by a set of ridges atop the monster cock between his legs. Back and forth they thrust, their members glistening in the faux-candle lit chamber, the rustle of chains clanking in time with each slap of Jeremy's stomach against Thomas' arse.

Thomas could feel himself getting closer, and he knew he would be entirely powerless to stop it. Thoughts of paint drying and staring into the sun were forced into his mind as an attempt towards staving off the urge, but it was no use, it approached like an oncoming freight train. Whether Jeremy could sense the man's imminent release and wished to save him the pain of punishment or not, Thomas couldn't tell. But in the end it was Jeremy who came first. With a final hip powderizing thrust, Jeremy rammed himself as deep as possible into Hailey's pussy, setting off a glorious chain reaction between the three of them.

Pulses of hot Hakamo-o seed fired through the thick cock, flooding Hailey's cavity in no time. The Blaziken's eyes shot open wide as her clawed hand slapped her belly, feeling it distend ever so slightly from the volume of cum pouring into her. But as her body spasmed with her own orgasm, she shifted position, forcing the pressure to release over the top of her Pokemon lover's penetration. Straight onto Thomas' balls.

The man had never felt anything like it, the sensation was both warming and cooling, the flow massaging his orbs to push him the final distance and send their pent up payload rocketing into Hailey's arse. His muscles gleamed in the dim light, sweat beading as he pulled on the chains with all his might, his cock pushed as deep as possible to deliver the jets of pearly fluid one spurt at a time, though with the pressure of her arse muscles pinching the tunnel, it was a miracle anything came out at all.

Jeremy meanwhile was like a firehose, his cock so quickly fed with cum that by the time it had depressurised from the first stream, the second was on it's way out. His eyes scrunched and mouth open with an 'O', Jeremy painted the Mistress' insides with everything he had. Her slick walls cycled between clamping down on the deliciously thick cock and relaxing to allow the excess fluid to spray out.

As the three sweat and cum drenched figures came down from their high, Hailey pushed against Thomas' chest with a feathery foot, forcing both him and Jeremy out of her. She groggily stood, her claws barely able to unhook the chains from Thomas' wrists before discarding the man like yesterday's clothes. Thomas fell to the floor, his ego the only thing hurt as he turned to look at Hailey and Jeremy squaring off. The Pokemon's cock was still soaked in a combination of their juices, but stood proud and pointed up to the Blaziken, ready for a second round.

“Come." Miriam whispered from the alcove. Thomas looked over to her as she held a hand out for him. Figuring it to be a safe place from whatever was about to take place as two Doms faced off, Thomas got on shaky legs and climbed in next to Miriam. She turned her body so he could spoon her, jeremy's jizz slathered across both of them made the sensation of their hips touching all the more intimate. “Hmmm…" She moaned, wiggling her arse against the man's erection. “What about you, stud? Wanna tumble?"

Thomas grinned, chuckling lightly as he wrapped an arm around Miriam's toned midsection, pulling her harder onto his body before whispering into her ear. “Just try to stop me."

---

“I'm sorry sir, nobody by that name had been admitted in the last week, month or year." The lady at the Hospital front desk said flatly to the two black-suited men standing before her. “And I have a memory for names."

“Well what about faces?" Rizza said, holding out the newly photoshopped sketch of Thomas, with shorter hair to match the security footage from the Route 13 Pokecenter security cameras. It was not the best likeness to say the least. “Had a Hakamo-o with him. And possibly a Noivern."

“No Hakamo-o that I saw." She said, tapping her chin. “Or Noivern for that matter. But I only work the Day shift."

Rizza groaned, smacking his head against the counter. “Excuse me," Val said, trying to get attention away from his slowly more frustrated partner. “There was a Gentleman that was brought here. He survived a Crobat attack."

“Ah yes, I remember."

“Is he still here?" Rizza stopped banging his head as Val went down the different and hopefully more fruitful line of questioning.

“Unfortunately I am unable to give out information on a patient's condition or whereabouts." She said matter-of-factly. “But I can page his Doctor."

“Please." Val said, pulling Rizza off to the side to sit and wait while the doctor was called.

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