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Sweet as Salac

Chapter 003: A New Friend

"C'mon, you ready to go or what?" I called down the hall to Shikimin. Obviously, I didn't get a response, but the shuffling of paws told me he was more or less on his way. Good enough for me; I shrugged to myself, and continued to pack my backpack. A sandwich for me, a well-wrapped raw steak for Shikimin, and as many Pecha berries as I could fit without risking bruising the tender fruit.

Eleanor ambled into the kitchen as I packed, surprisingly still in her robe. She glanced at the food I was packing, quickly piecing together my plans in her head. “You're going to the beach, I'm guessing?" I gave a nod, thankful that she wasn't giving me any lip about all the berries I was nicking.

“You're up kinda late," I said. The clock on the wall read 11:44 AM. She gave me a sour grunt, squeezing past me to get to the fridge. “Trouble sleeping?"

“Izák, think about where we've been for the last few months before you criticize my sleep schedule," she fired back. She pulled a dated bottle of milk from the fridge, glancing at it in disgust before placing it carefully in the trash. Then she retrieved the new bottle she'd bought last night.

“Whoa, whoa. Easy there, grouch. I wasn't criticizing," I assured her with a wry grin. “Anyhow… I just assumed you were still a morning person." Before Cherrygrove pulled us away from our studies, it wasn't uncommon for Eleanor to be awake hours before any of the rest of us were: 8:00 AM or earlier, regardless of when she had classes.

“I am," she clarified. “But that still relies on, firstly, getting to bed at a decent time, and secondly, actually getting to sleep."

“Right…" I muttered. Yeah, neither of those things happened with any frequency, when we'd been in Cherrygrove. “Well, I was gonna invite you to come along, but I'd assumed you'd be up and dressed already."

“Another time," Eleanor said with a dismissive wave, and with that, poured herself a bowl of cereal. “You and Shikimin have fun, or whatever."

“Oh, we will," I reassured her. “Don't you worry."

The beachfront was just about our favorite place to hang out and relax – all of us, not just Shikimin and I – one of the reasons we loved how close our flat was to the coast. Not that any of us minded a little walk (save for Kavi), but it made it exceptionally easy to just drop whatever it was we were doing and take a hike down, like today. Satisfied I had enough to eat for the two of us, as well as enough berries to interest the local wilders, I pulled on my Ranger vest, yanked on my boots and grabbed my keys. “Let's go, Shikimin!"

The tall Luxray rounded the corner, shaking off to nothing in particular, his fur rustling in a brief electrical discharge. He sniffed my backpack as I pulled it on, immediately identifying the meat I'd packed for him. His stomach growled in anticipation and he licked his chops. “Figured you'd like that," I said with a chuckle, patting him on the back. “Shall we?"

Shikimin gave me a nod. And so, the two of us headed off down the road towards the beach.

You wouldn't typically find people down on the coast, away from the city. Cianwood's beaches are technically classified as a 'wilderness zone.' Wilderness zones are seldom- or even entirely unpatrolled areas, located outside the boundaries of established cities and the official regional routes; that more or less means, 'At your own risk,' to the average commoner, and so an overwhelming majority of people just steer clear. While not necessarily illegal to pass through, these zones are mostly untamed, belonging to the wildlife. So, generally not safe to travel along, alone…

…Well, at least, most of them aren't. Really, Cianwood's beaches are about as nonthreatening as wilderness zones get. They're not hidden away or obscured from view, buried in a forest or a cave; no serious environmental hazards, unless you counted the ocean itself (no lifeguard on duty); nor were they inhabited by dangerous Pokémon. Actually, the Pokémon that did inhabit our nearby beach were really quite friendly. But the wilderness zone label, itself, still kept the place relatively private and out of the way.

It made for a perfect little getaway.

Obviously, none of us cared that the beaches were wilderness. We were Rangers; we'd seen our share of plenty more threatening wilderness zones than these. Hell, some of the actual established regional routes are more treacherous than the island's eastern coasts. And in any case, the draw of wild Pokémon was far too enticing for us to ignore. We were all pretty fanatical like that. You sort of had to be, to become a Pokémon Ranger.

Sure enough, just as we expected, the beach was packed with Pokémon. As we rounded the corner out of our neighborhood, we could already see down the coast: the shores were dotted in orange. Buizel and Floatzel, in untold numbers. We could hear them, too – a dull roar of eager chattering and splashing – even from this far off. It was feeding time.

“Well… that's a welcoming sight," I said with a happy sigh, running my fingers through Shikimin's mane. This easily topped my list of things I'd been looking forward to, upon returning from our stint in eastern Johto. “What do you think? Look fun to you?"

Oh, I could see the eagerness in Shikimin's eyes, but… there was something else there, too: a kind of apprehension. His tail flicked back and forth, and he gave an uncertain sounding growl. “…Something bothering you?"

Shikimin lifted one of his forepaws, kinda staring at it for a few moments; a gesture I'd learned over the years to mean he was referring to himself somehow. Looking him over, I figured I had an idea of what he was hesitant about. “You… you're a lot bigger now," I observed. “I… you're not, like, afraid you won't fit in anymore, are you?"

The Luxray nodded a simple 'Yes.'

I nodded. Evolution anxiety, it looked like. Poor guy. I gave him a reassuring pat – the best I could do at the moment – and said, “I've got a feeling everything will be just fine." Gave him my best smile… left it at that.

Most Pokémon went through a phase like this, I'd found; evolution was a big physical change, after all. It'd be pretty hard not to wonder – and worry – about what some of the other, less obvious changes might be. Like an adult Luxray, no longer fitting in with a crowd of smaller, water-type wilders. For better or for worse, Shikimin was much bigger now, and he didn't have the option to simply go back to being a Luxio if things turned out poorly.

But we'd visited this beach many, many times, and Shikimin never had any problems getting along with the Buizel there. Didn't matter that he was an electric-type. And though I could understand his worries, I was confident enough to bet money that the extra size and slightly more imposing figure wouldn't be enough to frighten off these particular Pokémon.

Still, I wanted to put him at ease. “Tell ya what. We'll set down a little further out than we usually do. You know, give 'em some space," I suggested. We picked a spot maybe a hundred and fifty feet off the waterline – most of the Buizel were right on the shore, while the Floatzel were further out, in the water – confident it wouldn't seem like we were intruding, we laid out our blanket and sat down. We waited for a short while to see if anything would happen… and nothing did. No commotion. I smiled. “See? No big deal."

Truthfully, it would take an honest effort to piss off a pack of Floatzel. Though they're technically a predator species, just like Shikimin, they're pretty tame with anything that isn't a fish. They resemble oversized, orange-furred otters, and they act a fair bit like their mustalid brethren, too; curious, playful and adventurous, the Buizel will often happily approach strangers in good cheer (especially if they think they can get food out of it). They always appear to be having a grand old time. Even when they hunt, it's like a wonderful little game. A game they play very efficiently.

They're also not at all territorial, since they migrate year round… so, no real risk of trespasser aggression, unless you're clearly threatening them.

I unpacked our food; first, Shikimin's steak, which I carefully unwrapped and laid on a large sheet of wax paper in front of him. It left a bit of a stench in my backpack, so I decided to leave it open to air out. At least it was fresh. Shikimin happily settled into his 'dish,' alternating between nibbling along the sides, and just plain licking it. He tended to take his time with his food. I, meanwhile, grabbed my sandwich and just tore into it. I wasn't really feeling breakfast, earlier, so this was my first meal of the day… and boy was I ready for it.

As I worked my way through my lunch, I gazed out across the beach. There… really were an awful lot of Buizel, for sure. Some of them floated lazily in the shallows, occasionally nibbling on what I assumed were fish. Others seemed to be taking a nap on the shore, curled up on little piles of leaves that they'd laid out in the sand. But most of them were either eagerly chattering with one another, or playing.

The playing ones were always the most interesting to me. I loved to watch how Pokémon played. Chasing seemed to be the most common 'game' for many Pokémon, and Buizel were certainly no exception. Their excited chirping resonated like laughter, as they dashed up and down the waterline, in lines as small as two or as long as a dozen. At some point, invariably one of them would get 'caught,' though I could never tell for sure if it was truly an earned catch, or if maybe the fleeing Buizel kinda let itself get caught. Then they'd tussle and roll around in the sand a bit…

Often, two or three Buizel would wind up on top of one another after that and… well, you can probably guess what followed.

Yeah, Pokémon have a… rather lively sexual sociology. Doesn't happen a lot with domestics, so most Trainers – and especially the Pokémon Administration – try to pass it off like it's not a real thing. But once you're out in the wild, it's hard to ignore. Pokémon mate a whole lot. And by all indications, they're fairly open about it, too. It's just how they play.

I suppose, as long as you can kinda divorce yourself from the human context (and taboos) surrounding sex, it's not really all that weird. Pokémon are plenty smart, and very social. They love to play and visibly get bored when there's nothing to do. But of course, unlike humans, most Pokémon don't have that whole 'opposable thumbs' thing. We take for granted just how many of our recreational activities require that manual dexterity: Pokémon can't play checkers, or kick back and read a good book – unless a human gives them said book and offers to turn the pages for them – and they can't write those books, either. So I guess it's just how history's panned out, that they keep themselves entertained with things that are a bit more, ah, accessible to most animal species. You know, like chasing.

And sex.

Whatever, these things interest me I guess: Pokémon… in the wild, living how they were meant to. I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise that I studied sociology while I was at the university. My original plan was to concentrate on Pokémon social structures but… that turned out to be kind of a risqué topic. It quickly became clear that no one was going to teach those kinds of classes. The Pokémon Administration is quick to call unwanted attention to people who spread information they don't uh… approve of.

Alas.

Still, the major helped me land a research opportunity with the esteemed Professor Elm, who happened to be on a sabbatical in Cianwood during my second year. And so, even if for that reason alone, it was by no means a waste.

Professor Elm, and his Kanto colleague, Professor Oak, both study Pokémon relationships at varying capacities. Though, the number of publications easily accessible to the public is… limited, because the Pokémon Administration likes to shut them up, too (for aforementioned reasons). Still, that doesn't stop the research from occurring in the first place, and for one and a half amazing years, I got to be a part of that research. It was during that time, that I learned that this thing Shikimin and I had been doing for years – what I had originally thought was just two horny young adults experimenting together – was actually an honest to goodness part of how Pokémon get to know one another.

I suppose it kind of opened my eyes to some things. Like Shikimin, as a Luxio, chasing around Buizel on the beach… that was a mating game, I learned. And that was perfectly normal.

And similarly, right now, this anxiety Shikimin was having about fitting in probably stemmed from an urge to go have 'fun' with some of the other wilders. Just like the old days.

“You know, we had some Buizel following the ship yesterday," I said after I finished my lunch, in an attempt to take Shikimin's mind off things. The feeding Luxray was just nibbling up the last bits of his own meal, himself… he didn't look up, but his ear twitched and swiveled towards me. At least he was listening. I described the little show they put on for us, how they jumped from the water… he seemed to like that, and his tail waved back and forth in long, lazy motions. “You should have seen how far this one Buizel jumped. She almost caught up with us!"

Shikimin gave an amused snort, but quickly grew somber again. With a sigh, I gave him a little pat. “C'mon, lighten up. You're still worrying," I went on. Scanning the waterline, it wasn't hard to find a few interested Buizel, standing up on their hind legs, watching us from afar. Like Shikimin, there were a lot of things you could tell about a Buizel just from watching their tails. The ones watching us twirled their twin tails in quick, lively circles, and it was clear that they were either excited, or really, really curious. Though, there maybe wasn't a clear reason to go out of their way to approach us. Still, I was liking the looks of things more and more by the second; nudging the nervous feline, I gestured out towards the eager-looking water-types. “Hey… look at that."

The Luxray followed my gaze out over the beach. The moment he and the Buizel caught each other's eyes, the water-types gave a loud, friendly bark. I could see the tension in Shikimin's shoulders, like he was barely keeping himself from bolting down to the waterline. He just needed some encouragement.

I sighed. “Alright, no more sulking. Let's go," I said at last, grabbing a fistful of Pecha berries from the backpack and beckoning for the lightning cat. “C'mon, look! They're waiting. We'll even go down together."

Shikimin briefly gave me a weary stare as I stood, maybe not immediately taking me seriously. I waved for him again, starting to head off down the beach. His eyes blinked and he finally caved; I knew he'd rather be by my side than bored and by himself… even if I was kinda twisting his arm, just a bit. I apologetically scratched behind one of his ears. “Relax… you're gonna have fun. You always do," I reassured him once more.

The two of us casually strolled down to the waterline – well, one of us, casually – shallow waves lapped at the sand, and pretty soon we were surrounded by the splashing paw-steps of playing Buizel. The water-types followed us with great interest, completely unfazed by the notion of a human and his full-evolved electric-type friend walking straight into their midst. Yeah… this was about on par with what I was expecting.

Pretty soon it wasn't just the sounds of Buizel and Floatzel we were surrounded by. The playful Pokémon flanked us on all sides, chirping and chattering. Shikimin's eyes darted around in wonder; he gave a surprised growl when a couple of Buizel bumped into him, rubbing against his flank, flicking their short little tails at him. And I… well, I was attracting my own crowd, it looked like. The eager otterlike Pokémon followed the bushel of berries with their noses, trailing just behind me, enchanted by the sweet aroma.

The excitable Buizel waddled around as they tried to make sense of us. The little critters stood around two to two-and-a-half feet, when balanced on their short little hind legs. Their snouts were rounded and heavily bewhiskered, accented with a big flat black nose and dark fur patterns on their cheeks. Small, feathery-looking blue fins cropped out of their forearms – probably something to help keep them stable when they swam – their two flexible tails, which often spun in quick little circles, were their main source of propulsion. Finally, each wore a rubbery, yellow float-like organ around their neck. It could be inflated with air when they swam, but in its deflated state, it just looked like a cute little yellow collar.

Soon the excitement around us was too much, and I plopped heavily in the damp sand. The Buizel were now quite literally crawling on top of me; they used their claws for grip as they clambered over my shoulders and across my lap… fortunately my Ranger uniform was made for much more than such petty abuses. Their enthusiasm was uncontainable, and it was hard to keep from giggling as I passed out Pecha berries to as many of them as I could. Each one greedily took their fruit before scampering off to eat it in peace… not because of a desire to get away from me, I suspected, but more to get away from the other nearby Buizel, who impatiently bickered and fought to claim the berries for themselves.

Shikimin was getting fairly tangled up in his own mess, too. The playful water-types chattered at him, weaved between his tall legs, twirling tails teasing the poor overwhelmed feline… before running off down the sand bar, trying to bait him into giving chase. There were now four Buizel and even a large Floatzel, all vying for his attention. He gave me a nervous grin, legs twitching… waiting for my permission.

Oh, Shikimin… you never needed my permission.

But I gave it to him anyhow. “Go on," I laughed at him. “Go play!"

And just like that, he was gone… as were his cautions and his inhibitions. Wild once more, the lionlike Pokémon sprinted down the waterline after the small crowd of Buizel and Floatzel that had been trying to entice him. The posse of water-types gave an excited cheer as the much larger electric-type followed after them, and soon a merry game of chase was underway.

Shikimin and his new playmates romped through the shallow surf, racing around in small little circles. The large Luxray was much faster than the smaller water-types, but the Buizel and Floatzel had agility on their side, and they easily maneuvered around their pursuer. If they'd simply tried to run away in a straight line, Shikimin would have caught them for sure. Of course, there were also five of them, making it very hard for Shikimin to decide at any point which one to focus on. The feline Pokémon took the perhaps unfair game in stride, though, never complaining; if nothing else, it probably stroked his already lion-sized ego, to have such a sizable harem competing for his oh-so valuable attention.

I watched in exquisite anticipation as the Pokémon ran about, slowly moving further and further down the waterline, leaving me alone with my own posse of hungry, sweet-toothed Buizel. Though, even those Buizel were slowly beginning to disperse as the majority of those nearby had already gotten their treat. A couple remained, most probably returners who were interested in getting seconds. I teased them around a bit, dangling the berries just out of reach, chuckling as they batted their cute little paws after the sweet-scented fruit. But I eventually just let them have it… my attention was constantly being pulled back to Shikimin.

It wasn't long before Shikimin managed to catch one of his Buizel playmates. The feline was precariously hunched over the water-type Pokémon, forepaws pressing down the smaller creature's arms, jaws nipping at their scruff, trying to keep them in place. Those that hadn't gotten caught circled eagerly around the Luxray and his 'prey,' chattering encouragingly, just as eager as me to see what was inevitably coming. But the captured Buizel – more likely than not, a female, but who knew – was not making it easy on the lionlike Pokémon; they giggled and wriggled and batted those teasing twin tails between the large feline's legs, making it very hard for poor Shikimin to keep them down.

Years back, I remember being worried that I'd get jealous, the first time I watched Shikimin mate another wild Pokémon. And I remember how surprised I was, when I didn't. It was the strangest feeling – I felt like I should have been jealous – after all, the two of us had grown so close. We'd… you know, done it with each other, so many times. Yet the jealousy never came. In fact, I found the whole act kind of cool. I couldn't tear my eyes off them: he'd found this cute little lady Vulpix – Shikimin was still a Luxio, then – the two were just playing around, running about a big oak tree in circles. Then… before I realized what was happening, he was on top of her. It was so sudden, yet seemed so oddly natural. And I kind of just… watched them do it.

And mind you, this was long before any of the things I'd learned from Professor Elm. Nowadays, it's like watching a familiar game being played: I kinda knew the rules, and had a good idea for how the 'pieces' worked and how long it would take to play. The end goal for both the 'players' was the same: they both wanted a nice, hard sexing, no two ways around it. But to make things interesting, the Buizel and Floatzel were really making Shikimin work for it. The chasing, the teasing, the squirming… it delighted them to watch him jump through hoops for his prize. And Shikimin? Maybe he'd patiently and obediently jump through those hoops… or maybe, he'd find a clever way to get around them.

But ultimately, it was that particular Buizel who had the power, then. Even pinned down like that, under such a big, strong Luxray… they pulled the strings. They could, in theory, make Shikimin do whatever they wanted him to do. It was up to Shikimin to somehow convince his playmate to 'let him win.'

And by 'let him win,' I of course mean, 'let him mate.'

Somehow, knowing generally how the 'game' worked made it all the more interesting to watch. It was like… watching a thriller or suspense and predicting what would happen next. Or watching a sport and anticipating your team making the 'winning play.' Or maybe it was just plain and simple voyeurism? I had to admit, there was a certain thrill in watching the two wild Pokémon toy with one another, in anticipation of that sweet, sweet moment when they would inevitably give into their urges and just… indulge themselves. Shikimin wanted it oh so bad – it was hard to miss, with that bright red spot between his hind legs – of course, this Buizel he'd pinned down was not an unwilling party, either. They wouldn't have bothered with Shikimin if they weren't at least a little interested. They just perhaps wanted to see him… work for it, a bit.

And work for it, he did. It wasn't long before the Luxray realized that his brute-force, dominate-them-until-they-submit approach wasn't going to get him what he wanted. At least, any time soon. But he was a clever cat, and there were always a few things he could do to… convince his partner. Though the details were hard to make out from this distance, I could vaguely make out the way he slowly shuffled down the Buizel's back… probably gripped their hind legs with those heavy paws to keep them where he wanted them. Then he crouched over and stuffed that snout of his right under the water-type's tails.

That got the Buizel chattering.

For sure, Shikimin was making good use of that bristly, catlike tongue of his. And goodness, were his ministrations stirring up a racket. The Buizel and Floatzel nearby looked on in delight, circling around the two very closely… poking about with their noses, so eager to get a better look. But as for me, well… the way they circled covetously around the amorous couple, they rather thoroughly blocked my own view of the fun.

Ah well. Let him have his privacy, I supposed… if you could call it that. Not that he wouldn't be delighted to show off, anyhow. With a huff, I sat back and squeezed my eyes shut for a moment. So wrapped up was I in Shikimin's little adventure that I'd forgotten to blink for a while.

It was then, when I opened my eyes again, that I realized that I had a bit of company of my own. Yet another Buizel, nibbling thoughtfully on a Pecha berry I must have given them… or rather, 'her,' by the looks of it. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this one hadn't immediately scampered off once she'd gotten the berry. Her attention was, for the moment, also fixed on Shikimin and his playmates, it seemed. Her tails flitted about in quick, eager circles, and I swear, looking at her cute, rounded snout, she was definitely smiling at the view.

Hmm…

As for the view from my perspective, well… actually, there was something quite interesting about this Buizel at my side. A few interesting things. First of all, she was really quite large, compared to her pack mates. Maybe an entire foot taller than any I'd seen that afternoon. Her fur was also subtly brighter and richer, seemingly sparkling under the sun. Her whiskers were longer and fuller… so were her tails. Gosh, her tails! They looked about as long as she was tall! I'd never seen a Buizel, or even a fully evolved Floatzel, with tails that long. And instead of the regular short, dense tail fur, hers sported longer, fluffier fur instead.

Slowly… it dawned on me that this may very well be one of the pack's alphas. What fortune, to even be able to see one up close… and what an honor, that a Pokémon of such high status had actually approached me! What to do, what to do… I quickly looked around; sure enough, there were other Buizel and Floatzel nearby, staring at the female only two feet from my lap with considerable possessiveness… or maybe jealousness. Yet, they did not approach, like some kind of barrier kept them at bay, or maybe some unspoken rule. And so she and I were, in a very strange way, quite alone.

The female, noticing me glancing about, looked up at me sideways as she finished off her berry. A single very, very deep blue iris met my gaze. Those two tails gave a quick little twirl, and she… giggled? It was a subtle, almost musical little sound, and those big, full whiskers bobbed happily up and down. Then she casually looked away again, staring back down the waterline at the Luxray-and-Buizel party developing. But I… did not look away. Something funny tickled in the back of my head, like sweat on my scalp.

Firstly, this Buizel was gorgeous. And secondly… I had most definitely seen her somewhere before.

It took me a long, long moment to start to put the pieces together, then another long moment after that, to gather the courage to speak up. “We've met, haven't we?" I said, just a little quietly. I did not want to startle this Buizel and scare her away. She once more turned to look up, now affixing both of those blue eyes on me. Cocked her head to the side, those tiny round ears flicking just a bit. “Well, not formally, I suppose," I corrected myself with a nervous chuckle. “Er… yesterday? You were following our ship? Those were some pretty impressive jumps, hah…"

The Buizel listened to me intently, and to my amazement, her face lit up in this glowing grin… briefly putting on display all those sharp fangs she had under that cute little muzzle of hers. Not only did she by no means run away, but… that enthusiasm… I hadn't been imagining things; it was that same Buizel. What an interesting surprise!

But what was even more surprising, was when she opened her mouth, and in very, very clear Johtonese Common, said: “Thanks!"

Whoa.

My jaw went slack and, right then and there, you could have knocked me over with a feather. “You… you can talk!" I exclaimed, no cleverer words immediately presenting themselves.

Once more the Buizel giggled, still wearing that toothy grin of hers… a weird tingling sensation shot up my spine and the tips of my ears began to glow warmly. “I suppose I can," she replied playfully, and very, very clearly. What a talent! After a moment, she must have picked up on my astonished stare, though. “That's not… too weird, is it?"

“Holy crap, you're fluent," I muttered, covering my mouth with my palm. Fingers trailed up my cheek to cool myself down. For a moment there, I felt particularly light-headed. And I completely missed her question. “I… wow. I've never met a Pokémon that could actually speak!"

The water-type scratched the tufted back of her head, her grin now showing a few hints of her own nervousness. “A-ah, come on… we're not that rare, really!" she insisted. “Er… though I guess, we alphas do tend to stay out of sight."

I nodded, slightly absent, my mind racing. So, she was an alpha after all. That definitely explained the attention she was getting, from every Buizel and Floatzel within a hundred feet of us. Alphas represent the cream of the genetic crop, so to speak; supposedly, Pokémon are very gene-conscious in their breeding, and thus their 'alphas' get pretty substantial social status. Those genes probably accounted for her pristine fur, her height, her amazingly long tails… and, well, I suppose it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility, then, that an alpha could learn to speak a human language, too.

Still, that begged the question… “This isn't exactly 'out of sight,' don't you think?" I pointed out… hoping that didn't sound too much like I was criticizing her.

But the she-Buizel just gave this innocent shrug. Her little pink tongue flicked out from between her rounded lips, licking back her whiskers and whetting her nose. Briefly, her gaze wandered, and she tilted her head to the side, perhaps looking behind me… at my backpack? “What can I say? Those berries are… pretty enticing," she giggled. But then those deep blue eyes came right back to mine. With another twirl of those excitable tails, she quietly added, “Amongst other things."

Hm? 'Amongst other things,' huh? She wasn't insinuating…? No, no. That'd be silly. I found my lips curled into a wry grin; she was probably trying to entice me into giving her more Pecha berries. Not that I minded. No, she was more than welcome to them. I slipped a hand behind me to grab another pink berry, then tossed it to the flirtatious Buizel. “Young and reckless, huh?" I teased back.

The Buizel eagerly caught the berry in her outstretched paws, wolfing it down on the spot with those great, sharp fangs. Licked her whiskers clean, chirping happily… then cocked her head at my comment. Quickly, an indignant pout replaced her bewhiskered smile. “I am not that young," she insisted. “Look:" She gestured with her head down the waterline, to where Shikimin was beginning to look very frisky with those other Pokémon. The way he eagerly clambered atop them… “See? I'm barely younger than your Luxray friend," she went on, just before my wandering train of thought could get away from me.

Still, her comment took a moment to sink in. “…Really?" I blinked, staring at the amorous feline Pokémon down the waterline… then back at her. I wasn't quite sure what obvious age cues I was looking for, but the alpha seemed confident they were there. All I had to go off of was their relative size and evolution, and well… “Even though you're… you know…?"

“What, still a Buizel?" she harrumphed, that pout of hers deepening. “Yeah, yeah. No need to rub it in. Some of are late bloomers, I guess…"

“S-sorry! Didn't ah… didn't mean to offend," I apologized hastily. Whoops! Guess she was self-conscious about that. I quickly moved to avert my gaze, but found that the only other interesting thing to look at was Shikimin… now hunched over his playmate once more, rocking back and forth quickly. I bit my lip… looked back at the Buizel. She was no longer pouting, but…

“You don't, like… mind that I haven't evolved yet, do you?" she asked after a bit.

“What? No, no. Of course not," I said, shaking my head. Not exactly clear on how she meant by 'mind.' Did I… prefer one evolution over the other? Or was she getting at something else? Offering a sincere smile, I went on: “No, you are… plenty cute, as a Buizel."

That cheered her up, real fast. She giggled again, wriggling her long, orange body in the sand as she stretched out. Those twin tails practically made a pinwheel behind her. “Mm. You think I'm cute, huh?" she grinned, rolling her shoulders under her little yellow float. She had this glint of delight in her eye; a glint that made me wonder if perhaps that was a little too forward of me… “Tell me… what's your name, Mr. Ranger?"

“Izák. Yours?"

The female Buizel sat there for a moment, humming quietly… “You can call me Lily," she said at last. Smiling still, she gestured with her head down the waterline to where Shikimin was… playing. “So. Izák, then… you get a kick out of watching your friend mount wild Pokémon?"

Eheh…

Well. That was a hell of a question to drop on me. She was so teasing me now. Perhaps I deserved it, for so rudely commenting on her age? Or perhaps… Hm. My mind briefly wandered back to that comment she made about 'other things' she found enticing. It couldn't be that she was really flirting with me, could it?

Whoa boy. It began to occur to me that I, like Shikimin, might very well have been baited into some sort of game. But Shikimin's 'game' I'd seen many times before, and knew generally what was supposed to happen. Whereas, I'd never had an actual two-way conversation with a Pokémon before… let alone, with a Pokémon that was potentially making advances on me. What were the rules to such a game?

Not that I didn't want to play! At least, I think. I mean, Lily was cute… she seemed playful, and witty. I couldn't possibly, in my right mind, turn down the company of a Pokémon, least of all one that seemed legitimately interested in me. But, like… jeez. How do you answer a question like that, without embarrassing yourself? Unless embarrassment was the goal. “Shikimin's wild, too," I blurted out, not really thinking. Or maybe I was thinking, and that's all I could come up with to stall for time.

But Lily was too sharp, giggling once again before pointing out the obvious: “You're avoiding the question." I bit my lip, momentarily having to hold my breath to stem a nervous laugh. Well, there was no getting out of this one.

“I mean… the answer's pretty obvious, isn't it?" I eventually said with a dismissive shrug, but I had to kind of look away, even so. Not too much, though… not enough where it'd look like I was staring at Shikimin again. “Yeah, I guess. It's uh… nice to see him having fun."

Lily's hum grew thoughtful. “You know what? I think that's pretty cool. I hear you humans are usually super-uptight about that kind of thing," she finally said. I cocked my head, finally able to meet her eyes again… did I… did I really give the right answer? But then she continued… and with this playful, bouncy lilt, asked, “You ever wonder… what it might be like?"

Something about the sudden change in her tone… tugged at my attention. “Wonder what… what might be like?"

“Mating a wild Pokémon, of course."

Aaaaand there it was. Sly little devil… how did I not see that coming? This… this was definitely a test of mettle. And whoa boy, I was not prepared for it. I thought I was prepared for it – I'd answered her first question 'correctly,' hadn't I? – A surge of confidence made the words slip from my mouth effortlessly: “I mean, it's not like he and I haven't done it before."

But that was not the right answer. Lily jerked her head back in surprise, tails suddenly going still. A pit formed in my stomach as I realized what I'd just suggested… moments before she said it herself: “O-oh, I… so you're, like, gay then?" she asked hesitantly.

Oh god I blew it! I totally blew it. There was that question again; it certainly seemed like I'd been hearing that one a lot, recently. “I… uh, it's… a little complicated," I stammered.

That didn't sound very convincing. Ugh… I cupped my hands over the bridge of my nose, staring down hard into my lap, facing glowing in embarrassment. “Is it?" Lily prodded further. “I mean, are you into males, or not?"

“I mean, technically… or at least, him," I went on. Then shut my mouth tight. No, no no! Wrong words! For fuck's sake, she wants my attention. I mentally punched myself in the shoulder, determined to get it right this time. It took a long, hard moment of thinking. Then, peering cautiously down at Lily, I hesitantly added: “But hey… I did just call you cute, didn't I?"

But all I could think of in my head was, 'Really? That's the best you could come up with?'

The alpha Buizel wriggled her nose, causing her whiskers to rise and fall. “So… bisexual, perhaps."

Fudge it. Close enough, I guess. “Sure, let's go with that," I exhaled at last, suddenly grinning. I was still nervous, for sure… but maybe out of the fire for the moment. Maybe I didn't blow it? But… jeez, my heart was pounding. Was she really having this much of an effect on me? Or was I just completely out of practice with this whole verbal communication thing? “Yeah. Okay. It's a bit simpler to explain like that, I guess."

Lily nodded, seeming to accept that. Either way, she seemed to relax again. Rocked back and forth for a few moments, tails swaying. Then, the alpha Buizel shuffled up to my knees, where she pressed herself against my lap like a stretching cat. Smiling. “You're interesting," she said at last, flashing me another one of those terrifying yet adorable smiles. “… I like that."

I took a deep, long breath and let it out. Crisis averted. “And you're… very patient," I replied, releasing the butterflies in my stomach with a little chuckle that tickled on its way out. “I, ah… appreciate that." Almost without thinking, I reached out with a hand to feel her fur, so close now… ah – I stopped short when I realized she was looking up at me again. “Er, sorry. Can I, uh… you know…?"

“Pet?"

“… Yeah."

There was that grin again. “Only if I can have your lap," she insisted.

I swallowed again. This shouldn't be hard. A lap was a lap – she was just being playful – maybe… maybe the fact that she was being so playful was why I was nervous? Still, I had to respect that she'd given me the 'option,' instead of just settling herself in there…

So I… maybe against my better judgment, said, “Alright."

Lily giggled happily and, before I could react, promptly crawled into my lap and sprawled out across my legs. And then she was there. Her tails gave a few quick, content twirls, and she shimmied herself into a deep slouch. Murmured contently… then said, “Pet away." But not without a coy wink.

I forced another deep breath to calm my nerves… and as I did, I realized that that strange tingling in my scalp had never really gone away. Tentatively, I pressed my fingers to her back, feeling them sink into her soft, dense fur coat. It was… luxurious. And her back was firm and strong; she must be an unrivaled swimmer, I thought to myself. Before I could do any more than just touch, Lily gave this happy little _churrr_ing sound… and I locked up completely for a moment. Deep breaths… relax. I let my fingers spread apart, sluicing through that incredible orange fur. Then I trailed those fingers down the small of her back, through that single cream-colored spot…

“Wow…" I breathed as I gently moved my palm back the other way, up towards her shoulders again. “This is… so soft." My eyes were transfixed on the Buizel's face, which was drooped contently over the side of my thigh. Her nose occasionally flared up and her whiskers wavered in the gentle breeze. She'd let her eyes close… almost immediately. So… unusually trustingly. Suddenly my hand felt very unsteady, and I had to draw back and clench a fist to get it to relax.

Why… was this Pokémon getting to me like this?

Lily wriggled impatiently for a moment, waiting for me to continue. When I didn't immediately, she turned her head to look up at me again. I found myself unable to avoid her gaze. “Hey… you okay?" she asked. But the way she asked was much different than how she'd been talking to me before. Instead of a coy, almost provocative lilt to her voice, she was soft and gentle. Ever so slightly concerned. Genuine.

I didn't immediately have an answer… or, at all. My mind was gone, completely elsewhere now. Heat gradually radiated up my body and into my face, and I knew I was suddenly blushing very deeply. In just that small little moment, just those couple of words… that softness in her expression; I felt like I saw something even more beautiful than Lily's fine feral figure, hidden behind that teasing, tantalizing façade.

All Pokémon were beautiful to me: interesting and curious, fun to watch and to play with. Secretly, too, often objects of desire… wanted by something deep within me, something that needed expressing. Perhaps it was their wildness that I found endearing. Perhaps it was their… exoticness. At a minimum, I felt that I identified with them on some level. And that was just how I felt about all Pokémon.

But it had been a very, very long time since I'd felt this kind of spark. I glanced just one more time down the waterline at Shikimin… it hadn't happened this fast with him. Maybe we were too young, when we met, for it to be anything more than curiosity and playful fascination.

As my eyes quickly flicked back to Lily's, though, I knew that it was the same kind of spark: an interested, genuine connectedness. It felt a little different this time, too. Faster, certainly. Maybe that was what caught me so off guard. Maybe it was the abrupt intimacy, of her in my lap. Or, perhaps, even after all this time with Shikimin, maybe I did in fact lean slightly in favor of the more feminine se –

“Hey…" Lily repeated, her quiet voice more than enough to snap me out of my trance. The otterlike Pokémon had gotten concerned by my silence, it seemed, and leaned over while I wasn't paying attention… her snout was barely an inch from my arm. Nose flared, whiskers twitching; those intelligent, deep blue eyes of hers stared carefully into mine. Sniff, sniff… the alpha cocked her head to the side.

“Ah… sorry. Zoned out for a second," I said, shaking my head as if trying to clear a fog. Eying the way her snuffling snout moved around my arm… tickling my hairs… Briefly I shivered, and had to swallow that nervous lump in my throat again. “What are… whatchya doing there?"

That was rhetorical. She was smelling me, obviously. And I imagine she caught some very… telling scents: subtle changes in my sweat, the faintest stirring of arousal… There were no secrets, nothing I could hide, from such an acute sense of smell. I tried not to let it go to my head; tried not to let it show that I knew. But I did know. I knew that she knew: everything I'd just been thinking, every realization… my sudden, fierce attraction.

I remember… how Professor Elm had showed me, once, the full power of a Pokémon's nose, with the help of his cute Furret. Gosh had that been embarrassing.

Not that this wasn't equally embarrassing. Still, Lily was sly about it, when I asked. “Oh, nothing," she replied, inconspicuously. A good lie; I would have never suspected a thing, had I not already known. And when she rubbed her cold, flat nose against my arm… testing the dilation of my skin… she gave me goose bumps. Still peering up at me, she wriggled that cute little snout of hers, whiskers bouncing. Then she gave that nose a lick with her broad, flat tongue, washing it clean… probably satisfied with all the information she'd gleaned off me. But all she said was, “Were you… gonna keep petting?"

Was I going to keep petting? “What kind of question is that?" I laughed, playfully bopping that adorable button nose. Lily bubbled over in giggles, her hand paws swiftly batting at me… claws closed fiercely around my gloved hand, tugging it territorially like a cat with their toy. I was surprised by the strength with which she clutched me… she was much stronger than she looked. Even with my wrist in her grip, I wriggled my fingers around her snout, tickling those whiskers… and she kept giggling and giggling. Gosh she was cute when she did that. I'd been forcing a smile for a few long moments, trying not to let things get awkward… but quickly it was becoming easier and easier to really just grin, all on my own.

So yeah, I went back to petting. With my only free hand, I began to massage my fingertips around in her back fur. Up and down… sometimes just under the shoulder blades, sometimes closer to her tail base. I listened to all those soft, content sounds she made… felt the way she wriggled, very subtly, under my touch. Reveled in her impossibly soft pelt. She was still clutching my other hand, but didn't seem to mind that it was close enough for me to still flit my fingers around her nose. So I gave her a playful poke…

Lily's prodded nose flared… she gave this mirthful giggle; then gave that fingertip a lick. Just a quick little lick; it tickled a bit, warm and wet and smooth, flag against my skin. I don't know how I looked just then, but when Lily peered sideways at me, she must have seen something she liked… because she grinned. And when I tried to pull my arm free of her… she held on fiercely. “U-uh…?"

The Buizel went on giggling, and before I could stop her, her little rounded muzzle closed in around my glove, nipping it firmly. Her head tugged back and her paws pushed forward, and… with surprising dexterity for a mouth, she slipped that glove right off, casting into the sand with a jerk of her neck, leaving my palm and fingers bare for her inspecting nose.

And tongue.

I gave a surprise snort as she gave my index finger another lick. And this time, it was the whole finger. She licked and lapped, getting between my digits… making a show of curling that broad, flat tongue around me, leaving my hand cool and wet after each warm stroke. I couldn't help but shift about, ticklish under that teasing tongue. But she made sure I couldn't pull away, not without throwing her off my lap completely. Even with I tried to defensively curl my fist into a ball… well, she just prodded under my clenched fingers and licked at my palm until I submitted, laughing. “Heh. Eeheh… hah… alright. Alright! I g-get it," I snickered, reduced to fighting back by trying to tickle those whiskers of hers between licks. “You win! P-please…"

My pleas fell on deaf ears. Or… perhaps they just spurred her on. “Tastes like berries," she murmured between licks. I knew that was a lie, considering I'd had a glove on until she'd so suggestively tugged it off with her teeth. And now there she was, practically fellating my fingers. Sometimes more literally… she'd actually take my thumb into her little rounded muzzle… cradling it with her curled tongue… and suckle at it softly. I cleared my throat hard, doing my best to tug free… to no avail. I think once or twice, I kind of shivered where I sat.

“Y-you're evil," I gasped as she pulled herself off my thumb with an audible plop. She just gave me this sweet little smile… opened wide, giving me a nice view of those glistening fangs, and licked oh-so slowly all the way up my wrist and palm and middle finger, lingering at the tip for emphasis. “Okay… okay. Really, ah… I think that's enough." I couldn't lie, she was… quite talented with that tongue of hers. Didn't leave much to the imagination with her playful show. Like, at all. After all that torment, I was –

“Hard enough?" she asked casually, rolling her hip to bump the tent of my pants. Almost startled me out of my seat, the hand I realized I'd left idly in her back fur suddenly giving a hard squeeze. But she just giggled, relinquishing my hand at last, licking back those sexy whiskers of hers…

Yep: hard as a rock. I shook my head, covering half my face with my non-damp hand. “I can't hide anything from you, can I?" I asked. She probably did know that I knew about her nose, at that.

“Nope!" Lily said with an affirmative chirp. “I take it you… enjoyed, then?"

“…Yes," I relented with a sigh, but a wry smile nonetheless. I was trapped in her game, I may as well accept it. She was too adorable to be mad at. Somewhere in the back of my head, I knew that whatever she had planned – and she did have something planned, I knew it – whatever it was, she was going to get it, and I wouldn't know until it was –

“Good!" she giggled… and then, just like that, she stopped. “I… hope that's a good enough reason to come see me again some time. Because unfortunately, I have to go!"

– too late.

“W-what?"

“Mhm… sorry 'bout that, Izák," Lily apologized, carefully removing herself from my lap. I barely had time to blink as she stood, brushing her fur out… “As delightful as you are to rile up, you've gotta come a bit earlier if you want to have time to do anything… you know, really fun."

She… had intentionally riled me up. To leave me hanging. “Oh you have… got to be kidding me," I sighed, into both hands now, not caring that one hand smelled of Pecha juice and Buizel breath. I wondered to myself… if maybe Lily wasn't too adorable to be mad at. Maybe just this once. Looking around though, I knew she wasn't lying: the Buizel and Floatzel all around the beach appeared to be gathering in concentrated spots. They stood tall on their hind legs, looking about the beachside like sentries, and occasionally they would call out to one another. “Whyyyy–"

“I know, I know! I'm sorry…" Lily quickly turned to apologize. “I just couldn't help it, you're too cute!"

… Nope. Just couldn't bring myself to be mad at her. Though I still folded my arms and gave her the most cross look I could muster. “That wasn't very nice of you…"

But the otterlike Pokémon waddled back over to my side and… kind of wrapped her arms around my neck. And before I realized what she was doing, she'd pressed her cold nose just under my jaw, forcing me to quiver in her embrance. Those deep, blue eyes looked up at me as she… hugged me? I'm not really sure what the gesture was. But I sorta wanted to turn around and hug her right back… even if she had teased the heck out of me. Maybe that's what successful flirting was? “Please forgive me?" she asked softly, putting on her best baby-doll eyes.

Gosh, this one was a piece of work. I… couldn't help but snicker. She'd defeated me. Totally and completely. I gestured to my pants with the nod of my head. “You know I'm gonna have to go take care of this later, thanks to you…"

Lily grinned at that. “Make sure you think of me when you do~"

“You are naughty!" I exclaimed, laughing loudly now. I gave her a playful shove, dislodging her from my neck – she just giggled, rolling in the sand on her back.

“You are too! You told me yourself that you and your Luxray friend…" The otterlike Pokémon trailed off, ears flicking. We both looked up and, as if on cue, discovered a curious-looking Shikimin trotting back up the waterline towards us. Lily quickly scampered to her feet, huffing. “Speak of the devil… okay, sorry; no time for introductions," she said apologetically, before turning heel to scamper off the other direction. She gave her tails one last twirl for me as she ran to join the rest of her pack. “You come find me and we'll really play some time, alright?" she called.

And then she was gone.

What a piece of work, indeed. All I could muster was an astonished shake of my head. Soon Lily had vanished into the surf, out of sight, surrounded by her many Buizel and Floatzel friends, who jealously followed after her. Then Shikimin was at my side…

Turning my head to my returned companion, I reached out to pet his somewhat disheveled mane with my bare hand. He had this great old grin on his face, and he gave a content purr, before sniffing at me… of course, that'd been the hand Lily had been teasing me with. The feline cocked his head; sniffed some more… probably followed the scent to my pants, where she'd been lying. Then he gave this low growl, the points of his mane standing on end.

So I bopped him in the nose. “Heyyy, none of that," I snapped at him… playfully, but sternly. Luxray could, indeed, be great big peacocks if you let them. He gave a little yowl and batted at me with a paw, which I had to catch in my bare hand to deflect it… little marks raked my palm. “Oi, no jealousy out of you. You had four playmates, I had one."

And, judging by the way his fur looked, and that grin he'd been wearing, I suspected he'd mated all four of them, too. Even in that short time…

Once Shikimin had been sufficiently defused, the two of us walked back up the beach to grab our stuff. “You have a good time after all?" I asked him, even though I knew the answer. As expected, I got a gruff, but affirmative meow. And he didn't hide the way he sat down to groom his loins, while I packed up the blanket and backpack, discarding the wax wrapper from his earlier meal. “Mhm… do I get to say, 'I told you so?'" I teased.

Another huff.

Oh well. I knew he was feeling better, even if he was too proud to admit that there'd never been anything to worry about in the first place. With all of our belongings in tow, I beckoned for him and we set off back to the house. “Well, I hope you made some new friends, today," I said, patting his back as we went. My mind, though, was still on Lily… and the firm tent in my pants.

“I think… I made a new friend, too."