Hey, everyone! I'd like to say, first of things, thanks for going through the trouble of reading and reviewing my stories. I hope you all continue doing so. Another thing I'd like to say is that this story you're reading right now was made with the help from someone on this site. Rated L for Lemons. The both of us worked together in the development of this story. So, if you like A Winner and a Keeper, be sure to give props to Rated L for Lemons and not just me. So enjoy!
Also, lemon scenes will come later in this story but, if you're not 18 years or older, still don't read this. The Pokémon used in this story belongs to Gamefreak, Nintendo, etc. Words in italics are either a character's thoughts or words being stressed. It depends on the situation so pay attention as you read.
A Winner and a Keeper
Chapter 1 – Gathering the Girls
Somewhere out in the great, big ocean was an island. It's bigger than your average island but not big enough to be called main land. There's something about this island that made it different from the others. It was not inhabited by humans but pokemon don't live on it, either. At least, not pokemon who aren't of a certain type. For some peculiar reason, only psychic-type Pokemon, along with some exceptions, lived on the island, leading everyone who lived on it to call it, predictably, Psychic Island.
Another characteristic of Psychic Island that made said piece of land different was the fact that there was a royal lineage living there, too. This family was in charge of the safety, well-being, and harmony of Psychic Island. They had succeeded in keeping peace for generations, and hope to continue doing so for many generations to come.
In the very center of the island was a castle made of stone.
Sitting in a chair in his bedroom was a yellow and brown bipedal pokemon with a large fox-like tail behind his abdomen, which was marked with three red, wavy lines. There was a red star in between his eyes, which were being used to read the written laws of Psychic Island. To help in his concentration, he tapped on the table in front of him with his one silver spoon.
This Kadabra was the current heir to the throne.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. The seated Psi Pokemon turned his head and then heard a voice that penetrated through the door.
"Prince Reynard! Your mother and father have requested you to meet them at the throne room!"
"I will be right there!" Reynard responded.
Reynard placed down his copy of the island's rules and got up from his chair. The castle being a large one, it took the royal prince a few minutes to reach the throne room. Eventually, he entered, seeing his parents, the king and queen, sitting on their regal chairs.
On Reynard's left side was his father, Casey, or, as he was better known as, King Casey. He was a brown pokemon with an oblong head, an indentation on each side. King Casey waved at his son with one of his hands, both of which had multicolored, round digits for fingers. Then the king got off of his throne, landing on his small legs with no difficulty. After landing, the Beheeyem rushed towards Reynard to hug him, being a family male.
As Reynard hugged his father, he looked at his mother, who was seated on the right side. She smiled upon seeing her son and got off her throne to wrap him up in a hug, too.
Espa, or Queen Espa, used to be a Kadabra like him until she evolved. Now she was an incredibly intelligent Alakazam, a yellow and brown bipedal pokemon like Reynard but minus the red markings and tail, with the addition of a second silver spoon.
The hug later broke apart and Reynard asked his parents what they needed from him.
"Well, son," Queen Espa started, "you remember that we were going to prepare you for becoming king, correct? Your birthday is, after all, only half a year away."
He nodded, "Yes, mom. I remember. I take it preparations are underway?"
"Why yes, they are!" King Casey said rather happily.
Reynard couldn't help but feel a little saddened.
Having noticed this, Espa spoke up, "Reynard, sweetie, you may not like this but, at the very least, you will have a choice in who you want as your queen. It's just that these are the laws and traditions of Psychic Island."
"Of course, mom. I simply couldn't help it," Reynard responded.
"Additionally, it's not like we don't know how you feel," the Beheeyem assured him. "All of our ancestors have gone through this and at least some had their own conflicting opinions about it. Even I was the same way. Until, that is, your mother had put an end to it. I'm certain this will turn out the same way for you!"
The prince cracked a small smile. "Thanks, dad." Unsure of what else to say, he asked, "So when and where will I meet them?"
Casey answered, "Espa and I have already ordered a large portion of our soldiers to gather all of the available females. You should be able to meet them by tomorrow. As for location, you'll meet them in the Residential Areas, you know, that large clearing you could see from your bedroom window."
"So, son, be sure to wash yourself up before you meet them. Make yourself more presentable. Tomorrow, the guards will escort you. Gavin, the Pokemon we put in charge of the tests, will provide his assistance," the Alakazam told him.
"Yes, mom." he nodded again, holding back a resentful sigh.
One more group hug was done and, after a chat about other, happier things, everyone split apart. The king and queen seated themselves back on their thrones, wishing happiness for their son, who headed back to his room, still feeling upset.
Reynard knew it was required for him to find a queen in order to be crowned. The way everyone on the island saw it, caring for the sake of an entire island was too much for only one to think about, so they chose to rely on two. Additionally, everyone saw the king as the enforcer of the law while the queen would help him in caring for everyone.
Reynard had been brought up right. The prince was taught the difference between right and wrong, treated with love and given attention by his parents. He had learned how to care for others and not to look down on them.
However, Reynard was worried the girl he'd be mated to wouldn't be like that. This girl might be concerned with only herself and would only like him for his status, not for him himself. There had been several times when Reynard was outside the castle that Pokemon on the island would try getting close to him for such reasons. The prince also remembered his family's history. There had been some close calls with getting a conceited king or queen.
The Psi Pokemon prince in this particular pickle wanted to refuse, but he knew he couldn't. If Reynard were to refuse, he'd become a regular Pokemon, having to take care of himself like everyone else. That would be bad because, much to his humiliation, Reynard had absolutely no idea on how to do that, having had everything done for him since birth.
So the prince had to go through with this. Besides, there was also the sake of Psychic Island to think about. If Reynard backed out, his parents would have to adopt or make another child, hoping to still have it in them to rule for a few more years.
Finally, it would be a waste for the prince to not be crowned since the royal Kadabra was taught since a very young age about the laws of Psychic Island, how to manage a kingdom, and how to care for an island.
Reynard sighed as he reentered his room and sat down on his bed, resting his head in his hands.
I'll just have to do it then. I just hope I'll find myself a nice girl like dad did.
While the prince was worrying about that, the soldiers sent by the king and queen were busy gathering the girls. The group consisted of a Wobbuffet, Meowstic, Medicham, Metagross, Metang, Bronzong, and even some Gallade.
It was going to take all day to gather every girl acceptable for candidacy of queen, partly due to some requirements. First, the female had to be single, not yet claimed by another male. Second, it was preferred if the girl was around the same age as the prince, at least 17 years old.
A girl in particular, who fulfills both standards, was a bit far away from the castle, a Wobbuffet heading her way.
In the meantime, this girl was busy chasing a little, green bird pokemon with a single red head crest, mostly red clawed feet, and red tail feathers. The speeding Natu also had wings of that same red color, along with some black and yellow.
"Dez, you need to come back here and eat your fruit! They're healthy for you and they're yummy!"
"No way, big sister! I'm not- oof!" Dez was cut off in his objection by accidentally tripping over a small rock on the ground. "Owowowowow!" Now Dez was yelling in pain.
His sister picked up the hurt Natu, patting his head soothingly. Of course, she gave him a bit of a lecture. "I hope this teaches you to not run off when you're needed. Now let's eat some fruit. We have to eat." She turned around and walked off, sighing, then spoke under her breath. "Times like this I wish I was back in the days when I was still an adorable, little Natu."
The Xatu was a larger bird-like Pokemon with white wings outlined by a black stripe at the edges, the dark line followed by a red one. Near the bottom of her body were a pair of yellow stripes. If this Mystic Pokemon was a boy, there would have been three instead. On her chest was a design of sorts that resembled a pair of red eyes. Her head was topped with two red head crests that seemed smoothed down instead of sticking up like her brother's. She also didn't have tail feathers like him. Like her brother, though, the Xatu was mostly green and had red clawed feet.
The Xatu headed towards a cut tree stump with various pieces of fruit on it. Already there and eating were two more Natu, although one had more ruffled-up plumage than Dez and the other one was a couple inches taller than both of the first two.
Their sister announced to them, "Hi, Fortune! Hi, Dustin! I brought Dez back! I hope you left some food for him to eat."
"Of course we did, Sight. No need to worry," Fortune, the slightly bigger than usual Natu, assured his sister. Fortune was the eldest one of the three boys.
Dustin, the Natu with ruffled red plumage, nodded and then resumed eating. He was the youngest one of them all, not just of the boys.
Sight placed Dez down near the tree stump and checked him over for injuries. There wasn't any sign of injury but, just in case, she found some Oran Berries.
"Be sure to eat these; they'll heal you right up," Sight told him.
"Ooooohh… do I have tooooo?" The protesting Natu whined.
"Yes, you have to. It wouldn't have happened if you didn't run away to begin with. Now eat."
Dez whined again but began eating along with his two brothers. When everything had settled down, Sight sat down and began eating alongside her male siblings.
During the middle of eating, however, the Wobbuffet from earlier came across the 4 feasting pokemon. He waved his flat arms around in an almost frantic manner, rushed towards them, and called out, "Hey, the four of you there! I'll need your attention and cooperation, please!"
They all turned to the pokemon who called to them. They saw the blue pokemon whose body seemed almost like an oval and had four stubby legs, two on each side. Trailing behind him was a black tail with a pair of eyes. The Wobbuffet's face had a pair of scrunched eyes and a mouth with a jagged upper lip. Upon closer inspection, however, Sight gasped, seeing this Wobbuffet had the mark of the royal family: a golden four pointed star, on his forehead, indicating this Patient Pokemon as one of their soldiers.
The Wobbuffet stopped when he was right next to her, panting deeply. When he regained his breath, he said, "Excuse me, but I need to know if there's any single females at least 17 years old? It's not for me, if you were going to accuse me of it. It's for the prince of the royal family. He will, after all, be of adult age to be crowned and will, of course, need a queen."
"There's only one girl in our family who's a girl and that's our big sis. She's the Xatu right here at this tree stump," Fortune answered honestly.
Dustin only nodded once more and then continued chomping down on his share of fruit.
"Yeah!" Dez joined in, agreeing with them. "And she's 18, too!"
"Really?" the Patient Pokemon turned to Sight. "Is that true?"
Sight sighed and said, "Yes, that's true. I taught my brothers not to lie when it's not needed."
"Then I need you to come with me. It's absolutely necessary that you do." At that, the Wobbuffet offered a finger-less arm.
Sight, however, was hesitant. She looked over to her left, her father, Fate, standing a short distance away.
He was a Xatu like her but was a duller green with an equally dull red head crest and worn-out white wings. He also had bags under his red eyes. Fate had been like that for years, ever since his mate passed away. It was hard for Sight, Fortune, Dez, and Dustin, too, since she was their mother, but Fate took it the hardest. Ever since his mate's passing, Fate had been looking into the future and past at the same time, as Xatu usually do. However, it was all he ever did, barely making time to sleep. Fate would sometimes cry as he looked into the two separate timelines, to the point that his eyes become red like they were now.
Sight was the eldest of the four children, so she took it upon herself to take care of everyone. As a result, she normally didn't have much time for herself. In the little free time she did have, Sight would try persuading her father to come back to her and the Natu trio, but had little success.
The Mystic Pokemon knew that, if she were to come along with the Patient Pokemon, there'd be no one to look after her brothers since her father still didn't seem to be in any condition to do so. Fortune was already 12, but he was still a child.
Having noticed her reluctance, the Wobbuffet satisfied the Xatu by saying, "If you're worried about leaving your family behind, you have the option of taking them along with you. You'll all stay in the Residential Areas, the place where the available females and likely their families will stay until the final choice for the queen has been made."
"REALLY!?" Dustin exclaimed, no longer noiseless.
"I want to go! I want to go!" Dez cried out over and over.
"Yeah, it sounds like fun!" Fortune added.
The next thing Sight knew, all three of the boys hopped up and down, begging her to take them along. At seeing that the problem relating to who'd take care of her brothers was resolved, and deciding to asking someone trustworthy over at the Residential Areas to look after them, the Xatu reluctantly gave in.
Sight turned to the Wobbuffet and sighed, "All right, fine, we'll go with you." The little Natus cheered and dashed ahead, having forgotten about their meals. "Wait!"
They stopped and looked at her, wondering what was wrong, the Wobbuffet doing the same.
Sight explained, "I'll need to tell our father first, then we can go. We can't leave just like that."
The three brothers and Wobbuffet agreed on that and waited for Sight to come back from telling their dad of the news.
She stepped up to her dad, who was as motionless as ever, "Um… Daddy? I don't know if you can hear me or not, especially since you never respond in any way whatsoever, but it's that time now. You know, when the prince has to get a queen to be by his side when he's crowned? There's no guarantee it's going to be me, but the royal family just wants to be sure, not missing a single available female. It might be good for our family if I do get picked, though... I doubt they'll bother much with me... but still. It's worth a shot,"
Her father didn't move at all, not even to blink. There was a hurting, almost burning type of feeling forming in the back of Sight's throat. She did her best not to cry, determined to not let any tears form and fall. This type of thing with her dad had happened way too many times before.
After saying choked good-byes with Fate and explaining that he won't be coming along with them, Sight went along with her brothers and the Wobbuffet, following the Patient Pokemon to the Residential Areas. It was a lengthy walk, mainly because the Wobbuffet checked the surroundings closely in order to not miss any ladies who fulfilled the two forenamed ideals, but everyone eventually made it there.
It was a large area with many dwellings made of found natural materials. In the center of it all, there was a huge clearing with dozens of children, all relatives of the other girls there, playing together. Sight's brothers cheered once again and rushed towards them, eager to play with other kids.
"Be careful and play nice! And don't get lost!" Sight yelled to them as they ran.
The Wobbuffet tapped her on the shoulder, causing the Xatu to turn her head to him.
He informed her, "Well, I'd better be going. We still need to check if there's any more girls we're looking for. Find a Sigilyph with a purple sash around the black appendage popping out of his head. He goes by the name of Gavin and is in charge of the tests needed to determine our queen. Gavin will find you and your brothers a room for you all to stay. Have a good day!"
At that, the Wobbuffet left, back to his assigned task given by the king and queen.
Sight immediately went around, looking for Gavin while keeping an eye on the three Natus. The Xatu didn't have to search for long because a flying, colorful, spherical pokemon suddenly swooshed in front of her. Sight saw what she was looking for most. A purple sash around the pokemon's black head appendage. Although, she also noticed it had an extra cyan eye along with the matching two lower-placed ones.
"Hello, there," the Sigilyph said. "My name is Gavin, the one supervising the tests we will put these ladies here to in order to resolve the problem of who our new queen will be."
"Hello, Gavin. I'm Sight and I came here with my three younger brothers, Fortune, Dez, and Dustin. Oldest to youngest, respectively. They're all Natu."
"I see…" the Avianoid Pokemon mused, writing it down with a quill made from a Pokemon's feather on a piece of paper, both of which were held psychically by his... Psychic.
Sight was a little puzzled at what he was doing. "Um… Excuse me?"
Gavin switched his attention back to her, seeming to have finished writing. "Yes, what is it?"
"I was told by one of the soldiers that you would find me and my brothers some place to sleep?"
"Ah, yes, of course, I will. It will be a room with two beds. Since Natus are such small Pokemon, your brothers can share one. Also, be sure to have one of these on you."
That was the first time Sight had noticed the woven basket, which was also held up in the air by Psychic. In that basket were some kind of golden headbands. They were rather elastic, which Sight found out when one of them was placed around her head. In the center of the headband was a hallowed circle with a four-pointed star inside. Sight quickly looked around to see many other girls with those same kind of things on their heads, too, albeit some of them were placed rather awkwardly.
"This is to let me know which females have already arrived and which ones just did. Please keep that on until either you're sent back home or have been decided to be queen. Whichever one comes first." Gavin explained.
"Ok. I will," Sight promised the Sigilyph.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Sight. I will find you again once a room for you and your family has been found, probably after most of this is done. In the meantime, enjoy your day."
"Thank you!" Sight called out as Gavin turned and left, resuming his overseeing-related duties.
The family of four had fun throughout the day until it became dark. The soldiers had gotten most of the females by then, if not all of them. Sight, Fortune, Dez, and Dustin were taken to their room, which, much to their surprise, was underground. They learned there were several underground rooms and they were made to make more living space in the Residential Area. Gavin assured them they did it with extreme caution so it would be safe.
Their room was a plain, rectangular space with walls of dirt. The light sources in there were burning candles inside jars, hanging from firmly placed hooks on the walls. As for the beds, they were simply mattresses on the floor of terra firma.
"It's not glamorous, I know," Gavin voiced, "but these living conditions will only be temporary. Besides, we get some rather nice things that wash ashore on the beaches. Anyways, until you all either go back home or move into the castle, be sure to put up with this."
At that, the Sigilyph left.
The three Tiny Bird Pokemon leaped on one of the mattresses, too excited to fall asleep right away. Realizing this, the Mystic Pokemon laid down on the available mattress and waited until they got tired.
Later, Sight stared at the ceiling, fully taking in all that was happening right now. Reynard was doing the same thing, but, instead of the ceiling, he was looking out through his bedroom window. He was able to see the Residential Area through it, just as his father said.
At this very moment, those two were thinking of the exact same thing.
As much as I personally don't like this, it has to be done. Hopefully, all of this will be over before I even realize it...