AN: Hey people, Nocturnal Novelist here with a new story. This is a short story, so don't worry about it being long. I wanted something to help get me back into the flow of writing, so for my followers who have waited ages for the next CFAW or THT update, I'm deeply sorry but hey. At least I'm not dead.

Just a fair warning, this story has poképhilia, lemons towards the ending, and some fluff in the later chapters. If that's not your cup of tea and you're just here to read the story then that's fine, I'll give you guys a warning when the lemons come. Also expect other suggestive content. If you can't stand the stuff, then don't read.

Pokémon do NOT have speech barriers when talking with humans for this story, but can speak in their native tongue when desired. Just thought I'd tell you.

Disclaimer: GameFreak and the people at Nintendo own Pokémon, you guys should know the basics by now. I just own my characters.

Let the story begin!

Chapter 1

"...In other news, we are very joyful to announce that the mysterious disappearances of the wild and domesticated pokémon near Goldenrod City have finally been solved, but the story behind it is a rather…distasteful one..." a male voice spoke through the BuzzNav.

The person who watched the news bulletin cracked open a soda, only taking a tiny sip as his eyes remained glued to the screen of his PokéNav.

"As it turns out, there was a brothel running just on the outskirts of the city, near the region's pokémon daycare…" he continued, seeming to slowly lose his composure as he spoke, which was clear through the frequent breaths he took between words.

"...Thanks to tips from passerby as well as distressed pokémon from the area, Goldenrod authorities were able to quickly locate these thugs and take them all down. Poor, defenseless pokémon were found inside, strapped to beds, muzzled or chained, and most badly injured. Up to eight men are now under arrest and are being held in the city's jail with no bond, under the charges of rape, pokémon abuse, and other charges. They will possibly face jail time of up to forty years to life," he continued, before slamming his fist to the desk, sending his papers flying all across the room while causing the desk to crack.

"Let me tell you why that's bull shit! Those bastards should fucking get killed, have their throats ripped out!" he roared, slamming his foot down on the desk before being tackled by what viewers would assume were security. If not for the news, most viewers might have found it a little comedic.

It didn't take long for another person to take the man's place, it was a young woman. A nerve wracked smiled forced her lips to tug at her cheeks. "Well, at least the pokémon finally got their right to freedom, like we all should deserve. Some went to pokémon centers across the region for treatment, while others returned to their own homes, whether it be in the wild or back in the city. We'll keep you updated on the-"

The viewer closed his PokéNav before the woman could finish her sentence. Pocketing the device, he slipped his empty soda can in the side pocket of his backpack, having finishing it long ago when the anchor man was having his episode.

This young man's name was Travis, a teenager who was not thrilled with what he had just heard.

"That's just wrong, who could do that to pokémon? To anyone really," the boy thought out loud as he looked up to the sky as he followed the trail back to his hometown.

Taking a look at his surroundings, Travis could see that Route 38 was as peaceful as ever, which is what made it his favorite place to just walk. Even if Route 38 and 39 were a four to five-hour walk, it always soothed Travis to walk here. Seeing the friendly miltank that knew his face quite well gave him happiness every time they would wave and give a hello while keeping the local tauros in check, which made him chuckle.

Magnemite hovered through the air as if riding the wind. Rattata lurked in the thick trees above while the more rare pokémon like shinx, plusle, and minun rushed through the tall grass in the distance.

Pokémon; Known by many as man's best friend, but too often seen as nothing more than tools and stepping stones for humans. Travis found disgust in the thought of raping a pokémon just because someone was acting off of a weird fetish they had.

Truth be told, though the league once fought against it with their own cause and great effort, poképhilia eventually became legal in Johto. As long as the pokémon gave the consent for anything, that's all that mattered. There have been many cases of a pokémon falling in love with a human and vice versa, and their love was strong and true.

This never bothered Travis personally, having never thought of the idea of loving a pokémon that way, mainly because he didn't have a pokémon of his own, and love was something he just didn't need other than from his mother.

Travis kept traveling, step by step until he would reach Olivine City, his home which was still a good while away. He wanted to push past that news since it all was over, but he couldn't help but wonder about the pokémon left to roam the wild. With the great surplus of pokémon from Sinnoh, Hoenn, and even Alola, it would be difficult for most to find the necessities that they need to ensure their survival.

Giving a brief sigh, Travis quickly brought a smile to his face. He knew he had to keep hope in dark times, and it was because of his optimistic nature that he was able to see a light through the darkness.

"Hey, there's the farm!" Travis exclaimed to nobody in particular as a small structure in the distance caught his attention. This farm marked the midway point of Route 38 and 39, meaning he was only a few hours from home.

Taking a look up to the sky, the teen realized dusk was going to take over soon. "Nothing wrong with setting up camp later."

"Ugh! Again!? Those fucking brutes always take all the berries!" following after those words was a swift stomp of the creatures black paw to the innocent ground beneath it, sending some blades of grass flying a few inches.

The poochyena's violet eyes were quick to ignite with rage as she continuously complained. An eevee with a nearly sparkling white-hazel coat stood beside her, rolling her eyes as she watched the poochyena childishly pout but understood her frustration. Time had been a very cruel mistress.

The local farm on Route 39 had a lot of berries growing on the many trees of the ranch. After an incident where one of their livestock became ill and a boy named Ethan spent a good chunk of his journey in search of healing berries, the owners decided to start their own berry harvest. Needless to say this went exceptionally well, to the point where they had enough berries to feed their own pokémon as well as the pokémon in the wild when they need a meal. Some pokémon were very grateful for the kind humans efforts, while others liked to take advantage of this and take more than what they needed. This left an unlucky few with barely anything.

"Just when we think the worst of our problems are through, we're faced with another. Why must it be this way, Everest?" the poochyena sighed, turning her head towards the eevee now known as Everest.

Everest saw the genuine sadness in the poochyena's eyes through what was once anger. The eevee's ears went limp against the sides of her head when she saw the pooch like this. She desperately wanted to show her that there could have been something better than this, if only she would use her heart to see it.

"I wish I knew, Zia. Things might-"

"You always say that, but when will things actually get better for us?" Zia, the poochyena, told Everest after interrupting her.

The eevee sighed, wanting the pooch to try to see things on a brighter side. Someday that stubbornness might just make her do something she'll regret.

The two of them scouted Route 39, hoping that they could find something to scavenge until the berries would grow again the next day.

"Hm?" Everest lifted her head and looked at her surroundings, catching Zia's attention.

"What?" asked Zia.

"Don't you hear it? The footsteps." Everest answered. Paying close heed to what her ears messaged, Zia caught the sound as well.

"Yeah," the pooch said before her nose began to twitch. "I smell berries with it." she confirmed before she started to growl. "If it's those thieves, I'll-"

"Shh!" Everest hushed the pooch before taking cover into the nearby bushes, Zia quickly caught on and hid with her. "Let's see who it is first."

Zia would have protested, but she decided to keep it to herself this time, putting her trust in Everest.

Through the thick brush of the bushes, the two could see a single pair of feet stroll pass them, these feet being covered by what was obviously sneakers. "Damn, it's even worse, a human." growled Zia before Everest pushed her paw to her black muzzle to hush her up. She didn't want to go through it again with her now.

It didn't take long for Zia to pull her face away from the eevee's little paw before she continued to stare daggers at the human, who whistled as he minded his own business. "He definitely has the smell of berries on him, but I don't see anything." Zia groaned.

"The pack on his back, maybe there?" Everest asked. It definitely did make sense, the scent being strong enough to conclude that he definitely did have fresh berries somewhere.

"You're right!" Zia exclaimed in a whisper, her nose twitching like mad. Her nose definitely knew better out of the two. While Everest may have had better hearing, Zia's nose was the first to pick up just about any scent, and scents of multiple types of berries threatened to make the pooch go mad with hunger if she didn't do something about it soon.

"He must be on a long trip." concluded Everest as she rubbed her chin in thought. "That pack is pretty big, so it can fit tons of stuff."

"Let's take the bag." Zia suggested with a sinister grin, causing Everest to whip her head toward her direction with a disappointed glare following soon after.

"We are not stealing berries from anyone if that's what you're implying, Zia. We know better than to steal, especially berries from humans when they farm them themselves." Everest retorted while keeping her glare.

Zia gave Everest the most dumbfounded, yet agitated face it was possible for the pooch to muster. "What do you mean!? I can't believe you would even still consider being so polite to a human after what they've done!" Zia spoke, giving a glare of her own at Everest. The eevee took another sigh.

"Yes, Zia, I know you are still mad about what they did but we have no need to steal things that don't belong to us just because of a few humans out of the millions of others in this world. Learn to give some faith in me sometimes." Everest told Zia, causing the pooch to roll her eyes.

"Okay then, what does the great Everest suggest we do then. Just sit here and starve?" Zia teased.

"I could tell you without sarcasm that we just go and ask nicely. Don't worry, we'll be cautious, scaredy pooch." Everest told her with a grin before trotting off.

"Knock it off!" barked Zia with a flustered face before following behind.

FWOOMP

Thanks to a few pieces of flint and some nearby twigs, Travis was able to start a small campfire that crackled merrily, casting the nearby scenery in a breathtaking orange glow.

"Heh, perfect." Travis told himself with a smile. The moon finally claimed the skies not long ago, and the stars helped out by giving travelers their beautiful illumination. Seemed like the perfect night.

Travis went into his backpack before he would whip out a sleeping bag suitable for his size with a little extra room to spare.

Though he was no traveller, Travis wasn't foreign when it came to camping and walking for long periods of time. If he wanted to, he could have walked the entire five hours back home, but camping was always fun even if he was by himself.

"Time for lunch." the boy told himself as he brought out a bag full of berries, each being able to take up the size of his palm. He had a bunch, due to his visit in Ecruteak City where his grandparents lived. They insisted that he should bring some for the trip back after learning he walked there with nothing but a peanut butter sandwich.

Travis's eyes sparkled with delight as he took out a pecha berry. In one swift motion, he took a huge bite. The boy almost squeaked as the sweetness of the pecha berry immediately assaulted his taste buds with pure bliss.

While Travis was busy enjoying his berry, he had no suspicion of the fact that two pokémon were watching him…

"I really don't like these ideas of yours, Everest." Zia whispered to the white-hazel eevee next to her. The two pokémon watched Travis from the shelter of the nearby bushes.

"Too bad, because we're not stealing his food. We don't know what kind of person he is, so if he's mean, maybe we'll steal them. Though it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth." Everest told Zia, who proceeded to roll her eyes as her reply once again.

Seeing that the poochyena wasn't going to comply with her easily, Everest decided to make her move.

As Travis became set on munching another berry, a brief rustle of the nearby bushes quickly caught his attention instead.

His head whipped towards the source of the intruding noise, where he could see the bush lightly shake as someone pushed through. Or as he would find out...something.

A white-hazel paw would first appear from those bushes, before the rest of its body would be brought to the revealing light that the campfire gave.

Is that a...? Travis thought as his eyes met quite the rare sight. A shiny eevee, it's fur giving of its own dazzling gleam. It was already nearly impossible to find an eevee in Johto, but to find a shiny in a place like this? Most pokémon trainers would jump the eevee immediately. Travis on the other hand, decided to watch it, curious as to why it would approach him.

The eevee was quiet as it eyed Travis from a safe ten feet while Travis returned a look that showed just as much curiosity. Why wouldn't it say anything? Why was it just analyzing him the way it was? Most wild eevee were usually timid of humans, but she seemed more intrigued than anything, though still cautious.

Travis thought about what it could have wanted until he eyed his stash of berries next to him. "Oh, I get it. You're hungry right?" he asked, making the eevee's ears perk up with interest.

The eevee watched him as he pulled out another berry, this time being a sitrus berry. Her mouth almost watered at the sight and her tail lightly swished from side to side. Would he really give it to her?

"You can catch, right?" Travis then asked, which made the eevee cock her head a bit. This made the boy chuckle.

"Yes?" it answered with uncertainty. Its voice had a soothing, feminine tone, something Travis wasn't expecting to hear. For the moment, he decided to ignore it.

"It'd be a bit rude to just roll it on the ground to you where it would get dirty, so I rather have you catch it. I understand you don't wanna get too close." explained Travis before tossing the berry over to the eevee, who quickly reacted by pouncing into the air and catching it in her little paws.

"Woot woot!" Travis praised, making the eevee giggle before showing him a triumphant grin.

Meanwhile, a sneaky poochyena was still in that same bush where the eevee once was, groaning to herself. "How is she just able to trust him so easily, he's going to try something. He has to, every other human would try." the poochyena whispered to herself as she glared at the scene.

"Thank you. You seem like a nice human. Smart too." the eevee complimented with a grin before Travis waved her off.

"Nah, don't mention it. I got plenty to share if ya need more." Travis told her.

The eevee nodded before turning to the same bush that she appeared from, immediately catching Travis's attention. "You better come on out if you want any, Zia."

Another pokémon? What could it be?

Before Travis could ponder his thoughts too much longer, another rustle in the bushes snapped him out of it. This time, a black paw and black muzzle stuck out of the thick brush. It's wet red nose made Travis figure out right away that this didn't seem like any normal Johto native.

Soon, his burning question answered itself, the answer once again leaving him amazed, more than just finding another eevee. Due to a near catastrophe in Hoenn, many pokémon have migrated over to other regions, and vice versa. Since they were only known to migrate to Kanto and Sinnoh, he never expected to find a poochyena here.

Said poochyena wore a frown on her face, staring daggers at the young man as she threatened to bare her fangs, causing Travis to give a nervous chuckle.

"Heh, why the long face?" he asked. The poochyena didn't give a response other than a warning growl that told him to keep away from her. If it wasn't for the fact that this little pooch was somewhat adorable to him, he would've been intimidated due to the large fangs that protruded from her lips.

The eevee rolled her eyes at how the poochyena introduced herself before she turned to Travis, ears slightly lowering. "Sorry about her, she has an attitude problem." she told him, the poochyena turning away from the human as her retort but still keeping her violet eyes on him, something Travis took into account right away.

"Oh no, don't worry about it. I think I understand." Travis reassured, soon taking another berry from his collection. This time it was a pinap berry.

Though it was only for a moment, Travis and the eevee both could see the sparkle in the poochyena's eyes as she quickly eyed the pinap berry before going back to glaring at him.

"Ooh, that's her favorite!" the eevee chipped in, causing her comrade to slightly blush at her business being thrown out there for this human to know. Travis smiled.

"Hey, you can catch too, right?" Travis called out to the poochyena, getting the idea she didn't trust him in the slightest. She didn't say anything. Is she hesitating?

"You can toss it to me and I'll-"

"I can catch for myself!" the poochyena shouted, swiftly cutting the eevee's sentence. "Throw it, human." she commanded.

Travis shrugged it off. "Okay, here it comes." Travis warned before tossing the berry over to the poochyena, who prepared herself for a catch.

Travis and the eevee both watched as the poochyena jumped to the berry once it was near her. She would have a perfect catch just like the eevee, if she timed her jump correctly.

Travis winced the moment the berry smacked the top of the pooch's head, sending her with a thump towards the ground, the berry soon rolling down her ash gray fur.

There was nothing but dead silence before the eevee started to burst out with laughter, so much to where she had to roll on her back and hold her stomach. "You're so funny!" she teased, though Travis could tell there wasn't any hostility in her reaction.

"S-Shut up okay?" barked the poochyena with her face burning red with embarrassment before she quickly whipped her body around so her back was facing the two. "Don't you dare laugh, human." she spoke to Travis, cheeks still sporting a heavy blush before she started to eat the berry in relative silence.

Travis wanted to laugh as well, but he felt he shouldn't, given that the poochyena's pride shattered through that act, so he stuck with just a reassuring smile.

The eevee turned her attention to him once again, a warm smile on her face. "I want to thank you properly, uh…"

"Travis, and like I said, don't mention it." said Travis before following with a laugh. The eevee gave him a reassuring smile, showing him how grateful she truly was.

"So, you have names as well?" Travis asked, taking out another berry and joining the feast between the three. The eevee smiled, intrigued and happy that he cared enough to ask and stepped a little closer to him.

"My name's Everest, and this lovely girl..." the eevee named Everest teased, while the poochyena glared at her. Don't you dare give this human my name.

As if able to read her thoughts, Everest stuck her tongue out at her before continuing. "...is my little sister, Zia." she answered, making the poochyena want to bark curses at her but she quickly gobbled down her berry to calm her down. The sour yet somewhat sweet taste of a pinap berry was always enough to soothe her nerves, at least that's what she used to think.

Being near this human put Zia on edge, more than she hoped. He didn't even feel threatened by her presence. Why?

"You're sisters? Was your mother a vaporeon?" Travis asked, causing Everest's ears to perk up while Zia whipped her head around to face him. "I take it as a yes?" he continued with a chuckle.

"How did you know?" Everest asked, amazed by his quick conclusion, and as much as Zia did not want to admit it, she was surprised from his correct answer as well.

"Well, I know baby pokémon take most of their traits from their mother, and most of the time are born the same species as the mother." Travis began. "Everest, you seem to be very calm and mellow with a lot of stamina, like most vaporeon. Zia on the other hand has an eye color similar to vaporeon, too dark to have come from an espeon." he concluded with a shrug.

Zia turned away from Travis once again. My eyes? Why was he looking at my eyes? The creep.

Though she tried to hide it, Everest could clearly see the red tint of her cheeks. It earned a raised eyebrow, but she focused her attention back on Travis.

"That's pretty smart of you to figure that out," Everest complimented as Travis laughed it off. "By the way, mind if we have another berry?"

"Don't mind at all, here." Travis said, taking two more berries out of the bag before tossing the entire stash over to her and Zia, which was easier to do since she was a little closer. This was something that Everest didn't expect to happen.

Zia heard the bag of berries thump against the ground as well, but she didn't look back. He's planning something, my instincts are screaming it.

Travis could see the now shocked expression the eevee gave him that demanded an explanation. The dude chuckled before taking a bite out of another of his last berries.

"I know this place is harsh sometimes. With all the new pokémon roaming about it can hard to get anything for yourself, like food or shelter. That's the main reason I took that bag of berries with me, so I could help others in need. If not, I would have left it at my grandparents' place." Travis said with a smile. "Food, medicine, whatever. You could never be too careful, that's what my mom always says anyway."

"That's a good thing, the two of us would probably starve if it weren't for you. Right?" Everest said before turning to Zia, who still wasn't going to fully acknowledge the human.

"Hey now, no problem. You two should start heading back home, wouldn't want anyone taking what's yours, right?" joked Travis. Everest smirked.

"Yeah, I happened to tell someone the same thing earlier today." Everest said, still grinning at Zia. "But you're right. It was certainly nice meeting you, Travis."

The eevee grabbed the bag of berries by her maw and began to pull it back towards the way she came, giving one last look to Travis before continuing. Zia, seeing that her sister needed her help, also went to grab the bag of berries, glaring at Travis for a slight moment.

Though this did somewhat concern Travis, he didn't really seem to mind her distaste for humans, as it was probably with reason. Helping out was something he did because he obligated himself to, and that meant helping everyone, even if they didn't appreciate it.

Travis gave a wave to the two as he said his goodbye, not expecting to see the pair again. "See ya, be safe out there! If you need anything, I'll be in Olivine City!" Travis called.

Travis couldn't hear it, but Everest gave a muffled yet sincere thanks while Zia grumbled something inaudible under her breath. Why did her sister constantly insist that they, she, needed help from this low down human? She didn't know the answer, and sure wouldn't expect that she would find out in the future…

Travis continued to stare at the fire, thinking about the events that passed tonight. He felt bad for the two pokémon, knowing they had no sure way of survival out here. Even with Zia's bad attitude, he would have loved to offer them a home, but that was the past now and it was very unlikely to run into the same pokémon twice unless they were frequent passerby or natives. Too little, too late.

After taking a few seconds for a yawn, Travis scooped up some nearby dirt before dumping it all on the fire. A hiss made its way through the clumps of dirt as the once campfire was now turned to wavering smoke and ash. Like any experienced camper, Travis made sure to stomp the ashes before he would retreat to his sleeping bag for the night.

The boy looked up to the moon, folding his arms back so his head could rest on his hands before going into deep thought. Life is pretty cruel, but I hope if anything, those two will be alright. They're nice pokémon, and I can tell Everest does work hard to look after her sister. I hope she could make Zia see that not every human wants to hurt her…

Travis's thoughts began to slowly drift away as if carried away by the cool breeze that came that night. The boy's world was going black as he started to drift into a deep sleep, hoping that his selfless wish would come true...