A/N: In this chapter: Bunch of wank from Tom.

I guess this is the point where I should point out my heritage, as interesting as it is.

Way back, when the war started, my great great great grandfather was one of the first people to convert Pokegirls to the human side. He wasn't a very smart man, in fact, the primary reasoning for his discovery was that he was quite into bestiality. Mum and Dad will deny this, but it was a fact, and a hilarious one at that.

He'd worked on a farm for most of his life, and he had a thing for horses. One day, he'd gotten lucky enough to capture a Ponytaur, and one thing led to another.

His son, Walter Wilson, was an enduring guy who managed to survive in barren tundra for 2 months due to sheer luck. It was there he met his one and only harem companion (and later wife), a Frostwhelp.

His son, Alfred, served in the Orange League militia, and got caught in a scrap with a "Metamorphic Charamanda", as my grandfather would explain it. I don't know much about the couple, except that they too, got married, and raised a huge family.

Grandad, for a short while, ran his own gym, but settled down after a rather vicious defence against some feral Vampira. At the time of writing this, Grandad still lives with his harem up on some island off the coast of the Orange League archipelago. Grandma's a Dragonqueen, and a hardy one at that.

Dad allegedly took on the Grand Tournament with only my mum, a Magic Knight, and Maya's mother, Lilly, a Cowgirl. I haven't found anything validating his claims, but I don't think the management behind the Tournament was ready to admit that their best was beaten by a man with such a "backwards" harem.

When I return home, I definitely have to check into that again…

In any case, our recent arrival in the Ruby League reminded me of this, so it wouldn't shock those reading. I had an awfully high thermal tolerance, for either extreme, thanks to Alf and Walt.

Well, alright, it started small, but I was able to train it.

Those, combined with an affinity to fire, gave me the ability to modulate my own body temperature at will. Without magic, I was able to use a very mild form of Immolate. It's only use was to heat myself and the 'Girls up at night, but, we weren't complaining.

After being roughed up by some blokes from Parity Now, we discovered I also had Toughness, probably from my forefathers shagging so many Dragon girls. They ended up doing quite a number on me, but, everything managed to stay together. Everything important, at least.

I really needed to test to see if I could improve my pain tolerance…

But yeah, rocking up in the Ruby League in a t-shirt and jeans still shocked some people.

()

Yeah, this guy was the right choice for a partner. If we were faced with a survival situation where we'd have to huddle for warmth, he'd probably be the best to cut open and hide in for a few hours.

Blood gifts? I didn't have many. I had one, to be precise. And to call it a gift, given mine and Tommy's previous scrap, would be a long shot.

Me and Thals here were recognition bonded at young ages, as evidenced by my previous explanation, and it hadn't really been a problem, even before we started out on this venerable quest.

"Oh, Benny-Boy? Mind if I intrude on your little inner monologue?" I heard my Trixie sing. Fluffing my coat and basking in the white winter's gleam, I looked on at her with a neutral look. Even with her thick fur, Cana still tried to hug as close to me as she could.

"…How so?" I asked back, noticing the dunce to my left who was wearing naught but a summer's getup, as if he couldn't feel the cold.

"Well, it seems that mister Gruffity here's getting to pick and choose all the Blood Gifts he wants. He's Mary-Sueing all over the place!" And with that statement, she caught Gruffity's attention.

"Mary Whoing?" Tom asked, questioning both our sanities. Thalia ignored him and his small troupe to try and explain something to me.

"Go on…" I pressured nonchalantly.

"Well… Why don't you take all the good ones for yourself? Don't you want to breath fire, break trees, and banish ghosts?" The lively Trixie asked me, accentuating each gift with a slightly bouncier, bubblier step than the last.

I shrugged my shoulders at her and brought her under my wing.

"No, I'm good. Like you said, I'll be fine. It's probably Tom that's going to lose an eye or something. I'm the deuteragonist, remember?" I reminded her, making her slink down and play with her fingers feebly.

"Yeah, yeah, I know…" She said fake-meekly, kissing me on the lips, then cart-wheeling away.

"Was that a threat?" I heard the brutish bloke ask me. I just chuckled into the cold air – a small cloud of steam forming as the air escaped my lungs.

"More of a prediction, my young protégé." I said, reaching up to rub his hair.

I liked to keep people on edge.

()

"Alright… We're here. Now what do we do?" I asked Ben. He looked at me and shrugged.

"Dunno. My best bet is we find a map, make our way through the land to a coastline, and build our teams along the way. Just to get started, anyway." Ben said. I nodded dumbly.

"I wonder if people need help around here." I commented, offhandedly. Ben gave me a curious look.

"Well, you always hear of those stories where wherever the protagonist goes, someone needs help?" I asked the Blue League fellow. He nodded as dumbly as I did.

We continued our conversation en route to the closest town we could find, which happened to be a fair hike away from the port.

"Go on…" He pressured.

"Well, I'm just wondering. If this is… Well, you know, our journey here, surely people are going to need help at some point or another, right?" I asked again, unsure. Ben gave the notion some thought before answering, stroking his chin over-exaggeratedly as he did so.

"I assume so, sure. But with all those stories of people getting a helping hand, there shouldn't be any more work for us to do, right?" He threw back at me. I was slightly floored by the comment.

"Yeah, you've got a point. Never thought about it that way." I said back to him. He patted me on the back as my look turned sombre with deep thinking.

"Ah, don't fret though. I'm sure someone will be having a catastrophe as soon as we arrive!" Ben declared. Though we laughed, I didn't think Ben quite realised his own double entendre.

(Some time later…)

So, yeah, hiking along the coast? Bad idea. Know why?

The sea air is fucking cold! The Ruby League is fucking cold! Everything is fucking cold! Especially at fucking night!

Damn my body for being adjusted to a temperate climate...

We pitched tents for the night, seeing as the nearby town was a much fairer hike than originally estimated by our distinguished navigator. (Not this particular dumbass.)

Anyway, here I was, shivering in a tent, secretly planning to skin my companion and forming some manner of fleshy winter cloak, surrounded by soft, slumbering, furry, nubile flesh.

There's always a silver lining.

"Cana?"

"Hmmghadsulph?" The barely awake Doggirl asked. Hmph, lazy little pup.

"Remind me to catch a fire-type, will you?"

"No. I'm warmer." Cana complained into my chest.

I patted her back softly, rubbing her just the way she liked. "I'm going to need to catch more you know?" I gently reminded her.

"We're good enough!" She stated emphatically. "I'm strong, Anya's sneaky, and... Tha-Thalia's fast. We'll evolve and get better and protect you- and then we'll win the tournament and- ouff!"

I frowned and cut her off with a light spank. "Cana, this isn't about winning, I don't really care. For me, this is about the journey, the fun, you know? This is about you, me, Thalia, Anya, and whoever else comes along. It's no fun if you're not having fun, but I will have to catch more pokegirls, but you know you're still my first pokegirl, right?"

Cana's chest swelled with pride. "I'm your first!"

"That's right, you are! But don't you like Thalia and Anya?" I asked curiously.

"Thalia," she began, letting the name slide off her tongue like manure. "Is annoying. She doesn't fight, she dances. You have to hit something to beat it, you have to be stronger, that's it. She messes around and she's mean, and I don't like her jokes. Anya... Is okay, but she talks weird."

"Yeah, we've been practising a lot, but she still makes all these odd pauses..." I replied, wondering about it."

"Ah..." Came Anya's sleepy voice. "Charm point..." She whispered before nodding back off.

"Fair enough." I nodded. Cana just sighed irritably. "Cana, I'll be honest, I need to catch more pokegirls, especially a fire type, because you're looking more and more like an extra blanket. You're always going to be my 'Girl. But more importantly, you're always going to my girl, too."

Cana sighed again and snuggled into my chest more. "Strong ones..." She mumbled. "Strong enough to protect you if I can't. And no more weird ones, either."

"No promises, puppy." I whispered into her ear and held her tighter to ward off the ever present, soul chilling cold.

(…)

Although I intended on staying in a hotel of sorts, Ben had the idea of camping out near the frozen coasts of Ruby League.

You know – where all the ferals were and where the sea breeze was most ferocious.

I couldn't hold it against him, though. Being the padded up, hairy bear I was, and with the addition of those nifty little Blood Gifts, my harem and I were closely snuggled together in a warm, furry heap. Me and Carrie were at the centre of it all, providing the most resonant warmth for Maya, Ruby, and Valerie to cling to.

I felt the affectionate Cowgirl stir in my arms, and she looked up to me with those big brown eyes I couldn't help but smile at.

"You okay?" I asked her. She nodded to me and rested her head back on my chest, averting her gaze momentarily. After a few seconds of awkward stirring, she looked back up at me, and bit her bottom lip softly.

"…It's… Are you sure you want all those girls on your list?" She asked, unintentionally giving me the cutest, most confused expression I'd ever seen. I pulled the list out of my pants pocket and re-read it.

"I mean… I could always remove some, if you were uncomfortable. You know I don't want to upset any of you, right?" I asked her back. She sighed and hugged me tighter to herself.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, Tommy… Well, it's your choice on picking 'em, anyway." She mumbled into my chest. I kissed her on the top of her head and sighed softly.

"Doesn't mean I don't want your opinion on the matter. I love you 'girls, remember?" I edged to her. She nodded softly and sighed.

"I know. Just… Can I make one or two suggestions?" She asked sleepily. I nodded, slow, and yawned.

"How 'bout just removing the Legendary 'girls, for now? You know what my mum used to say..." Maya edged me on. I blanked out for a second and sighed in defeat.

"Shoot for the stars, but keep an eye out for flying-types... Yeah, nah, that's fair enough. They're probably out of our level range now, anyway." I commented in agreement. Maya's body language softened at that and she grew a large, lazy smile on her face.

"Cheers, chump..." She groaned as a rogue hand of mine groped her glorious tits.

I smiled and gave her a quick peck on the lips before falling to sleep amidst the howling winds of the Ruby League shores.

Hmm... So what if I was wrong about the distance?

(The next week or so…)

Training in winter was nice, as the harsh winds and harsher environments worked to make a person survive, rather than just... meander about the place. Bolstering resistances to icy temperatures helped our 'girls greatly, as well.

We hauled it for one week, on a beaten path to Ruby League's capital – Stalixes City. To the west of it, Ben and I had found a Pokegirl Park, where we were able to grind and train our current teams into the ground.

They hated it, and we loved shitting them to tears.

A little notification had been sent out to our Pokedexes, and a massive list of locations were relayed to us from the tournament organisers. These were allegedly stages to start Round 1 of the ART. Amidst the teetering, snowy towers and the plumes of smoke pouring off the rooftops of the local area, a gym and a Pokecenter weren't hard to find.

"It looks like we've got a day until the qualifiers. We could pretty safely do the gym now, get the badge together, and get clearance for tougher places. Or hell, you never know man – they could even offer us a free T2." I suggested to Ben, as we walked around the icy streets of Stalixes for some cheap food.

"Sounds like a plan. But what kind of place would just freely offer technology like that? Seems kind of… I don't know… Over-compensative?" He muttered, a little too at home in the cold air. I huffed a hot breath onto my fingers and praised the new hoodie I had bought, bloodgifts be damned.

Ruby League was fucking COLD.

"You never know. I mean, we will once we beat the gym. What do you say, man?" I asked him again. The Blue League bloke gave me a jolly sigh and a playful nod, and we eventually found a place to eat.

(…)

It was not long after that we found the local gym, something relatively low levelled, no-doubt due to the population of Stalixes.

We breathed easier in the temperature regulated gym zone. A boisterous, hardy human woman puffed her chest out as we entered. She was the gym leader, apparently, and we were the first participants of the day.

"Welcome to Stalixes Gym! The best starter for your starters!" She said in a deep, throaty Russian accent, fingers dancing on a belt where she held 4 of her Pokegirls.

"You two are here from that ART-ie competition, no?" She asked us. I mean, she could at least clearly tell that we were tourists.

"Yep." Ben grunted out, itching to see how his 'Girls would fare under a "live fire" situation. The woman furrowed her brown haired brow and mumbled to herself in a language neither of us could decipher.

Come to think of it, it was probably Russian.

"Alright, I will change up strategy. Usual way this gym works is – you fight 3 of my trainers, then me. One-on-one battles." She began, flipping out her Pokedex, sending out a notice to her gym assistants.

"This will work differently. I send out 2 trainers to you both, separately. Then, if you beat them, you fight me, one-on-one. If both of you win, then I will call my friend Petyr for two-on-two match." She declared, cracking her neck jarringly and letting a deep, hearty sigh escape from her cracked lips.

"Vadim, Alexei, Boris, Anna!" She yelled, after realising the communications tool on her Pokedex was faulty.

"Alright, redhead – you take on Vadim and Boris. Scruffy – you will fight Alexei and Anna. Let the first round of Darya's Ice gym commence!" She yelled, her assistants leading us to separate, large courts for our very first gym battle.

(…)

TRAINER ALEXEI of STALIXES CITY GYM

Team:

Squirtitty – Level 14

Ice Maiden – Level 14

"Begin!" Darya yelled. I skipped out Thalia's ball, and she flipped out in a beam of shining light.

Inwardly, I was prepared for any hits Thalia would take. Our bond was pretty goddamn dangerous.

"Reporting for duty, my comrades!" She yelled, clad in naught but an animal-fur cap and a manly moustache, hand raised in salute. The trainer opposite gave a giggle and threw out his combatant.

Out popped a Squirtitty, looking, inversely to her tamer, grim as hell. Remembering the basics of elemental education, and also knowing that the breed before me had no such elemental advantages over my current girl, I sent her to attack.

"Quick Attack!" I yelled out, watching on in disbelief as Thalia turned around with her hands on her knees, wagging an index finger at me.

"Ah-ah-ah! What's the magic word for yours truly?" She inquired of me.

"Pretty please, with a plucked cherry on top, Thalia, Quick Attack?" As sweetly as I could, I sugared my voice with smooth grooves, making the Trixie bounce in place.

"D'aww… I just love it when you say my name like that, baby! One Russian' Quick Attack, comin' up!" And before the Squirtitty could fully power up her water gun, despite our back-and-forth, Thalia softly struck the Pokegirl multiple times, forcing the tough turtle-shelled 'Girl to evade.

Thalia's strikes began to slow as the Squirtitty's speed outmatched her own.

"Squirtitty! Evade and counter!" And one more battle roll landed Thalia in hot, or rather, cool water.

The force of which threw her back, far back into the walls of the gym.

"Thals!" I yelled, rushing over to her. Ignoring the pains we both felt, she picked herself up, and held out a hand.

"I'm fine, Benny-boy! I always start my day with a good bruising!" She yelled, throwing out more Quick Attacks, forcing the enemy 'girl to roll and evade again.

Thalia predicted the movements of the aquatic pokegirl, and launched a strong kick, powered by a few agile leaps and flips. The momentum of the shot sent the rolled-up, shelled Pokegirl high into the air, then crashing down.

The tamer rushed over to his 'girl, and sighed, recalling her back into her ball.

I recalled the playful Trixie, despite her protests, and sighed, before throwing out Anya's ball.

"Master." She understood what needed to be done, and prepared for battle. After some training, Anya had taken to battle easily, and often formulated plans faster than I could ever match, on-the-fly.

Alexei cursed to himself, and threw his 'ball, a petite Ice Maiden popping out uneasily. No side made a move, and our 'girls stared each other down. I quickly tapped on my Pokedex to analyse weaknesses, and found none on either side.

The fight went… Well.

Alexei's Ice Maiden was adept in a few of her elemental techniques, but Anya was quick on her feet. The Spidergirl made an effort to take her opponent down progressively, as opposed to Thalia's more aggressive style.

A few Web Shots, some Confusion, and one Quick Attack later, the Ice Maiden was spent, and Anya had won.

Thank the Thousand Gods for her spidey-senses.

"Good job, Anya!" She beamed, and despite her clear exertion, bowed smugly.

"I made Master proud." Didn't quite sound like a question, but I nodded.

"That you did." I recalled her, and was called off to the sidelines to watch the "Burning Bush" to give the gym a go.

(…)

TRAINER VADIM of STALIXES CITY GYM

Team:

Neigix – Level 16

Chrysalis – Level 10

"Oh, you can fuck right off." I mumbled after looking up the two 'girls from Vadim's team.

Neigix were Flying/Ice types, with an aerial advantage against my comparatively stunted forces.

And the Chrysalis, if she could even produce one, could bomb my 'girls away easily.

The dim-looking Vadim threw out his Neigix, and I threw out Carrie in response.

"Carrie, light 'em up." Was the only command my little gecko needed. She was agile, lithe, and could easily throw a fireball or two from her tail upwards at the flying Neigix.

After that, it was literally one shot to knock out Vadim's Chrysalis. He withdrew his 'Girls with a hardy sigh. Carrie smirked, dominantly, and sauntered back to me, a predatory, almost feral grin coming to her face. I hugged her tightly and gave her a kiss.

"Mmm... Tell me this calls for more... Celebration?" She inquired, trailing her scaled fingers down my chest. I chuckled, and shook my weary head.

"Later, Carrie. We've got to a few more battles to go..."

And, after another few minutes, me and Ben were done with all the gym trainers.

"Alright – show me what you've got, Scruffy!" Darya yelled, barging Anna out of the way for their match. Ben sighed, tiredly, and took a small break to heal his team.

GYM LEADER DARYA of STALIXES CITY GYM

Team:

Beautifloe – Level 18

Frostwhelp – Level 17

Glace – Level 13

Sarama – Level 16

(…)

And so, the big, brawny Russian chick gave it her all. My team, one by one, took hers out – only by the tiny, tiny sensory hairs on Anya's body. Thalia took out the Beautifloe and Glace with some grace, but was knocked out easily by the Sarama after outlasting Darya's two previous girls.

As I stood over, all-knowing and with pointdextrous look on my face, the Trixie pouted, panting on the floor.

"You know, I thought it took a lot more work to get you all exhausted like that." I teased her, pulling her ball out, and swapping it quickly with Cana's.

Thalia, exaggeratedly, and tiredly, shook her fist at me.

"Curse you, Hubby! Turning my previous bravado against me like the asshole you are!" And with that, I absorbed her back within her ball.

"You know you love it…" I mumbled, offhandedly, before throwing Cana out. The pup, eager for the chance to prove herself, ended up tying in the battle with the other, Ghostly dog-girl. As she held her stomach, a deep bruise etched under her fur, I crouched down and kissed her on the crown of head.

"M-Master! Don't put me back, I can still fight!" Ignoring her pleas, I withdrew my half-canine companion and promised to make it up to her later.

Right now, I had to try and use my "bullshit confusion" tactics (as Tom had dubbed them) on the gym leader. To do so, I threw out Anya to counter Darya's Frostwhelp.

If nothing else, my Spider-Girl could at least web-shoot the damned dragon-type. And true enough, the ability came in handy. Anya employed some dazzling, dainty, acrobatic actions that only a precognitive superhuman could've, and outlasted the Frostwhelp.

Just as it looked like a tie, Anya managed to ensnare the dragon-girl, and won on a technicality.

I was safe for the rounds, and if Tom pulled through, we'd have our Tier-1 gym badges for Ruby League, easily.

(…)

"Oh my god…" I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose. Darya had managed to effectively sweep almost all of my team, and I felt like a right dick. I had used all of my 'Girls but Carrie, wanting to at least give the others some real battle experience.

But, it appeared our environmental conditioning hadn't been that thorough, as Valerie was flung back by a particularly strong blow from Darya's freshly healed Sarama. I used a few revives to keep the girls from feeling too much pain, and Maya and Ruby were safely sealed back in their Pokeballs.

Valerie groaned, and I crouched down, scooping her up in my arms.

"Val is… Sorry, mas-" I hushed her, with a smile on my face.

"It's my fault – I'll make it up to ya." I ushered the bouncy Bunnygirl, before recalling her back in her ball, as well. I sneered at the gym leader, and chucked out Carrie again.

"Fuck it. Carrie – light these bitches up!"

And so she did, leaving her a few levels ahead of my other 'Girls.

With a few fireballs, and trusting that Darya hadn't bolstered her team's resistances, Carrie torched the rest of the woman's team, and I sighed with relief. Carrie sashayed over to me and gave me a hug.

"Mmm… That really just felt like cheating…" The Charamanda teased. I shook my head and gave her a peck on her cheek. She tried to deepen the embrace, but I held back, wagging my finger at the lizard-woman.

"We've still got the tag teams to go, remember?"

"Fuck."

"Yeah, fuck indeed." I agreed, we could've been at the place all night at the rate we were battling.

The battles actually came to a complete standstill as Darya swore to herself and picked up her communicator. She called her friend Petyr, and he brought his full team. After about twenty minutes of quick healing and warm-ups, Ben and I were ready to rock against our first tag-team battle.

(…)

? PETYR of ? GYM

RHYNODAME – Level 19

NEIGIX – Level 12

PENGAL – Level 17

ICE MAIDEN – Level 15

We did better than we thought.

And we were expecting absolute shit, so anything would've been an improvement.

"Go, Valerie!" Tom had buffed the Bunnygirl with a salve that helped her resist the ice cold temperatures of any moves that could be thrown at her.

Using my prime analysis of said situation, I threw out Anya to aid the Bunnygirl. Both of them were pretty lightweight and agile, so they could easily avoid danger if it arose. In addition with Anya's spidey-sense, my 'girl could've easily pulled Tom's out of danger.

Darya threw out her Sarama, and Petyr threw out his Ice Maiden. It was a unorganised, dirty fight to begin with, but we eventually prevailed against their first two.

"Val! Dumb Luck, then Double-Kick!"

"Anya – evade and counter!" Anya and Valerie were actually pretty stunning as a team. Where Anya couldn't exactly land any hard hits, Valerie would compensate with a fierce kick to a weak point, and where the Bunnygirl couldn't leap to, Anya would web-shoot her to a prime position.

The Sarama and Ice Maiden were out of the count after only a few minutes. Anya was strong enough to go on for one more round, but Tom swapped his 'girl out for his Alpha, Ruby.

The Mynx looked vengeful, and mentally prepared herself for the fight ahead.

Darya and Petyr cursed under their breaths, in their native tongues, and sent out their next two girls.

It was a long, arduous, and mind-wracking fight. Eventually, with only our Alphas left standing, Tom and I finally won.

"Whew! Now we can get the badges! So we can go to new places! So we can find new people to fight! So we can get their badges! So we can go to more new places! So we can fight more!" Thalia began to chant, tauntingly, leaving me and the redheaded grumbler to finally exit the gym.

Our next step was to go northwards, after a good night's rest, an some "celebrations".

(…)

A great titan roared beneath the seas, having bidden her time for many years. She had laid in dormancy for so very long – waiting to edge out, for reasons unknown.

Unseen to the untrained eye, she rose faster than anything ever had from the depths of the deep sea, and sailed the winds weightlessly.

TAMER INFO:

Thomas Wilson

Ruby (Alpha) - Mynx - Level 16

Maya - Milktit - Level 21

Carrie - Charamanda - Level 23

Valerie - Bunnygirl - Level 13

Ben Raphael

Thalia (Alpha) - Trixie - Level 24

Cana - Doggirl - Level 20

Anya - Spidergirl - Level 19