AN: Hey people, Nocturnal Novelist here with a new story. 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, I am happy to announce that the mystery of the disappearances of pokemon around Goldenrod City has finally been solved. The story behind that however, is a rather...distasteful one," a man spoke through the BuzzNav.

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

"It turns out that there was a brothel running on the outskirts of the city near the region's daycare center." The man tugged the collar of his shirt, his breaths becoming harsh as he slouched in his seat. "...Thanks to tips from local humans and pokemon alike, Goldenrod authorities were able to locate these thugs and bring them to justice. As you would expect, pokemon were found inside. Whether they were strapped, chained or muzzled, they came in by the dozens and were all beaten to the ground. Eight men are now being held in Goldenrod's jail on no bond, under the charges of rape, pokemon abuse and three others. They'll be facing jail time between forty to eighty years, and," the man paused before slamming his fist into the desk. The poor desk had a very visible crack, and the man's papers scattered across the room.

"Let me tell you why that's bullshit! Those bastards should be given the death sentence! They should have their throats ripped clean out!" The man slammed his foot onto the head of the desk, quickly being tackled to the ground by what was assumed to be the building's security forces. The event would've been comedic if it weren't the news.

It didn't take long for a young woman to take the man's place, a forced smile tugging at her cheeks. "Well… At least the pokemon finally got their rights to freedom again, like we all deserve. Some of the pokemon went to pokemon centers for treatment while others were able to return to their homes, whether they lived in the wild or in the city with their owners. We'll keep you updated on-"

The viewing lad closed his PokeNav, pocketing the device into his pocket. Slipping his empty can into the pocket of his backpack, he thought about everything that he heard.

The young man was Travis, a teenager who had no thrill out of what he just heard.

"Who could do something like that to a pokemon? To anybody really," he thought out loud, looking to the sky as he followed the trail back to where he called home.

Route 38 was one of the more tranquil and peaceful places in Johto, making it Travis's favorite place to go on a nature walk. Route 38 and 39 were a four to five hour walk, but that hasn't stopped him before. The miltank would always wave him a good afternoon whenever he stopped by, while also making sure that the tauros were well behaved. It was something that Travis found amusing.

Magnemite rode the winds from above while rattata lurked in the thick trees. The more rare pokemon like shinx and minun dashed through the tall grass in the distance.

Pokemon were known by many to be human's best friend, working together with them through battles or daily chores. The number one goal was to reach a mutual understanding between the two races, but pokemon are often used as stepping stones for humans instead. Travis found disgust in the thought of raping anyone just because of a person's lack of restraint.

The league had once fought against these types of relationships with pokemon a few years ago, but it became settled just recently that pokephila became a legal act in Johto. Humans have recognized pokemon as intelligent beings, capable of communication through several different languages just like humans. It was decided that as long as there was consent from both parties, it wasn't an issue. After that was said and done, interspecies relationships popped up left and right in Johto as people came out about what they were really interested in.

None of this has bothered Travis, who had a neutral opinion on the subject. He never thought about loving a pokemon in such a way before, and he didn't have a pokemon of his own to find out for himself. Even in that case, Travis knew it was better to never blindly pursue a relationship.

Travis attempted to push pass his thoughts as he continued to Olivine City, which was still a good while away. His curiosity about the pokemon left to roam the wild began to eat at him. With the surplus of pokemon migrating from Sinnoh, Hoenn and even Alola, it would be difficult for a lot of these saved pokemon to find the necessities needed for their survival.

Closing his eyes, the teenager slapped his palms against his cheeks before bringing a smile to his face. Travis liked to keep hope in these dark times, and that optimistic perspective allowed him to see the light through the darkness.

"Hey, there's the farm!" Travis exclaimed as the small structure that split Route 38 and 39 caught his attention. He was just a few hours from home, and dusk would soon overtake the skies. "Nothin' wrong with setting up camp later on."

. . . . .

"Ugh, again!? Those fucking brutes always take all the berries!" A swift stomp of a black paw followed those words, some blades of grass falling apart from the creature's small claws.

The poochyena's violet eyes ignited in her rage as she continued to complain as an eevee with a sparkling hazel-white coat rolled her own eyes. While time had been a very cruel mistress to them, the eevee took note of how much this poochyena pouted.

The farm on Route 39 had berries growing on the many trees that called it home. After an incident where one of their miltank became ill and a boy traveled just to bring her a few healing berries, the owners decided to start their own berry harvest. This went exceptionally well for them, and they soon had enough berries to feed their own pokemon as well as the pokemon in the wild. Some were very grateful for their kind efforts while others took advantage of this, stealing more berries than what they needed. These actions left an unlucky few with absolutely nothing.

"Of course when we think the worst of our problems are through, we're always faced with another. Why does it gotta be this way, Everest?" the poochyena asked with a sigh, turning toward the eevee she knew as Everest.

The eevee noticed the genuine sadness in the poochyena's eyes, causing her ears to crumple against the sides of her head. Everest desperately wanted to show her that there could have been a better life than this, if only the poochyena would listen to her.

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

"You always say that, but when will things really start getting better?" Zia, the poochyena, told the bothered Everest.

Someday her stubbornness may make her do something that she'll regret, the eevee mused.

The two of them had scouted Route 39 with hope that they could scavenge something until the berries grew back the next day.

"Hm?" Everest lifted her head and looked around, catching the poochyena's attention.

"What?" Zia asked.

"Don't you hear the footsteps?" The eevee paid heed to what her ears messaged, her partner eventually catching the sound as well.

"Yeah," the pooch answered before her nose started to twitch. "Whatever it is, it has berries with it. If it's those thieves, I'll-"

"Shh!" The eevee took cover into the nearby bushes, Zia following her lead with quick feet. "Let's at least see what it is first." Zia would have protested under normal circumstances, but she decided to put her faith into Everest this time.

Through the thick brush of the bushes, the canine and vulpine could see a single pair of feet trot past them, these feet being covered by what had to be sneakers. "Even worse. It's a human," growled Zia, her eevee comrade forcing her paw over her muzzle to get her to hush. Now wasn't the time for another of the poochyena's rants.

Zia yanked her face away from the eevee's tiny paw before continuing to stare daggers at the human boy, who whistled as he strolled down Route 39 on his own business. "He definitely smells like he has berries, but I don't see anything on him," Zia groaned.

"That backpack he has, maybe there?" Everest asked. The scent wasn't nearly faint enough for Everest to assume that the boy had eaten them yet, so the berries had to be hiding somewhere.

"Right." Zia's nose twitched like mad. While Everest may have had the better hearing out of the two, Zia's sniffer was good enough to rival any growlithe. The poochyena had the ability to pick up any type of scent, and the smell of berries through this dude's backpack was driving her stomach to madness.

"He must be on a long trip," Everest concluded. "The pack is pretty big. I bet there's tons of stuff in there."

"Hell if I care. Let's take the bag," suggested Zia with a sinister grin, Everest whipping her head toward the pooch with a glare.

"We are not stealing berries from anybody if that's what you're implying, Zia. We know better, especially when it comes to taking food from the humans that help them grow." Everest poked her paw at the Zia's big nose, the pooch narrowing her eyes.

"What do you mean!? I can't believe you'd even consider being so polite to a human after what they've done!" Zia poked her much bigger paw at Everest's tiny nose, the eevee taking a deep breath.

"I know you're still mad about what they did, Zia, but we can't just steal things that don't belong to us. Let's not just compare a single human to millions of others, just have faith in me," Everest told her partner, the pooch rolling her eyes.

"Okay. What does The Great Everest suggest we do then? Do we sit here and starve?" Zia teased, her agitation clear from her tone.

"Without sarcasm, I can tell you that we'll just go and ask nicely for some. We'll be cautious, scaredy pooch," said Everest with a grin before trotting after the human.

"Knock it off!" Zia snarled before following behind the eevee.

*LINEBREAK*

FWOOMP

Thanks to a few pieces of flint and some nearby twigs, Travis was able to start a campfire for the night. As the flame crackled merrily, the surrounding scenery was cascaded with a breathtaking orange glow. "Perfect," Travis told himself with a smile as the moon claimed the skies. It was the perfect night to sleep out and watch the stars.

Travis whipped out the sleeping bag for his backpack before laying it flat on the ground. It was a nearly perfect fit for the teenager's body, though there was some room to spare.

Though he was no traveller, Travis wasn't foreign to the activity of camping or being out in the wild for long periods of time. He had the ability to walk the entire five hours back home, but the opportunity to camp was one that he wouldn't dare to pass up.

"Finally time for lunch," the boy told himself before bringing out his bag full of berries, each of the fruit taking the size of his palm. He got them after visiting his grandparents in Ecruteak City, the old pair insisting that Travis should bring them on the trip back after learning he went over there on nothing more than a peanut butter sandwich.

Travis's eyes sparkled with delight as he randomly picked a pecha berry, soon taking a huge bite out of it. The teen feared squeaking as the sweetness of the berry assaulted his taste buds in the best way possible. While the lad was busy enjoying his berry, he was unaware that he had some guests close by…

"I really don't like these ideas of yours, Everest," Zia whispered to the hazel eevee next to her. The poochyena and Everest had been taking shelter behind another bush as they watched the human devour his pecha berry.

"Too bad. We're not going to steal. Maybe if he's mean. Maybe we'll take them in that case, although that leaves a bitter taste in my mouth." Zia rolled her eyes at the eevee's retort. Everest decided that it was time to make a move, knowing her cohort wouldn't make it easy to cooperate.

Travis was currently set on scarfing down another berry, but a brief rustle caught his attention instead. The boy's head whipped towards the intruding noise, where he could see the bushes shake as something pushed through. A hazel paw was the first thing that he noticed, the rest of the creature's body soon revealing itself to the light of the campfire.

Is that a…? Holy moly, Travis thought to himself as he was met with quite a rare sight. A shiny eevee, its hazel fur appearing to give a dazzling gleam of its own. It was already nearly impossible to find an eevee in Johto, but to find a shiny in the wild was a one out of a thousand chance. Most trainers would jump such a rare find immediately, though Travis decided to keep an eye on it instead. I wonder what it wants.

The eevee remained silent as it eyed Travis from a safe distance, a little unsettled from the human staring back. While most wild eevee were timid of humans, this one seemed more curious than anything. It was clear that she was still playing smart, but Travis tried to analyze it a little more in hopes of getting the vulpine to say something to him.

Averting his gaze from the eevee, the boy thought to himself before he felt his bag of berries slouch on his leg. Remembering that he had food on him, the boy snapped his fingers as he came to an answer. "Hey I got it. You're hungry, aren't you?" The eevee's ears perked from the assumption, watching closely as he pulled out a sitrus berry. Its tail swished from the sight, eyeing the treat with desire.

"You can catch, right?" Travis asked. The boy got a chuckle after seeing the eevee tilt her head.

"Yes," it answered. That voice of uncertainty had a soothing feminine tone to it. While Travis wasn't expecting this eevee to be female either, he decided to ignore it for the sake of the pokemon.

"I guess it'd be a bit rude to just roll it on the ground to you and let it get dirty. I understand you don't wanna get too close to me either, which is why I rather you catch it," explained Travis before tossing the berry over to the eevee, who pounced into the air and caught it in her little paws.

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

Meanwhile, a lingering poochyena still hid in the same bush where the eevee once was, groaning to herself as she watched both of them. "How is able to just start trusting him so easily? He's going to try something. He has to. Every other human would," the poochyena whispered as she continued glaring at the scene.

"Thank you. You seem like a nice human. Smart too," the eevee complemented before Travis waved her off.

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

After nodding to the boy, the eevee turned to the same bush that she appeared from, catching Travis's curiosity. "You better come out if you want any, Zia."

Zia? Another pokemon? What could it be?

Before Travis could ponder for long, another rustle in the bushes snapped him out of his thoughts. This time, he was met with a pair of black paws and a black muzzle poking out of the bushes. Its big and wet pink nose led Travis to the conclusion that this wasn't an average Johto native. His burning question answered itself as the creature finally made it to the clearing, leaving the boy even more amazed than if he just found another eevee. That catastrophe that happened in Hoenn led pokemon to migrate to different regions. These regions in question were usually those like Kanto and Sinnoh, so Travis never expected to find a poochyena here.

That poochyena kept a frown on her face as she stared daggers at the young man. Her protruding fangs twitched from her lips, causing Travis to give an awkward chuckle. "Heh, uh... Why the long face."

The poochyena gave no response beside a warning growl that made it clear to keep away from her. If it wasn't for the fact that this pooch was strangely adorable, he would've been intimidated with those huge huge fangs poking out of her mouth.

The eevee rolled her eyes before turning back to Travis, her ears lowering. "Sorry about her. She had a bit of an attitude problem," she told him, the hyena turning away from the human as her response. Despite this, she still kept her violet eyes on him. What an interesting feature for a poochyena.

"Oh no, don't worry about it. I think I understand." Travis reassured, soon taking a pinap berry from his stash.

Though it was only for a moment, Travis and the eevee both could see the sparkle that appeared in Zia's eyes as she noticed the pinap berry. She soon reverted her glare back to Travis.

"Ooooh! That's her favorite," the eevee chipped in, her comrade becoming flustered from the human knowing about what she considered personal information. Travis smiled at the eevee before looking over to Zia.

"Hey, you can catch too, right?" Travis called out to the poochyena, getting the hint that she didn't want to be near him in the slightest. He once again received no answer.

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

"I can catch for myself!" Zia barked, swiftly cutting to eevee's sentence. "Throw it, human," she commanded. Travis was taken back from her rudeness, but he was quick to shrug it off.

"Alright, here it comes," warned Travis before tossing the berry to the poochyena, who readied herself for the catch. Travis and the hazel vixen both watched as the poochyena jumped toward the berry the moment it came near her. It would have been a perfect catch if she didn't jump too late.

Travis winced the moment the berry smacked the top of the pooch's head, sending her back to the ground with a thump as the pinap berry rolled over the ash gray fur on her back. There was nothing but silence before the eevee started bursting out with laughter, soon rolling on her back in an attempt to hold her sides. "Bahaha! You were always the funny one!" Travis was doing his best to hold in a snicker of his own.

"S-Shut up, Everest," barked the poochyena, her face burning a bright red before whipping her back toward the two. "Don't you dare laugh either, human." The pooch quickly snatched her berry in her claws before eating it in silence. Travis covered his mouth, not wanting to shatter her pride any further. He still couldn't wipe the smirk off of his face.

"I want to thank you properly, uh…" the eevee spoke up, catching Travis's attention.

"Travis. But like I said, don't mention it." The boy gave a chuckle as the eevee smiled at him, her tail still swaying with gratitude. "Do you have names as well?" Travis asked, taking another random berry to join the feast between the three. With a wider smile, the eevee stepped a little closer to the human.

"My name's Everest, and this lovely girl…" Everest teased, the poochyena glaring at her.

Don't you dare give this human my name.

As if able to read the pooch's thoughts, Everest stuck her tongue at her before continuing. "I'm sure that you heard me before, but this is my little sister, Zia," she answered, the poochyena shaking as she wanted to bark curses at her. Zia gobbled down her berry to calm herself, the sour yet sweet taste of the pinap berry always being enough to soothe her nerves. That's what she thought, at least. The presence of this very human had put Zia on edge, much more than she was used to. In turn, however, this 'Travis' wasn't threatened in the slightest by her own presence. She couldn't understand why.

"You're sisters? You two do have the same eyes, now that I look closer… Was your mother a vaporeon?" Travis asked, causing Everest's ears to perk straight up while making Zia's head whip in his direction with shock. "Uhm… Yes? No? Perhaps…?" The boy chuckled.

"That was...a very good guess. How'd you know?" Everest asked, amazed by that quick conclusion. Even Zia had to admit she was a little impressed by his sheer luck.

"Well, baby pokemon take a lot of traits from their mom in the same way that humans do. Most of the time, pokemon are born the same species as the mother, though there are rare cases where the recessive traits in genes will make that change," the boy began, hoping he was sounding fancy enough for them. "You seem very calm with a lot of stamina like a lot of vaporeon usually are, so I think it's safe to assume you get a lot from your mom. You both also share the same eye color that vaporeons usually have, but I guess your sis got a lot of other traits from your dad." Travis shrugged.

Zia quickly turned away from Travis. My eyes? What was he doing staring at my eyes? The creep. Everest could clearly see the red that tinted her sister's cheeks. Though it had earned a raised eyebrow, she was too intrigued by her human friend to focus on it.

"You're pretty smart to figure all of that out. You'd be surprised how much she has in common with Dad," Everest complemented, making the boy chuckled before she eyed his bag again. "Mind if we have some more berries over here?"

"Don't mind at all, here," said Travis, taking two more berries out of the bag before tossing the remains of the stash over to Everest. While Everest blinked at the bag, Zia narrowed her eyes as she kept her gaze pointed at the trees.

My instincts are screaming it. I know he's planning something, Zia thought. Travis chuckled as he caught the eevee's expression, taking a bite out of one of his last berries.

"This place is harsh sometimes with all the new pokemon roaming around. I guess it's hard to get things for yourself, which is why you came here. Though my grandparents had given those to me, I guess helping out those who needed it more was another reason for me to bring the stash along. Whether it'd be food, medicine or whatever. You can't be too careful, so I try to bring supplies with me wherever I go."

"That's good, because the two of us would probably starve if it weren't for you. Right, Zia?" Everest asked before turning to her sister, who still didn't plan to give Travis the satisfaction of acknowledging him.

"Hey, no biggie! It's pretty late out, so you should probably head back home before something else can happen. Don't want anyone taking what's yours, y'know?" Everest smirked at the boy's words.

"Yeeeeah, I happened to be telling someone about that earlier today," said Everest, her gaze still on her sister before turning back to Travis. "You're right though. It was nice meeting you, Travis." The eevee grabbed the bag of berries in her maw before pulling it back toward the way she came. She gave one last look to Travis before finally making her exit. Zia glared at Travis before following her sister and helping to carry the weight without a word being said.

While it had concerned Travis, the boy didn't seem too flustered toward her distaste for humans. It was most likely with reason, though helping out was something that Travis would obligate himself to do regardless of how someone felt about him. Even if someone wouldn't appreciate himself, it wouldn't stop him. He made one last call to them. "Be safe out there! If you guys need anything, I'll be in Olivine City!" Travis shouted with a wave.

Travis couldn't hear them at this point, but Everest gave a muffled thanks while Zia was busy grumbling under her breath as she held the other end of the bag. The poochyena couldn't fathom why her sister would insist that they, she, needed help from some low down human. She didn't know the answer, and didn't expect to have to find out in the future…

. . . . .

Travis found himself staring at the dying flame of the campfire as the events of earlier tonight crossed his mind. He felt pity for the two pokemon, knowing that they had no way of survival out here. Even with the attitude that Zia had shown him, it would have been epic to offer them a home. It was very unlikely that he'd run into the two pokemon again, so it was too late to regret over the past.

The boy dumped some dirt on the fire as he yawned to the moon, a hiss making its way through the clumps of dirt as the fire was turned into wavering smoke and ashes. Travis made sure to stomp the ashes before retreating to his sleeping bag after a long day. He looked up to the crescent moon, resting his head on his hands.

Life's pretty cruel, but I'm sure those two will be alright. They're nice pokemon, and they work hard to look after each other. It's still pretty bothering… To know that Zia probably thinks every human will put a knife in her back… Travis's thoughts slowly drifted away, as if carried by the cool breeze that came through the night. The boy's world went black as he drifted into a deep sleep, hoping that Zia would one day find her way out of the dark...