This chapter took a long time to write, a long-time to proofread, and a long time to put the finishing touches on. Either way, it's here and ready for viewing. Enjoy!
Zero woke up first.
Cerulean didn't wake up, but her body jerked, and she rolled over.
[Sorry.] He silently apologized.
The human had a bad feeling about today. The expedition was upon them, and that was a lot to take in. He was almost nervous, but something was different. Almost every other rescue team would be there, and they didn't know anything about expeditions like this. It would be the most communication Zero would have to go through since his childhood.
The Mangekyo shimmered into existence, fitting neatly in the anomaly's hand. It was completely recovered. Zero didn't expect to use it today, or rather he hoped he wouldn't have to, but he was glad he would have it if anything came up in the future.
[It's chilly this morning.] He teleported just outside the front door to avoid disturbing the others.
Advent Town was quiet and beautiful. The twinkling particles that fluttered in front of Zero's view of the city added to its glamour. There was one spot of activity, however. The Rescue Federation's headquarters was bustling or beginning to at least.
[I don't know what time we were supposed to arrive. I guess early is never bad.]
Zero used the door this time. Entering the joint bedroom, he found Cerulean bundled up in a more organized fashion than before.
"I know you're awake. Give it up." He turned to Glave.
[You were so tired yesterday. That wasn't good. And you had light injuries. Were you training? Doesn't matter.]
"Glave."
The grovyle's eyes opened groggily.
"...Morning." He recalled what this morning meant. "Oh." His voice was excited, but not exclamatory.
"Oh is right. I don't really care how others view me, but I think I'm worried about how well this whole thing will go given the Pokémon's general opinion of me."
"This is as good an opportunity as ever to alter their opinions." Cerulean smiled fondly at him. "On the subject of opinions," she began in a carefree tone, "you wouldn't want your ball mods-"
"Bio mods."
"-Ball mods going off during this, right? I mean, there's bound to be some sexy, cute and innocent, or busty gals among them. Be a shame if you jumped her right after some heroic deed."
"What's your point? I'll just have to prevent that from happening."
"I mean, you can't go ahead and take a load off now and have even more time later?"
"Are you asking me to fuck you?"
"Hey, hey, hey, I never said that." The lucario remarked. "I just think it would be helpful for both- I mean you- if you could double the time you had without going crazy."
"Get out of the dang bed."
"Damn."
Team Fate exited their home. The breeze added to the cool atmosphere.
"Aren't we headed to a freezing cold mountain...?" Glave asked reluctantly.
"Yep. Not sure where a dungeon would be, but at the same time, I guess there's room for some chances to bond with other teams."
The trio's light footsteps prevented silence from permeating the walk to the Rescue Federation. Conversations halted as the fresh rescue team drew nearer to the active building.
"That's him..."
"Weird. Why is he out this early?"
"It doesn't look like it's gonna walk past us..."
"If you're gonna be mean, be quiet about it, please. He helped a friend of mine not too long ago."
The latter comment came from a ninjask. The bug-type referred to the vibrava Zero's team had saved on their first mission.
"Shaddap. No one wants to hear any of that."
"Oh no... Isn't that the treecko- well, I guess grovyle now, that did so well in the academy?"
"That thing is with the lucario that attacked the town. Some good he's doing, 'protecting' us by teaming up with an enemy."
True silence befell the crowd when Team Fate converged with all the other teams. Team Ultima stood near the front of the room just past the doors, near the billboards for missions.
"Could we get everyone inside, please?! I know it'll be a tight jam, but everyone that was supposed to come came, so it's time we gave out instructions!" Cream cupped her hands near her mouth and called out to the mass of Pokémon. There were roughly 40 there.
[Not a bad size. There should be enough diversity to accommodate for any shortcomings. It makes my job easier in the long run.] Zero's eyes were fixated on the lopunny. He didn't wish to look around at everyone and run the risk of appearing to look down on them. Just like when he arrived in Advent Town, ingratiating formalities would be optimal for making his life a little less hard.
The human wasn't the only one with eyes locked onto Cream. It was clear her natural charm was effective on many of the males in the room. Having been said, the other members of Team Ultima garnished their share of views, barring Beat who intimidated many audience members.
"So, there are a few things that need discussing." Cream paused to see if there would be any discussion. Everyone remained quiet. It was unlike prior years. "First up, distribution will be altered for undisclosed reasons. What this means is that you won't be on your normal teams with your familiar teammates."
The outburst was as sudden and fast as could be predicted. Glave and Zero glanced at each other worriedly. In fact, over half the room glanced at Zero worriedly.
"What if we get him?!"
"He fucks wild Pokémon! I don't want to get fucked like a wild Pokémon! Well, not by him..."
"Excuse me!" Cream hollered. The volume was enough to wake up the rest of the town. "Wow, see how easy that was? You all shut the-"
"Cream." Violet shook her head faintly at her.
The normal-type sighed.
"As I was saying, we'll be distributing rescue team members differently this year. First things first, teams will be filled up to five. There may be one team with one-to-two fewer Pokémon on it, but if it gets down to one or two extras, we'll tack them on to an extra team. To begin, Team Ultima has four members. Volunteer now if you want to be our fifth."
The room burst into activity. Guys were split between wanting to be on a team with three sexy Pokémon and avoiding being placed on Zero's team while girls merely desired the latter.
"I will."
The room once again ceased its commotion.
Glave and Cerulean were stunned. It almost felt like abandonment, seeing their leader call out over the rest of the room.
"Zero-"
"Getting you on the same level as or better than your father is still one of my key goals, but it'll have to wait until this is over anyway."
Many Pokémon opened their mouths to object, but no such objections were made. After giving it thought, the Pokémon of Advent Town came to the same conclusion as Zero; if he joined Team Ultima, he couldn't be put in anyone else's squad.
"That's bold, Zero. Have you been missing me that much?" Cream flirted openly with the human. The other two women of the supreme team started to interject, but Beat lightly patted both of their chests to stop them.
[You bitch-] A lot of willpower went into keeping those thoughts as thoughts.
"Get real," was all Zero could muster. Murmurs and whispers spread throughout the area, but no one directly said anything.
"No surprise guests this time, right?" She winked at Glave, but he was too far away for him or anyone else to know. Even still, the grovyle praised Arceus for not allowing Cindy to be there.
"I'll give you a surprise if you don't- I mean-" He quickly scanned the area for reactions. To his relief and surprise, there were some amused chuckles or faces. Not to his surprise, many of them were shushed.
"I'll take your word for that later. Anyway, you may as well come on up."
[On the stage?]
"On the stage, idiot," she added when he hesitated.
[Bitch.] He walked onto the stage. Turning to face the audience, Zero found himself indifferent to their stares or lack of.
"No introduction?"
"They all know..." Zero shifted his attitude. "Yeah. Yeah, introduction. I do believe you all know me. But I know that none of you know me. I wouldn't be surprised if more than half of me refer to me as 'the human' or 'that thing,' and that's fine by me. That's your choice. But in case it comes in handy, my name is Zero, and I'll be doing everything I can to be helpful on this trip."
He stepped back and stood next to Beat. The lucario was surprised; Zero's aura didn't show signs of being disrupted, and he'd just spoken to a large number of Pokémon that felt less than good about him.
"That's nice and all, but we are on a clock here. Or we aren't, but people wait a year for this, I think everyone's ready." Cream redirected the subject.
[You asked me to talk.] He internally complained.
Somewhat cheerful remarks and comments filled the room.
"Next, these teams are to be taken seriously. We know you won't have the same bonds as you do with your normal team, but this is supposed to help rescue teams get to know each other. Leading into the next point, there would be no point in having separate teams if we all remained one large body. Everyone will be taking different routes to get to Mount Glacia. It's a few hours and a couple of dungeons away, so that'll be fun." Cream paused to make sure everyone understood. "On top of that, try to make sure you have a Pokémon that can communicate remotely or at least get messages to other teams efficiently. Stronger teams, such as mine, will be going first to scout out for dangerous encounters."
[If we're splitting up, why would we need to monitor danger? Unless they mean at the mountain.]
"Alrighty, hope everyone's excited! Because of the way teams are being split, we've prepared supplies for each newly constructed group to use to make sure everyone has everything. Go ahead and get that, and afterward, we'll be meeting at the Eastern Gate."
Most Pokémon stood around awkwardly, others spoke lowly to each other.
"You didn't give them their teams," Zero told her quietly. A couple of chuckles could be heard from audience members in the front.
"I was just adding suspense, geez."
Zero rolled his eyes. Violet stood from her seat and joined the lopunny at the center of the stage. She cupped her hands and flames burst into existence from which five slips of paper fell. Collecting and straightening them, the delphox began reading out the names of various Pokémon, also listing their species in case someone didn't know what to look for.
Glave waited with what should have been anxiety as name after name went by without his being called. He wouldn't even get nervous when three or four Pokémon he didn't know would get called out and there was still time to slap him with them. Finally, the last group was ready to be decided. There were three names left, and Glave and Cerulean were two of them. Both Pokémon were relieved that they were being placed with someone familiar, especially Cerulean who knew almost no one outside of her team.
"Alright, last ones. We have Glave the grovyle, Cerulean the lucario, and Shara the zoroark. That's it, everyone find your allies and get your supplies at that table over there."
All of team ultima stood back on the stage. Zero stood on the far left, adjacent to only Cream.
"So, why did you volunteer? Your tank was on empty before; if you've filled up since then, I'll be happy to give you another shot."
"Putting the strongest in the town together was a fairly good idea I think. I could understand splitting us up to distribute a strong Pokémon to each team, but there are a couple of reasons that's not totally practical."
"In other words, you consider yourself strong enough to stand among us," Azure stated bluntly.
"As egotistical as it will sound, I do."
"And you three are fine with that?" The gardevoir pressed.
Beat stood rigidly with crossed arms and said nothing. Violet only chuckled, and Cream grabbed Zero's arm.
"If you'd overpower me, I'd have no choice but to be fine."
"Let that scene play out in your head. I can't be bothered helping you enact it."
After some time, everyone was separated and into their groups with their supplies.
"So, a grass-type and a lucario. This should be interesting. And if I'm not mistaken, you already know each other?" Shara, the zoroark who'd be accompanying Glave and Cerulean, attempted small talk.
Unfortunately, something about her was just off. Perhaps it was simply her demeanor, but there was an air of discomfort in being around her. From the way her teeth showed so savagely when she smiled to her hunched posture, it was hard to take her niceness for what it was.
"Uh, yeah. We do. What rescue team are you from? I don't recall ever seeing a Zoroark family in Advent Town." Glave remarked.
"Oh, me? Ah, you wouldn't know my family. Most of them are wild or dead. Either way, for those of us that were in this town, we all joined rescue teams. I'm a member of Shade Strike." Her tongue ran across the back of her gritted teeth after announcing her team name. It was the first one Glave had heard of that didn't include the word team in it.
"Sorry, I haven't heard anything about that one. What members are on it? I have to know someone."
"A gengar and a bisharp. We used to have a golurk, but I don't know what happened to that big lug."
"You mean he went missing?"
"Nah, nothin' like that. He's still around town, he just doesn't do missions anymore."
"I'm not sure what would make me stop doing them," Glave commented.
"Well, I think Pokémon not being in danger anymore would be a pretty big influence." Cerulean patted Glave's shoulder. "The other Pokémon are gathering outside. We better get to the Eastern Gate. That cold-ass mountain isn't going anywhere, but it doesn't mean anything if we aren't either."
Shara chuckled for a little longer than what the joke was worth.
[A dark-type.] Zero watched his teammates leaving the room from his place on the stage. [Statistically, she doesn't bring a lot to the table. Glave and Cerulean are physical attackers already, and her type match-ups are fairly neutral for team-building.]
"I think I'm excited about this thing now~" Cream hugged Zero from behind. She would've placed her head on his shoulder to add some seduction, but the height difference rendered it impossible.
"And why is that?"
"'Cuz it's cold as a bitch and someone will have to sleep in my tent with me to keep me warm."
"Sure is a good thing your team has a strong fire-type."
Violet's lips curved up, but she refused a full smile.
"Hang on, did you say tent?" Zero furrowed his brow. "What for? You're all Pokémon."
"Wow, that's so typical of humans."
"Yeah, because you knew humans."
Cream's arms dropped suddenly from around Zero. Azure glared at him and the delphox's posture grew less welcoming. Beat's eyes were closed, but he winced nonetheless when he heard it.
[Shit! Your auras felt like they were gonna burst out of your body to hit me. I don't know anything about these four. Looks like I walked in the dark and stepped on some toes.]
"Sorry. I'll stay quiet."
"Hm? How did you do that?" The lucario among the team's ranks opened his eyes. "You didn't look around."
"Well, Cream's arms-"
"Your voice told me how much you understood about the situation. So how did you come to this understanding?"
"I'll be damned. It really was you that taught Glave his combat skills. His aura is taking completely different routes through his body than most Pokémon on this side of the planet."
"Huh?"
"You don't have, as far as I know, the anatomical stimulants of a lucario. How the hell is your aura perception so sharp?" Beat walked closer to Zero.
He swung a fist at the human's face. Zero placed his hand against the lucario's other paw, disrupting the aura sphere he was preparing to charge. His physically attacking hand stopped a couple of inches from Zero's nose.
"Exactly. You don't even have to look."
"I've just had a lot of time to practice. And when I failed, a lot more time to beat myself up than others. Keep in mind, I've got psychic abilities too, so strong emotions get picked up pretty easily." Zero stepped away.
"Hmph. Good enough for me. If you can use one move, I don't see why you can't use them all. If you start flying I might actually lose my straight face though."
"Something tells me you've never lost a game of poker."
"Nope. Never played it either."
"Ditto."
"Are you two done?" Cream asked with a monotone, or at least a tone devoid of much emotion.
"Ready when you are."
The lucario nodded in agreement.
The quintet exited the Rescue Federation lobby where a few Pokémon lingered nearby. Glave's team was still close, stopped by a panting charmeleon.
"I just... didn't want- phew, you to leave... without it." Cindy held out her closed hand. A loop of string stuck out.
Glave took the object and she released it. A necklace fell toward the earth, held together and bouncing up by the cord it was attached to. At first, the grovyle believed it to be a pendant, but upon closer inspection, he found it was a miracle seed tied up securely into an accessory.
"This is sudden. It's really early too. You didn't have to-"
"You're welcome. I knew you would want something practical, so I got that instead of, like, I dunno, a fossilized blade of grass?"
"Well... thanks. Sorry, you just caught me off-guard."
"Keep that up and you'll be losing every fight you get into on this trip. I really wish I could just go with you."
"Sorry, sweetie, but you just haven't had the training to be on a rescue team." Violet comforted Cindy as Team Ultima walked by the scene. "Even Glave went through a good deal of losing fights until he was considered ready."
"E-er, yes ma'am. I was just thinking out loud..."
Cindy noticed Zero walking away with the four strongest Pokémon in Advent Town.
"Wait... Zero's not with you? Did he get promoted for beating up too many legendary Pokémon?"
"Cindy..."
"Oh come on, it was just a joke this time, geez." She rolled her eyes.
"It wasn't that funny," Glave smirked, "But anyway, we got put with random Pokémon. I and Cerulean are together." He motioned toward her. "There is another girl on our team; her name is Shara. She's a-"
Just then, a yip from the ground caught their attention. A zorua got right beside Glave and pretended to rub against him.
"This little thing is on a rescue team?" Cindy reached to pick it up, but it hopped back and bared its fangs at the charmeleon.
"Ah- bad! Damn Glave, you're gonna get left behind if I don't leave you alone. At least I don't have to worry about you fucking her." She laughed and ended her sentence motioning to the Zorua. "Alright, have a good trip for me. Bring me something cool back!"
Cindy took off towards the residential district. It was more or less the same direction the teams needed to go in to get to the Eastern Gate, but Cindy turned onto a different road early to avoid any awkwardness.
The Zorua's form broke as a wavering purple mist covered the area around it. Shara appeared in the broken illusion's place.
"A zoroark being a prankster? Try being original." Cerulean rolled her eyes.
"A lucario being a virgin? Try being original." Shara sneered back.
"Lucky for me, I'm not."
"If you say so. But tell me, was that a friend of yours? She seemed awfully worried about you getting your dick wet." The zoroark gave Glave a detailed sight of her flashy grin. "She might've felt better seeing my real form then."
"I'd rather not talk about it. I don't understand it anyway; she just started being like that one day." Glave replied, becoming lost in thought. Cerulean watched him with somewhat concern for his obliviousness.
"Oh well, then. She was right though, we do need to get going."
Team Fate, or at least the majority of it, worked their way to the Eastern Gate. To their dismay, Pokémon were already filtering out, with Team Ultima standing in the rear. The powerhouse team noticed the three approaching Pokémon.
"You guys are just late. We pretty much told everyone what route they'd be taking. We want to split up and regroup several times so we can make sure everyone is still safe while giving them a unique experience." Violet smiled warmly at them.
"You three will be..." Azure ran a finger across an overly complicated map that had several lines intersecting over and over but ultimately pointing to the same place. "Right. Here you guys are. The way we've been doing things, if there's a large number of Pokémon from the same team in one of these groups, we just refer to them as that team. You three will be Team Fate. And your line is here."
The gardevoir turned the map and traced the marked path.
"You'll start by heading pretty sharply North. You're gonna stop by Mystic Lake first, and after that, you should work your way to Fleeting Forest. Mystic Lake is just a landmark, not a dungeon, but the same can't be said about the latter."
"We've been to Mystic Lake before..." Glave remarked with a melancholy tone.
"You have? That's weird, I'm pretty sure it's a... Oh, I think I know what that was about." Azure was smart, a direct consequence of her lineage. Having been said, she took very little interest in Zero's affairs so long as they didn't affect her. She'd still heard about him beating Suicune.
"Well, you'll have to show your new teammate around the place. I heard it was beautiful."
"It is," Cerulean reassured.
"Alright then. There's no need to wait here then, and we need to get going ourselves." Azure rolled up the map.
Glave and Zero caught each other's gaze for a moment until the human looked away. Glave was nervous, but he wasn't scared. There was a multitude of teams heading out, so the odds of something going wrong felt low, even if they were split up.
"We haven't decided who should lead us," Cerulean mentioned as the team was walking. Currently, they were in plain woods, surrounded by trees as they headed toward the familiar lake.
"I think a man should take the reigns and steer his women." Shara licked her teeth.
Glave said nothing, but he felt a twitch in his loins.
"Sounds about right. I wouldn't be surprised if Glave ran his own rescue team one day when I'm gone and Zero's done."
"Done?" The savage wolf picked at her claws.
"Yeah. Well, I guess that doesn't really fit. He talks about training him," she motioned to the grass-type, "and 'protecting Advent Town' this and that. But I don't know when that would be considered finished. I guess if we ever find the source of what's causing Pokémon to act up."
"Act up? Like when those Pokémon attacked the town a month ago?"
"..." Cerulean got quiet.
"Yeah, that. Apparently whatever is causing it can turn a really nice Pokémon into a dangerous weapon." Glave interjected. "And it can even affect legendary Pokémon, which is about as scary as it gets."
"And this Mystic Lake?"
"That's a harsh subject change."
"Well, I want to know what it's like." Shara scratched her inner thigh.
"I know I said it was beautiful, but there really isn't much to see. Other than people walking on water if you're there at the right time." Cerulean rejoined the conversation, throwing a joke in at the end.
"Wait, what?"
"She's not being serious. He was walking on the move protect."
"I don't know what you two are talking about!" The zoroark complained.
The other Pokémon just began laughing. It was nice having someone who didn't know everything about everything accompanying them, but it would've been better with their leader.
The laughter died, and crunching leaves filled their absence.
"So... what now?" Shara asked, bored after getting over their amusement.
"This is gonna be a long walk." Glave bemoaned.
"Zero's with me! No exceptions you greedy whore!" Cream tugged on the human's arm, hugging it tightly.
"This is a joke, right?" Azure was genuinely shocked. Violet busted out laughing.
"Sorry, but you'll have to make one this time." The delpox rebutted.
"Excuse me, why are we splitting up?" The subject of argument inquired.
"We always race to see who can reach the destination first. And you'll be with me, darling~" Violet waved her stick a little bit and tossed a flame into Cream's forehead.
The lopunny jumped away and shook her head violently. Wisps of smoke gently floated toward the sky. Violet put her hand on Zero's shoulder.
"It's only fair. You and Beat are already fast, and Azure can teleport or alter gravity to change all of your speeds anyway. Being a five-man team, this is the best way to do things." The delphox winked at Cream.
"You owe me." She pointed two fingers at her eyes, then at Zero's.
"Me? I haven't done anything."
"Alright team, let's move out! I wanna leave these losers in the dust." Cream turned and hopped eastward.
"For someone who avidly didn't want us a moment ago, she changed tunes jarringly quick." Beat uncrossed his arms and took off as well. Azure flickered out of sight.
Zero began walking.
"We're not headed the same way, are we? With all the dungeons between here and Glacia, I'd imagine we'll take separate routes like the rest of the teams."
"We'll only be heading through one dungeon." She walked at a brisk pace, becoming more casual when she caught up to the human. "But I hope you know I'm not very fast."
"Just one?"
"Yes. For a couple of reasons. For one, we want to get there before everyone else to ensure safety. Although, as we mentioned earlier, there will be a few points down the line where we should all meet up. As for the second reason, we don't want you to get drained before we reach our destination. Or at least if you do, we want you to be able to recover before we get there."
"You mean my mods?"
"Correct. After considering, we've decided you probably don't want those pesky alterations to trigger while all of us are together in a group. No one but you knows the extent of what you do when under their influence."
Her mouth moved after saying that, but Zero couldn't discern whether it was a twitch or she began to smile.
"Got it. Since we're here, do you intend for us to win this?"
"Win what?"
"The race...?"
"Oh, that! I figured we could just annoy them by being fashionably late, haha!" Violet softly laughed. It was a gentle and warming sound, soothing to anyone who heard it. "Unless you think we can win?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Depends. What are the rules of teleporting?"
Some bird Pokémon scattered from the trees around them when Zero stepped on a fairly thick branch laying on the ground. The crack of it breaking startled the avian creatures.
"You can only use it to keep up with your physically moving comrades. So, if you think I'll be ahead of you, go right on ahead."
"I see. I guess I don't know our exact rendevous points either, and we need to stop at them so teleporting straight to the mountain would be off-limits."
"You sound like you do want to win." The vixen threw him a small smile. The smile fell. "Is it... possible? You're not implying you can move faster than those two."
"If you don't mind getting carried, we can."
Violet rolled her red eyes.
"You don't think I'd be any help? I was starting to think you were actually sweet." She chuckled.
"I meant physically, but I was joking." Another human might've blushed in the scenario, but Zero wasn't much for expressions.
To his surprise, the fox held her arms out to him with a smile. He stopped walking and stared at her chest briefly.
"You're... more playful than you look like you'd be."
Her face cracked into a grin as he walked closer to her. Squatting down, he placed an arm against the inside of her knees. Violet leaned toward him as he stood, resting her back against his other arm as she was lifted off the ground. She wrapped her outstretched arms around his neck.
"I'm not light. You can put me-"
With a straight face and no protest, Zero began running. The delphox buried her head in his chest.
[This earthy but fresh scent... Have you been to a hot spring?] She contemplated.
It was peaceful having nothing to worry about and a generous breeze generated by her quick holder. Violet tuned in to the crunching leaves underfoot, but something bothered her when she did.
[What is that sound?] With closed eyes, she furrowed her brow. Lifting and turning her head, she peeked over Zero's arm.
Static was generated by his footsteps. Soft cackling, enough to stand out without being bothersome, could be heard. General bolts of electricity visibly bounced around the top of his shoes, but whenever he lifted a foot as he ran those same bolts could be seen connecting it to the ground.
[So strange. What are you doing? I might not be sure, but you're exercising unnecessary abilities. This could get worrisome...]
"It's too bright." Shara yawned as she stood atop the outer rim of Mystic Lake's walls.
Forty or so feet below, an enormous oval of water rested gently, disturbed only by the ripples caused by four waterfalls. Those ripples fell short of the center, making a rounded diamond of serene water, never facing displacement.
"That makes sense for a dark-type." Glave's leaf blew behind him in the wind.
The grovyle felt uncomfortable being here. It had almost felt traumatic, being shoved behind a protective barrier while his teacher faced off with a legendary Pokémon. It'd been an epic battle, but he could never enjoy it for the thoughts that journeyed with it. The events that followed it weren't much better, but he was getting used to things of that topic.
"Those waterfalls seem weaker than they used to." Cerulean gazed at the closest one.
"Suicune may not live here anymore. She probably doesn't like it that we know about this place, not to mention whoever else we could've told."
"Did you say 'she?'" Shara breathed with an open mouth. The other two had gotten used to her behavior in the time it took to get there.
"Crap! Please don't say anything to anyone. A legendary Pokémon's gender is sacred, barring the eon twins. Only the ones that the Pokémon themselves tell should know. I think Zero just happened to notice when they were locked in combat..."
"Oh? I believe I'll take more pleasure in knowing I know something others don't than telling them. Don't worry about me." The zoroark smiled. They were beginning to look more natural, thanks to the criticism she'd been receiving from her companions.
"I guess there's not much to see here. Unless you want to go down and look closer?"
"Getting closer to nothing is the same as getting further from something. I'll pass." The wolf replied.
A splash caught their attention, though it was the sight of it rather than the sound. Glave frowned. It wasn't directly in the center, but the source of disturbance came from the area that normally never saw any.
Two remoraid flopped out of the water, breaking the surface before falling back into their habitat.
"Pokémon live in there now?" Glave pondered aloud.
"Did they not before?"
"I don't think so. The place was pretty well kept by Suicune, and I think it removed any Pokémon that entered. Or maybe they were always here? I'm not really sure. Needless to say, I think we're better off moving on."
"If you say so. Fleeting Forest isn't crazy far away, so it should be pretty simple getting there and through to the meet-up spot."
The trio continued. Wild Pokémon that weren't in dungeons tended to scatter when rescue teams came through. It was easy to tell them apart because civilized Pokémon often traveled in irregular groups, such as the current Team Fate. Normally, it wasn't uncommon to see one or more of the same species or close relatives at any rate. Three different types sticking together, assuming they weren't eeveelutions, was an anomaly of sorts.
A couple of poochyena ran through the team's path, saw them, and doubled pack at twice their speed.
Leaves flew to the ground in a colored fashion show. Winter was on its way, and the environment was doing its job of telling about it.
"I wonder if dungeons are gonna get easier." Cerulean forcefully struck the trunk of a tree. It shook, and branches fell alongside countless more leaves.
"Why do you say that?" Glave asked.
"With trees barren, I feel like it'll be easier to navigate through forests and other open mazes."
"Depends on the mission. My team usually takes on outlaws. And typically, you know where they're gonna show up. My position is usually in the natural cover a tree provides. I'm not sure how we're gonna operate in the Winter." Shara gave her thoughts.
"What did you do last year?"
"I wasn't in my team last year. I wasn't even in Advent Town last year."
"Oh," Glave reacted. It was odd, knowing that she probably didn't know who he was. He didn't believe himself to hold a remarkable reputation, but Son of a Hero spread around as a title.
"I used to sneak around towns in another region. It was easy to live off things that humans took their eyes off for a split second. Picking up a steaming hot hamburger and then popping an illusion of a normal person walking away holding nothing had a delicious success rate."
"Another region? How did you get here then?" The grovyle was stunned. That made the first Pokémon he knew of that had been to another region, let alone known and interacted with humans other than Volt.
"Put simply, I snuck onto a cruise right before war broke out. Water types attacked the ship I was on, and when I broke the illusion of a human, they were glad to take me to land. This was where they dropped me off."
"The war... Do you know much about it?"
Cerulean glanced down at Glave mournfully.
"Not particularly. Pokémon started it because humans 'started it' was what I was told. There were no particular sides other than people versus Pokémon, and even then the humans' weapon of choice was their own Pokémon. I don't know what it's like to be captured and live with a 'trainer' but those kinds of Pokémon were happy 24/7. I assume something must've been going on behind the scenes for wild Pokémon to revolt."
"Trainers?"
"Glave, whatever happened to that book you used to have? I think Zero mentioned it or showed it to me at some point."
"Oh, I know which one you're talking about. It should still be at our place. Come to think of it, I haven't had much time to read it since Zero arrived."
"A Pokémon trainer was the term used for a human that constructed teams of Pokémon. Some battled, others performed, and the rest lived together in harmony."
"Gotcha. I already knew that, but I didn't know there was a term for it."
"Mhm."
The group walked quietly for an hour and a half, having little bits of conversations here and there. Lo and behold, the dungeon they were looking for came into view.
The forest was constructed of dense, dark trees. However, it would be inaccurate to suggest it might be hard to see within the dungeon; several sources of light were present. Illuminating crystals, bioluminescent mushrooms, and strange beehive-shaped structures that functioned as lanterns made the interior shine.
"This isn't what I expected from the name 'Fleeting Forest.'" Glave muttered.
"Well, we know nothing about it, so that was to be expected." Cerulean gazed around as they entered.
The trio didn't stop walking. Knowing they'd have no other choice, they pushed forward into the labyrinth. The crystals that twinkled with a mysterious light often went dark for a very short time, painting the surroundings several different colors as some were active while others weren't.
A galarian ponyta entered the corridor Team Fate occupied. It spotted them and neighed in fright, taking off the way it came.
"That's a good lead for this floor." Shara moved quicker than her teammates.
"Hey, wait up!" Glave jogged to keep up with the zoroark. "Why is that a 'lead?'"
"Wild Pokémon, particularly fearful ones, will go wherever they believe they can escape. Often that's to the next segment of the dungeon."
The segment Shara referred to was equivalent to a floor. The majority of mystery dungeons had something to do with elevation, whether it be towers, caves, or mountains. Thus, they were organized by floors or basement floors denoted by rescue teams as F1 or BF1 for example. For flat dungeons, like the one the trio currently was in, it was easier to still consider notable area changes as floors.
An archway constructed out of lush vines and shrubbery made for such a distinction. Several glowing chunks of rocks and bright berries were stuck in the structure, making for a beautifully illuminated scene. The maze felt less like a dangerous challenge than journeying through an abstract painting.
Passing through the hallway past the arch, Team Fate found themselves on the second floor. The same pink-haired ponyta as before hauled ass through the long walls of trees.
"So do we just keep following that little guy? It feels kind of bad, scaring it like this." Glave and Cerulean were already tearing through the forest to keep up with their ally.
"We can follow it for one more floor. Its behavior makes me think it's trying to reach a specific goal, and I don't think that goal's the exit to this place."
"Backup?" Cerulean inquired.
"Likely."
Even with their plan, Team Fate still lost track of the horse.
"Damn. That could've been a free ticket to who knows how far in the dungeon."
"It'll be alright. I guess it's fair that we actually do our job." Glave reassured the zoroark.
"Right."
"Still, you can't say it wouldn't be easier if Zero were here to blow the place apart."
"Your human? I find myself indifferent to him, but are the rumors of his strength true? I didn't attend the town hall meeting however long ago where he spoke about himself."
[You make him sound like a political figure...] Glave mentally joked, but the image of Zero working in the Mayor's office as the head of Advent Town was simultaneously amusing and concerning.
"Yeah, he's tough as nails. He can take hits like a Pokémon as well. Hell, he may as well be one." Cerulean stated since Glave forgot to respond.
The group of three slowed their pace as they entered a brilliant clearing, painted different colors by the lights all around them.
"Grrr..." The sound of an aggressive Pokémon made it harder to appreciate the area.
A chilly fog clouded the area. When it touched the trio, it felt more like light snow than mist. Bright blue eyes pierced the intrusive haze.
"Ice-type. Be careful, Glave." Cerulean stepped forward and procurred a bone.
The lucario threw it into the mist, causing swirls of moisture to fly around. The projectile hit the ground and rolled through the grounded leaves.
An ice beam was flung out of the vision-obscuring mist, but Cerulean was able to create another bone and block it, causing the beam to split into two halves. It froze the bone over on the contact point, as well as creating spiky patches of ice where the split attack hit the ground.
"This should be simple." Shara disappeared in her own illusory smoke.
A thud was followed by a whimpering cry. Footsteps tore through the dirt, kicking up leaves as the ninteales broke through the fog and tackled into Cerulean by mistake.
"Gotcha!" The dog Pokémon scooped up the icy fox. It squirmed and cried out, trying to break free.
Turning its head, the wild Pokémon peered into its holder's eyes. Cerulean raised her eyebrows.
"Wanna try that again?"
The fox's face wore a struck expression. Shara materialized nearby, and the ninetales whipped its head towards her. Hustling even harder to break loose, it froze briefly to do the same thing to the zoroark.
"That's cute. Whatever keeps you alive in the wild I guess."
At this point, the Pokémon appeared tormented. It finally noticed Glave.
"Shit!" The dark-type attempted to grab their prisoner's head and turn it away, but it was too late.
Glave stumbled backward, having gone light-headed.
"Oh no..." He fell onto his knees.
The two females on Team Fate tried hard not to break out in laughter. Cerulean tossed the Pokémon into the air, created a bone yet again, and swung it like a bat. The ninetales was sent flying into a thick tree trunk. Slumping to the ground, the unconscious vixen stopped moving.
"Y-you knew?" Glave placed a hand over the point where his thighs met. "Damn, t-that was on purpose, wasn't i-it?"
Cerulean snickered, but Shara sighed.
"I didn't think it was gonna try on all of us. Fairy-type attracts work almost the same as psychic-types."
"Shut the hell up, I know how attract works!" Glave cut into the jackal. "Ahh, you're such an- argh!" He winced as he attempted to conceal his growing erection.
"You know we're naked all the time anyway, right? We see your balls hanging all the time, there's no need to hide a boner from us." Cerulean rolled her eyes.
The grovyle glanced in discomfort at Shara, who almost chuckled, but her expression became serious.
"So long as we're on a mission, make your choice. Either get that taken care of or deal with it without holding us back." The wolf Pokémon stared him down.
"T-take care of it? But Ci-" He gulped, stopping himself.
"Your friend isn't here to fuck? I could smell your scent on each other, as I could imagine many others could, so there's another thing for you to get over."
Shara approached the grass-type who looked up at her in worry. She squatted and grabbed both of his wrists and lifted them. His legs still held back his member, but it was trying its hardest to break past them. The dark Pokémon stood, holding tightly onto his arms as she rose.
"H-hey! Put me-..." He stopped talking and breathed hard from the social pressure of the situation.
"I get it. I really do. You're young, and this sort of thing is new to you, even if you've been places with someone else." The zoroark was standing up straight, holding her arms, and thus Glave's as well, as high over her head as she could.
She was the average height for her species, 5'3. Glave, a few inches taller than his, was 2'11, having grown since before he trained with Zero. His cock bobbed with his heartbeat inches away from his captor's mouth. The grovyle felt her breath against his penis as she spoke. Cerulean blushed and brought a paw to her lower mouth at the scene.
Shara pushed her lips against his cock, watching his expression closely. The grass-type closed his eyes as he slid into her maw, feeling the points of her teeth brushing against the top of his dick, and her rough tongue sliding across the bottom. He jerked forward at the coarse appendage applying pleasure to the sensitive underside of his length.
He re-opened his eyes in shock when he slid seamlessly into her throat. Finally, her nose touched his waist as she buried the entire half-foot cock in her mouth. Glave wanted to speak, but couldn't find words. He would've been interrupted regardless, because Shara opened her mouth further, showing off her slick jaw. Sliding her tongue out of her mouth and against his balls, she scooped up his scrotum and pulled it into her mouth. Closing it as much as she could, her teeth pressed damn near uncomfortably against the grovyle's most sacred area. His privates were constricted to an unbearable point inside the hot, moist hole, but without any action, it wouldn't take him anywhere.
Pulling her head back, his balls spilled out of her mouth one after the other in an erotic display. Shara sucked hard on his cock, increasing the gesture substantially when she reached his tip before opening her mouth, thereby releasing his cock with a pop.
The zoroark proceeded to toss Glave backward. With his mind set on throat fucking the woman almost twice his height, he spent his time he could've used to react falling limply to the ground. Landing flatly on his back and getting the wind knocked out of him brought the reptile back to reality.
"O-ow, *gasp* that's a fast reversal." He sputtered.
"I could've thrown you on that disproportionate cock." Shara placed her hands on her hips.
Glave lied sprawled on the ground. His cock pointed skyward. She was fair in saying what she did; not that the grovyle would've known, he was blessed for his species.
"That's all?" Cerulean asked the other woman, rubbing her paw on her back to get rid of the evidence of her actions.
"You want to ride him? I'm not in the mood right now is all."
"Sorry, but there's just... something there. Well, something not there really. I think he's just not my type." Cerulean frowned at Glave's twitching girth. It would satisfy her for sure, but there truly was something that made her uncomfortable about mating with Glave. "I'm not sure if it's just that he's too young, or his size, or the idea that he already has another mate."
"Wait, that charmeleon isn't really his 'mate,' is she?"
"Huh? No, not officially. Glave's a little too immature in that department, metaphorically anyway, to know his feelings or hers."
"Just how young is he? You've implied an issue with it twice now."
"His fifth birthday is right around the corner I think. Zero would know."
Shara shivered at the information.
"When you're around humans for so long, you get used to the way things work for them. Hearing the Pokémon I just deepthroated is four years old puts a bothersome image in my head."
"I don't worry about that stuff. If humans evolved, I'm sure it would be different for them too. We just have more variables to worry about. Besides, we mature faster and most of us die sooner than humans. It wouldn't be fair to use the same restrictions as they do."
"I think you could've reassured me just now if that didn't come right after saying you don't wanna fuck him for his age."
"You can stop talking about me..." Glave groaned as he stood up. "I get it, I'm young, inexperienced, etcetera. I tell myself that enough, y'know."
Shara headed toward the third floor, the passage to which was visible from the clearing they were in.
"I gave you something to work with. If you want to jerk off, do it quick. Otherwise, come with us, but we'll get to the meeting point eventually. If you want everyone to see you at full mast, good on you for developing that fast."
Glave said nothing but fell into line behind Cerulean as she followed the zoroark. He contemplated for a short time whether he should make a vine skirt as he'd done after the vespiqueen incident, but he ultimately decided it might help him to get used to being exposed the way he was. He still intended to find a solution to his problem before they could rendezvous with all the other teams; not only was an incredible amount of Pokémon going to be there, he didn't want any failure of his to be evident to Zero.
On the third floor, they saw the galarian ponyta yet again.
"I'm starting to think that little thing is doing less leaving and more leading. It's had plenty of time to escape now."
"Maybe it stuck around to see if you'd take its dick all the way-"
"Enough of that." The dark-type rolled her eyes.
Meanwhile, Glave had forgotten how intense attract was. His eyes were glued to Cerulean's plump ass, enjoying whenever her natural stride would offer a view of her treasure. Any time he was almost caught staring by her, he just turned his gaze toward the other female.
"Relax, I was only joking. For all we know it could be a girl anyway. If that's the case, it might've wanted-"
"We get it," Glave interjected.
Cerulean laughed.
"You two aren't letting me have any fun." She smiled harder.
Both of the others rolled their eyes.
Team Fate walked in silence for a while. The scenery's beauty grew old after a while; one could only take constantly changing lights for so long.
"Is it just me, or has there been a startling lack of Pokémon so far?" Glave asked, trying to get his mind out of the gutter.
"You're right, but it may just be the nature of this dungeon."
[I'm kind of worried about something else.] Glave cogitated. [That ponyta from before... It looks like the thing is just walking around, but there's no way it isn't purposefully leading us somewhere.]
"Say, isn't it weird that the berries here glow? They look like the traditional kinds you can find all over the place, but for them all to shine like this is weird." He changed the subject.
"If I had to guess, I'd say don't eat them."
The three Pokémon traveled around the entirety of the third floor, looping in circles until they were tired of passing the same crystals and bulbous lantern structures.
"I could really do with Zero being here now." The grovyle bemoaned.
"We don't necessarily need him, if this is what you're talking about," Cerulean put her paws together in front of her.
Drawing them back, an energy bone was crafted in the space between them, and she slammed it into her knee, creating two sharp-ended weapons. And, so began the tearing up of Fleeting Forest. Shrubbery and bark flew around the dungeon wherever Cerulean went. She spun gracefully, ripping apart whatever she deemed an obstacle. The exit was finally revealed behind an artificially crafted wall of vines and leaves. The natural thickness of the environment made it easy to miss, so it was startling when the lucario went to put a gash in yet another tree and she swung through her target effortlessly.
"Well, that's useful." She relinquished the bone stabbed into a tree next to the hidden passageway. It dissolved out of the hole it impaled itself in.
The following room was a bottleneck leading into a larger spot. A few ponyta lied weak and dejected in the small area. They perked up but quickly lost interest when seeing the team.
"What's their problem... They don't seem aggressive." Glave looked between them as Team Fate continued toward their destination.
Their problem became clear.
At least eight ponyta, all galarian as well, sat around a rapidash. It was badly injured and kept its eyes closed, opening them briefly as the intruders drew closer. The equine Pokémon tried lifting its head, but it fell with a thump. The ponyta the trio had been following joined behind them, expressing surprise when the Pokémon discovered its targets arrived first. Galloping over, the pony neighed and whinnied, motioning its head vigorously between Glave's team and the fallen horse.
"What happened here?" Cerulean knelt and touched a paw to the rapidash's lower body. "It's aura has seen better days. Certainly not these last few ones, either."
"If anything, that goes to show these berries may not be what they seem." Glave looked at the glowing fruits.
"This is the last floor?" Shara peered toward the far side of the room. Sure enough, the light at the end of the tunnel was literally and figuratively before them.
"I think I get it. 'Fleeting' Forest. We got lucky receiving this dungeon." Cerulean stood.
"W-wait! We aren't going to leave this Pokémon here, are we?" Glave turned between the two women.
"Is there a problem? I can put it out of its mystery quite easily if that's what you're worried about." The Zoroark licked a claw.
"What? Tch, we can't do anything about this?" He turned to the wild Pokémon with determined eyes.
At this point, the attention of the surrounding Ponyta had been gathered. The ones who weren't standing nearby yet had raised their heads and locked eyes with the scene folding out.
"We have some oran berries, but it won't do to give all of them to a wild Pokémon, Glave." Cerulean placed a hand on their treasure bag, holding it closer to her.
Shara stepped up to Cerulean and whispered in her ear. The lucario gave her a puzzled expression but merely shook her head.
"Alright, do what you will, but I'm gonna step out and get some fresh air. All these colors are getting to my eyes." The dark-type was through the exit in little time.
The surrounding uncivilized Pokémon looked like their hope had been ripped in half.
"...I'm sorry. I don't know what to do." He placed a hand on the rapidash.
A ponyta's legs trembled and it fell. It made no effort to stand.
"I can't say I expected you to get so," the lucario thought for a moment, "emotional."
"Is it bad that every time something goes wrong, I want to ask Zero to fix it?" His empty eyes fell to the ground.
"That's random. But no, I don't think it's 'bad.' Or maybe it is. But it's understandable, I'd say."
He glanced at the dog curiously.
"He can do anything. That just means he can fix any problem. So, when a problem comes up that you can't solve, of course, you'd think of someone who could easily fix it."
"...Yeah."
Cerulean crossed her arms. She knew it would be unwise to use their supplies on a Pokémon they'd never see again. To her surprise, Glave's eyes lit up again. The grovyle sighed and put both claws on the fairy-psychic type.
As his breathing calmed, roots crept out of the ground. It wasn't like frenzy plant; these were tiny and plentiful. They clung to the grounded horse, causing its breathing to hitch as it was startled. Eventually, most of the wild Pokémon's back and belly had vines connecting to it. Glave's breathing grew gradually harder.
"What move is that?"
"..." Lost in focus, it took the grass-type a while to register what she said. "Ingrain. Instead of using heal pulse, Zero uses recover, a self-repairing move, to remove damage from his targets. If he can manipulate the rules of a move, I don't see why I can't. It's a struggle though, commanding these things not to cling to me instead."
Glave stood and panted.
"So?"
"So I think that's all I can do. I don't have a clue whether or not this will really help, but I can walk away at least believing I did the right thing."
Even still, the pair remained momentarily. It felt like they didn't have permission to leave yet, but Glave was the first to break that unspoken notion.
It'd been fairly warm inside Fleeting Forest, as the thick foliage trapped heat efficiently. The cool air hit his rock-hard erection like an iceberg.
"Ngh- Damn!" The grovyle found the ability somewhere inside him not to double over.
Rustling leaves caught his attention. Jerking his head toward the sound, Glave closely examined the source of the sound through an eye and a half. Another grovyle made his heart stop. It dipped into the bushes behind it and took off.
The male didn't hesitate. Through lust and the annoyance he felt toward the presence of it, he chased down the Pokémon. An artificial clearing came into sight. Not minding the idea that a Pokémon of his size shouldn't be able to chop down as many trees as there had been, he approached his target with jagged breath while he licked his lips.
The other grovyle was a female. And she was in heat. It was undeniable; seeing her on all fours and waving her rear seductively could've taught the greatest fool her gender. The pheromones violently assaulting her counterpart were the authorization needed to continue. Glave's cock bounced with excitement as much as it did with his step.
He fell to his knees behind her, perfectly lining up with her. He felt something brush his knees, but he thought nothing of it.
[Where do I start?] Heart racing, he took both hands and prepared to spread her pussy for a better view.
Purplish-black smoke emerged from her body as he touched her. As the illusory mist cleared out of the air, Shara was revealed to be laying on her stomach. She held her head in her hand and was casting her sight behind her to watch Glave. Since he hadn't stopped for the transformation, he continued his original movement.
Though confused, he was still delighted to see furry black ass cheeks parted before him. Two entrances were on the menu, but he cared only for the female exclusive one.
"You- Ooah~" Shara lost her chance to talk rationally with Glave.
"Oh yeah~" The grass-type moaned.
Not a millimeter of his penis was without shelter inside the zoroark's cunt. It slid in effortlessly; she was just short of twice as tall as him. Put simply, she was meant to accommodate larger Pokémon and with them bigger dicks. That wasn't to say she didn't feel pleasure when she got rammed from behind. With a tiny waist separating her large chest and rear, she possessed the optimal figure for humans to fuck, had they not frowned upon the thought so unanimously.
Shara's ass jiggled with each thrust. Her mane bounced as well until the bead tying it into an oversized ponytail slid off her torso and onto the ground.
"You're so bad~ You do realize you're raping me?" Not bothering to disrupt the pleasured face she already had, Shara pouted through her voice.
"You're- uh, bigger- uh, and stronger than me. You could- fuck!" Soon after he attempted to speak, there was less talking and more fucking.
A vine snaked out of the ground under the dark-type's body. She was startled at first, thinking it could've been a snake-like Pokémon. This vine contained dull thorns. It was quickly used as a studded tool on her clit.
"You've done this before~" A long moan broke her words when her clit was rolled and pinched between the vine, a thorn, and the cock drilling its way deep inside her. "You dirty, dirty boy!"
Talk like that didn't normally appeal to Glave. Right now, it fueled him. Shara bent her knees, lifting her feet off the ground and pressing her heels into Glave's back. She began curling her legs, helping him thrust and making it more powerful.
A soft squelching came from the action. The suction between his cock and the hole it was filling wasn't as great as it was with Cindy or Cream. The rhythmic sounds of sex and the forest were entrancing. Using the two claws on each hand, Glave kneaded and groped her ass. It was soft, and doing so gave him better access to the view of his cock disappearing inside Shara.
[I'm fucking a zoroark.] His member twitched inside her. [Imagine if Cindy saw me.] Guilt was conceived and quickly aborted by lust.
Gripping her buttocks tightly and spreading them, the grovyle pounded her pussy as hard as he could. It was bothersome, knowing he couldn't reach the end of her tunnel, but he was determined to get something else there.
"Fuck! It's so- you're so hot and wet-"
Shara giggled in the midst of her cunny's beating. Her mate's words were warped by her pussy's grip.
"What the- damn! You didn't say you were gonna..." Cerulean blushed. It was a weird thing to walk into. Glave was never so... assertive, and the woman he was claiming wasn't what she would call compatible with him.
"Hehe, he's so mean. Forcing himself on me like this~" Shara pouted once more to the new witness.
The zoroark unraveled her legs from him and flipped over, keeping Glave's rock-hard staff inside her body. Arching her back, she made his intrusion visible in the form of a bulge at her stomach. Rotation during sex was a new concept for the poor male, and he fell onto his bitch's slim waist. Wrapping her legs around him, she began forcing his body to thrust into her while she was too dazed to do so.
"I can't even. You look ridiculous. Almost like a mother and son." Cerulean gagged at the last idea.
"J-jealous? You should be- ah!" Shara licked her lips and opened her mouth welcomingly.
The lucario blushed lightly and looked at Glave. He was in another world at that time. The dog climbed on top of her darker companion, sitting on her knees directly on top of her face.
"Your sly species has a long tongue, so I'll be damned if you suck at using it."
Shara's devilish grin was hidden by Cerulean's thighs. She delivered a long lick to the lucario's groin, pressing her rough tongue against her clitoris, swirling around the Pokémon's labia, and poking her anus with her tongue. Her target flinched at the end.
"Watch that."
[Watch this~] Shara thought in response. Her tongue snaked inside Cerulean's rear entrance.
"Oh! Ow- ew! Stop, stop-stop!"
Cerulean tried to stand, but Shara grabbed her thighs quickly and pulled her back down, forcing her tongue back inside the unorthodox entrance.
"Mmm~" Her tongue coiled and twisted around inside the lucario's asshole, who squirmed on top of her.
"This is so gross." The fighting-steel type conjured a small bone; It quickly disappeared, save for the end, inside her pussy. "This was what you were supposed to use, you weird- ugh!"
"Oh, but- wow, that's good," she was interrupted by a moan, "I wanted this one instead." She'd gripped her secondary lover's thighs tighter so she couldn't escape. Now that she was done talking, her tongue slowly dragged along until it stretched all the way out inside Cerulean's heated ass.
It was incredible, how Shara managed to look like she was getting dominated when she was dominating herself.
"N-ngh! Uh~" Glave's noises began to change and increase in frequency.
The exploring muscle was removed from Cerulean's butthole with a plop. Ducking under the lucario's thighs, Shara shot into a sitting position, hugging Glave tightly.
"Oh shit! It's too-" He tried to cry out, but his face was currently buried in a chest full of fur.
The zoroark ground her hips fervently against the grovyle inside her. Sitting with her legs crossed around him, she tightened her body's grip on him as much as she could when his balls tensed up.
"Come on, come on, now!" She demanded.
Her movements became erratic and jerky. In the odd position they sat, the two thrust their bodies at each other to put his cock at the furthest point inside her possible.
Cum shot into her, and she released a long, exhausted yawn. Just as Glave had intended, his cum reached her cervix, painting and pushing through it. Just like with Cindy, there was no chance for a child since their species weren't close to compatible. Full of semen, she pushed Glave away from her, hard.
He landed on his back, and instantly his back arched- a direct consequence of the pleasure on his dick.
Shara bobbed her head up and down on the cock in her mouth. It entered and exited her throat with nothing more than a little bit of suction at every full cycle. Up and down, up and down, the dark-type did everything in her power to swallow Glave whole. The sounds Glave was making might've been audible to the whole forest.
Cerulean watched from behind awkwardly. She didn't want to think about where the zoroark's mouth had just been compared to where it was now. The blue Pokémon doubled over and she maneuvered the energy bone inside her as fast as her speedy reflexes allowed. Her climax hit like a ton of bricks. She yanked the bone away and bit her bottom lip as it trembled. Her paw went crazy on her pussy's lips and clit until girl cum sprayed the leaves beneath her. Shrieking in pleasure, the lucario threw her head back as her orgasmic fluids flooded out of her like a broken dam.
[Shit! I haven't let go in a little while now...] She turned her tired eyes up.
Shara was jacking Glave off at dangerous speeds. Dangerous for him, if she got the angle wrong by five degrees. She was also playing with his balls, groping, squeezing, and licking them in a uniform rhythm. The wolf kissed the part of his cock just under his tip, sucking it hard when she did.
Smiling and closing her eyes, the Pokémon slowly and thoroughly continued to stroke the grovyle's rod as he delivered more semen to her. Three strings coated her face, while cum already leaked out of her southern mouth.
To Glave's relief, it was over. His cock began to shrink, signifying that his worst nightmare, attract, had lost its effect.
"Fuck me, I'm so tired." Cerulean stood and used her foot to overturn the leaves she'd soiled.
Shara took a step toward her and stuck out her tongue.
"Uh-uh, no way. Not literally." She shivered. "That was so gross. How do you stand that?"
"I dunno," the zoroark shrugged. "I wanted it, so I took it. You should consider anal. It's my favorite, but as young as Glave is, I didn't think we'd have that in common."
"I've already had anal sex, thank you."
Cerulean rolled her eyes and began walking again.
"M-man. That was incredible." Glave stood and gripped the base of his limp organ, applying pressure and pulling his hand down, putting another small blob of sperm on display.
Before he could remove it, a hand on his shoulder got his attention. Shara got low enough to be where she needed and sucked the tip of his length, swirling her tongue and abducting the last of his baby juice.
"You are weird," he sighed.
"You are no longer gonna walk around with your sword swinging all over the place thanks to me. Consider some appreciation for your comrades." She winked and stood.
And thus, sweatier and more tried from their own excursion than from the dungeon they'd gone through, Team Fate continued to progress. Before long, the sun was preparing to fall behind the horizon. Its hazy orange-red light spilled out over the land, cascading over similarly colored leaves and turning clouds pink.
The three Pokémon came into a wide area composed of severed and uprooted trees. Plenty of trunks were present to sit on, but it was clear the intention of whatever had been done was to make a clearing large enough to stand out.
Glave and the two females were halfway to the center of the square area when they saw two other individuals.
Zero and Violet were sitting on two separate stumps. Zero's eyes were closed and his face, while it didn't look strained, lacked the normal calmness he displayed when he meditated. His dirty blonde hair poked just past his eyebrows but remained comfortably out of his eyes.
"Wh-what!? What the fuck!?"
The grovyle jerked around to see the source of the commotion. Cream landed on a tree trunk. Her jaw hung open at the sight.
"You guys are freaking disqualified!" The lopunny barked.
"And under what premise is that, hun?" Violet retorted, eliciting a fiery chuckle.
"What do you think!? You teleported here, there's no other way you could be here!"
Beat landed behind her. Azure teleported in beside him.
"What...?" Azure looked confused, but not awe-stricken.
Beat crossed his arms. He knew they'd lost miles back.
"Cool it. Your complaining won't solve anything. I'm more upset that we're slower than we have been in prior years. Never in our four years has an exploration team beaten us to a rendezvous point." The lucario sat crosslegged with a huff. "It's no use, Cream. I could feel them move steadily. Everyone here played fair and square, and the next team to arrive will take almost an hour."
"I-I don't understand..." Azure mumbled. "Glave... Glave, you guys opened up with a slight detour, then you went through a mystery dungeon right? How are you here? We ran without entering any dungeons, that doesn't add up."
The grass-type shrugged.
"Fleeting Forest was five floors, which we found very quickly. As for Mystic Lake, we saw all we wanted to see. I think Suicune moved out, by the way."
Zero's lip curled down on the right at the last statement.
"Well, I wouldn't want anyone to know where I lived if I wasn't here to protect the Pokémon I'd be hiding from."
There was quiet for a while. All of the Pokémon, plus Zero, rested after their efforts. Cream was the only entity that lacked patience by the time the next team showed up. Fortunately for her, the rest of them slowly poured into the clearing one after another.
Several teams wore bandages and grim expressions. Roll call proved for no fatalities, not that there was expected to be any, but out of the 43 that were present, 7 Pokémon had some form of injury.
A small team of psychic-type Pokémon consisting of Azure, Violet, a kadabra, and a musharna formed a medical team that quickly took care of the scrapes, scratches, sprained ankles, etc.
"I think we got off lucky." Glave looked around the mass of rescue and exploration teams. "I get the impression that everyone here would feel inclined to strangle us if they knew our dungeon was only five floors."
"So they got the short end of the stick. I hope having taken up the jobs they did, they're used to that." Shara crossed her arms. "Having been said, I also hope that you're prepared for the same thing to happen to us."
Once everyone was settled down, it was announced that they would spend the night in that area. No one complained under the sky that was slowly being drained of its color. Light meals were distributed, more or less being catered to specific types and diets. Glave naturally gravitated toward Zero when everyone was at peace.
"Hey."
Zero's eyes were closed, but he knew the grovyle was coming. He was keeping track of every detectable Pokémon in at least a five-mile radius at the time which wasn't a lot; an enormous group like the expedition's was enough to scare away a pack of luxray in their own territory.
"Hey. Was your dungeon hard?" Inside, Glave felt a competitive desire to brag.
"I didn't go to a dungeon."
That competition deflated.
"Really? How come?"
Zero shrugged.
"Apparently Team Ultima, or whoever is regarded as the strongest team anyway, takes direct routes in order to get to destination's first. We had to make this clearing by our own hands. Or moves anyway. So, how's it feel to lead Team Fate?"
"Lead? Zero I'm not..."
The formal leader opened an eye to look at his partner.
"I'm not mad. Is it something you like? I assume you would've joined a rescue team regardless of my arrival, given you were so eager."
"Something I'd like... You mean as in being the permanent leader?" The tone of the reptile's voice was dripping with melancholy.
"Don't get ahead of yourself. I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you until I believe no one can beat you in combat. I intend to make you stronger yet."
His words got Glave thinking.
"Does that mean... Well, I guess I never asked directly, but could my father beat you in a fight?"
"Me?" Zero finally looked aware. He focused on his grassy companion, whose eyes were equally honed on him.
"You said until no one could beat me. I can imagine I need to be able to hold off legendary Pokémon for at least five minutes, but you're something else. I don't think anyone in the world can take you down. So, does that mean you want me to be able to?"
"...That's a really good question." The young man fell flat on his back, hitting the stump he rested on with a thud and staring at the few stars popping up in the dusk sky. "It would be nice, having someone strong enough to make me feel like I could let my guard down for a second. But I don't know if it's possible. You have so many more disadvantages than me. I'm typeless and can choose my type at the same time. I can-"
"What? Choose your type? I've never seen you do that."
"I don't do it. Maybe I'll show you one day, but it's on its own level of draining. I have to get rid of all my aura and recharge aura of a specific type. Then when I want to change back, I have to either use or discard that aura."
"Oh."
"No."
"Huh?"
"Your dad. Glave couldn't beat me. Or at least, I don't think he could. He believed me when I said I would win against him, and he respected my wishes when I told him I didn't want to."
"You... didn't fight him?"
"Oh, we did for practice or competition. I mean when we met though. Voltage was so uncertain about me, dutifully so. Ruby didn't know what a human was. Shocking, given she was older than me. I don't think Latios ever wanted her to know what one was. Maybe that's why we butt heads so much. Even still, Glave was the leader, and they listened to their leader. He accepted that I didn't want to capture them and didn't engage in combat when I forced myself onto Team Luck."
"What? You never told me the full story, but every time you give me detail, it contradicts what I had in my head, haha." Glave laughed. He sat against the tree trunk, lying dormant at his leader's right side.
"I'm sure you'll get the full story one day. Just like Cindy will get today's story eventually." Zero snickered.
"H-how can you tell stuff like that? You don't have super smell or hearing do you?"
"You probably won't get that story one day." The human clung to his smile as long as he could. "At any rate, we need to get to sleep. I'm ready for this to be over, assuming nothing happens. Good night."
His voice had been dismissive, but Glave's mind was still active.
"One more thing, then I'm done."
"Shoot," Zero sighed.
"What do you think happens to Pokémon- well, humans too, when they die?" He asked the question so low that a normal human wouldn't have been able to discern the message.
Zero didn't particularly want to discern it. Once upon a time, his throat would've tightened and he would've struggled to get the words out.
"I'm not really sure," he began. His view of the sky was becoming blurred. He turned his head to the left, allowing moisture to spill out of his eyes in the form of two small tears. A sceptile sitting against Zero's stump looked over his shoulder and smiled encouragingly, offering a nod. "But I like to think... whatever happens, we're given a chance to watch over the people we left behind."