Chapter 4 – A Officially Unofficial Duel

I woke up a short time later still with my Pokémon huddled around me. Bolt, my Yamper, and Taiko, my Grookey where still in the same place that they had been when I'd fallen asleep. I lifted my head off of Bolt's body and he lifted his own head and licked my face. Then I felt Taiko push my hair out of my face and look at me with concern. I pulled the small monkey down and kissed him lovingly and then kissed the end of Bolt's nose. "Thank you, my sweet boys, I do feel better after that rest. I don't know what I would have done without you. We're going to have our hands full with that Gyarados I think." Both Pokémon nodded at my statement. I went to stand up and felt something sticky on my butt as I went to stand up. At first, I thought it might just be dried cum from Gyarados but when I inspected it, I noticed it was a blue paste like substance with some leaves mixed in.

I scooped a small amount of the substance onto my finger and inspected it. It was sweet but the smell was very familiar. It was mashed Oran berries and herbs. Taiko must have gone off to gather medicine and treat me as best he could while I was passed out. My heart swelled with love for the small Pokémon. I leaned back down and scooped up my two boys into my arms, smothering both of them against my breasts and peppering them with kisses. "And you even tried to heal the damage Gyarados did to me, I love you two." Both Pokémon cooed happily and I set them back down. "Ok, I need to clean back up and maybe use one of those potions on myself before we get going. Can you two keep an eye out for me so we don't have another curious fish take advantage of me?"

The last thing I said with an air of humor, but in reality, I was still in shock over what had happened with Gyarados. I had been raped by a large Pokémon and if I hadn't let it happen there was a very real chance I could have been killed or injured. While I had managed to defeat and capture the beast, I wasn't so sure in my ability to call my rapist a partner at this time. The feelings were still very raw as was my lower body I discovered as I started to clean myself up in the shallows of the stream. My guess was that I had probably torn something in my lower half during the sex with Gyarados, I needed to go get checked out. With a few more splashes I felt clean enough to get dressed again.

Before doing so I laid down and awkwardly tried to use the potion on my sore pussy and asshole. It was not going well until I enlisted the help of Taiko, he seemed to grasp what I needed him to do and helped me insert the tip of the potion applicator into my rectum and then pulled the trigger to release the healing liquid. Instantly I felt relief flood my body and much of the dull ache I'd had since waking up was gone. I really must have caused some damage and I didn't know what the potion was made of, or how they worked, but I was damn sure glad that I had bought plenty. Repeating the same process on my sore vagina I was suddenly feeling almost back to normal. I got dressed and picked up my pack, that's when I finally dared to look at the Pokéball that my Gyarados now sat in.

A cold shiver ran down my spine into my feet as I picked up the ball. I knew that the Pokémon within was still knocked out from the attack of my two Pokémon and I needed to make sure I was healthy myself. So, I stowed the ball away for now and made my way back to the road and down to Professor Magnolia's house.

The picturesque cottage sat at the end of the road next to a lake surrounded by gardens and plants. Off to one side of the yard I noticed a regulation size dueling pitch where Hop and Leon were standing and working through some sort of training routine. I did my best Kecleon impression and tried to blend in to my background and go see the professor in peace. With them so wrapped up in their business I was able to make it unaccosted to the door of the old professor's home. I knocked quietly and was bid to come in.

Opening the door and stepping through the threshold I saw Professor Magnolia sitting at her dining table sipping on some tea. The old woman had her lab coat on and her signature walking stick adorned with a Corvinknight on top sat next to her. "Ah, young Kassi, come in dear. Sit, would you like some herbal tea? I just brewed it and its nice a soothing."

"Yes ma'am thank you that sounds lovely." I said as I pulled up a chair next to her at the table. Bolt and Taiko were still out of there balls and each took another chair at the small square table. "Oh, sorry Professor! Guess I should put them back in their balls, huh?" I said as I started to fumble for the balls at my belt.

"Nonsense Pet, I'm a Pokémon Professor. You think I'm not used to a Pokémon sitting at my table by now?" She said with a light hearted chuckle. She took care to pour me a cup of the hot tea and offered the milk and sugar that many people preferred. I liked my tea as is and started to sip at the warm beverage. With the first sip I could taste the finely steeped leaves, they weren't too bitter or sweet and a glow started to grow from my stomach out as the warmth grew throughout me. Without realizing it I let me shoulders relax and exhaled in a deep sigh. "What's the matter dear? You look troubled?" The sweet old woman asked.

Professor Magnolia had basically been a Grandmother to me. Sonia and I had spent so much time together that I knew this woman almost as much my own mother. I felt my face burn with embarrassment at the thought of telling her about me and Gyarados, but I knew I needed to get help and the Professor was one of the most likely people in the area to know how to treat this sort of thing. "Well Professor, something happened on my way here. Something that is hard for me to talk about, even right now my face is burning just thinking about it." I started and I could already feel the tears threatening to break loose from my eyes. With a concentrated effort I took a deep breath and continued on.

"While on the way here I decided to wash myself off in the stream so I wasn't dirty when I got here. There was this cheeky Magikarp that kept nipping at my butt and I thought nothing more about telling it to shoo and then I splash some water on it." I paused, my hands starting to shake a little bit. Professor Magnolia placed on of her hands on mine and nodded for me to continue. "That's when it started to evolve, and before I could get back to shore and my Pokémon it grabbed me and then…" My throat seized before I could get out the next words. It was like I had swallowed an apple whole and my eyes were blurry with tears. Professor Magnolia rubbed her hands back and forth across the back of the hand she held. She didn't push, didn't prod, but let me take my time and gather the strength to continue on with the story.

"That's when the Gyarados grabbed me and started to assault me. Before I knew it, the brute had flipped me onto its stomach and was threatening me to service it. I did so, even tried to fuck the monster to get to safety faster…" That's when I lost my composure and broke down crying. Uncontrollably sobbing into the shoulder of the older woman as she pulled me into her and tried her best to comfort me. I felt the hand of Taiko on my back and Bolt nuzzling into my side. My entire body shook with the force of my sobs and all I could feel in that moment was the burning shame at myself and the anger towards Gyarados. I felt so powerless and I know he was just following his baser instincts, but that didn't bring me much solace.

For several minutes Professor Magnolia and my Pokémon didn't say anything but instead focused on comforting me by being there. I felt their affection and support flowing over me like a warm bath. It slowly spread into all the corners of my being that had become numb and cold. After crying so hard for so long I was out of energy and was reduced to shuddering and brief spasms as my mind spun in a thousand directions to try and bring itself back to rights. That's when Professor Magnolia decided to speak.

"Dearie, what you went through was a horrible thing that I would wish on no one in this world. I can only imagine the dread you felt in that situation and the shame you must feel in having done what you did to stay safe. Just know this, you are a very powerful young woman that has already had her first stumble on the road to becoming the first female Champion in a generation." The had pulled me away from her now soaked lab coat and was looking into my eyes.

"B-b-but I enjoyed i-it by the end P-professor. I even climaxed as I was…was…was b-being r-r-raped." I said, my voice still shuddering with the last bit of my sorrow.

"I don't see how that matters Kassi. You are a young woman full of sex drive and vigor. You are right to have enjoyed the act but also right to feel bad about what happened. What you can do now, though, are one of two things. You can continue to wallow in this sorrow, walk away from the Gyarados you captured, and call your journey to an end. Or, you can realize this pain and sorrow are necessary stepping stones to becoming an even better trainer and move one step closer to your goal. I've known you since you were a little girl Kassi. You want to become the first female Champion in a generation. Why do you think that title has been held by men for so long? Because the sex drive of male Pokémon is so much more aggressive than females in almost every species. Any girl who faces this road faces a very real chance of running into a situation like yours. Now it's up to you to choose whether to use this to galvanize yourself to become stronger or not. I think you are an amazing young woman who is more than capable of exactly that." She kissed me tenderly on the forehead once she had finished her speech.

She was right, one of the main reasons that female trainers didn't make it to the championship was due to accidents along the way of their journey. That and the last couple of Champions, including Leon, had been powerful and ruthless when it came to competition. I needed to change that, wanted to change that. Although I could not change the past, I could take the initiative to own this fact and make sure that I was stronger for it. I would become the master of that Gyarados, after-all if I could dominate my rapist and make it into a trusted ally, there was nothing and no Pokémon I couldn't master.

I wiped the tears from my face and looked at the sweet older woman. I gave her a large hug back and tried to calm my breathing so I could get back to normal. "Thank you, Professor." I said as I held her tight and she hugged me back. "Could I have you examine me? I think I took some damage myself and something tore. Taiko made a poultice of Oran berries and herbs when I passed out after catching Gyarados and then I applied potions to myself once I woke up but I wanna make sure that I'm healthy enough to head to the Wild Area first."

"Of course, dear!" she said without hesitation and ushered me into her office. I stripped down and laid on her clean desk and the woman took great care to look me over and be as gentle as possible. She said that I had indeed suffers from a tear in my anus but the mixture of the poultice and potion had done a good job of healing the damage. She then took out a Full Restore and with as much care as she could inserted some into my rectum and vagina. Then removed the applicator and had me drink the remaining half. The potion was bitter and tasted like strong medicine but I could immediately feel myself go back to normal. More than that, I felt amazing!

Once done with that task I got dressed again and excused myself to the restroom to clean my face up and reapply my makeup, which had become so tear streaked I swore I could have used Scary Face myself in that moment. Those tasks over I felt like I was almost back to 100%. I pulled out the Pokéball that held Gyarados and asked the professor to please heal him up along with my other Pokémon. She complied and put the Pokémon onto the portable healing machine she kept in her lab and in just a flash of a few lights everyone was up and back to their best.

I let Taiko back out of his ball and hugged the small monkey then continued to stare at the ball that held Gyarados. He was part of my team now and I needed to not be afraid of him. I needed to become its master and partner. As much as I didn't want to, I forced my brain to start spinning off nicknames for the brute. The first things to float into my mind came from the dark part of my mind. Names like Rapist, Asshole, Pervert and more first came to mind but I had to stop myself there. I couldn't think of a partner that way, I had to try to win him over with love like I had with Bolt and Taiko. He was a beautiful example of a Gyarados. His scales had been a vibrant cobalt blue and his eyes had held intelligence. That intelligence was part of what made the situation that much worse. If he had just been a mindless creature, that would have been one thing, but this Gyarados was clearly very smart.

Another series of names then started to come to mind Cobalt, Typhoon, Hurricane, but a name I finally settled on gave me the power and intimidation that I knew this Pokémon had. "Alright, welcome to the team Tsunami." I said out loud, choosing the Kantonian word for a massive and devastating blue wave. I then shrunk his ball down and placed it on my belt next to Bolt's.

"Alright Professor, you think I'm ready to take on Hop in an official-styled match?" I asked the older woman.

She pondered for a minute and then replied, "I would avoid anal for at least the rest of the day while you fully recover but I think that would be ok. You might want to put on some underclothes though so you have an article for each Pokémon, just in case."

She was right, but I didn't plan to lose anything. I was feeling cocky and walked out the door toward the dueling pitch. Hop and Leon looked surprised to see me coming out from behind them but I had my face set with determination. "Alright Hop, lets do this. I hope you're ready to be stripped!" I said with as much swagger as I could.

"You're on Kassi! There's no way I'm gonna lose and then you're gonna have to do whatever I say!" He said the last bit with a flush of his cheeks but I could see the determination in his eyes.

"Alright, I'll be the ref on this one. 3 Pokémon each, if one gets knocked out you need to strip before you send out your next Pokémon. Duel until a Pokémon is knocked out or surrenders. The winner gets to choose one sexual act to be performed by or on the loser." Leon said this with practiced ease.

I knew that Hop was going to hold back Prime and I didn't know what other Pokémon he had caught. He also didn't know about Tsunami or Bolt. I was also going to use Tsunami as a last resort since we had not had a chance to train yet. So, I went with my safest option. "Let's do this Taiko!" I yelled and then gave the monkey a passionate kiss, letting all the love I felt for him after everything that had happened today flow into him, before tossing him into the ring. Hop followed suit and tossed out his ball that held his Wooloo, Sargent Floof.

The two Pokémon stared daggers at each other while they waited for the battle to begin. Taiko knew what to do, I had already told him how to start of the match when we were training earlier.

"Begin!" Bellowed Leon beside the pitch and our Pokémon each leaped into action. Sargent Floof balled itself up and immediately went for a tackle. Taiko was expecting this though and rolled to the side to avoid the charging ball of fluff. Once cleared from the danger it swung its stick as hard as it could through the air. The stick sprouted dozens of razor-sharp leaves and they zipped in the direction of Sargent Floof. The Pokémon had just stopped spinning and didn't have time to dodge the incoming projectiles and they slammed into the Wooloo full force, causing a critical hit. Sargent Floof's wool was slashed in several places and the usually white wool was already starting to redden with the trickle of blood from several places. It took a shaky step forward then collapsed onto its knees, too weak to continue. (Might have over leveled prior to this fight) I thought to myself as Hop called the sheep back to its ball.

Hop then started to take his shirt off and I could see the budding muscles under his mocha skin as he did so. I whistled at the sight and Hop immediately turned a deep shade of red. "That was just a lucky shot Kassi! You won't get to see any more of me after this!" He said and with the final word tossed out another Pokéball. Out popped a Rookidee that immediately took to the sky to get out of reach of Taiko's stick. Before I could give an order to Taiko to return Hop shouted, "Peck Gwen!" and the bird dove out of the sky to try and peck Taiko. I managed to get my ball out just in time to get Taiko away from the super effective move before it landed. I then gripped Bolt's ball in my hand, kissed it quickly, and released the Puppy Pokémon onto the field.

"Let's make this fast Bolt! Discharge!" As if he had been reading my mind the electric dog unleashed the shockwave of electricity at the tiny bird before I had even given my full command. Gwen didn't stand a chance and chirped painfully as the electricity slammed into it. To the little creature's credit, it managed to stay conscious and flap slowly to the ground, it had been paralyzed to a degree and was now a lot slower than Bolt. "Bolt T!" I said giving the order for a Tackle. Hop smirked and called out to Gwen in that minute, "Hit it back with a peck." It was too late for Bolt to changed direction and he slammed into the sharpened beak of Gwen at full speed. I heard a yelp come from Bolt and saw Gwen faint after the hit, but Bolt was now hobbling and had a spot of blood trickling down from his front shoulder where he had made contact with the Rookidee.

I could heal him up but I felt that was in poor sportsmanship for this fun exhibition match. "Great job Bolt I'll get you healed up soon. Get some rest buddy, the other two will handle the rest of this." I said as I called the Yamper back to his ball. "That was slick Hop, using my own attack against me. I'll give you a tie on this round, but I didn't wear anything under this dress so…" I said as I reached down and hiked my dress over my head and tossed it into the grass behind me, "this next round is winner take all." Then smiled at the bewildered look of Hop, Leon, and Professor Magnolia as I stood there in my birthday suit. Hop slowly came back to his senses and started to remove his pants and when we stood up, I noticed that he was stiff as a board and much better endowed than I had expected.

I also spared a glance towards Leon while reaching for my next ball, his eyes were clearly locked on my chest and there was a large bulge in the front of his pants, even bigger than Hop's by my guess. This brought a smirk to my face and gave me the confidence I needed to do this next thing. The only Pokémon Hop had left was his Scorbunny, Prime. While I was confident that Taiko was stronger, I didn't want him to get hurt. That left only Tsunami as an option to finish this fight, I steeled my nerves and gripped his ball tighter. I was the trainer and he was my Pokémon, I couldn't be afraid of my own Pokémon.

Hop got his Pokémon out to the field first. Giving Prime a peck on the cheek before sending her into the arena. I could see even from a distance that the rabbit was stronger already and it made this decision even easier. "Go! Tsunami!" I brought his ball to my lips and kissed it before summoning the large blue dragon. Tsunami appeared with a roar, floating on an invisible cushion of air just a few inches above the ground. Fear was sudden and immediate on the faces of both Hop and Prime.

"Bloody hell Kassi, how do you already have a Gyarados!" Hop yelled at me across the pitch.

"Long story Hop but focus on the fight for now buddy!" I said in response trying to get the attention of Tsunami. I wasn't sure what moves the dragon would know but I'm sure something water related should be in there. "Alright Tsunami! Let's get that little rabbit wet!" I yelled and to my surprise he listened. Tsunami reared his head back and let out a geyser of water in the direction of Prime. The small white rabbit jumped up and over the water, spinning in mid-air and kicking out with a small fireball of ember, but it was no good. I watched it hit Tsunami on the snout and the dragon just huffed and looked annoyed. Once back on the ground Prime's feet were soaked and I knew this was it for the battle. "Tsunami, bind" I ordered thinking back with mild terror at the feeling of being caught in the whiskers of Tsunami only a few hours ago. Prime tried to leap away but was quickly wrapped up in the whiskers of Tsunami and he began to squeeze. I heard a yelp come from Prime and then I yelled out, "Don't hurt it big guy, just keep it from moving around." He seemed to listen to a degree but I could still see a look of anguish on the face of Prime even after my order. "Hop it's over, call it off now and Prime won't get hurt."

I saw a look of hurt on his face as he shook his head at first in defiance and finally defeat. He knew he was beaten and recalled Prime to its Pokéball right out of the whiskers of Tsunami. The large blue dragon bellowed its victory and then turned around to face me. I watched its eyes spark with desire when it saw my naked body and my stomach lurched when I watched two familiar white spears starting to appear from their sheath on its lower body. "Bring me your head dummy." I said to Tsunami and motioned for it to lower his head. In a whisper I spoke to the Pokémon so only he could hear, "we have a lot of shit to talk about later, but I'm proud of you for owning that fight and not hurting Prime. Get some rest and we'll have time just the two of us later." I looked into the large red, intelligent eyes of my Gyarados and then kissed him on his huge snout right above his lips. With that I heard a satisfied grumble and his big tongue darted out faster than I could get away and picked me up with the force of the full body lick it gave me. As fast as I could after that I put Tsunami back in his ball and shuddered and the memory of the tongue that had almost stripped my pussy lips off. It was rough in texture, like a cats, and even after that one lick I felt like I had been rubbed with sand paper.

I then turned my attention to Hop who was now standing naked in the center of the ring, his cheeks blazing red with shame. Now was the chance to both claim my prize and show some mercy. Making sure to swing my hips in a catwalk I strode over to Hop. I didn't recognize my friend like this. We had grown up almost like siblings, and while for the last few years I had wished he'd look at me like a woman he had never really seemed to take notice. Now he was standing there in the body of a boy on the verge of his prime man-hood. While still lanky he was starting to gain definition to his muscles. His abs especially stood out in almost comical definition to the rest of his body. Most impressive though was what I was not expecting. Hop was very well endowed. Almost 10 inches in length (25cm) and with a hefty girth that wasn't too big, maybe half the girth of my wrist. It was a truly impressive package and I reached a tentative hand out to wrap around his manhood.

"What do you want me to do for winning Kassi?" He said without making eye contact and looking sideways towards the ground. I felt him almost wince when my fingers wrapped gently around his erection then he relaxed a little when I gave him a friendly tug. I wanted his attention. I wanted him to look at me and see me for the woman I was. I wanted my childhood friend to become more than that. But I knew that if I pushed too hard now that he might run in fear. We also had a mountain to climb in front of us that would lead us to challenge each other like this again. So, I couldn't push hard, for now, but I could make him at least take notice of me as a woman.

"You and your team fought well Hop and I don't want to embarrass you. You're still my friend after all. I want something simple; I want you to look into my eyes and then I want you to kiss me until I say I'm satisfied. Nothing more than that…" I paused for dramatic effect, "this time." I had a smile on my face as I said that last part. This was it. My first kiss and it was going to be with Hop. My heart felt like it was about to burst out of my chest as I locked my sky-blue eyes onto his hazel ones. I could feel his heartbeat racing as well through the erect member I still held in my hand. Waiting there for several seconds I was hoping that Hop would make the first move but he seemed to be frozen in place. That's when my patience ran out and I slid in closer to him.

His large cock passed between the gap in my thighs and slid along my wet lips to poke out behind me, head pressed in between my ass cheeks. That's when he finally took some action and wrapped his arms around me. He leaned down and pulled me into his lips. They were full and warm and he was very clumsy with his mouth and tongue at first, but as the seconds ticked by and our kissing became more impassioned his technique seemed to improve. I could feel myself losing more of my self-control and it took all my force of will to not wiggle my hips and grind against the massive cock pressed against my sex. When I felt Hop growing bolder and his hands were starting to slide down my back toward my ass, I decided that was enough to keep him coming back. I broke the kiss and the hold and told him, "Ok. I'm satisfied. Thank you for the match Hop. Can't wait to do it again."

Pulling away from him was so hard but I knew that I needed to do this. Something in the back of my mind told me that playing the long game and the hard-to-get route would take me further with Hop then just giving it up right away. Leon cleared his throat beside the two of us and started out with, "That was amazing you two. A real show! I'm in not just talking about the Pokémon battle." He laughed to himself. "Get dressed and meet me back at the train station. We're gonna send you two off in style!" With that he flipped his cape and took off at a dead sprint back down Route 2 towards Wedgehurst.

Hop, for his part. Had the look of a lost puppy. His eyes were confused and his mouth hung agape. Although one part of him didn't look confused, his member was still standing straight up and giving a salute in my direction. I had to force myself to walk over to my dress that I had discarded on the ground and slip it back over my head. Just as I was fixing the position of the hem of my dress I heard a hiss and then a boom. From my right a gust of air and cloud of dust was thrown at me. "What in the bloody…" I started then watched Professor Magnolia hobble over to the crater.

"Ah, you two are in luck I was fresh out of Wishing Stones and you'll be needing them on your Journey." She said, bending over to pick up two small red gems from the small craters that had formed in the earth between the lake and the dueling pitch. "Yes, these will do quite nicely" She said again to herself.

"What the heck was that professor?" Yelled Hop trying to investigate enthusiastically whatever was in the old woman's hands. He had only managed to get his boxers back on and the old woman pushed him away with her cane.

"Hold your horses and get dressed young Hop. I'm too old to have you go and rile this old lady up with that trouser cannon you're packing." She started to walk towards the house. "One minute and I'll be right back."

She made her way toward the home and Hop scrambled to get dressed. "Do you have any idea what's going on?" He asked me.

"No clue." I responded and then let Taiko back out of his ball. The chimp chittered excitedly and jumped into my arms. Inserting his face into the Pikachu shaped keyhole on the front of my dress and wiggling his face back and forth between my breasts. "Hey, stop it you cheeky monkey." I said with a giggle as I pulled Taiko out of my cleavage and placed him onto my shoulder. He stared at Hop and I got the feeling that some jealousy was brewing there. I could use that to my advantage for now so I would leave it be. Taiko having his own rival wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, after all.

By the time Hop had his shoes back on and was picking back up his pack Professor Magnolia was slowly hobbling her way back towards us. The front pockets of her lab coat bulging. Hop and I jogged up to meet her halfway. She pulled two thick, digital watch looking bracelets out of her pockets. "Here you are you two, a couple of Dynamax bracelets. These will let you Dynamax your Pokémon in certain areas and take on the wild Max Raids in the Wild Area. Just be careful when a Pokémon is finished Dynamaxing it has a chance to greatly increase their libido for the next hour or so." She made a point of looking at me when she said that last line. I had heard storied about the female challengers getting nearly fucked to death by Pokémon that lost themselves to the MaxLust as it was sometimes called.

"That's why this Challenge is about using bonded Pokémon Professor, not just the strongest you can find but the one's that love you enough they would never hurt you." I said in reply, and meant it. I didn't want to constantly change out my team. I wasn't doing this to "Catch 'Em All". I wanted a team of 6-8 Pokémon that were as close to myself as I could make them. Love and familiarity would be the keys to my victory, not just raw power. That's part of why I was so nervous about Tsunami, we had started from such a rough place I wasn't completely confident that we could grow to that level. I had to try, though, and owed it to myself and my goal to overcome that hurdle.

The old woman nodded her head up and down humming to herself several times. "You're right Kassi and that's why this Challenge is different from the one the kids take at the end of summer. Your bond and personal strength of will is more important than the type or raw power of the Pokémon you catch. Good luck you two and I wish you both the best of luck on your journey. I'll be watching!" She then pulled myself and Hop into a matronly hug. I felt the warmth and love of this tender woman flow into me and I returned the hug in kind. Hop then took a step back and cleared his throat.

"Alright Kassi, we've got a send off and our Journey awaits. Let's do this!" He practically shouted as he spun on his heel and dashed off toward Wedgehurst. I waved to Professor Magnolia and then set off at my own leisurely pace down the trail, Taiko held on tight to my hair as we ran and chittered excitedly about something I couldn't quite understand, but I got the impression that he was excited.

We made it back to town without much incident other than having to run from an overly zealous Chewtle that wanted nothing more than to bite me for some reason. Once there I dashed into the Pokémon Center and healed up the party and topped off the potions I had already used. I also picked up a few of specific types of medicines like paralyze heals and antidotes. That chore done I made my way back out of the Center and dashed over to the clothing store. I had already picked this store over several times to get this exact outfit but I just needed to pick up a new pair of panties and get them on before heading out. While they might get in the way of some of my fun, it brought some peace to my mind to think it might have gone different with Tsunami if I had at least covered myself a bit. I bought a cotton G-string that was black and barely covered the essentials but was comfortable enough to not be annoying. After paying for them and changing in the changing room, I was ready to go.

The train station had a small crowd gathered around it as I approached it from the north. I pressed my way through the bodies to make it toward the front of the group. There was Hop, standing next to Leon and his prized Charizard, Ace. Leon motioned me over and I stood next to him facing halfway between him and the crowd. "Oi! Listen up you rowdy lot!" he yelled to be heard over the crowd and bring some order to the noise. "These two are set to leave for the Poképhile Championship Challenge today. I just watched them give one bloody good battle that has me excited to see what these two can do. That's why I'm gonna do something I've never done before for the 5 years I have been Champion. I'm gonna sponsor these two meself and endorse them in my name for the Challenge." With that he handed each of us a rolled-up piece of paper sealed with wax and his seal, a silhouette of him in his signature Charizard Pose.

The crowd cheered loudly and Hop and I both looked surprised. Being sponsored was a big deal, it meant that your matches took priority over other challengers that weren't and you were almost certain to be televised for every match. Being the only ones ever sponsored by none other than the Unbeatable Champion himself would mean that all eyes would be on Hop and I. "Wow, thanks bro!" Hop said excitedly and he bounced in place pumping his fist holding the letter in the air. "Yes, thank you so much Leon." I said as I held the paper roll tight against my chest and felt like the smile on my face was threatening to break it in half.

Leon had turned to face us and was smiling wide. In a tone just soft enough for just us to hear he said, "You two deserve it and don't let me down. I can't wait to take you both on in the arena. Hop, train hard and don't forget that the useless stuff like how you throw your Pokéball doesn't matter as much as your bond with your Pokémon. Kassi, you've got a tough road ahead being a girl that wants to take on this Challenge, but you're tough as nails and if anyone can meet me toe to toe in the arena, I know it'll be you. Good luck to both of you." With that he clapped us each on the shoulder spin around and struck his Charizard Pose to get another roar from the crowd. After the claps had died down people started to disperse some of them wishing us good luck as they went. Once the crowd was gone, we were left with only Leon and our mothers standing there.

Mum had clearly come from the field as she was wearing her coveralls, boots, and a hat. But she looked pleased. Hop's mom was wearing a yellow button up and tight leggings. The full-figured woman looked as sweet as ever as she hugged Hop good bye then me after Mum had let me go. "You two will do amazing and I can't wait to see your matches." She said to each of us.

"Yes, put on a show, but train hard so you don't become the show." Mum added. I wiped a tear away from the corner of my eye. This was the first time I would be leaving the immediate area and it was a little bitter sweet to be leaving home for the first time. I hugged Mum one more time and gave her a kiss, she returned it with a bit more passion and I watched Hop do the same to his mom. Interesting, I thought to myself. I hadn't ever seen Hop do something like that with his mom before, but then again I had only ever done this with Mum since yesterday. Once the embraces were broken Hop and I each stepped onto the train platform and then onto the waiting train. This was it! We were finally heading off to start our journey!

Hop and I took our seats across from each other. We each let our starter Pokémon out of their balls to sit next to us and play together and we chatted excitedly about what each of us were going to do first once we got to the Wild Area. The scenery passed by quickly outside the train and after an hour we slowed to a stop. We were not a Motostoke, like our tickets had said though, we were still south of it. A voice came over the loud speaker, "Attention all passengers. We apologize for the delay. There is a flock of Wooloo blocking the tracks up ahead. We appreciate your patience as we make our way into Motostoke after they have been cleared. If anyone wishes to depart the train and walk through the Wild Area to Motostoke you can do so at this time."

Hop and I didn't need any more encouragement than that, we grabbed our bags and stepped off the train and on to our new adventures.

***Message from DmDrewDragon. Thank you all for making it so many Chapters with me. I never dreamed I would take this story so far and the support and love from all of you and those on the GTIG discord have kept my fire lit and powerful. If you want to join us in fun discussions and maybe collaborate on artistic works please join the GTiG discord dot gg slash F5QdwRk /F5QdwRk

I would also like to thank FreeSoul, Chaoslord, NovaDazzler, and CrisisofInfiniteMisses for collaborating and bringing their respective characters to life. I cherish your friendship and this wouldn't be the same story without all of you.***