FA/N: If you want to know what the 'more realistic' Pokémon in Truth and Lies look like, a good place to start would be Joshua Dunlop's art. You can find it at "joshuadunlop (d0t) art stat ion (d0t) c0m." ... Ffnet is getting more annoying with their filters. He's done most of the first 151, and a couple extras (Espeon and Umbreon come to mind), plus his art is amazing in general. Worth a look.

Finally, if you like this story or any of my other stories, please consider supporting me on Pa Tree On. You can find it by going to ww w . Pa tree / KajaWilder (you must have NSFW filter turned off to find my page). I can only continue my current (or faster) pace of updates if I can pay my bills. I'm not there yet, but I'm definitely getting closer. If you think about how much enjoyment you get out of a movie- about two hours worth of fun- for $10-20- you are getting far greater value by supporting a writer like myself. If even one in twenty people that read this supported me on Pa Tree On at any level, I would be able to easily continue focusing on writing more... and you could read more. I'm going to keep writing anyway. But the pace would be and will be a lot faster if you can spare a few dollars monthly. My lowest tier isn't even a small drink at a theater, any more. Is it worth it? Is it worth it to you? If so, then please support me.
Of course, you can ALSO find more of the same stories there. I post everything on this site at least a week after it's posted on , so if you want more and don't want to wait, well... there you go.

For those readers who've been loyally reading this for ages, you probably already know: I have a DISCORD. You can find tidbits, maps, images, and more related to FwB, P:TaL, and Z:PoW as well as all my Omake there. In addition there's a few other useful links you might enjoy. If you want to learn more about my writing, go check it out at discord . gg / EDHf6ZG . You might find fun stuff there. :)
That's enough out of me, though. Enjoy!

Chapter 14: Deception / In Plain Sight

In the bowels of Lab 55, Lieutenant Colonel Gregory Phillips continued watching the fifteen year old girl, clad in only the barest of clothing, suspended in a vaguely green translucent fluid in a cylindrical tank that would have easily contained someone three times her size, as she twitched and wiggled. The various cords and leads, tubing, and other things that ran from her petite but curvy body mostly went up, only the restraints strapped around the girl's ankles kept her from floating to the surface in the viscous, gel-like liquid in which she was suspended. "She's responding well, isn't she," he asked one of the passing lab technicians.

The white-coated man wearing Game Freak's logo on his lapel paused and looked up from his datapad, ceasing his brisk walk and glancing up at the tank Phillips was watching. "Specimen RDV? Yes, she's responding better than any other of our altered specimens. Is there something else I can help you with, Colonel?"

"No, go on," the older man waved a hand casually as he smoothed down the uniform he habitually wore. It had been strange, a week ago and the few weeks before that, to be incognito and wearing Game Freak's uniforms while questioning some of the advanced testers, or even helping with interviews during the rush. Back in his familiar clothing, the scientist and military man grinned. You've come further than anyone else, little one... your DNA has synced almost perfectly with the Ditto. Soon, we're going to up your testing. You're doing well so far, darlin'... don't let us down. You might just be humanity's only hope. If we can figure out what makes you special, anyway.

The truth was, they didn't know.

Ditto, as a Pokémon, were highly adaptable. The only other Pokémon that even came close to the sheer level of capacity Ditto had for mating with others were the Eevee line, and those only adapted with the various natures of the world they had come from. Ditto could, so far as he and the rest of Game Freak or his superiors knew, combine their chromosomal material- not quite DNA, but the relationship was so close it made no difference if you weren't a biologist- with nearly anything.

Like many, he was familiar with Pokémon growing up, it was as ubiquitous a franchise as any other, and what child didn't grow up playing at least some video games in the last century? He was very familiar with the concept of Pokémon in general, and could say, with some authority, that currently he knew more about them than almost anyone alive.

Anyone on Earth, anyway.

Finding out that they were real... that had been a rush in itself, and not for the childlike nostalgia it had brought up in his middle-aged heart. No, he was a military man, and a scientist more than that. He considered himself rational, intelligent, even intellectual, above all else.

It was the potential they offered.

He hadn't believed it at first, but the first time he'd realized, the strange blue-skinned 'snail' in its spiral shell that Maline kept in her office moved, clearly climbed out of its cage and slithered across the floor to mewl at him plaintively while he waited for Maline to meet with him a few weeks after the project had begun, he'd had little choice but to believe. There was no way robotics were that good, and he'd been to the other world himself now, more than a few times.

Pokémon had incredible potential. The world in which they were native was relatively clean, pollution-free, immense open space... all things Earth of the present day lacked. Mega-Cities, the result of corporate greed and massive population growth beyond the capability of the older, more traditional governments to manage, were swiftly expanding beyond the capacity of the planet to sustain, even with rapid increases in food production and environmental cleanups. They did little to slow the tide, much less reverse it.

The climate crisis of the early two-thousands had been just the tip of the iceberg, after all.

But Grimer, one of the most simple Pokémon, were said to be able to break down organic- and chemical-waste products into constituent components, doing so as a means of digestion, leaving behind a trail of very toxic ooze- far, far smaller than the previous mess had been. That, in turn, was eaten by a few other poison-types. If they could get enough of them to self-sustain on Earth, landfills, plastic waste in the oceans would be a thing of the past. Koffing and its larger evolution, Wheezing, did the same thing for airborne pollutants. Grass-types could regrow the forested areas, long-diminished for paper before it was able to be synthesized, and the widespread use of datapads negated even that need.

The weather could be adjusted by Castform in large numbers, or even a few specific Legendary Pokémon.

And that didn't even take into account the Ditto.

Humans, able to change their shape at will, adapt to nearly any environment or circumstance by willpower alone? It boggled the mind, even without direct military potential (he was, after all, a soldier). Men who could march by the thousands through arctic or desert conditions without extra gear or provisions, who could survive sub-zero temperatures, then go- via Teleport or other rapid-transit technology that already existed in the other world- directly to the scorching sands of the Gobi desert, and adjust to the new climate before shock set in?

Astounding. And Game Freak, a manufacturer and designer of games, had found out the truth first. The dreams of its creators were inspired by psychic emanations from the other world, and as they became more well-known around the world (Pokémon GO had been the final clincher, he suspected), more began to come with those first emanations.

His own parents had been some of the people affected. Military minds were affected, but mostly scientists at heart. Thus, the portal was created.

Lab One, the deepest hive of Game Freak's current building and enterprise, was under the most strict of military oversight. He himself, a Lieutenant Colonel, could not get in without going to his superiors to get access. For it was in Lab One that the Gate was built, where it stood to this day.

The Gate that led between worlds.

Living matter suffered, it was twisted and warped as it passed through, but it could survive if it wasn't too fragile. Things put through ended up elsewhere, on another world, one that already had humans- English speaking humans, no less- on it, humans who shared their history.

A world with an Earth-like geography, so similar as to be eerie.

A parallel world, but one where Pokémon existed.

To save the test subjects suffering, they were not physically put through the Gate. What good would they do if it took days or weeks to heal, anyway? Instead, during the first set-up scans, Ditto-adapted bodies, like the ones he was looking at only far more primitive, took on the appearance of the people who were 'driving' them via psi-tech uplink. The Virtual-Reality game was reality- just a different one, which was why pleasure and pain were still active.

The game itself was a myth. The plotlines, untrue. Already, people were starting to see signs. Game Freak had done their best to limit the Pokémon found around the available starting regions to what was found in the first two generations, as the 'login AI' said, but they couldn't get them all. Thus, some 'players' had Pokémon from every generation of the 'series', though no one had, to his knowledge, found a new one yet.

'NPC's were not at all driven by the 'massive AI'. No, the servers GF had purchased were powerful, indeed the most powerful computers available for any purpose, military or otherwise, but they did not run a true Artificial Intelligence that itself ran the game. One held the biometrics and maintained the health of every artificial and real human involved in the project on both sides of the Gate. The other ran the HuD interface and Pokédex tracking system, which was nearly as immense a project data-wise.

The Joy that Subject One had first initiated sex with and later gotten into a gangbang was, like Subject One himself, a Ditto-adapted human. Her original personality had been destroyed by the process. Horrific, he knew, but unintentional. Their first experiments were clumsy, and not by lack of trying. DNA editing was already at a magical level compared to what was possible a century ago, and the process itself was nearly commonplace. It was the Ditto. They had initially screwed things up by being too adaptable.

Now, implanted memories and what was essentially cloning had taken the hundreds, thousands, of people that had died in the first generations of the project, now twenty years in the making, and turned them into living, breathing, functioning members of a society that had never really existed. They were close to the original Pokémon world's people. Only, because of their rebuilt natures, each was... customizable.

The Joy in Pallet Town, he knew, having looked into it personally, was once a woman named Catherine Bogan, twenty-six. Now she was a permanently twenty-two year old person who loved sex far too much... because they'd made her that way after her old self was obliterated when combined with a Ditto.

Specimen RDV was similar in many ways, but she was one of only twenty humans who had been converted on this side of the Gate after a Ditto had, almost by accident, come through and been captured. Of those twenty, four survived, and RDV was by far the best-adapted.

She could even use the Pokémon's abilities, though she was limited in how often. Thus, the testing. She was currently being electrocuted, and as the amperage and voltage increased, rather than spasm more, her body actually started shaking less.

It wasn't anything lethal, not even really painful probably, for the girl's nerve-centers almost reflexively shut off pain. That was one of the most fascinating finds for him, personally. A soldier who can ignore pain moments after getting it, no matter how intense? They could fight on despite the worst wounds, as long as they still lived.

He suspected that Specimen RDV's abilities went far beyond that, but the lead scientists in Lab 55, which he oversaw personally, weren't talking if so, and no report had ever mentioned it.

They lack... imagination, I think, to figure out what you can do, RDV. I don't. But I'm going to wait, for now. I don't fully trust GF not to abuse you once the tests are done. I think you'll thrive if we send you through, especially if we keep the scanners inside you. I know you'll help us, won't you? You want to see our world, our people, saved. I know we've done terrible things to the humans of your other world, but we're trying to get better.

… Aren't we?

Lt. Colonel Phillips didn't really have an answer for that, though. He hoped, but he had no real faith. Not in humanity, not anymore.

Adisa grimaced as she looked at the black-clad young men and women, all wearing the same sort of pencil skirt or tight trousers and body-hugging knit tops with the red R emblazoned on them front and back, handed out food and water to fifty times their number of women, children, elderly, and a few adult or older teen boys and men. "What happened?"

Morley paused the holo-feed, "A Legendary Pokémon called Heatran. It... well, created a volcano overnight. Those people are homeless now, their entire village is wiped out, buried underneath lava which is still too hot to go back to a week later."

"I... I see," she frowned, and wiped away a tear. Morley, behind and to her right a little, grinned. This was the fun part... the hook. It always made him happy to get a new member for his organization (and the heavy bonuses that sent his way), but a pretty lady like Adisa Chuke? He'd have her in his bed for real soon enough. Maybe I'll even keep her for a while. "What... what are you doing about it?"

"Well, handing out relief supplies, of course," Morley gestured toward the screen as he moved around and sat down, handing her a second helping of the miso ramen he'd cooked and hooking one arm around her shoulders casually. "Medical support, and our Pokémon are hard at work building temporary and more permanent structures to house them in. It's slow going, but we get faster by the day. That's just one example, of course. Our people are helping out in at least six disasters all over the world right now. Legendary Pokémon are a huge threat, one that must be contained. That's why Team Rocket wants to capture as many as we can. Not to exterminate, but contain and control. A hurricane or wildfire or other disaster is useful- if they can be controlled. Uncontrolled disasters threaten not just us, but Pokémon too."

Adisa nodded. He was right. "I... how can I join?"

"Well... you just did. I'm a team manager, and I say you're hired."

"O- Oh."

"Now, I think we've had enough of the heavy topics for now. What do you say we have a little fun? You like romantic comedies, right?"

Her white teeth shone in the dim light of his upper-class apartment's sitting room, "I do... how did you know?"

"Call it an educated guess. You're just my type, you know?" Gullible.

While he didn't quite 'get lucky' that night, the searing kiss he'd gotten before she left promised him it might not be the last one from her. She was clearly interested, but didn't want to go too fast. He could wait. He could be patient... for now.

Soon, Adisa, you're mine. And Team Rocket doesn't let go of what we've got.

Elle peered around the dimly-lit room. It hadn't changed at all, now that the middle-aged woman who'd asked her several questions, much simpler ones and a shorter list than last time, had left. The walls were still the same yellow cream color, the false window on the far right wall displayed a night view of Pacific City from high above on one of the mega-corporations' many towers, possibly the very one she found herself in. Her stomach growled, and it was that which prompted her to swing her feet out from under the thin blankets and slip from the comfortable bed onto the carpeted floor. The hospital gown she wore when going under was very smelly, more of the tangy smell of her aged arousal than anything else, but she shucked it off quickly, throwing it into the hamper nearby before she remembered that the large window on the left showed anyone walking down the main hall inside the room.

She glanced over her shoulder to find a pair of orderlies helping a thin, tall young woman who looked a little emaciated down the hall. One of them glanced her way, and he nearly stumbled as he realized she was stark naked.

Elle only shrugged, not really embarrassed. It was only her butt, she was facing the other way, and besides- she looked good, and she knew it. With a grin, she headed into the small bathroom, just remembering to lock the door before she sat on the toilet and began her business. There wasn't much, the nanites did their job of taking care of bodily waste fairly well, but there seemed to always be a little something when she came out. Not that I've done this a lot. What is it, the third log-out?

While showering, Elle's mind had drifted continually back into the game, and more importantly, Alex.

It was sort of strange, she'd showered just a few minutes earlier in her mind. Sort of showered, anyway. Alex himself had been the one to clean her, and to bring her to orgasm with his hand, while her own had done both deeds for him. But while it was blatantly sexual, she found herself unable to really enjoy it except as a means to dull the pain in her avatar-body. Echoes of that still lingered in her stiff shoulders and a few tender spots in her abdomen and thighs, places where the Sandslash's spines had stabbed her. It's so weird how the feedback works. It's almost too realistic. Still, I have to hand it to Game Freak and SoNinten. If the pain in-game isn't enough to keep you from wanting to get hurt or being too reckless, feeling it afterward certainly would.

There were no visible marks aside from a minor bit of swelling, but Elle didn't really expect anything else. It would have been truly horrifying if the psychosomatic components of the in-game injuries were manifesting in the real world.

Once her shower was done, Elle found a datapad on her nightstand, the message light blinking rapidly. Huh. No log-in. Towel-clad, with another around her long hair, she picked it up and swiped. There was only one app available, a messenger that looked proprietary. She touched it once, and found the single message easily.

Miss Berkman,

Dinner this evening will be provided at the cafeteria at the far end of the ward. Only the 'special group' of playtesters will be attending this particular dinner, as matters will be discussed that have no bearing on the main group. Please attend at your convenience and order what you wish, all costs will be covered. You will be paid for attendance as if you were still in-game, as this is a work related function.

Please be in a seat of your choice by eight sharp for the presentation. Failure to appear may result in disciplinary action.

Sincerely,

Maline Greengrass

Elle shrugged, then glanced to the corner of the datapad. Forty minutes to dress and get down there, easy enough. But which of my whole two outfits to wear...

She opted for the one she'd first arrived at the GameFreak offices at. Would Maline recognize her? Probably, if she bothered to look. Elle doubted there were that many minors involved, especially if they had to get in the way she did. Not everyone had her level of skill, after all.

Dressed in a tank-top beneath a jacket, short denim shorts, and trainers, her hair back in a ponytail, Elle stepped out into the hall for the first time in... How long has it been? A few weeks? A few days? Shit, I can't tell anymore.

To be honest, she didn't really care. What she did care about were the few other people she saw in the hallways, most of them carrying a datapad and looking freshly showered themselves. But she only had eyes for one. "A- Alex?"

The tall young man, clearly a few years older than herself but not yet truly mature, paused mid-step, then turned to face her. "Elle? Is that- you?"

She grinned. The SoNinten system was amazing! It had captured him perfectly! "Sure is. You want to go eat?"

He grimaced, blushed, then nodded, holding out an arm for her to hook her own through. It was an intimate, yet casual gesture, one that made her smile. "I suppose I do. Any idea what this is about?"

"Nope, only what the message said. Special testers only. I guess all these people," she gestured up and down the hall around them as they walked, where more people were beginning to fill the wide, long space, each heading the same way after a moment's look around, "have been playing the same version of the game we have been."

"Looks that way," he nodded, "Maybe stick close? I don't think anyone will do anything, but if people have been getting too used to... well, that bit of extra freedom, you never know what they might try."

She didn't reply, only pressed herself against him. Arceus, he smells good in real life, too.

Even though she'd just gotten off in the game, Elle already found herself ready for more, wanting him. If I lose my virginity out here, I lose it in the game, right? It scans every time, doesn't it? But if I lose it in the game first, do I lose it here, too? Or would it be twice? Huh, I wonder... suppose it doesn't really matter, though.

Alex led the way into a room with seating for about five hundred people at long banquet tables, about twenty-five to a side of each, which were laden with a huge variety of food already. Servers, robotic catering staff, each emblazoned with the familiar Pokémon logo in red and white, were moving around, bringing glasses of wine or other drinks to people as they sat. Without asking what she thought, he maneuvered them through the now-thinning crowd to somewhere near the front and center, four tables in and three down from closest to a small stage where a podium stood, bearing GameFreak's logo.

He helped her sit, demonstrating once again he was a real gentleman despite being as horny as she was all the time, letting Elle beat him to both the food and looking around. The sheer variety in the group of people in the room of, she guessed, about three hundred attendees boggled her mind. She knew, of course, that three hundred was a true pittance compared to the population of just Pacific Mega-City, or even the population of the Tower, but it looked like a lot when presented this way. Men, women, even a few other children, some that looked as young as twelve or thirteen, of either gender were present, though the vast majority were older, full adults at least, with not a few elderly among them, people old enough to remember Gen31, maybe, the first one that had featured any kind of true adult themes. At least in the Gen31+ version.

The food, burgers, fries, chicken, potatoes, all of it was excellent, steaming or cold as needed, cooked to perfection, but Elle didn't really care. She was too focused on looking at the others, trying to judge the competition. That was only one of the issues, however. The next, more important but something she could not allow herself to indulge in, was the way that Alex's off-hand was resting on her thigh, casually, as if it belonged there. Like she was his. He doesn't even seem to notice. I'm not complaining- I'd call myself that if he asked- but I'm not just his. He doesn't own me. Still, it does feel nice.

The third matter was possibly least important, but as the dinner wore on, she found it more and more irritating. A distant, incessant buzzing or droning, which seemed to emanate from the back of her head. It was distracting, even a bit painful, like an obnoxious headache one might get from falling and hitting their head, or headbutting a cupboard. Nothing she did, from rubbing her head, to pushing her fingers into her ears, or even shaking her head seemed to help.

"Is there something wrong?"

She blinked, surprised by Alex's question. She looked up at his concerned face, "N- no. Just a bit of a headache, that's all."

He frowned, "That's one of the symptoms of being logged on too long, you know."

"Yeah, but it only started after we came in here. It's supposed to be as soon as you log out if it's that," she reminded him, "anyway, look- there's Maline Greengrass."

"Maline? Who's that? Oh, the other lady. Yeah, I remember her."

Both fell quiet as the stern woman, who now that she was outside of the game looked very much like Nadine Minier, the woman who'd just trashed her so badly in the Gym before logging out. A rush of antipathy came over Elle before she reminded herself that this wasn't the in-game avatar, though they bore a strong resemblance. Perhaps Nadine was her in-game avatar, but she had been close enough to recognize NPC eyes on the Gym Leader, so Elle doubted it. More than likely, her horny boss had identified Maline's figure as something worthy of putting in the game and asked her to model for it. What little she'd heard of the old man did seem the type.

Maline's voice, smooth and cultured, similar to Nadine's but different enough in tone and accent, cut through the general, quieting murmur of the playtesters the moment she began to speak. "Welcome, all of you. As you have no doubt surmised, the three hundred of you are it. Well, two hundred ninety-nine. One of your original class has been removed from the group, due to abuse of the in-game resources. You will not be seeing him again, and we are not yet sure if he will be replaced.

"Three hundred playtesters of all ages, genders, races, nationalities, you are the lucky few who GameFreak has selected to play our very special game first. What do you all think?"

She went quiet for several minutes while hoots, hollars, whooping cheers, and clapping resounded around the small auditorium and cafeteria. Nadine smiled widely the whole while, but eventually lifted a hand, prompting the room to quickly quiet again. "Thank you, thank you! We're very proud of it, as you can tell. This dinner is a bit of thanks from us to you, without you this project would have no chance of launching on time. Eat up, if you're still interested- I'll take questions once I'm finished, but there's no reason to go hungry, you need the nourishment!"

Chuckles rippled through the room, but this time Nadine gave it only a little time before picking up. "Most of you have experienced a full month in the game by this point, and we're well on track, but we could do with a bit more speed in case things get bogged down later. Just so you are all aware, the 'full game' at this point includes the ability for any one of you- either your group or the main group- reaching the Champion of the Indigo League, from way back in Generation One, and defeating their elite team, thus becoming Champion themselves. That does not mean you have to be Champion, because no one has to win the game. This playtest will continue after there is a Champion, and it will continue even if we never get one. Yes, that means as long as you want to keep playing in this game and testing it with us, you'll keep getting paid to do all this!"

She gestured behind and above herself, where a holo-projection, full 4-D, not just a holo-screen, lit up in vivid detail. It showed what looked like the first day of gameplay, where a horde of players from both playtest groups swarmed around the fields and forests surrounding Pallet Town, catching Pokémon, laughing, enjoying themselves, in a clear recording.

"And of course, this," another image replaced it, one that made Alex blush. His face was blurred out, but his clothing was not- and he was wearing that clothing- as he pounded Nurse Joy from behind., "Isn't she sexy? That Trainer is too, now that I think of it!"

Again, hoots and catcalls mingled with laughter and cheers. Maline let them go for a minute again, then chuckled herself, "And that's just the tip of the iceberg, as many of you know! If you don't already, well, here's your wake-up call. The Pokémon world is one of mystery, wonder, and fun. The people that inhabit it are as real as you or I, and they have all the same wants and desires. Even some of the Pokémon- most of them, if you use your imagination- can join in the fun, and what fun it can be! I don't need to explain it out loud, do I? Some of the children here might not quite be ready for that, as much as their parents have signed waivers!"

More cheering, and some good-hearted back-slapping of at least one teen boy Alex seemed to recognize, for he blushed as he looked at the kid. Wait, is he the one that Alex got to start that gangbang on Nurse Joy? Heh!

Elle's thoughts were torn back to Maline with her next statement, "But we're also just getting started. The next round of questions once you log out will be different. After a month in, we're fairly sure your health is not being negatively impacted, and even in the larger group we've only had one issue with health, due to a pre-existing condition. That player may even return in a few weeks!

"We here at GameFreak just wanted to let you know about a few key features. Yes, you can have sex in the game! All sorts, in fact! If it can be done in real life or your own twisted imaginations, I can almost guarantee our AI can handle it- I've tested some rather pervy fantasies in the game myself."

More catcalls, "What about out here?"

To her credit, Maline actually answered the man, "Sorry, I can't while I'm on the clock- you understand. Maybe if you make VP of Playtesting, so there's no chance of nepotism, stud!"

More laughter ensued, but Maline's easy demeanor, so different than the business persona she had projected during Elle's first interview, more like the second one after she'd revealed that she and GameFreak knew full well Elle's real age and how she'd entered the playtest group- quickly had the entire crowd at ease, Elle included. Her own admission went just a step further to that end.

"At any rate, there's more. No one yet has managed to defeat my in-game self, the leader of the Underground Gym, but one young trainer came close! I won't be pointing her out, but I'm proud of her! A few badges have been handed out, however, and you should all know it can be done. The Gym Leaders are not pushovers in this game, and in fact none of the trainers are- they scale with you. The same NPC Trainer who had a single Rattata when you first began the game may have a six-Pokémon powerhouse team when you rematch them with eight badges of your own. The AI can handle that, too! Speaking of badges, there are currently thirty in the playtest zone, which is Kanto and some parts of Johto. You don't need to get them all to compete in the League Challenge, but you do need ten, not eight, even if it's harder to get any one badge. Of course, there are ways other than all-out combat against a Gym Leader to earn one, too, even if that's traditionally it. Follow the rules of each Gym as set out by the Gym Leader.

"Second, very few playtesters have found the Vocation system within the game. Some of you have noticed you can cook, create things using in-game materials, and so on. Those are crafting skills, just like you've seen in games for a century and more, only more in-depth. If you know how to make something in real life, it's fairly easy to figure out how to do it in the game- and if you learn it in the game, figuring it out in the real world isn't hard, either. There's a close mental analog there, which isn't honestly worth taking the time to explain. You remember what happens in the game, so you pick up knowledge that way. Simple enough, right?

"But there's more to Vocations than crafting your own Pokéballs! You can make houses, or cars, or your own tuk-tuk. You can get a job, anything from waiting tables, to being a Pokémon Ranger, or even a- wait for it- Gym Leader. That's right, folks! One of the Gyms currently in the play area does not have a Gym Leader. They're waiting for a worthy challenger to step up and take their place. There are also in-game events for every Gym out there that could lead to players taking over the Gyms. Are you going to unseat my avatar as the Underground Gym Leader?"

This time, the cheering was more subdued, and one woman cried out, "In your dreams! She's fuckin' tough!"

"I know," Maline chuckled, "but she is beatable. Ground-types have their weaknesses, just like all others. Just beating her won't do it, of course, but it can be done. There are dream-jobs out there! Hell, some of you might even take on Pokémon Breeding- which works in more ways than one, at least for this playtest group.

"My final topic for the night before I start taking questions is this: We at GameFreak, all of us, want to reiterate our thanks for your participation in this program, and willingness to abide by the nondisclosure agreements you signed when you are off GameFreak property. As long as that continues, so will your employment, unless you wish otherwise. Now... Questions?"

A dozen or more hands shot into the air at once, but Maline didn't bother glancing around. Instead, she pointed down at Alex at once. "Yes, you in the front?"

"Yes, uh, hi, everyone, I'm Alex."

"You don't need to introduce yourself, just for the record," Maline interrupted, holding up a hand for a moment, "but you aren't restricted from doing so. Just remember that everyone more or less looks the same in this world and in the game world. Customization will only take you so far, and our records state that..." She glanced at her datapad for a moment, then looked up, "less than ten percent of you bothered changing your appearances at all. Just be aware of that, going forward. Please, continue Alex."

"Er, yeah. Uh... so I was wondering what the rules are for... well, spending time outside of the game."

"Ah, an excellent first question," Maline said with a smile, then looked about the room once more as she explained, "This floor is open to you special testers. There are fifteen more floors for the open testing, the one without the more, shall we say, fun aspects of life. There are no areas restricted for you on this floor. During server-check periods, which you already know we do once a month, you will be allowed a few days' leave to visit family, friends, and so on, providing you follow the NDA."

"What does that mean?" a middle-aged woman from somewhere far to Elle's left asked as he nodded thoughtfully and sat back down beside her, "No areas on this floor are restricted?"

"To clarify once more, it means that the bathrooms outside of your suites- if you should need to use them, and I'm sure some of you will eventually- are communal and accessible to all of you. The cafeteria, this room, is open twenty-four hours a day, though sometimes we have a lighter staff. Not everyone is logged out at the same time except the weekly resets for server consistency. You will be sleeping, mostly, in your assigned rooms, but you need not necessarily do so. Frankly, legally you are all adults in the eyes of Pacific Mega-City law, and you were since your final paperwork was signed. You can do what you want... as long as it is consensual between all parties. Our housekeeping staff is paid well to be discrete."

Excited murmuring suddenly ramped up around the room, and one more brazen young man a table to their right asked loudly, "So does that mean we can fuck here, too?"

"It does," Maline said with a chuckle, "but remember that, while GameFreak will help with... diseases, we are not responsible for children you might create, nor are we responsible for providing prophylactics. You can get them administered for a fee, which can be deducted from your pay of course, with the standard feeding apparatus while you are in the game."

"Sweet," the same man, who Elle noted had spiked, deep red hair about five inches over his crown and several piercings, murmured before sitting down next to an equally punk-looking girl.

"Can we have visitors?"

Maline frowned at that question, and shook her head. "No, unfortunately not. Bringing anyone not in the program past the lobby of the tower would be considered corporate espionage- you understand. Bringing them here would cause even more problems."

Elle swallowed. For all of her own criminal history (long as it was), she'd never done anything that could be considered corporate espionage. It happened of course, and hacking into the beta test could possibly qualify as such now, but the penalties for it in the corporation-run Mega-Cities was bad, worse than murder in most criminal cases.

"No other questions?"

There were a few more, as it turned out, but Elle largely ignored the less-important conversations as she mulled over what they had learned. Alex's question was perhaps the most important for her own goals, which were now beginning to solidify somewhat. She could, and likely would, continue to work for GameFreak for years if what they'd said about the option being open existed. As a girl, she'd never really been interested in corporate servitude, working for 'the man', awful hours for a pittance, just enough to survive. But this... she was making nearly as much as her father did, and doing something she loved... and she got free room and board on top of that.

A glance to her side made her grin, too. Spending time with someone I could love, too. And the game itself is super fun, all sex aside.

After that, she was less sure, but Elle knew there was more waiting in her life than this. What, she was not yet sure, but something. She just had to find it.

Eventually, the pair found themselves, stuffed to the gills, wandering through the slowly-emptying halls as more and more of the testers found their way to their rooms, or possibly rooms of people they had met up with in the game.

They were nearly back to their own rooms, one and two, when Elle suddenly got an idea. "Wait, Alex... let's go exploring a bit more."

"What? I'm tired," he muttered, looking almost annoyed.

"So? We can sleep in the game, remember? Come on, how often do we get a chance to look around without everyone hanging about?"

He frowned. The catering staff, what few humans there had been, were likely long gone, and the robotic waiters were even now cleaning the cafeteria, if they hadn't already finished. Still... "Alright, just for a little while. I really am tired."

"Sweet," she whispered, then leaned up on her toes to kiss his cheek. It was stubblier than she had expected, but Elle found the roughness strangely alluring, almost as much as his blush. He rubbed his jaw-line where she'd kissed him, looking bashfully around.

"They don't care, remember," she whispered, "we could fuck in the halls and they wouldn't say anything- other testers might, but GF doesn't care. Maline said as much. Come on."

He shrugged, and allowed her to lead him on at a brisk pace, past their rooms and left, into the broad square of the exterior hallway that curved, as far as they could tell, around the entire building.

First, the lifts which had taken them both here from, as she had learned during the conversation just that night over dinner, where Maline had taken part in interviewing them both personally. She frowned at the key-card access and punch-keys. Hackable later, maybe, but I need a base key to start from.

Another entrance to the cafeteria didn't shock her, but the gymnasium with its own pool next door did. "Cool, we can try and stay in shape, better than the nanites can do, anyway."

Unfortunately, there wasn't much else to be seen, as they soon found themselves walking through an endless corridor of windows spaced every twenty feet or so, identical to their own, and doors between them bearing placards that began at 300 and counted down, even on the inside and odd on the out, all the way around to just before the cafeteria again. "One bathroom for all three hundred of us? What a gyp," Alex chuckled, and offered only a token resistance as Elle tugged him inside.

Both gasped, one after the other, as they saw just how well-appointed the room was, however. Open stalls to provide a modicum of privacy to anyone not walking past gave some hint of public decency, but twenty of the forty toilet-bidet combos, or TBCs as most people in the Mega-Cities knew them, had no barriers around them at all. There were ten showers, too, divided from the sinks and toilets by only a low, waist-high wall of tile. Another door at the far end of the long chamber might have lead back into the gymnasium area, but Elle couldn't be sure.

"Wow. No privacy for us, I guess. Windows into our bedrooms, cameras everywhere- look, they're even in here, and some are aimed at the showers!"

"What did you expect," Alex chuckled, "If you haven't noticed, GameFreak's executives are the perviest bunch of people I've ever met. Who else would allow the kind of game we're testing?"

"Fun people," she replied with a grin, "Arceus, I'm going to tease them so hard... I wonder if anyone's watching us now?"

"Probably," Alex admitted, "but I'm... not really up for doing too much. I mean... in the game is one thing, but... you're still a kid."

"Legally adult now," she reminded him, "but fine, I'm getting a bit tired too. Maybe next time. Let's go back to bed. We log in at seven tomorrow, right?"

It was just about six hours away as Alex glanced at his watch, and he nodded.

But she wasn't about to let him off the hook that easy. He let go of her hand as they reached her room again, but she followed and stepped in behind him into his own without him noticing. Only after he had taken off his shirt did he realize Elle was still standing just inside the door. "Er... I'm, uh, actually going to bed."

"Go ahead," she said with a smile, gesturing for him to continue.

Alex frowned, a cute look for him she already knew, and climbed onto the bed atop the covers, his shirt, pants and shoes off, but socks and boxers on. "You look like a dork," she announced, then crossed the few feet to climb up onto the bed.

"Wh- what are you doing?"

"Laying down with you for a few minutes," she whispered, throwing one slender leg over his.

"Wh- you can't," he hissed, holding up his hands to fend her off, accidentally brushing her left breast. He yanked it away as if she were on fire, but Elle didn't mind at all. In fact, she used that to her advantage, and lowered herself over the older man to lay atop him, her arms framing his head as her hair slid slowly off her shoulder to twist the plait on her right arm. "Relax, Alex. I'm not sleeping with you yet. I'm just cuddling for a few minutes. I like having you close."

He didn't move an inch, didn't resist or put his arms around her while she slowly relaxed against his chest, her forehead against his, eyes closed.

"Hold me, dummy," she whispered after a few minutes, "and relax. I'm not going to bite you, and I'm still wearing everything."

He hesitated a moment more, then she smiled, lips brushing his nose as he gently brought one arm around her narrow waist, letting it rest there. "Mm... that's better. Next time, we'll have to snuggle for real."

"You... you're terrible," he groaned.

"Why?"

"You just are."

She giggled, then squirmed down, trying to get low enough to rest her head on his chest.

Elle made it to his chin before she suddenly froze as something hard, rigid, poked her panties between her legs. "Is... is that your cock?"

"Sorry," he grunted in response to her whisper, "I... I couldn't help it. That's why you're terrible."

"You get off on teenage girls giving you cuddles? Naughty Alex," she whispered, then twisted her hips. His erection moved with her, sliding just a little less than her own body did, and he groaned again, louder. She still wasn't quite ready to go all the way in the game, though, where the consequences were, in theory, less severe. She definitely wasn't ready to do so in the real world.

"Sorry, lover-boy, you'll have to take care of yourself tonight. I'm tired too, going to bed. See you in the game tomorrow."

"You really are terrible," he somehow found the will to chuckle as she climbed off him, waved to him and his bulge both, before slipping from the room. He watched her pass in the window, but she didn't glance in. He knew it was next to useless anyway, with the dim lights in the hall and the darkness in the room at night, it would be nearly impossible to see the bed anyway.

In her own room, Elle stripped quickly, chucking her clothing over her backpack that still sat in the corner next to her bed, and climbed onto the mattress in a hurry. She sent an inscrutable glance at the camera in the far corner, then climbed under the covers. The person on the other end, if there was one, could not be sure if she was or wasn't getting herself off before falling asleep nearly twenty minutes later.

The person, if there was one, watching Alex's room was a little more sure.

"Adisa," Morley said quietly but firmly, shaking her shoulder as she 'woke'. The night before, in the real world, had been eye-opening in just what people were willing to do in the game, but that quickly flew from her mind as she saw Morley, her new lover, in attire she'd never seen him in before. It almost looked like a para-military uniform, with armored plates on the sides of his arms, the front of his legs, and across his chest. He carried a helmet that looked almost like it was made of plastic of the same matte-black with a more shiny black visor that stretched across the eyes and a voxcorder at the front over where the mouth would be under the chin. The only decorations she could see were four golden stripes around the right upper arm and four stars on the helmet in a diamond, over the brow, and a golden R on the chest-plate, over where his heart would be.

"Morley? What's going on? How come you're dressed like that?"

"I have one for you too," he chuckled, standing up and taking a step back to admire her nude torso as the blankets of their now shared bed fell to her waist, "It's the combat uniform of our organization. We have a mission."

"A- A mission? But I just logg- er, woke up."

"We are leaving in one hour," he said with a shake of his head, "You can still back out. You aren't one of us yet, not fully. I can tell you that after this mission it will be a lot harder to do that. But we do good work, Adisa. I can't tell you about the mission in detail until we're nearly there, but I can tell you that we're out to save lives. Remember what I said about the Legendary Pokémon?"

"They're dangerous, I remember," she said seriously, then reached down to throw the blankets aside. He continued to watch as she rose from the bed, stretched, and leaned in for a quick kiss, which he returned eagerly. Adisa already loved kissing Morley. He was big, strong, handsome, paler than she was used to by far- she had only dated one other white man before, and it hadn't lasted long enough to get intimate- but she had no complaints about him now, NPC or not. If only more men in the real world were like him.

"Shower fast, we can eat on the way to the rally point. We're taking one of my compatriot's Charizards to the mission site."

She froze stiff. "Ch- Charizard? The... aren't they almost as dangerous?"

"If uncontrolled, they can be, yes, but this one was captured years ago, it's quite obedient, if not docile. And he's big enough to carry our squad, you included."

"I... alright."

Suddenly, this whole 'game' seemed far more serious. Riding a Charizard- an actual Charizard- into battle against a Legendary Pokémon... and she'd only been playing the game for a few weeks! She hadn't even left the first town!

Showered and already munching on a breakfast bar, tasty but full of nutrients she could tell, Adisa only had one question as they jogged down the street, Pokéballs on belts and her own uniform snug but strangely comfortable in a form-hugging way covering most of her body but hiding little of her beauty. "What is our organization, anyway?"

"Oh, I haven't said? I'm glad you said ours, though, Adisa- we're glad to have you," Morley said with a laugh, then turned to offer his arm to shake even while jogging steadily forward. "Morley Vaan, Executive Second Rank, Rocket Industries Combat Division."

"Rocket? As in...?"

"Team Rocket," he said with a confident smile, "You might've heard of us. Don't pay too much attention to our rep- we're the good guys. Of course, even we have our overmaster corporations, but Rocket does everything we can to help out the little folks."

Truthfully, Adisa didn't really remember more than vague rumors of long-historical games mentioned in her old childhood, but Rocket, Team Rocket specifically, tripped at least one 'caution' alarm in her head. She couldn't think of what it meant, though, so she kept running, only to screech to a halt after passing two well-guarded security gates in a massive, military-style complex on the northwest edge of Viridian City, manned by men and women wearing the same uniform she now did. Just inside the gate were more than two hundred Pokémon. Pidgeot, Noctowl, and more than a few Charizard, and a dozen or more others, several copies of many of them, stood in neat ranks while Trainers each wearing combat gear like their own fed, fixed riding tackle, or otherwise cared for the creatures. She continued following Morley in silence as they approached, then found herself rather gormless as he stood before the other men and women, herself at his side facing them.

After a few seconds, one tall, rather square-faced but not un-pretty woman announced, her voice sharp, loud, and commanding, "Executive on deck! Attention!"

Within seconds, even the Pokémon had 'stood to', while the humans, NPCs mostly but she thought there were a few actual Human Trainers among them, were looking firmly in their direction. She swallowed nervously, but Morley didn't hesitate.

"This is Second Officer Adisa. You'll address her as 'sir' or 'ma'am' for the duration of this operation. I am Morley Vaan, you'll address me as 'sir' or 'commander'. Our operation is simple: Find Zapdos and capture it. Drive it off at a minimum."

"Zapdos?" one elderly man in the front row, the oldest one she could see present, asked, "Sir, that monster's killed hundreds of our men!"

"I know," Morley growled, "but you didn't have me. It's wreaking havoc on a power station on the east side of Kanto, one of the new wind/tidal turbine platforms. They haven't got the men nearby to secure the platform, but we can get there within two hours. We'll form a recon team. If it's still dark from storm-clouds, that'll be you Noctowl riders. If it's bright enough, the Pidgeot platoon will do that duty. While that's going on, we'll recon a suitable staging area to evac civilians to nearby. If Zapdos is spotted by anyone, you will retreat. Lead him to us, to me. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Good. I know this is a hasty op, and we barely have a plan, but speed is of the essence here. Get going, trust your flight captains, and the intel we're going to gather while en route. Rocket Wing Two, prepare for takeoff. We lift in five minutes."

The next three hours passed in a blur of hasty preparations, and the blasting of sulfur-fumed wind as the Charizard she and Morley were riding on with two other members of the team as passengers and one Trainer, lead the multiple v-shaped wings far, far to the east, into the rising sun.

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