Has anyone ever wondered why is it then when we search for something, no matter how hard we search or how far we search, whatever it is that 'something' we are looking for never seems to appear, at least in the form we think we are looking for. This something always seems to appear though, in what we least expect it to be, and where we would least expect it to appear. If we ever stopped to think though, what it is we are truly searching for... then we will find the answer to what we seek... staring right in front of us~
= The Traveling Pattern Trader =
= Human (Clement) / Hisuian Goodra (Jill) =
[Narrator]
[The Hisui Region, a land as yet to be tamed by Human Hands, a land filled with terrifying creatures known as Pokemon, a land riddled with tiny pockets known as civilization... a land that will one day be the center of some of the greatest myths and lore the Pokemon World could offer one to discover. It will someday be known as the home of great pillars in the realm of Trainers, such as the legendary Cynthia, there will be hundreds of settlements, large metropolises and cities and it will be renamed the Sinnoh Region... but until then, there are simply tiny settlements home to the Pearl Clan, the Diamond Clan, and the recently arrived Galaxy Expedition Team residing in Jubilife Village.]
[But that's not to say that the world isn't aware of Hisui's existence, or that travelers from other regions don't sometimes drop by for a visit or for other reasons. In recent years travelers from other regions have arrived to Hisui, some seeking adventure, others to settle down, and others still searching for something rare and valuable to bring back to their home regions.]
[But Hisui is far from civilized, and it is far from settled, outside of a few tiny pockets in the vast landscape, Hisui is still a wild and uncontested region, filled with Violent and powerful Pokemon that are not yet ready to welcome outsiders into their territories, be they native to the region or otherwise. Yet occasionally, there might be one out of the many that are willing to lend a helping hand, a claw, a wing or... a tentacle maybe?]
[Clement's PoV]
He gasped painfully as he reached up and dragged himself, inch by inch, little by little, out of the raging river up the embankment, using all of his remaining strength, the human drive to survive pushing him on instead of just letting the current take him past the cliff and out into the southern Hisui Ocean to drown, another lost traveler that would be forgotten to time with any none the wiser to his ultimate fate. Squinting heavily, his vision hazy, all he could see were trees in the heavy rain, some wild grass violently waving in the vicious thunderstorm that was raging in the area.
*What were we thinking... coming here?* He thought as he struggled to move forward, trying to keep himself going despite losing everything.
Everything had been going so well, he and his friends from the Kingdom of Kaulos, having come here on a simple trading endeavor to try and get rich back home. It had been a struggle to get here, they had sunk 'all' of their savings for the passage here, using what little money they had doing the filthiest, most undesirable jobs to afford it. Cleaning urinals, scrubbing filthy tanks, tending to the rich's pets for well below the lowest price just to get the job... they endured it all just for this chance to finally claw out of their social class and get something 'better' for themselves.
When they'd arrived, the four of them... they were amazed, it was a beautiful land, almost like they were seeing a painting, the stories were almost true about the opportunities here in Hisui. Merchants made so much in their travels gathering and selling various items, materials, resources and anything else one might want to spend coin on.
And the Pokemon, the Pokemon that were here, some of them were something to behold, cute, cuddly, majestic or almost out of this world.
Clement had seen a perfect chance to get wealthy by trading and working to amass collections of paintings to sell back home in Kaulos to all the rich bureaucratic lords and ladies looking to boast about their 'unique' collections. And things were going perfect at first, they'd gotten a few calligraphy paintings depicting mythos, legends, and scenes from Sinnoh's region. This outing they had gone on was supposed to be just as easy a job, they were doing a simple 'gathering job' for the Galaxy Expedition Team...
It was supposed to be easy, go to the Crimson Mirelands, collect medicinal herbs for their healing corp, any excess or other items you find could be sold to the Ginkgo Guild merchants for money to keep. They were told that there was supposed to be a massive thunderstorm in the Mirelands predicted to roll through, almost like hurricane force levels of wind and rain, they were also warned of the numerous powerful, and particularly violent Pokemon in the area during them, and advised not to stay for long without help.
But they had help, each of them had Pokemon by their side, given they were... all the same, but they were the only Pokemon they could get, given their status and situations. During their time preparing a campsite, the storm hit... and during the hazy wind and rush of rain, light debris flying everywhere, a group of Alpha Ursurang found them...
*I hope... they're alright... and they got to safety...* He thought as he pulled himself deeper onto the embankment, pain coursing through his body as he could only use his arms to drag him forward.
His clothes were absolutely soaked and run through; the supplies they'd gathered lost in the storm... his friends... gone, and their Pokemon, lost to the winds as they fled into the wilds following their trainer's orders. Even his own, though he only had 2... he had sent them away fearing for their lives, even as they wanted to help him... but the Pokemon of this region... they were just... so terrifying.
Left with no choice, ordered by him and scared for their lives... they fled, pushed on by the roaring wind as he was left to fight the pack of Alpha Ursurangs alone.
Their Pokemon had no hope against them, but they were all they had... they'd tried to fight back, but... it was either they all die or at least their partners survive.
Gasping for breath, trying to amass a little more energy, a little more stamina to keep going, he reached forward with one shaking arm, his legs and body shivering in cold, his side a bleeding mess, all the adrenaline that had kept him going as he was slashed and bashed into the raging river gone. His vision becoming even hazier and cloudier, as he watched his hand grip the soggy mud, feebly try to pull him onward, and only pulling back a tiny clump full of mud, grass, and clumps of soft dirt.
He had no more strength left to go on as he felt his body weakening, his eyes closing, simply waiting for the end...
Just as his eyes slowly began to close, he saw just creeping into his sight, this little purple blob thing with little antennae-like tendrils on its head and look at him... before he passed out, and all was darkness.
That was all he felt, the sweet relief of sleep, where no pain was felt, where anything could happen, where his dreams became reality. He dreamed he was back home in Kaulos, his friends were all sharing a single pint of beer, it was all they could afford, they were saving every coin for the trip to Alola before they would continue to Hisui...
They were laughing at a joke Mordra just told them, talking about how their buddy's foot got stuck in a sewer pipe they were cleaning out to remove a blockage. Timbre was holding his face in embarrassment, obviously still remembering the sludgy mess that his shoe had been stuck in resulting in him walking around barefoot with cloths wrapped tightly around his feet to avoid the smell. Phillippe was laughing as he was working on the same pipeline but avoided the smelly situation since he had been tasked getting a replacement pipe segment. And him, Clemont smiling as he took another swig of his drink, looking forward to when they came back from their adventures in Hisui, filled with treasures and goodies to sell so they can 'finally' climb out of their pathetic positions in life.
All of them were thinking about what they would do with their money, Timbre was going to go to school to become a doctor, Morda was going to open a kitchen house, Phillippe planned on opening a store... and him... him... he...
He slowly opened his eyes and stared up into the comforting face of a healer from the Galaxy Expedition, even as she gently placed a cold wet cloth on his forehead.
"How are you feeling Clemont?" She asked him.
"W... wh... what happened?"
"A Ten Star Rank member of the Survey Corp found you in a cave, if they hadn't been in the area, you wouldn't have made it." She said. "But you don't have just us to thank for saving your life... this little one was your real savior."
She nodded to his side where he looked over and saw, sitting on a small table, this little purple goopy pile of what looked like goo, with adorable little eyes and four little antennae poking out of its head. "Goo!"
"It... saved me?"
"Yes, it seemed to have pulled you with nothing but its mouth into the cave we found you in, you would have bled out, but it used its slime to help seal the wound and stop the bleeding, it even used its own body to absorb all of the moisture in your wet clothes to help dry you out." She said warmly. "You owe your life to this little Goomy, it hasn't left your side once since you were found."
"I've... never seen one before... they don't live near me in... Kaulos."
"Gooo?" The Goomy asked with a curious smile.
"Well, in any case, you've been out for about five days, for a moment we didn't think you'd make it."
At the words 'Five Days', he suddenly remembered everything, the storm, the Alpha Ursurang, the attack...
"My friends... did... did any of them make it... there were four of us... please... tell me any of them survived!" He begged wearily.
The nurse sighed as she shook her head, looking downtrodden. "You were the only survivor the Survey Corp member found. They'd reported the bodies to a nearby Galaxy Expedition Encampment and several members of the Security Corp went to check it out, while they looked for you. By the time we arrived, it was already too late... your friends had been mauled and..." She pulled out a handkerchief and rubbed her now crying eyes, before she continued. "They managed to drive off the Ursurang before they reported to the Security Corp, but it was still too late to save them. We buried their bodies outside the village... I'm sorry, but you're the only survivor."
He felt a huge weight fall over him, suddenly the world just... seemed to not matter. Why did he live... why was he alive... why did his friends all die but he got to live... why did that Ursurang slash him and then just claw him into the raging river, instead of killing him with his friends. All three of them died but he gets to live, why not one of them? He had come here without knowing 'what' he wanted to do if he somehow made enough money. The others... they had plans, they had dreams, they had hopes... all he had was a faint idea about building a home somewhere in Kaulos... they deserved to live more than he did!
"Gooo..." The Goomy said sadly, seemingly aware of what was going on in his mind just based on his face.
"There... were Pokemon with us... they were all the same... did you..."
"I'm afraid we haven't had any Pokemon arriving in or near the village, this Goomy is the only new arrival. What is this Pokemon's species, maybe we've seen it around here."
"It's... Vivillon, it's not that large but it has large wings, the wings are differently colored patterns... there were, 'twenty'... of them." He asked hopefully.
If their Vivillon had survived, then maybe he could... at least, honor his friend's memories by saving them and bringing them back home.
But alas, the nurse shook her head, "I'm afraid I've never heard of that... it doesn't appear in our Pokedex, we have no records of it... I'm guessing it's from where you come from?"
He nodded and leaned his head back into the bed, so he had a 'small' chance that at least, he could save their Pokemon... assuming they'd escaped harm, but where would they go? They'd no doubt been scared and blown away across Hisui from that storm, this wasn't Kaulos, they had no idea where they were, their Vivillon were relying on him and his friends to guide them here.
"I'm sorry, but I need to go report to Commander Kamado." She said before leaving him alone with only the Goomy for company.
"Gooomy?"
He glanced over at the Goomy to see what it wanted, and saw it looking sadly at him, before it slowly 'gooped' its way to the edge of the table and leapt off to land on his chest. It was pretty light all things considered; he almost barely felt its weight on his chest as it gooped its way from his bandaged chest to sit next to him, gently rubbing his arm with its cheek.
He didn't really know what to do, so he just slowly raised his hand and started rubbing its jelly-like body. It was extremely soft, squishy to the touch and seemed to 'coo' in delight as he touched it. Petting the little Goomy made him feel a little better, if nothing else, seeing it smile as he scratched and petted its body, seeing it squish and gloop via his touch seemed to cause it to giggle.
"So, you saved my life huh?" He asked the Goomy.
"Gooo!" It replied happily.
"Why..."
"Goo?"
He looked back at the ceiling, sighing again. "Why did you save me... why not just... let me die... with my friends... at least I'd be with them then... they... they didn't deserve to die, I have nothing to live for now." He told it. "They were... going to do stuff, they had plans... dreams... all I had was a... vague idea... I was just along for the ride, because they were my friends... now... now I'm..."
He began sobbing again as he remembered again that his friends were dead, that he was alone, that he survived only by sheer 'coincidence'. The thoughts of 'why me', 'why not them', 'why did it have to be me', constantly raging and assaulting his mind as he sat there resting.
While beside him, the little Goomy listened to his words, frowning sadly as it seemed to understand what he was saying, what he was thinking... what he was going through, as it kept herself in hand's reach, not once letting him go a second without feeling it's touch nearby.
The next day after he'd had a good night's sleep, he'd walked into Cyllene's office from the Medical Corp, seeking to ask for help in finding his and his friend's missing Pokemon, since they were the only remaining ties to them that he had left. While the Galaxy Expedition Team and Jubilife Village were still only in their infancy of what the people wanted to do here in Hisui, it was still a bustling place of activity. He and his friends had taken on jobs from the Medical Corp, the Security Corp, and even the Survey Corp, though only in the tiniest of ways, he and his friends were still only treated as simple 'passersby' since they weren't planning on staying here in Hisui permanently to help them build a new life in Jubilife Village.
In Cyllene's office he was being told that 'no', he would not be receiving any help.
"Why not... I need to find my friends Pokemon..." He said as he stood in disbelief.
Cyllene with her typical cold expression that seemed to always be plastered on her face, even when she had 'good' news... just shook her head and flipped a paper over on her desk to read it quickly, before answering his question. "You see Mr. Clemont, none of our people have ever seen your Pokemon, so they wouldn't understand what to look for to begin with, not even our Survey Corp members have seen them, so your description also applies to 'other' Pokemon in this region." She explained. "Then we 'also' have another issue that we are currently dealing with, the Pearl Clan is currently in a state of panic as a daughter of one of its Nobles has gone missing with her Warden in Training. They were last sighted in the Alabaster Icelands and were making their way here, but it seems they've gone missing. We are already stretched too thin trying to help them find their wayward Noble and Warden to assist you. I'm afraid you are on your own."
"But... my friends, they're dead, I can't possibly find our Pokemon alone... they could be anywhere, I don't know this land well enough... you have to help me, for their sake!"
"What happened was a tragedy, I am sorry for your loss, but allow me to say, 'we did warn you' to be careful out there. We told you that during those storms you were advised to remain near Galaxy expedition encampments until they passed so as to avoid the most dangerous Pokemon that 'always' gather during them, but you ignored our advice and chose to go out of your way, from the safety of locations we established. Because of that, this tragic event happened that could have easily been avoided."
It was just the way she bluntly and coldly stated that message that drove the message into him, that this really could have been avoided, had they just heeded the warnings better. But it was also the way she told him that he was on his own, that made him slump his shoulders... he was alone, even in doing something like trying to find their Vivillon again... he was alone.
"If I may make a suggestion, why don't you ask that Goomy to help you, since it seems keen on following you around." Cyllene said.
He looked behind him to see nothing in the doorway, but as he looked down, directly behind him looking up at him with its beady little eyes and innocent smile, was the Goomy that was constantly by his side since he woke up the day before. "Gooo?"
"But... it's so... 'small' and... how could it..."
"She may be 'small' in your eyes, but do not let that fool you, we've learned thanks to the effort of one of our most skilled Pokemon Surveyors, the very same one that found you, and who happens to be leading the attempt to locate the Pearl Clan's lost Daughter of a Noble Pokemon, that Goomy is among the most powerful Pokemon to be found here in Hisui."
"S-she?" He asked, looking down at the Goomy again. "H-how do you... tell the difference so easily?"
"The Survey Corp surveyor who found you and the Goomy told us its gender, they said it was a girl, I have no reason to suspect they're lying given... past events. Regardless we asked, and it confirmed that she is in fact a female Goomy." Cyllene said.
"Gooo~!" The Goomy said with a happy nod.
"But... how did they tell the difference in genders?" He asked, extremely curious as he looked at it, but not finding 'anything' feminine about it.
To him it just looked like this blob of goopy goo with slime.
". . . You can figure that out yourself, for now, leave my office, please pick up the Goomy and take it with you, the slime trails it leaves are rather... hard to clean out of the carpet." Cyllene said. "If I were you, I would suggest giving it a name, you two will probably be together for the foreseeable future. And based on the research we've done, a Pokemon being given a name seems to form a very close attachment between us and them."
With a depressed sigh he turned and picked up the Goomy, listening to it giggle as its gelatinous body jiggled in his hands, while he felt its slimy, but soft, texture through his fingers. As he walked out, Cyllene waited until he was out of hearing range before turning to her Abra floating in the corner.
"I give them five days out in the wild before we're burying another body outside the village."
"AaaaAAAB!"
Out in Jubilife Village Clemont just sat staring at the Goomy in front of him, hours after Cyllene told him to leave, just trying to figure out how he and this Goomy were going to find all 20 of his and his friend's Vivilions. If they with their Pokemon couldn't fight off a hoard of Alpha Ursurang, how was this little goop going to do any better? Said Goomy was just sitting there smiling at him, bouncing a little bit with its body as they just sat in the shade of a building, staring at one another.
"I uh... don't suppose you get bigger, do you?"
"Gooo?" She asked sweetly.
"Yea... didn't think so... so, you're a girl?" He asked.
"Gooo!" She replied with a nod that resulted in her entire body shaking up and down.
"How do they tell the difference?" He asked as he gently picked her up and looked at her from every angle.
"Goo-hoo-hoo-hooomy!" She chuckled hysterically as he twisted and turned her around, trying to find 'something' to distinguish her gender.
But no, despite his wandering eyes looking for 'anything' that screamed 'I'm a girl', she was almost as smooth on her underside as she was her top side and all other sides. Other than her antennae, her derpy eyes, and her little green cheek points, she was just this purple ball of slimy goo whose entire body jiggled as she was moved around and squished between his fingers with the lightest squeeze. But, after remembering that he was basically throwing a living creature around just to figure out what its gender was, he quickly put her back down and apologized.
"Uh, I'm sorry... I really am sorry, I just... can't figure out how they tell your gender just at a glance..."
"Gooooomy Goooo~!" Goomy replied with a nod, clearly not upset and understanding his confusion.
"So, I need to ask... why do you want to stick with me?" He asked it. "Like, saving my life is one thing... but... why? I don't even live here, and... now I have no reason to remain... I just, want to find my friends and my old Pokemon now, before..."
He sighed as he looked away, remembering that he now had to explain to his friend's families that their kin died in some barely civilized landscape in another part of the world, while he was allowed to live only because a Pokemon didn't finish him off, while another just happened to wander by to save him.
"Gooo... goooomy..."
He watched as Goomy started looking around before slithering over to pick up a stick in its mouth, and then turned and started to crudely draw in the dirt for him. It drew little doodles of what looked like five spherical balls with little dots for eyes, and he eventually worked out that it was drawing 'Goomys'. He also saw her put a little dot over one of them, before pointing at it with the stick.
"I'm... guessing these are you and your friends in the wild?"
"Gooovy..." It said with a sad nod, mouth still full of stick, before it started crossing them out, and finished it with a frown on the only remaining Goomy. "Gooo... goovy goom..."
After thinking about it he asked, "Did they..."
The Goomy nodded in confirmation.
"Was it... wild Pokemon?"
Again, she nodded, before drawing another doodle of what looked like a plant-like Pokemon with a large mouth and rows of sharp teeth.
"I've seen those, they're called Carnivines... they... did they just... eat them or..."
Goomy just stared at the doodles, looking very depressed, before she nodded, very slowly, and then letting the stick fall out of its mouth. She then looked back at the doodles before she began sniffling, apparently remembering, closing her eyes as she teared up staring at the doodle images of her friends.
Understanding how sad she was at losing her friends, he picked her and gently patted her, ignoring her jiggly body and comforting her however he could. She seemed to cheer up at his touch, as she gave a 'goo' of delight from being patted. He couldn't imagine what it was like for her, just imagining it, those little Goomys, with their soft, water-logged bodies, being eaten 'alive' and whole by Carnivines, and this one only surviving because they probably didn't see her... just imagining it made him feel a kinship toward her.
"Well, I don't know if I'm the best partner for you, but... would you like to stay with me?" He asked her. "I'll take care of you, and together we can look for mine and my friend's Vivilions, and then we can leave for Kaulos together... its nicer there for a Goomy like you... lots of rain during the spring, fall's pretty cool, winter's not that horrible, summer kind of sucks but... I think you'd like it."
Goomy looked up at him and smiled, nodding with her whole body to say yes, she would stick with him.
"They said to name you, so... would you like a name?" He asked, and after she smiled and goo'd in delight, he thought before he held it up and said, "Alright, from this point on, your name is Jill... and as you know, my name is Clemont, pleased to meet you."
She was very nice to hold, she just had this squishy body that seemed to mold itself 'perfectly' to his grip that also didn't cause her any pain.
"Gooooo!" Jill giggled as she wiggled in his arm, throwing slime everywhere from her body in her excitement.
After the goo stuck to his face and clothes, he realized that this was going to take some getting used to, as he had to now 'clean' his clothes of the goo before it stained them. "This is going to take some time... but, can you try not to slime up my clothes? This is the only set I have since... well... I lost them in the... attack." He muttered.
"Goo." Jill stated.
(Jill's PoV)
It's been two days since Jill got her name, and in those two days she'd gotten to know Clemont her new partner human a bit more. He was a pretty 'average' human, according to him by human standards, early twenties, came from another region, and had come to this region to earn enough to buy things that he could take home and sell for greater profit. He had come with three friends, but... like her, he'd lost them all during a storm to wild Pokemon attack.
She and her friends had met the same fate, as she explained best she could, it had been a lovely day, it was raining, they were soaking up the water and just enjoying it while it lasted, but then... a group of Carnivines attacked them.
She'd managed to slip away, hiding in the hole of a stump that had been burrowed into by another Pokemon. She'd escaped, but... she still remembered hearing their cries... listening as they were eaten alive, one by one... gobbled up by the greedy Carnivines.
How long she waited in that stump, she didn't know, but by the time she had left, the storm had long passed, but her friends... were gone, all that was left... a few slimy goo puddles.
That was a long time ago, much longer than she could remember exactly, but it was in the past, since then she's lived alone, occasionally seeing other Pokemon and humans passing by, but staying hidden out of fear. Until that stormy night where she saw Clemont, collapsed, alone, dying, and she just couldn't bring herself to let him die. So, she used her slime to seal the wound he had, and dragged him with all her strength, little it was, toward the cave she used as a hiding place to save him. After a while someone found them, and she tried to protect him, but the human came to rescue him, and so she tagged along to make sure he was safe and sound.
Now, she was shuffling on the ground as she and Clemont walked through a place he called, the Obsidian Fieldlands, looking for his friend's Pokemon.
And right now, they were staring at a very scary looking Pokemon...
"Okay... uh... stay calm... it's scary but... you can handle it right?"
"Yea, I can take it... I think..." She said in her language, but to him it probably only sounded like "gooo"
The Pokemon they were fighting, not even half an hour since leaving the Galaxy Expedition Encampment was a Shinx. They had been walking along the path after he'd stockpiled some food, and about twenty Pokeballs after trading for some of the materials to make them for his Vivillons, when this Shinx jumped out and started trying to shock them and attack them.
Now they were about to fight it off, since it wasn't going to leave them alone without a fight.
"Baawra!" It growled.
"Okay, do you... know anything that can attack it?"
"Yea!" She called out, and then took in a deep breath, and blasted it with some bubbles from her body.
Her bubbles smacked into the Shinx, exploding on contact and causing it to bark in pain, before it turned tail and ran away.
She cheered in celebration, having scared off the Shinx.
"Phew... that was a little on the scary side..." Clemont moaned, before picking her up and moving on.
They continued on down the road, looking for the forests and trees to see if there was any way they might be able to find a Vivillon in the area. According to 'some' reports from Galaxy Expedition people in the area, they'd seen a few 'strange looking bug Pokemon' floating around. This was the only clue he had as to finding any of his friends Vivillons.
It was a pretty cloudy day, so Jill didn't mind travelling together with him, the one thing she feared most was the heat drying her out. They continued walking for another two hours, avoiding any more encounters with aggressive wild Pokemon. They occasionally had to battle a random Shinx, and even a couple Geodudes as they passed through rocky terrain, but she was able to drive them off with her bubble attacks.
As night began to descend, they began settling in for the night near another of the Galaxy Expedition camps, in the shadow of a large mountainous location that acted as the seat of the Noble Pokemon Wyrdeer, Lord of the Plains.
"Here, a couple berries... I... don't know what you eat but, I know you at least like to eat these." Clemont said as they began to settle in for bed. "How do you like them?"
"Mmhmmm yummy..." She said as she gobbled them down greedily.
Oran Berries were always hard to find, since they were not only delicious to eat, but filled with juice that Pokemon couldn't resist. She would eat them always, if possible, but since Pokemon in the wild ate them as soon as they became ripe, competition was always high. So, she would only find the bad ones that were either not ripe enough, or just a little 'out of season'. After eating, she snuggled up to him and goo'd in content, happy to have stuck with him, both for companionship and for the food.
Being a Pokemon partnered up with a human certainly had benefits.
During the night while everyone slept, she was awoken by the sound of moaning, the sounds alerting her that something was wrong.
She opened her eyes to see Clemont was struggling in his sleep, tossing and turning, muttering in his sleep, saying words like, 'run' and 'no', as well as names.
After listening to his quiet moans, she realized he was saying the names of his friends... and this caused her to feel sad.
*Poor Clemont...* She thought, hearing him having nightmares.
She remembered having the same nightmares herself so long ago, for 'days upon days', she would struggle with sleep, as the nightmares kept her from forgetting... the screams, the cries, the sounds of her own friends being devoured...
But she knew that Clemont's nightmares wouldn't let him rest, so she did the only thing she could do.
She slugged her way into his arms and felt him instantly grip her in his sleep. Humans sure liked to grip things in their sleep, as mere seconds after feeling her, he squeezed her tightly to his chest. She giggled a little as feeling him squeeze her was actually pleasurable to her. She really enjoyed being squeezed by him, being hugged... and it seemed to have had a positive effect as... after only a few more seconds, the tossing and turning stopped, the mutterings began to stop... and soon he began to relax.
Happy to have stopped him from struggling, and seeing as she wasn't going to be escaping his grip tonight, she yawned and gooped herself up for a nice night, happy that there was a blanket over them to protect her from the morning sunlight.
As she began to fall asleep, she began taking in his scent... and found it very relaxing and soothign to her.
*He has a nice scent...* She thought as sleep overtook her.
The next morning after a brief breakfast, they were once more walking, heading south toward The Heartwood Forest, seat of the Lord of the Woods, Kleavor. She'd never been to this area before, but as they traveled and she saw it getting closer and closer, she had to admit that it looked like a pretty nice area. The murky water of the muddy region she once called home was nice, but the colors here were stunning. So much blue and green and even white.
"There it is, The Heartwood Forest, according to some of the Galaxy people who were stationed out here, they might have seen one or two of the Vivilions here." Clemont said as he put her down. "Hopefully they're still in the area... and still alive..."
"They're still alive... we'll find them!" She said cheerfully, hoping to raise his spirits.
"Yea... I hope we can find them... and that they're still alive." Clemont muttered, more to himself than to her, even as he started walking while she slogged her way forward.
They moved slowly because she wasn't exactly that fast, but as they passed through little rivers and streams, she took the chance to soak up the water and moisture, enjoying just how nice it felt flowing through her body and absorbing some of it.
The forest itself as a pretty nice area, and they occasionally saw some Pokemon, most of them seemed to be passive, Wurmples munching on berries or leaves, a few Psyducks taking a nap, Bunearies that quickly hopped to safety upon spotting them, and Cascoon or Silcoon just watching them before hopping into the safety of the grass to be hidden.
They searched around for a while, but there wasn't much sign of this Pokemon that Clemont was trying to find, whatever a Vivillon was.
Just as the sun started to go down, she and Clemont decided that they weren't going to have any luck that day, and so started to leave the woodlands so they could return to the nearest Galaxy Expedition Camp.
"I was hoping we'd find at least 'one' of them, even evidence of them would have been something for me..." Clemont muttered sadly, sounding very depressed that they hadn't found anything. "I hope they're alright... by Xerneas' gift, it would be a miracle for me that they're still alive."
She slowly jiggled alongside him, her whole body having to shuffle along rapidly just to even keep some pace with him. She glanced up at him and knew that he was looking very depressed again, finding these Vivilions was something he had to do for his friends. They'd talked over the last few days, or more 'he' talked, and she listened, but she listened well to him. In Kaulos as his homeland was called, though it sounded like 'Kalos' to her, he and his friends were among the 'poverished lower class', unable to afford a 'Trainer's License' which would allow them to capture more than one kind of Pokemon. And where they lived, the only Pokemon available to him and his friends without a license were Scatterbugs, Spewpas and Vivilions since they were the most 'tamed' compared to other species.
They were as close to family to him and his friends as their own family were! Now with his three friends dead, he had to save them... if nothing else, then for peace of mind.
"Hu... what the?!"
She looked up in surprise as she had zoned out, but after she snapped to attention, she saw that directly in front of them were 'three' Dustox, and by the looks of their faces they were 'not' happy with them trespassing into their territory!
"Duuuuuus"
"Toooooox!"
All three of them growled threateningly as they began flapping their wings faster in a more threatening manner.
"Uh... I don't suppose you... can fight them?" He asked fearfully.
"I can try!" She declared as she shuffled forward to protect him. "Take this!"
She opened her mouth and launched another Bubble attack against the Dustox trio, but nothing happened as they just shrugged off her attack. Getting nervous she launched another, trying to scare them off, but all that happened was them fluttering closer to them.
Then, they stopped, looked terrified for a moment, before quickly turning and flying away as fast as their wings could carry them.
"Wow, you're stronger than you look Jill!" Clemont complimented her.
"That wasn't me..." She muttered, knowing she did 'nothing' to scare them off.
*Thud*
"Scyyyyyy..."
She and Clemont jumped as they slowly turned around to stare behind them as... standing just behind Clemont, looking down with glaring red eyes that radiated 'Alpha' energy, towering over them with glitteringly sharp blade-like arms... was a Scyther.
An 'Alpha Scyther'...
"Scyyyyytheeeeeer..." It snarled as it took two mighty steps closer to them.
"H-h-help... HEEEEELP!" Clemont screamed as he grabbed her and 'ran' as fast as his feat could go.
Jill could do nothing but grip Clemon's hands as much as possible while he focused on running from the Alpha Scyther. She wanted to help, wanted to fight and save them from the Alpha, but she was too weak and small, and she knew it, all she could do was look over his shoulder and watch in fear as the Alpha Scyther gained on them, flying fast and screaming in rage at them.
"It's gaining on us!" She screamed fearfully.
"HELP, SOMEONE HELP UUUUS!" He screamed loudly as he blindly ran through the woodlands, trying to lose their pursuer as best he could.
*THWUMP*
*SLASH SLASH SLASH SLASH*
*CRAAAAAASH*
In the span of 'five' seconds, something large and powerful jumped into their path, slashing through several trees and landing with a massive crash onto their path. It looked eerily similar to the Scyther that was pursuing them, but it was more yellow with 'axe-like' bladed arms and more 'stone-like' than the Scyther. Even the Scyther stopped as it took notice of the newcomer, with the newcomer slowly raising its head to almost 'glare' at the Alpha Scyther. It then lifted its heavy bladed arms and assumed an aggressive stance. It was almost as large as the Alpha Scyther, but it looked older, and more frightening.
"SCYYYYY!" The Scyther roared as it lunged at the new Pokemon.
Not knowing what to do she watched Clemont just dive out of the way, trying to get to safety away from this battle between two titans. As they rolled to safety she and he watched as the Scyther and their 'rescuer' battled, with their bladed arms clashing and slashing at each other, but even though the Alpha had come into this fight riding high and mighty, this new pokemon blocked both strikes and then just as swiftly counter swiped.
It was over in 'two' slashes, with the Scyther suffering a gash to its shoulder, and another gash on its leg.
"ScRyaaaaaah!" The Scyther screamed in agony before slashing desperately, using its attack to take a chance and flee.
Their savior easily blocked the attack and did nothing to stop the Alpha Scyther from running away, almost like it expected that outcome.
After a few moments it relaxed its stance before turning to look at her and Clemont. For a moment she feared that it would attack them next, and she had no hope of fighting this Pokemon, if she couldn't even beat three Dustox what hope did she have against...
"Wait... you're... the Lord of the Woods, Kleavor, right?" Clemont said as she felt him relaxing.
The Lord of the Woods, Kleavor as he called it, simply nodded his head in acknowledgement of the title and Clemont's acknowledgement of his name. Kleavor then turned and started walking away, using his axe-arms to help him move, before looking back at him and nodding in the direction he walked, and finally moving on again.
A little confused, but understanding when someone wanted him to follow them, he held Jill tightly and they followed Kleavor.
She was looking around in great curiosity, wondering what it was like to be the Lord of these woodlands. But the one thing she was happy for was to see that with Lord Wyrdeer escorting them through its territory, no other Pokemon dare approach them. It certainly was a nice change of pace.
After an hour of walking, during which night had started to descend, she and Clemont exited into a small clearing with a giant tree surrounded on all sides by empty space. It was as if this area was a giant arena of some sort, an arena specifically made for a Pokemon with giant axes for arms.
Yet after they arrived, she spotted at the base of the tree cowering between its enormous roots, shivering and looking scared, injured and with damaged wings... three Bug Pokemon with large colorful wings in a pattern. One of them had a mostly orange with hints of green and pink, the second was mostly variations of blue with a hint of white, and the third was all red with tints of red/yellow/blue. They were hurt, their wings had little cuts, making them unable to fly.
"Vivilons!" Clemont shouted happily as he ran over to them, quickly putting her down next to them and kneeling to look them over.
At the sound of his voice, they all looked up and wiggled their little arms happily, clearly happy to see him.
"Viiii?" One of them declared, looking around excitedly, almost like it was expecting someone else to be there and looking for them.
"I'm... afraid your... trainers, didn't... make it." He whispered sadly. "I'm the only one left..."
As one they all looked shocked, then they grew sadder... and started sniffling as the knowledge that their trainers didn't make it sank in.
"I'm sorry... but what about you all, did you all make it out safely?"
They nodded, but then shook their heads while spreading their little arms around to explain that, yes, they survived but they all scattered in the storm.
"Well... at least I found you three, only seventeen more to go... I promised to find all of you and bring you home in memory of my friends, are you all okay with staying with me even though I'm not your trainer?"
"Viviii..." The centermost one said.
Within seconds three Pokeballs were pulled out of his pocket, and after explaining to her that their patterns indicated them as an 'Archipelago, a Marine and a Modern' Vivillon, they were drawn into their respective balls to rest in safety.
"Three down, more to go..." Clemont said with a sigh as he got up and turned to Kleavor that was watching over him. "Thank you Lord Kleavor, I hate to ask but, do you know if any other Vivillons were found wandering around here?"
Kleavor silently shook its head, before he reached forward and used one of his axe-arms to gently nudge him forward, directing him to follow a path that was carved into the woodlands leading from his seat of power. So, they left... without another word, walking along the path that led out of the woods, toward the Galaxy Expedition Campsite.
(Clemont's PoV, One day Later)
"Here we are again..." He muttered as he stared across the hill upon the place where his friends met their end...
The Crimson Mirelands.
It was just as murky brown and swampy as the last time they were here. There were small forests, patches of beautiful lakes and multiple rivers traveling through the landscape, but as he stepped into this area, the knowledge that he could have easily died just like his friends brought some bad memories up.
"Gooo?"
He looked down to see Jill looking at him with a worried expression.
"Don't worry... I can do this... besides, I was told by one of the guards who came back from here that he might have seen one of my Vivillon's flying around here... if that's true, I need to find them. Even if the chances are slim..."
He took a deep breath, picked up Jill, and together they marched into the Crimson Mirelands.
The Mirelands were pretty foggy this day, as they walked, he used the fog obscuring his view around them to their advantage. They walked from grass patch to grass patch, using them to avoid some of the more hostile Pokemon. Among the Pokemon he saw that he made sure to keep Jill from seeing, were various Carnivines, moving around, soaking up the fog and looking for weak Pokemon to prey on. In the distance he could see a 'large' Pokemon, an Alpha by the looks of it, an Alpha Tangrowth patrolling its territory, and unfortunately, they had to pass through to get around it.
"Goooooomyyyyyy..." Jill muttered nervously as they slowly crept around a boulder while it was leaning against a nearby cliff face resting.
"Shhh..." He whispered just as quietly.
They continued to creep, very slowly, using the fog and crass to conceal their movement and avoid the alpha discovering them. It was slow progress, but after over an intense hour in which he kept getting low every time they thought it was waking up, they slowly got out of its territory and left it alone.
After leaving it behind they crossed over the river to an area that he was familiar with, an area that was filled with a multitude of small lakes that all fed into one another, where there were toxicroaks croaking, croagunks froaking, and the occasional Geodudes sleeping, resting and looking like small boulders while their arms were crossed.
Though they were slow, they still made progress through these small lakes and little patches of ruins, remains of a forgotten civilization. Then, just as he made a mad dash around a patch of rocks, boulders and shrubs to get out of sight of an Alpha Pokemon, he stopped as he stared at an all too familiar spot.
A small clearing where... faintly, he could see the tiny, shredded remains of what was, a tent.
"Its..." He whispered as he looked.
"Gooo?" Jill asked curiously as he walked over.
He stopped after a few steps, and just stared, looking at all that was left of his friends' campsite. All that remained was the broken circle of stones that marked their campfire, several hooks that were still buried deep into the ground, bits of fabric clinging to their metal frames, shredded and each barely a centimeter in length, and a fallen rope still clinging to a single tree, the clothes it once had hanging from it long gone. He could just barely, barely see claw marks and massive gauges in the earth, the only signs of the struggle that took place left over, everything else having been washed away from the rain and other elements.
"This... this is my... our campsite." He whispered to her. "This is where... where they..."
Everything started coming back to him... again, the night of the attack, the flashes of lightning, the sounds of roars and angry growls, the slashing, the screams, the panic voices and desperate cries for mercy, the slashing, the thunder and rain, the pain... the water rushing... he could even see a stump where an Alpha Ursurang had charged him and just... 'bashed' through it to attack him.
He sniffled, and within moments began to cry, scrunching his eyes to try and stop the tears, trying not to show weakness, even as his hands shook a little and gripped the Goomy he was holding tighter.
"Why... why me... why not... one of them... why did..."
"Gooo-my..." Jill whispered to him, and he felt her starting to wiggle in his grip.
Opening his eyes he saw her nuzzling him, with an understanding smile, her little antennae tickling his cheek as she didn't even complain in the slightest that he was gripping her a little harder than normal. She just smiled, nuzzled, tickled his cheek and let him hold her tighter.
"Goo... goomy goo..."
"I'm... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to, what I mean is... I'm sorry if I was hurting you or..."
"Goomy goo!" She said, shaking while smiling at him, telling him she didn't mind.
She reached up with her antennae and wiped away his cheers, before smiling and nodding happily, she then nodded down to his waist where empty Pokeballs sat, telling him that he had a mission to accomplish.
"You're right... I can't just... keep crying, they're counting on me to find them... all of them!" He said to her. "I'm sorry guys... I can't weep right now... you guys... I know you wouldn't... you'd want me to save them, our Vivillons. Don't worry... I'll find them, by Xerneas' Life Force I will find our Vivillons and then... when we're all together again, I'll say goodbye to you for real."
He took a deep breath and turned, walking away after taking one last look at the final place where his friends lost their lives.
After a few minutes of walking, they found a place to cross over the river, walked through some meadows where they saw Combees, some Paras going about their business, and even a few Staravia pecking at some berries, before it was Jill's turn to pause as she saw something that made him look in curiosity. It was just a stump, an old stump that had once been a tree but had been broken at some point. But what made it unusual was that it had a big hole in it from the side.
Without warning Jill leapt from his hands and crawled over to the stump, and then just stared at it, staring at the hole that looked... now that he could compare sizes, was big enough for a Goomy to fit in, a Goomy of her size.
Remembering her story... and how she just stared at it... he connected the dots quickly.
"Is this... where you lost 'your' friends as well?"
She just stayed quiet as she stared at the stump, but she nodded, frowning as she did, a sorrowful smile growing ever so slightly on her face.
"Do you... want to..."
She shook in response, saying no, she didn't want a moment to say goodbye. She looked up at him and took a deep breath, before going over to him and leaping into his arms again to be held. She then 'goo'd' in content, snuggling into his embrace and nodding. He interpreted that as 'she's made her peace already' and told him that she was alright. He nodded and moved on, looking back at the stump before turning away.
He didn't know how old she was, but if she had made her peace, and if it had been a long time since it happened, he guessed maybe she had long since come to terms with the loss of her friends.
To help take her mind off of their sadness they'd felt, he decided to tickle her by jiggling her body around in his hands.
"Hey, I got an idea, wanna be juggled?"
"Gooo?"
"Yea, watch, ready and heeere we gooooooo!" He said as he tossed her in the air with one hand, caught her in the other, passed her and then juggled her again with the other hand.
"Gooo My Goooo My Gooooo My!" She laughed as she was juggled.
She sprayed goo everywhere but neither of them cared, he was laughing at juggling this ball of watery slime in his hands and she was laughing as she flew through the air because of him. Both of them were having the time of their life as they walked, forgetting for a moment their troubles, their problems, their sorrows and worries... forgetting that they were in the wilds of the Crimson Mirelands of Hisui...
And making quite the noise.
"Caaaaaaaar!"
He stopped juggling and held her as he turned around and saw... to his and Jill's horror, a small horde of Carnivines. Five of them, all of them having been attracted to him and Jill's antics, mouths wide and rows of sharp teeth staring greedily at the two of them, Jill Especially.
"G-oo-ooo-ooo-ooo-my..." Jill stuttered in fear, staring in horror at the Pokemon species that had eaten her friends alive while she cowered in a stump.
"Jill... don't worry... I won't let them hurt you..." He whispered as he covered her with his arms, trying to look intimidating as best he could. "G-g-get back! I MEAN IT!"
"Caaaar niiii VIIIIIIIINE!" They all roared as the charged them.
He didn't even try to fight, he 'ran' with Jill held tightly in his arms as he ran as fast as he could.
They chased him through the woods, past small Paras groups, through a few flower fields, but they chased him continuously. He tried to lose them, but they were persistent, not letting up, wanting his Jill for themselves and unwilling to just let them go. However, he knew this area well, or at least well enough, as he'd visited it with his friends. The Diamond Clan had a settlement here and he knew that if he just got closer the Carnivines would not follow any closer. But as he ran and tripped over a log, quickly regaining his balance and not falling, he couldn't figure out where 'exactly' they were and which way the settlement was. But he ran, hoping he could find some landmark or 'something' to lose the Carnivines.
"Where are we... where are we?" He pleaded as he looked around, noticing how lost they were.
"Gooooo!" Jill screamed as he turned a corner and found himself facing a dead end.
He turned around and clutched Jill tightly as the Carnivines, three of them only, the other two having lost track of him at some point, cornered him and Jill, greedily glaring at Jill in his arms.
He didn't know what else to do, he just crouched, covering Jill as best he could, shielding her from harm and sight as best he could, trying to protect her as be he could. He didn't bring his Vivillons because he didn't want anything bad to happen to them. All he had was Jill, and now he-
-WACK-
-SMAACSH-
He looked up and saw as the three Carnivines were all staggering, one of them even on the ground, fainted, with a broken tooth having chipped off from a svelte foot that had kicked it with such force that the ground had a huge crater spreading from the epicenter of the attack.
The owner of this foot was a beautiful plant-like Pokemon with a pink flower, slender leaf-like arms and a twirl as it spun around and looked at the Carnivines.
"Lililili!" It said fiercely, before twirling and leaping, almost 'dancing' as it moved to deliver a powerful kick that smacked into the ground and sent a shock wave, shaking the ground he stood on and sending the Carnivines into a panic.
With only a final twirl their savior drove off the Carnivines who fled as fast as they could, not even looking back in their haste to get away.
After they had left, said savior stood up straight, turned to him and just stood there, arms swaying slightly as it stood on slender legs and just stared at them.
Getting up, he took a tentative step forward, and took a guess that this Pokemon, much like Lord of the Woods Kleavor had to be another 'noble pokemon', one of the nobles of the clans. In this case, if he remembered...
"Your name is... Lilligant, the Lady of the Ridge?"
"Lililigant!" She cheered happily as she nodded at her name and title.
"Why... why did you help us... I mean, I don't mean to be disrespectful, or... or say I'm not grateful but... this is 'far' from your seat... why are you out here?"
"Liliilili gaaant!" She said as she pointed at him eagerly, before resuming her normal stance.
"You were... looking for me?" He asked, hoping he guessed right.
She nodded.
"Did... someone ask you to help me? Was it the Diamond Clan? But I thought they and the Pearl Clan were too busy to help me or even want to help me."
"Liliii!" She said with a shake of her head.
"But if the Diamond Clan didn't ask you then... wait... did... the 'savior' ask you to help me?" He asked, as that was the only other explanation.
It was common knowledge that he and his friends learned quickly, that while the Lords and Ladies of the Diamond and Pearl Clan didn't listen to any human, say for those of their respective clans and even then, only their tenant caretakers. The one individual whom they would take any request from was the Savior of Hisui as they were called, the best Surveyor of the Galaxy Expedition Team, a person who supposedly came from the future through a thing called a Space Time Rift. It sounded weird but... he wasn't going to ask questions or complain if this 'savior' asked the Lords and Ladies to help him.
"Lilililigant!" She said happily.
Then she turned and started walking, or 'sliding' as it were, away from him, pausing only for a moment to beckon to him, and then moving on when he and Jill followed suit. Just like with Lord Kleavor, none of the wild Pokemon dared attack them while the Lady of the Ridge was present.
It took the rest of the day until they arrived at her seat, an arena marked by torches and stairs that Lilligant led him up, past an altar, and over to a small ridge where, sitting and wrapping up their injured limbs in sticky strings while their wings were heavily wrapped up to help aid their recovery, were four Vivillons. Their wing color patterns indicate them as Garden, Continental, Icy Snow and Sun patterns, two of them belonging to his friend Phillippe, one to Mordra and the last to Timbre.
Seeing them he put Jill down and walked over to them, smiling happily as they noticed him at last.
"Oooh thank goodness I found you guys..." He whispered as he ran over to them.
"Vi?" One of them asked.
"Viiiiv..." Another replied tiredly while they looked past him with a hopeful smile.
"I'm sorry guys... I wish I had better tidings... but... it's just me." He told them, knowing they were probably hoping the others were on their way. "You guys and I survived... but... not them, not our friends, Timbre, Mordra... or Timbre..."
"Viiiivillooon..." They all cried sadly, patting each other on the arms as they took the news of their trainers dying with somber looks.
"I know guys... I miss them deeply... I tried but... there was nothing we could do." He said somberly. "The only thing I can do is find you all, to honor their memory and bring you all back home to Kaulos. I found three of you in the Obsidian Fieldlands, and now you four here in the Crimson Mirelands."
He took four Pokeballs from his waist and placed them in front of them, and they all smiled sadly, and nodded in agreement, tapping the balls without question and being pulled into them. With a sigh he took a deep breath, and ticked off another four, meaning he had thirteen left to find. Behind him he picked up Jill who goo'd happily as he tickled her body, before turning to the Lady of the Ridge, bowed and thanked her.
"Thank you miss Lilligant. May I ask, were these the only Vivillons you found here in the Crimson Mirelands?"
"Lililiigant!" She said with a nod.
"I see... well I guess that means if the Savior asked you and the other Nobles to help me, then that means the other Lords and Ladies in the other lands are probably protecting my Vivillons until I arrive. At least... I hope they are."
"Lili... gant~." She said as she twirled and smiled at him.
Taking her words as an assurance of confidence, saying he will find the other Vivillons in the protective seats of the other Lords and Ladies of Hisui. With a final bow both from him and Jill, the Lady of the Ridge walked him to the edge of her domain to the nearby Diamond Settlement, allowing them to get a good night's rest before beginning the journey back to Jubilife Village.
However, as the night wore on while he and Jill slept, he could hear in the distance from the inside of a guest home the Diamond Clan set up for visitors the sound of crying.
Waking up, stretching, he looked around and saw that he was alone, a small trail of 'goo' leaving where he slept and going outside, through the open door. Getting up, dressing and putting on his shoes he followed it, looking around until he saw near a little pond at the very edge of the Diamond Settlement, was Jill, looking at the water.
"Jill?" He asked as he walked over to her.
"Goo?" Jill asked as she looked over, before sighing and looking back at the water again.
He walked over and leaned down, staring at the Goomy who had a sad look on her face. "Is this about earlier when... we were chased and cornered by the Carnivines?"
She nodded, telling him yes, saying what he was thinking, that she was scared and terrified.
"It wasn't your fault Jill, both of us were scared, and you were no match for them... if you had tried to fight you would have been eaten... I don't blame you for being scared stiff, I was scared too." He whispered as he patted her body.
She didn't even giggle as she jiggled from his touch, instead she just shook her head, telling him 'No', that she wasn't scared of the Carnivines eating her.
"Wait, if you weren't scared of them then... why?"
After a moment she looked around and picked up a nearby stick in her mouth, and then started drawing again... drawing little doodles of Goomys. She then spat out the stick and stared at them, with a melancholic face. He could only imagine what was going on in her mind, as she stared at the only thing that reminded her of her friends, these little doodle drawings of them. The only thing she had left of them were her memories, and the last thing she remembered was hearing their cries...
"It's alright Jill... I know what loss is like too..." He muttered as he stared at them. "Nothing could ever replace them, but... at least... you aren't alone anymore." He told her as he leaned down and hugged her, trying to comfort her however he could. "At least you have me... and my Vivillons... we'll be there for you; we won't leave you... 'I' won't leave you alone... ever again."
He gave a little sniffle as he shed a few tears onto her gelatinous body, remembering his own friends, and letting his sadness fall onto her body as well. But as his tears splashed onto her, her body suddenly glowed...
(Three Days Later)
"MHaaaa... ooh that was... a nightmare!" He moaned tiredly as he flopped out of the rowboat and onto dry land at long last after what felt like forever.
He rolled over onto his back and just stared at the cloudy sky, catching his breath. He and Jill were now in the Cobalt Coastlands, according to a Galaxy Expedition Security Guard who was watching over the camp in this area, a report about his Potential Vivillon was given to him. The explorer told him that the Lord of the Isles was seen carrying a Bug Pokemon on its back from the mainland to the volcanic island that was his throne.
The Warden was unfortunately too busy still helping the search for the lost Noble of the Pearl Clan, and so was unable to lend aid, so he had to go by himself to see if the Lord of the Isles was indeed sheltering his Vivillon at his island home. Unfortunately, he had to go there by himself, that being the main problem. So, he rented a boat, and rowed all the way from the shores of the Coastland, past all of the crazy aggressive Qwilfish, dodging their poisonous sparks, and the Remoraid that found reason to attack him for whatever rhyme or reason they had.
Oh, and the Tentacool, of course, how could he forget, they tried to rip his oars away from him, and tried to rip his boat apart, and rip him out... oh how could he possibly forget?
"Thank you... so much... Jill, without you, we would have drowned!" He moaned tiredly as he caught his breath.
"Sliggooo..."
He looked over at Jill who was dragging herself over the sandy shore, staring at him with her eyes but not really 'staring' at him.
Jill had evolved into her second stage according to those in Jubilife Village. She was now a 'Sliggoo', and now she was wrapped up in this large iron-like shell while her squishy body poked out from within, and she now had tiny little arms to help move her around. While her shell was metallic and smooth, it was also heavy, acting as a very good defensive shield for them, a shield she used to protect them while he rowed across the water.
Her shell had kept them safe, and she had used the water she would absorb from the ocean to fire it back at their attackers every time they came close. No longer was she the weak little Goomy that only could fight a shinx when they first left Jubilife Village together, trying to find his and his friends Vivillons, she now was a match for any Pokemon they were coming across. Her battle experience was growing thanks to her newfound powers aiding her in battle.
Unfortunately, all of this power from her evolution came at a cost, she was blind now, unable to see even the tiniest of blurs. But this did not mean she was helpless, no, she could still sense thanks to the antennae on her head, and she could detect very well, she could sense things farther away than he gave her credit or realized she could. But she had to be careful since she was still blind and unless she kept close knowledge of his whereabouts, she would mistakenly consider him a potential threat. This happened one time when he left her alone for only a few moments, coming back to get some berries nearby, and she thought he was an attacker.
"Sigh... alright... let's go..." He muttered as he rolled over, got up, and walked with Jill, who tucked herself into her body.
Then she shook around until she was on her side and started rolling after him. He found her adorable as she rolled, rolling with him and allowing him to pick up his pace.
While they travelled, he began to slowly feel the heat from the volcano as it approached, and knowing the heat would hurt her the most, he yelled at her to stop. She did as asked and poked herself out, looking at him with a curious expression.
"Before we go, I need to give you some water, so you don't dehydrate while we're walking up."
She smiled and 'goo'd' in response, happy that he was taking care of her, even as she coo'd as he poured the water into her shell, ever since she evolved, he had started noticing that she was becoming very affectionate toward him, a stark contrast to what he was told Sliggoos normally acted like. According to their research that they had on them, the Sliggoos of Hisui seemed to be prone to melancholy and bouts of emotional sadness at the most random of times without any external cause or reason for it.
But Jill, she was always smiling whenever he was near her and she 'knew' he was there, and seeing her smile and giggle whenever he pets her, stroked her soft body, or poured water into her shell so she wouldn't get dehydrated made him feel happy. It was enough to make him forget his own pains, if only slightly, and that was all that mattered to him. She made him happy, and he wanted to make her happy so he would never see her cry or feel Melancholic ever if he could help it.
"Alright... ready for the big trek?" He asked her as he got up and stretched.
"Sliggooo!"
"That's far enough." A voice called out suddenly.
He looked around and saw to his surprise three women all wearing patchwork outfits, but what didn't surprise him was that they were all very familiar to him. He had seen their pictures on posters in the Galaxy Expedition HQ. He knew them by their famous calling card, the 'Miss Fortune sister' as they were called. They were dangerous bandits, stealing from travelers and making off with goods and even Pokemon if they had the chance.
"I have to say, I didn't think anyone would be coming out here for a while... but if you are out here then that means you must have something valuable to give, or to find." The leader of the bandits said, the one he knew as 'Charm'.
"Hmpf, I can tell, he's been running around Hisui in the Obsidian Fieldlands, talking about finding his Pokemon from a distant land... pokemon with 'beautiful patterns' for their wings." The bandit girl on the right said, who he believed was called 'Coin'.
"Heck ya, I watched him from a distance in the Crimson Mirelands, ran from a bunch of Carnivines, but he even received an escort from the Lady of the Ridge herself, these Pokemon must be valuable for them to warrant the Noble's protection!" The last bandit sister said, a girl named Clover.
"And if they require the protective services of the Nobles of the Diamond 'and' the Pearl Clans, then that must mean they are valuable, valuable enough to 'sell' back to you for any price we want." Charm said with a nod.
"You three leave my Vivillons alone, you can't have any of them!" He yelled as Jill rolled forward, face stern as she prepared to defend him. "I need to find the Vivillons belonging to my friends and myself... I need to take them all home, to honor their memory!"
"Oh, you can have them, we're not heartless... but we're going to make sure you pay as much as we can get out of you for them." Charm said with a smile as she pulled a Pokeball out, before tossing it, revealing a Rhydon that roared in preparation for battle, its horn spinning and its rocky body stomping the ground heavily. "We need to keep you out of the way for a bit, we know we're no match for the Lord of the Isles, but we don't need to be a match, just stall him a bit while we find and snatch one of those 'Vivillons' you called them. And you are in our way..."
"And I'll stay in your way if it means protecting those Vivillons from you, I won't let you take them from me... I lost... I lost..." He muttered as Jill looked to him for commands. "I lost my friends... the only friends I had before I came here... all that remains, are our Vivillons... all twenty of them... and I swore I'd find them all a-and bring them home... and I 'will' bring them home. I won't abandon a SINGLE ONE! Jill use Water Pulse!"
"Sliggoo goo gooooo!"
Jill yelled as she opened her mouth and released a powerful burst of water that pulsed through the air as it smashed into the Rhydon. Then the Rhydon was ordered to counter charge with a Bulldoze, but Jill leapt into the air, tucking herself into her shell and rolled toward Charm's Rhydon, surprising the bandit sister who's Pokemon didn't have time to ready a counter attack as Jill dodged the first attack, before releasing a blast of water from the hole in her shell, a Hydro Pump this time.
"That's it Jill, way to go!"
With the second water attack Rhydon fell backward, wounded and out of the fight as Charm pulled her Pokemon back. After the Rhydon was defeated, Jill quickly landed and rolled toward him, stopping just short so she could poke her head out and brace herself for another battle.
"That was surprising... I didn't think you were the battling type." Charm said with a calm but 'annoyed' tone in her voice.
"Don't worry, I'll get that little snail, go Abomasnow!" Clover yelled as she gripped her pokeball almost angrily, before releasing it with the tap of a button.
Instantly a snow-white tree like Pokemon appeared and readied itself for battle. It roared its declaration for battle as it stomped forward.
"It doesn't matter how many Pokemon you use against us; we won't lose to you. Jill use Iron Head!"
"Goo Sligg goooo!" Jill yelled as she leapt back into her shell, flipped onto her side and began rolling fast toward the Abomasnow.
"Give that snail an ice shard!" Clover ordered.
"Snooooow!"
Abomasnow launched a sharp shard of ice toward Jill, but her rolling couldn't be halted by a simple ice shard, she was too heavy and moving too fast now to be stopped. Jill rolled, jumped and smacked 'heavily' into the Abomasnow, who was knocked backward to land just as hard into ground. Jill rolled back to Clemont as Clover pulled her Abomasnow back, looking furiously at him and Jill.
"I swear it's this 'heat', Abomasnow can't take this heat no matter what we do, he's always at a disadvantage!" She screamed angrily.
Just as Jill was about to celebrate with him, and just as he was about to tell them to get lost, saying they weren't going to lose, a Toxicroak just sped out of nowhere and started smacking Jill with furious punches and kicks, faster than the eye could track. Jill had no chance to counter or even brace herself, and she was smashed backward into Clemont who only caught her in the nick of time.
"Jill!" He screamed as he looked at her, her shell having been smashed in, a noticeable 'dent' in it.
"Goo goo... gooo..." Jill moaned feebly, poking her eyes out of the hole to tell him she was hurt.
"It's okay girl, it's okay... you'll be fine..." He moaned as he gently poked her through the hole, trying to comfort her through the pain. "Where did..."
The Toxicroak looked smug as it stood by the third bandit sister, who looked just as smug as she flipped a coin from her pocket. "Heads I win, Tails you lose, how unfortunate this 'Unlucky Coin' says to you." She told him.
"You cheated; you never released that Pokemon for battle!" He told her, knowing the 'rules' when it came to Pokemon confrontations between people.
"Oh, but she did, you just never saw her. It's not our problem that you didn't ask us if she released her Pokemon already for battle. You should have paid more attention... now-"
*Thud*
*Thump*
*Stomp*
All of the sisters looked up as they heard the stomping, and he followed suit to look upward and see, standing high atop the mountain, where even higher up was the Volcano, staring down at them with a look of disdain evident on its face...
A mighty Pokemon stood, its dark red/orange fur resembling the texture of molten rock...
The Lord of the Isles, Arcanine...
"Oh no... it's the Lord of the Isles!" Coin yelled in terror.
"That battle must have been too loud, it alerted him to our presence!" Clover agreed.
"Two of our Pokemon are too tired to fight, and we can't split up now that he's spotted us!" Coin screamed. "What do we do?"
Charm was calm and quiet as he saw her just stare at the Arcanine, both of them seemingly glaring at one another, as if having a silent conversation, their eyes fixated on one another. Then she blinked... and Arcanine 'roared' his declaration from his perch.
"Aaaaaaaaar!"
Then he leapt down and landed heavily before them, slowly standing to his full dominating height, to 'glare' into Charm's eyes, who still, unflinchingly stared back. Then she smirked, chuckled... and turned her back on the Noble Pokemon of the Pearl Clan. "Let's go... we've already lost." She told them, waiting until her sisters nodded and Coin recalled her Toxicroak, then she turned to look back at Arcanine with a knowing smile. "You're stronger than the last time we saw each other I think..."
The Arcanine didn't lose his aggressive stance, but he did nod in agreement.
"I'll tell your father the next time we pass by his grave... what a fine Noble you've turned into... I'm sure he'd be proud of you." Charm said, as she joined her sister Bandits.
Then they all performed the same pose in perfect sync, and dropped several smoke bombs that clouded them from view, hiding their escape so they could not be traced. Only after they were truly gone, did Arcanine relax his stance and turn to look at him and Jill, who slowly pulled herself out of her shell after the beating she took from the Toxicroak.
"Uhm, Lord of the Isles, Arcanine?" Clemont asked as he and Jill stood before the mighty Arcanine.
Arcanine nodded, acknowledging his name and the title bestowed upon him.
"I'm Clemont... a foreigner to these lands... and I came here because I was informed that, maybe... several of my Pokemon were seen sighted here, and that you were taking care of some of them." He told the mighty Pokemon.
Again, the lord nodded, before turning and giving a mighty 'bark', up toward the mountain, a bark that could be heard for miles it sounded like. After a few moments he watched as several colorful wings flapped up and over its crest, before flying down toward him. Vivillons, four of them, another four of his friends Pokemon...
"Vivillons..." He said as they flew closer.
"Viiiiv!" They all cheered happily, fluttering closer and giving him little hugs and nuzzles of affection.
They looked worse for wear, but at least their wings weren't damaged, a few cuts, some bruises, but nothing that a good long rest in safety and security wouldn't fix. He recognized their patterns as Elegant, Marine, Monsoon and River, their beautiful colorful patterns adding to the beauty that was the scene around him. They all looked exhausted, very dry and dehydrated, probably because of the heat from the Noble Pokemon's seat, but at least they were safe and sound.
"I... I wish I could tell you that your trainers... that Timbre, Morda and... Phillippe... are waiting for you but... I'm afraid..." He wanted to say, but instead they all nodded in understanding, patting him with their little arms. "You already know... who..."
He looked past their wings to Arcanine who was just watching them with a knowing look.
It then occurred to him, if the Savior was able to ask the Noble Pokemon to find and help his Vivillon, then it also stood to reason that, they might have told them of his friends' deaths... and so they told the Vivillons for him.
"Well... yes... I'm sorry guys, I still don't know why only I survived but... I promised... in their memory, to find you all and bring you back home." He told them, petting them individually and trying to comfort them, knowing their loss was great, as great as his. "I'll try my best, I won't give up looking for you all, I'll do it for their memory."
"Viiivillooon!" All of them cooed, cuddling him and nuzzling him with their cheeks and antennae.
So, after pulling out four Pokeballs, he offered them to the Vivillon and all of them accepted being drawn into the balls, allowing him to add another four to his group, bringing his total to eleven. He only had nine more to go.
"Thank you, Lord of the Isles, for taking care of my friend's Pokemon." He told the Arcanine.
"GooGooGoooo!" Jill also said, smiling as she thanked the Noble for his assistance.
"Arrar..."
After that he started walking with Arcanine to the beach, them being escorted as his way of saying goodbye. Unfortunately, after they reached the beach...
"Are you serious they stole my BOAT?" He yelled as he saw the rowboat was 'gone'. "How am I going to get back to the mainland now?!"
"Sliiggoo goooo..." Jill also yelled angrily, though she was looking in the wrong direction.
"I can't believe it, I used what little money I had left for that rowboat, in the name of Yveltal WHY did they strand me here on-"
Suddenly he felt a mouth grip his shirt and then toss him into the air, causing him to land on the back of Arcanine, then, he watched as Arcanine then walked over and grabbed Jill by her shell, causing her to 'eep' and hide inside of it. Afterwards, once he had gotten a good grip on Arcanine's back, the Lord of the Isles took a few steps backward, and then started 'running'... across the water.
"Whoa..." He yelled as Arcanine ran without slowing down in the slightest. "Jill, I wish you could see this!"
"GOOOOO!" She yelled from her shell, though it was heavily muffled.
As they ran across the water toward the mainland, Arcanine took a mighty leap and lept up onto a rocky mound, and then started jumping from cliff edge to cliff edge until he had reached a very high peak that overlooked the ocean, where just in the distance he could see the volcanic island they'd been stranded on just mere moments ago. After the rush was over, he and Jill were let down.
"I... thank you again, Lord Arcanine... for saving us..." He started saying before he noticed just in front of them... a pile of rocks. They were arrayed in such a manner that it was obvious to the naked eye... that it was a grave site. Leaning close, he read out the words...
"Here rests the spirit of the Lord of the Isles, the great and noble Arcanine." He said, but he was confused. "But wait, you're the Lord of the Isles... if you're... then... is... is this the 'previous' lord? Is... is this your."
"Arrg..." He replied, nodding to confirm, that yes, this was the resting sight of his father, the previous Lord of the Isles.
"I'm so sorry for your loss... how did it happen?" He asked.
"Sliigg?"
The Lord Arcanine just stared at the stones before looking out at the sea for a while, then he closed his eyes, as if in sorrow.
"I guess... he drowned... I was told one of the Noble Pokemon died not long ago while I was in Jubilife Village, rescuing their child. Was that you?"
Again, all Arcanine did was nod, before looking at the stones again with a peaceful look on his face.
"I lost my friends recently, not even a week ago... we were all together and now... all I have left of them is my memories, and their Vivillons... I don't know if they all survived, but I have to hope. And my own Vivillon, I don't know where they are... but... I have to find them; I will find them!" He declared, turning to look at Jill beside him. "And Jill will help me... together we'll find them and bring them home!"
"Gooo~!"
Leaning down he rubbed his forehead against Jill's, causing her to coo and smile in response to his affection. After their moment of affection toward each other, both of them thanked the Lord of the Isles for his help and left the cliff to head back to the Galaxy Expedition Campsite, both to explain the loss of the rowboat, and so he could return to the village, after paying their respects to the previous lord with Arcanine. Arcanine watched them go, waiting until they were well on their way, before he too nodded to the gravesite, and left to return to his seat.
(Jill's PoV, five days later)
Jill couldn't see anything around her, the world to her was darkness, she could sense though, and that was all she had to go on. She could sense things around her, and that was what she did, she sensed everything she could. Especially Clemont, she always made sure to keep track of him, no matter what she 'never' let him out of sight, not since she accidentally hurt him.
No she didn't ever want to hurt him again.
Which is why she blasted the opposing Pokemon that stood in their way with a Dragon Pulse, a Skuntank belonging to a Warden by the name of Melli of the Diamond Clan. They had been traveling through the Coronet Highlands for several days trying to reach this location, the seat of the Lord of the Hollow, Electrode, seeking to gain an audience with the Noble Pokemon to ask about the Vivillon that had made their way to the Highlands, hoping to see if they had survived and were waiting for him to find them.
Unfortunately, the Warden of Electrode was not a pleasant person, and acted all high and mighty, asking why he should grant an 'outsider' to Hisui an audience with his most Noble Lord, the almighty and powerful Electrode, Lord of the Hollow? He was nobody special, he was a nobody in general, he was just 'there'. So why should he be allowed to visit one of Hisui's most Noble Pokemon, worshipped by both the Diamond and Pearl Clans, a descendant of one of the ten ancient legends that aided the hero of Hisui in the distant past?
The only way to visit Electrode was to defeat him in battle, which is what she had just did as her attack hit dead center in the Skuntank, thrashing it back into a wall, at least she 'hoped' it was a wall, and ending the fight with a cheerful 'wooot' from Clemont.
"Inconceivable... that 'I' the great Melli would be bested by a mere 'foreigner', a person who is not even that strong? Ooooh how could this have happened... again?" She heard Melli moan dramatically. "Time... yes, I didn't have enough time still... oh this is just like before, I needed more time to train my lovely Skuntank to be strong and mighty! Adaman 'tooooold' me not to waste time, precious precious time, oh please forgive me Almighty Dialga for doing just that... I promise I will 'never' waste another second... starting tomorrow I will train, I will train hard, and with Skuntank beside me, I'll become even 'stronger'!"
"Can we visit Lord Electrode now?" She asked as she turned to Clemont.
"Yea, do we pass your test Warden Melli?" Clemont asked.
"OOooh, very well... a deal is a deal, you may be graced by the presence of my lord Electrode... go, his Hollow awaits you... let me be and weep for my weakness..." Melli declared dramatically again, and she sensed him walking off and away from them.
"That guy is 'weird'..." Clemont muttered to her.
"Indeed." She agreed.
With that they left and went into the Hollow of the Lord of the Hollow, Electrode. She couldn't see anything, obviously, but she could sense several bodies, especially a very large and very 'spherical' one. It radiated with power as they drew closer, similar to the previous Lord they met, Lord Arcanine. There were also other bodies, smaller and weaker, much weaker than the Noble of the Diamond Clan, fluttering around the Noble.
"Vivillon!" She heard Clemont shout.
"Clemont!" She heard them shouting happily.
They fluttered over to him alongside the Lord who rolled closer. She had gotten used to the Vivillon language, thanks to listening and talking to the Vivillon who were recovering back in Jubilife Village. Since he didn't want to risk them getting hurt anymore, all of his Vivillon that they'd found so far were staying in Jubilife to recover. They'd talked to her about their homeland, its pretty vibrant colors, all of the beautiful sights, meadows, plains, forests, mountains, icy snow fields and everything else... it sounded like a nice place to her. But the one thing they all talked about was Clemont, and his friends.
Clemont had come here with his friends, and the one thing that tied them together was their tough life back home, they were poor, they had almost 'nothing' to their names. They had come here trying to climb out of that pit, trying to get something better in life... but now those dreams were gone... all Clemont had left were the Vivillons, finding them, and saving them in memory of his friends and their trainers.
They were all in agreement, those that were there, that they'd stay with him, since he was their only remaining family left now...
Their only remaining family... now.
"High Plains, Sandstorm... and Savanna Vivillon... only three of you, did you see any of the others, did any of you see 'my' Vivillon?" Clemont asked hopefully.
"No... we didn't..." One of them said sadly.
"We got separated in the storm; we just flew in whatever direction the wind was blowing..."
"We were lucky to have reached this place together... we were so tired and lost... we found this little hollow that was empty, and we figured we'd be safe."
"Well at least I found you three together... I guess there's only one location left to search... which remind me, are you guys ready to head home?" He asked them. "I know I'm not your trainer and... you have no reason to listen to me, but I promised my friends, that I would find you all and bring you home... even if... even though they are gone..."
In unison all three of the Vivillon said yes, they would follow him, and she heard them all be captured inside of their little Pokeballs.
"Three more, that makes it 'fourteen', only six more left to go, and then we can... say truly goodbye before... heading home."
'Goodbye', that dreaded word... thinking about it... made her feel sad. And when she felt sad, she started crying inside... she didn't want to say goodbye to Clemont.
"Lord of the Hollow, Electrode... I thank you for protecting my Vivillon, and I thank you again for reuniting them with me. I only wish I could repay you somehow."
"Kreeegraaaarg!" The Lord Electrode declared, before it rolled away.
"Sigh... well, let's go Jill."
"Yea... sure."
She was quiet as she rolled alongside him, and she noticed that he was walking slower than normal. Though they left the hollow and headed away from the galaxy expedition campsite, heading to the base of the mountains of Mt. Sinnoh, back to Jubilife Village, he moved slower than normal. It gave her time to think, think about her life with Clemont so far, and think about how long they've known each other and what they've done together.
She'd come to grow very fond of Clemont these past few days, very fond of him. He just... made her laugh, smile... made her happy. For so long, so very, very long she had lived alone just surviving, doing nothing but that, never talking, making new friends, just living day to day and trying to survive.
Then she found him, dying, alone, soaked and hurt, so she did the only thing that seemed right, she saved his life, dragged him into a cave and helped however she could. She dried him out by soaking up the wetness of his clothes, used her slime to seal up his wounds, and helped however she could.
Then she followed him to the village, decided to join him because he was so lonely, and she knew of that loneliness all too well. Loneliness was something she didn't want him to suffer, as she'd suffered it for so long. She had fun with him, seeing new sights, growing stronger, finding happiness with him even despite the troubles they had. Remembering the past, coping with their losses, and even coming to terms was something they'd both done 'together'... and truth is... she was starting to really like being with him.
Like 'really' like being with him... strange as it was, even though he wasn't a Sliggoo or a Goomy, he was... handsome to her, and she found him attractive, and he just made her happy. When he played with her, tickled her, even when he started using her as a little rolling ball with her shell she had 'fun' with him every second. But with each Noble Pokemon they visited... each one, more Vivillon were added to the group, and sooner or later, there would be none left to find... and he'd leave Hisui, heading back to Kaulos.
Leaving her behind probably, after all they were only together because he needed help finding them. Without her, he was practically defenseless against the wild Pokemon of Hisui. When he left to return home, he would at least have his Vivillon to keep him company.
But without him... she'd be alone again... she would be alone, without him.
She liked him... she really liked him... sure he was a human but... that didn't matter to her, she... she 'loved' him, she was 'never' this happy before, and if he left her in Hisui, then he would never be there again. She'd be alone, she'd be sad and... she didn't want that.
But what could she do, she asked herself as it started to drizzle lightly.
After a while of walking though, Clemont stopped, causing her to stop as well and poke her head out. She didn't sense anything around them, no they were alone for now, so she was a little confused as to why he had stopped.
"Listen Jill... I wanted to ask you something." Clemont said as she sensed him bending down to talk to her. "I've been noticing every time I talk about going back home, that you suddenly get a little sad look on you. Are you a little sad at the thought of me leaving Hisui?"
Yep, he hit the mark without much work. She sighed and turned away with a little hop, looking and feeling sadder that he brought up the topic 'for' her. She could have lived in blissful ignorance thinking maybe he'd reconsider and stay here with the Vivillon, perhaps dreaming he'd stay and... but no, he was 'still' thinking about going back to Kaulos.
"Yes... I'm sorry but... I do get sad thinking about you going back to your home and... leaving me here." She said, nodding to him, even though he couldn't understand a word she said, she at least could convey the basic message.
"Are you... 'sad' that I may leave you behind?" He asked her.
She nodded again, just the thought of being left behind, alone, was causing her to start crying, the tears only held back by her biology.
However, she felt him reach down and hold one of her little arms that she used to hold herself up from her shell, and she looked at him in semi-surprise, as he'd never done that before.
"Listen... I understand... I don't belong here, that's why I'm leaving when I can, but only after I find all of mine and my friend's Vivillons. It's the only thing I can do to remember them by... this is your home though, and you probably prefer it here. But... I know this might be a bit premature... but still, if I ask... no I mean I'm already asking but, would you be willing to come back to Kaulos with me?" Clemont asked. "It might not be as nice there as it is here for you but... I would feel really sad if you were to vanish from my life now. Sure, we've only known each other for a few weeks but... I've come to really enjoy being with you. And I'd like to keep on living with you in my life... that is... if you want?"
Would she like to stay with him, that question just came out of nowhere, why didn't she ever think of 'that' option. Suddenly her whole world became a whole lot brighter, happier, cheerful, she smiled and was JUST about to scream 'yes' she'd go to Kaulos with him... when she heard a sound that stunned her.
"Roawawwr"
The roar of an Ursurang, an Alpha Ursurang!
She had been so distracted by her talk with Clemont that she'd been forgetting to keep sensing around her, forgetting to check for threats. She was just so focused on Clemont she'd neglected her promise to always watch out for him, and that now had put them both in danger, as they'd wandered into close enough proximity to an Alpha Pokemon's territory, and it was right on top of them.
She refocused her senses trying to find it, trying to turn toward it and fight it off, when she felt a mighty WHACK as Clemont screamed, first in panic, then 'pain' as he was smacked by the Ursurang's paw and into a nearby tree.
"Gaawah..."
"Raaaawrar!"
"Get away from him!" She yelled as she unleashed a Dragon Pulse against the Ursurang.
Unfortunately for her the Ursurang didn't seem to care about her aggression, instead it just wacked her as well, sending her spinning and spiraling in her shell. She pulled into it trying to avoid her squishy body being hurt, and it started grabbing her, then throwing her up and down, up and down, shaking her constantly, trying to get at her vulnerable body past the metal shell protecting her.
"Rawr... rawwwar, rwwar RAAWR!" It kept screaming, bashing her and clawing, scraping and scratching her, trying to get her and drag her out by force.
All she could do as it shoved its claws into her shell, trying to scrape her out, was hide as far away from the hole, squishing as much of her soft body away, terrified, the roars of frustration and anger, of 'hunger' terrifying her. The only thing that caused her to feel even a modicum of comfort was that this Ursurang was busy with her and not Clemont. Maybe he had gotten away, slipped away, his Vivillon were no match for this thing, better she dies here than him... at least she'd have a better chance of surviving this encounter than he would.
"Get... off her... leave her alone!"
*Smack*
"Rr... raw... RAUARWRA!" The Ursurang roared angrily as it let her go.
She sensed it storming away, charging Clemont, who she felt was 'still' nearby and apparently was trying to fight it off, to fight it away from her, using a stick of all things. Slowly she wiggled her way out, listening to the sounds of fighting near her, and she shivered in fear as the roars continued, listening as the Usurang grew angrier and angrier as it slashed, clawed, and swiped at Clemont who seemed to be just trying to avoid its attack and smacking it with a stick.
"Get away from her, you took my friends... all of my friends from me... but you won't take her. YOU WON'T TAKE Heraguooof!" Clemont screamed in pain as she heard the Ursurang finally make contact with its paw.
Hearing his cry of pain, knowing he was trying to protect her, fighting the very thing that had 'killed' his companions, leaving him alone in this land and this world... made her 'snap'. It was like a switch was flicked, suddenly... she was not afraid anymore.
'If he dies... I'll be alone again... if he dies... his friends Vivillon will never see home... if he dies then... I'll never have the chance to tell him... if he dies, I'll... I'll... I'll never... be able to tell him...'
That was when she felt it again, she felt her body expanding, morphing, changing second by second as she began to evolve. She felt her body growing larger and larger, her overall mass increasing as it absorbed the iron in the soil and water from the rain falling down. Her shell began to change, growing larger and larger as it began to accommodate her new size, but during her metamorphosis, or her evolution, she increased the size of the shell to a larger proportion, softening it on the inside but making it durable and hard on the outside.
Her body kept growing and growing, her antennae stretching and lengthening, her body becoming more 'muscular' and denser, instead of the gooey and soft like her previous forms.
Then she opened her eyes and saw the world around her as her evolution completed.
The world felt smaller for some reason, it felt 'really' smaller to her. But first thing's first, she had an Ursurang that was just as tall as she was if not taller, roaring as she finished her evolution. In front of it lay Clemont who had a big slash across his chest, a small cut all things considered given the aggressive Ursurang that hurt him, but otherwise he was mostly unharmed. Yet that simple injury, seeing him hurt... put her into a frenzy.
She just 'yelled' her intention to fight and 'charged' the Ursurang, even as it roared and attacked her back. She was very heavily laden with her shell on her back, but that weight meant that as she collided and head butted the Ursurang, it could not stop her momentum as she pushed and shoved it backward. It tried to strike her with its claws, but it did not damage her because of her newfound levels of strength, strength that she never realized she possessed before.
Even though her arms were stubby little things, they still grappled and held the Ursurang with a mighty grip, growling furiously she used her antennae to wrap around the Ursurang's arms and freed her own arms, and started pummeling it in the guts, smacking it again and again.
"Graaaaaah!"
She roared as she opened her mouth after the vicious assault and blasted the Ursurang with a massively powerful jet of Dragon Pulse flame that caused burns across its body. She then cut off the attack, head butted it, letting it go so that it staggered backward, and then spun around and smacked it 'heavily' with her large shell.
That was the end of it, the Ursurang had had enough of the fight, and just started running, lumbering away with wounds and burns on its fur.
She growled lowly for a bit, before screaming her rage and defiance to the world, 'daring' any to threaten her again now, or even looking at her beloved human wrongly.
Speaking of Clemont, she turned toward him and stomped heavily over to him, her footsteps sounding 'heavily' even in the mud as they sank a little with each step. Then she tenderly picked him up in her arms and smiled at him.
"Jill... you're, evolved again... you look... 'bigger'... where did that 'shell' come from?" He asked wearily.
"Let's answer that when we get back to Jubilife Village, Clemont." She said warmly, before taking the path down the mountain again and making her way toward home.
(One week later)
Jill walked beside him as they walked through the snowy blizzard, climbing the steps of the Alabaster Iceland, toward the seat where the great Lord of the Tundra, Avalugg sat waiting for him.
It had been a week since she evolved, and in that time, Clemont had recovered from his injury, turned out he got hurt more then she realized, he had suffered an injured rib, a busted gut, and a gash that became infected while they walked back to the village. Try as she might she was not good with directions now that she was able to see again, having relied on him for directions before while she was a Sliggoo.
But during that time, he had recovered, and now they walked up the path toward Avalugg's throne, having been granted an audience by Gaeric his Warden.
The Diamond and Pearl clans had called off the search for the missing Noble Pokemon Sneasler's daughter and her wayward Warden, evidence had been found that they had 'vanished', perhaps in a space time rift, perhaps going back to where her Warden had come from. Either way, he welcomed the help now for his missing Vivillon, as the Warden Gaeric had told him that his Lord had been seen 'sheltering' four fancy looking bug Pokemon, shielding them from the harsh cold on his mountain throne.
When asked 'why' Gaeric told him to go to Avalugg's throne instead of bringing them to him, Gaeric said that his Lord would entrust their safety with none but himself or the one who was searching for them, as the Savior asked of him. The lord of the Tundra even demanded food be brought to him to feed the Vivillon every day while he sheltered them. He was actually pleased to be seeing his lord acting this way, as not long ago he once was in a frenzy.
Upon arriving in the Icelands, the harsh cold was something neither he nor Jill welcomed the cold or snow, the wind or the temperatures... but they came here to speak to lord Avalugg to find his Vivillon.
"I've never... been here before..." He moaned as he trudged through the blizzard.
"Neither have I..." She also said, but at least she wasn't as affected by it thanks to her resistance to the cold.
Evolving had given her a massive resistance to extreme temperatures. Even a harsh desert would not affect her so much. She could lie in the baking sun and not feel afraid of drying out or dehydrating. She wouldn't appreciate it much, but she wouldn't fear it. Speaking of her evolution, she didn't have much time to talk to Clemont about it, or his proposal, as she was so focused on him recovering, trying to make sure he was fully recovered. She had spent many nights by his bed, sometimes helping feed him, or just sitting in her enormous shell and just smiling at him, sleeping beside him, letting him pet her and sometimes playing games with him to pass the time.
She just enjoyed being with him every moment she could.
Then... after an agonizingly long climb, the final steps were crossed, and they stood at the edge of an enormous plateau covered in freshly fallen snow. She and Clemont looked around, but she could not see the Lord of the Tundra, Avalugg. They had seen a few Avaluggs on the way up here, as well as Bergmites, so she knew what he looked like, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"Where is he, Gaeric said his Noble Pokemon never left his seat due to his size, but he also said my Vivillon were here being sheltered by him from the cold." Clemont said.
"Yea... I don't see anywhere he could be hiding or resting." She agreed, it was all just a giant flat blanket of pure white snow that was still falling around them.
"Well, he said his lord was here, maybe he's like on the side of the mountain or something..." Clemont said as he stepped forward. "LORD AVALUGG... ARE YOU HERE?"
Not seeing an immediate response, she added her voice to help him. "GOOOOODRAAAAA!" She yelled, not saying anything in particular and just yelling to try and get his attention.
Silence... then.
*Rrrrrrruumble*
"Wh-wh-whoa!" Clemont yelled as the ground started shaking, rumbling, furiously knocking them around and even causing her to fall onto her side.
*RrrruuuuummmmbleKrastrhaaaash*
As she wiggled and pulled herself back up, she stared with Clemont as an absolute 'behemoth', a titan, an ENORMOUS Avalugg slowly made itself known, rising from the snow and shaking off the powder from its back. He was the size of a 'mountain' it seemed, she was 'dwarfed' by this Avalugg who slowly rose to its feet and looked down upon them from his throne, and then 'ROARED'.
"Raaaaaaaaaaowr!"
She and Clemont only could brace themselves against the sheer 'volume' of this yell. It was no attack, it wasn't a threat, but still the force of the yell sent a burst of cold winter fury at them, blasting them with freezing temperatures and a flurry of snow.
She pushed herself forward though, and shielded Clemont in case for any reason this Lord of the Tundra dared to attack Clemont, but honestly, she was worried, how could she hope to fight this Avalugg if he became agressive? Its front-left foot alone probably weighed more than her entire body did 'twice over'. He could literally take a step and squash her into a messy pile without even noticing. Even as Avalugg stood tall, or as 'tall' as an Avalugg could stand, the Lord of the Tundra was probably the most intimidating Pokemon she had 'ever' seen, it made the Carnivines she'd feared as a Goomy look like... Goomy! He made the Alpha Ursurang look like tiny 'Ralts' by comparison. And that, all by simply standing up because of a human and a Goodra yelling loudly nearby.
"Wait... Lord Avalugg, it's me... Clemont... I'm here at your request!" Her Clemont yelled quickly, rushing forward. "Lord Avalugg, Lord of the Tundra... protector of these lands... please... I'm here looking for my Vivillon, I was told you were protecting them, guarding them for me!"
She watched as Avalugg watched him, turning to stare at him with one enormous eye, as if judging his words.
"I lost... I lost three friends, friends who were here in these lands... I lost them... to a group of Alpha Ursurang... all I have left of them, are my memories of them... and their Vivillon, I need to find them all, so I can bring them back home... for their sake... for their memory... please, tell me you have them, tell me they're here... I've come so far and searched every corner of Hisui for them, your domain is the only one left... are they here?"
She watched with Clemont as the Avalugg watched him, judging his words... before shaking itself and slowly 'lifting' itself even higher than it was before shifting ever so slightly.
There, on the ground, a small little crevice could be seen, no more than a few feet deep. And resting inside of it, quickly noticing the Avalugg had shifted aside, were 'four' Vivillon huddled together for warmth, wings slightly crumpled from the cold and shivering slightly, but otherwise they were all alive and sheltered.
"GUYS!" Clemont screamed happily as he climbed down, and she climbed with him.
"Clemont... you found us!" One of them cheered as they fluttered up to him, tackling him wearily, all of them happy to see a familiar face.
"This Big Guy sheltered us for 'days' because we were so cold..."
"We wouldn't have survived out here if he didn't shelter us and tell the humans to bring us food."
"Who are they, what patterns?" She asked eagerly, wondering who he had found.
"Let's see... Jungle... Ocean, Tundra and Meadow... oh you guys are 'SO' lost... how did you get all the way out here?" He whispered as he held them one by one, crying happily. "Ready to go back somewhere warm guys?"
All of them nodded happily, and after a short feed to give them something warm to help their stomachs, he pulled each of them into a Pokeball.
After that he and she climbed back up to the plateau and turned to Lord Avalugg who had repositioned itself to where it was.
"Thank you Lord Avalugg for sheltering them... and keeping them safe until I arrived. But I must ask... there were 'two' others that I am looking for, I am still missing two more... did you or any of the other Nobles... did any of you see them or any sign of them, I found three in Lord Kleavor's care, four in Lady Lilligant's, four more in Lord Arcanine's, three in Lord Electrode's, and now four in your care. But there are still two missing... have you or any of the other Nobles seen them or seen a sign of them?"
Avalugg was slow to respond, its eyes shifting a little as if 'thinking', before it looked at him and slowly shook its head. Then it took two steps back, and began lowering itself into the ground, closing its eyes and returning to its previous position, the snow still falling 'already' starting to add a clean layer of snow to cover him up.
She bowed in gratitude to Avalugg, before looking at Clemont and seeing his downtrodden expression.
"I'm stilling missing two... the two Vivillon that I owned and let go when the Ursurang were about to kill us all. If Avalugg didn't have them then... where could they be?"
She tried to cheer him up, patting his shoulder and saying stuff like 'we'll find them' and 'don't give up hope'... but he was just not responsive. He kept on muttering things like 'how could he have let this happen' and 'where could they be'. He even began worrying maybe they were dead, saying they would never have survived in the wild this long, if the Vivillon that were found so battered up while being protected by the Noble Pokemon, how long would the Vivillon have lasted on their own? He kept saying 'wild pokemon aren't this hostile back home' and the Vivillon don't know how to handle the kind of aggression the Pokemon of Hisui have toward outsiders into their territory.
Oh, it was a long and depressing journey back home, first they stayed at the galaxy expedition encampment for the night, before making the journey back to Jubilife village. Midway through their journey after another day of walking with Clemont's mindset not improving, Jill knew she had to do 'something' to help raise his spirits and assure him that things would improve. So, she decided to tell him, and hope he would reciprocate her feelings.
(Enter Clemont's PoV, late that night)
He finished eating his meager meal for that day after setting up camp in an isolated little grove, just a day away from Jubilife Village, sighing as he didn't know where he was going to look for his Vivillon, the last two still missing, his personal Vivillon that he'd raised since he was a kid growing up. They could be anywhere... lost... scared, the thought of them huddling in some dark, dreary cave, cowering in fear at the sounds of the wild Hisui Pokemon filling his mind. The thought that he'd lost not only his human friends but also his Pokemon friends constantly sinking its thorny idea into his skull, reminding him of his 'failure'. If he had just kept them, if he had stayed... maybe... maybe...
"Hey... Jill, I'll be right back..." He said as he got up to leave.
Only instead of Jill responding with a 'Goo' and signaling she understood him, she used one of her antennae and gripped him, looking at him with a nervous eye.
"Hey, Jill let go... I promise I will be right back; I just need a moment to be alone." He tried to pull away, but her grip didn't let up.
She still looked at him, with that nervous look, as if trying to find the courage to do something.
"What is it, is something wrong?" He asked as she had never acted this way before.
Again, she looked nervous, shy even, almost like she 'wanted' to say something but was so afraid to say it, but she did nod to tell him something 'was' wrong. After a moment he stopped trying to pull away, as he knew if she was trying to say something, willing to hold him still almost by force, then it had to be serious. Taking a seat next to her, he sat patiently, waiting for her to decide to tell him.
"Alright, what's wrong Jill?"
Jill took a moment to collect her thoughts and her courage, before unfurling her antennae from his arm and nudged herself just a 'little' closer to him, her massive shell towering over the two of them while she was sitting beside him. She then reached down and used her short arms to draw in the dirt.
First, she drew herself as she was, a doodle of a Goodra, then she drew him, though he looked more like a stick figure, and she drew them sitting atop a big boat, with them having happy faces.
"I just want to say... I want to go with you... back to your home." She told him, though of course he didn't understand her words, so she doodled to convey the message.
"You want to come with me back to Kaulos? Was that it, that's alright, you can come with me, that's nothing to be nervous or afraid of. Were you just afraid of leaving Hisui?" He said as he figured out what she was saying.
Jill shook her head, both happy he understood her, but telling him that 'wasn't' what she was scared of, as she wiped the doodles away and drew new ones. This time drawing the Vivillon doodles, two of them, with him between them and herself standing next to him, finally she drew a sun and a moon, with little arrows circling them all, indicating that she would help him find them no matter how long it took.
"I also wanted to say I promise to help you find your Vivillon, I know they're out there... and I'll help you find them, no matter how far or how long we have to search..."
After looking at her doodle, he slowly began to understand what she was saying, happy that she was so good at doodling basic messages, as he'd never understand her words.
"You'll help me find my Vivillon, no matter how long it takes?" He whispered, and she nodded warmly. "Thanks... I'm glad I can count on you to help me... I'm just... worried if they're alive or not... I'm afraid I'll just... all I'll find of them are..."
Jill pulled him into her squishy body, smiling and hugging him, patting his shoulder to let him know that it would be alright, that his Vivillon are out there, waiting for him to find them.
"We'll find them... I promise we will."
After a moment of comfort and companionship he nodded and thanked her. "Thank you, was that all you wanted to tell me?"
Again, she shook her head, and took a very deep breath as she erased the doodles and started to draw new ones.
First, she drew him with her, holding her as a Goomy, with a friendly smile.
Then she drew them but with her as a Sliggoo, with him holding her while she poked out of her shell, but her smile was wider, happier as she leaned against him.
Lastly, she drew herself as she was now, a Goodra with her enormous shell, hugging Clemont with him hugging her, her smile just like it was as a Sliggoo and him smiling as well, but... she drew a 'heart' around it.
Clemont was a little confused, it looked like she was saying she liked him, but... the heart... she drew a 'heart' around them in the last doodle. He knew what that symbolized but... did she say what he 'thought' she was saying, was she admitting to him that she 'loved' him? Why, she's a Pokemon... she's... and he's a human... they've only known each other for a little under a month. How could she fall in love with him in just under a month, let alone with someone who wasn't even her own species?
"Jill I... are you saying... what I think your saying?"
Jill took a deep breath again, there, it was over, she got the message through... she nodded, circling the doodle of the heart again, trying to confirm what his thoughts were. She loved him.
"But why Jill... I'm just a human, you're a Goodra, and... we've only known each other for a month... not even, how could you..." He tried to say, but stopped as Jill erased her doodles again and started doodling more.
She drew herself, first as a Goomy... alone, looking sad. Then she drew him, and erased the sad look on herself, replacing it with a smile. Then she erased herself and drew herself as a Sliggoo, looking even happier. Finally, she erased her Sliggoo self and replaced it with an even 'happier' Goodra... drawing the heart again. She looked at him, smiling, a little sadly, as she gently reached down and held his hand, but she was happy the entire time.
After a while, he understood... she loved him because he made her happy, he was the best thing that had happened to her. She was alone, sad, and just living day to day... then she met him, saved him... decided to help him because she understood his pain, and now... now she loved him because of how happy he made her.
Glancing into her eyes, he could only see one emotion, one honest emotion, the purest emotion that one could express with just their eyes and a simple smile... the only emotion that did not 'need' an ulterior motive or a reason to express itself, able to convey its message just by being itself...
Love... she loved him.
"Are you... really okay with loving me... I mean... I'm just a nobody, a human... a foreigner to your home... wouldn't you rather... be with another Goodra like you?"
She smiled more and shook her head, not blinking once. "I don't care if your human... you're you Clemont, and you make me happy... that's all I need." She told him softly.
"Do you... really love me?" He asked her quietly, as... this was the first time a girl ever told him she liked him, let alone loved him.
Sure, his friends were his friends, but... that was it, Morda never liked him that much, only happy to have him as a drinking companion, always happy to have a laugh with, but never once wanting to spend time with him outside of the bar with the others. They were close friends, but nothing more. Jill, however, she saved his life, she stayed with him, she 'offered' to help him find his Vivillon, she protected him, she was with him every second of her own free will. She had fun with him, she made him laugh and he did the same, she shared the moments they had together, both good and bad, the fun moments, the dumb moments, the simple moments, the terrifying moments, all of the moments together she had had with him she shared with him. If she loved him... honestly loved him without reservation... despite him being a human and her being a Goodra... would it be wrong to feel the same?
There wasn't anything 'illegal' about it... he didn't know of any... couples like that but... surely there had to be at least a few pairs out there, and they didn't find it wrong... right?
"Jill... are you really okay with me?"
Jill simply smiled... and responded with, "I wouldn't be with anyone else..."
They just stared at each other for a moment, before they slowly, ever so slowly, leaned closer and closer to each other, until their mouths were mere 'inches' apart.
And then they closed their eyes, and let their lips finally touch.
Jill's mouth was so soft, it was like her entire body had this layer of 'water' that was both solid and fluid, her body was also slimy, gooey, she dripped goo every few seconds from her chin, her arms, her waist... but she was soft and gentle as she pushed a little harder into his mouth. Even as they started to deepen the kiss, with him gently reaching up and cupping her cheeks, and she 'gooing' in delight as he touched her body, the only thing he could describe how she felt was...
Water... she felt and tasted like 'water'.
Thick water perhaps, but water, nonetheless.
Jill though, she was 'reveling' in feeling him touch her, feeling him taste her lips and tasting his lips in return. His lips were a little on the firm side, obvious from the fact that his skin was 'skin' whereas she was more gelatinous and almost entirely fluid. The mucus that made up her exterior body was thick, allowing her to absorb water and moisture in the air and through her skin, as well as maintain it without risk of dehydrating. This meant that in all practicality, all one had to do was squeeze her body in just the right way, and she'd secrete her stored up fluids.
Which is what she felt him doing as he slowly pushed deeper into her mouth, opening his mouth and licking her lips, trying to gain entry to her insides, which she granted without hesitation. Her tongue felt the new guest to its home, and felt it slip further and further in, feeling her inside, looking for her own tongue.
Well, her tongue only played hide and seek for a bit, before it slunk forward, wrapped itself around his with ease and just... started sucking up his moisture while sharing her own.
"Mhmmmuha..." She moaned wrapping her arms gently around his head, trying to maintain this beautiful lip lock, not wanting it to end anytime soon.
He just tasted amazing, his saliva, drool, call it what you will... it just 'tasted' like him, and her tongue greedily lapped it up while letting her own mouth fluid squeeze out to be tasted by his tongue, which then wiggled and sent it into his mouth to be swallowed.
Inside she felt her heart flutter, he was tasting her... they were sharing their own mouth essences, she had never thought something like this would ever happen and yet it's happening!
Clemont was slowly deepening the kiss with Jill, feeling her tongue just smother his with its sheer size, easily outmatching his by three times, yet it was soft... smooth, and gooey. Every time their tongues pressed against one another heavily, it seemed to secrete this liquid that tasted almost like water, but it was ever so different. It tasted sweet, and the more he squeezed out the more he loved it, and the more he tried to squeeze from her. Her cheeks were also just as soft, even as his hands pressed against them, it was like her body just 'absorbed' his hands without being squished like when she was a Goomy.
But as they mashed lips against one another, Jill was starting to get a bit more aggressive, wanting to deepen the moment. She tried pushing him harder, wanting to smother him, to just feel him more, get more of him on her, feel his body touching hers...
But she didn't want to slime up his clothes as he only had the one set that he was always having to clean because of her slime.
Reluctantly she pulled away and moaned.
"Clemont... I want more... I feel a throbbing..." She said, looking down at her waist.
Looking at her, he noticed that between her legs, smack dab in the center, an obvious feminine 'slit' was making itself known to him. Her body was becoming aroused, the act of kissing and his touches on her face had made her body grow hot and needy. Her pussy was on full display, showing itself in its beautiful glory for the first time to him and only him, only revealing itself because 'he' had put her in the mood to mate.
"So... that's how you... I've never..." He muttered in surprise.
"Is... is it alright?" She asked nervously, looking a little worried as he stared at her sex, afraid maybe he found it... disgusting.
Her scared expression as he made his comment did not go unnoticed, as he saw her expression shy and adorable. But he calmed her by reaching up and rubbing her cheek with one hand.
"No... it's beautiful Jill... just like you."
Jill went all 'gooey' and just beamed, before adjusting herself and trying to find an angle that would be ideal for him to enjoy her pussy but moaning sadly as her best efforts resulted in it 'hiding' from him, even if she sat down, her shell kept her from letting him enjoy her body to its fullest.
"My shell... it's too big..." She moaned as she looked back at it. "I want you to feel it... but... I can't... my shell would hurt you; I don't want to hurt you..."
He could see her getting emotional, getting upset because she wanted to advance their intimacy, but her accursed protective shell was stopping her from doing so. Seeing her pussy however was turning him on, he could feel his dick starting to pitch a tent in his pants, demanding release.
That was when he had an idea. A way to help her achieve her wish, and for him to glimpse his own sex tool since she was proudly trying to let him see hers.
"Jill, I have an idea..." He whispered softly to her.
After quickly rummaging in his light pack, he pulled out the single towel that he'd had that was used for bathing when outdoors. He then laid it on the ground and began removing his clothes, revealing his own body to her as she was to him. Jill just stared in awe, his body was... well his body, she had nothing else to compare it to. It wasn't 'soft' and squishy like hers, it was soft but hard in its own way because he was human, and she was a Goodra. But she noticed his dick as he slowly pulled his pants off and then undergarments.
His dick was so attractive to her, she was captivated as it stood at an impressive six inches in length and growing with arousal. She didn't know why, but she 'really' wanted that inside of her body now... she 'wanted' it inside of her. This was honestly her first sexual experience, she'd never done anything even remotely like this, she was unfamiliar with why she wanted to do this so much, why her body was almost acting on automatic with what it wanted, but she just went with it. Something in her mind said it would make her happy and it would make 'him' happy.
So, if it made her happy, and he was happy with it, then why resist this instinct?
"Alright, Jill... I want you to stand over my face... and face this way... try to stay standing as best you can alright?"
Jill nodded as she did as asked, waiting until he was lying on the ground and then... carefully, with extreme effort so as to not injure him, not wanting to hurt even a single tiny 'hair' on his body by accident. She then angled herself so that her pussy was now over his face and waited... until...
"OOoohh!" She moaned in pleasure as she felt his lips touch her 'lips'.
Jill's pussy was unlike anything he imagined, it didn't 'feel' like he was touching her skin, he just felt like he was kissing her body like anywhere else. It was the same smooth, wet, soft texture as before, but unlike her mouth her pussy secreted her 'nectar', which was a very, very sweet liquid that tasted like water mixed with... something, he couldn't describe it exactly, but it tasted delicious to him. He cripped her firm thighs and pulled her just a 'smidgen' closer, feeling his hands sinking into her hips and making her moan in pleasure.
"OOOh, oooh yes... uhaaah... yes... oh that feels good... yes..." She gooed in pleasure as she wiggled in delight, her shell shaking 'slightly' from feeling his lips sucking on her seat, feeling his tongue lather her insides, licking and sucking on her nectarous fluid. "Oooh it feels good... it feels good Clemont... oooh more, give me more~!"
She could feel him licking deeper, feel his tongue swirl and cup itself, trying to increase the pleasure she felt, and thus increase the speed at which she released her fluid through her pussy. She had no distinct smell, she just smelled and tasted of water and different types of water.
Not wanting to feel left out, she panted and looked for something, anything to get her 'something', and saw lying in front of her, twitching in excitement and pointing skyward, was his dick, now at full mast. It captivated her as she leaned down, panting, breathing heavily as she sniffed it.
Oh, that smell, that smell, it was 'pure' Clemont, it just oozed his scent that was driving her crazy. She had smelled it as a Goomy, but not this strong, she had liked his scent before but now it was like she was intoxicated with it. She wanted to please him now, as he pleased her, and put her gooey paws on the ground to give her leverage so she wouldn't accidentally fall on him and then licked his dick with her tongue.
"Mhaa... ooh... Jill..." Clemont moaned before Jill's pussy smothered his mouth again, inspiring him to keep going.
Liking the sound he made, she licked it again, and found his dick had a very 'salty' kind of taste in her mouth, not unpleasant, but again... since it was Clemont, she wanted more of it. She licked again... then again and licked some more.
Soon she was licking all around, from base to tip, wrapping her tongue around the whole length and covering it in her watery, gooey fluids. As she licked, she panted harder, her sex being turned inside out it felt like from Clemont's tongue, she found herself being driven to do 'something' to suppress her urges, to increase his pleasure so he in turn would increase 'her' pleasure.
All she had to work with was his dick that she was licking, and as she kept licking, hearing his moans of pleasure, she had the idea to engulf his entire dick in her mouth.
So, she did, she opened her mouth, swirled her tongue around the dick to get a few more tastes of it, before slowly lowering her head onto it, swallowing it into her mouth and just sucking it.
"MHmhmahaaa oooh sweet Xerneas Jill... oooh that feels good... ohoooh your mouth... it feels so 'nice'..."
Jill couldn't respond as she went to town on his dick, slowly bobbing her head up and down, sucking and licking his shaft, every inch of it with her tongue. Going as deep into her throat as she could with it. Each time she did it touched the back of her throat, without fail making her want to try and drink it up, drink it dry, absorbing all of the moisture on it. She kept going and going, up and down, licking it a little before slamming her mouth down to swollow it hard, then slowly pulling it out and plunging it back into the folds of her soft, cool throat.
She had no 'gag' reflex Clemont surmised, as she didn't seem bothered in the slightest with deep throating his dick right off the bat. But he could feel his dick twitching in anticipation, and Jill's pussy was starting to secret a very sweet nectar, a new juice that sent a signal she was at her peak pleasure, the only thing left that could enhance it would be...
"Mhmmaha... Jill... Jill it's time..." He whispered rapidly.
Jill, as if sensing the same thing, stopped, and nodded, slowly getting up and turning herself around so that her pussy was resting atop his waist, both of their sexes twitching in anticipation of the big moment.
"Uhm... how do we... do this?" He asked as he saw her still trying to be careful not to hurt him, even as she wrapped her arms around him with a smile.
Jill looked down again, and then back at her shell, almost annoyed that the thing was attached to her. Then her eyes went wide, and she smiled, as she had a bright idea. With careful motions, she sat heavily on Clemont's body, letting her weight sit on him, her squishy body engulfing his slightly, then she began 'pulling him' with her... into her shell.
"Wait... you can..." He muttered in surprise as, slowly, inch by inch... she pulled both of them into her massive shell.
He had noticed that her shell was 'massive', larger than normal Goodras that he had looked up in his spare time. He just thought it was unusual, but... apparently Jill, during her evolution, seemed to have been thinking, at least subconsciously, ahead for this exact reason. Slowly he felt as his skin went from resting atop the fuzzy, if now slimy/wet coated towel, onto the cool, smooth, moist interior of the shell she lived in.
His body began to curl 'slightly' but not uncomfortably as she pulled more of them into the shell, until only their upper most bodies were sticking out, Jill her head, neck and antennae, him his head, neck and shoulders. She then winked and rocked herself slightly until, with a loud 'THUMP', they were now lying on their side, their bodies pressed against one another in a very tight, squishy... and wet embrace. He could quite literally 'feel' his body almost borderline being pulled into Jill's.
"Gooo..." She said with a proud smile.
"I didn't think you could do this..." He muttered.
She winked in response, before she closed her eyes and started to wiggle a little bit in her shell, and he noticed that she was doing this so that her sex lined up with his dick, and 'slid' it right in without any resistance whatsoever.
"OOOOOhhhh Jill... ooooh you are so tight... and so soft... how are you like this..." He moaned as he felt her insides smothering his dick.
"I don't,,, knoooow but... oooh your dick feels good in me~!"
It was so long inside of her, it just pushed deeper into her body, piercing her in a 'special' place, a place that for some reason she felt exceptionally happy to be feeling his dick touching. She couldn't understand why but... it was like her body was telling her this was very important, that it was 'necessary' he was touching her there.
His dick was wrapped in her softness, her cool, wet, gooey softness of her pussy, he could feel her walls stretch only slightly, only enough to allow his dick easy passage into her, then once he did it seemed to squeeze itself, smothering every inch and enhancing his pleasure with unending motions of wetness and movement. It was like he was wrapped in solid water.
Without another moment's hesitation, he began thrusting his hips, pushing into her body, feeling it bulge in response, and then push him out, only for him to thrust back in and it to push him out once more.
It was so strange; her body just didn't seem to 'move' with his dick's actions. Instead, it seemed to shape itself and mold itself to perfectly encapsulate him, allowing him to shove as hard and as deep as he wanted, without ever leaving her entrance or moving more than a few inches. It was so good to him as he pushed harder and deeper, seemingly able to shove every single inch inside and not need to ram her or pull out to achieve this goal. The pleasure he felt as he shoved in and out was beyond belief.
Jill was in ecstasy as he did this, smiling and panting, moaning in pleasure as he thrust harder and harder, feeling his dick touch every inch of her insides, just 'feeling' it there was making her go crazy in pleasure. She gripped him tightly with her legs, her tail wiggling in delight inside of the shell, her hips tightening their grip and trying to pull as him of him into her as possible, wanting to 'absorb' him practically.
"Hah... hauh... oooh, fuck... oh fuck... oooh fuck Jill you feel amazing... oh I've never done this... oooooh!"
"Yes... yes, ooh keep going, push harder... harder... yes Clemont yes~! You feel amazing... I love you so much Clemont!"
She felt him wrap his arms around her neck and placed a hand on the back of her head, and then pulled her into a kiss, which she instantly reciprocated. Her tongue shoved into his mouth this time, not even hesitating like last time. She lathered and licked his tongue, letting her lips smother his and close her eyes in pleasure while he continued to thrust into her, harder and harder, faster as well.
Inside her shell she could feel the flesh of his waist smacking into hers, feeling it jiggle with each time it pounded against her body, sending shivers of delight and pleasure that smashed into her in bursts.
After a minute or two of this he slowed down and began to slow hump her, just letting their tongues dance in his mouth, before shifting into her mouth and dancing there, tasting her wateriness again.
"Mhmmmmha..."
"MHmmhm~!"
She moaned to him as he reached down and started to rub her back, then her thighs, lightly squeezing her body and causing her to giggle and goo in delight. Even as a Goodra, she felt joy as he handled her body that way. But of course, the joy was only added as he started thrusting harder and faster again, pushing as deep as he could physically go with her body.
"Maha hah... hah... oh... oh you're so hard... what's going on... oooh yes!"
"Fuck, fuck... you feel good Jill, you feel so good!" He muttered, unable to control himself, her body was just too 'perfect' for him to resist.
He just wanted to thrust harder, deeper, faster with Jill, trying to please her as much as she pleased him. He reached down and grabbed her thighs with both hands, pulling her into him in time with his thrusts.
"Ah... ah... hah... ah-ah... ahh... ahhha... aha. Haoh... hoya... oh... you... ou... you're bigger, you're so big now... ooh what's... happening!" She moaned as he began scrunching his face in restraint.
"Hah... I'm... I'm... about to cummmheaaaaa!" He screamed as he shoved into her as deep as he could, unable to pull away because of how close their bodies were in her shell.
"Goooohaaaaaaaa~!" She screamed as she too felt her release, unable to control it as it timed itself with 'his' release.
She felt his goo, something hot and 'gooey', spill into her space, a special place...
They breathed heavily as they leaned into one another, before their bodies relaxed... with his dick being massaged the entire time, her softness just keeping up an endless motion of pleasure and squeezing it to spill more of his cum into her.
"Hah... oooh... Jill... I love you so much..." He muttered as he kissed her deeply.
She smiled as she reciprocated, feeling... happy as she lay there with him in her shell. She hugged him tightly, hugged him and just 'squished' her entire body on him, happy that she could do this with him and not hurt him.
Her shell had been the biggest deterrent before, now it was the perfect means to be with him. With him in her shell, he was protected, safe... and perfectly positioned to be pleased by her.
After a bit he tried to pull out of her pussy, but her body just refused to let him go, there was no room in the shell for them to split apart, they were 'stuck' practically.
"Jill... uh... can I..." He began saying before he saw her looking confused, her smile fading slightly. "Actually, never mind... I think from now on, I'll sleep with you like this every night. It feels really nice sleeping with you in your shell... it's really soft and... cool with you in your shell. Plus, you feel really nice."
She smiled as she wiggled in delight, but as she did, she noticed he was 'still' inside of her pussy, and this made her bring up a thought. If they kept doing this, then they could do this some more... she could keep mating him~.
"Can we do this again then?" She asked happily. "It felt really nice... and I'd love to do this again if you want..."
She started slow humping his dick again, trying to get it hard again since she couldn't touch it with her hands or use her mouth while they were in her shell.
"Jill wait... If we... you could get-" He started saying as he remembered he came inside of her, wondering if she could get pregnant from him.
"Yes?" She asked him in confusion, not understanding what he was asking her, still humping him slightly with a smile.
"Nah... it's fine, never mind..." He muttered as he remembered, she was a Goodra and he a Human. "We're too different... it's impossible, it's probably safe... don't worry about it."
She smiled, not understanding, but if he wasn't worried about this whatever it was, he was 'thinking' about, then she wouldn't worry about it either.
'I mean... there's absolutely 'no' chance, right?' He thought, even as sitting inside of her womb... past the gel meant to separate the 'less than ideal' candidates to seed a Goodra Egg.
A purple Goodra egg sat having just been fertilized, a little purple heart signifying its satisfaction, while countless sperm still wiggled frantically trying to penetrate it... ignorant of the fact that just a short distance away, swimming in Goodra sex fluid, swam two more eggs waiting to be fertilized.
(Two Days Later)
Jill and Clemont walked into Jubilifie Village, both of them happy with their newfound affection and feelings for one another. But they agreed to keep it a secret, a special secret for only them to know.
After walking into the village, they were surprised to see it almost empty, nobody walking around near the entrance when they entered, nobody tending to their shops, not a soul in sight on the usual entry pathway.
"Where is everyone?" He asked.
"I don't know..." Jill replied.
They walked down the street, heading toward the crossroads, toward where the building they were allowed to sleep in while in Jubilife Village, when he noticed the large crowd halfway down the other road. Seeing everyone gathered over there, he and Jill headed there.
"What's going on?" He asked someone.
"Look, a couple of Pokemon just floated in out of nowhere." A little kid said, pointing at two Bug Pokemon through the crowd.
Two Bug Pokemon, with large, colorful wings arrayed in a very 'special' pattern.
"NO WAY... MY VIVILLON!" He yelled as he instantly recognized them.
"Viiiiv!" One of them cheered, fluttering over to him through the crowd, parting them with the other Vivillon.
Both of them were looking tired, but... they were perfectly fine. Almost in good health when compared to the other 18, if a little scratched here and there.
"Whe... where have you been?" He moaned as he stared happily at them. "Pokeball... Fancy!"
"Viiivillooooon!" They both cheered together, spinning around and spreading their little arms while flapping excitedly.
"These two showed up just hours after you left." Cyllene said as she walked through the crowd, face just as stern and emotionless as always. "They seemed to be very friendly and well acquainted with humans, as they didn't shy away from us as we tried to scare them off. Since they seemed perfectly content to just flutter in and out without concern, we assumed 'these' were the missing Vivillon you were asking about. Our best Surveyor informed us that these two have been following you for the past month almost, going from one location to another trying to catch up to you, but always missing you by the narrowest of windows. So, they decided to stay here, thinking you'd return for them eventually."
He smiled as the two Vivillon confirmed her story. "Thank you very much Cyllene, these are my personal Vivillon, the last ones I was looking for." He said with a short bow. "I'm very grateful to you."
"You can thank me by taking them into your custody... they are... very distracting, always fluttering in my working area..." She muttered as she turned around and went back to the Galaxy HQ.
He smiled a little as she left, before turning to his Vivillon and scratched their antennae, petting them and happily reuniting with them at last, before inviting them to return to their Pokeballs.
With that... he and Jill smiled as they looked at the Pokeballs... all 'twenty' of them, all of the Vivillons... together at last.
Another two days later, once they had all recovered, the Vivillon were all flapping and hovering in formation behind Clemont and Jill as he stared at three gravestones, with the names Morda, Timbre, and Phillippe. His friends, to bid them a final goodbye.
"Guys... I found them... all of them, all of our friends, our Vivillon." He muttered as the Vivillon flapped nearby, solemn and saddened to see the graves. "I know... we should all have left here together... we all had dreams we wanted to fulfill. We knew the risks... but... we didn't ever think this would happen. We had nothing to lose we thought... but..."
He shook his head as he looked to Jill, who smiled and held his hand.
"I won't be leaving anytime soon... I'm going to work toward 'my' dream now... and you're going to like this." He said with a smile as he opened up a bottle of sake. "I'm going to earn enough to sell all of our stuff we get here back home. And with the funds I'm going to finance... an education for myself... so I can open up a restaurant... so I can earn enough to build a home for me... for all of our Vivillon... and..."
He looked to Jill who smiled lovingly.
"For me and my wife... Jill to live in... in comfort for the rest of our days."
Jill nodded happily, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek.
"Here's to you guys... I will full fill 'all' of your dreams... that is 'my' dream." He said as he poured the sake on the graves, before swigging the last of it down.
"Cheers!"
"VIIIIIIIV!" All twenty of the Vivillon cheered as they flapped their wings in a beautiful display of colors and sparkles in the sunlight.
(three months Later)
"Goodbye Hisui!" He yelled as he waved goodbye to the Land that he had called home temporarily for the past few months. Beside him the Vivillon were all fluttering and flying around him, some of them sitting and resting, others hanging on the bars waving goodbye as well.
"Goodbye!" Jill also cheered, waving with her stubby little arms, her giant shell balancing her as she sat on the boat bound for Kaulos.
They were on their way to Kaulos, several crates filled with souvenirs, arts, paintings, sculptures and little trinkets that were to be a sure fire hit to sell for profit in Kaulos. But the most important things leaving were the Vivillon, Clemont, and Jill.
It had been rough, doing odd jobs for Jubilife Village, going around Hisui and helping them build up their village. He'd grown used to living there, and a part of him had been tempted to stay... but, he had to go home... he had a dream to fulfill. His only sorrow was that his friends weren't leaving with him, remaining in Hisui while he left.
But that sorrow was one he'd come to accept, and he'd left all of his sorrows at home.
"Well, next stop, Kaulos... it's going to be a long wait, a good week or so before we hit Kaulos shores again. Hope you don't mind the rocking." He muttered to Jill as the last of Hisui's great Mt. Sinnoh shrunk beneath the horizon.
"I'll be fine!~" She said happily as they walked along the deck with the Vivillon tagging along.
As he did, he gave her a hug and she reciprocated it... before he noticed something was 'odd' about her. She was normally perfectly smooth soft and squishy... but as of a few days ago he had noticed she was feeling a bit... 'bulgier' in the belly region. He looked down at her stomach, causing her to look confused.
"Have you been eating something? Something that isn't settling right?" He asked her.
"No... I don't think so... I think I ate some of that cooked meat during the festival we attended before leaving but... nothing out of the ordinary." She muttered as she too noticed the odd 'hardness' that was settled in her belly area.
"Huh... maybe it's just me then... hopefully it goes away in the trip to Kaulos." He muttered as he turned and walked again with her, before glancing again at her stomach. "Though... if it gets any worse, I'll find a doctor to try and check you out."
Jill nodded as she walked along with him, not 'feeling' weird as she rubbed her stomach, feeling the oddly shaped objects there. In fact, when she did, she felt a smidgen of 'joy' and 'happiness' feeling them... it was like... everything was 'perfect' for her. In fact, whenever she felt 'him' rub those objects, especially when they made love in her shell, in privacy of course, a wave of happiness just washed through her.
'I'm sure it's nothing...' She thought to herself as she walked on. 'If anything were wrong, me and Clemont would have found out by now...' She thought as well...
Blissfully unaware of three, Goomy eggs... sitting inside of her... still several nights away from being ready to come out and hatch, while inside her womb, another trio of eggs sat ready for that night's activity with Clemont in their private room he'd paid for, ready to be fertilized. She was blissfully ignorant of the fact that Goodras have very fast reproductive cycles...
(Cyllene's PoV)
"Since evolving into Goodras, the Goomy line becomes increasingly receptive to reproductive opportunities, upon finding an ideal mate, they mate for life, becoming emotionally attached to them. I witnessed after three months a Goodra mating with a Garchomp had an egg, and not a few weeks later had another egg..." She whispered to herself as she read the latest pokedex entry.
"Despite this, Goodra are very emotionally driven Pokemon... when they find a good partner, whether for mating or not, they become attached and bonded to them, wanting to spend time with them, giving multitudes of hugs and cuddles, and this bond becomes a permanent part of their life. They make great candidates for friendships, never leaving their friend's side... and they are perfect emotional support Pokemon, when trained properly. If they are ever left alone, or feel they are abandoned or neglected... they will enter a rage-like state and become hard to control. Even a Garchomp would be wary to fight it in this state."
She turned to her Abra with a neutral look on her face. "I'm going to be honest Abra, when I set up that one foreigner with that Goomy, I wasn't aware of this information... I just wanted him to get the slimy thing out of my office. Guess that was a good move."
"Aaaaabraaaaaaa."
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I apologize for taking so long... I'm working on like '3-4' stories at the same time, and trying to be motivated to write each one is a struggle, I get like 500 words or so into one... then can't keep going, try another, rinse repeat...
I know I wanted this to be luxray and the start of a 4 parter story leading into an Iron Valiant lemon story... but... well it is what It is.
I have one story at 5k words, I have my Heart of Gazelle and Humanity chapter at 4-5k words as well, xcom viper 2 at 2-3k... arceus is at 300-900w ords, and pack of destiny and life at 1k words too...
I think next chapter if I cans tay motiviated will either be the luxray male, or a Hisuian Liligant, continuing my theme of having the daughters of a noble Pokemon finding a good human male to be with, like the Sneasler lemon. What do you guys think? Focus on Luxray or do Hisuian Liligant? Or even another F Delphox story with another F Zoroark, but the joke is they are both fighting over their trainer lol
I'm not lazy I promise... just... struggling, please review and motivate me some more XD
Every review = 1 more motivational point for me lol
