Part CXII: Misty's Pokémon Like Mice

She first noticed the scent, that was what drew her to the area in the first place. She couldn't exactly place it, but she knew that it was good. It was mix of things. Human food for one, they always did know how to properly make it, and Pokémon for another.

However, it was the scent of the Pokémon that peaked her curiosity. It was the scent of Pokémon that were no longer wild, that had found their human and bonded with them and were now well cared for and stronger than they would be in the wild. It was something that she herself wanted one day but that human had to prove itself to her first.

Once she isolated the scents though, there was one above all else that really tingled her nose and set her fur shivering. It was the scent of a strong, battle hardened, male within her own breeding group. Nature was a cruel mistress a lot of the time and right now it was tell her that a true potential mate, the first she'd ever found, was nearby. She had to go and see who it was.

The Pokémon was atypical for her kind. Rather than live in the pack out east with the others she'd been raised with and then settle down with one of the few, admittedly fine, males of her species as part of his pack when they'd both evolved, she'd decided to set out on her own.

The was unusual as normally only the male cubs did so as it was their responsibility to grow strong and form their own packs. Rarely did the females go off on their own but there were always those like her who hungered for something different and forged their own path.

That was why, when she was of age, she'd left the pack with the alpha male's and her mother's blessings and set out west to find herself. Primarily what she wanted was to find the right human to call her own, one that had Pokémon and knew how to raise them. Her secondary objective was to find a mate for herself, one that wasn't like the ones she was expected to settle down with.

Alas, over that period she hadn't found either of the things she desired. There were certainly strong humans, but she couldn't quite place why they didn't resonate with her, something was amiss with them, and she didn't know what it was. They were all the same, people from this area who knew it and that bored her as she wanted something different. She craved adventure and thrills which meant she needed a traveler who felt similar, and they were hard to find.

Then there were the males she'd met. The wild ones didn't interest her, there was only so much a wild Pokémon could grow without the aid of a good human and she was looking for something more.

She wanted a trained male that lived for the thrill of battle and protected his human no matter what. That human didn't have to be her chosen human but had to be connected to the human she chose so that she could be near her desired mate. She was very picky and as such hadn't found what she was looking for. Until today that is.

It had been one of the scents that told her that her potential mate was near. Now she followed it, keeping low and to the undergrowth of the woods she was in until she came upon them so as to avoid detection. Thankfully, there was a nice little bush she could hide in and peer out off to see the humans and their Pokémon, studying them the way a hunter did its prey so that she could learn all she could and strike when ready.

There were a total of 4 humans sitting in the middle of a grassy plain enjoying their food. They were all sitting on a few blankets and chatting while their Pokémon ate, slept, or played near them. Clearly they were taking a break of some sort and would be here for a while, so she ignored them for the moment, though one did catch her eye as a potential one given the long, fresh, scar on her arm that showed she wasn't afraid of danger.

The humans could wait though, she had to focus on the Pokémon and use her nose to smell out the right one. There were many around but instantly she disregarded the ones that were too big, they were a few a fair distance away lounging in the sun, as well as the ones that weren't her of her egg group.

After that she removed the ones with types she didn't like, those being water, grass, rock, and fighting types as well as the other females she could identify. As cruel as nature was, her preferences helped her narrow down her focus until she found the right Pokémon that her body was telling her was here.

That limited her to only a few Pokémon. In fact, of the 23 Pokémon present, these humans really knew how to catch and train Pokémon, which was a great sign for her, only 3 met her criteria. One she ruled out quickly, the only one she could actually recognize. That was the Helioptile, which while cute, was not strong enough for her tastes though it showed the growth only a trained Pokémon could have. That left two candidates, both of which were intriguing.

The first caught her eye not because of its strength, though she could tell it was decently strong, but rather its look. It was a well-groomed, yet still somehow manly, fox-based Pokémon with reddish brown fur, brown feet, and several magnificent tails. She'd never seen a Pokémon like that, and it was clearly the same type as she was, at least in part, but something about it was lacking. It had strength and training, in fact if she had to guess it wanted to evolve but for some reason couldn't, but it wasn't experienced enough to satisfy her.

That left only one and as soon as she turned her gaze and nose to it she knew she'd found her mate, even if he didn't want it she'd make sure he was hers. She had a feeling that the small, yellow, electric rodent was not native to her region but that there was a colony of them somewhere here as it did look vaguely familiar.

Whatever the case, this one was the one she'd been searching for. He was clearly stronger, much stronger than his kind normally was, and well trained. Years, if she had to guess, and he'd been trained by the male of the bunch given the bond that she could see the two had.

What did it for was that this electric type also battle tested and lived for the thrill of it. She could tell that by the way he held himself with the grace and poise of a Pokémon that had fought and won many battles and overcome many losses in his life. The attraction was instantaneous.

Of course, she wasn't going to leap out and claim her prize just yet, no she had to be patient and wait for the right moment. She was going to observe the humans and see if any fitted her tastes as well.

Her mate's trainer was the male, so she focused on him first, but quickly dismissed him as he didn't resonate with her. True he was clearly an experience traveler not from this region, but he seemed to lack a certain grace or clarity of the mind that she was looking for. She needed both strength and style in her human.

That left the three girls though one was out almost at once. That was the honey blonde one in a pink dress. She seemed sweet and when it came to grooming, based on the Braixen and Pancham sitting next to her, she was top tier at that, but she clearly lacked the battle experience. She wasn't sure how she could tell but she just knew that the girl, who also was local judging by her style, was more into show than battles and she wanted both from her human.

That left the other two girls and if she was being honest, both fit her desires to a tee. They were both not from the region, she could tell by their odder mannerisms and styles, and yet they weren't from the same region as each other due to their differences meaning both had to be travelers who had been all over.

In addition, based on their Pokémon, they were both able to utilize strength and style in equal measures. She'd been searching for ages and somehow found two that fit her desires at the same time.

All that was left was to decide which would be better to test to see if they were worthy of her. She needed to go for the one that would give her the most access to her chosen mate. That was why she was observing them and as she was she saw which one it had to be.

It had to be the red haired one with the scar on her arm. She was the male's mate, though given the pheromones she could smell coming from the group, all 3 females wanted to mate with him, which was another knock against him as she didn't want a pack leader. However, the red haired one had gotten him showing her skills as the alpha female and thus the one she respected more. She was the one.

With all that decided, it was time to put her plan in action. What better way than to be bold and show her affections and then see the human's reactions to her actions. She'd then whittle them down to select the one she wanted to test and challenge her. Hopefully, she'd give a good challenge to her. With all that in mind, she pounce out with a mewl and bounded over to her new mate.

-break-

Ash, Misty, May, and Serena had all set up camp for the day and were relaxing after a decent lunch while all their Pokémon did the same around then as they'd made sure to chose a large enough space for all of them. They had left Shalour City a few days ago after spending almost 2 weeks there with Korrina and were now getting pushed for time. They were a day out of Lagoon Town where the Showcase they planned on seeing was and not a moment too soon as it was scheduled for tomorrow.

However, they knew that they would reach it in time and that was good. Besides, they'd had a good time in Shalour and wouldn't trade it for the world. That included what had happened after they're little adventure to find a nearby Mega Stone for Professor Sycamore.

During that side adventure Ash had surprisingly caught a Sigilyph, who was currently at the Professor's lab until needed having been sent there by Professor Oak the day before, in the process of getting a Mega Stone which they had then returned to the Shalour Gym with. When they got there, Professor Sycamore had just arrived with a portable scanner for the stone and a prototype portable Pokémon transport system that Dr. Akihabara had developed.

They had arrived too late to do anything that day, but they told Korrina and him their story before Sycamore set everything up for them to test the Mega Stone the next day. The result had been within expectations. Sycamore had expected the stone to be for a flying, rock, or water type and it was for one of them. It had turned out to be a Pidgeotite, a Mega Stone Sycamore had never seen before but one that they could use as Ash had a Pidgeot.

This was perfect for them as Ash's Pidgeot was technically older than his Charizard and just as close with him even if he had forgotten about it for a few years until the year before. That meant that Ash should be able to Mega Evolve Pidgeot and see if it was possible for a trainer to Mega Evolve two Pokémon as Sycamore had never seen it before.

However, before they could do it, in fact before Sycamore tested the stone, Ash had sent Charizard to the Professor's lab in Lumiose City just in case the stone was one that he could use. Sycamore explained that this was to avoid the Mega Energies mixing as they didn't know what would happen if a trainer activated a Key Stone while two of his Pokémon had Mega Stones.

Ash had been fine with this and agreed to send Charizard to Lumiose City. It turned out to be the right call as the stone was one Ash could use so Pidgeot was called in from Kanto to see if Ash could Mega Evolve him. After a little bonding and getting used to the new location, Ash gave Pidgeot the Mega Stone to hold in his foot, Sycamore said that he would make a special cuff for his leg later, and then tried to Mega Evolved Pidgeot.

It worked and after a quick practice battle with Korrina and her Mega Lucario, they ended the test and regrouped. Professor Sycamore was amazed that Ash could Mega Evolve two Pokémon and asked if Pidgeot could stay at the lab as well as Charizard so that Sycamore could study them, which Ash agreed to. He wouldn't use either in Kalos anymore, he was sticking to Pokémon caught here, but he didn't mind them staying for research and to see them when he next returned to Lumiose City.

With that sorted, Ash recalled Conkeldurr from the ranch, who was apparently doing better but still a little antisocial and began to work with him as well. Most of the time since then, both on the road and at the gym, had been Ash training Conkeldurr to be a good Pokémon and to trust him and be part of the team.

It had been a little rocky at the start but his time at the ranch had helped Conkeldurr adjust more, and he was learning that Ash could make him stronger helped, as well what it meant to be part of a team. Ash also promised to use him in the next gym battle he was in to get him some battle experience under Ash, so they were training for that.

However, all that was in the past. Right now, Ash had just had a good lunch and was relaxing before they hit the road hard to reach Lagoon Town by nightfall. They would be moving in an hour or so, so they took this moment to relax. Baring any distractions that was.

Of course, the moment Ash thought that there wouldn't be a distraction was the moment the mewl came from the bushes on the edge of the forest they were near, and a Pokémon pounced out of them and bounded over to them. Before any of them could react, it had reached Pikachu, who had just gotten up to go and check on the others and was nuzzling and purring into his side.

"Looks like Pikachu has attracted another Pokémon." Misty said with a chuckle as Piplup looked at the sight his beak open in horror, his buddy always got the cute chicks and didn't want them, but he never did just like how Ash seemed to attract multiple human females, it wasn't fair to Piplup that this kept happening. "But, er, what is it? I've never seen that Pokémon before."

Ash had to agree with Misty's assessment, he hadn't seen that kind of Pokémon before. The Pokémon was small, clearly a first stage, quadrupedal feline Pokémon of sorts with dark brown fur on most of its body except its lower face, feet, around its ears and the turf of its tail which were light brown. It also had a strange red mohawk along the center of its head that glowed slightly.

"It's a Litleo." May said getting close and looking at it and quickly recognizing it. "But they aren't usually in this area, are they?"

"No, they're usually found near Santalune I believe." Serena said thinking on what she knew about the Pokémon, which wasn't much in fairness as she'd only encountered the species once before. "But they are known to be found on their own all over, something about the mentality of sending young males away from the pack to forge their own identity I think."

"You know this?" Misty asked confused.

"We observed the ceremony last year." May said. "Though the pack wasn't near Santalune so likely had been formed by a male who'd left on his own and was now doing the same for his son."

"And that is clearly a female." Serena said pointing to the Litleo currently trying to be amorous with Pikachu. "It's chosen Pikachu as its mate and we know he's male."

"Pikachu." Pikachu said worriedly as he tried to sneak away from the Litleo and failed causing him to again ask why were all the crazy chicks attracted to him and not Piplup. "Pikachu."

"Piplup." Piplup said proudly puffing out his chest and sauntering over to the cute Litleo to show that he was a more suitable male for her. "Pip, Piplup."

"Litleo." Litleo said glancing disdainfully at Piplup, who was strong enough for her, but she wasn't into water types, and turning her head away to continue nuzzling into Pikachu with a purr to show who she wanted. "Litleo."

"Pip, lup." Piplup said his beak open and his eyes wide.

"There, there Piplup." Misty said getting down on one knee and patting his head to reassure her starter's wounded pride. "If Brock can find a mate, I am sure that one day you can as well. Just don't give up and eventually one will return your affections."

Piplup just stayed there in shock at what was going on while Ash crouched down to face Litleo and Pikachu. If this Litleo wanted to be his Pikachu's friend then he could see if it wanted to join him.

"Hey Litleo, I see you want to be Pikachu's friend." Ash said causing all 3 girls to face palm at the same time as Ash missed what Litleo obviously wanted, he really was the densest man alive. "I'm his trainer and if you let me prove myself, I'd like you to join me. Does that sound good to you?"

Ash reached his left hand out to Litleo. Litleo had already decided that the male wasn't for her and his actions in clearly not understanding that she liked his Pikachu romantically and not just as a friend showed his utter lack of perception when it came to matters of the heart. How a human like this got a mate was a miracle to Litleo but she presumed that sometimes miracles could happen.

Regardless, she decided he needed a lesson and to get rid of him so that she could continue to nuzzle Pikachu until the human she wanted to join asked her to do so. That was why, as he reached out his hand to her, she filled her mouth with fire and bit it with her Fire Fang as hard as possible and igniting the glove as Ash yelled in pain. She smiled as the male leapt away once she let go and held out his burning hand as he began to run around.

"Hot, hot, hot." Ash was yelling but the girls just left him, he had deserved that for his denseness.

Finally, Frogadier put Ash out of his misery by blasting him with a Water Pulse to put the fire out and then head over to his fallen trainer to make sure he was ok. So did his other Pokémon, well except Pikachu who was still dealing with a purring Litleo nuzzling him.

"Ok I take it she doesn't want to join Ash." Misty said before looking at Litleo. "But Litleo, we are moving on and that means Pikachu is as well so if you want to keep trying to woe him, and good luck with that as no Pokémon has been successful in landing Pikachu as her mate, then you should join one of us."

"Litleo." Litleo said with a nod, the girl she'd chosen had some sense and knew what was up, plus if none had succeeded then she would as she liked a challenge and had no intention of failing this one. "Litleo."

Litleo then looked at Piplup and stuck her tongue out to him before she licked Pikachu's cheek and then sauntered off to a safe distance away from them. When she was in a place she called out to Piplup, taunting him and his masculinity to make sure that he'd want to challenge her.

"Litleo." Litleo purred in challenge.

"Piplup." Piplup said grinding his teeth as he waddled to take a position opposite her, if she wouldn't be his mate then he'd show her what she was missing out and sooth his ravaged pride by winning this battle. "Pip, Piplup."

Litleo smiled at this. She could tell that this Pokémon was extremely prideful and while she'd work with him as a teammate, he'd first have to earn her trust by beating her. What better way than to show off her potential then by holding her own against a water type and the one closest to the human she wanted to test.

"I think Litleo will join if you can beat her with Piplup." May said watching in a little confusion. "At least that's what it seems like."

"Litleo." Litleo said with a nod, the other lower females to the one she wanted were also quite perceptive as well it seemed which continued to baffle her as to why they all wanted to mate with the rather dense male of the group. "Litleo."

"Oh well in that case ok." Misty said a little surprised but not passing this up as she took out her Pokedex and scanned it. "But first I want to find out more about Litleo."

"Litleo, the Lion Cub Pokémon." The Pokedex chimed as it identified it. "The stronger the opponent it faces, the more heat surges from its mane and the more power flows through its body."

"Interesting." Misty said putting the Pokedex away and focusing on the fire type before her, already respecting Litleo more as she was willing to challenge a type that had an advantage over her in Piplup. "Litleo, before we start I should let you know that I have a full team so if I win and catch you, you will be sent to where I currently store Pokémon. I can recall you tomorrow though. Is that ok?"

Litleo nodded. She wasn't sure what the human was saying but she had a feeling it was due to the large number of Pokémon present. So long as she was back soon to continue her courtship of Pikachu she'd be happy and if not, well there was always some light fire as punishment for the delay. After all, a Pokémon had to train their human as much as their human had to train them.

"Also, Litleo's evolved form Pyroar has a clear gender difference." May added. "Just so you know."

"Well, we can deal with that if the time comes." Misty said thinking about how she was going to do this. "Piplup, let's start this out with Whirlpool."

"Piplup!" Piplup said happily as he leaned back and created the large whirlpool above him before he threw it at Litleo.

Litleo had to admit, the attack was clever and strong. It covered a good portion of the area and she had to leap to the side to avoid it. Even then she got splashed and winced as the water touched her but pushed through it as she mewled, she couldn't roar yet, and charged as fast as she could at Piplup. As she did, she seemed to glow with power.

"It's Take Down." Misty said recognizing the move Mamoswine liked to use. "Piplup, this will hurt but trust me, match it with Drill Peck and send her back."

Piplup just nodded as he pushed off the ground and leapt at Litleo, his beak elongating and his body spinning as he did. As much as he got annoyed at Misty for her treatment of him, he still loved and trusted her implicitly. When it came to battles, and it had been too long since they'd battled together, he knew that she wouldn't steer him wrong. That was why she should use him against her rivals, but she never did, only left him to get hit by errant attacks from her.

All that flashed through Piplup's mind as he reached the charging Litleo, who hadn't expected the head-to-head counter, and they collided with each other. The force of the impact held them against each other for a moment as they pushed their moves against the other before both small Pokémon were thrown back, Litleo along the ground and Piplup into the air. Misty grinned, this was the kinda situation Ash would capitalize on and she knew just what to do.

"Hydro Pump." Misty yelled out. "Ignore your landing, just focus on the move."

Piplup grumbled but understood, he'd seen Pikachu and a few others do this so he could as well. Rather than right himself, he twisted in the air, opened his mouth, and unleashed a torrent of water from his beak. The powerful water type attack slammed into the still rolling Litleo and pushed her further away as she mewled in pain from the super effective water type attack.

Misty cheered and Piplup smiled as he hit the ground and expertly rolled with the impact, he had had plenty of experience with falls to know how to handle one. As soon as he was done he got up and stood proud looking at the downed Litleo. The fire and normal type was on her side but to his shock, she stirred and slowly got up, panting and wet, but somehow still in the fight.

Litleo had to admit, that was a good shot that had got her. She was basically at the end of her health after that Hydro Pump, even she wasn't sure how she'd survived it but figured it must not have been a direct hit so wasn't as devastating as it should be. Still the Piplup was impressive, and she knew that she'd chosen right. Time to go all out until the very end.

With a defiant mewl, Litleo ignited her body in flames and charged at Piplup. It was Flame Charge and Misty knew how to stop it, take down Litleo and not be needlessly cruel all at the same time.

"Ice Beam." Misty said. "I know it won't be that effective against a fire type, but she's almost done. This will end her without the needless pain that would come from a water type attack."

Piplup just nodded again as he opened his beak and sent out a beam of ice from it. Litleo was too beat up to avoid it so she just charged forward and into the ice as it hit her in the head hoping that her fire could counter it.

The ice wasn't very effective and the flames on her body evaporated it causing the area around them to steam but she still took damage from it. That damage pushed her over the edge, and she fainted before she could reach Piplup, falling onto her side and skidding forward on the grass.

Misty couldn't see any of this as the cloud of mist obscured Litleo even after the Ice Beam was done. Then, a moment later, Litleo slid out of the ice on her side with swirls for eyes and came to a stop a few feet away from a triumphant Piplup. She'd been beaten which meant that it was time.

Pulling an empty Poke Ball from her bag, Misty threw it at Litleo. It hit her in the side and bounced up before opening and sucking her in in a flash of red light. The ball then fell to the ground, vibrated, and flashed for several seconds as Misty watched it closely. Then it dinged in confirmation of a catch, shrunk, and vanished to return to her storage in Lumiose City until she recalled Litleo when she reached Lagoon Town.

"Alright, I caught a Litleo." Misty said jumping into the air in celebration.

"Pip, Piplup." Piplup said mimicking her and happy his pride had been restored somewhat with her victory.

"Well, that happened." May said with a smile at the sight. "Never a dull day with these two."

"Never." Serena said with a slight shake of her head. "Though now that we are all up, we should pack up and move on. We should reach Lagoon Town by nightfall if we leave now."

"Agreed, I want to bring Litleo in and send Malamar back for bit." Misty said only to turn and take a slap from the aforementioned Malamar who'd come to watch the battle with her other teammates and seen their newest member caught. "Or not."

Malamar just nodded as Machamp dragged her away, she'd made sure she was close enough to get a slap in before the roided out protector could stop her from educating their human. Misty needed training as well and Malamar would give it to her, Machamp was just encouraging her by protecting her from Malamar's teaching techniques. That was why Malamar needed to stay and as such Misty's threat earned her a slap.

"I take it Malamar is staying then." May said with a chuckle at the sight of Misty's Pokémon's strange way of showing she care for Misty.

"Apparently so." Misty grumbled rubbing her cheek. "Which means so is Machamp as he is the only one who seems to be able to restrain her."

"Machamp." Machamp said with a smile still holding Malamar back, he would protect Misty no matter what even if it was from one of his teammates and her odd mission of correcting Misty's flaws as Malamar saw them. "Machamp."

"Remind me to never introduce her to Brock's Croagunk." Misty said as she began returning her Pokémon starting with the two rivals that were still grappling. "He'd give her bad ideas and if she can learn it, he might teach her Poison Jab if she can learn it and then I'd really be in trouble."

"No promises." May said with a grin at the idea of Malamar and Croagunk meeting as she and Serena began returning their Pokémon as well and packing up the camp while Ash finally recovered.

"What's going on?" Ash asked looking around as he sat up. "And where's the Litleo?"

"Misty caught it, wants to recall it and send Malamar back, got slapped for it, you know the usual." Serena said with a shrug as they worked. "We're packing up and moving on to Lagoon Town now though. The showcase is tomorrow so we should hurry and get there so we can get a good night's sleep for it."

"Ok." Ash said not bothering to question what had happened as he too got to work recalling his Pokémon and packing up their things.

All in all, it had been a good and interesting day, just the kind that usually happened between towns when they were on the road. Next up though was Lagoon Town where Ash and Misty would finally see a showcase and Misty would be able to decide if they were for her. They couldn't wait as soon the next aspect of their Kalos adventure would be decided and then some once they reached Lagoon Town.