As a reminder, you can find MORE of this on my SubStar (dot adult slash KajaWilder), it's posted up past chapter 50 there... And if you guys haven't seen an update in at least a week, please let me know! I have a busy life, and I get distracted and forget things. This story (and PTaL) are supposed to be updated WEEKLY from now until they're both caught up with each other (like I was doing with FwB until this weekend).

And if you're just interested in discussing things with other readers, of course, you can go to my DISCORD here: h- t_ t_ p-s -: -/ -/ -discord . g-g / N9yDA8t6Cw (taking out hyphens, underscores, and spaces of course).

REMINDER: This chapter isn't late, but the last was. If it's been more than a week since I've posted (and I haven't said something in a note), REMIND ME. I'm still trying to get used to posting this and ZPoW weekly, but they're far head on the other sites so there's no reason not to.

Chap. 30 Updraft

Alex had to hustle to get his clothing straightened out in time, but somehow Elle was more or less presentable, as if they hadn't just been seen getting and receiving oral attention in the sky-tram, when the cart lurched to a halt. He was glad for the distraction of her blowjob, because he had largely been able to ignore just how high up they were in the sky. With solid ground and structure beneath him, he could appreciate the view a little better.

Pewter City was huge, though not quite as large as Viridian. Much of its area was taken up with warehouses, factories, smelters, ore processors, and high up the valley to their left as they looked down on the city, mines and quarries. Half of it seemed to be residential areas, and houses blurred together from one side of the miles-wide valley to the other in a great ring around the industrial heart of the city.

Up here, though, the layer of smog and smoke- much decreased from the old days, they had seen on the news on their first night in the city- was only a thin yellow filter between them and the city itself. Mount Fennel, named for the delicious herb that grew plentifully on the arid upper reaches, was not the tallest mountain in Kanto, but it still dominated a huge portion of the Indigo Range where it bordered on the Hollow Mountains that separated Kanto from the Kingdom of Rota and the lands to the north. At the very least, it was the tallest mountain within a hundred miles, with the great Mount Indigo, which housed the League itself much of the way up its slopes, the next largest and nearest. Mount Hideaway, Indigo, and Mount Silver in the Indigo Range were the only peaks higher, however, so the view was singularly impressive in all directions.

There was a small, ski-lodge type community at the top of the lift, a couple of large buildings that housed a restaurant, a pool, and the sleeping accommodations for the Lodge itself, which was unimaginatively called "The Aerie's Roost." Finally, an attached gift shop boasted plushies of several famous Flying-Type Pokémon and paraphernalia. Aside from that, a half-dozen outbuildings that most likely held either equipment or storage completed the space. Which was, in turn, dominated by what must have once been an absolutely massive tree when it was still alive.

The Lodge was the tallest building at the peak of the mountain, a story and a half tall only in the large common area that connected to the restaurant next door. That building's roof and even central chimney did not come close to capping even the roots of the massive, long-dead tree. It was truly enormous, rising hundreds of feet in the air, high enough to remind Alex of the company office of his father's shipping company in the real world. The roots alone elevated the tree six or seven stories, perhaps more, off the peak of the mountain which had either eroded away beneath the monster over eons, or simply lifted it as it grew. They sunk deep into the rocky peak, too, keeping it steady even in the crisp, biting wind the elevation brought.

Even dead, the tree towered many times over that height. Most of the branches were gone, fallen or cut away over years, but as the tree leaned over the semi-sheer face of the peak that looked toward Pewter, he could make out a half-dozen platforms set into or hanging, or in most cases both, from the various thick limbs of the tree that remained. A spiraling staircase moved in and out around the trunk, and swinging rope bridges moved occasionally between the platforms, which must have been large enough to hold a regulation Pokémon Battle, and bleachers besides. He could just make out the shadows of people moving on some of the lower platforms, and more were visible moving up and down the hundreds upon hundreds of stairs that climbed the great tree.

Before he could admire the view, either above or below them, any longer Alex was tugged ahead and around one of the nearest buildings, what looked like the gear-house for the upper end of the tram. "I haven't cum yet," she whimpered, red-faced, "and I really, really need to, or I'm gonna be super distracted for the Gym."

"What do you want me to do?" he chuckled, glancing around. No one seemed to have noticed them duck off to the side, which didn't surprise him. No one else was on the tram with them, and there didn't seem to be a conductor who was paying much attention anyway. The closest people he could see, were ten or fifteen minutes- the length of a tram-ride, he supposed- up the path, heading toward the lodge.

"Finger me," Elle gasped, turning and pressing her back against him, "Just do something, get me off quick, please, Alex. I need it."

"Alright, horny girl," he agreed, faking being put-upon by the request. "I suppose I owe you one for earlier."

"Please, you know you li- aaahhh... ooh, that feels good, Alex," Elle cooed as he reached a hand up to cup her small breasts and lifted her skirt enough to slide the other between her legs. She hadn't bothered adjusting her panties, it seemed.

Loki was silently watching, but as he started rubbing the girl, Alex noticed his Pokémon was a little more attentive. Cock sniffed, his whiskers wiggling as he noted Elle's continued arousal. Then he whined, "Ni- Nii. Dori-dran...?"

The girl's breathing was already quick, she was quite pent up, but Alex watched still as his Starter lifted a leg and tried to show them something. He realized what it was quickly, thankfully.

His Pokémon hadn't climaxed either, and was feeling frustrated. "I know what'll get you off fast, you little slut," he said into Elle's ear, knowing no one would hear him. "Get down on your knees."

She did, whining, but Alex followed her down, his fingers still rubbing between her legs, at least at first. Once he couldn't any more because of the angle, he stepped away and over her, then reached down and picked up his Pokémon. The little guy still weighed a bit, and wiggled as if he were uncomfortable when Alex turned him over, but he stopped as his Trainer set him down on his back. "You left my Starter high and dry too, dirty girl. Why don't you suck that little Poison-Type prick like you sucked mine? If you get him off, I'll get you off."

"Okay, sir.," Elle whined, clearly enjoying the role-play, "I'll do it."

And to her credit, she didn't hesitate. Presented with an opportunity to display her perversion, and publicly, the petite blonde reached out with one hand to carefully but quickly pull the Poison Pin creature closer, then leaned down, bracing herself with just one hand as she licked the four-inch shaft.

Alex... suddenly felt conflicted. He wanted his Pokémon satisfied, he wanted his girl happy... but his girl was sucking another dick. Well, licking one. Oh, no, now she was sucking- bobbing fast, actually.

He wanted to rage against it, against her... but then... his penis stirred in his pants, even though it had just been satisfied, too.

"Arceus, you look good doing that, beautiful. Suck that Pokémon's cock. You've definitely earned a quick and good cum, Elle."

"Do it," she murmured, using her free hand to angle the creature's prick away from its purple furred body a little. Then she licked the tip again and went right back to bobbing.

It was so wrong, so dirty- Elle looked liked the cheapest of whores while she sucked his Starter off. But she looked good doing it, too. Like she belonged there, giving and receiving pleasure from him- and his team of Pokémon.

It was risky, finger-banging the girl while she gave a blowjob to her third Pokémon in public, even in a relatively unused area like the top of Mount Fennel. Given that, it was fortunate that Cock was pent up already, and clearly found the feel of the human girl's mouth enjoyable, because he climaxed quite quickly. In under a minute of Elle bobbing up and down on him, in fact. She squirted into Alex's more practiced hand a moment later as she gulped and swallowed, uncaring of whether the creature's seed might be toxic.

Her eyes were glassy when she sat up, but she was grinning widely, even with a little green dribble down the right side of her cheek. "Shit, that was fun," the girl chuckled, "but we should probably get going."

Still, she sat there on her knees with them spread wide, barely covered by her short skirt until Cock regained his own breath and rolled over onto his feet again. The Pokémon gave both Elle and Alex a questioning look, as if it were deeply unsure about... something. One long ear twitched. "It's alright, buddy," Alex assured him, "I don't... mind. I wasn't sure, but... with you? With the team? I don't think it's going to be a problem. Elle can be a slut for our team. I'm... That might change, but for now, I'm not mad at you. If she wants to get you off, go for it."

"Sweet," the human girl murmured, "You hear that, Cock? I can suck Cock's cock if I want to. Heh."

"I really need to change his name," Alex muttered as he offered a hand and helped the girl to her slightly wobbly feet.

"Ni, ni!" the Pokémon cheered, and ran in four quick circles, then hopped up and down a bit. Both Trainers watched it for a moment, then shared a grinning glance.

"Someone's happy," Elle laughed.
"Can you blame him?" Alex replied, throwing an arm around his girl and pulling her close to show that he really wasn't upset. And while he'd experienced a spike of jealousy... he wasn't. It wasn't like she was fucking another man, this was his Pokémon. His partner. His Starter. They were family, and as long... well, as long as it stayed that way, he felt like it would be alright. "You do give pretty good blowjobs. Come on, we should get going."

They spent two hours playing in the pool with various Pokémon, each of them that wanted to enjoy the water- all but their birds and the two Fire-types-, since the artificial pond was clearly intended for both human and 'mon alike, then ate a late lunch while waiting for Elle's turn to attempt the Gym came up.

Alex had thought it was rather strange at first, but a helpful docent had explained the reason easily enough. The Underground was tough, and most people wiped out early on. The fact that both he and Elle had made it to even the third and final stage before the Gym Leader on their first try was seen as miraculous, and they were semi-famous among the more talented Trainer community because of it.

The Steelworks and The Aerie were both, despite one being touted as 'the defense' Gym, seen as much easier to tackle largely because the Steelworks, while it had its hazards, was fairly straightforward and could be planned for purely from a battle perspective. The Aerie was even more-so. Branched paths upward from the first platform gave some options, and it was a simple matter of beating enough Trainers- apparently their were multiple Trainers to Battle on each platform- and you could win your way to the Gym Leader, whose nickname was "The Sparrowhawk." Beat him, and the Badge was yours.

In other words, it was more like the first, or starter Gym, of almost every other Pokémon game since GenWun.

Which made how much harder Viridian's Gym had been far more understandable... yet, it also proved the 'open world' of the game. You truly could challenge the Gyms in any order, but if you weren't ready, increasing challenge of having more badges or not, you were going to get smashed.

The Steelworks had a queue system that was simple: You entered, they called your number, you started the sequence of fights on platforms between various conveyor belts, and hoped your Pokémon didn't accidentally fall into one of the many vats of molten steel. Supposedly, there were protections... but he had heard stories already.

The Aerie's, being considered even easier as a starting Gym, had a much longer line. They were waiting, all told, for two and a half hours just to start the long hike up the stairs. By the time Alex, Elle, and their Pokémon had reached the first Platform, it was four in the afternoon, and both were winded. The whole way up, the girl's excited, nervous energy had been whittled away, until she was less excited, and more just nervous.

Alex couldn't blame her, their first experience in a Gym had been traumatic for both, but Elle far more than he. He had only been injured. She had been forced to brutally kill a Pokémon, had hers (and herself) threatened very convincingly with murder, and then been forced to fight the person who'd done it.

But by all accounts, The Aerie was easier. Hopefully, their skill, the extra experience they had gained, and the greater battle ability their Pokémon had gained would make enough of a difference. No... not hopefully. It would.

He knew it would. That was why, even though he was starting to get nervous about the fall down to Pewter again as they neared the first platform, Alex put his hand on Elle's shoulder and pulled her to the side of the wide staircase to let a group descend easier while he leaned in close. "Sweetie, honey, dear, my l- my love, listen. I know you're nervous. You're probably scared, thinking about everything that can go wrong. Thinking about Nadine Minier. Her Sandslash. All that crap."

Elle blinked, and swallowed. She didn't say anything, but he could see her lower lip tremble. It was paler than normal, though she had been fine earlier. Alex sighed, and pulled her in for a hug. "Remember this: We're both a lot stronger than we were back then. We're better at battling, we know the rules better, and our Pokémon are a lot stronger, too. They've doubled- or nearly so- in Battle Rank since we challenged The Underground. And you heard that docent: We're famous for doing so well, and everyone says this Gym is tons easier. We can handle Pewter. Trust me."

Elle nodded against his chest, then pushed away, averting her face from his. "Th... Thanks. I... I mean that. I am nervous, and scared, but... you're right. I can do this."

"You will do this. In a couple hours, you're gonna have your- what is it- anyway, your new Flying-Gym Badge."

Elle nodded, then stood up a little taller and set her shoulders. "And if not, fake it 'til you make it," she whispered to herself, then shot him a more firm grin. "You're right. I can do this. Let's go."

He was still a bit nervous himself as they reached the top of the first set of stairs and laid eyes on the platform. Elle, though, seemed much more confident. He hoped it helped.

The platform itself was simple, as he'd seen even from the ground far below- the peak of Mount Fennel was about a hundred and eighty feet below them. It was huge, crafted from many, many planks of smoothed-out, unvarnished wood that was covered in bird droppings and stains from more of them. Likely, the platforms were cleaned at least weekly, but it didn't matter with this many Flying-types around. At the center of each was a circle of five Battle Areas, each with a bit of walkway between them. A short queue of Trainers wearing bird-keeper uniforms stood on one side of each, and Gym Staff wearing the same uniforms they had seen below, similar to a zoo keeper's Alex had seen once as a child, assisted them with Potions or similar help to revive their Pokémon for the next challenger. Around each, a series of bleachers like one might have seen at a school gym yard had been assembled, and each had a smattering of people on it watching a variety of fights.

Just on this one platform, of six that Alex had counted so far not including the uppermost where the Gym Leader presumably held his avian court, no fewer than thirteen Trainers besides themselves either battled or stood in their own queues opposite the Gym Trainers. The ropes and cables holding the platform- which he knew to be six feet or more thick- suddenly felt woefully inadequate to hold all of the weight, and Alex felt another wave of vertigo despite the double-layered fences around the edges. All around them, Flying Pokémon and actual birds soared and called to each other, but by and large most of even their attention was on the fights.

"Number?" a Staff Member called, gesturing them over.

"Nine Thirty-Five," Elle replied quickly after glancing at the slip of paper she'd been given at the bottom of the long, long staircase.

"Elle Berkman? One spectator, Alex Ward?"

"That's us," she replied, now smiling again. "You can call me Elle Ward, though."

"Sorry, League Policy is to only use the names on your registration. You have to get that changed at the League Office in any of the major cities if you want us to do that. Uh, congratulations, though. Lucky bastard, she's cute."

Alex snorted at the blatant young man, whose eyes were clearly that of an NPC, checking out his girlfriend. "Thanks, uh... but keep your hands and eyes to yourself."

"Sorry," Elle added, giving Alex's waist a squeeze too, "my boyfriend's the jealous type. And I guess we aren't married, yet."

The man just shrugged, "No big. Anyway, you'll be in Circle Two- that's the one across the way, on the left. Just ask one of the guides there or at any of the queues if you miss the giant fucking number painted on the deck, or all the signs."

"I don't think that'll be a problem.," Alex laughed. "Thanks."

"Anytime. You'd be surprised by how often people miss it, though. Anyway, good luck, Elle."

"Thanks!"

The wait at the queue, thankfully, was short. Two of the three Trainers ahead of them went on, while the last, a young man who had clearly not done his research, washed out after having only brought Ground-type Pokémon. Yes, they had a Rock move, but it was not enough to carry the day against even the lowest-tier Trainers at the Gym.

Then it was Elle's turn.

She stepped into the ring, turned around and ran back to the stands to give Alex a quick kiss for luck, then jogged back after apologizing to the people waiting for their turns behind her. Fortunately, no one seemed upset thanks to the cute display of affection, and the girl herself was far more relaxed as she jogged across the open area to the painted line that represented her own starting area.

"Rules are League Standard," a bored-sounding man announced in lieu of Yggdrassil doing it, no doubt for the NPC residents as much as the players, "Six-second rounds, one command each outside of incidental orders. The Challenger can field up to three Pokémon of their team, while the Gym Trainer can field no more than three from their No-Badge Set. The Challenger is allowed two healing items at this platform from their own stock, the Gym Trainer is allowed none. Winner goes to the first person who successfully knocks out their opponent's three Pokémon first, or by making them forfeit. Attacking the Trainer directly is not allowed, and any attempt to do so or to attack any bystander will result in immediate forfeiture and forfeiture of your right to attempt this Gym again for six months. Any questions?"

"None," Elle replied.

"Alright. The match begins in... Three. Two. One."

Her opponent, a stocky man with a sharp, dark goatee and not much hair on his head, released what was probably the most ubiquitous Flying-type in the entire series as his first: a Pidgey.

Alex scanned it at range with his Pokédex quickly, but all it could tell him was the Pokémon's name, which he didn't need, and its Battle Rank: Fifteen.

They were higher than that before that ill-fated mine tour that was supposed to be nothing but a chance to train their Pokémon against Rock-types. They were all higher than that, now. Even the newly acquired Pokémon.

So Elle didn't exactly surprise Alex when she lazily brought out her own Pidgey. "Nike, you can handle this... little cousin. Open it up with a Quick Attack. No need to be fancy, just power him down."

The fight was not fancy. It was anything but. While the brawl between the two pidgeon-like Pokémon was longer than Alex might have expected, Nike came out far and away in better shape than the other Pokémon, though it only had two ranks less. Clearly, Elle's training regimen had been effective. Nike might need another Potion or something before she used the bird again, but for now Elle was doing great.

The next round went in similar fashion, except it was even more one-sided. Another Pidgey... this one rank thirteen. Again, Elle used Nike, who battered the lesser imitation with its wings over the head several times until it submitted and tried to escape. Nike let it go only on Elle's orders, and as the bird fled the area, its owner was forced to recall it and forfeit the round.

The last was a little more interesting, at least. A Spearow was his last Pokémon. They had experience with them in Viridian Forest, and Alex knew them to be even more agile in the air than Pidgey, and with sharper talons and beaks along with an aggressive streak miles wide.

What they lacked, however, was a defense against... well, just about anything that could hit them.

This particular Spearow also lacked any offense against a creature it could barely see in the bright afternoon sunlight. Loki was Elle's choice, and he came through the fight easily, and completely untouched.

The poor Spearow had tried everything: Tackle, Gust, Mirror Move, and Sand Attack, but nothing had stuck or even struck the Ghost.

In retaliation, Elle had simply let the other Pokémon attack several times, then calmly ordered, "Confuse Ray." The next round, "Will O' Wisp." Then, "Sucker Punch."

And that had been it. On fire, shrieking as it fled invisibly, ghostly flames, confused and bewildered by enemies only it could see, it was fair game for a strike from behind and above that knocked the Pokémon head-first into the platform, where it lay twitching feebly.

The other Trainer actually seemed relieved when Elle was declared the winner.

She cheered and left the battle area at a dead run, and leaped into Alex's arms. "I did it! I did it!"

"You did," he laughed along with her, and spun the girl around a couple of times, laughing himself.

Of course, this was just the first battle, and their first few against the Trainers in the Underground had gone well, too.

But he didn't want to mention that. Not yet.

Besides, Elle seemed to have plenty of confidence now, anyway. "I can feel it, Alex. There's a wind beneath my proverbial wings. An updraft headed straight for that platform up there! And I'm gonna ride it, all the way to the top!"