Chapter 71 – Fight, fight, fight, fight!

WHAM!...Charizard hadn't been expecting the Focus Blast attack. Even with his fast reflex it caught him by surprise and nearly threw him off his feet. It him hard in the small of the back, just below the bridge of his wings. Like being shoved by another Charizard. It was just enough force to cause him to stumble.

"Zard!"

It has two unexpected effects, however. Firstly, poor Ashy had been perched on his back, just above the impact zone. The shockwave sent the much smaller rodent flying into the air, over the top of Chari's head, before he fell in a heap in the sand.

Secondly, Charizard had been clutching his egg in his right claw at the time, in the process of resorting it to the satchel he wore around his neck and chest to hold the egg in. Never did he leave the little egg out of his sight. But in the brief second, he was nearly thrown off his balance, whether due to the force of impact or his own clumsy claws, he dropped it…

"Oh shit!" Blade clasped a claw to his maw. "Fuck Hunter, what have you done!"

"CHAR ZARD!" Charizard whipped around in a flash, claw raised, tail flame burning bright, fangs exposed and a look of murder on his face.

For most Pokémon of Hunter's size, the sigh of the obviously angry dragon would have been enough to trigger an instinctive flight, rather than fight, reaction in them, and they would have tried to put as much distance between them and Charizard as possible.

Hunter however, a trained Pokémon with a broken heart and wounded pride, was not, at this moment most Pokémon…

"You're dead," Charizard growled as he lumbered menacingly towards the small Riolu.

"Bring it on you overgrown Charmander," Hunter barked back, shaking his paw. "You don't scare me! I've fought mons bigger than you and won, so fucking bring it."

"Hunter don't try it," cried Blade, grabbing him by the arm and trying desperately to pull him away. "Come on, just get out of here before…"

Hunter wasn't listening. He gave a firm tug on his arm, pulling it free of Blade's grip, before taking a run at Charizard.

"I beat Norman's Slaking and Flannery's Camerupt. I've beaten plenty of Pokémon twice my size. I can take you, you big brute. Now eat force palm." Hunter leapt into the air; his palm held out in front of him.

"Zard." Charizard rolled his eyes at the sight of the leaping Riolu before opening his mouth to spit out a jet of flame into his path.

Hurtling through the air, Hunter could do little but brace for the impact, closing his eyes and tensing his body. The flames engulfed him, reversing his trajectory, and sending him flying backwards. He landed flat on his tail in a smouldering heap.

"Is that all y-you got!" The little Riolu half barked half whimpered as he climbed back to his paws. "I'll show you!"

If indeed it really were all Charizard had, Hunter should probably consider himself luck and to quit while he was ahead. His fur was blackened with soot and smoke from Charizard's fires, and he was breathing heavily and seemed to be having trouble standing.

The attack had seriously weakened the poor Riolu, draining him of his energy, and leaving him with what looked like a burn on his right arm. The fur was red and raw, and he was holding it at an odd angle.

Ashachu in the meantime and scurried over to rescue his and Chari's egg from the sand. His heart was pounding heavily, and he had felt a sickening feeling in his stomach when he had seen it fall. He picked it up in both of his paws and examined it. No mark, scratches and thankfully no crack. The little Charichu would okay. More than could be said for Hunter.

As Ashachu looked up and saw the pitiful state of his ex-boyfriend and felt entirely unsympathetic. In fact, looking down again at the egg clutched in his paws, he was angry. "Hunter!" he squeaked, his fur bristling. "Don't be a moron!"

"FOCUS BLAST!"

Hunter put his paws together, conjuring up a ball of energy to hurl at Charizard. Charizard however was faster and was on top of Hunter before he could fire off the attack. Given how slowly he'd been lumbering earlier, it was surprising to see him now, in the blink of an eye, close the distance between himself and Hunter and grab the Riolu by his tail, hoisting him into the air.

"Will you?"

"Hey. What are you doing, let me go," Hunter yelped, wriggling and squirming, trying to get free of Charizard's grip? No longer did he sound so confident.

Charizard considered Hunter for a moment, glaring at the Riolu with slits for eyes. "You attacked my mate and my egg," he growled. "I should kill you right where you stand. Any other Char would."

"N-n-no… D-Don't do t-that!" Any semblance of courage from Hunter was now gone, his attitude doing a complete turnaround. His voice was high and trembled as he spoke, his eyes had gone wide at Charizard's words, and he was shaking. Squirming more than ever trying to get free. "I-I'm s-sorry!"

"Oh, don't worry," said Charizard with a slight chuckle. "I'm not going to kill you. I owe it to Ashachu not too. I'm still going to make you suffer for what you did, you little pipsqueak. Hmmmm, what to do!"

Hunter's heart thumped as the dragon considered his fate, and his breathing came short and sharp. A mixture of fear, anger and humiliation flooded his system. He looked down at Ashachu, still cuddling the egg and shouted out to him, "ASHACHU!"

Ashachu took one look up at him again but didn't say anything. The expression on his face told Hunter pretty much all he needed to know. If Hunter had been hoping for a reconciliation today, his hopes had just been shattered. Now all he could do was await the wrath of Charizard.

"hehehe…Ashachu's mine now," laughed Charizard. "He isn't going save you. No! You're going down my throat."

Hunter's eyes widened in shock, even more than they had been before. "What! NO! NOOO!"

Charizard grasped Hunter around the middle with both claws, opening his jaws wide. Hunter felt a thrill of fear as he gazed into Charizard open maw. Ropes of saliva hanging of his teeth, red flesh walls and a dark void at the back of his throat he couldn't see into.

"No STOPPP! I'm sorry!"

"Oh," said Charizard. "Never call me a slut dragon again."

What happened next happened very quickly. Charizard shoved Hunter's head and torso into his open maw, before throwing his head back, and allowing gravity to do it's work. Hunter shut his eyes as he slid into Charizard's throat. He gave a muffled cry and flailed, sticking out his arms to try and stop himself sliding down further, but his paws found no purchase.

Charizard flicked his head, and Hunter was jolted further inside, his muzzle hitting the dragon's throat. Only the Riolu's tail, and legs were sticking out of Charizard's maw. Hunter felt the tip of his large tongue brush against his rear…

"Fuck no, can't let this happen….HUNTER!" Blade leapt into action charging at Charizard with his claw brandished. "Eat Ice Beam." His efforts were in vain… As he gathered his energy and prepared to use the attack, Charizard stuck out, spinning around, and hitting Blade with his tail.

The single blow sent the Sneasel flying until he crashed into the rocky wall at the end of the beach. He lay still, letting out a faint moan of "Snea…"

With no further impediments in his way, Charizard swallowed. Hunter lurched forward, his head and chest pulled into the hot, tight wet walls of the dragon's throat. His air was cut off in the tight surroundings. With a note of dread, he felt his feet and tail consumed by Charizard.

"Well then," said Charizard as the bulging form of Hunter cleared his oesophagus. He placed a claw on his belly, which now seemed to bulge, and patted it gently. "Anybody else got a problem with Ashy and my mating. Anybody else want to have a go at our egg." His eyes turned to Blade, as the Sneasel pulled himself up. "Sneasel."

Blade let out a long low sigh. He was in no condition to fight Charizard and even if he was, what could he do for Hunter now. So, he turned his attention to Ashachu. "Hey kid! You want to know something!"

"Pika?" Ashachu looked at him curiously, his ear twitching.

"Hehehe. He's you're Shadow," the Sneasel giggle, pointing to Charizard.

Ashachu glowered at him. "Shut up Blade!"

"Shadow once ripped someone's tongue out for insulting me," said Blade. "And now your Chari here just ate Hunter for insulting your relationship. Your trainer might condemn Shadow for what he is. And he might be right. But looks like his ace player isn't any better."

Charizard's eyes narrowed. "Careful Sneasel. You're Darkrai bitch is dead. Nobody here's going to protect you this time!"

Blade pulled a face, as if he wanted to glare or growl at Charizard but had thought better of it. He continued addressing Ashachu. "You know kid, you and I are more alike than you realise. We both were rejected by our families…"

"My family did not reject me," Ashachu squeaked, offended by the suggestion. "What are you talking about?"

Blade ignored him. "And we both clung to the one powerful Pokémon who showed us a glimmer of hope when we were at our lowest. And that creature happens to be a psychopath… Oh don't worry. I know exactly what Shadow is. What he was… The real question is, do you know what that Charizard is!"

Ashachu gritted his teeth in anger. "Blade, if you have nothing nice to say, then piss off. Arceus, I can't believe I almost mated with you."

Meanwhile, Hunter had dropped out of Charizard's oesophagus and into his stomach. There was more room for him down here, and he flailed, punching at the wet walls that surrounded him, though that quickly proved pointless. The walls were like sponges, absorbing his blows.

"Hey! W-what the heck," he cried out. "What are you doing with me. LET ME OUT!"

"Still wriggling in there," said Charizard, rubbing his belly and looking down and the bulge with his tongue sticking out of his maw. "Feels nice, keep going."

"I'm not breakfast," Hunter cried indigently. "Let me out, it's fucking hot in here."

"Well, you are inside a fire type. Who'd have thought."

"You are going to let him go, right?" asked Ashachu. "You're not going to… you know!"

Charizard chuckled, looking down at Ashachu. "Hehehe. Don't worry, I'm not going to digest him. I can't say no to your pretty face, now can I. Can't digest him whole anyway. I'll let him go in the morning. Once he's had time to learn his lesson."

"What. Let me go right now," Hunter retorted, but was ignored.

"Works for me," said Ashachu with a smile. He stuck out his paws, holding them above his head gesturing for Charizard to pick him up. A gesture the dragon was only too happy to oblige, scooping Ashachu and their egg up in his arms, before stretching out his wings ready to take flight.

"I trust you can find your way back to Cameron," the dragon said to Blade. "Because I'm not giving you a ride. See ya! Come on Ashy let's get out of here." A great flap of his wings, and the bond of gravity seems to slip off the dragon.

"He's your Shadow kid," Blade called after him. "You'll work it out sooner or later!"