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

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

ONE MORE THING: I am in need of one to three BETA EDITORS. It's easy, fun, requires no experience or special skills except the ability to read (which I hope you have if you're reading this) and the ability to point out errors you notice on GoogleDocs (my preferred platform for editing). As a bonus: You'd get to read things WELL ahead of everyone else on Ffnet FOR FREE. I mean, just to catch up to Ch. 34 (which is on my SubStar), you'd have to go through that... PM me if you're at all interested or curious about it. :)

Chapter 20: Starting Over

Lieutenant Colonel Gregory Phillips flinched as the world bent and shattered around him. It was always so... uncomfortable for him to enter the old-fashioned virtual reality systems. Unfortunately, he had little choice: Specimen RDV had been in virtual reality non-stop since she was five years old. At sixteen and a half, she had been hooked up to the same SonyWin system for eleven and a half years. That was a lot of technological advancement to go through, enough that it was not at all compatible with the SoNinten system that had come eight generations of fully-immersive VRtech later. If nothing else, he didn't want the implant at the top of his spine the SonyWin system took. It itched when he showered. The nausea and disorientation as his brain adapted to the alternate set of sensory input was a close second, though, and even the hardened Mega-City Security Force commander flinched every time the forced connection was opened.
Still, about a minute after his world went dark, just as existential dread began to rear its head again, his senses returned. The world was... not all that life-like. Far better than it had been in the late twenty-first century when real VR was just starting out with clunky headsets and hand-held controls of course, but noticeably not right compared to his normal senses. When he had volunteered for this particular job in Lab 55, Phillips had known what he was getting into, of course. Almost twelve years (and counting) of that irritating itch at the back of his neck, and a minute or so of sensory deprivation once a week.
It was fine... it was worth it. It didn't mean he liked it, though.

Scent, as always, was first. Not much, a soft lilac and freshly shampooed carpets, a bit of grass that had been mowed a few hours earlier through, he expected, and open window in the office he would see shortly.

Taste, without scent, meant nothing. In fact, it came with scent, but all he would taste was the artificial saliva, so the SonyWin system sent him nothing.

Auditory sensation was next, and usually the most calming for him, because it meant the process was almost finished. Birds chirping, a car driving by on nearly primitive rubber wheels... it probably even used an internal combustion engine. The soft ticking of a wall-clock, and the quiet hiss of a desktop computer he would see in a moment, too.

Tactile... yes, there, the soft chair he had been in when he last logged out. A piece of paper under two fingers, and the virtual desk under the rest on his left hand...

Finally, sight. The office of a doctor and administrator, a hospital. Not a real hospital of course, one that had been carefully created for the use of the various Specimens Lab 55 had been responsible for. They had all, before most had died, been brought up in something like a cross between an orphanage and a military boarding school... for Pokémon Trainers. Most had their memories of their families, if they had any, either removed through various methods (whatever worked best on the Specimen), or they had, like in RDV's case, become so fragmented and disjointed through the trauma of the Ditto DNA's implanting and the chaotic morphing that had caused that there was little to no danger of even the most powerful Psychics or medical technology bringing them back.

Mewtwo, after all, was known to exist in Kanto, and it had in some ways been both actively resisting actively aiding what GameFreak was trying to accomplish on the other side of the portal. Most of the time, thankfully, it left them alone. But Phillips was relatively confident that without Psychic abilities of at least that beast's level, there was no danger of RDV remembering her parents. Or realizing that she was essentially raised in a tube.
And if she was... so what? The conditioning would still be effective, whether she knew that's what it was, or not. After all, enlightened self-interest is still a powerful motivator for humans and Pokémon alike. Why wouldn't it be for RDV, too?

The old-fashioned intercom light on his desk began to shine a soft rose-red. He pushed it, and the voice of Maline Greengrass came through, as if she were actually in the other room rather than a projection only RDV could see. "Sir, your next appointment is almost done with her paperwork. Should I send her in?"

Locked in the VR, the Lt. Colonel nodded, then remembered no one in-world would be able to see him, "Yes, please, Maline. Give me... one minute, though."

He would need it to get his thoughts back into order. He was getting introspective in his old age... an unfortunate distraction, given how important Lab 55 was, and GameFreak's ultimate goals in general. Pacific MegaCity's military budget was huge, but he could not sign off on that much more money without results. And of course, as a military man, he understood that. Having weaponized Pokémon on their side (along with their allies in Nippon MegaCity, of course, thanks to GameFreak's old ties with pre-MC Japan) would make Pacific the true powerhouse of the world, as it should be. It was, after all, the oldest and largest of the true Mega-Cities. It deserved that title. Especially if they were the ones who undid all the damage humanity had done to their planet and species in doing so.

Still, he had work to do. Phillips took a few more deep breaths, then stood up straight and forced his expression into a kind, welcoming smile.

It didn't take that much effort, because Robin DeVerl came into the virtual office a moment later, and she always made him smile.

At five years old, Robin DeVerl had been a rather rambunctious tom-boy, blonde, skinny, and with scuffed knees despite being malnourished and barely educated by her very poor parents, the same who had basically sold her to GameFreak before such ownership for 'research purposes' was legal in Pacific. Once GameFreak had those laws re-written to suit them, of course, many more 'Specimens' were bought and traded more openly, but still out of view of the public. Companies knew their business, and that was what mattered. The public who enriched them did not need to know.

At sixteen and a half, Robin DeVerl looked nothing like she had eleven years ago, aside from being female. At least, mostly. She was fairly androgynous in the face, but tended strongly toward the feminine from the neck down, especially her chest and hip to waist ratio. She had a strong jawline and piercing violet-blue eyes framed by shoulder-length, dark pink hair. She was a little shorter than average, a lingering bit of evidence of her malnourishment as a child that GameFreak's doctors had been unable to compensate for during her puberty thus far, and of medium weight, with a slightly pinkish tint to her otherwise Asian features.

Half-Nipponese girls did not generally have pinkish skin, or dark pink hair, nor violet-blue eyes. Then again, Robin DeVerl, he knew, was not half-Nipponese. She was a quarter Nipponese, an eighth WestEuro, an eighth Afrikaans, and half Ditto. Small variations in her appearance could be overlooked, considering they had taught her what 'beauty' was and that she was 'beautiful' at the same time.
She was, in most people's eyes (aside from that faint skin tone difference they had been unable to completely excise from RDV's morphing abilities), the perfect specimen of pure, physical feminine beauty.

It was almost unreal how attractive she was, in an understated sort of way. Robin knew she was attractive, she had been conditioned to think it, so she did not act attractive. There was no insecurity, no doubt. Her attractiveness was as... as real as the sun rising in the east (even if she hadn't seen it rise at all in more than eleven years). It just was. Like she knew she was intelligent, well-educated, and able to do things no 'normal' human could. She was a Combinant, after all, at least that's what the people who had created and raised her referred to her as.
Something human... and then some. Better, stronger, faster, more resilient, smarter... and able to change her appearance. She had to be better, to succeed in the mission she had been training for her whole life. Something bigger than humanity, bigger than a Combinant, bigger than all of them.

She still did not, and had been told repeatedly she would not know, until after it was done. Telling her would skew the results, and so Robin DeVerl had learned to deal with not knowing. That was fine, the mission was more important than her own curiosity.

Robin also greeted 'Doctor' Phillips with a happy smile, she liked seeing the closest thing to a father she had ever really known. She knew what a father was, of course, her many hours per day-cycle of accelerated learning guaranteed that she knew a lot of factual information, definitions, and so on. She even got to watch and practice family and social dynamics, especially when her peers were still around. She missed them... but ultimately they were not important. They had not been her, they had not succeeded in all tests. Robin knew that this day was coming... and thus she was happy to see the older gentleman. "Good morning, Doctor."

"Good morning to you, too, Robin," Colonel Phillips replied, gesturing toward the single seat in the office, which the girl took. "You know why you are here, or at least suspect it, I'm sure."

Robin nodded, "Yes, Doctor."

He leaned back in the chair and gave her a serious look, "I can't overstate the importance of this mission. None of us could possibly do so if we spent a lifetime talking about it. The scale, the stakes, are just too high to truly comprehend with our limited minds. Even you, my dear."

"I understand, Doctor," Robin replied, "I won't fail. Whatever the mission's goals are."

Whatever she had intended, Phillips read the girl's body language like the expert he was in general, and the expert in her in particular. Robin was nervous... but not without reason. She was also confident, with equally good reason. He virtually inhaled, then let it out slowly, "Your tests- the final ones, the ones we took a few days ago- came back positive. You are fully viable, and go for insertion."

Robin's eyes widened, "You mean... you mean I'll be going to the other world?"
It took Phillips a half a moment to remember that she knew that part of the plan, there had been no reason to lie. Not to her, who would be the one going through the Portal first. She practically had to know for the mission to succeed, and the risk of the knowledge getting out when she was locked in both her mind and a tank were negligible. "Yes. Soon, in fact. We're going to do one more experiment, but we've already run lesser versions and have no reason to doubt this one will succeed. In fact, I know it will: It's more a teaching run for you than an actual test. One final classroom."

The sixteen year old girl leaned forward almost eagerly, a broad smile breaking out on her full lips, "Really? One more class? Great, Doctor. I miss learning. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy the subjects we've been covering the last few days on giving and receiving pleasure. It's been most informative, and of course it feels amazing, but I miss the structure of a class."

"Not a desk-type classroom, I'm afraid," Phillips told her, and tried to sound apologetic even though he was more eager than she was, "more of a hands-on class. We have-" Here, he hesitated, because they were in essence lying, but what he was about to say was a hundred percent truthful, and it just felt weird, "-completed a virtual-reality system. It will allow you to temporarily control a lesser Combinant, one who didn't receive as much DNA as you did and is still alive. They will live for a few months more, but are essentially mindless, so you don't need to worry about killing a peer. They never had a mind to begin with. You'll use that host in the other world first, to experience it from a position of relative safety. If you adapt well, we'll feel comfortable sending you to the other world, and the mission will truly begin."

True... it just didn't apply to Robin DeVerl, Specimen RDV, herself. Not really, anyway. She would be using a Combinant body, one grown specifically for her, in fact. It was, like most of her now-dead peers, very unstable and would not survive pat a month in the other world. But, like all Combinants, it was strong enough to survive multiple trips through the Portal. Robin would be 'steering' it, yes, and it would be her temporary body in every way that mattered.
Hopefully, she would get a head-start on her undisclosed mission, and come back carrying more Pokémon or Combinant DNA in her temporary body. DNA they could extract, along with any child if she were pregnant, to be added to the now-depleted roster in Lab 55. And if not, well, the reason he'd told her was reason enough for the last test. Better to make sure she knew how to survive before they wasted their last, best shot.

She was a smart girl. Two weeks would be plenty of time to learn.

"So... I'm going to the other world as... as someone else, virtually, but it's actually the other world? And then when the test- or class- is over I'm going myself?"

"Exactly," Phillips nodded, smiling at her correct summary, not that he had expected otherwise. She was almost frighteningly smart. GameFreak had done their best to make sure of it. "Here's what you're going to do first..."

For an hour, until the back of his neck started to burn as the old hardware began to get hot, Lt. Colonel Greg Phillips explained the process other Trainers had gone through, and then what the small differences she would experience were. Most of it was simple. Her starting location, as a 'wave three' tester once that began, would not be Pallet Town, or Viridian City, but a random location in Kanto. Of course, that location had been carefully chosen to be safe enough for her, and thus wouldn't be far from either location, but she didn't need to know that part.
As a Combinant, she would have abilities most humans (especially natives) would not have, like increased empathy with Pokémon, and the ability to change her shape of course, though she was informed her temporary body was not as good at it as she was, and thus not to rely on it. Better to keep her normal form if at all possible.

Mostly, though she would not have full access to Yggdrassil, at least not until she went in herself. The extra step in her own connection, Robin was told, would cause strain on 'the network'. She was left to infer what that meant.

Finally, Phillips was done explaining the plan, and within a few more minutes, Robin was 'walking' to her new 'tank' where her 'body' would be 'resting' while she was jacked into the other Combinant, while he experienced a sequential dropping-off of all five senses, and eventually resumed using his normal ones.

In reality, on Earth, Robin was sedated at the exact moment she was told she was being sedated in the simulation, and thus knew nothing for several more minutes once the uplink began. In Lab 55, most of the scientists, researchers, and technicians on GameFreak's staff exhaled slightly in relief as the video feed from her Combinant's Yddrassil downlink came online, and then the rest of the sensory data started feeding into the GameFreak supercomputers. "Knew it'd work," one of the techs muttered.

"Of course it did," Maline Greengrass announced with an almost snort-like sound from just behind where Phillips was being unhooked from his harness. "It's not like she's the first Combinant we tried it on, and she had a higher sync rate than almost anyone. There's only a couple of normal humans in the Beta test with higher. Thirty, tops. Let me know how she reacts to her Starter, and what it is."

"Yes, Ma'am," one of the other scientists snapped off a quick salute.

Phillips rolled his eyes as Maline left the lab, no doubt headed back to her office. What a kiss-ass.

In her office, two hours after Specimen RDV had been sedated, Maline Greengrass smiled as she sat at her desk. Her Omanyte was out of its tank, playing with a children's toy- brightly painted beads on rails that snaked around each other in a complex way- on the floor next to her, cooing with its adorable, squeaky voice. The data projected on her holo-screen was exactly as they had hoped: Phenomenal.

RDV had not only succeeded where every other Combinant they had grown locally- meaning on Terra- had failed, she was by far exceeding every expectation or request they had given her. If they expected proficiency in history, they got expertise. If they expected her to be moderately physically capable, she was in excellent shape. In every metric they could track, RDV had surpassed not only the minimum requirements, but the upper end they had planned for. She was, in all ways, perfect.

Except she wasn't human. Not fully, at any rate. A useful tool... like a Pokemon. Even an attractive one, if you were into that sort of thing (which Maline was, at least as much as anyone she knew, she only hid it better behind a layer of professionalism many others at GameFreak had grown... lax in, in recent years).

She knew very well that Colonel Phillips intended for her and her kind, their Combinants, mostly grown on the alternate Earth where the success rate was, while still low, much higher, to be the next stage in evolution for mankind. Something new, a sort of Homo Neo. Maline and many of her superiors in the company thought that was all well and good... but why bother? Humanity was just fine as it was. It wasn't that they weren't growing, after all. They were, all species adapted and grew over time. But not to the point where they suddenly stopped being what they were and became something new in a single generation. That was... obscene, absurd. Too fast, by far.

But that was alright. One of the things RDV scored highest in was her malleability. Not just physical form of course, though she could do that quite well over time. No, her ability to be controlled was the important thing. Who was pulling the strings?
Phillips liked to think he was, and in many ways that was the case. The sheer scope and scale of GameFreak's latest project had necessitated seeking outside funding in massive quantities, and the Pacific MegaCity's military budget had the most to spare. It helped, of course, that only an idiot would look at the properties Pokémon had and think 'harmless, cute', rather than 'devastatingly powerful bio-weapons'. Even if GameFreak itself (Maline included) would prefer they were not used that way unless absolutely necessary. That funding came through him, and his command, and thus it was necessary to bow to his control much of the time.

The board of directors, her superiors, of course wanted to think they were in charge, too. And they were, in some ways. Robert Jones, her immediate boss, was in many ways in total control of her department, of which Maline was only a Vice President. Yet he was more concerned with politicking, maneuvering in the company and city itself, and getting his rocks off. Maline was the one who wielded the real authority, and she knew it. She could manipulate Jones easily, and Phillips could be convinced of any number of things with the right argument. Military or not, he was a researcher first and foremost, and thus a bit... short-sighted, in his vision. She took the long view.
Who cares if it took a few more generations for the Combinants to secure regular humans a foot-hold? The wealthy- her- would survive even if most of the poor would die, if things continued how they were. She, in fact, would live to see it since her own Combinant was alive, healthy, and stronger than ever. Who knew? She might even just move over there permanently if Nadine Minier proved as long-term viable as most of the existing 'NPCs' were. If she did that, it would be child's play for a woman of her talent- and team strength- to take over at least Kanto's League. Even the entire other world was not outside her grasp, if she was careful.

Of course, those were distant goals. For now, she had to make sure RDV succeeded. So far, all was well- almost too good, but they had no reason to suspect the results were being falsified. Who would even do such a thing? And why? Everyone in Lab 55 knew the reason behind their work. They knew what was at stake. It behooved no one to lie and make things worse. No... this would succeed.
It had to. Everything depended on it.
Tonight, when the Beta Testers were pulled from the 'simulation', they would be informed another patch was upcoming. It wouldn't change too much, just a few quality of life fixes, and a minor upgrade to the Prowess System's functionality. The real purpose wouldn't be discussed: It would add a single new player, and allow a little more monitoring of the situation where that player was concerned.

RDV was, hopefully, going to enjoy her task. Maline would, in her place. And if not, well... a little subtle encouragement couldn't hurt. If she didn't get right to her hidden mission without prompting, then they could simply nudge the girl to appropriate companions.

That two who were providing the most Combinant DNA, for example, would definitely push her in the right direction, if they didn't scare her off.

Yes, that would work...

Maline pulled up a side-tap showing the dossier for Alex Ward and Elizabeth Berkman, then compared them side by side with RDV's own, much larger, file.

Yes... it would work nicely indeed. If necessary. And if not, she could simply sit back and watch the fireworks. Either way, it looked like the game was starting in earnest now.

Machop was barely breathing hard as he pushed against GeoDude with one arm and Houndour the other. Both were attempting to remove him from the ring Adisa had laid out in the woods. He was not as comfortable as he would like in Viridian Forest, like GeoDude he was more at home in the mountains than the relatively flat land, but he did appreciate being out of the sun on a hot day for a change. Vulpix was nearby, struggling to strengthen her Ember attack's power while also targeting with pin-point precision. It was the latter she struggled with more, with their Trainer tossing small pebbles or green wood (which made sense, none of them wanted to start a forest fire at this point in the season, recent rains or not) through the air. Ember was a short-range blast of fire at best, Vulpix's reach was about... six of his lengths all told, maybe eight, with any sort of accuracy. The attack fizzled out completely at ten lengths, which meant GeoDude's or his own Rock Throw attacks had twice or three times the range, though they didn't have the capacity to start things on fire.

Houndour was, as he had suspected from the start, just not a brute. Several members of its species were, but this example followed the 'norm' and tended to rely on trickery, guile, and elemental damage rather than physical force like he or the Rock-Type that was also straining against him.
Machop wasn't really working to keep the canine's skull from getting closer to his torso. GeoDude at least was giving his left arm, the weaker one, a workout... but Machop was not budging. His feet were rooted, he was steady...

And Houndour suddenly shifted, jumping to the side. Suddenly overbalanced with a small boulder straining on one side and nothing on the other, Machop took two stumbling steps to the right, his body canting dangerously. Meanwhile, the dark-furred dog Pokémon spun around, his devilish, barbed tail sweeping low... it as thin, weak. It would not be enough! He was the Superpower Pokémon, after all!

Then his right foot, and right foot alone, was met with the tail rather than both. It had just enough impetus to drag it from the ground... removing all friction, and all balance.

That did it, he was officially unbalanced. It as not where he should be. Machop was smarter than that, stronger than that, yet he had miscalculated the cunning of an opponent he knew was tricky. If he ate dirt, he would deserve it for that failure.

But he was Machop. He would not give up. Even while he fell, his center of gravity far too high up to counter the momentum already, his stumpy, right arm came down, slapping a palm into the forest floor that had just been swept free of detritus by Houndour's tail as it took his leg out from under him. His feet came up, both flailing in a clumsy almost-kick. One caught GeoDude in its stony face, removing most of the pressure on his left side, and as he continued to spin, cartwheeling over his hand, the strong legs grew more controlled. Low Kick was not the best suited attack for coming in high, but it was effective enough, and the Fighting move would be highly effective against his obnoxious enem- no, opponent. He had to remember, they were on the same side. For now, at least. Still, Houndour really needed to be taught his place: Below Machop's heel. Or Adisa's, he supposed. As long as the Dark-Fire dual-Type Pokémon knew that it was not in charge, even if it was a little smarter than he was.

He was, he would always be, the stronger, and thus the more deserving of being their Trainer's favorite.

His foot connected with bone-crunching force, and Houndour yelped as his left forepaw, facing Machop as he finished his spin in a low crouch, ready to lunge, was pummeled into the soil. There was a loud snap, or perhaps two layered so close together they were indistinguishable to even Machop in his state of battle-awareness, and Houndour yelped, the arm withdrawing as his own Ember died, flames and smoke flickering out of a long, dark snout.

It was a worthy attempt, Machop decided as his feet touched down, still inside the ring-

His overconfidence might have been a mistake. Houndour weighed about twenty-seven pounds according to their Trainer, on the upper end of average. Machop himself, bulkier and stronger than even many of his own kind, came in at fifty-nine pounds, just under twice Houndour's weight, and thus mass. One might think GeoDude, being a Rock-Type, weighed more since he was roughly the same volume as the other two in their King-of-the-Ring match and made of stone. Those people would be wrong; a GeoDude is not solid stone. There is, in fact, meat in there. A brain, organs- it is only about a two-inch shell of stone that protects the soft, inner parts. In fact, GeoDude, perhaps as strong as Machop in straight muscle power with no Moves or Abilities used, was lighter than he was at fifty pounds even.

He was still fifty pounds of rock, barreling- or at least in a controlled fall- straight toward him just as he was starting to set his feet.

The impact threw Machop sideways as the Tackle struck, sheer physics ensuring... yes.
He landed outside the ring, his round, flat feet skidding in the old leaves and pine needles. "Chop," he growled, shaking his head. He had lost.
Lost!

Sure, it had taken trickery, and a calculated, team effort, even if one of the other side hadn't been aware they were participating... but he was out of the ring. And his team-mate (however reluctantly) was hurt. Machop immediately called an end to the game, and directed Houndour over to Adisa, who was already walking toward them swiftly. Her equipment would take care of the break in his paw soon enough. Meanwhile...

"Ma, Macho, Machop, chop-op." In other words, Don't get cocky just because you won by luck, or because Houndour helped you win. One on one, you're mine as easily as he is.

GeoDude didn't care, he was still laughing in his gravely voice. Machop thought he deserved it- he had truly been training hard, all of them had. GeoDude perhaps the hardest of all, as he was going against type. Machop had learned early on that their Trainer preferred all offense, and no or little defense. That was alright with him, he liked to smash his opponents before they could fight back, too.

But GeoDude, for all their power, simply didn't fight that way naturally. The brutal attacks Adisa was trying to teach him, and the way she wanted him to use them, were counter to his nature... but he was, in fact, learning. He could have this small victory, it wouldn't really hurt Machop's pride that much.

Besides, there was always next match, when the enem- the opponent's paw was patched up. He'd learned his tricks before, and he could learn them again.
It was a good day. They were all getting stronger, and even Adisa, a human, was practicing her combat skills, learning moves he was teaching her.

Yes, it was a good day. He might even convince Vulpix to mate with him, if their Trainer didn't want to. She was a bit young, yet, but then so was he. He could wait if she wasn't willing... but not too much longer.

Elle was not sure, exactly, when she woke.

She was uncomfortably hot, and... sticky. Everywhere. There was a faint burning in her throat and mouth, but her tongue was numb. Come to think of it, most of her was numb, or at least tingly, like her whole body was asleep from poor circulation.

But that couldn't be right, she'd be dead if it were true. Right? Sure, that sounded correct, even to her addled, sleepy head. She... she didn't remember much of... well, the last couple hours of the day. She remembered, with a rush of heat to her face that she felt even through tingling cheeks, blowing Alex the night before last in the hotel room, then tossing him Gobbler the morning after. Urging him out to get on with the day. Training- training hard, in fact. All of their Pokémon had gone up at least one Battle Rank, which she equated to the more common 'level' in her head, and a few had gone up two or even three. At least the ones they battled with. Their backup Pokémon, like her Ledian, their Weedle and Caterpie, those were still mostly the same level they'd been caught at.

Then... she told her Drowzee to do... something.

She couldn't remember what. She couldn't remember much of anything, in fact... she was about to fall back asleep. She was so warm, though. The blankets were too much... she was sticky, it was gross...

She couldn't breathe!

With a startled jerk, Elle's mind flashed to full awareness in a moment. Her body was not numb from anything weird, it was lack of oxygen, pure and simple. It was probably that which woke her, in fact, Elle realized as she continued to gasp for air. That, or the heat. Being nestled between two Fire-Types, Kole and Surtr, was making her far too hot. On top of that, Alex was half-sprawled on top of them all, as naked as she was, and despite the nip in the early morning air, it was just... too... hot!

The teenage girl squirmed, wriggled, and writhed, and eventually freed herself from the grunting, still sleeping mass of bodies. Finally, after she had nearly passed out again, Elle stood on swaying feet, her body still to oxygen-deprived to be steady, especially after the amount of effort it had taken her to get free.

It had been Kole's furry belly her face was buried in, while Surtr had- to use an expression- 'ponied up' to her back, holding her in place. In place, with the dog Pokémon's dick right against her chin.

It should have disgusted her, especially with it clearly out like that, but it did not. In fact, as Elle stared, her missing memories came rushing back. Her plan with Morpheus... it had been cunning, devious, and perfectly timed.

It had gone off without a hitch, except for one thing: She had drastically underestimated how much the psychic energy would affect Alex (or, as he had muttered the evening before, added directly to his already high levels of arousal and lust), and how much just the backlash would affect her. It wasn't that she minded, not really.

She had enjoyed someone going down on her- a human- quite as much or even more than Lingus doing so, and definitely more than the awkward, tongue-less oral pleasure Gobbler had given her once. That it was Alex was a nice touch, too, and further cemented her desire to have him be 'the one'. Her first, in other words, the one her mother had told her to wait for. "Sex doesn't have to be about love," Elle whispered, echoing her deceased mother's words from half her lifetime ago, "but for your first time, try. Make it be someone special, someone who'll treat you well, who wants you to be happy."

She didn't know for sure, of course, but Elle desperately felt that she wanted Alex to be it. His wild desire last night had only confirmed it: He'd made her orgasm twice, and then a third time a little later, before returning his attention to what their Pokémon were doing to him, and then to her. Sure, Gobbler, Lingus, and even Kole had gone down on her, too. It was nice- each felt good, in their own way, but only the Lickitung (which was apropos as always) and Alex had been really good.

Elle was getting wet just thinking about it.

… Or maybe that was was the yet-undried semen running down he body. Eww, she was really sticky!
More memories came rushing back: Not just sucking the Growlithe's dick (that was weird, it was so hot and stiff but still softer and much smaller than Alex's human cock, but it had spurted in her mouth and she couldn't help but swallow it all down like a starving woman), but then immediately going to the Ponyta...

His penis was huge, as large as her lower arm almost, and definitely as thick. Its head, flat and sloped with a little ring of harder nubs around the end of the truncated cylinder shape had felt so weird in her hand, in her mouth. It must have hurt at first, because it was bone-dry when she first touched it, and Surtr had shied away. But after she started tonguing the tip, mouthing it, blowing the Ponyta as she had done with Kole and Alex before... she was such a slut, but it was amazing!
Surtr had been helpless to pleasure, just like she was underneath Alex's mouth, and just as she was helpless to keep giving it more, more, more, until the Fire-Type had blasted steaming, almost scalding-hot cum down her throat, in her mouth, all over her- no wonder she felt slightly burned, with two hot loads like that! Even now, she could feel a slight coal of heat in her belly, and she was strangely not hungry for it being morning. Was there really that much...?

The blonde looked down at her mostly-naked body and snorted. Yes, there was definitely a possibility of that. Even with as much as she'd swallowed- it had felt like chugging a liter or more of spicy mayonnaise in one go, or more accurately, having it shoved down her throat by pressure alone- she was still covered in cum.

Smelly, nasty... so tasty and delicious, it had been a true joy to coax it out of them, all three. She was such a horny girl, but Elle could find no fault in that.

None at all.

She cast her eyes about the half-assembled camp, the tent they hadn't even used, their cooking fire, and the Pokémon that were, mostly, huddled around the two larger Fire-Types. Mostly, they had separated into their more natural pairs. Squirt and Shooter were the furthest off, sleeping in the shallow water of the stream a dozen or so feet away. Cock was surrounded by most of the rest on the other side of Kole, but Lingus had stayed near Alex, her own pink, puffy pussy just inches from his nearest hand... and she still glistened in the fading moonlight. Had he been fingering her in his sleep, too?

The crescent moon was nearly down, and stars still dotted the sky in constellations she would not have recognized from her home if she'd ever seen a star in person anyway, but along the eastern horizon the sky was beginning to flare. The sun would be up in less than an hour, she guessed, which meant it was time to do the necessary. Go downstream and piss, first and foremost. Then bathe a little. She knew Alex was a horndog like herself, but she didn't think he'd find her covered in old cum appealing. Not at this stage of their relationship, anyway. Then... breakfast, and a bit of research.

She was, after all, learning and experimenting with her Pokémon's abilities when that whole, glorious, (literally) fucking fantastic fiasco had happened.

The stream was cold, and Elle shivered, already missing the near-scorching nest she'd woken in within seconds of soaping up, but she forced herself to continue until she was actually clean, then returned to the camp wearing, as she had left it, just her socks and boots. Even those came off while she fetched a bit of water from the filter kit and started some oats and berries, and a separate container for tea or coffee. While she did so, the girl pondered something that had occurred to her while she bathed. What... what if Alex was mad at her? She'd basically... basically forced him. She knew he was willing, in general, he'd said as much. But... had she crossed the line? Gone to far?

In the end, once the water and meals were cooking, she forced her thoughts onto more practical lines. It wouldn't do any good to dwell on it, or feel guilty. At least, not yet. If he was upset, she could feel bad then. If he wasn't, well... more the better for them both, because it meant she probably wouldn't have to do so again. Unless he wanted her to, of course. She'd seen the way he was eyeing his big, pink ball of blubber: He wanted to fuck Lingus, too. At least on an intellectual level, he'd been curious.

Maybe there's hope for him after all, she decided.

Cooking started, Elle dressed up to her underthings- just in case some early riser happened by- and opened up her Pokédex interface. What she saw made her gasp, even shout, loud enough to wake Alex. "Holy fucking shit!"

Alex himself was not any happier with how he had woken up, but even less so with what had woken him up. Not Elle, though he was certain he'd be having words with her sometime soon, because he did remember all of the previous evening and night's events- but for the shouting, especially with words that sounded suspiciously like alarm. "Cock, defense, Kole, go on the attack! Lingus, you- wait... What? Elle?"

He had, of course, bolted to a half-sitting position, completely nude, and surrounded by Pokémon. Creatures who, in hearing the tone of his own voice, also leaped to the defense, sprouting sharp, jagged quills, acidic bile or more vegetable secretions, or in one memorable case that made Alex jump to a standing position with a hand on his scalded left butt cheek, a certain Ponyta.

"Woah, woah, sorry! It's fine, everything's fine," Elle yelled, trying to calm his panic, "I just- Shit, Alex, come look at this!"

Dimly, he noticed that Elle was at least partially dressed, her hair wet and tied up away from her back while it finished drying by a towel that formed a ponytail ten or so inches past the back of her head, and that he was absolutely not clean, or clothed.

He, also, really had to pee.

Rubbing sleep from his eyes, groggy and already feeling the effects of adrenaline let-down, Alex groaned, "Is it urgent? I gotta go. Also I stink. And... we have to talk."

"Talk all you want, go piss if you want," Elle murmured, sounding apologetic, "I'm really sorry I woke you up like that. It's just... well, this. But it can wait until after you clean up and dress. Breakfast should be done in about... ten more minutes, anyway."

"Okay, fine..."

He scooted not quite as far as Elle had, judging by the trail she'd made in the grass before relieving himself, then returning for clean clothes and a towel, then back down the stream. It wasn't a fast current, but it was plenty to ensure his urine, at least, was long gone when he returned.

Eventually, Alex returned to the camp just in time for Elle to hand him a freshly-served bowl of oatmeal and berries, and start tossing out Pokémon food to their teams. Spike, he was pleased to see, had even slept behind Surtr, and joined the others in eating. He maintained a little distance still, but it was much smaller than before, only a few inches from the nearest one, while most just ate where they were in a semi-circle gathered around Elle, often shoulder to shoulder. Her own food was half-consumed, and she was wolfing down what remained with one hand while the other parceled out the kibble equally fast. She had to, with twelve Pokémon to feed.

His companion didn't wait for him to finish, only herself, before tossing the last few generic bites of Pokémon food out for the group to tussle over as a warm-up for the day's activities and pulling ug the holo-screen on her 'Dex. "Okay, so we gained a level or more with everyone we trained with yesterday. Awesome, right?"

"Sure it," Alex replied through a mouth-full of Razz Berry and oatmeal, growing more interested in her analysis of their teams' respective growth. "Level-wise, Sappy and Nike grew the most- three each. Oh, actually, I don't think Surtr went up a level, but he's really close- see, here's his bar."

It was, indeed, almost full. "Probably one more low-level fight is all he needs, then," Alex murmured, more to himself than anyone else. "Then he'll be even stronger."

"He's already higher- by three- than any of our teams except Kole, who he's two higher than right now. But look at them."

Alex followed the girl's gesture toward the Pokémon, who were, to his surprise, still waiting patiently while Cock and Lingus counted out, in their own way, a small pile of the generic pellets for each of their Pokémon. Once it was done, the Lickitung shoved each one- uncaring of the dirt or grass, just like the rest of the Pokémon- toward each in turn, including Spike, who was not left for last. In fact, all the others were fed before they were, with Cock deferring to Lingus.

"They're taking care of their pack," Alex realized with a soft whisper.

"That's what I think, too," Elle returned just as quietly, "remember your Prowess Ability? Pack Alpha? I think he regards you as his leader- and its clear you've delegated the responsibility of taking care of the pack partially to him. He, in turn, delegated to his most common mate. And realistically, that makes sense. Since he's got moves that are effective against everyone except Morpheus- but he'll learn some- and he clearly enjoys fighting for its own sake more than the rest, they defer to him and Lingus, who's kind of the group mom. I guess he'd be the group dad, or the big brother, maybe."

"It's weird when you put it like that, but... it makes sense," he conceded.

"Okay, and they've learned some new moves, too. Cock knows Fury Attack instead of Horn Attack- so he doesn't hit as hard, but can stab more often. Fast, according to the move's explanation, several times in a standard combat round."

"Whoah," Alex gasped, his eyes wide. His little purple porcupine-thing with the huge ears could do that? No wonder the others looked up to it!

"Lingus replaced Supersonic with Rollout, which means in some of the older games she could Evolve already, but she hasn't for some reason," Elle continued, moving faster through a note-pad she must have written down while he was bathing, "Sappy's Absorb was upgraded to Mega Drain, but Shooter's learned two moves. Water Pulse- which didn't replace Water Gun, so he can shoot a lot of water out, I guess, before he's tired- and Psybeam. I didn't know he could learn Psychic attacks."

"I didn't either," Alex admitted, looking over at the furthest of his Pokémon, who was back in the stream, playing with Squirt. "He might be pretty powerful one day."

"He's not weak now," Elle reminded him, "he's just young. Anyway, there's more, let me get through my team fast, Surtr didn't learn anything new obviously."

This time, he listened without interruption as she listed off her own team's improvements.

Loki had replaced Nightshade with Payback, a physical Dark-Type move it wasn't all that well suited for but that still somehow tore a stick Elle tossed for the Ghastly to demonstrate on to pieces mid-air,

and Gobbler the Bellsprout had replaced the relatively weak Wrap with Sleep Powder, which, well, was essentially a knockout drug in airborne form. "So let me know if you have nightmares," Elle giggled as she explained what it did, then kept moving as Alex started breaking camp.

Despite gaining three levels, Nike hadn't learned a new move, but Squirt had somehow learned the rare Dragon-Type move Twister, and her Drowzee had lost Poison Gas to pick up Headbutt. As large as the yellow Psychic-Type was, Alex suspected it would be a powerful move when Elle used it, perhaps even stronger than its mental abilities against Pokémon with more mental defense than physical.

He kept mum about the subject of importance- the only one on his mind, really- as they finished gathering their things and moving on.
They were still headed north, though this far from the main roads they were meandering back and forth to follow the terrain or actively fight against it, climbing to the tops of some hills for a better view, or going around others to save energy as they felt in the moment. Pokémon were few, and most were kinds they already had, so neither really had the opportunity to improve their Pokédexes, but more battles, more training, was had and Surtr was just one of several who gained more levels.

Elle was a little more subdued and withdrawn too, but she still chattered about various things as they walked. Alex participated, he wasn't so... whatever he was feeling that he was actually angry, but he certainly didn't go out of his way to add much, either.

For two whole days, in fact, they barely said a hundred words between them, most interacting with the Pokémon in the group, including the other's, as they started leaving the denser northern Viridian Forest behind, and climbing into the hills and rockier woods south of Pewter City.

It was at that point that Alex decided enough was enough. "We should talk," he said during lunch that day, as they let their legs dangle over a short bluff into a valley some sixty feet below.

"That doesn't sound good," Elle murmured, her voice quiet and a bit tremulous, "but I felt like it's been coming. So let's talk."

On the same morning in which Elle woke up covered in Pokémon semen, Yggdrassil pinged softly as a pink-haired young woman materialized in her- its- field of view. Her initial conversations with the AI were fairly standard, exactly what she- they all- had been taught they would be, and her responses were, while personal to herself, as automatic as blinking. "Yes, I'd like to keep my ability to change my appearance," Robin DeVerl announced with a roll of her violet-blue eyes.

"Acknowledged. Full-Combinant access denied to Specimen RDV, Player Test 001 under stipulation that it will shorten the lifespan of your current Combinant body by as much as eighty-seven percent. Morphology restricted with current Avatar."

"Fine," she murmured. A little back-talk would not harm her own goals. She was aware, by this point, just how much GameFreak needed her. How much humanity needed her. Robin DeVerl cared, she did. She wasn't exactly going to go out of her way to screw them all over. But she also knew she wasn't what they had tried to tell her. Sure, she was basically raised in the Institution, under Doctor Phillips' care, bred and trained specifically for... whatever mission she was supposed to do, that for some reason they couldn't tell her.

But they hadn't given her specific instructions. The closest GameFreak had told her was to go out and explore the world, train her Pokémon, have fun. The rest, they said, could come later- if she hadn't already figured it out. Most, Doctor Phillips especially, seemed to think she would do exactly that, sooner or later.

It was... frustrating, to know your whole life was meant for one purpose, and not to know what it was.

But she knew this world. She knew its geography, knew its people, and Pokémon. She knew how it all worked. She just had to experience it herself for the that vast store of knowledge she carried to crystallize into something useful. First, though... She had to get her first Pokémon, her Starter.

"Nature: Naive," Yggrassil pronounced, and Robin blinked. Well... she supposed that made sense. It wasn't like she had a lot of experience in the real world, even if she'd passed every test with flying colors.

"A Naive Nature lends itself toward an eager approach to combat and life in general, as well as a willingness to commit to an action before you know it will succeed, or what the results might be. Naive Natured people and Pokémon tend toward kindness instead of cruelty, and support rather than offense or even direct defense, while also being somewhat gullible and prone to being tricked. Pokémon Types that commonly have the Naive Nature include: Normal; Flying; Psychic; Bug; Grass; Ghost; Fighting; Dragon; and Fairy Types. Due to the high number of Types available, you may choose three Types to exclude from your Starter Pokémon's possible Types."

She had thought about this for a long time, so Robin did not have to take long before she replied, and her answer was confident, if only because she hated second-guessing herself, "Exclude Bug, Ghost, and Fighting, please."

It wasn't that those weren't perfectly viable Types, they were. She just preferred the style of the others, for the most part. A truly skilled Trainer, she was sure, could make anything into a powerhouse. And she did, after all, consider herself skilled. Hadn't all those tests proved it?

"Acknowledged. Your Starter, randomly selected from the first two Generations of Pokémon games from the remaining Types is..."

"H- Happiny?!"

Robin could not believe her luck. Her bad luck! Of all Normal- or Normal-Fairy Types, it had to be the one with the absolute least ability to hurt something? Sure, she could play defensive. She could be supportive- she'd probably actually like it, given how her test results had come back again and again. But Happiny? It was- pathetic! Truly, among the very weakest of Pokémon, just above Magikarp and Feebas, the latter of which wasn't even native to Kanto. True, unlike the former it could learn attacks, but... they would be so weak! Just catching a second Pokémon could take days. What had she done to deserve this? What calamity in a past life? Was this a punishment for outliving all the other students at the Institute?

Then the little pink ball of a Pokémon jumped, somehow springing from the ground into Robin's surprised arms. "Happi! Pini-Happiny!"

Somehow, her derision and scorn...

Melted away. Robin DeVerl smiled down at the little creature that looked up at her with large, adoring eyes. "Hello, Happiny. It's good to meet you."

A/N: A final note before you click away.

DON'T go to if you can help it. I am still posting there, but they are HEAVILY censoring my content (especially this story). If you want the full experience, either be patient, or, to support me and get things sooner, go to Sub scribe Star DOT Adult SLASH KajaWilder.