Pokegirl Origins - Unova Chapter 18 - A New Road, a pokémon fanfic

WARNING

THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS CONTENT INAPPROPRIATE FOR READERS UNDER THE AGE OF 18

As the two moved through the auditorium, Cathy silently plodding along behind them, Nicholas began to hear a low hum of conversation. What it was coming from was revealed when they stepped from the tunnel between the rows of seats to see Cheren standing on one side of the main stage addressing a class of students.

"Nicholas Topolski." Nicholas jumped when Cheren's voice called out across the auditorium without the man himself even turning in their direction. "You've kept my class waiting."

"Sorry, am I interrupting something?" Nicholas asked as he moved forwards. "I thought this was the gym building."

"It's my classroom as well," Cheren replied, finally turning along with his students to look at Nicholas. "Or should I say… our arena? Jake, Madeline!" He glanced at the students and gestured towards the auditorium floor. "We have a challenger! Take your places!"

Nicholas blinked when two of the students got up and started picking their way down towards them. "Huh? I thought these were students at the school?"

"They are." Cheren smiled. "Or should I say, these are my assistants."

"Hi! It will be a pleasure to face you!" the girl said brightly, reaching to give Nicholas a quick handshake before moving further along the stage. The guy just gave Nicholas a smile and a nod before following her.

"I'm afraid I'm completely lost here," Nicholas said, looking to Cheren. "The students are assistants in your gym?"

"For the graduation tests they are," Cheren chuckled. "I've got a few full-time assistants for real challengers. So, Nicholas! Defeat these two, and I'll allow you to face me for the badge."

"Real assistants for the real challengers," Nicholas muttered with a challenging sneer. "I should feel insulted." He turned back to see Sabrina and his other pokegirls filing into the stands. "Well. Rules are rules, I suppose." He turned to look over the two students waiting for him. "Hey, are the two of you actual students? Part of the starter program and all that?"

Madeline grinned but this time it was Jake who spoke. "That's known information," he called. "I don't have to provide it to you."

"Known-?" Nicholas growled. "Oh, I see. We've got a smartass on our hands." He strode for the guy with Adalinda right beside him. "You first then! Known information. Pah."

"Right! As gym assistants our first priority is testing prospective challengers!" Jake cried. "Let's give that Snivy our best, Hela!"

Nicholas watched an Oshawott materialize across from them. "Normal-type gym my ass." He glanced at where Cheren was watching the battle. "I guess it's different as part of the school. That's a shame. Just a simple type matchup test. Ada, remove this Oshawott so we can move on to that girl's Tepig."

"Go for Water Gun!" Jake yelled as Adalinda dropped her entire body to the ground and began slithering towards the Oshawott at high speed. Cheren just shook his head.

Hela dug her hands under her shirt and yanked two clam shells from somewhere underneath, beginning to carve them through the air as water beaded along the edges. Adalinda was already on top of her and the Oshawott screamed in pain when the Snivy's vines lashed out and drew bloody lines on the arms she tried to block with. The counter attack was pitiful in comparison. The Oshawott brought her shells together in a sort of funnel and blasted a stream of water that carved along Adalinda's tail just for the Snivy to come to a halt directly in the stream and lift her torso up INTO it so that she could give her opponent a disgusted look.

"HOLD!" Cheren roared. "Jake! What are you doing! Water-type attacks are barely half as effective against a Grass-type pokegirl!"

"But it's Hela's strongest move!" Jake yelled back. "Since she's a Water-type pokegirl herself-"

"The bonus power a pokegirl can bring when using a technique that matches her type is only half as strong as a weakness or resistance!" Cheren called, turning to the class as he gestured at the waiting pokegirls. "Come on, Jake! Apply your knowledge here! What's stronger – a resisted same type attack or a neutral off-type one!"

"Usually the neutral one!" The class chorused.

"Then – ugh, Hela go in close for a physical strike!"

Hela was trying to obey her tamer's order when Adalinda's vines slammed into her stomach. The poor Oshawott's eyes bugged out, her mouth popping open silently before she was sent tumbling across the auditorium. Adalinda was rearing back, recalling her vines with a smug look when the Oshawott stirred. Before the Snivy could press a finishing blow Hela was back on her feet, an enraged scream echoing through the building as she charged for Adalinda. This time Adalinda actually recoiled when the Oshawott hit, hissing in pain with a few streaks of her own cutting down her skin from the Oshawott's shells. But that was as far as Hela got before Adalinda's vines were back and beating her down with a nasty one-two blow to her chin and temple.

"We'd have never won that!" Jake was yelling even before Hela had hit the ground. "Typing is everything!"

"Wrong," came Cheren's stern retort. "Even if it was, you made the incorrect choices to play around your and your opponent's typing. Perhaps you should do more of your homework." Jake growled and trudged back to his seat with the laughter of his classmates following him.

"Our turn now!" Madeline cried and released a Tepig, just as Nicholas had expected. "Okay, Nina! Let's do what Jake couldn't!"

"Give me a second, would you?" Nicholas called as he motioned Adalinda back over to him. "Unless this is meant to be a nonstop gauntlet?"

Cheren shook his head and gestured for Nicholas to continue pulling the potion out of his pocket. "Not at all. Your first battle concluded, so please make any preparation you need for the next."

"Here." Nicholas handed Adalinda the potion after spraying down where the Oshawott had cut her. "Get yourself back to full strength."

Adalinda downed the contents and handed him back the empty bottle. "Thank you." She glanced at where the Tepig was bouncing from foot to foot and making phantom jabs at the air. "She'll burn me down."

"Yeah, well, not much we can do about that right now," Nicholas replied. "Just give it your best shot. You have status techniques, right?" When Adalinda nodded he nodded towards the Tepig. "Try to lower her defenses then use your body to crush her." He smirked. "I know from experience that you're a very powerful constrictor."

Adalinda grinned back. "I did manage to make a few of the girls in the lab tap out that way."

"I'd hope so. Best we got. Let's do this." He nodded to Cheren when Adalinda turned to move back into the arena. "We're good!"

"Then begin!"

"Right! Nina!" Madeline threw out a pose. "Do what you do best and beat her down!"

Nicholas blinked when he heard that. The Tepig was moving forwards and smacking her fist into her palm. There's no way this girl was telling her pokegirl NOT to use her Fire-type attacks. Were these students both stupid?

It didn't matter to Adalinda. The Snivy had one goal, and one goal only. She was slithering forwards before suddenly rearing back, her eyes drilling into Nina as her mouth opened and she released a wicked hiss that made Nina flinch back for a moment. "We can do that too!" the girl yelled. "She's trying to lower your defenses, give her a taste of her own medicine!"

"Just tell your poor, untrained pokegirl to use her flames!" Nicholas snarled to himself as the Tepig recovered from Adalinda's leer and started making cute dancing motions while she approached in an attempt at lowering the Snivy's guard. "Ada isn't going to give a shit if she's getting sucker punched more than usual, she cares if she's being burnt to a crisp!"

Except it seemed like Nina's attempts were having the opposite effect on her opponent. The dancing Tepig just made the Snivy's coils tighten in response as she began to laugh. "I'm not an idiot," she snarled before quick as a flash shooting forwards to knock Nina to the ground and wrapping herself around the squealing pokegirl. "But YOU are for giving me this opportunity!"

"Shit! Get her, Nina!" Madeline cried. "Punch her until she's forced to let go!"

Nicholas could see Cheren placing his head in his hand and could hear quite a few of the students shouting to Madeline but the girl was completely clueless. Adalinda on the other hand was anything but. She recoiled when Nina's fist bounced off her collarbone before surging back in with a snarling hiss. Nina screamed when the pressure wrapped around her ratcheted up a notch and screamed even louder when the Snivy slammed her head to the floor, her bound position leaving her unable to cushion the blow effectively.

"JUST TELL NINA TO USE EMBER!" Cheren screamed with his hand still massaging his temples. "SAME TYPE AND A GRASS-TYPE'S WEAKNESS!"

"BUT NINA'S PUNCHES ARE SO MUCH STRONGER THAN HER FLAMES!" Madeline yelled back.

Cheren's eyes snapped open and his hand fell as he roared his response at the floor. "ARE THEY THREE TIMES AS STRONG? NO!"

"Well – okay, Nina try an Ember instead?" Madeline called hesitantly.

The Tepig was faltering. Nicholas was pretty sure he'd heard something crack by now with how tightly Adalinda was wrapping her opponent and none of Nina's punches had done anything to make that stop. Somehow, Adalinda was about to win this. Purely off the inexperience of their opponents.

Adalinda reared back with a horrible scream when Nina pursed her lips and spat fire in the Snivy's face. Too late. Nina's flames cut as the Tepig choked, her eyes widening in panic as she struggled to draw breath past Adalinda's coils. Even with the Snivy thrashing about and clutching at her burnt skin she never released her grip and Nina could do nothing until her eyes finally rolled back and she fainted from a lack of oxygen.

"ADA!" Nicholas roared. "ADA! IT'S OVER!" He gestured urgently to Madeline, the girl standing frozen as she stared at her unconscious pokegirl still wrapped in Adalinda's body. "Recall your pokegirl! It's over!"

"I… Uh, right!" Madeline cried, triggering the recall. When Nina's body vanished Adalinda's coils were freed to being thrashing with her, the Snivy rolling over and over as she screamed and clutched her blackened face.

"I've got another potion-" Nicholas started to call before he gave up. Adalinda was hurt. Badly. For her to be this incoherent meant that she was defeated too, regardless of whether or not she was still conscious. He recalled her instead and finally the auditorium returned to silence, Nicholas turning to look at Cheren after a few moments to see the gym leader tiredly rubbing his temple.

"Madeline," Cheren called. "Did you see what happened as soon as you ordered Nina to use her flame?"

"I… I did," the girl said in a small voice.

"I know that you're very proud of Nina's physical abilities," Cheren said. "As she grows stronger she will learn to combine them with her flames, and then a situation like this won't happen. But right now, she only knows how to use them separately. She can either punch, or conjure fire. Against a Grass-type, her strongest technique was always going to be the fire." He sighed and turned to the rest of the class. "Everyone, please do not mock Jake or Madeline for what they did wrong. I would like all of you to think about what they did right. In fact, I would like you all to use the rest of the period to analyze the two battles you just watched and write a short report on each of them, going over each side's strategies and why they worked or didn't work. I will be collecting your reports during our next class. This will be for extra credit, and I will not be grading you on structure this time. Additionally, I will grant extra points for analysis on the three pokegirls' strengths and weaknesses and how those relate to the rest of your report." He turned away as the students began excitedly pulling out their notebooks. "Nicholas Topolski."

Nicholas cleared his throat. "Leader Cheren."

"I understand that your pokegirl needs healing. You should get her to a healing center." He held out his hand. "This is yours."

Nicholas frowned and moved forwards until he could identify the object Cheren was holding. "Your badge? But we didn't battle."

"I don't battle any of the students during their graduation test," Cheren replied. "And you, technically, just passed yours. In case you're wondering whether I'm allowed to do this, I am." He chuckled. "A few gym leaders in the World League won't even accept a challenge from most tamers. They just leave it to their assistants of various skill levels to be the fair test for a badge." He jiggled his hand. "I know you and that Snivy of yours could give me a good fight after watching her performance and your admittedly unsurprising mastery of battle tactics." Nicholas finally reached out to accept the badge and Cheren lowered his hand with a smile. "And to be honest, without flames to burn her I feel as if she might be able to handle three of the pokegirls in training at this gym."

"You're very kind," Nicholas said.

"More pragmatic, really," Cheren replied. "You've got a very powerful pokegirl there, Nicholas. Madeline should have been fine, even if she was telling Nina not to use her flames. The guard lowering into beat-em-up combo has carried her well since she and Nina partnered up. But your Snivy… Something different happened with her." He raised an eyebrow. "It was like a switch flipped and instead of letting Nina's antics lower her guard they just made her raise it instead."

"Are you trying to say something, or just giving compliments?"

"Well." Cheren chuckled. "If you don't know, then I'll say it's my test to you. If you don't figure out what I'm talking about then you won't have truly earned my badge." He gave Nicholas a wink before turning away. "Thank you for your visit. You've done a great thing for these students."

"Sure," Nicholas replied thoughtfully.

Sabrina and the others met him as he walked for the exit and he grunted when she threw herself into his arms. "That was incredible!" she squealed. "Your Snivy is so strong!"

"Well she's a Grass-type, isn't she?" Nicholas asked, managing to peek past Sabrina's shoulder to look at Dahlia. "All of the ones in my harem are strong."

Dahlia giggled. "They are, Master."

"So what next?" Sabrina gasped as she pulled back to grin at him. "Where to, I mean?"

Nicholas grinned back. "Not sure yet," he said. "But once I get Ada all healed up I intend to find out."

POKEDEX UPDATED

Tamer: Nicholas Topolski

Badges:

Basic Badge

Harem:

Adalinda, Snivy – Level 13

Non-Com Harem:

Kalmiya, Porygon-Z – Level 35
Cathy, Miltank – Level 72

"You have to come visit Professor Juniper's lab some time!" Bianca was saying excitedly as she pumped Nicholas' hand up and down. "I had such a great time traveling with you!"

"I would love to accept your invitation. Just let me know when is a good time," Nicholas replied with a grin, Bianca finally letting go to prance back towards where Cassidy stood. "Oh, Cass?" He chuckled when she nodded. "I mean, you can probably take your time getting back… If you feel like it…"

Cassidy's eyes lit up and she grinned back at him. "Thank you, Master. I might."

"Good-bye, Bianca!" Nicholas called, waving until Cassidy had taken the woman's hand and the two vanished.

"So, from here you're headed-" Sabrina started to say before she was interrupted. Red erupted from his belt as his pokegirls released themselves and Nicholas was shoved aside when Zisela bulled her way towards the hotel.

"What the-?" Nicholas started to ask before he blinked. "Oh. Whoops."

He heard somebody giggling as Bea stepped around and gave him a slight smile. "You'll release us as soon as we arrive, will you?"

"Okay, okay, so I was a bit slow," Nicholas griped. "Bite me."

Bea's eyes twinkled. "You know if you'd said that before Zisela ran back to her egg she'd have taken you up on the offer. Not in a way you'd enjoy."

"Which is why I'm saying it now," Nicholas chuckled. "Sorry, honey," he said to Sabrina as the other pokegirls started drifting towards the hotel. "Um, next is actually right here. There's a gym down in Virbank so I was thinking that once I've got the harem ready to move, or once we figure out exactly how this is all going to work, I'll start traipsing across Unova. Starting in Virbank, taking the ferry across to Castelia, then north to Nimbasa… You know, a nice twisting S-shape path."

"Sounds like a plan," Sabrina giggled. "You're not planning on starting right away though? I'd think you'd want to ride the high of that battle."

"I do, but I also need to take care of things first," Nicholas sighed. "Plus… I think I might need to take a short breather and make sure Ada is okay."

Sabrina nodded sympathetically. "She did take a nasty hit there."

"Yeah. I'm sure she's fine but you know I can't help worrying." Nicholas leaned in when Sabrina did for a quick kiss. "I won't go anywhere without you though, I promise."

"Better not do it again," Sabrina growled playfully before heading towards the hotel herself.

Nicholas looked down at his belt. He'd always had a larger model, with a dozen loops for pokeballs instead of the normal six, so there was still one sitting there waiting for him. Adalinda's pokeball. He hoped she was feeling better after the battle the day before.

Well, no reason to leave her in it. Eventually he knew she'd be popping in and out of the ball just like the rest of his harem did but for now she relied on him. His fingers tightened for a moment as N's words echoed to him. Right now… she was a prisoner, trapped with no way to escape.

He quickly shook his head and triggered the release. "Welcome to Pokestar Studios!" he exclaimed when the Snivy appeared. "Come on, let's head inside so you can meet the rest of the harem."

"Where are we going next?" Adalinda asked as she followed him into the hotel.

Nicholas chuckled. "Man I wish you knew the trick to sense the world around your pokeball. I literally just explained that to Sabrina."

Adalinda ducked her head. "Oh. Sorry."

"No, no, it's not your fault, I'm not trying to make you feel bad," Nicholas laughed. "Sorry, it's just funny to me. We're close to Virbank City here. There's a gym there, so the plan will be to head that way then take a ferry across the bay to start working our way across Unova." He turned to look at her. "By the way, how are you feeling?"

Adalinda stretched. "All healed," she replied with a soft grunt. "And since I beat that pig I'm feeling great."

Nicholas smiled. "Glad to hear it. She really got you good so I was a little worried."

"Worried?" Adalinda asked with a snort. "What, thought I couldn't take a hit?"

"Sometimes I wonder why I bother with pokegirls," Nicholas snickered. "Here, follow me up to our floor. I'll let you make introductions at your own speed while I check on a few of the girls."

Adalinda nodded and followed him into the elevator. When it opened again she made her way down the hall and began knocking on each door while Nicholas stepped out and wandered immediately towards Zisela's room. He hesitated from the 'Do Not Disturb' signs literally stapled across the surface before knocking, standing firm when he heard an angry growl from inside and then Lili's voice answer. "This better be important."

"It's your Weyrleader," Nicholas replied. Silence for a few seconds before he heard heavy footsteps and then Lili was pulling the door halfway open.

"I said. This better be important," the Tyranitar growled at him. "My mate returns with a mood so bad it's affecting me, and from what I understand you are to blame."

Nicholas glanced down. Lili was naked, no surprise considering that every mating pair of pokegirls in his harem seemed to shed their clothing when the egg came around, and he allowed himself just a moment to appreciate her swollen breasts and the glistening areolae of her nipples. "I just wanted to check and make sure the egg is growing well," he said as he returned his eyes to Lili's face.

The Tyranitar was scowling at him. "You just wanted to ogle my breasts." Nicholas jumped when she slammed the door in his face. "WE'RE FINE!" he heard her shout, the voice muffled from inside the room. "GO AWAY!"

Nicholas decided that it was probably wisest to stop poking the two dragons and obliged, wandering towards Quinn's room while giving a quizzical Adalinda a throat-cut motion and shake of his head to tell her not to try that one. This time the pokegirl who opened the door was dressed as expected and Morgana beamed when she saw him standing there. "Master! I knew you'd returned but I didn't think I'd see you so soon!"

"Hey, Morgana. Mind if I come in?" When Morgana eagerly moved aside and gestured him forwards he stepped into the room. Quinn was moving about back and forth and back and forth and she barely even acknowledged him when he entered. "How's she doing?"

"She's nesting," Morgana replied adoringly as she joined him in watching the heavily pregnant Gallade shove around the piles of blankets and pillows spilling off her bed. "I've started producing milk too. I was getting a little worried when I was still dry while she started gathering bedding material but Cathy was off with you so I couldn't ask for some of her milk to get me started." She sighed happily. "But I felt the pressure last night so it's all fine."

"Does that mean she'll probably lay the egg soon?"

"Within days," Morgana agreed. "Tell me, Master, how much about this do you know?"

"I know it works," Nicholas chuckled. "I never went to school to be a pokegirl breeder. I know one pokegirl fertilizes another's egg, then the 'mother' builds a nest, lays the egg, and protects it while the 'father' keeps her fed and cared for, but that's about it."

"That's all the important bits," Morgana murmured. "But, it's not 'father' and 'mother'. We're both mothers, but I am the Alpha who fertilized and now will care for my beautiful Beta."

Nicholas snickered to himself. "Yeah, I know that's the ACCEPTED term, especially with pokegirls, but breeders and tamers each use those terms for different things. I'm a tamer."

"I suppose." Morgana was still gazing at Quinn. "I wish we could travel with you, see this new harem grow. By the time our daughter hatches her Master may hold a fourth championship title."

"All that matters is that her mothers each hold a title of their own," Nicholas said, reaching up to caress Morgana's head even if she resisted his light attempts at bringing her head down for a kiss. "I can tell you're completely focused on your mate. I'll leave the two of you alone."

Morgana finally took her eyes off Quinn for a moment to smile at him. "Sorry, Master."

"Not your fault. In fact, I should stop trying to insert myself into my mating pokegirls' lives," Nicholas chuckled. "You'd think I would have learned after Kary and Victoria. I'll just admire you all from a distance."

He was surprised when Morgana did bend down to give him a soft kiss on the lips. "I find your efforts adorable," she said fondly. "Thank you for bringing us together, Master."

Nicholas nodded and turned for the door when Morgana returned her full attention to Quinn.

He stepped back into the hallway just in time to see Adalinda exiting someone's room, her torso twisted back as she waved at the occupant with a laugh and a smile. "Introductions going well?" he called to make the Snivy turn in his direction.

"Oh! Yeah, it's great," Adalinda replied. "Everyone is so nice! Is it true they'll be coming along with us on the badge challenge?"

Nicholas walked over. "Pretty much. I need to really figure out how that will work but yeah, I've left my harem behind for one reason or another every time and it just doesn't work. So we've stopped trying to make it." He gazed off down the hall. "Maybe that's the reason nobody but Samuel ever made it the whole way. He only had to worry about traveling once."

"Samuel?"

Nicholas blinked and brought his attention back to the curious Snivy. "Oh, sorry. You would know him, if at all, as Professor Oak."

Adalinda's eyes widened. "OH! I do know him! That's right, you know him because you were once the Champion of Indigo, right?"

"That's about right, yeah."

"That's just so cool," Adalinda sighed happily. "I hope I get to meet him some day."

"I hope you do too," Nicholas said quietly. Oak probably had another decade or two left in him. He was a tough old man. "Well, I'll let you get back to meeting everyone while I figure out the travel plan."

"Right!" Nicholas grinned at the small group behind him. "You girls sure you don't want to just wait for me in Virbank?"

"It's just a day of walking," Sabrina replied with a laugh. "Now, maybe I'll change my mind if you keep on your feet after we pass through Castelia, but this is just a day trip!"

"It's not if, honey," Nicholas chuckled back. "I take these badge challenges very seriously. Everything will be done under the power of the harem I build here. No cheating. Which means no having someone teleport me, or having someone fly me to my next destination," he said, grinning at the pokegirls currently grinning back at him. "Yes, Vika. That means you."

The newly evolved Dragonite flounced forwards and drew him against her chest. "You deny me even still?" she complained, pouting a bit while Sera laughed behind her until she felt Nicholas' teeth pressing into the scales protecting her breasts. "Ooh!"

Nicholas chuckled when she released him and waggled his eyebrows. "Yes, and if you can't behave yourself I'll have to rethink your presence here."

Vika stomped backwards in a huff. "That's no fair! Mom and mom got to have one of these with you, why can't I?"

"You absolutely can. That's why I'm letting you come with us," Nicholas replied patiently. "The only problem is that I can't actually let you battle or anything along the way. At least not in gyms." He took a moment to really take in the pouty Dragonite. If Vika's evolution from Dratini to Dragonair had let her begin presenting herself as her own pokegirl then her evolution from Dragonair to Dragonite had granted her the confidence to completely disregard any other pokegirl's opinion of her. She'd become a much different Dragonite than her mother Kary in form as well as personality. Where Kary was a lithe, more elegant or human looking pokegirl with much finer scales and more skin across her body, Vika was clearly a dragon. Everything was covered in scales. Thick white plates running from taint to neck, orange spreading everywhere else. And bigger than her mother, from her thicker tail to her larger thighs to her huge breasts and everything in between. A lot bigger when it came to her enormous wings, considering the extra mass they had to lift. But she had retained Victoria's long seafoam hair, even after the evolution, making her a very unique Dragonite indeed.

"Unlike mom I'm built to fight," Vika muttered sullenly. "You wouldn't let me at that tournament, you won't let me now, when will you?"

"There will be other opportunities," Nicholas said soothingly. "I promised you then and I promise you now, Vika. Replace her. And the next one will belong to you." He glanced at Adalinda, the Snivy watching the exchange with great interest. "But this journey? It belongs to Ada and all the sisters we will discover together."

Adalinda glanced up to smile back at him. "Right."

"Then why are we standing around talking, Nicholas?" Sohn asked with a laugh and a teasing shove for Vika that made the Dragonite snap her teeth at the Infernape. "Let's go!"

"Remember, if Sohn is acting too happy…" Nicholas muttered to Adalinda as the group began to walk down the road, Sera winging into the air above them.

"I remember. Watch out for tricks," Adalinda whispered back.

"I'm pretty sure she's targeting Vika right now," Nicholas continued, his eyes flicking to the two pokegirls from time to time. "Probably because of her evolution. So that might turn into something later, but be on your guard regardless."

Adalinda grinned. "She's brave to be targeting a dragon like that."

"Oh, trust me," Nicholas chuckled under his breath, "she's had much bigger targets than Vika." He glanced over when he sensed something just off the path. "Wild pokegirl. Ready, Ada?"

The group made great time, only accelerating the pace as they went as Nicholas began falling back into his rhythm. Adalinda also picked up steam as the day went on, even beginning to show signs of confidence in her projected attacks instead of just using her body, as she had ever since Nicholas had met her. She didn't yet go so far as to throw seeds, powders, or other projectiles like Dahlia did, still sticking to her vines, but he knew the beginning of those techniques was there.

"Hey, have you ever tried charging a move before?" Nicholas asked as they walked past the outskirts of Virbank's industrial complex. This far from the city center things were pretty run down, the warehouses and factories here overgrown with grass and only a very small number of vehicles scattered around to show that there was anyone working here at all. Sera was having the time of her life flitting from building to building and skulking through the urban environment. "Like, absorbing extra energy from the sun or something like that."

Adalinda frowned. "I've tried it," she said. "I don't like it. It's just a waste of time. Why bother when I can just hit someone twice?" She snickered. "Besides, I'm pretty sure pausing like that just loses me momentum and makes the attempt weaker than if I hadn't done anything at all."

Nicholas studied her. That didn't make any sense either. There were a couple things about this pokegirl that seemed… off. Cheren's challenge came back to him and he glanced down at his pokedex. He'd already tried to see if he could find any hints in the Snivy's pokedex entry but it hadn't helped. What was different about Adalinda? What had Cheren recognized that he himself had yet to see? What made her so special?

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he completely failed to recognize the bright aura source lurking just off the main road until a vicious snarl ripped through the afternoon air. Nicholas' head snapped up and he jumped back instinctively at the sound, just in time as a figure burst from the bushes, her teeth snapping as they went for where he'd been walking.

"Ada-!" Nicholas started before pausing. The pokegirl was already slinking back into the undergrowth, her eyes glaring at him from behind the leaves. "Oh. She's not after me?" He blinked and placed a tentative foot back closer to the girl just to stop when he heard her growl another warning. "Territorial feral. Let's head to the other side of the road."

"And just leave her here?" Sohn asked. She was crouched right next to him, her tail flicking back and forth as flame raced along the length. "She nearly ripped your arm off there, Nick. If she'd kept coming-"

"If she'd kept coming I was already there to intercept," Cathy growled, the Miltank looming over them both. "In fact, Master, I would like it better if you stood behind me right now."

Nicholas glanced back with a smirk. "You know there's no imminent danger. That's why you're letting me be. No." He turned back when Cathy made a sullen grunt. "Ada! What do you think? Do we keep moving? We're almost to Virbank, after all."

The Snivy blinked and slithered forwards to where the others were as she peered into the shadows of the bushes. "Why are we talking about it? You were having me fight all the ferals we ran across along the way."

"True. Why are we?" Nicholas laughed. "Especially if this one's territorial and has this road marked as her border, that will eventually lead to some kind of trouble. Right!" He clapped his hands to another loud snarl from the undergrowth. "I didn't get a good look at her. Anyone else?"

"I have a perfect look, Master," Sera called from her position hovering twenty feet over them. "It's a Growlithe. I can take her out in an instant."

"Ooh, dang," Nicholas winced. "Ada, sit this one out. It's not a great matchup for you to begin with and you're probably a bit tired from fighting all day." He grinned. "Sera, I know you could, but… VIKA! You've been whining long enough."

The Dragonite had been standing near the middle of the road with her arms crossed, her eyes pointedly looking away from the activity but when Nicholas called she perked up immediately. "Really?"

"I know it's just some random feral, but you've been itching for action all day," Nicholas laughed, moving aside and gesturing for her to come forwards. "Go on. Have some fun."

"HELL yeah!" Vika hooted, her clawed feet digging into the asphalt as they shot her straight for where the feral was crouching.

"WHOAH!" Nicholas scrambled back when flame erupted from the Growlithe and she burst towards the charging Dragonite with an eerie howl. Somehow it made Vika falter because she slammed her feet into the ground, letting out a yelp before diving away from the burning girl and whirling to try again. Nicholas saw Sohn shudder as well and even Sera winged a few extra feet up as the Growlithe turned, still snarling, to keep Vika in her sight. "Damn, she's feisty."

"I know she's barely a threat but wow, that attitude," Sohn said. "Really frightened me for a moment."

"Pathetic," Cathy grunted. "I didn't even flinch."

Nicholas heard a sneer and turned to see Adalinda staring at the Growlithe with a furious expression. "As if that would work on me," she spat. "Can I punish her for even trying?"

"Ada, she's a Fire-type," Nicholas chuckled. "Come on. It's okay to admit that you got a little scared when she burst out like that. Sohn and Vika aren't weak pokegirls and they jumped!"

The Snivy snarled. "I didn't. Seeing her try to intimidate us just made me mad."

Nicholas blinked. Another oddity?

Wait, no… It was completely consistent with what he knew about the Snivy. He'd seen a Tepig try to get her to lower her guard, which had resulted in Adalinda just becoming more defensive. She talked about charging up power making her weaker, and now she said the Growlithe's attempt at making them wary, something that would have forced most pokegirls to attack with less power as they fought more cautiously, had, once again, the opposite effect, and made her want to strike even harder? What had she said about those fight nights? That she came out of them feeling stronger than when she went in? Fight nights full of Tepig who would have been trying to get her to lower her guard, of Oshawott and Snivy who must have been doing the same in various ways. Everything that tried to affect her had the opposite effect? Was that what Cheren had recognized?

While he was thinking Vika had made up her mind and the Growlithe yelped when the Dragonite flashed forwards as a glowing white streak to smash the feral into the dirt without even a chance. "Shit," Vika muttered, standing over the unconscious pokegirl. "What was up with her?"

"Some Growlithe have the innate ability to intimidate their opponents, no matter who they are," Nicholas said. He'd pulled out his pokedex and was reading. "However, some pokegirls can resist the effect. If they're supremely focused, for example. Like your mother Kary is," Nicholas said to the Dragonite, "or Cathy here, who doesn't take shit from anybody. But you, you pride yourself on something else, Vika." He looked up from the pokedex. "I'd been looking in the wrong place. The answer is in your rare and special ability."

"My rare and special ability?" Vika asked.

"I meant… Well, you as well, I suppose," Nicholas replied. "It's classified as 'multiscale'. Your defenses. How you're able to so easily take the first hit without feeling it. Very, very few Dragonite can boast that they're like you."

Vika's eyes lit up. "HA! Mom's got nothing on me."

"She wouldn't have allowed herself to be startled by an unevolved feral," Nicholas retorted with a challenging smirk. "You have your own weaknesses to deal with, Vika. Never forget that." He turned to Adalinda when Vika began kicking the bushes angrily. "But I meant you, Ada. I'm so stupid. I've been treating pokegirl abilities like another technique of theirs, Morgana's mimicry, Zisela and how she seems to vanish into blowing sand. But it's not a technique. It's not something that EVERY pokegirl of your breed can boast, just some of you." He squatted down with a grin. "You, Ada. You're special. Just like Vika. Because no matter what the world tries to throw at you, you turn it on its head. Humans classify Snivy like you as holding the ability to be 'contrary'."

"As in… opposite," Adalinda muttered. "That's such a boring name."

"Yeah, science is like that," Nicholas apologized.

"I know, sometimes the best word is the simplest one." Adalinda cupped her cheek with a frown. "Contrary. Is this your hypothesis for list item five?"

"Exactly. Why you always came out of those fight nights feeling stronger than when you went in." Nicholas turned to greet Sera when the Crobat landed next to them. "Did you get surprised by the Growlithe, Sera? If you did, that might mean you've got an interesting ability too. Most Zubat wouldn't."

"That would also explain why charging power never worked," Adalinda mused as Sera shrugged. "My body was really just weakening itself."

"Kind of wild to imagine, isn't it?" Nicholas asked. "But it fits. And it certainly fits with the kind of pokegirl you are."

Adalinda glanced at him with a mischievous smirk. "Oh it does, does it?"

"Maybe." Nicholas snickered when her vine flicked out to slap him on the shoulder. "That's kind of awesome, actually. I'm going to have to think of completely new strategies to make the best use of your ability in battle, Ada." He turned to the unconscious Growlithe. "For now, let's get this feral captured and make it to a pokecenter. Get you all healed up before I start thinking about when we should challenge the gym."

He'd lobbed the ball and was sauntering over to pick it up when Vika suddenly stopped in front of him. "Uh… Weyrleader?"

Nicholas was picking the ball off the ground. "Hm?"

He lifted his head to see Vika staring back at him with very, very wide eyes. "I… I think you need to see this."

Nicholas frowned and stepped over. "That's where that Growlithe was hiding, right? What, find her lunch?"

"No, I… don't think it's that," Vika said, and the rest of the pokegirls there all took notice at the tone of her voice. "It's… I think it's what she was protecting."

Nicholas peeked over Vika's leg. Her frustrated thrashing had torn most of the undergrowth away to reveal… "An egg?" he gasped. "Oh, fuck! No wonder she was so territorial, this is her nest!"

"It's not just hers, I think," Vika said, the others crowding over as she pushed branches aside to reveal a large den beneath the trees with many distinct hollows where pokegirls once rested. "It's a large feral Growlithe nest."

"Then where are the others?" Nicholas asked, nervously scanning the area. There had to have been at least a dozen hollows, so at the very least a dozen wild pokegirls strong enough to be carving out the space and reproducing. Most likely two dozen or more. "Out hunting?"

Vika had returned to staring at the egg at her feet and though Nicholas hadn't recognized it yet she was trembling. "Sera?" she asked, her voice cracking slightly. "I'm not… I'm not the only one who feels that, right?"

Sera reached over comfortingly to the younger pokegirl. "You're not," she said quietly. "Just know that you are here. Your mothers made sure of it."

Nicholas looked over to see Sohn adding her hand to Vika's arm. "What's wrong? We should find someone who can take care of this Growlithe and her egg."

Vika's shoulders tensed up at that and Sera winced. "Master Nicholas," she said quietly. "I know you don't understand, but you should focus on the Growlithe."

"Is there some pokegirl thing I'm too human to understand with an egg-laying feral?"

"It's dead," Sera replied bluntly. "The egg is dead."

Nicholas' eyes widened. "Oh-"

"It's nothing we did." Sera looked down again. "You can see how small it is? This is the size an egg is when it's freshly laid. It never had a chance to grow. The pokegirl inside… never had a chance to form." She grimaced. "It happens. More often with… wild pokegirls. Even I had to win that lottery to exist." Her fingers tightened on Vika's shoulder. "Vika, I am sure, is feeling it a bit harder than I am because she was the first pokegirl born among your harem. Her sisters, her true sisters, the others in her generation are coming now."

"Shit, I can understand that when you spell it out for me," Nicholas muttered. "Is there anything… Should we do anything?"

Sera glanced at Vika's tortured expression. "I think the only thing that should be done is to send Vika home. Where she can watch over her hatching sisters."

"We're basically to Virbank and the transporter there," Nicholas replied. "The plan was always to rotate whoever wanted to be travelling along me with whoever wanted to hang out back at the hotel. What about… the egg?"

"It's basically a strange rock now," Sera explained quietly. "There is something that should be done, but it's… more an instinct of mine than anything else." She glanced past Vika to look at him. "And it shouldn't be done in front of Vika."

"Sabrina?" Nicholas called, gesturing at the shaking Dragonite. "Would you, um… Could you and Sohn please take Vika ahead?" He turned back to the Infernape. "I am going to ask you to be a Beta," he murmured as Sabrina nodded and began gently calling for Vika to join her. "I know you were planning something. But it's no longer the time or place for a trick."

Sohn just nodded. "I know. I'll get her back to Dahlia."

"Thank you." He waited for Vika to stumble away, Sabrina on one side, Sohn on the other, before he sidled over to where Sera still stood next to the empty egg. "So… What is your instinct telling you to do?"

Sera had returned to gazing down at the cold, motionless object. "Mothers who laid unviable eggs were attacked. Driven from the pack." Her eyes moved to the other hollows. "This one was not. Or perhaps she was, but instead of being driven away and her egg destroyed, she defended it. From her entire pack. Causing them to flee instead." She turned back to him. "Or she was abandoned because she refused to leave it. I couldn't tell you. My years of being feral are very hazy now, thanks to you."

"The point being," Nicholas said, "that your instinct is telling you to destroy this egg. Instead of wasting energy on it."

Sera sighed. "Yes."

"Unless there are any objections, I'm going to go with Sera's suggestion." When neither Cathy or Adalinda responded he nodded. "Okay. Let's destroy it and bury the remains." He sighed as he lifted the Growlithe's pokeball into view. "Oh boy. What does that mean for you."

The Growlithe had put a real damper on the group's mood. Nicholas had met Sabrina at the primary Virbank pokecenter before the now smaller group retired to a hotel. Nicholas hadn't asked Kalmiya to check on the distraught Dragonite but she'd provided him updates throughout the evening anyways, just enough to let him know that Vika was currently being comforted by many of the members of his harem. It seemed that when it came to their eggs, every pokegirl in a harem came together. Regardless of rivalries or other factors. She'd be alright. And what he had asked Kalmiya, more to calm his own sudden worry, had suggested she would remain that way. Instances of tame pokegirls laying unviable eggs were extremely rare. So rare that their existence was just a footnote in breeding textbooks. Zisela had already lain a perfectly healthy one. Quinn would be fine.

Nicholas rolled the Growlithe's pokeball between his fingers. It wasn't even a question as to what he wanted to do with her. Once tamed, she would be looking for her egg. He needed to be the one who explained to her what had happened. He needed to tame her. And, depending on how she would react, she might need his help. Humans were known to become overcome when losing their child, even if the loss was simply from them moving out. He was sure pokegirls were no different.

He sighed. What a way to start the journey across Unova.

"What are you thinking?" Adalinda asked quietly, the Snivy curled up on one of the lounge chairs scattered about.

"I'm thinking that this is a real shitty situation for everyone involved," Nicholas replied. "Not least of all for this poor Growlithe. How am I supposed to view her? Before Vika discovered her egg I was entertaining thoughts of adding her to the harem. Now what?"

"Well, why couldn't she join me?" Adalinda asked curiously. "Do you not want to tame her?"

"It's not that I don't want to," Nicholas replied. "I'm just thinking about how she'll react once tame. It's heartless for me to tame her expecting to simply add a new pokegirl to this harem. She's going to be devastated when she learns that her egg didn't make it. Am I just supposed to pretend otherwise?"

Adalinda cocked her head. "Why would you think you need to? Tons of the pokegirls I met in your harem talked about the reason why they like being here being how you care for them. Comfort them." She grinned. "So why can't you tame this Growlithe and comfort her, too?"

Nicholas stared at her. "Who talked about that?"

"Um… I think one of their names was Galina?" Adalinda said.

Nicholas let out his breath in a sigh. "Galina. Of course she did." He looked back at the pokeball in his hand. "She would be the one talking about what I do for my harem." He smiled slightly. "Okay. Then let's get started with the latest addition to Mister Topolski's home for broken pokegirls."

That got a loud laugh from Adalinda and he was grinning too as he triggered the release and the Growlithe materialized on the bed.

The cleaning and healing cycles at the pokecenter had done wonders for this pokegirl. Turning her matted and tangled fur into clean, soft fluff. He considered her full body of hair as his thoughts cast back throughout his harem. How many fully furred pokegirls were there so far? Miyuki had been close as an Eevee but her fur had become something else entirely after she'd evolved into a Glaceon. Other than her, it was… Midna, she absolutely counted, and then Miruko. Two pokegirls? That was it? He made a surprised grunt. Yeah, just those two. Well, depending on how this went, that number might be increasing to three.

She was starting to stir now so Nicholas got out of his own chair to give her a good look. He'd be lying if he said that he hadn't had this breed on his mind ever since first seeing one in Blaine's harem on Cinnabar Island. Truly majestic pokegirls, the Arcanine he'd met over the years had been. This Growlithe wasn't half bad herself. Not quite displaying the magnificence of an Arcanine, but certainly displaying some of it in her own way. Most of her body was covered in medium length orange fur, with wide black broken stripes providing definition across her limbs and torso. Just like many other breeds things changed when it came to her front, the fur becoming a light beige color and much more fine in texture from her groin across her breasts – at least until it exploded in volume from her cleavage – and up to her face. The same color as the fur expanding from her very voluminous tail, as well as the long hair pooling around her head. A pair of perky orange-furred ears capped off the pokegirl's appearance, the fur covering them being seen spreading around the border of her face and dipping over the bridge of her nose as it tried to fight against the light beige he had already seen.

Perky. His eyes flicked down from the Growlithe's ears with a tiny grin. There was something else of this pokegirl's appearance that he could describe that way. She had a pair of nice, perky breasts.

He watched as she stirred again, the girl stretching with a massive yawn to display a mouth of sharp teeth as she rose from her taming-cycle induced stupor and finally opened her cloudy gray eyes to blink at the world around her.

"Hello-" Nicholas began.

The instant he spoke the Growlithe was spinning upright and slammed into the corner of the room, her body hunched defensively. Nicholas stumbled when he tried to step back and fell over his chair, his hands shooting out in an attempt to calm the feral when she narrowed her eyes at him and began snarling. "WHOAH! Easy there, girl. I'm not an enemy." He grimaced. Seems this pokegirl was even more driven by her protective instincts than he'd realized. She was still heavily rattled by the taming cycle and yet was able to react to an unknown individual this deliberately? No wonder the rest of her pack hadn't been able to convince her to leave her egg. "I just want to tame you. Wake your mind." He slowly reached down to unbutton his pants and let them fall away. "Look. Dick. That's all I want with you. I'm not going to try and hurt you."

That trick usually worked on a feral pokegirl. At first, it seemed like it was working on the Growlithe as well. She looked down, staring at his dick as it twitched while slowly coming erect and growled again, but softer this time, before she carefully started stalking forwards on all fours.

"Yeah, look, you can come to me, that's fine," Nicholas was saying gently, watching the Growlithe pause at the edge of the mattress, her eyes still on his stiffening member. "All I want to do is tame you." His nervous smile faded. A slight twitch from the Growlithe. The corner of her mouth, pulling back a little more to cause her teeth to slip out. Wait. No.

With a vicious roar the pokegirl lunged forwards. Nicholas yelped when he felt her teeth digging into his flesh but he'd managed to get his hands in the way so she wasn't able to really bite down on his penis. "ADA!" he screamed, grunting as he struggled to keep his hold while the Growlithe's hands and feet clawed at him. "A LITTLE HELP!"

The Snivy had been frozen in shock at the scene but his yell galvanized her and Nicholas felt the Growlithe ripped off of him as the Snivy smashed into her with an angry yell. "Bind!" he gasped, taking a quick glance down to make sure there wasn't any real damage. He was bleeding in multiple places from where the pokegirl's teeth had cut his skin but he was still, thankfully, intact. "Wrap her up!"

Adalinda recoiled with a scream when the Growlithe's hand flashed out and drew bloody streaks across her face but then she was returning the favor, slamming the feral face first against the wall and beginning to wrap her coils around her thrashing limbs. "Your little attitude doesn't mean SHIT to me," she snarled, fingers tightening on the Growlithe's skull and receiving a pained yelp for her efforts. "It just makes me angry!"

Nicholas watched carefully. He'd retrieved the Growlithe's pokeball from where it had fallen when she'd lunged at him but thankfully this feral didn't seem able to summon her flames. There were a few drifting embers popping out as she struggled but nothing actually forming to fight back. That meant Adalinda could easily handle her, for now. "You've got her?" he asked just to confirm that the Snivy wasn't struggling. "Think you can hold her for a bit?"

"Easily," Adalinda confirmed with a hiss. "Feisty bitch."

"Then can you shift your coils a bit?" Nicholas moved over to inspect how the Snivy was wrapped around the Growlithe. "Hm, might need to fully release her legs… Do you think you could wrap her torso with your tail and use your vines to restrain her legs?"

Adalinda glanced at him. "Are you asking me to hold her still while you tame her?"

"Yeah."

"Wouldn't it be easier if I just knocked her out?" Adalinda asked and the Growlithe whimpered when her coils tightened down slightly.

"Easier, sure. What I want to do? No," Nicholas replied. "I try not to tame ferals without them reciprocating but this one really isn't giving me many options. Knocking her out and raping her unconscious body is too far." He winced. "I'm already going to be hating it like this. I always have. But I'm hoping that once I can get my dick in she might calm down a little." He glanced back to Adalinda after a short pause. "I know. What I'm asking is unfair to you, just to satisfy my selfish desires. I warned you this would happen."

Adalinda smirked. "Heh. You're an idiot."

"My pokegirls love to remind me of that little fact."

"Yeah. Sure. I can make that position work." Adalinda grunted and began worming her coils up the Growlithe's body, pausing once the girl's shins were visible and bringing her vines around to firmly take hold. As she continued working her way up the Growlithe's body, uncoiling as she passed the feral's head, her vines maintained a steady pull that was spreading the Growlithe's legs and pulling them backwards until Nicholas was able to see the girl's vagina poking out at the base of a mass of green scales.

"That's good enough," he said, moving forwards and helping Adalinda pull herself onto the bed so the she was a bit more comfortable. "How are you feeling?"

Adalinda grimaced. "She keeps trying to bite my tail."

"Any success?"

"No, it just feels odd having her teeth scrape my scales," the Snivy grumbled.

"I'll make sure to thank you properly for this later, Ada. I promise," Nicholas said as he ran his fingers along the Growlithe's pussy lips. "How about her legs? Got a good grip?"

"Mmhmm."

"Thanks." Nicholas glanced at the Snivy's coils and grinned. "I kind of want to sneak in there and find her tits, but I know that's asking too much."

"Yes," Adalinda growled. "It is."

"Okay, okay. I'll stop messing around." Nicholas shimmied into position and pulled the Growlithe's labia aside. "Come on, girl. Work with me here."

He heard a very muffled, very confused noise from beneath Adalinda's coils when he pushed inside. He went slowly, feeling how the Growlithe had been completely in 'fight' mode and so wasn't being very receptive to the penetration, spending a few minutes sliding in and out before pulling out with a sigh. "It's not working. She's still more focused on fighting you than being tamed."

"She stopped struggling," Adalinda replied. "Are you sure it's not working? Isn't taming just that simple?"

"She stopped-?" Nicholas started to ask before Adalinda screamed in pain and her body reflexively uncoiled to shoot her away from the attack. Nicholas was left to stare as the Growlithe twisted around, yelping when she was yanked into the air by the vines still wrapped around her legs. Before he or Adalinda could figure out their next move the Growlithe had grabbed the Snivy's vines and now it was Adalinda yelling in shock when she was yanked in to meet a wicked headbutt straight to her nose. She fainted immediately, her vines loosening as the Snivy's body slid bonelessly to the floor.

"…Right," Nicholas muttered, easing his way away from the Growlithe as she turned her eyes to him and snarled, Adalinda's blood coating her fangs. "I think it's time Cathy intervened." His eyes flicked to the bedroom door. "CATH-!"

The instant he had taken his eyes off the Growlithe she'd lunged. Nicholas saw stars when he smashed to the floor, looking up to see the feral perched on top of him with a furious expression. He was trying to throw his hands up in a futile attempt at fending her off when he felt something warm shove against his groin.

Cathy threw the door open to see an unconscious Snivy and a feral Growlithe perched on top of her tamer. "Nicholas- HEY! GET OFF HIM!"

"Cathy WAIT!" Nicholas yelled, throwing a hand towards the Miltank before she'd made more than a few steps into the room. "Don't startle her. Please. Wait."

"What-?"

"Feisty doesn't do you justice, does it?" Nicholas murmured as the Growlithe continue grinding her crotch against his erection. Finally he was seeing some kind of response from the feral, her tongue lolling out of her mouth as she panted heavily. "You're a damn juggernaut. And you're just a little Growlithe?" He grinned, baring his teeth back at the Growlithe when she made a piteous moan as his dick finally slipped back inside of her. "Oh, you're going to do great here."