Chapter 01

            Chapter 1

 

            “Are you ready to go, Faelan?”

            Faelan looked up at his father. “I am.” He slid to his feet with a grin. “I can’t wait to get started.” The grin broadened. “This is going to be so much fun!”

            His father nodded. “This is a first visit, so you need to be focused on work more than play, especially since I can’t retrieve you until the return alignment is complete. Depending on the differential, that could mean you will be there for some time.”

            “We’ve already gone over this.”

            “And we are going to keep going over this until I’m certain it has penetrated that armor plate you’re using as a skull.”

            Faelan smirked and drew himself to attention. “Yes, clan leader. How may I make the great leader of Clan Tsukiken understand that I hear and I obey?”

            His father sighed and flicked an ear. “Not so loud. If your mother hears you being a jackass about this, she’ll have both our hides.”

            “It’s just a pokemon journey.”

            “It is a whole new universe, possibly with new laws about reality.” He frowned and his ears went back. “If I had the time, I would be the first one through. There is something about the readings I took that haven’t seemed right since the beginning.”

            If your father is worried, then perhaps you should be so as well.

            Faelan wiped the goofy grin from his face. “Do you have anything definite?”

            “No. Frankly, I like that least of all.” He shrugged his shoulders. “That is why you are going through with minimal equipment. And that is why your mother is so pissed. She’s concerned that I’m crippling your mission before it ever starts.”

            “Father, you have every right to limit this mission in whatever way you see fit. If your concerns are valid, then we might be opening a gateway to someplace very unfriendly, and they don’t need access to our technology. That’s why I agreed to go, even with your silly rules.” The grin returned.

            His father’s amber eyes met his sapphire blue ones. “Then go prep for the trip. As soon as you are ready, come join me so I can verify you didn’t forget anything.”         “Yessir!” Faelan went into the fresher and stripped, removing all of his jewelry and clothing. These went into a bag and into a storage locker. 

            He peered at himself in the mirror. Standing at a hundred and ninety three centimeters, he topped the scales at a muscular hundred and five kilograms. With the ribbons removed, his metallic silver hair spilled past his shoulder blades, but did nothing to hide the wolf ears that rose from his head, even though the fur on them was the same color.

            He tugged at one. “I’ll have to get a hat for these, even though everything sounds funny while wearing it. Maybe something with a hood would be better.”

            Maybe if you worked harder at mastering your illusion powers it wouldn’t be an issue.

            “You’ve seen the test results. I suck at illusion magic.”

            As you so quaintly put it, you ‘suck’ only because you don’t care about it. Both of your parents are powerful mages, and you have all the potential they do, you just don’t want to apply yourself, which is why right now you suck at all magic.

            “You nag like my aunt.”

            How would you like to hear 99 bottles of beer on the wall for the next three months straight?

            “Sheesh. I apologize. You nag way better than she does.”

            99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it…

            “Just kidding. Please stop.”

            Aren’t you keeping your father waiting? If he waits too long he might just go through himself, just to check things out and make sure everything is safe, mind you. And then you’ll be stuck here doing the recalibrations while he’s off having a good time.

            “Crap!” Faelan rushed from the room.

            Fortunately, his father hadn’t opened the portal yet and was still puttering around with the control system, aligning it to the remote. Faelan fidgeted while he waited. “Is there anything to eat?” 

            His father flicked at a cabinet with an ear, not looking up from his work. “In there.”

            Opening it, Faelan grabbed a couple of bananas. He bit down on one and chewed enthusiastically. His father glanced up. “How can you eat the skins?”

            “Waste not, want not. Besides, the skin holds the banana together while I’m eating it.”

            “What about the fact that it tastes horrible?”

            “After those training missions, you redefine what is unacceptable.” He shrugged and popped the rest of the banana into his mouth. “If you swallow quickly you don’t taste them as much. You taught me that.”

            “I was talking about eating live insects, but I suppose it applies to anything.” He straightened. “Done. Sometimes I think these new machines are much more temperamental than the old ones.”

            “What do the work logs say about that?”

            A smile. “That I’m right.” He pointed to a silver ring etched in the floor. “Post.”

            Faelan moved to the indicated point and stood motionless. His father nodded. “Clean. Your clothes and gear are over there.”

            Faelan grabbed the pile of clothes and started getting dressed. The clothes were all cotton and wool, all of it in grays and browns. “Couldn’t I get anything bright?”

            “Not until you have an idea of the rules there. I’ve been places where certain colors and fabrics are restricted to different classes. Cotton is almost universal across the dimensions and the wealthy won’t restrict the common colors. Too common.”

            “What if cotton or wool is restricted?”

            His father shrugged. “Run like the wind and steal some clothes when you can. Remember to take your Trainer’s test as soon as you get to a pokecenter. Pokemon trainers are expected to be odd and foreign.”

            “I’d go ahead and give you pokeballs and a pokedex, but there are often regional variations, so getting them locally is the best choice. You are going to have the same problem with money. Update the remote and if I get the alignment done quickly I’ll make you some.”

            “I should still expect to be on my own the whole time, right?”

            His dad gave him a grim smile. “Right. Worst case, centuries may pass before I get another portal open. It shouldn’t take more than a few months, though, and I’ll contact you as soon as I do.” 

            Faelan picked up his pack and rifled through it. “Bandanas! Cool I can use those to hide my ears.” He tied one on his head. “Sounds are kinda muffled, but I can live with that.”

            “Practice your illusion magic until you can hide them, or else you might want to get used to staying away from civilization most of the time. And I know how much you like hot baths.”

            “So I get a fire pokemon as soon as I can and I’m set for that.”

            “Don’t count your chickens yet.”

            “Come on dad, it’ll be a piece of cake.”

            “I guess everyone is confident in the beginning. You’ll learn.” His father glanced around. “Activate primary power grid and initiate translation procedure.”

            A feminine voice replied, “Power is nominal and the portal will form in thirty seconds. No anomalies noted.”

            Faelan picked up the remote, which looked like a softball sized rock, and stuffed it into his pack.

            Half a minute passed. The feminine voice spoke again. “Portal is ready for initiation. All parameters are within normal bands. Security grid is armed and the emergency response team is standing by.”

            “Faelan, are you sure you want to do this? There is still time to stand down and this could turn out to be a hell of a first mission.” At his son’s determined nod, he smiled sadly. “Initiate security protocols and open the portal.” One wall shimmered blue as the portal spun open. “Give us a countdown, please.”

            “Thirty seconds.” The female voice sounded pleasantly. “Twenty seconds. Ten. Five. Portal is stable and nothing has attempted to breach the barrier.”

            His father nodded to Faelan. “You’re up. Change security protocols to level three. One transport going through.”

            “Security protocols are now at level three. Lifeforms are now capable of breaching the barrier.” 

            His father took his forearm while Faelan gripped his father’s. “Good hunting.”

            Faelan grinned. “Stupid prey.” He turned and cautiously stepped into the blue.

            His father watched impassively. “Security protocols to level one. Close the portal.”

            “Security protocols at level one. Portal powerdown initiating. Thirty seconds to close. Do you want a countdown?”

            The man stayed silent until the portal dissipated. “Set normal security.”

            “Done.”

 

***

 

            Faelan held very still. “You know,” he commented almost absently. “Father told me that this new model of portal generator was designed to ensure that you came out with your feet on solid ground. It seems there are still a few bugs to work out.”

            The view was stupendous. He was standing at the edge of a cliff which overlooked a river gorge. Down below, out of the bottom of his vision, it looked like the river twenty meters below flowed past rapidly, some white water visible here and there. In any other circumstance he would have been happy to stand and just appreciate the view.

            This wasn’t any other circumstance, however. The cliff wall pressed solidly against his back and while his heels stood on solid ground, his toes didn’t.

            I’ll remember to let him know about the design flaw. 

            Slowly Faelan turned his head. “It looks like there’s a little more room to my right, so I’m going to slide that way.” He carefully slid his right foot a handful of centimeters to the right and slowly let the ground take his weight. The lip crumbled beneath him, sliding him into space in a shower of small rocks and dirt.

            He scrabbled at the facing, trying to turn and grab hold of something, anything. He was still trying when he hit the ground and the world went black.

            Slowly he opened his eyes. He was lying on his back and staring up at the cliff he’d recently descended. He groaned and straightened out his leg, which had been folded up beneath him. A quick check revealed that nothing appeared broken. 

            He froze as he realized that he was lying in something wet and jellylike. Coolness had soaked through the back of his shirt and his hair felt stiff. “I didn’t bring any jam with me, did I?”

            Ask many more silly questions and I’m going to start singing again. I suggest you move as it might be some kind of organism bent on digesting you slowly.

            “Slowly?” He started to sit up.

            You were unconscious for six minutes. If it was going to digest you quickly it would have already started.

            Faelan jumped to his feet and moved forward a meter or so, running his fingers through his hair. They came away covered with a brownish gelatinous substance that clung to him like tar. Cautiously he sniffed them. “It’s blood. Human blood.”

            That means it isn’t yours then. Let’s see what is going on.

            He turned and looked upon a scene of devastation. “We’ve got seven dead humans, one male and six females.” He looked closer. “Correction. There’s one dead human male and six human-type females.” The male looked typical for the human race but the females were quite different and none of them looked like any of the others. One was covered with feathers and two in various sorts of fur. One looked completely human, although he wasn’t sure that a black leather bustier and stiletto heels were standard camping gear. One woman had blue skin and scales while the last looked human except for the long golden wings which graced her shoulders. Girl, he corrected himself mentally. No one here looked like they’d reached twenty years of age and every body had been savaged.

            You may not need the bandanas.

            “I don’t know about that. Only the male and one of the females look PSH.”

            The fact that they look like pure strain humans does not mean that they are pure strain humans. Only a genetic scan could tell for sure.

            “That would involve equipment I don’t have. So, for the sake of convenience, I will call them PSH until I know better.” Faelan was moving from body to body, checking for signs of life, the mess in his hair and on his back forgotten for the moment. He paused at the girl with the golden wings. There was no pulse, but he pulled off his bandana and pressed an ear to the girl’s chest. Even with his enhanced hearing he had to strain to hear the faint beat. “This one’s still alive.”

            Barely. She appears to be beyond your means to help. You have no medkit or potions.

            Faelan had to admit the winged girl was a mess. She had numerous lacerations and burns covered her upper body, looking like the results of low powered energy weapons fire. Her left arm had been shredded just above the elbow and what remained would normally have to be amputated to keep infection from killing her. The wings had been shattered and the area was littered with golden feathers. Her legs looked little better as Faelan ripped her dark red dress open. Her belly and lower torso had more burns and some of the attacks had opened wounds in the intestines and other organs in the intestinal cavity. 

            He lifted her and finished tearing her clothes off. Rolling her body he saw that her backside looked little better and bone gleamed where her spine had been severed just above the hips. Moving her like this could kill her.

            “She’s dying, which kind of limits my options at this point. I need to know the extent of her injuries if I’m going to do anything.”

            No. It is absolutely out of the question. That is too dangerous a choice to make. Let her die.

            Faelan grinned mirthlessly as he finished examining the dying girl. “Willow always said that all decisions are inherently dangerous, all the way back to the first stupid choice we make when we decide to leave the womb or egg.” He looked around quickly. “I’m going to need to lie down with her on my right side,” he muttered. Suiting action to words he maneuvered himself until he was on her left side. More coolness spread down his back as he sank into another pool of blood.

            Bracing himself he reached out and grasped the stump of her left arm with his right hand. He focused and unlocked his magic. Warmth spread up his arm and through his hand into the girl.

            Pain raced back down his arm and into him to explode in his belly. He turned to look at the winged girl as fresh blood soaked the front of his shirt as his belly ripped itself open. Fresh pain ripped through his back and his legs went dead. The girl’s legs twitched as her spine reconnected.

            Faelan felt each wound she had suffered in turn as he absorbed her injuries. Pain blinded him as one of his eyes burst and fluid ran down his face.

            You forgot to check.

            He couldn’t speak through the roaring pain to agree.

            From the pattern of the injuries you are accumulating and the fact that none of them occurred at the same time, it looks like there was only one attacker. I hope it isn’t still in the area.

            The flesh peeled from his left arm. Blood poured from his body and the pain swallowed him up.

 

***

 

            Faelan opened his eyes slowly. The burst one had already healed and was working normally. Most of the pain was gone, although there was a deep ache throughout his body. He twisted his head carefully as hunger roared through him.

            Your regenerative capabilities have healed most of your injuries, but I would advise taking it easy for a day or so. This regenerative episode has cost you all of your fat reserves as well as five percent of your overall mass. You will need to eat and replenish them. You have been unconscious for sixteen hours and twenty two minutes. Your friend is awake.

            “Huh?” His mind slowly fitted fragments together and began to build a coherent picture of what had taken place.

            Relax. It appears that she also had some major brain damage. It will take you a while to recover.

            A sad looking face appeared in his vision. Blond hair framed pale blue eyes. “That was a marvelous thing you did.” She stroked his cheek. “I wish you had let me die, but it isn’t my time.”

            “Sorry,” he mumbled. “If I’d known that I’d have let you.”

            “Really?” She looked surprised.

            “Uh huh, I would never interfere in what someone wants to do with their life.” He glanced at his left arm to verify that it had healed before propping himself up slowly. It still hurt, but it worked like it was supposed to. “I need to eat.”

            “But your stomach hasn’t finished healing yet, and I still need to rest before I’ll have my power back to heal you. Eating right now could kill you.” He noticed that she’d found the time to clean up and had put on another red dress to replace the one he’d destroyed.

            Faelan disagreed. “It will actually help. My regen isn’t free and right now it’s eating anything it thinks isn’t important to heal the vital organs. It’s already finished with all of my fat reserves and soft tissues and has now started on my muscles, which are quite a pain to regrow and recondition.”

            She frowned and got up. “I’ll see what I can find.”   She started to rummage through a pile of equipment. Faelan realized that the bodies were gone and there was a neat line of graves nearby. She looked back at him. “I noticed that you have a carnivore’s teeth. Can you eat anything besides meat?”

            “Yes. I’m a high end omnivore.”

            She gave him a puzzled look. “What is that?”

            “Oh, sorry. It means that I can subsist quite well on a whole meat diet, but I can also eat anything else.” He grinned. “I’m particularly fond of cherries.”

            “We don’t have any cherries, but we do have some cheese and bread. There is also some pokechow, but you wouldn’t want that.”

            Faelan shrugged. “Actually, I can metabolize just about anything I can get down my throat, so since we don’t have any pokemon, I might as well start with the pokechow and save the food for you.”

            “Any pokemon? What is a pokemon?” She had that puzzled look again.

            I think you need to become evasive at this point. Your father’s caution may have suddenly become commendable.

            “Never mind. I’m Faelan. Faelan Graeme Wolf. Pleased to meet you.”

            She suddenly smiled. “I’m Svetlana. I’m a Megami-sama.”

            “Wonderful. Great to meet you.” Faelan lowered his voice and muttered to himself, “Do you know what a Megami-sama is? I’ve never heard of that race.”

            I don’t have a clue. I suppose it would be too revealing as well as rude to ask.

            “It would.” He broke off as Svetlana offered him a bag of pokechow, a chunk of bread and a canteen.

            A loaf of bread, some pokechow and thee.

            Faelan ignored the comment and started shoveling the pokechow into his mouth, pausing occasionally to drink some water. Svetlana watched in amazement as he ate the entire five kilo bag. When he laid the empty bag down, there was a noticeable bulge in his middle.

            “That was a week’s food! I certainly hope you don’t eat like that all of the time or we’re going to be in trouble.”

            We? Sounds like you’ve picked up a burden again. She’ll only slow you down.

            “She needs my help. I’ll take her into the closest town. She’ll be fine there and I can continue on.” He addressed Svetlana. “No, I just need the fuel to heal. Normally I eat about half again what a normal person of my size and weight would.”

            “Oh. That I think we can deal with.”

            Faelan slowly levered himself to his feet. “I need a bath. It’s a good thing there’s a river right there.” He smiled.

            Svetlana jumped up. “Let me check it out first and make sure it’s safe.”

            He shrugged. “Fine.” He watched as she cautiously approached the bank and carefully scanned the water.

            She may not know what a pokemon is, but the way she’s behaving indicates that there are some analogues of them here. Perhaps they go by another name.

            “I hate it when the word analogue comes up. It always means I’ve stepped out of the realm of informed hypothesis and into the land of pure guessing.”

            Welcome, for you the entry tax is waived. Declare any imports to customs and please remember not to feed the natives.

            “Lovely.” 

            Finally, Svetlana waved to him. “It looks ok. Come on over.” 

            After digging some soap out of his backpack,   Faelan stripped and bundled his blood soaked clothes up and dropped them on the bank. He waded into the cold water and ducked under. The water flowing downstream turned red. He began to scrub quickly, mindful of both the cold and what the blood might call.

            She’s watching you.

            Faelan glanced over towards Svetlana, who turned pink and looked away. He kept washing his hair. “It doesn’t look like she does casual nudity. I hope the taboo isn’t society wide.”

            It is unlikely that it is.  The furred girls weren’t wearing any clothing and the feathered one was only wearing a garment for her genitals. Only your new friend is screwed up.

            He moved to the shore and grabbed his clothes before wading back out to dunk his clothing and start trying to wash out the blood. He removed the worst of it, but large stains remained.

            I think she’s interested in you. She’s watching again.

            “That won’t matter for a couple of hours at the least.”

            Yes, I forgot that your testes are one of the first things to be absorbed if the regenerative process runs out of fat. They will regrow soon.

            “Actually, I was considering the fact that all of her friends just got murdered and she almost died.”

            Sometimes those kinds of things can jumpstart the reproductive drive instead of shutting it down.

            “Why do you talk to yourself so much?” Startled, Faelan looked up. Svetlana had waded part of the way out to him and stood there with her wings raised above the water.

            You need to pay more attention to your surroundings.

            “Was I talking to myself?”

            “Yes, you were.”

            “Well, sometimes people talk to themselves because it helps them to think.”

            “Is that why you do it?”

            Careful.

            “I spend a lot of time by myself and talking to yourself just seems to come naturally to people who spend a lot of time alone.”

            Her eyes narrowed slightly. “You aren’t answering my question. Are you lying to me? I hate lies.”

            Faelan’s ears went flat and he growled through his fangs as his hands twitched. Claws appeared and vanished. Svetlana took a startled step backwards and turned pale. She doesn’t know. I suggest you let it slide.

            He took a deep breath and forced his ears up. “I’m sorry about my response, but you caught me off guard. I am incapable of lying. Sometimes I overreact when someone accuses me of it.”

            “You can’t lie?” She looked thoughtfully at him for a moment and then broke into a wide smile. “How extraordinarily wonderful.”

            “If you say so. I sometimes find it to be quite annoying.” He moved towards shore and Svetlana backpedaled to stay away from him.

            “Why would telling the truth all of the time be bad? That is what I do.”

            “Is it? I can’t tell any sort of lie. Not even a little white lie. You know, the ‘how does this outfit look on me?’ sort of lie.”

            She blinked. “Those aren’t really lies. You just tell people what they want to hear in order to make them feel happy.”

            “Any untruth is a lie and if someone wants to hear an untruth, I can’t help them.”

            She got a defiant look. “Let’s try that. What do you think of my dress?”

            “It’s pretty.”

            “How do you think it makes me look? Be honest.”

            “It is wrong for your complexion and doesn’t make you look pretty.”

            She gaped. “That was just mean.”

            “Probably. However, it was also true.”

            “Oh. What color do you think would look good on me?”

            “That is the wrong question. Any color would look good on you. The question you should be asking me is what color would make me look better?”

            She gave him a startled look which turned thoughtful. “You are right. I am going to have to be careful in how I phrase my questions to you, aren’t I?”

            “I would prefer you weren’t.”

            She laughed melodically. “I can believe that!” She smiled. “What color of dress do you think I should wear that in your opinion would make me look more attractive to you?”

            I think you are in trouble.

            “Any shade of blue would bring out your eyes while an autumn gold color or light brown would highlight your skin and hair,” he answered. 

            She clapped her hands together in joy. “You are going to be so much fun.” Her dress changed color to a dusty blue. Faelan blinked at the change. 

            Doomed. Doomed I say.

            “I think we need to move somewhere else.” Faelan started pulling on his wet clothes. “I’m concerned that all of the blood I just put in the river could bring us some trouble.”

            “That sounds reasonable. We just need to decide what we’re taking.” She motioned towards the pile of gear. “I know that Ron wouldn’t want me to leave behind anything that we could use, so if you give me a couple of minutes I can winnow through the gear and pull all of the stuff we won’t need out and then we’ll see where we are.”

            “Ok. I’ll keep an eye out.” Faelan found a good vantage point where he could look up and down the river and settled down as Svetlana started going through the packs abandoned by the dead. Tears ran down her face as she worked, but as she didn’t appear to want help, Faelan stayed where he was. 

            Everyone had their own way of coping, he reflected.

            While she worked he pulled the remote from his backpack and rolled it into the water. It would be fine there.

            Soon a large pile of clothing and other personal effects had appeared. Finally Svetlana looked up. “I’m done. I’ve gotten everything pared down to an extra two backpacks. A lot of it is food, but there’s also some medical gear, some cookware, and some odds and ends.” She sighed. “Ron was smaller than you, so none of his clothes would fit, but if you would like to, you can see if there is anything you would want.”

            “Is there anything of his that you would want me to have?” Faelan didn’t approach the clothes. Given the chance he’d cheerfully take anything of value, especially considering that he had no money. However it was usually considered rude to loot the dead in front of the survivors.

            “Not really. It was his and I don’t want to be reminded of him any more than I have to. I’ve got some mementoes from all of them, I hope you don’t mind.”

            “Not at all.” Faelan was puzzled as to why she was concerned about what he thought, but put it out of his mind. “Do you think there will be a problem with my ears?” He flicked one of them for emphasis.

            She smiled. “I think they are cute. However, it does obviously show that you’ve got a blood curse, so some people may hassle us about it.” She shrugged. “Unless you feel like fighting every couple of meters as we go through a town, you’re going to need to get used to people making comments. I’m sure it’s not new to you.”

            It was, but he couldn’t admit that. “I guess I’ll get by.” He tied one of his bandanas over his head, flattening his ears. “Will this help?”

            “Not really. People will suspect exactly why you’re wearing it.”

            He sighed and pulled it off. “Fine.”

            If your magic was at the level it was supposed to be…Or perhaps there is another way. You might avoid other fights if you flattened the first person who opened their mouth completely enough to frighten the others.   

            “I don’t need that right now.”

            Svetlana looked at him curiously. “You are talking to yourself again.”

            “I suspect it’s a habit you are just going to have to get used to.”

            She smiled again. “Then I will.”

            Her agreeing with you all of the time is going to get old fast, at least until she agrees that you should do something extremely foolhardy. That will be fun to watch.

            “Do you have an off switch?”

            Sadly, no. If I did then I wouldn’t have to listen to Svetlana and you.

            “I don’t have any designs on her.”

            And if she has some on you?

            “She just lost everyone important to her. Give her a break.”

            I am concerned that she doesn’t seem all that upset. Either she wasn’t really that close to the dead or else something else is going on.

            “It’s a new society, remember. We have no idea what the social dynamic is.”

            I know that. Just remember my warning when she decides it’s time to eat your brains.

            Faelan shook his head and addressed the Megami-sama. “Do you know where the closest town is?”

            She shrugged. “We came here by teleportation. I’m not even sure where we are.”

            Danger.  Danger.  Danger.

            He sighed and picked up a blade of grass. Svetlana watched closely as he bit his tongue and spat blood on the grass cradled in his palm. He unlocked his magic and whispered, “I want the nearest city with a pokecenter. Show me.”

            For a moment nothing happened. Then the blade of grass quivered and slowly rose into the air to hover over his hand. It twisted around and settled down to point.

            I have the direction.

            He leashed his power, feeling the fatigue sweep over him.

            The more you use your gifts, the less they will drain you. Someday you won’t even have to lock them away.

            Svetlana grinned. “I didn’t know you can do magic.”

            “Not much. My powers are very limited.”

            For now.

            Faelan gabbed one of the extra backpacks. “Once we camp for the night we can redistribute the load. My pack has some extra room in it and we’ll see what we can do.”

            Svetlana nodded and took the other pack. She moved off, setting what she thought was a hard pace. Faelan kept it for an hour before he broke his silence.

            “Can you fly well?”

            Svetlana blinked. “Yes, I can. Why do you ask?”

            “We might make better time if you gave me your spare pack and took to the air. I know you are pushing hard, but I can move faster than this and I would like to make the city as soon as practicable.” He frowned. “I don’t suppose you have any money? Sadly, I do not.”

            She shook her head. “Ron didn’t let us have any money. He just used a credit account and we didn’t have access to it.”

            “Great. Well, if there is a pokecenter we can stay there since I’m going to take my test and become a trainer.”

            “You mean a Tamer, right?”

            Faelan thought quickly. “Is that what they are called here?”

            She was looking at him oddly. “If you mean someone who Tames pokegirls, then yes.”

            What is a pokegirl? I don’t think she is talking about an analogue of a pokemon. I wonder if this means you will have trouble passing your test.

            “The tests I’ve taken from the various places we get pokemon from are very simple. It could have to do with almost any lifeform.” Faelan subvocalized to avoid upsetting Svetlana. “If I fail, then I’ll find a library and do some studying before taking the test again. Besides, how different can they be? Maybe pokegirl means that you can only train the female pokemon.”

            He returned to normal volume and gave her an amused look. “What else could I be talking about?”

            “I just wanted to make sure.” She still had a suspicious look.

            I will be so glad when you get rid of her. She’s seen entirely too much of you trying to adapt.

            “That won’t be for a couple of days and until then I’m happy to have someone cute around.” He turned his attention back to the Megami-sama.

            “So, you’ll take to the air and we can make some better time. Oh, and if you see anything interesting up there, feel free to let me know.”

            She smiled again. “All right.” The smile vanished. “My extra backpack is pretty heavy.”

            “Let me be the judge of that.” She handed it over. Faelan hefted it. “The bulk could be a problem since I’m already hauling an extra.” He glanced at Svetlana. “I don’t suppose you could carry it while you fly?”

            “Oh, it wouldn’t be any trouble at all. I could easily carry all of the packs and you too for a while if I had to.”

            “That’s good to know.” Faelan handed back her spare. “Let’s get moving.” 

            Svetlana took to the air and Faelan spent a minute watching her. A spike of envy passed through him as she banked and climbed effortlessly. He sighed and turned away. He set an easy pace of ten kilometers an hour, one he could keep up all day, even with his aches and pains. It was also a pace that moving through forest shouldn’t really interfere with.

            After about an hour Svetlana landed up ahead and waited for him to reach her. “Is there a problem?”

            “I think we should camp for the night. That will give you a chance to finish healing and let me rest and recover my power.”

            Faelan looked around and shrugged. “If this place meets with your approval, then I guess we can camp here.”

            She nodded. “This should work. Can you build a fire? I don’t know how to do it. It would be really helpful if you could cook too.” She gave an apologetic look. “Megami-samas aren’t expected to have domestic skills and Ron never needed me to learn.”

            “Yeah, I’ll take care of it.”

            The spare pack Faelan had been carrying turned out to hold blankets and sleeping gear which Svetlana set up while he started a fire. They really had little to cook; there was some bread and cheese and a handful of fruit. Faelan had carried only concentrated rations and he didn’t want to use those unless he absolutely needed to.

            The lack of food in conjunction with Svetlana’s attitude made Faelan presume that this place wasn’t too sparsely populated. Of course, since her former group had access to teleportation all bets were off. 

            Fortunately, Faelan knew how to forage, and soon a brace of unwary rabbits were roasting over the flames. He’d learned to throw rocks to deal with some of his siblings, but the skill often came in handy in other situations.

            After they’d eaten, Faelan collected the bones and took them away from the camp for disposal. When he returned Svetlana had cleaned what little needed it and was banking the fire. He looked at the single bed and gave her a wary glance which she missed.

            “There is only one thing left.” She flinched at his tone and turned to give him a frightened look.

            “Faelan, I just lost everyone that was important to me today, can’t it wait just one day?”

            He blinked and his ears canted sideways in confusion. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

            Bad move. You should have fished for information.

            Svetlana was looking at him with a mixture of relief and curiosity. “What did you mean?”

            He came around to squat down in front of her so that they were eye to eye. He noticed that she leaned away from him slightly as he did so. “I am in your debt, and I don’t like being in anyone’s debt, so we need to resolve this. Today I saved your life. Only later did I learn from you that you had wanted to die.” He bowed his head. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t know what you wanted at that time.”

            “The fact that I saved your life against your will put me in your debt.” Her brow furrowed slightly in confusion. “If you still want to die, then I am prepared to kill you. If not, then you must release me from this debt.”

            Svetlana turned white and then red. “You want to kill me?”

            “What I want is immaterial at this moment. However, since you asked the question, I have no desire to end your life.”

            “But you just said you wanted to kill me.”

            “No, I said I was ready to kill you if you still want to die.” He watched her expression flicker from emotion to emotion as she finally understood him. Finally it settled on determination.

            “I no longer want to die. I believe that I was supposed to die when you found me, and yet for some reason you were sent to save me. My fate has been changed and it cannot be changed back.” She smiled. “After I have rested I will know more, but for now it appears that our paths are intertwined.”

            “Then release me from your debt.”

            “Can I make a request for something instead of your killing me?”

            He frowned. “It’s not normal, but since you don’t really understand why I feel the way I do then I will allow it.”

            She nodded. “I know that you aren’t a Tamer yet and that you are planning on taking your Tamer’s test. Until then, will you protect me like you already are one?”

            “Why would you need protecting?”

            She looked away. “Some people might try to take me as their prisoner. They should back off once you are a Tamer, but until then they won’t respect you. I would like you to infer that you are already one, and that should keep them away long enough for us to reach the pokecenter, as long as you don’t accept any duels.”

            “Since I don’t have anything to duel with, you need not worry on that matter.” He thought briefly. 

            There is something she’s not telling you.

            “While I suspect that you haven’t told me the whole story, I can respect that, at least for now. I will do as you ask, as long as you remember that I cannot lie.”

            She nodded and smiled. “Thanks.” She gave the bedding a suspicious look and looked at him. “Then can I trust you to be good tonight?”

            His ears flicked. “Yes, you can.”

            She was looking above his head. “Do your ears mean anything when they move like that?”

            “Yeah, they can show my emotions.”

            “How so?”

            “Ok, here is a basic primer on Faelan Wolf’s moods.” He grinned and his ears stood up and pointed at her, almost quivering. “This is happy or curious.” They rotated backwards and went flat. “This is angry or defensive.” 

            “What about when they?” She put her hands on her head and demonstrated.

            “Oh, that.” He canted his ears sideways, the left one pointing left and the right one pointing right. “That is confusion.” One ear rotated back and went flat while the other flicked. “This is annoyance.” His ears suddenly went into a wild series of movements, flicking and rotating rapidly. Finally they stopped.

            “What was that?”

            He grinned. “Semaphore.”

            She laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks. 

            It wasn’t that funny. In fact it wasn’t funny at all.

            Faelan waited until she’d run down. “Why don’t you get some sleep? Tomorrow will be another day, and it just may be a long one.”

            “Will you wake me when it’s my turn for watch?”

            “I will.”

            Svetlana crawled into the bedding and made herself comfortable. Soon her breathing slowed.

            Faelan knocked back most of the fire and covered the coals before getting his cloak out of his backpack and wrapping up in it.

            You could see more from up in a tree.

            “Perhaps. Life is a series of trade-offs. Besides, my hearing is better than my night vision.”

            When do you think you will discover what she’s not telling you?

            “When it is most inconvenient, of course.”

            When are you going to wake her up to stand watch?

            “I’m not. First, she needs her sleep and second, I don’t necessarily trust her.”

            Wisdom eventually comes to everyone, I suppose. I’m still waiting on you, but perhaps this is a good sign.

            Faelan put himself into light trance which allowed him to rest while remaining alert. It was still a couple of hours before dawn when a faint noise brought him fully alert. He watched as a slight form silently moved into the camp and slowly explored it. It was some kind of a cat type girl. Faelan stayed still and waited as she approached the still sleeping Svetlana. 

            Silently he slid to his feet and readied a rock as she snuffled the Megami-sama over and he smiled within his hood as the cat type wrinkled her nose and backed up after sniffing Svetlana’s crotch through the bedding. 

            She’s not finding what she’s looking for. I wonder what it is?

            Faelan responded internally. I don’t know.

            The cat type girl explored a while longer and then crept back into the forest, never noticing Faelan where he stood in the shadow of a tree. Slowly, he settled back down and resumed his trance until the predawn light pulled him alert again.

            It was only when he was packing up his things that he noticed that the bandana he’d worn the day before was missing. Thinking back, the intruder had prowled around where it had been just before she left the camp. He shrugged it off as one of those things.

            He’d made toast with cheese for breakfast. Svetlana had been quiet since she’d woken up. This lasted until they sat down to eat. 

            She seemed more serene this morning as she looked at him over her toast. Faelan wasn’t sure why he chose that word, but it seemed the most appropriate one.

            “You come from very far away.” Toast tried to climb down his windpipe as he suddenly choked and sputtered. She wasn’t done. “You must help me.”

            He coughed up the errant piece of toast. “To do what?”

            “That will be revealed in the fullness of time.” She gave him a polite smile as she nibbled at her toast.

            I didn’t like her before and really don’t like this new and improved creepy Svetlana. 

            “Apparently you weren’t kidding about knowing more when you were rested. I wish I could have used that technique when I was growing up.”

            She frowned. “You do not understand.”

            “No. I suspect that not many people would understand it when you suddenly go cryptic like you just did.”

            She smiled. “You are right. Few understand us.”

            She’s a loon.

            Faelan looked around carefully. They were still alone. “Us?”

            “You will understand someday.”

            “I look forward to understanding.” Faelan replied cautiously. 

            Her smile grew. “We must leave now if we are to make Wick before noon. That would be the most optimal time for you to arrive.”

            “Wick, huh?”

            “We are headed for the village of Wick, which is located on the northwestern portion of the Blue Continent.”

            What the…?

            “I thought you didn’t know where we were?”

            “I didn’t. I learned last night.”

            You need to respect her power. Perhaps leaving her behind would have been the wrong choice after all. Good call.

            “Well then, let’s get going. We wouldn’t want to miss the optimal time, now would we?” Faelan shouldered his pack and grabbed the spare as she took to the air.

            “Oh, and what if it isn’t partial? What if she knows or will learn everything?”

            Be very nice to her. – I wonder if she knows about me?

            “If she does, there’s really nothing I can do about it. I can only go on with what I know and hope father hurries.” He headed off, following the flash of golden feathers.

 

***

 

            “Does she seem to be flying differently today?”

            It appears that she is not using her wings for flying.

            Faelan had been following the path towards Wick for a couple of hours now, assuming that Svetlana was correct as to their destination. Signs of life were starting to appear. Some cultivated fields and the beginnings of a dirt road had manifested out of the forest. He’d quickly moved to take advantage of the road. The whole time Svetlana had made lazy circles overhead.

            When he saw the sign that reported Wick as being two kilometers ahead, she came in to land next to it. He pulled to a halt when he reached her.

            “From here it would be best if we both walked. Megami-sama are rather rare and I want to avoid any misunderstandings until we reach the pokecenter.”

            “Do you know where it is?”

            She shook her head. “No, but it is very distinctive and shouldn’t be hard to find.”

            “We’ll stop someone and ask. It will be a lot faster. We’ll ask a policeman, if we can find one. They know where everything is and are paid to be useful.”

            Svetlana gave him an odd look. “Ron hated to ask for directions. He’d rather wander for hours than admit he was lost.”

            Faelan grinned, his ears sideways. “I’m not Ron and I don’t have any problems with shortening my trip by asking for help. Begging even, if that’s what it takes.”

            Her eyes widened. “You are unusual.”

            “Naw, I’m just lazy.” He shrugged. “Now, let’s find someone to make my life easier.” She laughed as they walked off.

            As they got closer to Wick, Faelan tried very hard not to try to stare at everything at once. While used to nonhumans, he’d never seen the ones that were passing as they walked. Clothing seemed to be optional, although he noted that the more human they looked, the more likely they were to be dressed in something.

            He also noticed that only a few of the passing males looked anything out of the ordinary, at least as far as a typical human.

            They’d passed through the outskirts of Wick and were proceeding into the town proper when Svetlana nudged him. “There’s an OfficerJenny. You can ask her.”

            Faelan turned to look in the direction she’d indicated. There stood an OfficerJenny. She looked just like the ones he’d seen in the training sessions. Somehow that unnerved him more. However, Svetlana was right.

            He walked over to the OfficerJenny, who had a bored look plastered on her face as she watched passersby. “Good day, Officer. I was wondering if you could please give me directions to the local pokecenter.”

            She glanced at him and then at Svetlana. Her face went slack with surprise and suddenly she straightened so quickly she almost clicked her heels together. She beamed a smile at them both. “Good day to you, sir. It’s always nice to see a fellow member of the way of justice.”

            Faelan blinked. “Er, thanks. It’s a pleasure to meet you, too.” 

            Does it feel to you that there is a part of this conversation that is unspoken? Way of justice, please.

            “I’m very sorry but could you repeat your question?”

            “No problem. I’m on my way to the pokecenter and I’d like directions, please.”

            The OfficerJenny snapped a brisk salute. “I would be more than willing to take you there myself.”

            “Thank you. I would appreciate that.” 

            “This way, then.” Suiting action to words, the policewoman headed with Faelan, keeping up a constant stream of comment on the city and its criminal element. From what Faelan heard, most of the criminals weren’t much trouble, but the remainder more than made up for their compatriots. Some gangs that called themselves Teams were the worst and they had crossed the border into becoming continent spanning criminal organizations. 

            Unfortunately, Faelan kept getting distracted by all of the unfamiliar terms that this OfficerJenny seemed to take for granted that he already knew, and he wasn’t going to expose his ignorance if he could avoid it. It meant that he got a lot of information in a short period of time, but most of it he didn’t understand. He hoped it would make sense later on.

            She also talked a lot about the problem of Ferals, another term he didn’t get, but by listening carefully he decided that they were some kind of pest that they were having difficulty eradicating. He wondered briefly why that would be a police issue, but put it out of his mind as she rambled on.

            I don’t have the referents to understand a lot of what she is saying. I see a lot of time in the library in the future.

            Strangely enough, he also got the impression that she was subtly coming on to him, which was of course completely ludicrous. She kept touching his shoulder and arm and kept talking about how champions of the law needed to help each other whenever needed and how they had to come together to make things better. She often nudged him when talking about the coming together part of her little series of speeches.

            He also got the impression that Svetlana was unhappy with her actions, although she carefully kept her face and body language neutral.  Faelan made a mental note not to play any games of chance with her until he learned her tells.

            All in all it was a rather bizarre trip and he was glad to see the pokecenter as he came around a corner. It was bigger than he expected, but still the same shape and color he’d been anticipating. 

            Before leaving, the OfficerJenny gave him a business card that had her com number on it. She said it was just in case he needed any more assistance. She then gave him a broad smile and left.

            Svetlana twitched and Faelan was almost certain she’d aborted an attempt to snatch the card from his hand. He tucked in into his pocket and smiled. She almost glared back.

            “What’s the matter, Svetlana?”

            “Didn’t you think she was a bit, uh, over the top?”

            “Not really, she’s a cop in a small town and is probably bored out of her mind most of the time. So it’s only natural that she got excited when she met what she thought were fellow ‘champions of justice’. I’m not sure where she got that impression from, but I’m just grateful for the free guide.”

            Svetlana looked less upset. “I suppose you are right.”

            “Of course I am. Civil servants are one of the universal constants.”

            She blinked and gave a short laugh. “You say the strangest things.”

            Careful.

            “Shall we go inside?” Faelan held the door open for her. She smiled and passed through.

            The inside of the pokecenter look almost exactly like what he’d been expecting. Well, except for the large sign next to a door that announced that Taming rooms were by appointment only and to see the duty medic for a key. There were a few people standing around and most of these were women who were talking in small groups.

            There was the standard curved counter at the back of the room and inside it stood a familiar figure. Svetlana nodded towards the back of the room. “You’ll need to talk to the NurseJoy about taking your test,” she muttered to him.

            “Thanks.” He went over to the counter and waited patiently. The NurseJoy was talking to a young man about taking care of his Peekabu as she handed him what Faelan recognized as a pokeball. The young man headed for the door and was joined by one of the groups of women, who followed him out the door.

            He realized that he’d been staring when a pleasant female voice asked, “How may I help you?”

            He looked around and realized that the NurseJoy was talking to him. 

            Immediately he realized that there were some significant differences between the Nurse Joys that he’d trained for and this NurseJoy. For one thing he didn’t remember the Nurse Joy he’d met having such a tight uniform with the top two buttons undone. And he was fairly sure that the pushup bra was new as well. 

            He carefully avoided looking down her cleavage and focused on her face. The tiny smile that flickered around her lips told him she was aware of the battle he was fighting and slowly losing.

            “I asked if I could help you.” She licked her lips, not quite suggestively, but then again not at all innocently.

            She glanced behind him and straightened up suddenly. “Oh, I wasn’t aware you were here with him.”

            Faelan was amused to realize that he was slightly disappointed. He’d thought he was long past an attractive pair of breasts grabbing his attention like that but apparently he’d been wrong. 

            “I’m here to take my Tamer’s test.”

            The NurseJoy blinked. “But I thought she was with you.”

            “She is. It’s a long story.” He grinned. “Now, about that test?”

            The NurseJoy nodded. “I’ll get your paperwork. It won’t take but a minute.” She bustled off.

            Svetlana stepped up next to him. “Am I interfering?”

            “Yes, but it’s probably for the best. Was she coming on to me?”

            “Not really, but if you’d shown some interest back she probably would have taken you up on it after work. Civil service pokegirls often don’t have their own Tamers, so most of them are a little bit, um, interested.” She glanced at him and dropped her voice. “But you don’t know anything about this, do you?”

            Do not do anything rash.

            Faelan gave her a long look and made a decision. His voice was also low. “No, I don’t. This wasn’t anything like what I was expecting when I came to this world.”

            “Where are you from?”

            “Tirsul. Does that mean anything to you?”

            “Not now, but later it might. Why are you here?”

            “I’m exploring to see if there might be any basis for trade between the inhabitants of this world and my clan.”

            “How did you come to save my life?”

            “I fell off the cliff above where your group was destroyed.” She turned to stare at him incredulously. “I can’t lie, remember?”

            “I’ve noticed that you don’t have to tell the whole truth, either.”

            He shrugged. “True.”

            “Have you really been talking to yourself?”

            “Yes and no.” He broke off as the NurseJoy came back with a clipboard. “I’ll explain later.”

            “Just fill this out and we’ll get started. I’ll also need a DNA sample for my records.” She held out an unusual device. “Just press your thumb here.”

            He gave it a wary look and then pressed his thumb against the sampler. “I hope you don’t expect the reading to make sense.”

            “All we care is that it is unique.” The sampler beeped. “All done.”

            “Oh, I can almost guarantee that it will be unique,” he muttered as the NurseJoy took the sampler away.

            “Why is that?” Svetlana gave him a curious look. 

            “I can’t tell you.”

            “Can’t or won’t?”

            “Can’t. I swore an oath and they have real power where I come from. All sorts of bad things could happen to me if I did.” He got started on the forms. They seemed simple enough and he breezed through them. “I don’t have an address of record.”

            “You’ll be registering as a non-native. That means you can put this pokecenter as your home of record. Just tick that box there.” She pointed. 

            “Thanks.” He finished the forms and put the clipboard down. “What do I do now?”

            “You wait.” She took his hand and turned it over, tracing her finger over the lines on his palm. “What did you expect to do?”

            “I wasn’t sure. Some places make you show some kind of competence by battling.”

            She gave him a smile. “If they did that here, there would be a lot fewer Tamers. That would be bad. Pretty much, you have to be breathing.” She gestured at the clipboard. “You come from another world and you didn’t have any problem with the basic Tamer test.”

            Faelan stared at her and then the clipboard. “That was the test?”

            “Yes, it was.”

            “A four year old could have finished that!”

            “Actually the record is six years old.” The NurseJoy picked up the clipboard and flipped through the papers. “Everything appears to be in order and I see you’ve picked the pokecenter as your home.” She gave him a sexy smile. “I hope that means we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other.”

            Svetlana gave her a look, which the NurseJoy either didn’t see or chose to ignore. “Wait right here for another couple of minutes and I’ll tabulate your test.” She bustled off again. Faelan realized he’d never properly appreciated how nice a bustling walk could be and sighed.

            “Is there a problem?”

            “Nothing I can do anything about.”

            Svetlana stroked his hand. “You do realize that you are expected to Tame your pokegirls, don’t you?”

            He shrugged. “That isn’t the problem.”

            “Oh? Do you also realize that Taming is a euphemism for sex?”

            He blinked as his ears flicked rapidly. “I was not aware of that. Why would I want to have sex with a pokegirl?”

            The NurseJoy returned and put a bundle down on the counter. “Here is your Tamer’s belt with six pokeballs.” She handed it to him. “This is your copy of Taming for Dummies.”

            “That I’m going to need.”

            She smiled. “And here is your pokedex. Just press your thumb here to activate it.” 

            Faelan did as asked and was rewarded with a beep as it activated.

            Finally.

            “Ok, all you need is a starting pokegirl and you are set to go. We are kind of out of the way here, so we don’t have any starters available, but I can get some in by morning.”

            Svetlana smiled. “That won’t be necessary. He’s already got a pokegirl. All he needs is to borrow one of your Taming rooms.”

            The NurseJoy smiled. “Very well. Let me get you a room and a key.” Off she went again.

            “I don’t have a pokegirl.” Faelan looked puzzled.

            Svetlana slipped her backpack off of her shoulders and reaching into a pocket removed a pokeball which she handed to him. “Now you do.” She smiled at his puzzled look. “You were asking why you would want to have sex with a pokegirl. Well, you are missing something rather important.”
            “What is that?”

            “The NurseJoy you’ve been ogling is a pokegirl. The OfficerJenny who gave you her number is a pokegirl.” Her eyes narrowed and she took his hand again. “I am a pokegirl and I just gave you my pokeball. I am your pokegirl.”

            She looked into his eyes. “Now, would you like to have sex with a pokegirl?”

            He thought of several things to say and finally settled on the one that seemed the best. “Your friends died only two days ago. Are you sure you are ready for this?” He smiled. “We can wait until you are ready.”

            She smiled back. “That is very nice of you. Can we wait until tomorrow?”

            “I don’t see why not.” He frowned as a thought occurred to him. “Do you need to go through a healing cycle, since we are here?”

            She thought for a moment. “That would be nice, but can I trust you to keep it in your pants overnight if I’m not around to run them off?”

            “Do you expect me to cleave only to you?”

            “No, I don’t. However I don’t want to find out tomorrow that you somehow picked up another half dozen pokegirls. I’m going to be first.”

            “I won’t even have sex with myself.”

            She started laughing and wrapped her arms around his neck, collapsing against him as she howled. Eventually the laughter turned to howls of grief and he held her close as she wept herself out.

 

***

 

MEGAMI-SAMA, the Unpredictable Divine Pokegirl
Type: Very Near Human
Element: Magic/Psychic (varies) (Celestial)
Frequency: Extremely Rare
Diet: human style food
Role: Megami-sama's of retired Tamers can be found in public service facilities serving in caregiver or advisory positions
Libido: varies from Low to High
Strong Vs: Ghost, Dark, varies
Weak Vs: Dark, Magic, varies
Attacks: most attacks vary (with angel call being the exception). Common are: Bestow Luck, Lightning, Teleport, Triple split, and Heal (Other)

Enhancements: Extremely high psychic or magical abilities
Evolves: None

Evolves From: Megami (mechanism unknown)
            The Megami-sama is the evolved form of the Megami. Not much is known about this species due to the fact that they only evolve when attached to a Tamer and few known Tamers will let their Megami-sama be studied. Like Megami all Megami-sama are unique and can have wildly different powers. When a Megami evolves to a Megami-sama several conditions must be met: First the Tamer must have a high empathy rating. Second the tamer must have a strong bond with all his pokegirls. Third said Megami-sama must be between the ages of 16 and 25. When these conditions are met all the tamer must do is have his Megami come in contact with an Angel Stone then evolution will occur.
            After evolution their physical form matures further and power increases exponentially. The increase in power in a Megami-sama is so great compared to a Megami that most leagues require tamers to buy higher quality limiter earrings with the Angel Stone in order to prevent dangerous accidental magic discharge. Many Megami-sama also require moonstone bracelets to prevent excessive power drain from over-exertion. It has also been suggested that the fading "the Megami, Megami-sama equivalent to going feral" is due to them being such an empathic species literally they need the comfort and love of others to survive not so much the taming sessions. This would show these species to be emotional symbionts, needing support and love from others to live, and in turn returning and encouraging its growth.
            Angel Call: The technique Angel Call is often learned 24 hours following evolution. When learned a floating sphere out of which an Angel or Cherub hatches, the Cherub is in fact a reflection of the Megami-sama's true heart, will only respond to its name, and possesses an affinity with the element Rock, Fire, Water or Electric. This technique can be used for attack, defense (create a temporary shield), or effect (amplifying the Megami-sama's powers for a short time).
            This technique though power full does have its weaknesses. An angel can be banished by causing it to faint, which the weaknesses of its elemental affinity can help. Also when an Angel is banished the Megami takes a drop in health anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 and cannot use the technique until they have rested or been healed.

 

OFFICERJENNY, the Police Pokegirl
Type: Very Near Human
Element: Fighting/Normal
Frequency: Uncommon. Not found in the wild.
Diet: Human-style diet
Role: Law enforcement of all kinds
Strong Vs: Bug, Dark, Ghost, Ice, Normal, Rock, Steel

Weak Vs: Fighting, Flying, Psychic
Libido: Average
Attacks: Counter, Evade, Pose, Headbutt, Takedown, Body Slam, Toss, Stone Palm, Focus, Focus Energy, Resist, Gatling Punch, Gatling Kick, Mirror, Throwing Handcuffs, No Sell, Dream Time, Seismic Toss, The Calm Soul, Giant Toss, Chain Throw, Chump Change (over level 50), Master Blow
Enhancements: Enhanced Agility (x2), Enhanced Strength (x2), encyclopedic knowledge of all laws, better-than-photographic memory, incorruptible
Evolves: Unknown

Evolves From: None
            OfficerJenny was the second breed of Post-Sukebe Pokegirls to be created, right after the NurseJoy. And like the NurseJoy, they quickly became well-regarded by the rest of the world, with the obvious exception of the criminal element. They are good fighters, focusing mainly on grappling and takedown maneuvers, and are incapable of being bought off or bribed in any way. The scientists who made the first of the breed wanted a breed who could counteract police corruption, and found that in the creation of the OfficerJenny. In addition, the Leagues wanted a policeman capable of taking other Pokegirls, the OfficerJenny (called Jenny for short), fit that bill superbly. Unlike the ineffective tactics of human police forces before the Revenge War, these Pokegirls are far more capable of fending for themselves. Most often, however, they are teamed up with another Pokegirl, such as a Growlie or a Hound.

When confronted by corruption in their fellow officers, they will automatically try to correct the situation, confronting them with their Tamer and either getting them to fix their ways or turning them in. OfficerJennies regard the so-called ‘blue wall’ as an insult to honest cops everywhere. If their TAMER is the one that turns out to be corrupt, they will be hurt on a spiritual level, suffering great emotional pain and regarding their Tamer’s corruption to be a failure on their own part. But despite this, they will NOT hesitate to turn their Tamer in if they cannot change his corrupt ways, although their methods of change will be far less harsh than the methods they would use on someone not connected to them so deeply.

            OfficerJennies are loyal to the law almost completely. But they are also aware that at times there is a difference between ‘law’ and ‘what is right.’ If at all possible, they will let some things slide (such as the stealing of food to prevent starvation, the emasculation of a severely abusive Tamer, etc.), pretending they didn’t witness it. But more often than not they will follow the law and arrest the person involved. Jennies possess a strong belief that without law, chaos will reign. As such, they as a breed entire PASSIONATELY hate Macavity and Jenova. 

            OfficerJennies make good Alphas, not because of their fighting skills, but because they tend to think great strategies for combat and are great at keeping other Pokegirls in line. They have a high level of street smarts and cunning, and can easily be trained as detectives, possessing a great capability for reasoning and common sense decisions.

            OfficerJennies, or Jennies, as they are usually called, are almost always found amongst the harems of police officers, rarely being seen with wandering Tamers and NEVER being seen in the wild. Their feral state is similar to that of an Ingenue or Bimbo, and usually results with them being trapped in their own handcuffs, usually in an uncomfortable position. They always have green eyes, similar facial appearances, and hair that is some shade of blue, although they use different hairstyles. There is more various to their appearance if they have DNA in them other than OfficerJenny or human DNA, but the commonality of appearance is unusual. NurseJoys have a similar genetic anomaly. Considered an oversight, this was never corrected in subsequent batches. Both breeds manage to find ways to look different from one another, so this was considered a non-issue. Their bust is usually a B or C cup without Bloom Powder, and is always proportionate to their height, usually 6 feet tall. 

            Thresholding into an OfficerJenny is not unheard of, and commonly occurs amongst the families of retired police officers. It never occurs in the wild, however, as mentioned earlier.