This is a piece of fiction and should be considered as such. It is also an adult-themed story, and should not be read by those who are easily offended by such or are not old enough in their respective country to be allowed to read it. This particular work is the property of This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. It is not intended to infringe on any copyrights, nor to affect monetary gain.

The PokeGirl Universe was first created by metroanime. He isn't doing it any more, so don't blame him- find someone else on the site to. In other words, I didn't create the setting, and I'm not taking any credit for it, Original Characters aside. Feedback is encouraged, it provides ego and morale boosts equivalent to the power of the Stim Pack in Starcraft, or in modern terms several grams of crack.

 

 

A/N: This story better not devolve into filler-chunks like oh, say, Pokemanz, or Naruto... or  really most major animes. I'm letting it write itself at its own pace, so to speak, so I don't have much control over it XD

 

 

 

 

The train was not physically in contact with the rails, but suspended half a meter over the crosshatch conductor rods that had magnets buried in them every three meters. The huge metal snake roared across the forested lands faster than sound traveled, horn blaring in concert with sonic repellants in order to scare off anything that happened to wander into their path. After all, this part of the League was very much considered wilderness country, although taking the train across it was still the safest way to traverse.

 

The horn was partially for the protection of the Ferals, too. The train's nose was five meters of titanium alloy shaped like the head of a gigantic bullet and designed to provide crumple zone in case of an impact. Even a strong Pokegirl couldn't just shrug off such a large, fast-moving object smacking into them. This distinctive profile and breathtaking speed had earned them the nickname 'bullet trains'. 

 

In the past, these were prohibitively expensive, but the populist sweeps of the national government around 290 ushered in tracts of new public works investments, including subsidies for train route upgrades into the safest and fastest possible technologies. Toman had a passing interest in social sciences, although the particular subject of the Populist Revolution, which he now knew directly related to his father's career in the mafia and his mother's death, was something he made a note to avoid now at all costs.

 

Toman and Irena had enjoyed the view out of their window. The passing landscape, covered over with trees like a surreal blanket, went by so fast it all blended into an oil pastel cartoon of roiling seas of green against a shifting sky of blue. They were enthralled by the gentle shake of the metal floor beneath their feet and the muted roar of the engine and the wind through the wall. It set both of their antisocial minds at ease, even with so many people around.

 

Marya had eventually conceded defeat, pride damaged but not broken as her large bulb made sitting in the seat uncomfortable no matter how she did it, and asked to be balled. The image of the Boobisaur leaning so far forward that her knees made imprints on her ample breasts while still keeping her safety belt on amused the teenager. He chuckled, quietly petting Irena's beautiful fur. She nuzzled against his arm affectionately in response.

 

Thoughts about his future in the city kept him awake for a while, in contrast with his Pokegirl, who was out inside of half an hour after they left Mosertack Station. Eventually, having planned things out to his sightly squeamish satisfaction, he leaned against the slumped, furry shoulders of his Girl and dozed.

 

Eventually he was awoken by Irena, who had taken off her safety belt and joined her Master, sitting on his lap and nuzzling into him like he was a pillow. He couldn't contain a blush, a grin, or another natural male reaction to such an event. When she started feeling a large bulge against her thigh, Irena's face went red, too, and she buried in his chest. This was too cute, and he rewarded her for her affections with a kiss on the forehead and an inept but comforting back-rub.

 

"Master," Irena whispered into his ear, cooing, "There's barely anyone in the rear cars, I think. The perfect place for some privacy."

 

Toman nodded, comprehension dawning on his groggy mind. "Very true. I think we both left something in the baggage coach. But first..." He shifted around, tucking his raging erection against his thighs and thus keeping it from poking out when he stood up. This came at a cost, though- it was hellishly uncomfortable and he had to walk slow, but he managed well enough with Irena leading the way.

 

They went down the isle, through the five passenger cars behind theirs, and then on to the dimly-lit large cargo compartment in the rear. Stacks of crates, bags, and various containers were sprawled absolutely everywhere, but a curious space in the middle had been cleared out and flattened. Toman didn't think much of it until he realized someone was standing there when they yelled at him. 

 

"Ha! So, you've finally realized you've been had and have come to confront me for your belongings, eh?!" From the voice, he knew it was a girl, and from the manner in which she spoke, he knew it had to be a human. Or a Pokegirl with juevos. Possibly a Dildoqueen? Har har har.

 

 Taken aback, he put a hand on Irena to comfort her out of her surprise and squinted to try and examine this person. He had no luck in the darkness, and couldn't even be sure it wasn't just some confident Pokegirl at this point. "What are you talking about?" Have I wandered into someone else's conflict?

 

"Huh?" His confusion seemed contagious, and the girl now sounded a bit lost. "Um, you are Toman Kross, right?"

 

"... Yes," Toman confirmed. So I'm not the only one with trouble with faces in the dark. "Why?"

 

"I ... took your stuff," She said. "Didn't you notice the note? In your left pocket, where your wallet used to be." Toman frowned, reaching down, expecting to feel the large leather wallet. Instead, it was stark empty except for a slip of paper. He retrieved it, and even in the darkness he could make out most of the words. It did, indeed detail the theft of three important items, and an ominous instruction to go to the back of the train to 'meet'.

 

"... What the hell," The Professor's prodigy of a son verbalized. Inspection of his right pocket found it just as empty. Slowly, his mind began to snap back into fully functional status, having efficiently absorbed the situation, and anger began to well up very fast at this concealed figure. "You took... my Wallet, my Cell Phone... even my Pokedex?! What the hell is wrong with you? I don't even know you!" I didn't notice because I'm not exactly used to being robbed in my sleep! From now on I'm going to check my stuff every morning and every evening...

 

The other human laughed, seeming to regain their footing in this familiar and totally understandable reaction to her theft. "Precisely. They say that the best way to meet a fellow traveler, to really know a man, is to engage him in battle. Notice on the bottom of my note? I will return your stuff on one condition, and one only."

 

 "... a Pokegirl Battle, one-on-one," Toman said, crumpling up the paper in his relatively delicate hand. "With the stolen property at stake." This news caused his tension to skyrocket. So she's a female Tamer. No wonder she has attitude, she probably needed it to carve a name in this world... but that's no excuse for this. Shit. If she's not a noob I'll get trounced. More to the point, Marya would be trounced. Again. His shoulder throbbed in harmony with his heart's adrenaline-laced thunder.

 

"I take it you accept?" She said, mockingly.

 

He worked his jaw for a moment, and then a startlingly simple realization hit him. "No."

 

The girl blinked, doing a double-take. "What? 'No'? You're refusing? When I have all your money, your phone and your Dex? Don't you... want your stuff back?"

 

 "Don't you want to keep living?" Toman let out a sigh of exasperation. "I don't need to fight to tell a lot about you. The fact that you're even considering a Pokegirl battle aboard a pressurized supersonic train says something. Tell me, what exactly is going to happen if one of our attacks manages to punch through the wall?"

 

This actually gave her pause, and enough time for Toman to catch his breath and keep going. "So that's part of why I refused you. The other part is the simple fact that, instead of going by your rules and going out of my way, I can take the much simpler and safer route."

 

He looked at Irena. "Go get the OfficerJenny we saw in the forth car and tell her to get back here at once, please." The Pokegirl looked at him for a moment, stunned by his change from reclusive and affectionate master to a calculating and angry man. She nodded in compliance and turned, running back the way they had come with superhuman speed. "Look, you're screwed no matter how this plays out now, so I might as well ask again. Why did you steal my stuff, anyway?"

 

The girl watched Irena go, shocked. Instead of answering his question, she took a seat at the edge of the makeshift clearing, on a metal box. "Heh. That was not the response I expected. You certainly aren't a typical hot-blooded fool."

 

"So you wanted to test me?" Toman frowned, still far from amused at the situation, although his own cleverness did assuage his annoyance.

 

"Pretty much. You see, I'm a new Tamer, headed for Boot Camp just like you are. I scanned you and decided that I'd love to learn a bit more about my competition. Maybe get in a fight. You might call it 'research'."

 

"Yes, very witty." He learned against the wall, letting out another sigh and feeling the train's gentle rattle in his bones. "Why didn't you come up to me and ask me instead of theft? I still would have refused the battle but now you're in trouble for no good reason." The pursuit of knowledge certainly wasn't a bad goal, even if her methods of research made the peaceful boy want to punch her. "Tell me you haven't done this before."

 

"Earlier on the ride, almost straight out of the station," She confirmed cheerily. "That person did agree to a fight, though. I won. I usually do. And look, the train didn't explode, did it?"

 

"Shit. You might not be stupid, but you're certainly putting on a convincing show for me," Toman's arctic observation managed to cut through her a little bit, as though it was an attack itself. "Aren't you going to beg me not to tell on you or some juvenile thing?"

 

"Not really. I probably deserve at least getting yelled at by a Jenny for what I did." After she said that, Toman blinked, looking around at the girl. This was something pretty surprising, an admission of guilt.

 

"Huh? If you knew it was wrong-"

 

"Like I said. This way lets me know a lot more about you than if I just came up and had an amiable little chat. You showed the ability to use your head and control your temper, and a pragmatism that'll be useful. Maybe we could be allies, if you can get over yourself." The thinner walls of the cargo doors admitted the faint blast of the horn, a loud and raucous noise that punctuated her statement.

 

Toman had been convinced he was seeing a ray of hope in this girl until he heard the last part. "What? Get over myself? You stole my Wallet, Phone and Dex! I'm surprised you didn't just take everything in my pack and my spare Pokeballs too." He didn't know whether he was more confused, outraged or annoyed right now.

 

"I didn't take it with the intent to keep it. I gave that guy back his Dex and Gear even though he didn't win."

 

"You're a weird person, you know that?" Toman said, standing up and looking over as the door to the car slid open.

 

"I've been informed of that." She stood up as well as the two Pokegirls came stomping through the adjoining hallway between cars. Approaching Toman, she took something out of her pocket and he took a step back in alarm. He relaxed a little when it turned out that she was holding out his property. Toman took it back, staring at her now that she was closer in order to get a clue about what she looked line. All he could see was dark hair and some dimples on her face.

 

"What's going on here?" The OfficerJenny asked, leading the out-of-breath Mynx by the hand. "This poor young PokeGirl came to me huffing and puffing about her Master being in danger." She slapped a light control on the wall and floor-mounted floodlights hummed to life, pouring illumination to scour the obscuring darkness of the car.

 

Toman finally got a good look at her assailant, after he had blinked a few times and let himself adjust to the new lighting. She was clearly a teenager like he was. Her hair was long and unrestricted, only pulled back to reveal a plain face with sharper eyes. Those eyes considered him for a moment before flicking over to the police officer. She wore a toxic-purple coat over a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, with a large leather belt that had custom holders for a Dex and six PokeBalls.

 

The girl opened her mouth to explain to the puzzled Jenny, but she was cut off. "I was just having an argument with my girlfriend," He announced, averting his gaze from the three females, "About how much money she was spending recently. So we kind of got out of control and started yelling at each other back here... my Mynx must have heard it and gotten spooked, and run for help." He locked eyes with her and petted her head. "I'm proud of you, Irena. I'm glad to know you're so worried for my safety." His kindly smile was genuine enough to put the Pokegirl at ease, and the Jenny saw it too.

 

"Really? She seemed to think it was something else," She said, nodding to Irena. "About a 'robbery'?"

 

Toman looked away, face red. "I was using some pretty strong words to describe what she's doing to our finances. As starting Tamers, we obviously don't have a lot of income and I tend to get stressed out about things." He seemed embarrassed about letting his temper go. Pangs of guilt about lying raced through his mind, as well, but nobody was getting hurt and the girl hadn't meant any harm, so he decided to let it go.

 

Stunned into silence, he had to give her a look to jolt her into agreement. "Right! I just wanted to make sure that he wasn't going to cut me off, so I tried to take his wallet away. I know it wasn't the right thing to do, but he was being so mean about it..."

 

"Like I said, I'm sorry..." Toman, without any idea what her name was, took the gamble that neither did the OfficerJenny and made one up out of whole cloth. "Linda, next time I'll really try and listen to your side of the story."

 

"Alright, Toman," She replied, hugging him.

 

Satisfied that the law hadn't been manhandled too bad, the OfficerJenny soon returned to her post and left the three of them in silence in the brightly lit cavern of a room. "Your girlfriend, huh?" 'Linda' said, grinning like a cat. "Wishful thinking, seeing as how you haven't even defeated me yet."

 

Toman blushed and gave her a suitably chilly glare. "You're as bad as Marya. I had to do something or else you were going to get it for stupidly stealing from me."

 

"Why did you 'do something', anyway?" She asked, having a seat again. "You seemed right pissed at me and ready to let me get in trouble."

 

He sighed, glancing at Irena, who was studiously silent. "You didn't mean to keep the stuff or do any harm. You were just curious. I was mad because you interrupted my plans for something, but it doesn't matter any more. We can always try again later." The Mynx nodded, confused but happy that the conflict had somehow been resolved. "Although I would like to know your actual name."

 

"Call me Flurry," She said breezily. "Everyone does. Even though you've refused me now, something tells me you'd be more open to a battle when we touch down in the city."

 

"If we can find an open training arena or abandoned warehouse," Toman nodded. "Then I'll take you up on your offer. Although, Irena won't be the one fighting for me. You know, lungs and all that. I'll use Marya." He was sure she had read about his Alpha from the stolen Pokedex.

 

"The Boobisaur, right?" She made a face. "I don't get the male thing about gigantic tits and gorgeous models. That doesn't help you in the field. I'm perfectly happy with my Chikotit, Joan."

 

"Jealous?" Toman suggested, chuckling and reaching over to pull Irena to him. "I'm not some big-boob fetishist, after all, I can appreciate Irena just the way she is." The Mynx turned scarlet all over, embarrassed as Flurry began to check her out.

 

"I like the Mynx, though. Maybe we'll have a battle for her?"

 

Irena felt a fist squeeze her heart from the inside, and looked up with fearful eyes at her Tamer. He gave her a reassuring wink and a kiss on the cheek and said, "In your dreams. I don't gamble with friends."

 

"If I issue a full legal challenge then you wouldn't have a choice. If you ran then I'd get her by default," Flurry pointed out.

 

Toman shook his head. "That's a common belief. Well, it's a myth, because they changed the law in 300 and now you can't take the prize if someone refuses a fight. Plus, although I'm green as grass, I'm still a registered Watcher. So even back in 'the day' I would be legally immune to that."

 

She blinked. "Really? Wow, I didn't know you were going to be a law student as well as a Tamer and a Watcher."

 

"I'm not, I just take a healthy interest in a lot of subjects." Toman shook his head. "So, you have a Chikotit? I guess your fetish is vine-play, not breasts, eh?"

 

"Something like that, yeah. The breed seems almost made for the gentle touch and physical openings of a female." Considering the evil Sukebe's foresight, planning, and incredible depth in his designs and methods, Toman didn't put it past the legendary pervert. After all, there were several species of PokeGirls that at least heavily tended to prefer other females. Then there's the Psidykes... hope I don't run into one of those.

 

He had hoped to turn the tables and make her blush, but she had merely gone deeper into the conversation without so much as a pause. He winced and backed up. "Despite their differences, we're in the same boat in one sense. We're both at a disadvantage in this League, with Plant-types against all the Ice-types that are so common this far north."

 

"That's true. Another reason for us to train together, so we can get stronger and overcome this obstacle," Flurry said. "Come on, let's go forward. I'm getting hungry and you probably are too, we'll grab some snacks and chat more. There's a vacant seat next to you, right?"

 

Toman said, "No, Irena's sitting there," As he led the way out of the cargo bay. As Flurry went out she remembered to switch the lights back off, plunging the storage areas into near-total darkness again.

 

"You can just Ball her," She shrugged. "I'm sure she won't mind letting me have her seat for a while."

 

"S-sure," Irena squeaked, addressing the human girl for the first time, "It wouldn't be any trouble at all! I'd be perfectly happy back in my Pokeball, Master," She said urgently to Toman.

 

He frowned, weaving through the first of the rear passenger cars. "Alright, if you're ok with it. I have no objections."

 

Hours of hanging out and talking on many subjects gave Toman some feel for this unique individual, and he felt as if they were becoming fast friends despite the very odd first meeting. He extracted bits and pieces of her background, including her actual name, which was Josette-Josephine Fleury, and where she lived, which turned out to be Shelaya itself. She was at Mosertack on a visit to some relatives and happened to be returning on the same train as Toman.

 

They ate their dinners on the train, which was actually cooked in a small mess hall area near the front of the vehicle. The price for such opulence was that the cost was twice that of the ingredients. Toman indulged himself just this once, pooling resources with Flurry to buy plenty for himself, Irena, Flurry, and Jean. Flurry had wanted to meet Marya in person but Toman shook his head, preferring to keep it a mystery until they actually got there. Eventually she laughed and returned to her own seat near the front cars of the train as she began to yawn. Outside the window, the sun bled red and orange onto the verdant fields and pastures of outlying farmlands.

 

"We've been on this train for so long, Irena," Toman said, leaning against her furry shoulder. "We have to be traveling over a thousand kilometers, easy." The scale of such a journey just simply failed to register in either of their minds- the Feralborn girl had nothing to compare to such a vast distance, and neither did Toman, from a personal experience level. It was a whole new part of their League.

 

"Are we still gonna be traveling when we wake up, Master?" The Mynx asked, cuddling him as best she could over the seat armrests.

 

"I don't think so. The train will probably arrive at Shelaya between sunrise and late morning. We'll get woken up then and we can go find Professor Shields. Then some breakfast. For now, good night, Irena. Make sure to sleep tight." It was sound advice, and soon the meek girl was nearly snoring.

 

/\/\

 

Someone was shaking him and a voice penetrated the fog of nothingness. "Wake up." With another good shake, the petite boy opened his eyes and groaned in protest. He had slept with his glasses on, slumped down into his mildly comfortable seat for the night. That left him with some cramps in his neck and back, but he prioritized and blinked a few times to gain his vision. The world blurred into focus, slowly, and light flooded into his protesting eyes. "Master, we're a few minutes out from Shelaya. Flurry said you might want to have a look."

 

Flurry's lucky I was going to have to wake up anyway, soon, Toman reflected as his mind came back online. He cleared a throat groggy from inaction and coughed as he found it very dry. "Gimme a minute."

 

Around him, passengers were waking each other and many were in a state similar to Toman, clawing their way back or being dragged by force into functioning reality. The lights overhead were all shining bright to help this endeavor, contrasting with the shades of black and gray outside the windows.

 

"Attention passengers," An attendant announced, the uniformed PokeGirl's voice carrying impressively, "We have begun deceleration, please take your seats, as there may be slight repulser turbulence. We are approaching the outskirts of Shelaya, and out either window you should have quite a view of the city coming in. Thank you."

 

The sky was set ablaze by the rising sun, washing over the lands and revealing them to the sleepy eyes of the passengers. To either side, the jagged peaks of mountain ranges framed the gentler slope of the plains. Farmlands wove past them, stopping for small subdivisions of houses and other buildings. They passed suburbs, with countless cheap houses stretching out to either side of the tracks. The train was now moving at under a hundred kilometers per hour, the pilots carefully manipulating their magnetic field with the help of some Electric-Types in the rear.

 

With a rumble, they climbed up a hill and the track rose further, mounted twenty feet above the street on a hollow bridge. This allowed roads to pass under them as the density of buildings got thicker. They passed the old city walls, which were now abandoned in favor of modern perimeters around the farmland clusters and full of decay and graffiti.

 

In the distance, skyscrapers stabbed into the skyline of Shelaya along with the profiles of tall factories and greenhouses, seeming like the presumptuous little brothers of the real mountains. Toman watched all of this in awe, and Irena was affected even more. Neither had seen so many people just walking around, so many structures, such a massive landscape of civilization. Humans and PokeGirls of every kind looked up from their morning duties to watch the incoming bullet train, whose horn still proudly sounded out the jungles of metal and concrete.

 

Toman didn't even notice the jarring motion of the floor as the belly magnets realigned themselves and caused interruptions in the field between them and the tracks. "I've seen pictures of this stuff before online and in books, but it's different when you're actually here..." It's amazing.

 

"Five hundred thousand... is this what that looks like?" Irena squinted to make out individual faces in the crowds they passed below and the profiles of vehicles winding down the streets. She squealed in surprise as a flight of Pidgettes appeared suddenly out of the morning sun and dove in for the train. They leveled out to either side of the vehicle, keeping pace with it and waving and rolling to give a show to the people inside. They were vaguely like humanoid girls, except for their impressive wings and feathers, and were quite attractive. The pilots saw them and tooted their smaller horns in a friendly reply. After a while the fliers got bored, and as a whole moved off, accelerating away again into the red-washed sky.

 

He finally remembered something. "Ah, crap, Marya would want to see this!" There was no turbulence anymore, and people were getting up, stretching, and preparing their luggage. He tossed Marya's PokeBall into the aisle, and it broke open, revealing her in a flash of light. She yawned and looked around. "Marya! We're at Shelaya! Check it out."

 

"Already? Seems like I just went in," She said, but as soon as she got a peek out of a window she whistled. "Holy shit." Her supreme love of nature didn't mean that she couldn't admire this spectacle of civilization, and she joined Irena and Toman in their gawking at Shelaya City. "There's just so many buildings!" The Boobisaur's eyes kept widening at the sights.

 

"Observant." The three of them looked over at a groggy Flurry, who was still chipper as ever. She looked over Marya victoriously, and then fixed her gaze on Toman. "Told you I'd see her before we got to the city."

 

"Yes, yes, great victory for you," Toman said. "Marya, this is Flurry. She's a new Tamer, like me. We're going to be in Boot Camp together. Aside from slight insanity, she seems like a pretty nice girl."

 

Marya smiled brightly at her. "Nice to meet you."

 

"Yeah," Flurry said breezily, quickly looking back at the city. "I suppose I can see why you're all so amazed at the sight. Looking out at this you might think humanity has a population problem in the other direction, but concentrations of people this high is rare." She lectured them like a tour guide would, pointing out prominent buildings or places as the train wound its way, slower and slower, towards the station at the heart of the city. "And that's the Gym. I wouldn't recommend trying to conquer that for your first gym battle, I hear the Leader's some bigshot who's really tough."

 

"Aren't those prerequisites for any type of Gym Leader?" Toman quipped.

 

"Ha! Pretty much, yeah. He's a special case, though, or so I hear. I've never actually seen a Gym Battle here." She pointed out the tallest corporate skyscraper. "Check it out! Incom Incorporated HQ. Third largest structure in Ruby. You could get money working for them as security or running errands, or given your skills they might let you intern at their research departments."

 

The building was blocked from view as they turned several more corners, descending into the urban maze. The train was almost stopped now, and in the distance the Nexus Station appeared. It was a huge hub of dozens of maglev and conventional rail systems, and in hangar yards the shells of dozens of trains laid about. The station was buzzing with people expecting the bullet train's arrival.

 

"Attention passengers," One of the pilots said over the PA system, "We are arriving at Central Station in Shelaya City, ahead of schedule at seven-twenty-three. Please prepare to debark or get your ticket stamped again from our lovely and helpful attendants. Thank you."

 

The vehicle came to a complete stop with a loud thump. The passengers, who had seemed at least a little subdued by the morning haze, were now very animated, grabbing for their luggage and forming lines to exit the train. Flurry leapt into the confusion with glee, at home with masses of people. Toman and his Pokegirls decided to wait until the bulk of the passengers had left before they grabbed what belongings Toman owned and debarked.

 

He paused for a moment at the threshold, and then stepped down onto the platform. It feels like I'm stepping onto foreign soil. His cold realization of how far he really was from home was followed by a different sort of cold realization as Marya began to make unhappy noises and rub her hands together. It was cold.

 

 "Fuck," She expressed herself, causing a few askance looks at such an uppity attitude from the Boobisaur. "Why is it frigid out here? It's barely fall!" The Plant-type was not handling the climate very well, obviously, even with the sun's warming rays sustaining her hungry skin.

 

"Yeah, welcome to Shelaya," Flurry said, materializing out of the crowd. She looked to be dressed in an extra layer or two and didn't appear to mind the cold air at all. "Sorry I forgot to warn you to dress warmer, Toman. You should ball Marya and save her this torture."

 

"Forget that," She objected. "I've been in my ball for over half a day now. Let's just go into the heated station. We need to ask directions anyway."

 

Toman agreed. "Right. C'mon." They made their way inside, Toman and especially Marya sighing in relief as warmth returned to their bodies. He looked around the lounge area and found many new arrivals were doing the same thing, including several Tamers. Other travelers were at the front decks, buying last-minute tickets, checking the train schedule or asking directions like they were.

 

"Get out your Dex, Toman," Flurry said.

 

"Why?" He asked. "So you can steal it again?"

 

"I thought you were over that. And no. I just wanted to save you the trouble of waiting in line and synchronize our city maps. I've marked all the locations of interest and stuff, even that Prof. Shield's lab where you want to go."

 

The teenager smiled. "Thanks." He pulled out the Dex and flipped to its map, magnifying the section for Shelaya City. The Dex only had information on the Samara Area, and so the map only showed geological features and a square box for the entire city. He activated the IR connector light and held it level with Flurry's, and the infrared beams linked the two systems together. She dumped the data and then switched the connection off. "Alright. Now we know exactly where to go. Where are you headed?"

 

"I'm going home," She said. "My family has a house in the suburbs. If you want to swing by, it's obviously marked, too. Until then, I guess I'll see you later." Toman nodded, and was taken by surprise when she pulled him into a friendly hug. "Take good care of Irena," She said to him, grinning in a way that he wasn't entirely comfortable with.

 

"That's the plan." She let go and turned, departing the station and soon disappearing out of sight. "Odd girl."

 

"She seemed a little brusque at me," Marya huffed. "I wonder why. I didn't do anything to her."

 

Toman glanced at her chest and chuckled. "I think you're imagining offense where none was given, Marya. She might be a little jealous but she was very considerate, reminding me to ball you." He scrolled down the map and found Shields' lab. It was beyond the very outskirts of the city. "Oh boy. We got some walking to do, I guess." He was not looking forward to that experience. "Hm.... or we could catch a taxi."

 

The city really was like a well-oiled machine; a dozen taxis had already shown up on the street adjacent to the main station, ready to ferry passengers to their destination within Shelaya. One of the vehicles was a top-of-the-line and very expensive hovercar, while two other automobiles were more affordable groundcars. All of the others were Pokegirl-drawn carriages reminiscent of technology used five hundred or more years ago. A single Ponytaur patiently waited in each of the vehicles, hitched to the front.

 

"We'll ride on the carriages, I think," Toman decided, opening a bag and taking out a stark-white coat. He put it on, grateful he had taken one of the lab aides back home up on their offer to lend him their old coat. "They're closed and I've got to assume heated, the same as the cars, so you can stay out with us for the ride, Marya." He was rewarded by a kiss on the lips by the Boobisaur, who snuggled into the soft outer material of his coat. "Yeah, you're welcome."

 

The horse animorph looked up as the group of three approached them. "Better get the Plant inside, sir. Where you headed?" The fact that the girl was unashamedly checking Marya out seemed to get her a little warmer even in the frigid city air.

 

"Professor Shields' lab," Toman replied, rubbing his hands together and huffing out a warm breath to keep them from freezing through.

 

She paused for a second. "I can take you as far as the perimeter line. My master doesn't want me going any further, you know, because of Ferals and stuff. That'll be three hundred slc." She motioned to a pouch that looked like a saddle, and Toman counted out the three hundred credits before he put it in the pouch. The Ponytaur opened the carriage up and the three passengers were only too glad to climb in and bask in the running heater.

 

"Do you think that was a bit too high just for carrying us across the city?" Marya asked him.

 

"I don't know," Toman shrugged. "It would take us hours of walking to go the same distance, and stuff probably costs more in the city anyway. I'm not going to complain about it." He leaned back, making himself at home as the carriage began to shake and rock. Marya braced herself, but Irena was taken by surprise when the Ponytaur started off at a sprint, and almost tossed out of her seat. "Careful, Irena."

 

"Brr," Marya said, suddenly scooting closer to her Tamer, "I think I still need something else to warm me up, Master. Maybe your huge cock will do the trick?" She pressed her breasts together. "Look. My nipples are still hard."

 

Toman let out a sigh. "Nice try." He pondered it for a moment, and then pulled out his Pokedex. "Let me see..." He measured how fast they were going, and using the map, calculated a very rough estimate of their travel time. "We have twenty minutes. I don't know if that's going to be enough." Marya pulled his pants and underwear down far enough to take hold of his penis, and he felt her begin to rub it. Toman drew in a shuddering breath and nodded, "Alright, alright, but you have to swallow it all. I don't want to have to clean up a mess in this carriage."

 

"As you wish, Master," The Boobisaur said, voice light and breezy like a song. She felt her impressively hung Tamer quickly coming to attention, the organ engorging itself with blood at her touch. Irena was staring at them, too, and she was determined to give her a good show.

 

/\/\

 

Yekaterina calmly walked to the front door as the doorbell sounded off again. "Who would be coming along before eight in the morning?" She wondered aloud, and then yelled, "Coming! One moment please!" She straightened her lab coat and pulled the door open, letting in a chilly blast of air that made her wince. Standing on the threshold was a boy with dark skin in a reasonable coat and two naked Pokegirls, one with fur and the other looking miserable without it. She squinted, trying to see if she remembered this person from the many young people that came through her Master's lab. She had nothing. "Yes?"

 

"Hello," The boy adjusted his glasses and gave a slight, respectful bow. "My name is Toman Kross, and I'm Professor Andrew Kross' son. Is Professor Shields up?"

 

She gasped. "Oh, Master said to expect you over the next day or two! Please, come in, your Boobisaur looks really miserable..." She ushered them into the lobby, and felt their palpable relief like radiation. "Welcome to the lab. My name is Yekaterina, I'm one of Master's most important assistants. You can call me Katya for short."

 

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Toman said politely, noticing her purple hair as the only thing standing out from what a normal human woman would look like. "Are you an Ingenue?"

 

Katya shook her head. "Close. I'm a Psi'dkick."

 

Toman blinked. "Hm? what kind?"

 

"I said, I'm a Psi'dkick." The psychic-type realized the problem pretty quickly. "Oh, not Sidekick, Psi-apostrophe-dkick." The 'Sidekick' breed was the broad term for the first-tier evolution of the basic Ingenue. Like an Eva, it had many possible evolutionary branches, depending on what sort of evolution stone was applied to induce evolution. Sidekicks were common in industry and new Tamers' harems, and a staple of society in many places.

 

"Oh. Sorry about that," The teenager laughed. Even through the cold he seemed a little flushed, and given the emotions rolling off of his Boobisaur Katya could probably guess why. She did refrain from a knowing smirk, though- Master had told her many times that people found that unsettling. "Yeah. We got here about at sunrise and came straight over. I'm sorry if we woke you up."

 

"No, it's fine," She assured them. "I usually wake up early. Master is still sleeping, though I'm sure he'd be happy to meet you as soon as he wakes up. Feel free to have a seat in the living room, or if you're hungry, breakfast is almost done in the kitchen." A loud rumble made Toman and Marya blush and caused the psychic very near human to giggle. "There's plenty, I'm sure a few guests won't be a problem."

 

 "Thank you for the hospitality," Toman said. "We really appreciate it." For some reason, he had seemed very worried to Katya, but that worry evaporated. Nervous we would turn him away? We aren't the sort of people who would do that.

 

She motioned for him to leave his pack at the front door with his shoes, moving through the hallway and towards the kitchen. Roasting bacon and sausage wafted strong down the corridor, the smell almost enrapturing Toman. "Oh, by the way, this is Irena and Marya, my Pokegirls." Katya nodded to both of them as they kept moving. 

 

Gathering courage, Marya spoke up. "Excuse me. I saw this lab has a greenhouse complex. Can I go there to soak up some rays in comfort?" Her skin already itched a bit and she was experiencing hunger pangs.

 

"Feel free," Katya said. "It's upstairs and the farthest door to the left. Shouldn't be hard to spot." The green skinned Pokegirl pecked Toman on the cheek and then broke off, climbing up the stairs and taking in the sights of the large house-lab fusion.

 

Wow , She thought. This place seems more modern than Prof. Kross' lab, somehow. Through ajar doors, rooms full of complex machinery peeked out, a few of them lit and with early-risers in them conducting experiments way over her head. Mysterious breeds of Pokegirls slept in communal barracks, and some turned to look at her as she passed, curious. She reached the end of the winding hallway and pulled open double-doors to reveal a large transparent-domed greenhouse. Bingo!

 

Flowers, weeds, bushes and trees grew in orderly rows, all rising up in the humid air to meet the benevolent rays of the sun and naturally heated by their trapped carbon emissions. Signs in Russian marked various rare breeds from across the League and beyond, including many interesting fruit and berry-producing plants. She reached out, running her hands over them and greeting them on the profound level that only Plant PokeGirls could reach with flora.

 

"Boobisaur, right?" She blinked, looking around for the source of the voice. A human appeared from behind a row of bushes, holding a small hedge clipper. "Don't recognize you from the Prof's breeding. No offense, but your kind's not quite rare enough for him to turn a profit on. Even in Ruby."

 

"That's correct," She acknowledged. "I'm Marya, Toman Kross' alpha. We just got here, and I've been dying to sunbathe a bit. Hope you don't mind."

 

"Not at all, we have some soil in the back of the greenhouse just for such occasions," He said. From his lab-coat and refined manner of speech she supposed he was a research assistant or apprentice to Professor Shields. "By the way, my name's Matvey. I'm one of the people the Professor allows to tend this greenhouse, so I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

 

"You're a lucky boy, then," Marya said, reaching the large open section of rich soil and diving in, groaning as though it were a soft and comfortable bed. She laid on her stomach, breasts comfortably buried along with her feet, and the warm light began to filter in. The Boobisaur was in bliss.

 

/\/\

 

Aaron Shields looked like he was, at best, thirty, although his file in the Dex had put him past forty. He had short, professionally-cropped chestnut brown hair and warm hazel eyes. His face had its share of wrinkles, and his skin had the baked tan of one who had done a lot of farm work. He was still in a set of casual sleeping clothes, instead of his lab coat, but this didn't seem to bother him. Nothing really seemed to bother Professor Shields, and he greeted Toman with a huge grin.

 

"We'd be glad to provide you with one of our spare rooms, Toman." He set his coffee cup down on a table in the living room, motioning for the teenager to have a seat on the couch. He did, and Shields sat on the other side. "Gods know we have the space for it."

 

"I'm really glad, sir," Toman sighed. "It's an honor to be your guest and I hope I can be a fly on the wall for some of your work. I'm eager to learn more about Pokegirl research."

 

"Just as I expected of Andrew's son," The middle-aged man said fondly. "Tell you what, if you help out with our work and occasionally give us the entertainment of a battle, then we'll consider it even and you won't need to worry about compensating me for food or board. How does that sound?"

 

"Sounds great." Toman couldn't help but smile. "You're too generous."

 

"Not at all. I say I hate to brag about the sort of income we sport here at the lab, but in reality I welcome the opportunity to flaunt it." He chuckled. "Andrew doesn't like to admit it but we could probably support his whole lab and still have enough for you and your girl. Tell me, after being raised in such a docile place like Samara, what's your impression of our fair city?"

 

"I feel like I'm on a whole new level," The teenager said, thoughtfully. "There's so many people, it makes me really nervous, but there's all this opportunity out there, too. Especially once I complete Boot Camp."

 

"Good. I hear that the League officials have brought in some kind of specialist to head up the training this year, everyone's talking about it. I'm sure you'll be able to handle whatever this guy throws your way."

 

"Thank you." Toman paused. "Oh, do you mind if I use your phone to call home? I want to tell Father I've made it to your lab safely."

 

"Feel free," Shields assented. He watched Toman stand up and go into the hallway connecting the living room to the kitchen, where a state of the art videophone hung on the wall. 

 

He dialed his area code and home phone number, waiting as the phone began to ring. On the forth ring he heard a click and the LCD screen came to life. Toman smiled as he saw Kiera appear on the screen, looking sleepy and disheveled. "Kross Lab, Kiera speaking. Hello? Wait... Toman! Hey, Master, it's Toman, Toman's calling!" She looked about ready to engulf her screen in motherly kisses. "Caller ID says you made it safely. I'm glad! Are you enjoying the city?"

 

"Enjoying the heat," Toman replied. "Good to see you too, Kiera. We've been gone for less than twenty-four hours, though."

 

His father appeared in the side of the video pickup, looking a bit more in order than the Stretchymaid. "It feels a lot longer, considering you've never been away for so long in your entire life, Toman."

 

"That's true. The city seems like an amazing place, father. I'm glad everything's turning out ok so far." He sighed. "Boot Camp starts in eleven days. Until then, I guess I'll get acclimated to the city and find where the PokeCenter and restaurants are out here."

 

"Good idea. You should find a part-time job for Irena," Kiera recommended. "She can do that while you and Marya are being molded into lean and mean killing machines."

 

Toman laughed. "My friend said the same thing. Only problem is finding something that won't tire her out. I'll figure out a way. It was great talking with you two, but I should get off now, I have a feeling the rates to call inter-League aren't something Professor Shields would love to entertain for long. I'll call you again in a while if I have any news, and I expect you to do the same, alright?"

 

"Hold on! Put Aaron on the phone, will you," His father requested. "I'd been meaning to ring him up for a while, and this is the perfect excuse. Besides, I'm sure he'd love to let me know just how long he could support an idle chat with these rates."

 

"Professor," Toman called out to him, "Father wants to speak with you, if you don't mind."

 

Shields stood up, taking his coffee with him, and went over to the phone. "Not at all. Andrew, Kiera! Good to see both of you in relatively good health. How have you been?" The teenager took the opportunity to escape, the friendly banter slowly drifting out of earshot as he went into the kitchen.

 

The scientists exchanged banter and shop talk, but Shields eventually guided the course of the discussion to his son. "I thought you might be interested in some of the things I've learned from my contacts with the city officials, Andrew. It concerns this year's Boot Camp. According to several sources, the League is starting a new anti-Menace education program due to the rise in Menace attacks in the last half-century in Shelaya. They're bringing in a specialist in Menaces for this year's course. I didn't get a name or face, but I do know that he comes from the Silver Islands."

 

"SIL?" Andrew's expression had darkened upon the first mention of 'menace', for understandable reasons. "Hm. Well, they would know a lot about Menaces, I suppose. Can't say I disagree with this program." He didn't like the thought of his son going up against a Menace, but if he ended up in that situation, he'd rather the boy was as prepared as possible.

 

 "Yes. But this is the interesting part- there are factions in the government who are in strong disagreement with this decision, and especially with the specific Tamer they're shipping in. They have concerns about Menace safety, which leads me to suspect that this person might actually be bringing some form of Menace Pokegirl into Boot Camp."

 

Professor Kross blinked. "What? Bringing a Menace in? Is that even remotely legal?"

 

"Well technically it's illegal for Menaces to exist, thus the bounties on their heads. On the other hand, it's almost certain these will be tamed Menaces owned by this specialist. Ruby has a treaty to respect all property rights of lawful SIL citizens. Thus, they can't be destroyed because that would violate this man's rights. Basically, I think it's a possibility."

 

 "That's unbelievable. Do the people who set this up honestly know what kind of risk their taking? Shelaya's got five hundred thousand people, for gods' sake; it could be Ruby City all over again!" Andrew felt he knew something about Menaces, and he also realized he was beginning to panic.

 

"Steady on, Andrew. It's just a possibility, nothing's confirmed yet, even internally. If the head trainer is allowed to bring a Menace PokeGirl in, then it will certainly have been treated with that Lockdown procedure and be relatively safe. Even the most liberal factions obviously realize the need for those sorts of precautions. But I'm worried about it, too, even if just a little bit. If they are going to be running that sort of training and expose new Tamers to that danger, then it's our duty to blow this story wide open to the public. Imagine the sort of backlash against this plan from the common people."

 

 Kross nodded. "True. Hm. I'm considering telling Toman to withdraw from the program for his safety, but maybe there's a way to keep him in there. If he still goes, he's sure to tell us all about what's going on 'inside'. Then we can evaluate whether this is the work of a madman or if the instruction is actually going to be safe and helpful. I'm trying to keep an open mind, although you know how strongly I feel about this..."

 

"This is your only son, Andrew," Aaron said. "Do you want to gamble him like this?" He agreed with his friend's conclusion, but he wanted to be respectful and deferent in all matters relating to his child.

 

 "Even if the reports are accurate he won't be in too much danger. Believe me, if I thought he was going to be near a fully destructive Menace I would move earth and heavens, Aaron. I'm not prepared to lose another loved one to that. I've studied Lockdown a little, though, and it has a very high success rate in SIL. If they're doing something stupid or dangerous, we can pull him out at any time."

 

Shields nodded. "Fair enough. I'll make sure we do everything possible to support and protect him, and we'll see how this plays out." He still held out some hope that these reports were an error, or somehow mistaken, but the corroborating accounts from different sections of the League government gave it credence. A bold step for a moderate League, that's for sure.

 

 "Thank you for telling me about this development," Kross said earnestly. "I had no clue something like this might have been going on. I owe you, Aaron."

 

"What, we're keeping a running tab on that? You owe me a lot on balance, then," Shields shrugged breezily. "We're friends. It's all I could do to help. I'll try and do more. And I'll stay in contact."

 

Upstairs, Katya was showing Toman and Irena their new room. It was almost adjacent to the greenhouse, a perfect spot for them, and the room was large and comfortable. "This should be great for you," The Psi'dkick said, motioning to the computer on the wall. "We have the internet here, of course, so feel free to use that in your studies." She glanced at the bed. "I don't think you'll mind having a king size. More room for group Taming if that's what you're in to." The younger Pokegirl and boy both blushed. "And given where you are, you probably will get into it." She smirked. "The breeding quarters are all around here."

 

"Lovely," Toman remarked. "Irena, I hope you're not the jealous type."

 

"N-not at all, Master," The Mynx assured him. She had a seat on the bed, enjoying how soft and comfortable it was against her bare fur.

 

They heard a yawn and looked over, seeing Marya in the doorway. "I miss anything? This our room?" Toman nodded. "Alright, that's good to know. What's this about being jealous?"

 

"I'll explain later," He sighed. "Thanks, Katya. I'll put my stuff up here and settle in."

 

The Sidekick evolution nodded. "Not a problem. See you all later, I'll be-" She paused as another Pokegirl appeared in the doorway. Toman knew right away she was a Pokegirl due to a number of things, including the vaguely demonic red eyes, the tiny bat-like wings, and the impossibly attractive and shapely body. Even by Pokegirl standards, she looked completely amazing, her sensual curves only barely contained by a small black dress. "Kathy." A Succubus, Toman thought before his PokeDex was out to confirm it. Wow.

 

She brushed past Katya and Marya without a word, grinning like a cat. "Hello there, Toman Kross. I heard you had come and I was very eager to meet you in person. I'm Katherine."

 

Toman suddenly began to feel uncomfortable, especially after Katya rolled her eyes and Teleported out. "Um. Hello." He squeaked in surprise as she lunged forward, pressing him against the bed. "What are you doing?!"

 

"Testing you," She blithely said before going to work on him, with both of his Pokegirls watching in shock.