Chapter 1.5

POKEDEX UPDATED

Tamer: Nicholas Topolski

Badges:

Harem:

         Dahlia, Bulbasaur – Level 6

Tamer: Michael Thieme

Badges:

Harem:

         Vanessa, Squirtle – Level 5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         The next morning Nicholas and Dahlia were standing outside the lab. The Bulbasaur kept making happy noises and rubbing against him, but Nicholas wasn't going to complain. He felt the same way.

         "Michael left before you." Oak explained brightly. "Now remember, the first Kanto gym is in Pewter city. You'll have to head back north to get there."

         "Will do." Nicholas called, waving at the older man. "Thanks, Oak. For everything!"

         "Keep in touch!" Oak yelled back, waving until the two had vanished down the road.

         Dahlia was still lost in the afterglow from their first taming. "I can't believe I've finally got a Master." She said happily. "Thank you for coming along, Master Nicholas."

         Nicholas smiled to himself. "Thank you for being such a wonderful first pokegirl, Dahlia."

         "You really haven't had a pokegirl before?" Dahlia asked in surprise. "I thought you were just saying that to make me feel better."

         "No, you're honestly my first." Nicholas replied. "First time having sex, too."

         "Wh-wh-whaaAAT?" Dahlia cried. "REALLY?"

         Nicholas shot her a disgruntled look. "You don't need to make such a big deal out of it, Dahlia. I'm only 24."

         "But usually…" Dahlia trailed off. "Well, I mean I guess usually a pokegirl has a Master by her 18th birthday, and I'm 22, so… I guess we both just, didn't find anyone until now."

         Nicholas gave her a grateful smile. "That's right, we didn't. But we've got each other now."

         Dahlia giggled happily and wrapped one of her vines around his arm. "That's right, Master. We do."

         "So, first order of business." Nicholas used his free hand to pull up the map on his pokedex. "We're going to Pewter. That means braving the Viridian Forest, unless…" He traced the route on the map. "There's an area that runs parallel here. Maybe we can bypass the forest altogether."

         Dahlia nodded, picking up her pace and tugging him along. "Let's try!"

         They walked for about an hour before Dahlia slowed. Her pace had been easy for Nicholas to match so when he found himself suddenly a few steps ahead he paused. "Dahlia? Everything alright?"

         "Mmmm." Dahlia had gone from using her vines to hold him to actually holding his hand in hers and he could feel her fingers tighten. "I thought… I heard something, Master."

         Nicholas took a moment to look around them. The terrain wasn't much different from when they started, trees to either side, grass overgrowing parts of the path they walked. "What did you hear?"

         "…something." Dahlia repeated uncertainly. "Maybe a feral…?"

         "Doesn't Oak keep this area clear?" Nicholas asked before remembering the pokegirls that had almost ambushed him and Michael on the way in.

         "He… does." Dahlia replied slowly. "Usually."

         She jumped when he placed his other hand on her shoulder. "Where did you hear the noise?" Nicholas asked quietly.

         "Over… over there." Dahlia pointed at some of the grass.

         "If it is a feral, can you fight?"

         Dahlia nodded and Nicholas stepped forwards. "OI! We know you're in there. Come out!"

         There was no response for a few minutes, both Nicholas and Dahlia staring at the grass. Eventually a head popped up and a flat-chested pokegirl pushed her way into the open.

         "A Pidgey." Nicholas noted, identifying her by her feathered arms… or wings, he supposed, and the overall brown and tan color scheme across her body. "Unless some other flying-type has managed to make their way here, she's the most likely breed."

         "You have a pokedex, Master." Dahlia whispered.

         "Oh, of course." Nicholas pointed the scanner.

         "Pidgey. The little bird pokegirl." The device chirped.

         "See? I know what I'm talking about." Nicholas teased.

         The Pidgey ruffled her wings. "YOU!" She screeched. "NO COME! MINE!"

         Nicholas sighed. "Well she's not feral, but she's definitely going wild."

         "What's the difference, Master?" Dahlia asked curiously, keeping one eye on the Pidgey at all times.

         "Well, for a while, there was no difference. Only human… contact can bring a pokegirl out of the feral state, and we thought it was the only cure, even when a pokgirl was only starting to go feral. That's what going wild is, when a pokegirl starts thinking more on instinct than with her brain."

         "Okay?" Dahlia said.

         "These days, we have machines that can save a pokegirl before she goes completely feral. They don't work as well as human contact, but they work. And we've even managed to design pokeballs with a low level version of that machine, so that already tamed pokegirls, like you, don't just… slip away while inside."

         Dahlia shuddered. "Oh."

         "If this Pidgey isn't too far gone, just catching her should be enough to wake her mind up."

         "Oh!" Dahlia replied excitedly. "So you think that she's only just going feral, which means this low powered thing the pokeball does will be enough for her?"

         "Now you're getting it." Nicholas chuckled.

         Through their conversation the Pidgey had continued posturing, her wings flapping occasionally whenever she felt like she wasn't making enough of an impression.

         "So we just catch her, right Master?" Dahlia asked excitedly, turning her attention fully to the Pidgey. "You've got pokeballs, right?"

         "Hmm, I do…" Nicholas muttered.

         Dahlia glanced at him. "Master?"

         "She's rather small for my tastes." Nicholas mused. "I do need a flying-type, though."

         "Master!" Dahlia replied, aghast. "You'd just LEAVE her here?!?!"

         "Pokeballs are expensive!" Nicholas retorted. "I'm sure I could turn her in for the bounty, but that's work. I'd rather just focus on catching pokegirls I want." He winked at her. "Like you."

         Dahlia wasn't going to let the compliment throw her off. "Master, part of being a tamer is putting in that work. It's your duty to save us. We need humans like you or we'd all be mindless ferals." She reached up to draw his eyes to hers. "Would you just let me go feral, too, if it was too much work?"

         Nicholas shot her a look. "That's mean, Dahlia."

         "Would you?" She asked again.

         "No." Nicholas grumbled. "Fine. We'll catch her, but I'm not going out of my way to save every wild pokegirl we see."

         Dahlia kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Master."

         "Yea, you're lucky you're cute." Nicholas muttered but Dahlia was already moving into a battle position and didn't hear him.

         The Pidgey screeched when Dahlia got closer. "NO! MINE!"

         Dahlia grinned, her vines snaking out into a ready position. "Order me, Master!"

         "Pidgey can't fly very well yet!" Nicholas hollered. "Expect her to fight on the ground and don't let her get her claws in you!"

         Dahlia nodded, preparing to charge.

         The Pidgey was faster and Dahlia was forced onto the defensive when the little bird suddenly attacked, screaming her challenge and buffeting Dahlia with her wings.

         "Just hit her!" Nicholas yelled. "You don't have to knock her out for the pokeball to work!"

         Dahlia shoved the Pidgey back, foregoing her vines to slam her body into her opponent. The Pidgey squawked, flapping back and hopping about just off the ground.

         "See, she can't fly!" Nicholas yelled. "Get her, now!"

         Dahlia slashed out with her vines, the attack catching the Pidgey just above her shoulder and whipping down her body. The wild pokegirl screamed in pain, one wing faltering from the damage done to her shoulder. Dahlia didn't need another command, her vines snaking back out and attempting to grapple the floundering bird pokegirl.

         "Master, get her!" Dahlia screamed, crying out when the struggling Pidgey yanked her closer and opened a nasty cut along her stomach.

         "Right, pokeball." Nicholas plunged his hand into his bag, grabbing the orb and activating it from standby. "Here we go!"

         His aim was true and the Pidgey squawked when the ball bounced off her wing. It activated immediately, sucking her into the capture beam and falling to the ground to begin shaking.

         "Wow, that was-" Nicholas started before the ball shattered, disgorging the angry pokegirl in a flash of red. "DAHLIA!"

         The Bulbasaur had started to relax and took the Pidgey's attack squarely to her body, screaming in pain when the Pidgey's claws dug into her skin and began drawing bloody streaks across her body.

         "FUCK YOU DON'T!" Nicholas roared, grabbing a second pokeball and sending it smashing into the Pidgey's face.

         The pokegirl looked stunned from the impact as the second ball sucked her up, and this time it only shook a few times before sounding the capture tone.

         "Dahlia!" Nicholas screamed, fumbling in his bag and pulling out a potion before running to the panting Bulbasaur's side. "Here, this will help."

         Dahlia's labored breathing began to slow when he treated her wounds. "Thank you, Master. You said not to let her do that and I-"

         "She caught you by surprise." Nicholas soothed. "You did fine. I didn't expect her to break free either."

         Dahlia nodded, waiting for him to finish before staggering upright. "Ow ow owwww."

         "I don't want to release her to check if she's back to normal, what with both of you in bad shape." Nicholas muttered. "Come on. No more fights, let's get to Viridian."

         Dahlia nodded and let him support her while they continued to walk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         "Hello and welcome to the Viridian pokecenter." The NurseJoy behind the counter remarked brightly when Nicholas and Dahlia walked in. "Would you like me to heal your pokegirls today?"

         "Please." Nicholas replied. "Dahlia, I'm putting you back in your pokeball."

         The Nursejoy took the two balls he handed to her. "It will just be a few minutes, sir."

         Nicholas waited while she used the machine on the wall behind her and a few minutes later she turned back. "Here you are." Nicholas took the balls with a word of thanks and the NurseJoy bobbed her head. "We hope to see you again, sir!"

         "Oh, I've never done this before." The NurseJoy glanced at him. "I just caught a wild pokegirl, and…"

         "Ah, do you require a room, sir? Is she feral?" The NurseJoy asked curiously.

         "She wasn't feral, no, just wild."

         "I can run her through a taming cycle if you'd like, sir. It doesn't hurt to be safe." The NurseJoy explained.

         "Yea, that's probably for the best." Nicholas handed the Pidgey's pokeball back to her. "Nothing crazy, though, please."

         "I'll just set it to level 2." The NurseJoy replied, placing the Pidgey's pokeball into a different machine and closing the lid. "While we wait, sir, are you really a new tamer? You're a bit old to be fresh from Oak's lab."

         "Oh, I am, but that's because I'm a researcher." Nicholas explained. "I went back to school instead of entering the pokegirl league challenge."

         "Ah, I see!" The NurseJoy exclaimed. "You're the second young man with that story today."

         "Oh, Michael already came through?" Nicholas asked. "Yea, we started together. Did he say where he was going?"

         "Hmm, he said something about training before entering the forest, so he probably went off to the west. He won't get far; that's the direction to Victory Road, but the wild pokegirls there would be more of a challenge than back towards Pallet Town."

         "I see." Nicholas said. "Then I'll head that way too, see if I can run into him."

         "Please meet your new pokegirl first, sir." The NurseJoy teased, withdrawing the Pidgey's pokeball when the machine popped open. "Here you are. Take good care of her!"

         Nicholas thanked her again and walked out, looking around the town. He could see what had to be the market, but he didn't have enough money to buy much right now. He could also see a large building that must be a gym. Strange that he hadn't been told to challenge this one first. He shrugged. Oh well, they'd head to Pewter first.

         Dahlia materialized. "Yes, Master?"

         "I'm going to release the Pidgey and wanted to make sure you were here when I did."

         Dahlia's face broke into a smile. "That's very smart, Master. Thank you. I don't want to lose you to an accident."

         Nicholas smiled and ruffled her short hair. "Neither do I, Dahlia."

         The Pidgey materialized and immediately fell on her ass, the bird pokegirl glaring about indignantly. "Who-how-I-" She rapidly shook her head. "Hello?"

         "Hello!" Nicholas called brightly. "You seem to be back in control of yourself. What's your name?"

         The Pidgey struggled upright and turned to him. "Me? Who are you."

         "My name is Nicholas, and this is Dahlia." Nicholas gestured at the Bulbasaur. "I'm your new tamer, if you're alright with that."

         "Hmph." The Pidgey crossed her wings. "I suppose I can accept traveling with the tamer that managed to beat me."

         Dahlia started to giggle, causing the Pidgey to whirl on her indignantly. "WHAT'RE YOU LAUGHIN' AT?"

         "You don't have a choice, that's what." Dahlia giggled. "You act so tough but you couldn't even beat me, a grass-type, when you're a flying-type!"

         "Uh, actually, she's not." Nicholas said helpfully before the Pidgey could retort. "She's only a normal-type for now. When she evolves she'll gain the flying-type."

         "I most certainly am a flying-type." The Pidgey huffed. "And proud of it, I'll have you know."

         Dahlia roared with laughter and Nicholas dropped his voice. "I was trying to help you save face. Now she can keep making fun of you."

         The Pidgey blinked before an angry blush spread across her cheeks. "Shit. You were just trying to help me. I thought you were making fun of me too."

         "I don't do that to my pokegirls." Nicholas replied. "I'll tease, but I won't ever try to hurt you like that. Not intentionally."

         The Pidgey gazed at him for a moment before speaking. "Thank you, Master. I am Jeanne, but I understand if you wish to rename me. Many tamers do."

         "I don't do that." Nicholas replied. "Not unless you're unhappy with the name you have."

         The Pidgey blinked. "Really?"

         "Nope."

         "Um… Then, can you call me Ashley?"

         Nicholas grinned at her. "Of course, Ashley. It's a pleasure to meet you."

         Ashley blushed for a different reason and she nodded. "Thank you."

         "Dahlia!" Nicholas turned to the still laughing Bulbasaur. "Please don't be too mean to Ashley. You're both closer in skill to each other than you are to the opponents we'll be fighting."

         Dahlia slowly brought herself under control. "Sorry, Master." She curtsied in Ashley's direction. "Welcome to the harem, Ashley. Let's get stronger together, okay?"

         Ashley returned the curtsy with a bob of her head. "For Master."

         Nicholas sighed but patted Ashley's shoulder. "If that helps you focus, sure." He pointed. "Dahlia, the NurseJoy said Michael might have gone that way. Want to see how he and Vanessa are doing?"

         Dahlia nodded. "Sure, Master. But maybe not with another battle. Vanessa just lost yesterday."

         Nicholas chuckled. "Sure, no battle. But we will be training. Both of you."

         The two pokegirls nodded and followed him towards the edge of town.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

POKEDEX UPDATED

Tamer: Nicholas Topolski

Badges:

Harem:

         Dahlia, Bulbasaur – Level 6

         Ashley, Pidgey – Level 3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         "So this is the way to Victory Road, and the pokegirl league." Nicholas took a deep breath of the sweet air. "I can almost smell the mountains. Dahlia, how about you?"

         The Bulbasaur looked at him in surprise. "Me what, Master?"

         "Well you're a Bulbasaur, aren't you? Can't you feel nature or something?"

         Dahlia shrugged. "I guess, Master, but it just feels nice here. Clean, I suppose."

         "That's the smell I'm getting." Nicholas took another deep breath. "I like it. So, if Michael is around here, where would he be…"

         Ashley suddenly jumped out in front of him. "Master, look!"

         Further down the path a pokegirl burst into the open with another right on her heels.

         Nicholas watched them vanish again. "Were those both wild?"

         "I don't know, but there's a fight!" Ashley cried excitedly, her wings flapping to boost her speed as she ran. "Come on!"

         "Ashley, wait!" Nicholas yelled but the Pidgey was already in a full sprint. "Come on, Dahlia!"

         Ashley burst into the open, looking about excitedly. A human was yelling at one side, two pokegirls grappling in the center. With a whoop she dove into the fray. "Hello!"

         One of the pokegirls yelped, pushing back at her arrival. "Who're you?!"

         "Friend!" Ashley replied brightly, focusing on the other, a scruffy looking fighter of some sort. The pokegirl howled, slamming her hands together before attempting to strike Ashley.

         Nicholas showed up a moment later, looking around at the confusion. "Ashley's fighting already, shit!" He glanced over and brightened when he saw Michael. "YO! MIKE!"

         Michael turned. "NICK? Is that your girl?"

         "Ashley, DISENGAGE!" Nicholas shook his head when the Pidgey ignored him. "Yea, she's mine. Is that one yours?"

         The other fighting pokegirl had retreated, her curly pink tail and whiskers identifying her to Nicholas as a Rattata. "Yea, this is Petunia." Michael sighed when Ashley continued beating up the wild pokegirl. "Damnit, I was hoping to catch this one."

         "Ashley, back off, NOW!" Nicholas added a tinge of command to his voice that got the Pidgey's attention. "Michael wants to catch her, so give him a chance."

         Ashley skipped back. "But-"

         "We'll find you another fight." Nicholas growled.

         "Thanks, Nick. Petunia, get back in there!" Michael watched his Rattata scamper forwards. "She needed a breather, actually. Your girl helped a lot."

         "Where's Vanessa?"

         "Resting in her pokeball. I want to give Petunia some good experience."

         "Cool."

         "Nice hit!" Michael cried excitedly, running forward and lobbing a pokeball. "We got her!"

         The pokeball bounced about angrily for a lot longer than Nicholas thought it should but eventually it stopped and sounded the capture tone. "Nice. What was she?"

         "A fully feral Mankey."

         Nicholas' jaw dropped. "A fully-? Wow, Mike. She's going to be pretty powerful then."

         "I hope so." Michael turned to him with a grin. "I need some good power to take you down, don't I?"

         Nicholas laughed. "We'll get there, man. Don't worry about any more battles right now, let's get a few badges under our belts first, yea? Give us some time to get to know our girls."

         Michael nodded. "Thanks, Nick. I know it's been less than a day but I'm really enjoying this so far. Good to hear that you're doing the same."

         Nicholas nodded and turned to where Ashley was strutting around the clearing. "I plan on training around here for at least the rest of today before going into the forest. You?"

         "I'm headed straight for Pewter. Supposedly the gym specializes in rock-type pokegirls, which means if Vanessa is strong enough she'll crush it." Michael grinned. "I'll make sure Petunia and this new Mankey are up to scratch, but she'll be the queen of that gym. I know it."

         Nicholas chuckled. "Don't get too cocky, mate. Remember what we were talking about? I guarantee someone like a gym leader knows the same thing and has prepared for the types they're weak to."

         "Eh, it's the first gym. We'll be fine." Michael purred.

         "Heh. And here I thought I was supposed to be the cocky one." Nicholas slapped Michael's back. "Go get 'em, man. I'll see you around."

         Dahlia watched Michael and Petunia jog back towards Viridian. "Will we be going straight to the gym as well, Master?"

         Nicholas shook his head. "Not likely. You heard me talking to Mike – I want you and Ashley more than prepared for the battle, not just you. Even though you're a grass-type and should have no issues, I'm not taking any chances. Gym leaders are powerful."

         Dahlia nodded. "Got it, Master."

         "To that end, let's get started." Nicholas waved at Ashley. "ASHLEY! Scare something up and let's fight!"

         "Got it!" Ashley called back, spreading her wings and facing the grassy forest. "COME ON, BITCHES! I'M ON YOUR TURF AND NOT AFRAID OF YOU!"

         Silence fell for a few moments before something jumped out and dashed in Ashley's direction.

         "Rattata. The mouse pokegirl." Nicholas' pokedex chirped as Ashley avoided the wild pokegirl's attacks.

         "Ashley, try…" Nicholas trailed off when Ashley did something he hadn't seen her do before.

         Ashley dug her taloned feet into the ground, ripping free a massive amount of dirt and flinging it into the Rattata's face. The mouse pokegirl screamed in confusion, desperately rubbing at her blinded eyes while Ashley slid back and began furiously flapping her wings.

         The wild pokegirl barely managed to clear her vision by the time the Gust attack slammed into her, sending her screaming back into the trees.

         "YEA!" Ashley cried gleefully. "Who's NEXT!"

         "She… didn't do that while she was wild." Nicholas observed.

         "That took strategy, Master, that's why."

         "Ahhh, I see." Nicholas peered at the strutting Pidgey. "She's smarter than she lets on."

         Dahlia nodded vigorously. "I'm glad you took her in, Master. She'll be a great training partner."

         "Right, let me focus now." Nicholas chided gently when another pokegirl came into view.

         It was another Mankey and Ashley nearly crowed when the fighting-type was sent yelping back into the woods by her attacks. "NEXT! NEXT! NEXT!"

         "Ashley, don't get overconfident!" Nicholas yelled. "You've taken a few hits!"

         Ashley glanced down at the bruises across her naked body. "I'm fine, Master!" She called. "I want to keep going!"

         "Well here comes another." Nicholas observed.

         Ashley fought back another two ferals before turning to him. "Okay, Master, I'm getting tired."

         "Come on over here." Nicholas briskly rubbed her wings. "You did good, Ashley. Want to let Dahlia take a turn?"

         "Yea." Ashley replied.

         "Go on, Dahlia!" Nicholas called, watching the Bulbasaur move to intercept another Rattata that had entered the clearing. "Here, let me heal you up."

         Ashley sighed when the potion eased the aching bruises she had sustained. "Thank you, Master. Should I keep going?"

         Nicholas chuckled. "You're tired, so let's rest a bit. Watch Dahlia."

         The Bulbasaur easily defeated the Rattata, dropping her unconscious body and clapping gleefully. "I can hear them! Ooh, there's a lot of pokegirls out there!"

         She paused when a larger form broke free and stepped into the light. The pokegirl stared at her before raising her eyes to where Ashley and Nicholas stood. "You. Fight."

         "Um, hi?" Nicholas tried.

         The pokegirl growled and he could see the scars running across her body ripple when she moved. "You challenge. I fight."

         "I thiiink we've angered the Alpha of this stretch of woods." Nicholas called nervously. "Dahlia, try to back up a bit?"

         Dahlia slowly stepped back and the pokegirl followed her. "Fight." She spat.

         Nicholas had brought his pokedex around by now and scanned the pokegirl. "Nidoran. The poison point pokegirl." The pokedex chimed.

         "Poison?" Nicholas gasped. "Dahlia, get out of there, NOW!"

         The Bulbasaur turned to run and the Nidoran struck, wicked looking spikes rising from her arms as she slammed her elbow into Dahlia's back.

         The Bulbasaur's eyes bugged but she got away, her bulb having cushioned the blow. "I'm alright, Master!" She yelled, squaring up against the advancing pokegirl. "We have to fight her!"

         "We can always run!" Nicholas retorted. "She's dangerous."

         "Yes! She is!" Dahlia called. "Catch her, Master! Then she's on our side!"

         "I'll help-" Ashley started but stopped when Nicholas grabbed her wing.

         "Look." He muttered. "They aren't interfering either."

         Ashley raised her eyes to the treeline and swallowed. At least half a dozen pokegirls were watching them.

         "If you make this a two on one fight, I guarantee that the rest of her pack will gladly turn the odds back in their favor." Nicholas whispered. "If I need to I'll substitute you in, but wait, for now."

         Ashley nodded.

         "Dahlia, don't let her hit you!" Nicholas yelled. "This isn't like before, where taking a hit and giving one was okay. If you get poisoned, you'll be at a massive disadvantage."

         Dahlia swallowed. She could see the spines on the Nidoran's limbs glistening with liquid. She had been stabbed; how had she avoided getting hurt? Her bulb, she realized. Her bulb had absorbed the poison without putting it into her body. But to use it, she'd have to turn her back on her opponent's attacks. That wasn't an option.

         "Alright, Master!" She called back. "I'll do my best!"

         Nicholas checked his bag and winced. Only three pokeballs left. He could use two, then use the third to stall the Nidoran while they ran. They'd have to deal with the pack, but that wasn't as big of a threat as the Alpha was. They'd be okay. They were going to get out of this.

         Dahlia shouted, dancing back away from the Nidoran and whipping her vines forwards. The wild pokegirl dodged, one arm coming up in a defensive posture while she raced towards the retreating Bulbasaur. Dahlia quickly struck again, her vines slamming against the Nidoran's body.

         The Nidoran dove at her, energy coalescing around her legs before she began kicking, the attack bludgeoning Dahlia's body and sending her crashing to the ground. Before the Nidoran could press her advantage Dahlia was back on her feet, her vines stabbing out in an attempt to hit the Nidoran's face.

         The girl ducked, an arm whipping about and smacking a vine away. Dahlia started to attack again before crying out in pain and falling to her knees.

         Nicholas looked at her in confusion before noticing how one of her vines was still stuck to the Nidoran. "Oh no, Dahlia-!"

         The Bulbasaur could feel the poison seeping into her vine from where it had been impaled on a spike. "That… really… hurts." She hissed, forcing herself to get back to her feet. Try as she might the vine was well and truly stuck. "But it hurt you too, didn't it?"

         The Nidoran glared at her before running in again and Dahlia threw her other vine around as hard as she could.

         Both pokegirls cried out in pain from the impact, Dahlia's vine skewering itself across three of the Nidoran's spikes, the Nidoran crashing away from the impact. Dahlia managed to pull her vines free, the appendages falling to the ground as she struggled to control them properly.

         "Dahlia, that's enough!" Nicholas yelled, recalling her. "Ashley, finish her fight!"

         "Gladly." Ashley snarled, running out and immediately firing a barrage of dirt at the weakened Nidoran.

         The girl snarled, ignoring her blinded eyes and lunging at where Ashley had been. The Pidgey was already on the move and the wild pokegirl's attack missed, leaving her back completely exposed.

         Ashley had a score to settle. She had lost to Dahlia, and Dahlia had lost to this girl. That meant if she won here, she wouldn't have to listen to the smug Bulbasaur any more. "TAKE THIS!" She screamed, her muscles straining as she flapped her wings as hard as she could.

         The gusts of wind bludgeoned the Nidorana and sent her rolling across the ground. Ashley winced when something popped and she dropped to the ground, nursing her protesting wing.

         "Good job!" Nicholas roared, flipping a pokeball into his hand and heaving it at the Nidoran.

         He grimaced when the shot went wide, the Nidoran rolling to her feet and charging at where Ashley recovered.

         "Master!" Ashley cried desperately, still clutching her injured wing.

         Nicholas ran to the side, getting in line behind the charging Nidoran. This time his aim was true, the pokeball catching her right between her shoulderblades. Ashley hopped away from the pokeball, recognizing the violent shaking as dangerous just before the Nidoran burst free, her roars filling the clearing.

         Nicholas grabbed at his last pokeball. This was it. They needed to run after this one. The first he had thrown was gone and he didn't have time to look for it.

         "Ashley, get ready to run!" He yelled.

         Ashley glanced at him and seemed to understand. "Last chance, Master?"

         "This is it, so get ready to go!"

         "Nah." Ashley snarled, dropping her protesting wing. "I can do this! I CAN WIN!"

         The Nidoran yelled in surprise when Ashley charged to meet her. The Pidgey jumped, her legs striking at the soft parts of the Nidoran's body and deftly avoided the spikes by using her wings to maneuver. Ashley bit back her own pain when her wing nearly failed, using the last of her strength to flip around and land a devastating kick to the back of the Nidoran's head.

         She finally screamed in pain when she fell to the ground right on top of her injured wing. "MASTER, NOW!"

         Nicholas wasn't going to take any more chances and ran right at the thrashing Nidoran. "Here we GO!"

         Ashley felt him grab her good wing and heave her to her feet, the ball he was holding dropping to hit the Nidoran. She clutched at him to stay upright, watching the ball hop.

         "Come on." She whispered, pushing past the pain just in case she needed to keep fighting. "Come on…"

         Nicholas tensed. If they needed to run, they would have to be fast.

         The ball hopped again, landing and shaking violently for another second before coming to a halt. Nicholas barely dared to breathe when the capture tone sounded. "We did it."

         He whirled when a cacophony of noise came from the trees, but the watching pokegirls weren't interested in them anymore. As he watched one screamed a challenge, attacking one of the others until the entire scene was a massive brawl.

         "The Alpha has been defeated." Ashley observed, her pain evident in her voice. "We need to go, Master."

         "Alright." Nicholas recalled her, scooping up the Nidoran and dashing back towards Viridian.

         It was the longest ten minutes of his life but he finally sprinted past the outer buildings, slowing and leaning over to catch his breath.

         They'd done it. They'd won. A wild pokegirl had nearly taken them out, but they'd won. He straightened, his chest still heaving. They needed to train more. A LOT more. But they could do this. They'd get stronger, challenge the gyms. They could win.

         He looked down at the pokeball still clutched in his hand and grinned, slowly transitioning into a happy laugh. He'd found a Pidgey who didn't back down and a battle scarred Nidoran on his first. Day. This was shaping up to be quite the team and he couldn't wait to see what came next.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         Ashley materialized and blinked at the low light. "Master?"

         "Right here, Ashley." The Pidgey squinted when Nicholas' pokedex lit up. "I got you all healed and made camp in Viridian. It's really nice that they have a place for tamers to set up right by the pokecenter."

         Ashley shuffled about, her head barely even coming close to the roof of the tent. "This is a very nice tent, Master."

         "Professor Oak gave it to me." Nicholas explained. "Come here," he gestured, squirming upright a bit and patting his chest. "Don't you want to lay down?"

         Ashley wriggled up next to him. "Thank you, Master." She rubbed her cheek against his chest for a few moments before settling down. "If we're together, Master, then does that mean…?"

         "Of course, but I wanted to congratulate you first." Nicholas kissed her nose. "You fought incredibly well today, and I'm glad I decided to keep you."

         "Me too, Master." Ashley murmured. "I know I'm not exactly your 'type', but I like you a lot."

         "I said that because you're small." Nicholas explained. "But you'll grow into that body of yours, I know that. You'll evolve a few times along the way."

         "That's right." Ashley whispered. "I will."

         She felt his hands creeping along her body and shivered. "You deserve a reward for your performance today." He whispered in her ear. "Something more than just our first time together."

         Ashley shook her head as she felt him explore her body. "That- that's fine, Master, I'm just… So happy right now…"

         "You know, I haven't had a chance to really look at you yet." Nicholas murmured as he continued teasing her. "Do you think you'd let me get a better view when the sun comes up?"

         Ashley shuddered when his hands began to drift down towards her groin. "Y-yes, Master. I'd enjoy that."

         "Good." Nicholas chuckled. "But for tonight, I don't need to see you to enjoy this."

         Ashley cried out in pleasure, their movements continuing long into the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

POKEDEX UPDATED

Tamer: Nicholas Topolski

Badges:

Harem:

         Dahlia, Bulbasaur – Level 7

         Ashley, Pidgey – Level 6

         ???, Nidoran – Level 5

Tamer: Michael Thieme

Badges:

Harem:

         Vanessa, Squirtle – Level 6

         Petunia, Rattata – Level 5

         ???, Mankey – Level 5