I found a spot to stand, away from most of the crowd. I leaned over the deck rail, looking at the waves below, left in the wake of the St. Anne. Mewtwo came up next to me, on my left. And leaned over the rail much like I had. Yesterday had a bit more excitement. After I had given Ash the light ball, he and Pikachu went for their rematch against Surge, and managed to win.
Misty had even said something afterwards, once we had left. Something that got some chuckles from most of us. About how Surge hadn't already known what a Garchomp was. She'd even said that word would certainly get around, and the other Kanto leaders would almost certainly hear of it.
And then, earlier today, we ran into a certain…pair. How they got back to Kanto from Alola so quickly, I dunno. Then again, we hadn't seen them in a little more than a week, either. They were bound to return, eventually. They, in disguise, handed all of us tickets for the ship we're currently on.
By the way, it took a little work to persuade the crew to let me keep my team out. Although, Kaorah's kind of confined to our room. She doesn't mind, at all. Melanie had gone to bed early, said that her stomach wasn't feeling right. When I asked about it, she mentioned that it'd started not long after we ate tonight's supper.
As the sun vanished beyond the horizon, I felt one of Mewtwo's hands settle onto one of mine. I find myself wondering if he's going to go for it, but apparently not. I can see the hesitation, he's nervous. He's not sure how it's going to go. Which is why I'm okay with him taking all the time he needs.
"It's…getting late. We should…head back to the room for the night, shouldn't we?" I nodded.
"Yeah, you're right. Let's go." We started to head back. "By the way…however much time you need to prepare yourself…you can take it." I said. I know he stopped to think over what I'd said. I got back to the room, ahead of him by a few minutes. Melanie had fallen asleep, and seemed to be okay, for now at least.
Solais had also gone to sleep. She found herself a spot to curl up for the night. Pidgeotto was back in his ball, as always. Even after evolving, he still preferred it over being out in the open. It does make him the oddball of the team, but nobody's going to give him a hard time for it. It's a bit weird to think that I'm about to sleep in a room, on a ship at sea for the first time. I didn't even know that the St. Anne stuff would take more than…a day, at most. But, apparently, it's going to.
[Skip- Six Hours]
I awakened to the feeling of a paw on my shoulder, gently shaking me with the intent of waking me up. It was Solais, who needed something. I noticed the bathroom light was on.
"Zeryph…sorry to wake you, but…we have a problem." She said quietly.
"What's up?" I asked.
"It's Melanie, she's…" I nodded.
"Probably something she ate, at supper." I checked the clock in my status screen. 04:00 hours. I guess I won't be going back to sleep. Six to eight hours ha always been my usual amount of time. "Is she on her own?" I asked.
"No, Mewtwo is with her." I nodded, again.
"Good. Have him make sure something's next to her side of the bed, just in case. Keep her hydrated, but don't let her eat anything solid." I said. "I'll find the ship's infirmary, let them know what's going on."
"We'll make sure it's all handled." Solais responded. I saw Mewtwo come out of the bathroom, with Melanie. He helped her back into bed, and sat a garbage can on the floor. I carefully removed myself from Kaorah's embrace, and gave her a quick kiss on the end of her snout before I got up.
I walked over to the other bed and sat down.
"Hey Mel…feeling okay?" I quietly asked.
"Not really, no. I didn't think it would get worse than a little discomfort." She replied. I didn't think it would take as long as it did to get any worse.
"Go ahead and get as much rest as you can. I'll make sure you're taken care of." I rubbed the top of her head. "Mewtwo, come with me. We're going to go find the infirmary, and let them know what's going on." The pair of us left and began to wander the ship. It took us about an hour to find what we were looking for. We told them what was going on, and were told that they'd get someone there to help with her as soon as they could.
We returned to our room, not long after. Melanie hadn't gone back to sleep, but she was laying down, for now. Kaorah had gotten up, in the time that we were away. The dragon welcoming me back to the room with a short hug and a nuzzle, which I returned.
About half an hour later, some of the medical staff arrived. They gave Melanie something, and asked us questions about if we knew what had caused it. I shared the fact that it might've been related to last night's dinner. They told us that it they would relay the information to the kitchen staff, when they could.
"Zeryph, I…need to talk with you, please. Can we have some privacy?" Solais asked.
"Sure." I told her. It seemed like it was important. I felt for the right spell, and cast it with a flick of my right wrist, a dungeon portal opening itself right next to us. "Guys, we'll be back when we can. It shouldn't be too long." Solais had stepped through while I was talking.
I walked over to the portal, then stepped through it, myself. It closed behind me, once I was through. The faded version of the St. Anne certainly seemed much quieter than the one we'd just been on. Although it's likely because this is just a pocket world that copies the real world, as stated before.
"Alright, you've got me alone." I sat down on one of the beds, and I felt it shift as Solais hopped up next to me. "So, what do you need to talk about?" I asked her.
"I'm…going to be blunt about this." She began. "Zeryph, sometime within the next few days, up to about a week from now, at the least…I'm…supposed to go into my season, if that makes any sense." I nodded, immediately. I know exactly what she's talking about. "I'm bringing this up, because…well…I don't know if I want to maybe…leave, or not, during that time. However, I've already spoken with someone else about it." She said.
"Kaorah?"
"Yes…I told her the same thing. And…she might've maybe…said that it's okay, whatever I choose." She reached up, her right paw settling onto my left shoulder. "And, I don't honestly think I can leave. I think…maybe…my choice is already presented to me."
"Solais, you don't have to leave, if you don't want to." I said. "I'm already in a relationship, sure, but there's also a topic that she brought up a while back. The topic of whether or not she's willing to share.
If you truly feel like I'm the one…then all you have to do is wait. And when the day comes, all you need to do is ask. One of these days, Kaorah's going to go into heat, too. And you know what? I'll be more than happy to help her, when that time comes around.."
"But you two have already mated, it's so much easier for you. Whereas for me…this is a big decision I'm making." I started to rub the top of her head.
"And that's totally fine. Remember…go with what you really want to. If you think I'm the ideal choice, then that's your decision. If you want to leave and find yourself a mate, that's also your choice. I won't stop you, at all. What you want to do, is what you want to do." I said.
"Just remember, whatever you end up going with, it doesn't have to be a permanent thing. Sure, you might not get an egg out of choosing me over another Pokemon, but it's purely your decision."
"I…don't know if I would even want that. Becoming a parent would be even harder than just finding a mate. That's the way that I feel about it." She said.
"Then that's your decision." I opened another dungeon portal. "Come on. Let's go back to the others. And, remember our discussion here. When the time comes…you can make your choice, for sure. And you don't need to feel bad about what you choose." I said. I felt her head rub against my side, a quick sign of affection, before she hopped down and left through the portal. I followed shortly after, the portal closing behind me as I left the false world.
[Break]
A few hours later, Melanie woke up from rest, sitting up and stretching with a quiet yawn.The others had left to explore the ship, leaving us here on our own.
"Hey. Sleep well?" I asked her, looking up from the small status screen I had open. It flickered and disappeared as my attention left it.
"Yes, much better." She swung around to her right, before she got up as they touched the floor. "Where are the others?" She asked.
"They're out, wandering the ship. Kaorah's promised to stay out of trouble. And they have Mewtwo with them, in case there's a need for conversation." I answered. "Glad that you're feeling better." I told her.
"Me too. Did you tell the staff about…" I nodded. "They said they'd inform the kitchen staff. You were asleep when medical arrived. I'm not sure what kind of medicine it was, though all they had to do was rub it into the skin on your wrists. I'm glad to know that you're feeling better."
"It's likely something herbal, designed to be used for Pokemon in such a way. Kinda like one of those potions, just for sickness instead of injuries." I guess that's it. I don't remember for sure if Pokemon getting sick is ever covered at some point, or if they have medicine for them that helps with whatever the problem is.
But I guess, in the latter case, they do.
"Still, thanks for taking care of me. Even if you didn't really have to do that much." She wrapped her arms around me, and I returned her hug with a single arm. "Say…we have time. That…spell of yours? I want to try it. I know that I can't cast it, so…" I lit up my right hand, and began to charge it.
"I'm glad to let you try it out. You might want to sit down, because it's going to mess with your balance." When she sat down, I cast it on her. The changes wouldn't be quite as drastic as with Kaorah, or Solais, but they were still numerous. The first, being that her legs now ended with proper feet, rather than two thin points as they did before. The shape of her body changed, becoming much more like a normal woman's body would be. Her arms were another drastic change, morphing into a pair of arms with pale white skin.
The green of her arms changed, becoming sleeves that were just long enough to almost cover her new hands. Her chest changed, morphing to take on a much more humanoid shape, the red piece slimming itself down and fitting in between her breasts, which, fortunately, her natural dress shifted to accommodate. I can't really give a size, unfortunately, as I don't really have knowledge on such a thing.
The lower part of her dress lengthened, and her legs changed in more than just the new additions mentioned before. Gaining the necessary muscle to properly work as they were now. From the magic cast upon her, green stockings, matching the top part of her dress, formed on her legs. I saw them disappear beneath her skirt, likely connected to garments added to her as part of the change. Her head didn't really change, save for her hair getting just a little longer.
In moments, the transformation had started and stopped. Leaving her with her new form. I found myself unable to stop from letting out a quiet whistle. I saw the red tint appear on her cheeks, as she smiled.
"You're so beautiful." I complemented her. Slowly, she stood up, and I reached out to help her, in case she needed it. At least the system hadn't decided to give her high heels or something. That would've made standing, much more awkward. "Don't tell the others I said this, but…I think you might have the best alternate form, out of all the girls on the team, so far."
"Aww…thanks." Her cheeks had reddened, just a little more. She found the mirror in the room, over by the dresser. Slowly, she walked over, and began to check herself out. The first place for her hands to go was her altered chest. "These might…take a little getting used to." I found myself having to cover my nose, just in case.
"Soft…not only them, but…it seems…" She slowly pulled her hands away, pulling the fabric of her dress with them, before letting go. "So…I have an actual dress now?"
"Yes, yes you do." I answered.
"Are you alright?" She asked, having noticed that I'd covered my nose.
"Fine. Just fine." I answered.
"Okay…if you're sure." She went back to inspecting herself. I tried really, really hard to keep it down. But it's kinda hard…no pun intended. The fact that I'm basically watching an attractive woman feel herself up, even if she's a Pokemon, and not a human, definitely doesn't help.
The knob started to twist, then the door swung open. Kaorah stepped in, shutting it behind her with her tail. It took her a moment to notice what was going on.
"Melanie?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Wow…If I didn't know you by scent…" Kaorah's eyes settled on me, then on my hand. I knew what she wanted. With a quick cast of the spell, she too, became anthrofied. "You're gorgeous, you know that?" Melanie blushed at the praise. "Watch this…" Kaorah barely mouthed, as she approached her teammate.
"I wonder if these, are as real as mine." Reaching out, Kaorah's clawed hands found Melanie's new breasts, earning a startled "Eep!" from the Gardevoir as they made contact. Her face lit up, her cheeks gaining an impressive shade of red. "Granted, mine are only there for form, and don't really do anything, but they're still somewhat sensitive." I pressed a little harder against my nose.Melanie's blush deepened, from what was already there.
"Go ahead. Feel for yourself." Kaorah lowered her arms to her side. She was grinning…a clear sign that she was enjoying this. Melanie slowly began to reach up, but soon found Kaorah's hands on her wrists. "You don't need to be so slow about it." Melanie's hands were placed on the Garchomp's breasts, her blush deepening as they made contact.
I began to wonder if Kaorah was just teasing, or if she's trying to kill me. I doubt it, but on the off chance this is a dream, or some kind of heaven, I don't wanna wake up.
"You know…" Kaorah purred as Melanie finally gave enough to at least try giving her a squeeze. "Some humans…prefer here, instead of the chest." She reached down to Melanie's ass and squeezed, earning a startled squeak from the Gardevoir, her blush reigniting at the unexpected contact. My hand started to feel warm for more than one reason.
"Someone seems to be enjoying the show…say…" Kaorah reached up to Melanie's shoulders, hooking the anthrofied Gardevoir's dress with her claws, carefully to not damage it."I wonder…if this is…removable now." And…that's too much. Things happened quickly from there. As she started to pull away, the dam broke. I found myself launched backwards, my head struck the headboard with a loud thunk, and both of the girls were startled by the sound.
As unconsciousness began to set in, the last thing I would see was the concerned expression of two very pretty girls…
[Third Person]
."Well now…that's…not what I expected." Kaorah was first to break the silence, after her mate's…abrupt, and rather violent, nosebleed.
"Um…me neither…" Melanie squeaked. Her cheeks still a deep red, burning like they were on fire. "Soo…" She reached out, pulling a towel from the adjacent bathroom with telekinesis, before beginning to clean up. "That just happened…I guess." Melanie said, earning a snort from Kaorah.
"Yes, I suppose it did." The Garchomp said. "To be fair, he just saw his mate, grope another female, twice. And even get it at least once, in response." Melanie's blush intensified, once more. "I kinda wish Solais were here, for this."
"That would likely be even worse for his health." Melanie said. "Not only after that talk they had earlier, but also…seeing three girls…feeling each other up…like you just did to me, might…kinda be." Kaorah snorted.
"I guess you're right." Kaorah started to sniff at the air. "Hey…are you…" Melanie began to notice, the feeling between her legs. She buried her face in her hands, tired of her blush being visible…though she did slowly nod. Kaorah responded with a snort.
"Go ahead, go and get that taken care of. I'll stay with him." Kaorah watched her teammate leave the room, before she sat down on the bed. Carefully, she positioned her mate, laying his head on her lap. She'd be lying if she didn't say she was a little turned on, herself, from that engagement. She never thought that feeling up another female would get any reaction out of her. Although it's more likely that the effect came from doing all that in front of her mate.
If she could get a reaction out of him like that, then maybe he might enjoy watching her take it further, some day. Maybe as a birthday gift, or something. She heard a knock on the door, but made no move to stop it from being opened. She knew who was on the other side, before he even got there. As the door swung open, Mewtwo entered, shutting it behind him.
"What…happened?" He was surprisingly calm about the current situation.
"Melanie and I might've…knocked him out." Kaorah spoke.
"And…a nosebleed? How did that happen?" Mewtwo asked. Reaching out, he probed Kaorah's recent memories. When he'd seen what caused it, a faint blush appeared on his face. "I…see… That's…one interesting way to knock someone out." He said.
"You…don't say. And I think it only worked on him, because we aren't only mated, but from his perspective…two attractive girls were-" Mewtwo held up a hand.
"Stop, I've already seen it. I don't need to hear it again." His blush had deepened, slightly. "Just…please, try not to do it again." He walked over to the bed, one of his hands lighting up, before he placed it on Zeryph's forehead. Mewtwo bowed his head and closed his eyes. A pulse of energy left his hands. "That should wake him up, though it might take a few minutes." He said, removing his hand from the trainer's forehead.
[Zeryph]
[The Next Morning]
Other than that incident, nothing else happened, at least, nothing big…other than getting teased because of how I got knocked out. Currently, Mewtwo and I are standing out on the deck, waiting for the sunrise. And as the first rays of sunlight came over the horizon, the sky bled red. And, now I have a bad feeling.
"A red sunrise?" Mewtwo took a moment to realize that I seemed unnerved. "What is it?"
"Red sky in morning…sailor's warning." I answered, still staring at the bloody horizon. "We're in for bad weather today. We should let the others know, as soon as we can." I told him.
"Isn't the party today?" He asked, and I replied with a nod. "That could cause trouble…depending on when the storm hits." He said. "Something tells me, this won't be like a normal thunderstorm."
"You're absolutely right, it's not." I said, reaching down with my right hand. I felt Solais brush against my hand. "A thunderstorm at sea is generally worse than on land." I scratched behind my Absol's left ear, gently, earning a soft purr from her. "Hey girl, what's up?" I spoke to her.
"Senses are acting up. Nothing big, right now, but I thought you'd like to know." She answered. That all but confirms it. We're going to have a storm, today. I don't know when, which can be a problem. Nor do I know what direction it'll be from.
"We won't worry about it for now. There's a possibility it might not get too bad, knock on wood." I said. "Come on, we should head back to the room for now, let the others know. And then, we have a party to prepare for." We started to head back to our room. A few hours later, and I found myself and my team, in a crowded ballroom for a pretty large party.
I knew what was going to happen, already. And, I had briefed my team on it. Nobody outside the six of us knew. I did have people come up to comment on my team. Any battle challenges were politely declined, as my team was simply too strong to safely battle on a ship. Especially in a crowded room, like this.
Of course, we were also the only ones already aware of the fact that the St. Anne was going to sail into a storm, granted, not as soon as it does in the actual Anime. That, was on the same day that everyone boarded in Vermilion. I think the System's responsible for this, changing things around to fit my pace. Which, if I may be honest, fluctuates quite a bit depending on how I play.
If not for the fact that I have family on the same journey, and the fact I actually want to enjoy this world, I'd have Mewtwo doing teleportation trips between every gym in this world, so I could complete it as fast as possible. And, I'll admit, doing a speed run does sound fun. Maybe, I can talk someone into letting me cross into the much more "do it in a single day" games, if that makes sense, and then speed run those, for fun.
On another note…another idea for a name has popped up. I---
[Zeryph, I'm sensing…several people, preparing to enter the room. They've got equipment with them.] Mewtwo interrupted my train of thought.
[How many?] I asked.
[Twenty, just about. Plus Jessie, James, and Meowth. I'm still amazed they got back to Kanto so easily.] He answered. I motioned for Solais to come over.
"Ladies and gents," I whispered, so that Solais would hear me, but at the same time, spoke mentally. "Pick a door, and prepare yourself. We're about to have company."
"What's going on?" Solais whispered.
"Team Rocket grunts, plus the three idiots, counting twenty three contacts in total." I answered. "They're preparing for something, get ready. Take your positions, and prepare for contact. Keep it non lethal, and nothing worse than minor bruises or light cuts. No electrocutions."
[Understood.] Melanie.
[Aye.] Pidgeotto. (1)
[Yes, dear.] Kaorah.
[Mm-hmm.] Mewtwo.
"Right." Solais.
"Ready?" I whispered. When the doors swung open, and the Rockets entered, I whistled loudly. My team sprang into action, pushing through the crowds quickly and engaging the enemy. Within mere moments, our opponents were unconscious or surrendered. Of course, the other folks around us had begun to freak out.
"Everyone, please, remain calm." Mewtwo spoke out loud. I couldn't help grinning. This is one of the changes from our ten days of training. Through a few hours of mental work, Mewtwo, as well as Melanie, had managed to pick up English, from my mind. Although, I had told them to keep It secret unless absolutely necessary.
And this is one of the cases where it's viable. Mewtwo went on to explain exactly what was going on. Which helped to settle the crowd as a whole. Ship security arrived, and began to take the grunts away. People had begun to thank us, as well, for stopping the thieves before they could do anything.
And this leads into another thing from our training session. Fighting in tight spaces without hurting or damaging things we don't want to harm. And fighting in crowded spaces was part of that. Kaorah had the hardest time here, with how big she is. Pidgeotto also had some difficulty, but this comes from the fact that he relies on open air for flight.
I felt a wave of gentle energy wash over me. Melanie sensing for any signs of collateral damage. The third of the things worked on in those days. We had discovered she had a decent affinity for the Restoration school, stronger than what's already been mentioned. As a result, I had gotten her some tomes on lower level healing magic, for now. Which basically means, she's the team healer. Through this, we had also discovered one of my theories is true.
Psychic power itself doesn't work on Dark Types…however, when Mana is used in its place, Psychic type attacks will work, although with reduced power. Through this, we were able to also find a way for a Dragon Type to hurt a Fairy Type, although it doesn't do much other than feeling unpleasant. However, we also discovered that Magic Bounce, against mana, is quite literal.
"Zeryph! Problem!" Moments after Solais shouted, there was a loud bang, from above. The sound of a sudden thunderclap startled all of us…and the panic started to settle in again, as the ship began to rock, far more violently than it was.
--Remain calm, everyone. The St. Anne is unsinkable. We will be perfectly fine.-- The Captain's voice sounded over the PA system.
"According to my disaster senses, we will not, in fact, be fine." Solais said, not that everyone else could understand her.
"Mewtwo, Melanie, see to aiding in the evacuation. Everyone else, come with me." Mewtwo and Melanie broke off from us, and began to lead the others to lifeboats, in order to abandon ship. As the waves began to get more violent, we started to hurry. Within a few minutes, the ship had been evacuated, and had begun to sink, after capsizing.
As for myself and the rest of my team, Mewtwo had teleported us to safety, using Vermilion City as the safe place for us to land. He had done so, before returning to the ship to aid in the evacuation.
"Mewtwo, where's Ash?" I asked him.
"I don't know…wait, actually…I may have…forgot them." I sighed. Wonderful, and the ship's probably in a blind spot now, so there's not much of a way to teleport back to them.
"So…they're going down with the ship." I found a spot to sit down. "This is going to…cause trouble." I said. "Basically, it's going to be presumed that they died, because they didn't make it off the ship, even though they live through it." I told my Pokemon. If not for the fact that I already knew they'd make it out, this would've hit a lot harder. Don't get me wrong, I'm still worried, but I'm pretty sure the system has given out essential flags to those who need them.
"We can try to join the search team, but none of us are making a dive like that." I said.
"So, what…we're going to just…wait it out?" Mewtwo was the one to ask.
"Unfortunately, that might be our only choice." I answered. "Don't worry…they'll be fine, but they really are stuck." I said. "For now…we have a journey to continue. Much as I don't like the idea of leaving my cousin in a dangerous situation, there's not too much we can do, at the moment." I said.
"And we can't get to them because you don't have an image in your mind of what the wreck may be like, right?" Kaorah asked.
"That's right. We could teleport to the St. Anne, itself, but, we're just as likely to teleport into the water and get crushed," everyone winced, "as we are to actually end up in the ship itself." I said. "And even if we don't get crushed, we still have to contend with other factors, such as, surfacing too quickly."
"So…we'll just wait, then." Melanie said.
"Yes, that's right." I replied. "…Come on. Let's…go. We might as well do what travel we can. I can't say that I know when they'll catch up with us again, but…our next stop will be Saffron City." I said. It's really, really hard to make a decision like this, but I know that Ash and the others will make it out of this. Honestly, the System really does seem to make sure things, for them, happen as close to the original timeline as possible, but throws in adjustments while I'm present. And of course, if there really is an essential flag on those who are important...then they'll definitely be fine. Of course, I can't go and tell them about it. Don't want folks to start getting reckless because they know they literally can't die. Especially for when the system decides to take it away, at the worst possible moment.
We began our return trip to Saffron City. My team took up the usual formation. Once we're done with Saffron, we'll be going onwards to Celadon. Maybe even doing a quest, if...one pops up.