Beauty and the Feebas

[Author's Note: This is the first "episode" of "season two" if you will, of Coordination. Since I tend to take long breaks, I figured it might be fair to do a little review during this story, as it's probably the simplest of the stories to come. This has the added advantage of helping new readers catch up without "forcing" them to read the preceding parts. Despite that, I'm pretty proud of this episode. Don't skip any of it even if you've read the other stories.]

"More fire!"

*Working on it, Zach.*

Yep. It's been about two weeks since that fateful night with Beni, and we're back here again. Well, actually, we're more like a few hundred miles away, but spiritually, metaphorically, and so forth, we're back at where we began, training. In the end, I'm really not the sort of guy you ought to rely on to save the world-I'm still working out how best to avoid that particular duty. In the meantime, I'm doing what I do best; being a Coordinator, and training my partners to perform their very best for the audience.
-
Most people think that being a Coordinator is fairly simple compared to being a trainer. The theory goes that being a trainer requires you to face numerous challenges, to forge a bond with your pokemon, and defeat many trainers in order to gain the experience necessary to challenge the Elite 4. Not so, particularly. Excepting the fact that we don't challenge the League, we face other Coordinators at least as often as trainers face other trainers, and if nothing else, the training Coordinators must do frequently surpasses that of trainers. You see, a trainer usually doesn't care much about how an attack works. He only cares that it does, and that it be strong enough to beat his opponent. The average trainer knows perhaps four or five of the attacks his pokemon can use, and even then, of those few, repeats only two or three.

In Contests, it's much different. Many Coordinators know the full listing of attacks that their team members can use, and it's a rare Coordinator who hasn't used every one of them at least once. For example, I know that an Arcanine, evolved at birth like Beni, can naturally learn as many as six attacks, including Bite, Thunder Fang, and Fire Fang, and that of those six attacks, nearly all of them can be immediately trained. Only one of them, Extremespeed, requires practice and experience. And at that, an Arcanine is a fairly uncomplicated pokemon, in terms of attack variety. I know several species that learn as many as fifteen different techniques, and Coordinators that use those species rarely repeat an attack in a Contest.

We also spend a long time training each element of a technique to ensure that it's not only passable, but that it's the best it could possibly be. Hence the training we're doing now, which you might recall from the first of my adventures.

"Fire Fang isn't that complicated a move," I continued, and then paused as Beni looked at me.

*Who are you talking to?* she asked, curiously. I shrugged.

"Nobody in particular."

*Then, if you like, I think I smell fish from the campsite.*

Fish. No, our diet hasn't changed much recently. On the other hand, both Cammy and Venus enjoy fishing, and rice is cheap, so at least we're fully fed, if nothing else.

Huh? Oh, right; Cammy and Venus aren't being trained right now. Beni is my primary partner, which for Coordinators means that I focus on her skills and contests almost exclusively, though we tend to keep most, if not all, of our team up to at least basic Contest level. Right now I'm training Beni in Smart techniques, which requires me to teach her ways of modifying her techniques to suit the judges' requirements. Cammy is being specially trained for Cool Contests, while Venus has shown some signs of potential in the Tough category.

"Cammy? Venus?" I called as we entered the campsite.

"Here!" Cammy called, waving a paw at us. She seemed absorbed in setting up the tent, and I scrambled over to give her a hand as it began to sag. We tied it off to the stakes and she beamed at me. "Thanks!" she sang. I looked around.

"Where's Venus?" I asked. Usually the Mawile was hiding somewhere in the vicinity, waiting to get under foot. Cammy made a face.

"She had to... ah..."

"Answer a call of nature?" I suggested.

"No, she had to pee."

"...that's the same thing..."

"OH! But when you answer a call of nature, you take your magazi..." Cammy noticed the look on my face and thankfully fell silent.

Cammy was my second pokemon. Beni and I have raised her ever since she hatched from an egg-someday someone will explain why cats have kittens but Lucario lay eggs-and she's been our chief supporter ever since. She's not really fond of competing in contests or battling, though she enjoys the latter more. That's why she's usually the one to do the work around camp. I never assigned anything to her, beyond her daily fishing, but once she evolved, she simply took over all of the mundane chores, leaving us to train for contests. I'll admit, while it makes me feel uncomfortable to make her do everything, it truly has helped with practice.

We sat down to eat, not waiting for Venus. Recently, she's been taking forever to come back from her...ah, necessary visits... and I doubted she'd be back until the fish was nearly cold.

"This is very good, Cammy!" I exclaimed as I bit into the fish. Cammy nearly glowed at the praise.

"I bought new spices when we were in town," she explained. "I've been waiting to try them out."

"Well, I'd say they're an amazing success," I observed after I swallowed.

Being telepathic, Beni felt no concern at talking with her mouth full.

As I'd expected, the Sinnoh League had made no mention of the impending crisis with Darkrai. I had no doubt that they would justify the secrecy by claiming to not want to instigate a panic, but in all honesty, even if they knew the public would behave responsibly and rationally, they still would have kept their own counsel. The League represents the pinnacle of the entire region amongst the most powerful organizations in the world, and is accustomed to that exalted status. They were no more able to ask for help or admit a problem than a Remoraid can fly. That was why I had left as soon as Celebi had finished explaining the facts of life to me. I had different plans.

"Maw-mawile!"

Venus announced her return with a gleeful hug of my leg and swung up to her accustomed perch on my shoulder. I patted her false-maw gently and handed up one of the baked fish that Cammy had prepared. She accepted it gracefully, and began to munch on it as I turned my attention to my companions.

"We've got about three days of training left here before we should head to Lilycove. I want to get there in plenty of time to register and scope out the competition."

"Okay," Cammy agreed equably. She looked up at the sky for a moment. "I've got enough bait to last us easily that long," she confirmed after a moment.

"Good, then. How soon will we need to visit a town once we leave here?"

"Two... three..." Cammy held up her left forepaw and foot and started counting with her right. She looked up. "Six. I think. Days."

"Understood. We'll make our best time to Lilycove after we're finished here, then, and shop there. The department store is likely to be cheaper than any of the local shops," I mused. "And more variety, to boot."

Venus anxiously tugged on Cammy's arm.

"Mawile, maw, mawile."

"Venus says she wants to go shopping with us."

"Of course!" I exclaimed. "We're all going." At my reassurance, Venus jumped into the air, pumping one fist. I grinned. No need for translation there.

*We should finish training, if you're done eating,* Beni reminded us in the sudden lull. I nodded at her and stood up.

"Thank you, Cammy, Venus. It was a very delicious dinner." I winked at Venus. "I'll have to buy you both a treat when we get to Lilycove."

The training lasted until well after sundown. Being a fire type, Beni's moves were actually enhanced by the darkness, the contrast making it easier to recognize and fix flaws in her form. For that reason, we didn't return to the campsite until around 9 PM.

*Good night, Zach,* Beni told me as she curled into her accustomed place by the fire. She would keep watch on it until morning; with her attuned senses, if it began to die down she'd know even before she woke up.

I entered my tent to find Cammy and Venus kneeling at the far end in close conversation. Cammy looked up as I entered.

"Venus wants her treat now."

I looked at her, confused. "What?" I asked.

"Remember your promise?"

To be honest, I hadn't, until Cammy asked. Once I did, I sat down hard.

"Oh," I responded, slightly dazed. "Right."

The promise that she was referring to, rather than my promise just after dinner, had been only one night after meeting Venus. She had watched me have sex with Cammy and the morning after had attempted to reprise her adopted big sister's performance. Unfortunately, she discovered that willpower isn't enough to make a one-foot tall body comfortably accept a more than six inch penis.

After that, while I was a little groggy, Cammy had arranged a compromise with Venus. She would attempt, once a week, to have sex with me, and if that failed, would be allowed to give me a blowjob. I wouldn't necessarily have minded that promise, except that she would be using her maw to do it with. To elaborate somewhat, the same maw which was capable of crushing a two-ton steel I-beam if it had to. I restrained a shudder, knowing that Venus would never forgive me if I looked disgusted or worried. And, true, I wasn't completely sanguine about the idea, but still, I had faith that Venus wouldn't hurt me intentionally, and accidents-no matter how damaging-could be forgiven. I forced myself to ignore all the possible damaging accidents the experiment could have, and nodded.

"Let's try it, then."

Just as she had when I'd promised in the first place, Venus did a short, gleeful dance that melted away all of my lingering concern. As happy as she seemed, I just couldn't find it in my heart to be too worried.

Cammy began to unbutton my shirt as Venus came over to watch. I suspected that this had been already discussed in advance; a Mawile's arms are ill-suited to negotiating the finer points of human fashion-specifically, fasteners. She seemed eager to watch, however. Slightly nervous, too, I thought; she was hopping from one foot to the other restlessly. Still, though I'd only known Venus for a week, and that only through Cammy's translations, I had the feeling that once she'd decided to do something, she did it regardless of how she felt about it.

I shrugged out of my shirt and Cammy collected it before it hit the ground. After removing my belt and unbuttoning my jeans' waistband, Cammy backed away to let Venus take over. Venus stared upward at me, mumbled something, and then went to a corner of the tent. She returned with the cardboard box Cammy's purchases a few days ago had been carried in, and set it down at my feet before clambering laboriously up on top of it. This put her head at roughly the level of the waistband of my jeans.

"Maw-maw," she told herself, and pulled down the zipper on my jeans. They fell easily to my ankles, and I stepped out of them, standing only in my boxer shorts, as Venus apparently considered what to do next. She didn't have to think for very long. She reached out and pulled the boxers down as well, and straightened to discover my cock in front of her face. She embraced it, startling a gasp out of me and a laugh from Cammy.

The Mawile began to kiss and suck on the very tip of my cock, her tiny hands rubbing the sides gently. Cammy had apparently given her some tips before tonight, and Venus was using them to great effect. Venus's true mouth was barely large enough to accept the head, though. The image was both painful-looking and strangely arousing, and Venus seemed to giggle as I stifled a moan. She backed off after a moment; apparently despite enjoying herself, Venus could only manage so long before it started to hurt. She motioned for me to sit, and I did. For some reason, Cammy smirked.

Venus stood in my lap and spread her legs carefully, revealing her tiny womanhood. She mumbled some words to Cammy, her face pink with embarrassment and excitement, and Cammy translated.

"She said that she saved this for you."

I smiled encouragingly at Venus, speaking slowly and clearly. "Thank you," I told her. "May I taste it first?"

Venus's face went from pink to scarlet, and she squeaked a response, directed again at Cammy. Her adopted big sister gave her a smile of her own and nodded. Venus looked back at me and jumped at my chest by way of response, and I picked her up and held her in front of my face.

Structurally, her slit was not overly different from Cammy's, except in scale. I could see a tiny little nub of flesh which was presumably the clitoris, and when I examined the insides of her sex closely (making Venus shiver), I could see separate holes for urinating and intercourse. The major difference was in color. Where Cammy's was still pink, though very pastel, Venus's was so dark a brown it was nearly black. The fluid that was coating the inside, making it sticky and shiny, was clear. I tasted her curiously, and smiled.

"I expected chocolate," I told my tiny lover, giving her a wicked grin. She gasped and giggled both at once, jabbering something quicker than I could follow. Cammy caught it, though.

"She says she expected you to taste like strawberry." She frowned, brow furrowed. "I guess she's not used to pink."

Strawberry. Well, I was repaid in kind for teasing her. I shook my head, wondering if I would ever understand the strange mixture of shyness and yet seeming unreservedness that Venus displayed unexpectedly.

I continued licking, my hands cupping Venus like a bowl. She tried to control herself at the beginning, but after several moments each lash of my tongue brought a gasp from her mouth and twitching from her legs as she fought to keep them from closing. I grinned while she couldn't see it. She thought that was impressive? I sought out her clit and began to tug gently on the tiny fleshy button. That startled her enough to draw an almost indignant squawk as she struggled reflexively to cover her groin. I leaned back and let her collect herself. She mumbled something to Cammy.

"She was surprised," Cammy translated unnecessarily. I didn't acknowledge, concentrating my attention on Venus. Her clit had apparently reached its full protrusion, still nearly invisible from just under its hood. I made sure to touch it gently with each lick. When I felt Venus's breath quicken noticeably, I changed tactics.

Venus let out a squeal as I plunged my tongue into her. Her body shook and Cammy grabbed the false maw as it began to flail about uncontrolled. The tiny pokemon seemed to be experiencing the first orgasm of her life, to her elation.

"You're on top," I told Venus as her heavy breathing began to fade. She looked at Cammy and made a sound that was half-wail and half-anger. Cammy looked at me.

"She says she wants to do it the way you did it with me," she explained bluntly.

"No." I held up my hand to forestall further debate. "I'll be on the bottom, so that you can control how far you try to go. That way, when it starts to hurt too much, you can stop." This was an argument she wouldn't win, for her sake.

Venus reluctantly nodded acceptance after I explained my reasoning. I leaned back and let Venus take the lead, propping myself up on my elbows to watch. She positioned herself above my erect penis, its head just barely touching her slit, but still nearly obscuring it entirely. She began to lower herself down on it, and after several moments, impaled herself on the first half-inch of my shaft. She made a face and forced herself down further, until the entire head was inside of her. She gave me a grin.

She was unimaginably tight, though not painful, and it was slightly hard to think from the sensation. I held back a groan as she pushed even further down. Nearly two inches were inside her now, and her face was an odd mixture of pain and satisfaction as she continued. Cammy seemed to be torn between excitement and nervousness, rubbing her paws together in her lap a few inches away from her groin. Occasionally, one of the hands would slip and rub her sex through her shorts. She didn't seem to notice.

Venus finally gave up after three inches, with a relieved sigh that Cammy and I both echoed. Though her tight body had felt surprisingly good, the pleasure wasn't worth the pain it was obviously bringing her. She rolled off me and mumbled something to Cammy.

"She says that she needs more practice."

I considered telling her not to bother, because it would still hurt her to practice, then considered the fact that Venus knew sex with me would hurt at some point, and wanted to do it anyway. "We'll have to find a way for you to practice on your own, then," I said with resignation. I started to stand, only to discover her false maw clamped around my leg. The teeth seemed to have disappeared, but it was still impossible to break free of.

"She also says," Cammy continued, "That she's not finished." She frowned, brow furrowed, and asked Venus a question. Venus indicated her false maw and made some gestures which looked suspiciously obscene from my angle.

"Oh, right," I said. "That." I glanced down at her maw again, now slackly holding my leg, and poked it carefully. Venus jumped and looked around. "Sorry," I apologized. "I was looking for the teeth."

In answer to my unstated question, Venus started into a long monologue which Cammy dutifully translated. As nearest I could make out, the gist of it was that the teeth in a Mawile's false maw are retractable, much like Beni's claws or the fangs of some breeds of snakes. It was, perhaps, a comparison I could do without, having seen just how fast Beni could whip out those claws when she needed them. Nonetheless, I was at least partially reassured. This wasn't guaranteed to be a painless experience, true enough, but it had the potential to be fun, or at least scientifically interesting.

"How do we do this?" I asked, cutting Venus off mid-sentence. She seemed to pause to regroup and then she made some more gestures, speaking to Cammy.

"She says to sit cross-legged," the Lucario translated with a grin.

I did as instructed, folding my legs in the style my teachers had referred to as the "lotus position." Venus came and perched on my legs, sitting away from me. Her maw settled into my waist and I nearly jumped as I felt the two halves of it envelop my manhood. It didn't feel much like either Cammy's or Venus's mouth had, though it didn't feel unpleasant, either. Rather like I imagined Beni's tongue might feel in the same situation. It felt a little rough, but a wet sort of rough, like a wet sponge.

"Maw, maw maw!" Venus said in a sing-song tone. It sounded a bit like "Here we go!"

The two halves started to move against each other, gently squeezing and rubbing my shaft. I grabbed the blankets beneath me reflexively. It felt amazing! Sparkles came to the corners of my eyes as Venus's maw continued its massage. The pleasure was unbelievable, and increasing by the second. I remember feeling the sudden release of orgasm as her maw stiffened to accept it. It embarrasses me to admit it, but I must have blacked out after that. When I came to my senses, Venus and Cammy were already bundled up into their shared sleeping bag. Both were still awake, however.

"G'night, girls," I told them, tapping each of them gently on the nose. They grinned upward at me, Venus sleepily and Cammy with a self-satisfied smirk. "That was fun," I added to Venus, giving her a lewd wink. Her cheeks turned slightly pink, but she beamed at me in pride.

I crawled into my sleeping bag, and proceeded to pass out again.

* * *

We set out for Lilycove.

That's a bit of an understatement, much like the 'I dropped the bomb and it went off' line. There's a lot of preparation involved in moving from a temporary training site. At least, there is if you're a Ranger and had basic camping etiquette drilled into you by sadistic teachers. But I won't bore you with the nonessentials. Suffice it to say that, after approximately two hours, we were on the road and heading towards Lilycove.

We arrived late in the evening two days later, an uneventful conclusion to a pleasantly boring trip, to be greeted in a most unfortunate manner.

"I'm sorry, sir," the smiling receptionist said. "All the slots for every contest excluding Beauty have already been filled."

"What?" I asked, certain I had misheard.

"I said," the lady repeated, raising her voice slightly, "All contests except Beauty are closed."

"Excuse me." I shook my head. "I could have sworn you said that all the slots for all contests except Beauty were full."

"I did." She was no longer smiling.

Apparently, Beauty was the only contest open.

"Um," I observed intelligently. I looked down at Beni. She looked up at me. "Um," I repeated.

*I'm not able to compete in the Beauty competition,* Beni informed me regretfully. *I wish I could.*

"Not a problem," I told her, ignoring the confusion on the receptionist's face. "I didn't train you for Beauty, I trained you for Cool and Tough. Not your fault I didn't expect this." I looked back at the woman behind the counter. "We'll be back," I said.

Whenever I need to think without distractions, I tend to work my way to large bodies of water. Being in Lilycove, then, it was unsurprising that I found myself standing on the edge of rocky cliffs overlooking the ocean. As always, the sight calmed my nerves and let me focus on the real problem. Beni, not being especially fond of water, had opted to return to her pokeball for the time being. Instead, Cammy stood next to me to offer such advice as she could. Unfortunately...

Cammy was Cammy. Which meant that, when I turned around to ask her a question, I saw her sitting in deep conversation with a man on the end of a nearby pier. I throttled my frustration. I was just annoyed that I couldn't enter Beni in the contest. No need to take it out on someone else.

"Zach!" she called suddenly, beckoning me over. "Come here!"

"Hey there, youngster," the man greeted me as I walked up. "Pardon me if I don't wave or shake your hand, but I'll be landin' the big one any minute!" He nodded at Cammy. "The girl there was just tellin' me about your problem."

I looked at Cammy and mouthed the words 'you told him?' at her. She nodded.

"He has an idea," she said.

"Yep!" the fisherman agreed equably. Just then, a violent tugging on his line distracted him, and he started to reel in his catch. "Dangit," he muttered as the hook came up empty. "Darn fish done it to me again. I'll catch you yet!" he bellowed, startling some nearby Wingulls into flight.

"I hate when that happens," Cammy observed. "The fish catched my bait once, and I was so mad, I jumped into the water and catched it with my hands." She looked down at her paws and gave a slight laugh. "But it got away anyway." She held up her paws for the fisherman to see. "They're not so good to grip fish with," she confessed.

"Why doncha get gloves, then, missy?"

"Gloves?"

"Sure! Big rubber ones with grips, like I use for gutting fish." He gestured at some obscenely dirty objects on his tackle box. I held my breath as Cammy bent nearer to look at them. She jumped up with a start.

"I could use something like that, Zach!" she shouted. "They'd help a lot with stuff like that."

I considered a moment. Well, Cammy was at least very sparing with her desires. I figured our slight budget could stretch to a pair of gloves for her, even if I'd have to do some tailoring to make them fit her paws.

"Okay," I promised. "I'll get you a pair the next time we see some."

"Yay!"

I turned back to the man, who was winding up his line and starting to pack his gear. He noticed my gaze.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you," the grizzled fisherman told me with a wink. "Listen to me, son. You take this fishing rod, and you go up to Route 119, and you go fishin'. I guarantee you, you'll catch the most beautiful pokemon you can imagine there." He handed me the pole, a black fiberglass marvel which seemed to almost absorb the light. "Don't you worry about payin' me, neither. I got 'nuff of them rods to give everyone in town one, and I reckon you need it more'n I do."

"Thanks!" I exclaimed with some surprise. I wasn't sure that the fishing rod was truly necessary, but I appreciated the gift immensely. It had to cost a fortune! I looked back at him. "What am I supposed to catch?"

"What you'll be lookin' for is called a Feebas. Go out there and land the big one, young'un!" he commanded me. I nodded and turned to Cammy.

"Let's be off to Route 119," I said.

Now, unlike some trainers, I've spent hours memorizing the basic location of all the major routes in Sinnoh and Hoenn, though not Kanto or Johto. I figure I'll buy maps for those if I ever visit. So I knew roughly where I was heading, and local directions pinned it down even further. Soon enough, we were sitting on the bank of the river, just below a waterfall.

We'd been fishing for twelve fruitless hours, when suddenly:

"I've got something!" Cammy shouted, as she braced herself. Beni jumped to grab her collar as the Lucario's rod began to drag her towards the water. I grabbed the rod and helped Cammy reel in her catch.

I pulled out my pokedex (yes, we Coordinators do have them, though mine has the logo of the Rangers, much battered, on its cover) and pointed it at the hooked pokemon.

"Feebas," the disturbingly-feminine mechanical voice declared. "Registered number three hundred and forty-nine in the National Dex. It is famous for its shabby appearance. While populous, they tend to cluster in set locations."

I pressed the 'More Information' button.

"It eats anything, so it can even live in polluted streams and lakes. Nobody pays any attention to it. Feebas has the ability 'Swift Swim' which allows it to increase its speed in rainy weather."

Cammy, Beni, Venus and I all stared blankly at the brown and blue fish we'd landed. Excluding the fact that it didn't flop around as much, it looked like nothing more than a drab version of a Magikarp. I groaned. THIS was Feebas? There could be no mistake, however. The Ranger pokedex was a super-refined version of the standard trainer pokedex, and the odds of it having made an error were vanishingly small. There was only one explanation: the fisherman had duped us.

"I can't enter this into the contest," I moaned, sinking down onto the riverbank.

"Sure you can!" Cammy replied. She reached into one of Beni's packs and shuffled around in it for a moment, and then withdrew a sparkly yellow ribbon. She tied this around the Feebas while we watched.

"See?" she demanded.

"It looks like a Feebas," I said, stating the obvious. "With a yellow ribbon." Unfortunately, tying yellow ribbons around a Feebas doesn't make it into a prize-winner, but I had no idea how to explain that to Cammy. I sighed, accepting, and pulled out a pokeball. "Pokeball, go!" I shouted, triggering the voice-activated catching mechanism.

To my surprise, the ball didn't even bounce once. It hit, and then chimed as it captured Feebas. Either Feebas really wanted to be caught by me, which I doubted, or it was so weak that it was barely a challenge for the device. Still, Feebas makes my fourth pokemon, and my second "capture" (if you can count Venus as that) in less than two weeks. I couldn't help being a bit proud, even through my disappointment. After all, while I would have liked to win this coming contest, who's to say that Feebas wouldn't turn out to be quite a friendly pokemon in its own right?

And, maybe the fisherman actually did know something I didn't. Perhaps there really was some hidden secret to Feebas? Either way, we'd only find out by entering it into the contest.

* * *

This time, I had prepared for the contest properly. I called ahead to confirm that there was still a slot available in the Beauty contest, and marched straight to the appropriate counter. The woman behind it looked up as I approached.

"My name is Zachary Winton-Kincaid," I told her. "Preferred name, Zach." I handed her my Coordinator card, endorsed by the contest hall in Sinnoh that I obtained it from. 

"Welcome, Zach," she replied, accepting the card and scanning it into the registry. "What contest level would you like to enter for?"

"Beginner Class."

"We have one remaining opening in that contest," she confirmed. "What pokemon are you entering?"

Now came the tricky part.

"My Feebas," I answered. I set the pokeball containing the fish on the counter and waited for the shock or humor to appear. Surely she'd at least laugh at the idea of someone entering...

"Trainer Zach, using pokemon Feebas, for the Beginner Class," she said, typing into her computer. She looked up again and smiled. "You're all set, hun! Go out there and knock them dead!" She returned my card and gestured. "You may go in now."

"Thanks..." I replied. Apparently, contest hall receptionists didn't see Feebas often enough to recognize the name. I strode through the curtain to the left of the counter, checking to make sure my trademark brown duster was spotless. I arrived at the stage in time to see the other three contestants arrive.

"So, you're the fourth guy," one of them, a fairly nerdy-looking guy carrying a laptop, said. He sounded almost condescending. "You kept me and Vileplume waiting a while."

I rolled my eyes. Though I had never competed in the Beauty contest before, I had experienced the same phenomenon in the Tough contests Beni entered. Someone would always try to pick on the newcomer, and since they didn't recognize me, I was clearly nobody important.

"I'm Elias," he continued, with a sniff that confirmed my opinion. "I graduated first in my class from Pokemon Tech, all the way in..."

"Kanto, yes yes, we've all heard," one of the other two replied. She smiled warmly at me. "I'm Cat."

"Zach," I replied, holding out my hand. She shook it as an equal, neither limp-wristed nor trying to break my fingers with her grip. Clearly she felt fairly confident in her abilities, and had no need of cheap power stunts. Cat was likely to a tough opponent.

"That's Brandon," Cat said, gesturing at the third and final of the other contestants, who was perched on a bench waiting for the M.C. to page us. "He's new, but don't be fooled. He's considered hot stuff by the gym trainers." By which she meant the trainers who collected badges in hopes of challenging the League.

"I know," I confirmed. Brandon had been briefly newsworthy in Sinnoh as having challenged and nearly defeated the Hoenn League. Of course, those of my home region were pretty sarcastic about any League but our own, so his fifteen minutes of fame ended rather quickly. I expected him to use his Ninjask in this contest; bug pokemon are extremely popular in Beauty contests, because their moves are inherently delicate in nature.

"So, what's your story?" Cat asked.

"He's new," Elias scoffed. "Don't bother, he'll tell you some sappy story about having loved contests for years and finally has the chance to compete."

Cat and I exchanged glances. I rolled my eyes and handed her my card without comment.

"This your first Beauty match?" she asked as she took it.

"Yep," I admitted.

"See, what did I..."

Elias's voice trailed off as he looked over Cat's shoulder at the card.

"You won third place in the Sinnoh Region Finals for the Cool contest?" Cat asked in awe. "My brother was in that. He said the competition was amazing!"

I patted my belt where Venus, Cammy, and Beni were held in their pokeballs.

"Yup. That was back when Beni was being trained for Cool contests instead of Tough contests. I hope to sweep that one this year."

"2347..." Elias mumbled as he stared at the card. I grinned broadly.

"Yeah, I know, it's a bit low" I commented. "I had a bad couple of months."

A brief explanation here, for the non-Coordinators. Pokemon Coordinators themselves are rated on a different scale than their pokemon. First, you get a certain number of points for each contest. The basic contests give you around 25 points each, while finals give around 100. Regional finals give around 250, and an extra 50 for the winner. For those of you keeping track, if I won the first four contests, plus the regional finals, I would have around 475 points. That's where the other two ratings come in. When you win, your own record is compared to the record of those who you faced. You get fewer points for facing less experienced opponents, while you get more for facing those who have more experience than you. You get the most experience for facing down rivals, people you've competed against in more than five contests. In addition, you also get points for innovation. Our pokemon are the ones whose moves are graded, but we are graded on how we put those moves together. All three numbers are added together to give you your score, which is printed on a new card after every contest. The score is reset every year, though, to keep it fair for new Coordinators.

All of which meant two things. Number one, that 2347 was a high score for a Coordinator only halfway through the year and number two, that I was being a bit of an ass when I called the rating low. I couldn't resist, though. The smug idiot had it coming, anyway. The sudden appearance of an usher prevented any further comment on my part, however.

"Contestants, if you would please make your way to the stage, the contest will now begin."

I ignored the traditional speech from the M.C. and the announcer both as the usher arranged us in order of registration, with Elias being the first to appear, followed by Cat, Brandon, and then finally, me. I held back another grin at Elias's obvious chagrin. He hadn't researched Hoenn contests, apparently. I wondered briefly what region he was from, but apparently, whichever it was, they didn't use the sign-up sheet as a guide. First to appear is one of the worst positions to start from in a contest, because the audience will have three pokemon between yours and the judging. Last is a favored position, though most prefer either second or third to 'shine by comparison.' Anyone who willingly takes the first slot in a contest is either really confident or really naive. 

Elias made a good showing, however. I had to admit that, no matter how much I disliked his attitude. His Vileplume started out with Sunny Day, always a solid first move for plant or fire types, and followed it up immediately with Captivate. The result was to create the impression of a spotlight focused entirely on Vileplume. That much I had expected, but then Vileplume started into a complex dance that I didn't recognize. As vines and petals began to float in arcs around it, I suddenly realized that Vileplume was combining Swords Dance and Petal Dance. I was impressed despite myself. It's tough to get a pokemon to be able to combine two moves perfectly, but there clearly was more to Elias than I had thought. The judges seemed to agree with me, as after a very short deliberation, they awarded him 8 out of 10. However, Cat seemed unconcerned at the act she was about to follow. I found myself eagerly anticipating her performance.

Cat didn't waste any time. Without waiting for the Sunny Day to dissipate, she summoned her Ninetails to the floor. Its silky fur glittered with tiny puffs of glitter and pearlescent dye, and it visibly preened as the audience murmured. I realized why she was hurrying somewhat. She intended to use Elias's Sunny Day for her own appeal, and not have to waste much time on setup.

"Heat Wave," she commanded, and Ninetails mewled before waving its tails gently back and forth. A blast of warmth hit those of us on the stage, and I saw the first few rows of the audience lean back as they caught the leading edge. Still, it wasn't a visibly impressive move. What it did was...

Ninetails let loose with Flame Wheel as soon as the Heat Wave reached its peak. Powered up by Sunny Day and Heat Wave, the circular inferno made nearly a sphere around the pokemon. But that wasn't all. The flames took on an eerie purple glow as we watched, and I suddenly realized why as the audience began to cheer. Ninetails had used Will-o-wisp to color the flames, and the power of both of the preparation moves that had been done gave it the strength to make the entire Flame Wheel seem like one big Will-o-wisp attack. I wondered what Cat would have her pokemon do next, but I wasn't left in doubt for long. The announcer himself began to speculate, but Cat beat him to the punch line.

"Flare Blitz!" she ordered. Not normally a beautiful attack, but even as I considered that, Ninetails leapt from the center of the now-purple globe of fire. It literally glowed with embers from the combination attack, giving Ninetails the appearance of having a coat made of sparkling purple and orange sequins. The glitter that Cat had prepped her pokemon with had caught fire, and the brief flash as they each burned to nothing was what caused the sparkles. Ninetails, with the special ability Flash Fire inherent to its species, no more felt those sparks than she'd felt the fires of her own attack, which made it a performance no other trainer and pokemon could duplicate. When Cat and her Ninetails turned and bowed to the crowd, I found myself applauding as energetically as the rest of them. The judges gave her a solid 9, though one of them had docked her for the unimpressive first move.

Brandon's performance was... disappointing, to say the least. As I'd expected, he'd started out with Ninjask, but things went steadily downhill from there. Clearly a trainer in temperament and attitude, he relied on what we more experienced Coordinators refer to as 'off the shelf' moves, with no improvements whatsoever. To be fair, he'd dressed his Ninjask well, using glitter and feathers to give it an extremely regal air. Unfortunately, a pokemon's appearance isn't enough to win a contest, and the standard combination of Silver Wind, Swords Dance, and U-turn didn't improve matters. While nobody outright mocked him, it was clear to everyone, including Brandon himself, that he'd done nothing more than provide a brief pause after Cat's performance. I gave him a smile of reassurance as he sat down, but he ignored it. Fair enough, I would have too.

Then it was my turn, almost before I realized it. I stood up, nervous tension making my stomach clench in anticipation.

"Go, Feebas!" I said, calling out my newest partner.

Everyone stared at the brown and blue fish balanced precariously on the pedestal set up for its type. Despite all our best efforts, only the yellow ribbon Cammy had first given it seemed to stay on. The rest of the costume we had attempted wouldn't stick to Feebas's scales at all. I flushed in anger as the crowd began to laugh. Sure, maybe it wasn't beautiful, but it was still one of my partners. Seeing it laughed at made me feel like going out there and slugging someone. I looked down at Feebas and stroked a blue fin gently.

"Not your fault," I whispered. "I'm sure you're beautiful on the inside." I wasn't sure about anything of the sort, but Feebas deserved my concern. It wasn't its fault that I had forced it to participate. I knew that Feebas didn't have a chance to win, so it was entirely my fault that it was being humiliated like this. I felt the horrible crushing sensation of guilt. What had I been thinking?

I looked back at the audience, about to say something, anything, to make them stop laughing, and then suddenly they fell silent. A couple gasped, and pointed at me-

No! At Feebas! I turned back to the fish and saw it glowing bright white. Evolution!

Feebas seemed to stretch out and grow, lengthening into a serpentine shape. Huge billowing objects fluttered to either side, and antennae grew from its head. The light cleared to reveal a tan-colored serpent with blue and red scales on its fan-tipped tail, long fluffy red eyebrows, and delicate red antennae forming a heart above its expressive eyes. I inhaled sharply as the pokemon stretched to its full twenty-foot length before coiling up next to me so that its head was at eye level.

"Feebas?" I asked. Then I shook my head as it... she, I realized suddenly; it was female... turned to me with a soulful gaze. "Milotic," I corrected with awe. She bobbed her head once in affirmation. I raised my head up and stared arrogantly at the audience. Laugh at us, would they?

"Milotic, Mirror Coat!" I ordered.

"Milo~" she sang, and her scales began to sparkle rainbow colors as she coiled into a defensive shape. The crowd murmured its approval, and several of the judges seemed impressed. 

"Contestant Zach opens with Mirror Coat," I heard the announcer say. "Milotic uses the skill with great effect, causing shimmering hues to reflect off its skin onto the crowd."

I grinned. They were impressed with that?

"Aqua Ring," I continued. "Maintain the Mirror Coat!"

A swirl of water seeped from Milotic's skin and began to spin in sphere of mist around her. The crowd wasn't murmuring anymore; they were gasping and applauding as the reflected light from Mirror Coat mixed with the fine mist of Aqua Ring and created a sphere-shaped rainbow. Even I was surprised at the efficacy of the move combo. Milotic seemed to understand instantly what my goals were. I decided to see how complicated a move combo she and I could manage, and leaned in close. Milotic bobbed her head as I explained my idea.

"Zach is whispering to Milotic! What is he planning to follow up this dazzling display?"

"Blizzard!"

Milotic dispelled the Mirror Coat, sending shards of the thin coating the move created into the Aqua Ring. At the same time, she collected the water from Aqua Ring and froze it into ice crystals. She finished by sending the crystals swirling around in a helix that reached nearly to the ceiling. The judges looked disappointed, until a boy in the crowd behind them pointed.

"Look!" he shouted. "They're sparkling too!"

The crystals contained the remnants of Mirror Coat, and as they swirled in the stage lights, they changed colors to create an icy effect which was not unlike that produced by a mirror ball. I had never seen the move done in that way before. The helix was Milotic's own idea; I had planned a simple cascade of crystals to the stage, but she apparently had decided against that. I was again impressed by how quickly Milotic seemed to adapt to the contest. As I had told her, she followed the move up with Bubble, targeting each individual ice crystal. The bubbles froze as they touched the intense cold of Blizzard, and soon the helix was composed entirely of round sparkling balls of ice, as delicate as blown glass.

"9.5 out of 10!" the announcer shouted when the Blizzard finally dissipated. "The judges have scored Zach 9.5 out of 10, the highest score received by any contestant today!"

We won. I was impressed; few pokemon have the ability to win a contest immediately after capture, and we had had no time to work on attacks with Feebas, let alone Milotic. I counted myself extremely fortunate that Milotic's attacks were ones every Coordinator studied. Most Coordinators wish to have a Milotic for Beauty competitions because, as the fisherman had said-though he hadn't told us that Feebas evolves into Milotic-Milotic is the most beautiful pokemon in the world, by popular opinion.

"You did good, Milotic," I told the pokemon as we settled into our new campsite near the river. She smiled up at me through the blue bow of the Beauty ribbon I had tied behind her horn. I bounced her pokeball in my hand once before setting it down on one of those convenient stumps that seem to be all over. 

"I'm going to go catch some sleep." I indicated the pokeball. "If you want, go ahead and climb in there, or sleep in the river. I'm not sure which you're most comfortable with, but it should be your choice."

"Milotic," she replied.

[River.]

"What?" I blinked. For a second, I'd thought that instead of 'milotic,' she'd said...

"River. I want to sleep in the river." Milotic bobbed her head at me. I recalled Celebi's words with a start. 'You will understand anything said to you as though it were spoken in your native tongue,' she'd said. This was the first evidence I'd had of the fact, despite more than a week having passed since I received Arceus's gifts.

"That's fine," I told her, somewhat stunned. She seemed no less so.

"How do you understand me?" she whispered. It was not just a translation that I was getting-I actually really did understand every nuance of what she was saying. I knew, for example, that the half-twist of her right antenna indicated extreme confusion, while the slight bend in her tail was a symptom of being mildly disturbed.

I considered a moment. Neither Cammy nor Venus knew that I was able to understand them when they spoke to me, for the very simple reason that they had never done so in pokemon language. Venus always directed her words to Cammy, who translated them, and Cammy herself never spoke to me in anything except in the human tongue. Since I had met Celebi and Arceus a week ago, I had pretty much disregarded the "gifts" as some form of exaggeration. I'm not sure how I did that, to be honest, but somehow I had managed to convince myself that two extremely powerful mostly-immortal beings had seen fit to lie to one much-less-than-omnipotent Zachary Winton-Kincaid. 

"It's a long story," I said, rather than explain it all at the time. I gave a weak smile. "I'll tell you, and the others, all about it in the morning, but I would like some time to get it straight myself, first."

Milotic seemed to consider that a moment, and then, merely nodded. "Okay," she agreed, where many humans would have insisted on an explanation immediately. Pokemon tend to be more logical in that one sense. I think, to be honest, that it's a consequence of their lives as battlers. When your existence, or at least reputation, hinges on recognizing advantage and disadvantage, you become more sensitive to finding efficient and effective ways of doing things. What it amounted to was that Milotic had thought about it, and then had decided that it did make more sense to wait until morning when the others would be told as well. With that decision made, she turned as if to slide into the water.

"Just a second," I told her as a thought suddenly struck me. She twisted her neck to face me, a quizzical expression on her face.

"Well, I've never done this when the pokemon could understand me, but... do you have a name?" I asked hurriedly.

Milotic's head swiveled from side to side in negation. "They aren't necessary for us," she said. Whether she meant "us, Milotics," or "us, pokemon," would have to wait until another day, though I made a note to follow it up when I found the time.

"Then... would you like the name 'Lorelei'?"

Milotic considered, and then made a very credible attempt at singing "Lorelei" in her soft musical voice.

"I like it," she said. "Good night, trainer."

"It's Zach. Good night, Lorelei."

"Good night, Zach."

* * *

Beni poked her nose into the tent. Cammy and Venus were asleep, but I was still awake, pondering exactly what to tell the newly-named Lorelei and the others in the morning.

*Can I talk to you for a moment, Zach?* she asked, her mental voice sounding quiet, almost meek.

For a very brief instant, I debated brushing her off. Very brief. Her tone worried me. Of the entire team, Beni was the most self-confident, even including me. If she was feeling nervous, it had to be something major.

"Sure, Beni. What's up?" She tossed her head towards the campfire, beckoning me outside. I followed, not bothering to dress. After all, we were in the middle of nowhere, intentionally, and nobody would see. We stood beside the banked campfire, staring at the coals. I felt the tension as Beni worked towards telling me what was bothering her, but didn't say anything. I suspected that trying to draw her out would only make her hide it again, whatever the problem was.

Eventually, her voice filled my mind again.

*Remember when it used to be just us, Zach?* she asked, apparently randomly. I could sense, however, that the question was extremely important to her.

"Of course I do," I told her softly, stroking her mane gently. "Just after I was accepted to the Ranger Academy, all the way until Iron Island, it was just you and me."

*Were you happy?*

"Of course," I repeated, without hesitation. I gave her a warm smile. "I was with my best friend, after all. And she's still with me today."

*Am I really your best friend?* The next few words came out in a rush. *I mean, now you have Cammy, and Venus, and that Milotic. Why should you even care about me? We argue, unlike you and Cammy, and I'm not cute like Venus or beautiful like Milotic...*

"Beni, Beni, Beni," I murmured, still stroking her mane. I was at a loss for words. The evident pain and self-doubt in her voice shook me to the core. I hadn't realized Beni knew how to be anything other than totally self-confident.

"Do you remember?" I asked her after a short time. "I mean, three weeks ago."

Beni gave me a look which combined 'Where are you going with this?' and 'Of course, stupid.' As I had been the first time I met Beni, I was struck by the expressiveness of her eyes.

"I told you we were partners, that night. We became more, but that partnership will never end. No matter how many friends I have... there's only one Beni." I leaned into her fur and whispered in her ear. "And I'll always love you."

I felt Beni's ears twitch at my words, and then her great chest heaved as she took a breath.

*Thank you* she whispered.

We sat down next to the fire, my back to her side. Neither of us spoke as we watched the coals cool to black. After even the quiet hiss of embers ceased, I felt Beni shift, her tail curling around me to lie on my lap.

*You know,* she commented slyly, *I don't have to be in heat to enjoy sex.*

"Huh?" I asked, having begun to drift off.

*I just think it would be nice to be able to enjoy myself without the hurrying.* She turned to look at me. *We have at least six hours until the others wake up...* she concluded in a wheedling tone.

I had to laugh. She sounded, intentionally I'm sure, exactly like Cammy asking for "just one more piece of candy." This impression was confirmed when Beni joined in my laughter with her tenor canine chuckle.

"Alright," I agreed. "Sounds like it would be fun!"

At my words, Beni licked my face happily and immediately after rolled onto her back. There was no fumbling this time, and with her calm and composed instead of thrashing from the demands of her body, I had time to explore. I looked into her eyes as I found three pairs of small, hard knobs of flesh on her belly. She growled under her breath as I brushed them.

"Does that give you pleasure?" I asked curiously. "I thought it was only humans who..."

*Not in the same way,* Beni admitted. *But I do feel immense... satisfaction... at the thought of nursing cubs, and touching them brings that feeling to me.* I continued stroking them gently, the thin fur around them soft and silky under my hands.

*Zach,* she asked after a moment, sounding hesitant. *Could you... pretend to nurse? I'll understand if you'd rather not...* she added hastily.

I considered that for a moment, and then bent down to where I'd found her tits. I kissed one experimentally, sucked it into my mouth, and was rewarded by another one of those throaty growls of hers. Apparently, that "immense satisfaction" was a very strong feeling. She rolled on her side to make it easier for me to reach her without being on top of her.

For myself, I found it quite interesting to pretend to be a puppy for Beni. She certainly had the mass to carry off the impression of motherhood-at full extension, lying down, she was nearly two feet longer than my height, and the better part of half-again my weight. Paws the size of dinner plates brushed my shoulders when her legs occasionally twitched. It was a comfortable feeling for me to lie next to her, a feeling not unlike total security. Puppies, I determined as I continued sucking on the small nipple, were extremely lucky creatures. Their mother would quite happily give her life to protect them, while mine... I carefully derailed that line of thought immediately. Beni didn't need the emotional baggage it would surely carry with it.

A quick look upward reassured me that Beni hadn't caught any of it. Her eyes were half closed as she enjoyed whatever sensation pretending to nurse me brought her, and her muzzle was partly open. In short, she looked more like a dog than she ever had in the whole time I'd known her. Those occasional leg twitches were becoming more frequent; I was starting to doubt her claim that her pleasure was different from that of human women. She certainly seemed to be excited.

That thought she caught. *I am excited,* she confessed. *I'm not sure why.*

"Maybe you really want to be a mother," I suggested, leaning back slightly and looking at her. She froze, and then looked down at me.

*Maybe,* she said with a considering note. *I'm not sure I'd make a good mother...*

"I am."

*Do you really think so?* she asked in a strange tone.

"Just look at how well Cammy turned out," I replied reassuringly.

*Oh, Zach!* she cried, pouncing on me. I forced myself not to flinch as those huge paws came down to either side of my head. She licked my face enthusiastically.

"Ugh," I muttered, but my heart wasn't in it. Truth be told, when I first met Beni she was much more carefree. Once Cammy came along, she became more restrained, and I was glad to see her playful again. Then her tail brushed against my legs and she gave me a canine grin.

*You seem to be as ready as I am,* she observed with a chuckle.

"Sure am," I grinned back. It was increasingly harder to think of her as a pokemon, rather than as simply a person, and my body was having as much trouble as my mind was. My penis was standing straight at attention, and only a few inches from Beni's damp heat. As I watched, Beni began to lower herself slowly down on top of me, taking care to keep her weight on her paws and not on me. Her body pressed my shaft against me, and I could feel her pussy on my balls. I began to reach down to adjust it, but suddenly Beni grabbed hold of me and rolled onto her back, her paws wrapped around my shoulders and pulling me on top of her.

*Put it in,* she ordered forcefully.

"Yes, Mother." There was a half-second pause from both of us as the words registered, and then we both burst out laughing. "That was perfect timing..." I wheezed, trying to catch my breath. Another look at Beni's grin made that a wasted effort, and it was several minutes later that we were ready to resume. I didn't regret the delay, though. As I've said several times before, I think sex shouldn't really be serious. If approached properly, it can be a lot of fun no matter what you do.

I repositioned myself above Beni, my cock pointing directly into her sex. This time, there was no hesitation as I plunged deep inside her. Her warmth enveloped me, welcoming my penis to its rightful place.

Beni was my first in a lot of ways, I suddenly realized. My first pokemon, my first true friend, and my first-

"Hey, Beni?" I asked suddenly, pausing. She whined in disappointment as the motion stopped.

*Yes?* she asked, somewhat tersely.

"Was just wondering... are you my lover? Or my mate?"

I ducked, and her paw whizzed over my head.

"Just asking... I think I'll call you my mate, like Venus said."

*You can call me whatever you like, if you START MOVING AGAIN!*

With a grin, I obeyed. In that tone, Beni sounded definitely peeved.

Lying on top of Beni like I was, I felt her heart racing as I pumped into her. It was an odd rhythm, as I've noticed before, not exactly like a human heartbeat. It was a bit slower and a bit more forceful than our hearts tend to be, even as excited as she was. I could feel her pulse through her fur against my chest as I wrapped my arms around her neck in a hug. 

Beni came, without warning. I felt her pussy clench around me, trying forcefully to draw forth the semen I'd yet to spill inside of her. Her paws on my shoulders drew me even closer into her fur, and she licked my hair, as though grooming me, like she hadn't done in years. The feeling of sheer joy she seemed to emanate pushed me over the edge, and I gave one last hard thrust and my seed spurted into her, drawing a low, rumbling purr from her as we reached the apex of our union.

I rolled off of Beni once I could, and she stood up and lay back down, curled around me.

"Thank you, Zach," she murmured sleepily.

"For what?"

"For loving me as much as you love the others. For letting me be myself with you, without pretending."

I grinned.

"No problem." I leaned back. "You know, while we're on the subject of being ourselves, I saw this great movie a few nights ago..."

"Zach?" she asked in her normal voice. 

"...it had this one scene where a guy and two girls..."

"Zach?"

"...and then they..."

"Zach." That last was in her best command tone.

"Yes?"

"Go to sleep."

I obeyed gladly; I had never before felt so comfortable as I was then, almost embraced by my first and oldest partner, and my last thought as I began to drift off was that I would have to make a habit of sleeping this way, if Beni agreed. I didn't even notice, as tired as I was, that she hadn't spoken to me psychically.

"You begin to understand," Arceus's voice told me. I opened my eyes and found myself in a dusty valley, with cacti and the sort of flowering shrubs which thrive in a desert. I looked around, but didn't see Arceus anywhere.

"I'm not actually here," Arceus explained. "Certain... matters... require me to be elsewhere." Believe it or not, I felt a shrug in his voice, as obvious as if he had actually physically shrugged.

"I see," I said. "Or rather, I don't, because you're not here. Anyway, what is it that I begin to understand, then?"

"Everything at risk. The whole of human and pokemon relationships. You give us something we need, and we give you something you need. We're two halves of the same coin, and you cannot remove one without the other. Humans without pokemon would devolve into little better than animals, seeking self-gratification and profit at the expense of their neighbors, while pokemon would eventually stagnate and decay." Another of those impressive vocal shrugs.

"I see," I repeated. This time, there was no humor in my gaze as I stared resolutely across the valley floor. Life without pokemon would be extremely lonely for me, I knew that much. It had never occurred to me that pokemon might need us, too. I closed my eyes and shook my head.

"I'm sorry," I told Arceus sincerely. He didn't reply, seeming to wait for me to continue. I did. "I only wanted to help you because of what Darkrai did, to get revenge. I was angry, about Celestic getting destroyed. I wanted to make Darkrai pay, and pay, and pay, for that. Because it would make me feel better."

"And make you forgive yourself."

I stared down at my feet.

"So, you caught that?" I asked wryly. "Yeah, I feel guilty as hell, knowing that Gardevoir might have been able to tell me enough to prevent that disaster. I was too proud to listen, then."

"You're not, now." It might have been a question, but it wasn't. I answered anyway.

"No. If you need me to do something, you can just ask. I won't argue."

There was a pause, and then a roar of laughter in my ears. I flinched reflexively.

"That would require a miracle," Arceus commented mirthfully. "I won't ask that much. Argue with me all you like, but do what needs doing. That's all I ask."

"Agreed."

There was another pause, as I summoned up the nerve to ask the question in my mind. Arceus beat me to it.

"No," he told me firmly. "I won't tell you what my third gift was. You have to discover it for yourself."

"Oh." There didn't seem to be much else to say to that. "Okay. In that case, seeing as how I'm naked and trying to sleep, do you mind overmuch if I get back to that?" I smiled broadly. "Besides, Beni and I have a lot of talking and such to do."

"Not at all." Arceus chuckled again, and the valley faded into darkness.

[To Be Continued.]

[Author's Note, cont.: This will be the last episode of Coordination until approximately November, when I will pick back up with the main plotline. Perhaps four months or so will have passed according to Coordination time by that point, but don't hold me to that. I may occasionally still put out a short story or two set in the Coordination universe, and I plan to post and edit the episodes of the Exile already completed during this time. Those will be tied in to Coordination the story after I return to writing. In the meantime, feel free to contact me with comments and/or suggestions at [email protected].]