"To be number one you must train like you are number two. Because if you train like number one, you have no place to go."

When Blaze's trainer, Ryan, woke her up early on the weekend, the Typhlosion knew that something was about to happen. Saturday was their day off from training, and he was very strict about having a day to rest and recover from the hard work they put in during the week. He wouldn't have disrupted their routine like this unless there was something unusual happening.

After all, it was through rigid discipline and tough training that she, her trainer, and the rest of the pokémon that he kept were so successful. Since the day that he had first received Blaze as a Cyndaquil from Professor Elm in New Bark Town, he'd worked his hardest to make them the best they could be. Ryan was rising fast in the Johto League, progressing quickly in a journey that had recently led them back to Ryan's hometown of Olivine City. While in town, they were staying with his parents, who owned a sizeable area of land in the north of the city. Blaze looked forward to when they visited there, because it was one of the times that her trainer would let all of his pokémon out of their balls to run free. During the night, they all slept in the house, and during the day they got to have the run of the land.

Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, Blaze sat up with a yawn and waited for Ryan to tell her what was going on. She didn't have long to wait, but what he had to say provided few answers.

"I've got something I want all of you to hear," Ryan said, meaning all of the pokémon that traveled with him. "When you've woken up a bit more, join me out back with everyone else."

With that, he left the room Blaze was occupying. Grumpy both for being woken and for having her questions left unanswered, Blaze took her time getting out of bed. She got herself looking more presentable. It would not do, after all, for the Alpha pokémon to look unkempt in front of the rest of her "pack". She smoothed the blackish-blue fur on her back and brushed down the yellowish fur on her belly. With a little huff, she juiced up the flames that ringed her neck, making sure they were properly stoked. Satisfied with her appearance, she finally made her way out of the house and to the backyard.

There, waiting for her, was the rest of Ryan's traveling team. The Umbreon, Kerri, looked about ready to fall asleep on her feet (she, naturally, not being a morning person). Phoebe, the Ampharos, and Jay, the Skarmory, looked ready for a marathon. The pair was chattering noisily as Blaze walked up. Sloan was standing a little off from everyone else. As usual, the Heracross seemed a little too absorbed in his own thoughts to bother with what anyone else was doing.

Ryan was in front of all of them, holding a poké ball in his hand. When he saw that Blaze had arrived, he cleared his throat, bringing Phoebe and Jay's conversation to an end and calling Sloan over to join the group. Kerri jumped a little and attempted to open her eyes a bit wider.

"Sorry to wake you all up so early," Ryan apologized, "but I have an announcement to make and I just couldn't wait any longer to tell you guys." He held up the poké ball. "But first, there's someone I'd like you to meet." The trainer tapped the button located on the equator of the ball and activated it. The ball popped open, and in a shimmer of light a pokémon came out.

When the light faded, Blaze was able to get a view of the inhabitant of the poké ball. She was a little surprised to see a Hypno standing beside Ryan. The pokémon was not often seen in the Johto region, as it couldn't be found in the wild there at all. The Hypno had yellow fur all over its body, except for a fluffy white "mane" around its neck. Blaze could just hear Kerri, next to her, fighting to contain a laugh at the newcomer's rather ridiculous-looking nose. The Hypno's left ear twitched, and the Umbreon instantly went silent. It seemed as though it had heard her, even from the ten-foot distance at which it was standing.

"This is Loki," Ryan said. "I met a trainer from the Kanto region in town the other night, and he offered to trade Loki to me for the Ledyba that you helped me catch a few weeks ago, Phoebe." He nodded to the Ampharos. "Loki will be joining us from now on, so I wanted you guys up early so that you could spend the day getting to know each other. That's the announcement I wanted to make." He smiled. "So, I guess I'll give you all some time to introduce yourselves, and then we'll have breakfast. I'll be inside whenever you guys are ready." Ryan walked off and back into the house. Loki stood where he was, looking a little bit awkward. Blaze took the initiative and approached him first.

"Welcome to the team, Loki," she said, offering a paw. "I'm Blaze, and it's nice to meet you."

Loki took her paw. "Nice to meet you," he said. "I hope this...Ryan guy turns out to be better than my last trainer was."

"Oh, he will," Blaze assured him. She turned and swept her hand to take in the rest of the pokémon. "Why not come over and say hello to the rest of us?" She led Loki over to the assembled group. "Say hi to Loki, guys."

Kerri sniffed him experimentally. "You smell funny," she said bluntly. "Not like home. Different places."

"Well, I could smell you from over where I was standing," Loki retorted, his nose twitching. "You should bathe more carefully in the morning." Kerri looked shocked. The rest of the pokémon laughed. The ice broken, they all began telling Loki their names and asking him about where he came from.

"So, what brought your trainer to Johto?" Phoebe asked, the bulb on the end of her tail glowing slightly with curiosity.

"He came here looking for pokémon that couldn't be found in Kanto," Loki said. "I guess that's kind of why I'm here right now," he added wryly.

Sloan sidled up, his face as dour as always. "What is Kanto?" he asked, his voice a rather dull monotone.

"Oh, you all have never heard of it?"

Ryan's pokémon all shook their heads.

"Kanto is the region just east of Johto, over Indigo Plateau," Loki explained. "It's not that different than Johto, really. Less history, though, I think. There are a lot more ruins and such here, I've noticed." He nodded once. "And my trainer comes from a town called Vermilion City. It's a port city, like this one. We came over to Johto on a boat."

"Cooooooooooooooooool...," Phoebe said, her tail glowing brighter. "I've never been on a boat before. Is it fun?"

Loki shrugged. "I wouldn't know. He never let us, I mean me and his other pokémon, out of our poké balls while we were on it."

"Wow, that sucks," Jay said, his metallic feathers flattening. "Your old trainer sounds like a jerk."

"Yeah, well, that's in the past now." The Hypno clapped his hands together. "But I think I heard my new trainer say something about breakfast, if I'm not mistaken?"

Blaze lightly slapped him on the back. "Come on," she said. "We'll show you how a nice trainer treats his pokémon."

Inside the house, Ryan had breakfast out and ready for all of the pokémon. The way things usually worked, the pokémon would file up to Ryan, and he'd hand them a dish of pokémon food. They lined up as they normally would, and Ryan poured out the first bowl. Just as Blaze was about to take it, Loki cut in and went for the bowl.

Not quite believing what had just happened, Blaze put out a paw and grabbed the Hypno's shoulder. "Excuse me," she said. "What do you think you're doing?"

Loki looked surprised. "I'm...getting breakfast," he said. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

Blaze gave a little laugh. "Listen, I don't know what it was like where you came from, but I'm the Alpha around here. And that means I go first."

Unconcerned, Loki shrugged. "Sorry, I didn't know." He walked off.

Her jaw slack, Blaze looked around at the other pokémon. They seemed just as surprised as she had been. For the first time in as long as she could remember, Blaze took the second bowl and pursued Loki away from the kitchen. She caught up to him back outside underneath the porch that lined the rear of the house. He was sitting at one of the picnic tables that Ryan's parents had, popping bits of food into his mouth.

"Look you," she said, irritation creeping into her voice. "I think we need to straighten out a few things. You're the new guy. I've been with Ryan since he became a trainer. You don't go before me, ever."

"I think you're making a big deal out of this," Loki said. "Who cares if I go before you or not?"

"I do!" Blaze exclaimed. "You owe me some respect!" Her friendliness towards the newcomer was swiftly evaporating.

Loki looked up at her. "What I owe you is approximately nothing. I just met you. I'm the wild card tossed into the deck. You still have to earn the status of Alpha in my eyes."

Blaze narrowed her eyes. "Is that a challenge?" she asked, her voice dangerously low. The other pokémon had come outside by now. They were watching the exchange with rapt attention, shocked by the audacity of the new guy. Even Sloan looked more animated than normal.

"No." Loki ate a little bit more food. "It's just something for you to think about."

Snorting with a contemptuous laugh, Blaze turned away from him and went off to eat somewhere else.

"Not bad...," Loki muttered under his breath as she moved away.

Blaze's ears pricked up. "What did you say?" She whirled back around, anger causing the flames around her neck to flare up sharply.

"Oh, I was just remarking that you don't look that bad from behind," Loki said casually. "You look pretty good."

"In your dreams."

Loki smiled. "No, love, in yours."

With precise calm, Blaze gently set her bowl of food down on a lawn chair. Before anyone had realized what was going on, she had the Hypno by the collar and had lifted him a foot off the ground. Maddeningly, his eyes revealed no fear. Just idle curiosity at what she was doing.

"I've had about enough of you," Blaze hissed. "You just got here, and it seems like you already need a little lesson. There's a nice flat area just beyond the backyard, there." She took one hand from him to point. "I'll see you there this afternoon. Right after lunch. Be there." She let Loki go. He dropped back onto his seat. Giving him one last aggressive glare, Blaze walked away, picking her food back up.

"I look forward to it," Loki called after her.

Kerri scampered to catch up with Blaze. The Umbreon walked by her side as Blaze went to the far side of the lawn to eat.

"I don't like him," Kerri said.

Blaze managed a little laugh. "You're not the only one."

"He's tricky. Annoying. Too loud." Kerri flashed a sidelong glance at Blaze. "But he's strong. I can tell. Be careful."

"You don't have to worry about me," Blaze assured her friend. "I've met pokémon like him before. I can take care of myself."

When the time came for the showdown between Blaze and Loki, all of the pokémon went to the chosen battleground. Blaze was already there, stretching her muscles and waiting for her challenger. He was late. Jay ruffled his feathers impatiently, the clanking of the metal cutting into the afternoon calm.

"I bet he chickened out," the Skarmory whistled. "Nobody would be dumb enough to take on Blaze." The other pokémon nodded in agreement and Blaze swelled with pride. The loyalty of her pack was admirable.

Kerri, however, shook her head. "Not him," she said. "He's cocky. Sure of himself. Being late to annoy her."

Sure enough, while the pokémon began to argue about whether Loki was brave enough to show up, he came lumbering across the backyard. He approached the group and walked right up to Blaze. She bared her teeth and stoked her fires, putting on a show of dominance to intimidate the brash Hypno.

"We don't have to do this, you know," Loki said.

"Scared?" Blaze growled.

"No. I'm just saying we don't have to do it. I don't want to embarrass you in front of your friends."

Blaze laughed. "We'll see who gets embarrassed. I'm ready when you are."

Loki shook his head and stepped off a ways from the determined Typhlosion. Phoebe, Kerri, Sloan, and Jay backed off to a safe distance where they could watch without getting caught up in the fight. The two fighters squared off, staring each other down.

"Go!" Phoebe yelled, a gunshot-like flash of light erupting from her tail.

Roaring, Blaze charged at Loki. He stood there, waiting. When she was about halfway to him, he produced a small pendulum from some hiding place in his fur. He began to swing it back and forth, gently, holding it in front of his face. Blaze tracked its movements as she ran towards him. She cocked her right paw back, ready to hit him with a powerful Fire Punch.

"Blaze, what are you doing?" Phoebe asked. "He's over there!"

Blaze blinked. All of a sudden, she was facing completely the wrong direction. Somehow, she was now standing directly in front of the Ampharos, her fist still sheathed in flame and prepared for the strike. When she realized what she was doing, the flames dissipated. She looked over her shoulder. Loki was standing where he had been moments before, waving merrily at her. Angrily, Blaze turned around and went for him again.

This time, she found herself waist-deep in the pond that sat at the far edge of the property. Snarling with annoyance, she climbed out of the water and shook herself off. This was getting ridiculous. She made her way back to the battlefield, where Loki was waiting for her.

"Why don't you get serious?" Blaze shot at him. "Stop playing around and fight me!"

"What do you think I'm doing?" Loki retorted. He beckoned her towards him. "Come on, take your best shot."

Again and again, Blaze charged the Hypno. Each time, he managed to cast Hypnosis on her and send her to a completely different location. She kept up her fruitless assault and continued trying to hit him. The pokémon watching were dumbfounded. They had never seen anyone make a fool out of Blaze like this before. Every time she got close enough to swipe at him, he wasn't there anymore. The Typhlosion began to tire as she expended her energy in pointless attacks.

After half an hour of this, Blaze had to stop running. Loki was laughing at her, his face full of mirth. She watched him as he dashed in circles around her, flashing about seemingly in multiple locations at once in an impressive Double Team technique. Clearly, physical attacks weren't going to cut it against this foe. Readying the fires within her, Blaze watched Loki moving around, trying to discern a pattern within his movements.

"Got you!" she yelled. She opened her mouth and sent a jet of fire roaring towards her target. The Flamethrower attack intersected with the victim's pathway perfectly, engulfing it in an inferno. But when the fire died down, there was nothing there. Oh, no, Blaze thought. She turned around...

Just in time to see a completely unharmed Loki leaping at her. She tried to bring her arms up to defend herself, but she was too weary from the prolonged battle to move fast enough. He hit her with a Headbutt, knocking her off of her feet and sending her to the ground. Having gained the initiative, the Hypno didn't let it go. He blasted her with a Psybeam to immobilize her and then pinned her to the ground. The spectators gasped in awe of the powerful pokémon.

"What's it going to be, Blaze?" Loki asked her calmly. "Do you want to keep going? Or have you had enough?"

Grudgingly, Blaze relaxed her body. She couldn't possibly continue to fight any longer. "Enough," she muttered. "You win."

Satisfaction on his face, Loki stood up, releasing her from his hold. "A good fight," he said. "You almost hit me a few times. I got a little worried at the beginning of the battle."

"Stop gloating," Blaze said. She rose to her feet. "You won. Isn't that enough?" She closed her eyes regretfully. "And that makes you the new Alpha. Congratulations."

"Well, thanks, but no thanks," Loki said. "I never wanted your position. Just for you to recognize that I'm at least as strong as you." Without another word, he walked off, making for the house.

Blaze watched him go, the bitterness of defeat still clinging to her mind. But she did have to admit that she was impressed with how he had beaten her. Just a little.

Several days later, Ryan announced that he was going to be heading into town to challenge Jasmine, the leader of the Olivine City Pokémon Gym. Blaze was elated. This would be a chance to show up Loki for the defeat he had handed her the other day. Blaze's fire was especially potent against Steel-type pokémon, and Loki's Psychic-type arsenal would be next to useless. Since it was widely known that Jasmine only carried three pokémon into battle, rather than the customary six, Ryan had decided that he would also carry only three pokémon. It went without saying that Blaze would be one of them. Besides being the advantageous Fire-type, she had never failed to see some action during Ryan's gym battles. But as for the other two, the pokémon could not guess who they would be. Most of them were of types that would be flops against the Steel-type.

"It definitely won't be me," Phoebe lamented, her tail drooping with disappointment. The pokémon were sitting in a circle in the backyard, discussing the situation. "Jasmine's Magnemites share a type with me, and I won't be able to do anything against that Steelix."

"Jay and Kerri, you two are probably out as well," Blaze said. The Skarmory and Umbreon nodded in agreement. "I guess that really only leaves Sloan."

Sloan tilted his head. "I suppose," he murmured. The Bug pokémon's secondary Fighting-type would make him invaluable in the battle.

"But that still leaves one slot open," Loki pointed out. "It will have to be one of the four of us." He indicated himself, Phoebe, Jay, and Kerri.

"Won't be you," Kerri said. "Psychic-type. Not good against Steel. Weak." The last word was spoken with a tone of spite. Kerri was still mad about how the Hypno had humiliated her friend.

"Besides," Blaze said, "I can't see Ryan using you for the first time against a Gym Leader."

Loki gave one of his noncommittal shrugs. "I guess you would know better than I."

The discussion continued until Ryan came up. "I hope you guys are ready, because it's time to head into town," he said. The pokémon listened with bated breath, each hoping fervently that they might be picked. Ryan looked around at them. "I need Blaze, Sloan..." He thought hard for another moment or so. "...and Loki. Let's go." Ryan called Sloan and Loki back into their poké balls. Blaze was peeved that Ryan would be bringing the rookie along, but consoled herself in the small status victory that came with being allowed to walk free to the gym.

"Bye," Blaze said, waving to the pokémon who were being left behind. "Be back soon."

"Show him how it's done," Kerri called after her.

Located in the northwest corner of Olivine City, the Olivine Gym was shaped like a truncated pyramid with two towers on top, connected by a skybridge. The outside of the pyramid section was covered with steel plating, offering the uninformed a hint as to the Gym Leader's type of choice. The building was familiar to Ryan, since he had been born and raised in the city. Additionally, Jasmine was an acquaintance of his family, and had been the one to recommend Ryan to Professor Elm as new trainer. Upon entry, Ryan and Blaze were faced with an immense space devoted almost entirely to the battle floor.

"Nice to see the place again," Ryan said, looking up towards the distant ceiling. "I wonder if Jasmine finally got any other trainers to hang around." He looked to the office area of the gym, visible through an observation window that overlooked the floor. The usual assortment of workers could be seen milling about, as well as other administrative people who would handle the day-to-day workings of the gym. It was a business like any other, of course. But none of the figures screamed "trainer" to him, and there was nobody present on the ground level. "Looks like a pretty quiet day in the Olivine City Gym..." He smiled and looked over at Blaze. "Not for long, though, right?"

Blaze grinned and gave a sharp nod. She could feel the fire already beginning to intensify within her. A battle was coming, a real one this time, and she was ready for it.

A pinging noise came from an elevator, set into the base of the far wall. The doors slid open, and the figure of a very slender and actually rather frail-looking young woman emerged. She spotted Ryan, and walked over to where he and Blaze stood.

"Um...hello, Ryan," she said, unconsciously chewing on a fingernail. Her eyes repeatedly flicked to the ground and then back up to Ryan once more. "It's good to see you again."

"Likewise, Jasmine," Ryan said. He ignored what others might have perceived as rudeness in the Gym Leader's mannerisms. Like anyone familiar with Jasmine, he knew that she merely had a timid personality and wasn't trying to be distant with him. "How have things been?"

"Oh...fine...I guess..."

"How's Amphy doing?"

Jasmine turned her head to the side, fiddling with one of the orange barrettes that held her hair in place. "He's doing okay...," she said. "But he misses Phoebe...and I think he might be coming down with something again..."

"I'll take Phoebe to visit him in the lighthouse sometime soon," Ryan promised. "I think they'd both enjoy that."

There was the tiniest hint of a smile. "Thanks...That would be great...He doesn't get to see his sister very often..." She met his eyes solidly for the first time. "Um...but I think I'm correct in assuming...you didn't come here just to catch up, did you?"

"You got me," Ryan admitted. "You're actually next on my list of gyms to challenge. Are you busy right now?"

Jasmine shook her head, tapping her foot rhythmically for a few beats. "No, I don't have anything to do right now. I guess...a battle would be kind of nice, actually..."

A short time later, Jasmine ordered the gym prepared for battle. The metal shutters on all of the windows were closed and the stadium lights that hung from the ceiling were turned on. Bleachers extended from the walls, and gradually people working in the building filtered down from the upper walls and sat down to watch. The atmosphere was one of excitement. No matter who they were, no matter what line of work they were in, there was almost nobody who could resist the lure of a pokémon battle between two skilled trainers.

Once the gym was ready and everybody who was going to watch was settled, Jasmine took her place at the far end of the battle floor. Ryan stood directly opposite of her, Blaze by his side. From the minute they had walked off of Ryan's parents' property, she had been working herself into her battle mindset. Her mouth was slightly open, and every now and then a little burst of sparks came from between her teeth. She wanted to fight.

"Um...I think you know all about what kind of pokémon I use...," Jasmine said. "So...so I won't explain it. This battle will be three against three." She toed the ground, appearing nervous. "Well...shall we start?"

"Ready when you are," Ryan affirmed.

Reaching for her waist, Jasmine unclipped one of the poké balls that she had affixed there. She hurled it into the center of the gym. The ball cracked open upon contact with the ground, and in a shower of light a pokémon emerged from it. The first fighter that Jasmine had sent out was one of her Magnemites, a scrappy little Electric- and Steel-type pokémon.

Selecting one of his own poké balls, Ryan prepared to throw down. He tossed his ball to the center as well, and his Heracross, Sloan, made his appearance. When both pokémon were finally facing one another, Ryan saw Jasmine's eyes light up. She lived for the battle, and it was only in the midst of a fight that she relaxed and allowed her true personality to show.

"Oh, I should have guessed!" Jasmine said. The timid front that she had put on earlier dissolved. "Thinking you can start off light with your little bug friend? I'll show you! Take it away, Magnemite!"

The tiny ball of metal and screws emitted an electronic buzz and shot at Sloan with surprising speed. Sloan dodged to the side, avoiding the Magnemite's first attempt at a physical tackle. Making a quick turn, the Magnemite spun the magnets that stuck out from either side of its body, working up an electric charge.

"Use Thunderbolt!" Jasmine ordered. The Magnemite obliged, sending a colossal burst of electric energy straight at Sloan. Instead of telling the fighting beetle to get away from the attack, Ryan tried a novel strategy.

"Sloan!" he called. "Ground it!"

Figuring out what his trainer meant, Sloan planted his feet firmly on the ground, then bent over and put his arms to the floor as well. Thrusting his neck out, he used the huge horn that extended from the top of his head as a lightning rod, attracted the lightning beams right to the tip. Grounded as he was, the electricity flowed harmlessly from the horn across Sloan's back and to the floor.

"Now, while it's recovering! Hit it with Close Combat!"

Sloan got up and made a dash for the Magnemite. Momentarily stunned from the exertions of its own attack, the enemy pokémon was unable to get away in time. Sloan smashed at it with all four limbs and his horn at once, striking the weaker Steel-type pokémon multiple times per second. The Magnemite quickly wilted under the assault, losing its hover power and falling to the floor. When he saw that his opponent was down for the count, Sloan backed off. Jasmine retrieved her fallen Magnemite.

"Ooh, looks like I underestimated you!" Jasmine said, her face animated and eager for more. She selected another poké ball. "But I've got a surprise!" Her second ball sailed into the battlefield.

Ryan's heart skipped a beat as he saw what emerged from the ball. It was not the expected second Magnemite, but its next evolutionary form, Magneton. This opponent was a step up from the previous one. While slower than its pre-evolved form, Magneton was a good deal more powerful and could take a whole lot more punishment. Thinking quickly, Ryan called Sloan back into his poké ball. This was beyond what the Heracross could manage.

"Seems you've got a trick or two up your sleeve," Ryan said. "I should've spent some more time catching up."

Jasmine grinned. "Stop talking and start fighting."

Ryan turned to Blaze. "You're up," he said. "Be careful and don't let your guard down. This one is tough."

About time, Blaze thought. With a roar of intimidation, she rushed onto the gym floor. The Magneton was well-trained, and did not flinch at the charge that Blaze made. She prepared for a Fire Punch, and swung at the hovering pokémon. It moved out of the way just in time, forcing the Typhlosion onto the ground with the force of her own attack.

"Magneton, stop it with a Thunder Wave!" Jasmine called.

The Magneton gave a loud squawk that sounded like the feedback from a microphone and began generating electricity within its body. The magnets on it spun briefly; it was able to charge up much faster than the previous pokémon had. Once it had built up enough electric energy, it released it in shimmering waves from the screws positioned equidistantly around its body.

The attack hit Blaze in her back. She winced in discomfort as the electricity crackled along her nerves, causing her muscles to fire off involuntarily and at random. The microspasms kept her paralyzed, unable to move from where she was. While she was struggling to recover her ability to move, Jasmine issued her next command to the Magneton.

"Sonicboom!" she ordered. "Hit it hard!"

The Magneton squawked again, and the three components that made up its body began to juggle around with each other. The motions built up a maelstrom of air in the void in the center. All at once, each section stopped moving, and the air tore away in a violent tornado that slammed into Blaze with terrific force. She was pushed nearly to the edge of the battlefield, and would have faced disqualification if she hadn't managed to dig her claws into the ground just shy of the perimeter line.

Gingerly, Blaze stood up. She still had a pins-and-needles sensation running up and down her back, and there was a nice bruise where the Magneton's attack had hit her, but she had control of herself again. She growled menacingly and ran back towards her opponent. The flames lining the back of her neck shot to an impressive height, and she opened her mouth as she charged. A massive burst of flame erupted from her mouth; it was Fire Blast, one of her strongest moves. The flames washed over the Magneton, melting parts of its metallic skin and causing its hover to fail for a moment.

Ryan gave a loud whoop. "Yeah, nice one, Blaze! Keep at it!"

"Don't celebrate just yet," Jasmine warned. "It's not finished, not by a long shot!"

More quickly than either Ryan or Blaze could have anticipated, the Magneton had overcome the force of the Fire Blast. Molten steel continuing to drip from its body, the resilient pokémon began to glow with a strange red light. At first, Ryan thought that it was gearing up for a feared Explosion or Selfdestruct, but suicide attacks weren't Jasmine's style. Blaze eyed the pokémon nervously, waiting for it to make a move.

Suddenly, the opponent made an all-out charge for Blaze, faster than Ryan had ever seen a pokémon of that type move. With a start, he realized what it was doing.

"Blaze!" he shouted. "Get out of the way! It's using Giga Impact! You can't take an attack like that!"

Appearing as though she had not heard him, Blaze set her stance and just stood there, unmoving. She wasn't going to back down. She was better than Ryan thought.

"What are you doing? Move!"

Blaze watched the Magneton as it got closer. It was thirty feet away. The red glow had become an angry crimson inferno. Twenty feet away. She could see the three parts of its body gyrating quickly. Ten feet away. The six U-shaped magnets on its body were twirling madly. Five feet...

And then, just as the Magneton was about to impact with her body, she leaped straight up in the air with all of her strength. Her jump carried her right over the incoming pokémon, and it missed her completely. Rather anticlimactically, the Magneton smashed into the gym floor, cracking the surface and digging itself in deep. Blaze landed lightly back on her feet. She went over to the crater the enemy pokémon had made and peered inside. The Magneton sat at the bottom, unmoving. It had knocked itself out upon impact.

Blaze gave a little toss of her head with a satisfied smile. There, how's that for skill? she said to herself. Can't take an attack like that. Really, he should know me better than that.

A surprised expression on her face, Jasmine trotted over to the hole to survey the damage. She looked down to check on her Magneton, and then looked back up at Blaze. "I don't suppose you could have done that without wrecking my floor, could you, Blaze?"

Blaze shrugged, slightly apologetic.

"My accountant will have my head for this." The Gym Leader sighed and returned her pokémon to its ball. "You've earned a good rest," she said, cradling the ball in her hands. She went back to her position at the end of the battlefield. "Well, let's get on with it, then. You still have to face my best and strongest pokémon!"

Here it comes, Blaze thought. The Steelix. This one will be a real challenge.

Sure enough, the final ball that Jasmine threw opened to reveal the hulking, steely serpentine form of the giant iron snake. The Steelix roared a brassy tone that called to mind a horde of trumpets, all playing out of tune with one another. The sound hurt Blaze's ears, but she stood her ground, gritting her teeth and trying to look as fearsome as possible in the face of such a colossal opponent.

"Blaze, come on back," Ryan called.

Blaze turned around to look at her trainer, astonished at what she had heard. He didn't want her to fight the Steelix? He was calling her out of the battle? That had never happened before.

"Let's give the new guy a chance to flex his muscles," Ryan said.

Incensed, Blaze shook her head. "No way, this is my fight!" she said, even though she knew he couldn't understand a word of it.

Ryan frowned. "I said, come on back," he repeated.

Blaze shook her head again, more insistently.

"Do you want me to put you in here?" Ryan asked, holding up her poké ball.

Blaze's eyes widened. Definitely not. Not until I really have to. Resentfully, she crept back to him, fuming on the inside.

"That's better." Ryan pulled out Loki's ball. "Okay, new buddy, let's see what you can do against a Steelix!" He sent out Loki. The Hypno shook his head, blinking against the light from his own poké ball. He turned around, and flashed a sickeningly sarcastic smile and a wink at Blaze, who rolled her eyes and turned her head to the side.

"A...a Hypno?" Jasmine said, disbelieving. She barked a shrill laugh. "You're slipping, Ryan. You know that a Psychic-type can't possibly take on a Steel-type!"

Ryan grinned. "I know it doesn't seem to make sense," he said. "But I think you'll find that Loki is a bit different from most Hypnos."

Tilting her head with a confident expression on her face, Jasmine threw an arm out. "Go on, Steelix. Show that Hypno who's boss!" The Steelix gave its haunting cry again and began to rush Loki.

Blaze watched as Loki dug around in the fluffy mane around his neck. He pulled out the same pendulum that he had used to hypnotize her the other day. Languidly, the tiny metal disk began to swing back and forth in his fingers. Loki held it in front of him, chanting quietly under his breath as the Steelix came at him. When the gigantic metal pokémon was mere feet from him, it suddenly came to a halt. Blaze looked on in astonishment as the iron snake began to move its head from side to side, following the swing of the pendulum. It was rather like, she thought, one of those Ekans-charmers that she had seen performing on street corners every now and then.

Before long, the Steelix was completely under Loki's spell. He waved a hand, and the pokémon turned to the left and began dancing up on the end of its tail. Some of the spectators who were watching the match began to laugh. Jasmine was less than amused.

"What are you doing, Steelix?" she shouted, her face beginning to color. "Don't dance! Snap out of it and attack!"

Her words seemed to get through to her pokémon a little bit. The Steelix faltered in its dance and looked at her for a moment. Then it turned back to Loki and rumbled, confused. Loki kept swinging the pendulum, but it had less effect than before. The iron snake shook its head violently and then roared, diving down at Loki.

The Hypno abandoned his pendulum and dove out of the way. The Steelix crashed its head into the floor, its Slam attack just missing him. Blaze would have taken the time to prepare a powerful attack if she had been in Loki's position, but it turned out that the hardened pokémon felt little to no effect from slamming its head into a solid surface. It went right after Loki, keeping him on his toes with a barrage of physical attacks. Blaze smiled to herself. The Hypno was about to get his comeuppance. He might have been able to use his Psychic-type abilities to his advantage in the fight he'd had with her, but it wouldn't go quite the same against the Steelix.

"Don't let it scare you!" Ryan called. "Show it some of your defensive abilities!"

Loki tossed a quick thumbs-up. He began to flit around the Steelix, showing impressive agility with a Double Team technique. As it had with Blaze, the attack created the illusion of multiple Lokis, forcing the enemy pokémon to guess as to which one was the real deal.

"Focus, Steelix!" Jasmine encouraged her pokémon. "Just concentrate on the pattern." Blaze felt sorry for Jasmine. As much as she did not care for Loki, she had to admit that his Double Team was very skillful. The Steelix would have to rely more on luck than discerning any pattern.

The enemy wouldn't even have the chance for that, however. While the Steelix was still trying to figure out which Loki was the real one, the Hypno suddenly made a move. He leapt at the giant serpent, striking it with a Brick Break attack. Blaze's eyes widened in surprise. She had not expected Loki to know any Fighting-type moves. The strong move hit the Steelix hard, and it wobbled in the air. The moment of unsteadiness gave Loki an opening, and he climbed onto the pokémon. Using the craggy features of his Steel-type opponent, he quickly made his way up to the top of its head. With another Brick Break, he smacked both of his fists right between its eyes. The Steelix howled in pain and shook its head violently. Loki was dislodged, and he sailed off, but he managed to turn himself in midair so that he landed safely on two feet.

"Oh, no, Steelix!" Jasmine screamed. "Keep going. I know you can beat him!"

Dizzy from the punishing blow to its head, the Steelix looked around. It seemed to be having trouble focusing its eyes on anything. With halting movements, it faced Loki, although its eyes remained fixed just slightly above his head. Doubtless, it saw more than one of him, and not due to any sort of Double Team this time.

"Good going, Loki!" Ryan shouted. "Now, let's finish this! Give it a Focus Blast!"

A wide smile spreading under his protruding nose, Loki bunched up his fists and squeezed his eyes shut. His hands began to glow with amber light. The Steelix blinked several times, trying to clear its vision. It shook its head one last time, and appeared to recover its senses. The end of its tail came up, and Blaze knew that a vicious Iron Tail attack was coming. She held her breath, despite herself.

Loki swung both of his hands in front of him, clapping them together with a loud slapping sound. As soon as they hit each other, a bright beam of energy shot out from them. The beam hit the Steelix with shattering force, cracking its metal skin in several places. With one final roar, it was knocked backwards, crashing to the floor like a tree under the assault of a logger's chainsaw. Dust and fragments of the flooring flew up in a cloud. Once it settled, everyone could see the Steelix lying on the floor, unmoving. The battle was over.

Ryan jumped in the air, a fist upraised in celebration. Loki turned away from the KO-ed enemy, calmly walking to back to where Blaze and his new trainer stood. Blaze couldn't take her eyes off of him. Never in a million years would she have thought that he could have done something like what she'd just watched. She was mildly annoyed to feel heat rising to her face as she watched the Hypno walk towards her.

"So, what did you think?" Loki asked. Blaze was a little surprised to hear that the question sounded genuine, and not mocking.

The Typhlosion looked down at her feet, refusing to look at him, a little fearful of what her face might betray. "That was...not terrible," she said quietly.

"Wow, I'm impressed," Loki said. "Did that hurt?"

"Don't push your luck," Blaze said. "That's about as close to a compliment as you'll ever hear from me."

Meanwhile, Jasmine had recalled her Steelix and walked to meet Ryan in the middle of the battlefield. She held a hand out, and Ryan took it.

"Um...congratulations...," she said, back to her usual self now that the fight was over. "I...I guess I owe you Olivine's Mineral Badge."

"I guess so," Ryan said. "That was a great fight, Jasmine."

"D...don't feel like you have to battle and run...," Jasmine said, a little smile tugging on her face. "I keep the badges upstairs...in the Gym Leader's residence. Perhaps...you'd like to follow me up? I could show you some of the trophies I've collected over the years."

Ryan grinned. "Why not? I haven't seen them in a while. But you go on ahead. I need to talk to my pokémon for a minute. Besides..." He winked at her. "I think I know the way up pretty well by now."

"R-right...," Jasmine said, giggling nervously. She walked off, heading back to the elevator that she'd come down in. Ryan watched her as she went, and then returned to Blaze and Loki.

"Great job, both of you," he said. "Especially you, Loki. Really spectacular." He returned Loki to his poké ball, and handed it to Blaze along with Sloan's. "Blaze, I want you to take Loki and Sloan back home and let them out when you get there."

Blaze grimaced. Her expression told Ryan clearly that she would really prefer to leave Loki cooped up inside his ball.

"Now, now, I know you don't like him that much. Just do it for me, alright?" Reluctantly, Blaze nodded. "Good girl. I'll be home later this evening. You guys be nice to each other while I'm gone." Ryan strode off, heading for the elevator that Jasmine had taken up.

Blaze left the gym, carrying the other two pokémon and fairly confident that she now knew what her trainer did with his spare time while he was visiting home.

As Blaze arrived back at Ryan's parents' home, she was barraged by questions from Kerri, Phoebe, and Jay, who had all been left behind when Blaze and Ryan had gone to the gym. They all wanted to know how the battle had gone. Blaze told them, of course severely downplaying the role that Loki had in the victory. They also wanted to know where Ryan was and why he had not returned with Blaze. When she told them, they all seemed surprised except for Phoebe. Blaze supposed that she had already learned of what was going on from Amphy, her brother that lived and worked in the lighthouse.

Once the other pokémon had drifted away from her, Blaze went around to the backyard and held up Sloan's poké ball. She pressed the button on the face of it and let the Heracross out. He looked around to get his bearings, nodded once blankly at her, and then walked off to do his own thing. Turning her head from side to side to make sure that nobody was watching her, Blaze crept away from the house, heading towards the woods that bordered the property and carrying Loki's poké ball with her. She was going to have a little chat with him, and she did not want the other pokémon to be present when she did it.

Blaze walked about two hundred yards into the trees where, she knew, there was a large clearing. When she got there, she set Loki's ball on the ground and tapped it with a toe. The ball cracked open and Loki came out. He was, understandably, confused when he found himself not back at the house but surrounded by forest. He then noticed Blaze standing in front of him.

"Well, this isn't the first time a female has taken me out to the woods," he said, a wry look on his face.

"Shut up," Blaze said, her fur bristling. "I just wanted to talk to you without the others hearing."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah? What about?"

"I'm getting a little sick about what you're doing here," Blaze said. "You come here, the low guy in the hierarchy, and you think you own the place."

"Hey, I didn't ask to come here," Loki said, defensively. "I never wanted to be traded."

"And, on top of that," Blaze continued, ignoring what he was saying, "you take over my spot as the lead pokémon in gym battling." She pointed back in the general direction of Olivine City. "A week ago, Ryan would never have taken me out of battle and replaced me with someone else. Even if I was flagging, I'd fight to the last ounce of my strength before he'd pull me out."

Loki shrugged. "If there's a stronger pokémon for the job, why would you fault him for going with it?"

"That's not the point!" Blaze snarled. "He's my trainer, mine! I was...am...his first pokémon! And I won't have that kind of thing taken away from me!"

Scratching his chin, Loki slowly smiled. "You're jealous."

"I am not!" Blaze said, her tone one of shock. "How could I be jealous of someone like you?"

"Because Ryan is starting to recognize that you're not the number one choice for every situation," Loki said. "You're afraid that he's going to start relying on me more than he relies on you." Blaze flinched, and Loki knew that he had hit on it. He nodded. "I'm right, aren't I?"

Blaze looked away from him.

"But that's crazy," Loki said. "You're his first. How could you ever think that I'd replace you?"

Turning back, Blaze stared at him intensely. "Then why don't we settle it with a rematch?" The flames on her back roared with a sudden burst of intensity. "If I win, you tone it down and let me have what I'm due. If you win..." She took a deep breath. "Then I'll acknowledge you're better than me and let you take my place."

"This is stupid!" Loki protested. "There's no reason for this!"

"Scared?" Blaze taunted.

That got Loki's attention. "Me? Scared of you?" He laughed. "Fine. If it makes you feel better, I'd be happy to kick your pretty little ass again."

Blaze smiled. "I've had a chance to see how you fight. I won't lose again."

"We'll see." Loki walked to the edge of the clearing. "I'm ready when you are."

The two faced each other for several minutes. There wasn't a sound except for the occasional rustling of the wind through the leaves overhead. Then, on an unspoken agreement, they both made their moves.

Predictably, Loki's first decision was to pull out his little pendulum and begin the process of hypnotizing Blaze. Based on the way their last fight had gone, he expected her to run towards him, giving him time to put her under his spell.

Blaze had other ideas, though. She remembered what Loki had done in the battle with her and with the Steelix back at the gym. Instead of playing into his hands right off the bat, she surprised him by opening her mouth wide and shooting a Flamethrower straight for him. Caught off guard, Loki was forced to duck for cover, losing the chance to use any of his Psychic-type control attacks against Blaze. The Typhlosion had the satisfaction of seeing her flame hit the hand that was holding the pendulum, making Loki recoil in pain.

Shaking out the flames that had lit on his fur, Loki saw that his pendulum was now a useless bit of melted metal. "That certainly makes things more interesting," he said. "Makes things a bit easier for you, I suppose. But not easy enough!" He clasped his head in both hands and sent a Psychic blast at Blaze.

The attack tore at Blaze's mind, sending sparks through her vision. It made her head hurt terribly, and her eyes clouded up with tears of agony. The sensation was like a vice clamping onto her skull, and it felt like her eyes were going to burst. She shook her head hard, fighting her way through it.

"Ha!" she cackled, a defiant expression working its way through the excruciating pain. "Is that all you've got? I've had Bellsprouts tickle me and cause me more pain than that!" Willing her legs to work, she charged straight at Loki and bowled him over, sending him into the ground hard. With one of her fists bunched up as tight as she could manage, she hit him with a Rock Smash attack right in the groin. She laughed as she saw his eyes roll back into his head, and he looked like he was going to throw up. No way is he getting up now.

Loki surprised her, though, and managed to wrap one leg around one of hers. He grabbed her arms and twisted, throwing her off balance and making her fall on top of him. At the same time he thrust up and to the left with his hips, pushing her up and rolling her over, coming down on top of her. Blaze wasn't about to allow him to pin her, and she used the momentum of the Hypno's technique to follow through and continue the roll. They rolled over and over with each other, across the clearing.

"This is getting ridiculous!" Loki gasped through gritted teeth. On the downroll, he brought a knee up and slammed it into Blaze's stomach. He felt the wind blow right out of her, and he shoved the coughing Typhlosion away from him, giving him a chance to stand up. Loki used Psychic on her again, this time levitating her and throwing her against a tree trunk. There he held her with his telekinetic abilities, and she was unable to move her limbs to break free. "You give up? Come on, Blaze, it's all over."

With difficulty, Blaze was able to turn her head down to look at him. "It's...not...over," she gasped. She forced her jaws open. Loki saw what she was going to do, but it was too late. While he was still concentrating on holding her down, Blaze gathered the rest of her power and blasted him with Hyper Beam. The beam of raw energy struck him and sent him tumbling end over end to the far side of the clearing. Released from the Psychic hold, Blaze went over to him as fast as she could and made sure he was pinned to the ground. She closed both of her hands over his wrists and pressed her knees into his thighs, giving him no way to move. She looked down into the startled Hypno's eyes. "Still want to fight?"

Loki struggled for a few seconds before giving in. "I give, I give," he said. "I can't fight anymore." He looked awestruck. "I've never seen anyone fight through my Psychic attack like that before."

"Who's the strongest?" Blaze prompted him.

Loki shook his head. "It's you. It's got to be you."

"And don't you ever forget it." Blaze looked to the side. "Still," she said, relenting a little, "you were...kind of cool when you took out that Steelix back there."

"Oh, really? How cool?"

"A little bit cool." Blaze's tone was suddenly playful. "So, I guess this means my status as the pack Alpha has been solidified. You know what that means, right?"

"I have to treat you like a queen from now on?"

"Well, yeah," Blaze said. "But that's not exactly what I was getting at. As Alpha, there are certain...privileges that I have. I get to eat first, I get the best sleeping places...and my choice of mates."

Loki nodded. He waited a minute for Blaze to continue. When she didn't, and he realized she wasn't going to be letting him up anytime soon, he did a bit of a double take. "Hold it, you don't mean...me?"

"Why not?" Blaze said, a sly look on her face. "You did say I had a...what was your phrase...a 'pretty little ass?'" She grinned. "Besides, you're the strongest pokémon I know, besides me, of course." She had no problem saying this, not now that he had acknowledged she was stronger than him. "And the Alpha should have only the strongest for herself."

"So now you want what you so callously smacked the hell out of just a minute ago?" Loki asked pointedly. "The little guy's pretty sore about it, you know."

Laughing lightly, Blaze reached a paw down and cupped him between his legs. "Oh, don't worry about that," she purred. "I'm pretty sure I can think of a way to make him forgive me." She rubbed him a few times, seeing his eyes widen at her boldness. "Come on. Think of this as me being gracious in victory."

"Or maybe you're just horny."

"Can't it be both?"

"Well, when you put it that way..."

Smiling genially, Blaze turned her eyes down to his crotch. The evidence of Loki's growing arousal was already making itself known. Light pink, the tip of his penis was starting to poke its way out of his furry sheath. She moved her fingers to the exposed flesh and started teasing it. Slowly but surely, his member extended to its full length. Blaze looked back up at Loki.

"'Little guy?'" she asked casually.

"I didn't want to sound like I was bragging," Loki said innocently.

Blaze snorted. "You? Brag? Perish the thought. I guess it's true what humans say about a guy and the size of his nose..." Returning her attention to his erection, she wrapped a paw around his shaft and began to glide her fingers up and down his smooth, warm flesh. Loki put a hand on her back and began to rub her fur lightly, low groans coming from his mouth as a mark of his approval of what she was doing. She bent down to bury her face in the ruff of fur around his neck and lightly gripped him with her jaws, giving him a subtle love bite. His body shivered at that. Blaze chuckled and rubbed her fingers over the tip of his penis. They came away slightly sticky. "Oh? What have we here?" She looked down. Precum was leaking from his cock, and dribbling onto her paw. "Seems as though you're enjoying yourself."

"I think he's warming up to you."

Blaze slid her body down, bringing her face even with Loki's penis. She stroked him a few more times, and then she brought her tongue out and dragged it from the bottom of the underside of the shaft all the way to the head. Loki put his head back on the ground.

"Ooh, yeah," he moaned. He put a hand on the back of Blaze's head as she closed her lips over his cock and began working her tongue over his sensitive organ. The Typhlosion's head went down about halfway on him, licking all the way. Her mouth felt so warm and good. Loki began to gently thrust up into her mouth while she bobbed up and down on his cock. It was feeling really spectacular, until she nipped him with her rather sharp teeth. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Just reminding you who's in charge," Blaze mumbled around him, her voice sweet. "Stop moving and let me do it."

Loki grinned. "No argument from me."

"Good." Blaze went back to her oral treatment. In keeping with her instructions, Loki stayed still. Blaze relaxed her jaws and went down all the way on his cock, feeling the head just brush against the back of her throat. Resisting the urge to gag, she held him there and began to make very precise, very subtle twitching motions. Loki moaned louder than ever, and she could feel his cock jump in her mouth. She pulled her head back, bringing him all the way out of her mouth. She swirled her tongue around the tip before going back down. Almost as soon as she had him back inside her mouth, she heard him gasp.

"Hey, you might wanna...uh..." Loki found himself unable to complete his warning as Blaze quickly took his entire length into her maw. He clutched handfuls of earth as she twisted her head on his penis.

Blaze felt warm, gooey liquid wash into her mouth. She made a delighted noise in the back of her throat, and put a paw up to caress his balls as he pumped his cum into her waiting stomach. She swallowed every drop, enjoying the salty and slightly bitter taste of the Hypno's seed. When the last spurt had finally squirted onto her tongue, she brought her head up, licking her lips.

"Gosh, and you hate me," Loki said, breathing heavily. "I'd love to be the guy that you actually like."

"Oh, you're not so bad, really," Blaze allowed. She stared hungrily at him. "But you might make me like you more if you could return the favor."

Loki's eyes turned up in silent mirth. "My pleasure," he said. "Turn around and let me see that pretty little ass." Blaze obliged him, rotating her body so that her rear was at his head. Loki could see that she was terribly aroused, her sex glistening with moisture. He inhaled her scent, a mixture of the natural muskiness of her sexual excitement and the salty tang of the battle sweat that still clung to her fur. "That's it, girl. That's what I wanted to see." He put his tongue to her moist folds, parting them and tasting what lay within. Blaze shuddered on top him, growling softly at the sensation. Loki nibbled at her flesh, closing his lips over her clitoris and lightly pulling. The feeling was driving Blaze crazy. She wiggled her hips, egging him on. "You're a naughty little thing, you know?"

"Yeah, that's right," Blaze gasped, saying whatever she thought would keep him doing what he was doing. She licked at his limp penis, gradually nursing him back to a full hard-on. She gave a sharp squeal of surprise as she felt pressure on her asshole. Loki had pressed his thumb against it, adding a new aspect to the pleasure. "Mm, and you're an inventive little thing, aren't you?"

"Just wait, there's more."

"What are you...oh...oh gods...," Blaze moaned. She felt something larger than Loki's tongue poking its way inside of her vagina. "Oooooooh...Whatever you're doing, keep at it..." She heard a muffled reply from Loki, and the Typhlosion realized that he had inserted his impressive nose into her. With his nose pressed as deep as it could go into her slick cavern, he flicked his tongue at her bud. Blaze wrapped her arms around his legs and held on for dear life. For several minutes, she was lost in a haze of ecstasy while he lay with his face buried in her sex. Before she was ready for it to stop, however, the fun ground to halt. Blaze looked over her shoulder. "Why'd you stop?"

"Couldn't...breathe...," Loki managed. His nose was shiny with her vaginal fluids.

"That's a rather pathetic excuse," Blaze complained. "It was just getting good."

"Forgive me, your highness," Loki said sarcastically. "I'll tell my lungs to do without oxygen next time."

"Thank you," Blaze said. "But for now..." She turned around and lay back on the dirt. "You could show me if you know how to use your lower 'nose' as well as the one on your face."

"Certainly, Queen Blaze." Loki shuffled over to her and pushed her legs apart. Not giving her much of a chance to ready herself, he gripped his penis and quickly slid himself into her hot, moist hole. In less than a second, he was completely hilted inside of her. Blaze cried out in heated passion. "Oh, you like it a bit rough, do you?"

Blaze bared her teeth at him, fire in her eyes. "You're damn right," she snarled. "Just try to keep up with me."

She swung her legs up then, wrapping them around the Hypno's waist and clamping down tight. Loki barely had enough leverage to pull out of her, but he overpowered her legs and managed to begin thrusting in and out of Blaze. Their battle began anew. They each tried to gain dominance over the other, testing their strength once again in the middle of their mating. Loki clutched her shoulder and did his best to hold her to the ground. Meanwhile, Blaze had her legs firmly wrapped around his body and was clawing at his back. All the while, they were rocking and pushing against each other, building the pleasure in their bodies through a contest of sexual stamina.

Blaze soon got enough of Loki's body under her control that she was able to roll him, pinning him underneath her with his cock still buried inside of her. "I told you not to forget," she reminded him, straining to keep him pinned. She bent over just enough to be able to speak directly into his ear. "I'm! The! Strongest!" Blaze began to bounce up and down on Loki's penis, taking every bit of what she wanted from him. He thrashed underneath her, but was unable to maneuver himself into a more strategic position. Even if he had wanted to use his Psychic-type powers against her, his mind was far too occupied with fucking her to concentrate.

They both forgot about the struggle as the sensations of their coupling invaded every corner of their brains. Their thought processes were taken over by their mating. Blaze could feel Loki's cock pulsing within her, sliding in and out of her sex as she remained mounted atop of him. Her breathing was out of control, and her lungs screamed for air while her lower functions told her to keep going at all costs. Pressure built up inside of her body, and she felt like she was going to explode if it wasn't released eventually. Her eyes were wide open, staring intensely down at the Hypno below her. She could see his own eyes screw up tight, his mouth opening in a scream of bliss too intense to make any audible sound. Inside of her, she felt his essence flowing hot and abundant into her, coating her insides and permeating every inch of her womb. Blaze threw her head back, sending a jet of flame into the forest air and feeling little explosions bursting in her head, howling her ecstasy as her climax overwhelmed her senses.

When it was all over, Blaze picked herself up off of Loki's prone form. His eyes were staring blankly up at the sky above the forest clearing. If he hadn't had a broad grin on his face and if his chest hadn't been rising and falling regularly, anyone might have thought him dead. But he was alive as she was; although after all they'd done she could scarcely believe how that was possible.

Standing shakily, Blaze tottered a few feet from him. He remained lying down on the ground, an expression of absolute satisfaction gracing his visage. His poké ball, forgotten in all the excitement, still lay near where Blaze had entered the clearing. Blaze looked up at sky. The clouds had a pinkish tint to them. The sun must be going down. Ryan would likely be home soon. Making her way to Loki's poké ball, she kicked it towards him. The ball rolled and tapped to a halt against his side.

"Don't forget that when you finally get up again," Blaze said, not entirely sure if Loki was aware enough to hear her words. "I don't want to have to try to explain to Ryan what happened to it."

Loki waved a hand absently, acknowledging that he had, in fact, heard her. His arm fell to the dirt once more. He sighed deeply, still gazing up at the late afternoon sky. Blaze shook her head, amusement at her rival's present state pushing its way through the sexual haze that still hung in her mind. She turned away and walked out of the clearing in the direction of the house, leaving him behind to recover his strength.

Before she left the woods, Blaze brushed the dirt from her fur and got herself looking more presentable. After all, it wouldn't do for the Alpha to look unkempt in front of her pack.