Story Notes:
Disclaimer: Pokemon and all licensed Pokemon merchandise, including characters, are strictly property of Nintendo. In short; I own nothing but ideas. Any names and/or likeness pertaining to real people or characters is strictly coincidental (unless it's an allegory). All rights reserved.Warning: This will, in later chapters, contain sex, including normal intercourse, oral, some violence borderline to rape. It will also include violence (not in sex). The story will be updated to include those warnings upon the posting of the first chapter to include that subject. All chapters with sex are marked with XXX at the beginning of their description.Author Notes: (Updated 06/07/10)I don't have any decent excuse, I don't. Other than my life falling apart. I've been up for two days straight and I'm going to sleep now, but that may explain any serious errors in my writing and how poor it is in general. I'll come back to fix it when I'm more awake.=================================================
Empathy
Chapter 9
Empathy
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Some battles start out slowly, but as expected, a battle with Claire went from zero to sixty the moment their Pokeballs opened. Issac the Quagsire stretched out on the field, yawning, but Clair had released a Rapidash that wasted no time. It literally came out of its Pokeball sprinting full speed toward Issac.
"Issac, move!" shouted Evelyn.
"Quuuu-aaaag!" yelped Issac, starting his yawn slow and ending abruptly when he dodged to the left, just nearly avoiding the hooves of the equine as it stomped into the material of the stage, flecks of stone and dust flying into the air. Issac tumbled to the side before stopping himself and sitting up on his hands. He came to his senses not a moment too soon and rolled to the site as another hoof came down. Again he rolled avoiding each stomp.
"Hold still you slimy little cretin!" shouted the Rapidash as it continued its assault, its strikes stirring up more and more dust from the broken stone of the stage floor. Issac stopped rolling so suddenly that the Rapidash stopped its attacks in surprise, staring at the blue creature that propped itself on its arms to sit up and tilt its head.
"What's a cretin?" he asked in a far-away voice. The Rapidash shouted in annoyance and resumed its stomping while Issac resumed his rolling.
Draco, whose jaw was left agape in disbelief, snapped his mouth shut at the giggling from Shamma to his left. He glared over at her.
(What's so fucking funny!?) he snarled mentally. This only made the Grumpig giggle more.
(Fast, isn't he? Something as slow as that Quagsire couldn't possibly keep up,) came the mental reply from the Grumpig, her voice too busy laughing to counter verbally. Draco frowned and turned his attention back to the battle with one final thought-
(His name is Issac...) he echoed Evelyn's words. Shamma stopped laughing abruptly and gave him an unrecognizable look. Something lost between skepticism and surprise, but Draco didn't care. He was currently keeping a sharp eye on the battle on the stage, listening as a frustrated Evelyn muttered things under her breath, desperate to get out of this stalemate.
"Rapidash! Stop playing Wack-a-Quagsire and hit him already!" shouted Claire from across the stage. The massive horse stopped stamping its feet at the ground, now shrouded with dust like a fine mist, and took careful aim as it lowered its head, horn poised to strike. Draco felt Evelyn tense next to him.
"Issac, down!" she shouted just as the Rapidash struck its horn into the dusty chaos it had created.
"Down? Just what the hell is that suppose to...Oh, for fuck's sake!" shouted Claire. The dust cleared enough for everyone to see the Rapidash had jammed its horn into the stone just inches above a freshly dug hole.
"Mud Shot!" commanded Evelyn. The Rapidash, jerking and trying to pull its horn from the stone plate, was in the unfortunate position to have its head directly above the hole as a stream of steady, muddy water shot up and out of it, like some kind of filthy geyser. It cried out, breaking its horn free and stumbled back before collapsing. Issac popped its head from the hole-
"Quuaaag!" which translated roughly to "Yaaaaay!" making Draco face-palm and Shamma snicker
"How's that for whack-a-Quagsire!?" taunted Evelyn, hands on her hips and looking quite proud. Claire was frowning, eyes darting around the stage trying to piece it together as she returned her Rapidash.
"How did he dig through solid stone!?" she countered nastily. Evelyn, much to Draco's pride, didn't even flinch.
"It's really your fault. I was wondering where all that dust was coming from, since a lot of it didn't look the same. It was when they stopped for a few seconds a while back that I saw that your Rapidash had broken through the stone plate of the stage and left normal earth exposed," explained Evelyn. Claire just grumbled under her breath and threw out another Pokeball.
"Nine!" growled her Ninetales once it was on the stage. Issac was just slowly and lazily climbing out of the hole.
"Ninetales, you know what to do from here..." commanded Claire, sounding almost bored. The Ninetales just turned her attention to Issac and smiled sweetly.
"Awww, aren't you just adorable!" swoon the Ninetale. Issac, with the ever-present vacant look, smiled.
"Thank you," he said. The Ninetales gave him a saucy little smile and walked a bit closer, purposefully swaying her tails as she went. Evelyn frowned. She may not understand a word of what was being said, but body language spoke volumes.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me..." she laughed. Draco smiled and rolled his eyes. For once, they had the upper hand in something.
"What do you say you drop this battle and let me win, sweety," sighed the Ninetales as she walked to curve herself around Issac, tickling him with her tales. Much to her shock, he just smiled and shook his head. She scoffed.
"I...I don't understand. Do you not like me?" she whined, doing her best to sound hurt, but even Draco could hear the anger in her voice. Issac, bless him, shrugged. The Ninetales was quickly developing a bad case of twitchy-eye as her attempts where failing. She unwrapped herself from him and walked a few feet away to stare at him head on.
"Do you find me attractive?" she asked in a voice so sweet, Draco was sure he was going to go into a diabetic coma any moment. Issac, once again, shrugged. This seemed to be the final straw.
"Jerk!" she hissed and launched herself forward without warning, slamming sidelong into Issac, sending him flying back a few yards. Ninetales seemed to be ignoring her trainer's cries-
"Ninetales, that's not part of the plan! Use Attract!"
"Issac, get up and use Mud Shot!" shouted Evelyn, but there was an anxiety in her voice. The Ninetales was just as fast as the Rapidash, and Issac was still just a slow as he ever was. He got up managed to get to his feet just in time to be slammed into again, thrown back more.
"Ugh, fine. Use Confuse Ray!" shouted Claire. The Ninetales obeyed and caught Issac just as he was getting up again. He managed to continue but wobbled and fell down. Shaking his head a little, he tried to recover, and stumbled around on unsteady feet.
"Tsk...now this is just sad..." sighed the Ninetales, rolling her eyes. Claire looked disgusted.
"Keep using Quick Attack; he won't last long..." said Claire. Ninetales growled and rammed into Issac again, sending him tumbling.
"Issac!" shouted Evelyn, but no command followed. She was rushing, trying to think of something. Issac was confused enough on his own, he didn't need this. It was beyond sad; it was just sick to watch.
The Ninetales turned sharply, skidding a little, before dashing into another Quick Attack toward Issac. He shook his head and looked up just in the nick of time as the Ninetales approached. The fox was caught off guard when a sudden jet of muddy water sent her flying back, landing back a few yard. She stood, shaking off the shock, and looked to see Issac standing tall, arms crossed, and actually frowning.
"You're not very nice, are you?" he asked. Draco snorted when the Ninetales' jaw dropped in disbelief.
"Why you little..." snarled the Ninetales, dashing toward him once more. She dodged a jet of muddy water again and slammed into him, but he managed to slide back, crouched over to balance himself on his feet before retorting with another jet of muddy water, throwing her back. The vixen had a nasty streak, though, and recovered before running toward him again.
"Issac, try a Headbutt!" commanded Evelyn.
"Ninetales, Zen Headbutt!" shouted Claire. The two Pokemon met in mid-air with a sickening crack of skulls before ricocheting off one another and collapsing. The room was deathly quiet, both sides catching up to what had just happened. Neither Pokemon moved, and Evelyn sighed before returning Issac, Claire returning her Ninetales.
"Issac..." whispered Evelyn in grief. "You were wonderful, and I should I have pulled you back sooner...take a rest."
She returned him and groaned in frustration, running her fingers across the little pouch on her belt that contained Alvaro and Richard. Two seconds ago, they had an advantage, and then...I can't send out Richard, she thought. It'll have to be Alvaro, but...Evelyn glanced to Draco, looking between him, Shamma the Grumpig, and Ninetales on the stage...he really was little; smaller than all of them. Maybe she could avoid sending him out at all...
"C'mon Alvaro..." she mumbled, throwing the Pokeball out. Alvaro floated, looking at the setting of the stage. Claire was looking at the Gastly as if she were trying to solve a math problem.
"Well...aren't you going to send your Pokemon out, Claire?" shouted Sly from the stands. Evelyn looked up and felt like a cold lump dropped in her belly. She'd forgotten they were technically on a stage, and it seemed that more and more monks had come in to watch, filling the stands almost completely. Sly was smirking down at them from the third row on the left side.
"Yeah, sure," said Claire, "I was just trying to figure out why Evelyn here owns so many puny Pokemon..."
"First of all..." growled out Evelyn. Draco glanced up to her, the anger and indignity evident on her face, "I do not own them. Secondly, they are NOT puny!"
"Whatever you say," chuckled Claire as she released her next Pokemon. A Magmar stood proudly, a cocky grin on his face.
"Are you prepared for the worst beating of your life," he asked Alvaro.
"I'm technically dead, so do I have to answer that?" asked Alvaro. The Magmar's face contorted in rage and he roared his fury and ran toward Alvaro, who deftly swooped to the side, leaving the Magmar to practically fall on his face. He waved his arms to recover and turned to Alvaro with a smirk.
"Oh...you're a ghost, right...then how about this!" he roared a stream of fire at Alvaro, who wasn't fast enough and was thrown back in the air, wincing at the fire.
"Alvaro, use Curse!" commanded Evelyn. Alvaro recovered and, instead of flying right at Magmar, he dove without warning, disappearing under the stone plates of the floor. Silence enveloped the room for a moment or two, the Magmar shifting and turning nervously. A cold feeling ran through his body starting at his feet. He looked down the see purple mist seeping through the cracks in the floor, surrounding his body. Before he could run out of it, the purple mist pulled in and his whole body chilled. Just as soon as it was there, it was gone, and Alvaro rose from the ground just a few feet away.
"What...what the hell was that?!" shouted Magmar, shivering. His fingertips and toes felt like they were being dipped in ice-water. Alvaro didn't even crack a smile; he remained very professional.
"I cursed you, and it will only get worse..." he replied. Magmar glared.
"Not if I can help it!" he snapped and threw a Fire Punch before Alvaro could dodge. Alvaro flew back, flying lower now, and tried to shake it off.
"Alvaro, Night Shade!" came Evelyn's command. Magmar was running toward him, fist ready for another Fire Punch, when Alvaro actually smiled and his eyes gave a faint purple glow. The world in Magmar's vision turned to dark purples and blacks, like some warped negative of a photo, and everything waved a little. To outsiders, it only looked like his body gained a glowing violet outline and he staggered a moment. His world came back into focus and he shook his head to steady himself. Alvaro was moving now, avoiding him.
"What's wrong with me..." muttered Magmar out loud. He was looking at his hands, and Draco knew why. As the curse hit, it made everything go numb from the outside in. He rose up and made chase, eager to give Alvaro another Fire Punch.
"Get him, Magmar! Smokescreen!" said Claire. Magmar stopped dead in his tracks before taking a massive inhale. As he exhaled, a flow of coal-colored smoke was emitted, and it wasn't long before it took over the stage.
"Damn it..." grumbled Evelyn, echoing Draco's thoughts. They couldn't see a damn thing anymore!
"No one's ever gotten this far..." came Shamma's voice. Draco looked to her; she was watching the field with the eyes of a Psychic as she spoke. "You still don't stand a chance, but no one has ever gotten this far, not even six on six..."
Draco didn't know how to react to this. The way it was said was with a voice full of bitterness, but the words didn't match up. He chose to ignore it and continue with the battle. Through the smoke, they could see flashes of fire and purple glows.
"Magmar!" shouted Claire from the other side of the darkness. "No more playing around; use Faint Attack!"
There came a loud THWAK sound followed by utter silence, leaving Draco, Evelyn, and all spectators on the edge. The smoke began to clear and the scene appeared before them. Magmar was panting heavily, looking rather pale, and Alvaro was on the ground, like a smoky purple beach ball. Evelyn groaned and returned him.
"Damn it all..." she mumbled. She glanced down at Draco, torn. No, not yet...Magmar was weak, maybe Richard...deep down, Evelyn knew the move she was about to make was an incredibly stupid one, but that didn't stop her. It postponed sending Draco out, which was enough of a reason for her.
"Alright, Richard, make me proud..." she whispered before throwing her Pokeball into the field, leaving Richard the Breloom standing haughtily before the Magmar. The fire type looked up at him for a moment before snorting and bursting out in laughter, as did his trainer.
"You can't be serious!" exclaimed the Magmar before giving out involuntary, rasping coughs. Richard raised an eyebrow.
"I see Alvaro's been here..." he mumbled, sounding unimpressed. Magmar glowered at him.
"Shouldn't you be worried, grassy?" he asked, trying to sound threatening, but his rasping voice and wheezes didn't help.
"Not really, no," sighed Richard. Magmar snarled and threw a Fire Punch, but Richard was faster. He leapt back, grabbing a spore pod from his tale and throwing it at the ground in midair. The pod burst and shrouded Magmar in a mist of yellow spores. Magmar coughed and sputtered as he ran out of the cloud of spores. He was in the middle of catching his breath and wiping spores from his eyes when a Mach Punch met him in the gut. He groaned and landed on his knees, Richard standing over him with a grin.
"Damn Breloom," he grumbled. Richard frowned.
"My name is Richard the Lionhearted, good sir, and you shall- why are you laughing?!" shouted Richard as halfway into his monologue the Magmar, still on his knees, began to hysterically laugh, even throwing his head back. The humans were utterly oblivious to any of this; both Evelyn and Claire stared in confusion.
"I'm laughing...heh-because your name is Richard!"
"Yes...so?"
"That- haha...that just means you're a Dick!" he exclaimed, emphasizing his last word with a sudden Fire Punch to the side of Richards face. He went with the force, rolling in the direction and recovering as another punch flew just above him. He frowned at the horrible aim and watched the Magmar stagger, shake itself, and come at him again.
(The Curse is really affecting him now!) Gasped Shamma, mentally. Draco looked at her and she looked unlike any of the spectators in the stands; she was biting at her hooves and shifting giddily between feet, eyes wide.
(Careful, Miss Piggy; someone might think you're rooting for our side.) Draco thought back. Shamma gave an unladylike but very pig-like snort.
Richard threw a Mach Punch as he blocked one of Magmar's Fire Punches, but the Magmar blocked him. This continued, one landing a hit, the other blocking. Evelyn was growing impatient as Richard began to bob and weave to avoid Magmar's hit, much to the fire type's annoyance. Almost his whole body was cold and numbing, even his fire was less powerful. Unfortunately for him, his unsteady fighting was obvious to everyone watching.
"Richard, kick him back!" shouted Evelyn. Richard leaned back on his tail and slammed Magmar in the middle with his feet. Caught off guard, Magmar took the hit in gut and staggered back. Richard bolted at him, fist raised as Magmar's world began to pulse with his heartbeat.
"Mach Punch!"
"Fire Punch!"
"Give me your best shot," he growled, pulling his fist back and putting as much fire into it as possible. Richard leapt at him. Fists met temples as each Pokemon landed on their opponent simultaneously. They reeled back, panting and shaking. Magmar gave one feeble little cough before falling first to his knees, then to his belly. Draco and Evelyn smiled at each other over the small victory, but they looked away just long enough that their only signal was the thump. They looked back and Richard and collapsed sideways. Another tie...
"No..." said Evelyn softly. Claire returned Magmar and waited impatiently, tapping her foot. She was obviously very displeased that they were tied and on their last Pokemon. Nowhere near as displeased as Evelyn, who looked down at Draco with worry evident in her eyes.
"You don't have to do this..." she whispered. Draco glowered at her, rather insulted. He was scared, he wasn't about to let his machismo challenge that, but he was proud...They had never lost a battle before. They had had close calls, many times, but he pulled through...for the sake of her pride, not his.
"You don't trust me?" he signed to her. Evelyn knelt down to him, face taking on a bit of color.
"No! Good Legends, no! I do, I really do, but..." she whispered and looked at Claire across the field. She had released her Pokemon and seemed to be giving it a pep talk. The Pokemon, her Combusken, has holding her hands and listening. Draco watched as well, and then looked back to Evelyn. Something clicked, and he was sure he understood, or was somewhere near understanding.
"You're scared," he signed. She didn't even bother looking at him, just translated out of her peripheral vision. She nodded. "Why?"
"What if I miss something? What if I make a mistake and you end up paying for it? Draco, you are little. You're strong, but you can't deny it...your size opens doors to dangers others don't have to worry about..." she whispered, beginning to babble and rant a bit. Draco reached forward and placed his little hand over her lips and she stopped. It was his turn.
"I'm not going to quit just because you think you'll make a mistake. You've never let me down before. Have I ever disappointed you?"
"No, Drake...never."
"I trust you, why can't you trust me?"
"I do trust you; it's the world I don't trust!" Evelyn hissed. Draco frowned, his understanding lost again. Evelyn reached forward and pulled him to her, holding him against her. He could feel her breath at his shoulder, her lips mere inches away.
"I love you," she whispered, and never before had it sounded so fragile, so...real; like it had a gravity all its own. Draco felt some sense of understanding again; that was something he shared with her, and he was desperate to prove it. He turned his head and gave her a kiss at her neck, something far different from their normal peck on the cheek. She pulled back and smiled at him, placing a kiss on his forehead. A throat cleared across the stage.
"Are you ladies ready, or shall I come over there a-"
"Shut the fuck up Claire!" snapped Evelyn in such an out of character way that even Draco jumped and looked back at her, incredibly impressed. She smiled and shrugged, enjoying the god smacked look on Claire's face. "See? I can be brave too... now go on..."
Draco let his hand slip from hers as he walked onto the stage. He took a moment to reflect on just how small he was as he climbed over the broken slabs of stone plates from Issac's battle. The Combusken looked like he could throw the slab if he wanted to. As expected, the moment he was at his position, the taunting began.
"You must be joking...this is just insulting, really now?" said the Combusken as he turned back to look at Claire gesturing toward Draco. Claire just grinned and shrugged. The Combusken rolled his eyes.
"Fine..." he grumbled as he took a stance, one Draco mirrored, "I guess I'll just have to blow you to Kingdom Come..."
(You couldn't blow me to Kingdom Three-Feet-From-Here...) Draco thought dryly.
"Toukon, Double Kick!" commanded Claire. The Combusken sprinted forward and threw one foot out wildly at Draco. The little black Charmander ducked easily and moved to swing his tail around, catching the Combusken off guard and tripping it back.
"Draco, Slash!" shouted Evelyn. Draco brought his claws forward but the Combusken rolled aside and hopped a few feet away, returning to a fighting stance. Draco's claws dug into the top of the stone plate, leaving several shallow gashes. He quickly turned back to his opponent and mirrored his stance again.
"Did you name the Combusken Toukon?" asked Evelyn from across the stage. Draco rolled his eyes.
(Leave it to Evelyn to care about his name after he tried to round-house kick my teeth out...) he thought with a smile.
"Yeah, so?" shouted Claire.
"Why didn't you name the others?" asked Evelyn. Draco was lost as to why she looked and sounded so cynical, but he really couldn't care.
"That's none of your business! Toukon, Double Kick!"
"Draco, Fire Fang and hang on!" Draco had only a split second to catch Evelyn's order before an avian foot came flying at him. He made no move to duck, but instead moved to bite and latch onto the Combusken's skinny leg.
"Hot, hot, hot!" chanted the Combusken as he hopped around, shaking his leg and trying to get rid of Draco and his Fire Fang.
"That's just embarrassing...Toukon, Overheat!" Draco felt the flesh between his teeth suddenly turn white-hot and he let go as quick as he could. He was launched backward a few feet from Toukon's continued kicking. The Combusken turned around and glared daggers at him, but he walked forward with an ever-so-slight limp.
"You little bastard; that was cheap...clever, but damn cheap..." he grumbled. Draco smirked back, glancing at Evelyn.
(Wasn't my idea...) he thought as he stood up.
"Toukon, Sand-Attack!" shouted Claire. The Combusken dug its claws suddenly into the exposed bit of dirt next to it and flung a handful at him, hitting Draco square in the eyes.
"I don't understand...you shouldn't even be here, on this stage!" provoked the Combusken.
(Oh, son-of-a-) thought Draco, trying to rub his eyes when a sudden momentum struck his left side with enough force that it sent him flying a few yards.
"You're out of your league! Surrender and I'll stop, I'm not enjoying being the tormentor of a lesser Pokemon!" the Combusken, Toukon, tried to reason, his voice frustrated, not condescending.
"Draco, get up! Worry about the sand later, just get up and move!"
"Fine, have it your way..."
Draco was on one knee when another momentum landed on his other side, throwing him again. The pressure was like being dropped from a two story building, and he gasped at the pain, holding his hand at his ribs once he landed. His world was clearing up the more he blinked. He shook his head, ridding himself of the sand just in time to see a bird's foot come right at him, colliding with his face and sending him back.
"Draco!" he was barely aware of Evelyn's cries as he rolled over with a groan onto all fours. He brought his hand to his nose then back down to see the shiny crimson liquid, barely visible off his dark skin. He needed an upper hand, but as he dodged forward, avoiding yet another kick, he just couldn't think of anything, so he shot a stream of blue flames at the Combusken, who shouted in surprise but weaved to the side, looking less injured and more irritated.
"Fire, really now? Last chance, pull out now and you walk away in one piece!" growled out the Combusken.
(Fire doesn't work; it's pointless if it's on a lower lever...Speed's no good, damn bird is quick...) Evelyn thought as she watched Draco dodge attacks and attempt to counter with slashes, only landing minimal hits. (We were fine until he blinded us back there...Wait, that's it!)
"Draco, Smokescreen!" shouted Evelyn suddenly. Draco registered her command just as he ducked another kick. A quick inhale and with the exhale came a shroud of jet black smoke, losing both of them in the darkness. Unlike the Magmar, Draco didn't have the power to shroud the whole stage, only the few square yards they were in. Combusken came running from the cloud of smoke coughing and trying to regain a decent breath when Draco came out after him, hand at the ready.
"Slash!" Draco's claws came down on the Combusken's back in one smooth stroke, cutting into him. The Combusken shouted it pain and surprise, turning to return the slash, but Draco jumped back.
"I've had enough of you, tiny..." declared the Combusken. Then...he was gone! Draco stiffened and tried to prepare himself when his opponent collided with him without warning, making him stumble back.
"Quick Attack, again!" shouted Claire, and another ram to the side hit Draco, catching him off guard; he managed to catch himself on all fours instead of landing on his face.
"Now Double Kick!" Draco bit back a raspy scream in the back of his throat when a foot collided with his waist, sending him tumbling on his side before coming to a rest on his back.
"Draco! Roll to the side!" He was trying to follow her commands, but his own body fought him. It felt heavy and it screamed at him in protest.
"Now, Brick Break!" shouted Claire and Combusken took off in a running leap, hand raised to strike.
"Draco, Endure!" Draco stiffened and readied for the impact, and sure enough, it was full of force. Onlookers watched as the two Pokemon disappeared in dust as the attack shattered the floor. It cleared to show a struggling black Charmander, holding onto the claws of a much larger Combusken as it pushed down further, both at the center of a very shallow crater created in the cracks of the stone plates. Draco coughed as the Combusken pushed down more, trying to push him into the earth.
"I don't understand you..." mumbled the Combusken, quite and calm, but loud enough to get over Evelyn's screams for him to stop. "I've been holding back, trying to get you to quit and save-face, but still, you're here. Is your pride worth this? Why don't you give up?"
(I have too much to prove,) he thought as his world went in and out of focus. He turned his head to his side of stage, where Sly Scyther had rushed down to grab a hysterical Evelyn and keep her from running into the battle. Even from here he could smell her tears, through his own blood. She'd always gone out of her way to get him what he wanted or what he needed, and right now, he needed her to trust him...and to love him.
"Evelyn, just return him!" growled Sly as he held her arms back. She shook her head, beside herself with the want to do just that, but she wanted him to prove himself. She just wasn't sure as to why, or who he wanted to impress so much that he would take an unnecessary thrashing. He turned his head toward her and she caught his eyes. Sly felt her relax so quickly that he let go and she fell to her knees. Draco was smiling...
"C'mon, Drake..." she whispered, to no one in particular. "You can do this...I know you can."
Shamma the Grumpig was watching in awe, not fully understanding what drove Evelyn to just let Draco battle to his heart's content, despite the fact that he was losing! Her struggle to comprehend was put on hold when a faint blue light shone off the battle. It grew to an intense glare, so much so that everyone shielded their eyes with their arms or closed them entirely. All but Evelyn, who just tried to squint through the glare. Just as suddenly as it rose, it fell and faded away.
Toukon the Combusken slowly opened his eyes, trying to focus, when he felt something take a sudden and very strong grip on the feathers and skin at his collarbone and yank him forward. He threw his eyes open at this point, staring into intense blue eyes of a being that rumbled a deep growl. With swift movements the owner of those eyes and that sound flexed its grip on his hand, bringing it to near breaking, and released the skin on his chest, only to take hold of his upper arm. In a smooth, but forceful movement, he was thrown over its shoulder and landed with enough power to crack the plates further. The grips released and Toukon flipped over, trying to stand, when a black and red tail came whipping around, slamming the side of his face and sending him skidding to the side.
The Combusken rolled to his side and onto his knees, looking back at his opponent, who he could no longer call 'tiny'. He looked to be somewhere near or over four feet and stood proud and tall, fists balled and held back. His scales were still black and scarlet, his tail flame was still blue and white, but both it and he were far bigger than before. He had a scaly horn at the top-back of his head, and sharp claws and teeth, both white and gleaming as he bared them all. He even retained the thin, silvery scar on the corner of his eye and down his neck. Terrified would be a good way to describe the feeling one got at looking at this midnight and blood Charmeleon.
Terrified was the last way Evelyn would describe what she felt at that moment. She quickly swiped away the remaining tears and stood up purposefully. Draco looked back at her with a haughty smirk, and then wiggled his eyebrows. She couldn't suppress her chuckle. He stood in a way that made him seem taller than he really was. Like he was sucking in his gut, refusing to slouch, and standing on the balls of his feet all at the same time. Didn't matter, he looked amazing. She'd never imagined Draco with muscles like he had now; glaringly obviously and staggeringly impressive for such a sudden change. Chest, arms, legs; Evelyn felt a little guilty knowing she'd never been this impressed with a human male that fit. The Lucky Egg still hung around his neck, and Evelyn grinned; maybe it was lucky after all.
"You complete ass," she laughed. He rose an eyebrow. "You had to scare the living hell out of me just to evolve?"
Draco shrugged, but kept his arrogant smirk. After all, he was now, by all means, bigger than his opponent. He turned his attention back to the Combusken, who had just gotten to his feet and was back into a fighting stance.
"I hate irony..." he mumbled, but he looked determined to continue, for which Draco was grateful.
"If you think that gives you the upper hand, you're wrong!" shouted Claire, but she didn't sound nearly as confident as she had moments ago. "Toukon, Brick Break!"
The Combusken ran at Draco, who glanced back to Evelyn for directions.
"Fire Fang and toss him!" Draco latched onto the downward chopping hand of the Combusken and bit down as hard as he could while emitting blue flames. Combusken roared in pain as Draco turned his body, stretching the reluctant Combusken with him before turning quickly, sending his opponent across the stage, where it had little time to recover before a tail slammed into the side of its head.
"We need to end this, Toukon!" shouted Claire as Combusken stood up. "Fire Blast!"
The Combusken crossed its arms and gathered as much fire as it could muster, shouting out as he threw his arms out, sending the crossing of flames hurling toward Draco.
"Drake, jump high and fight fire with fire!" The audience watched, captivated, as the black Charmeleon leapt into the air, dodging the Fire Blast, took a huge gulp of air, and emitted not a stream of fire, but more like an angry river of pale blue and white flames down to envelope the Combusken, which disappearing within the glaring light of the fire and the warping heat waves it emitted.
Draco dropped down deftly and straightened himself, claws still in fists but hanging at his sides as he watched the dust clear. The Combusken had crossed his arms in an attempt to block himself. He unfolded them, and used one hand to balance as he rose, shakily, to his feet. The force of the blast had dented the stone ever so slightly, leaving it cracked and scorched. Toukon took one step forward before shaking and collapsing.
"Toukon!" shouted Claire before she rushed onto the battlefield to her Combusken. The audience, however, was roaring with applause to see Claire the Scare finally go down, a few of them even beginning to come down onto the stage. Evelyn, noticed Draco puff out his chest and bask in the glory, striking a pose or two, but as she approached him, followed by an awestruck Shamma, he froze.
Being closer made them both aware of just how serious his change was. He wasn't much shorter than her now; he could smack her in the face if he cared to, not that he ever would. He gave her a feeble little smile, showing off his new teeth, but really it was the look on her face that worried him. It was fairly blank as she looked him up and down, and he imagined the pink on her complexion was the aftermath of the battle. All worries stopped when she suddenly grabbed the sides of his face and pulled him in, where she kissed him dead on the lips for only a moment, before holding in a vice-like hug, as best she could with the Egg Pouch still in the way.
"If you ever scare me like that again," she whispered, "I'll kill you in your sleep, kay?"
If he could have, Draco would have blanched. The sweetness in her voice was evidence that she was joking, but it was somehow more terrifying and realistic that way. She pulled back and smiled at him.
"You almost did, that night you rolled over on me..." signed Draco, and Evelyn blushed suddenly at the memory.
"I'm glad no one else knows sign language," she chuckled, and then took on a very serious look, "You can't sleep on my chest anymore, you know."
If there was a moment killer anywhere, that was it. He hadn't thought of that. He didn't fancy the thought of not touching those again; though she is my best friend, how fucked up is that? Oh, but they're soft and warm. Hell, he'd seen her topless when she was hitting puberty. He wondered what she would look like no-
Draco tensed up quickly when new, far more disturbing thoughts of Evelyn starting swimming through his head of their own accord, many involving things that were far beyond friendship and far beyond just her breasts. He stared at her for a moment before she rose and eyebrow, hands on her hips.
"Drake...does that...does that bother you?" she asked. Draco shook his head quickly, not sure how to actually answer that. Sometimes not talking was a blessing.
(Maybe this is a good thing. I really was enjoying that too much; it's wrong. I'm sure she doesn't have those kinds of thoughts about me. It feels so wrong...) he thought as Evelyn was approached by Sly Scyther.
"Congrats," was all he said and he gave her a few far-too-hard slaps on the back, and she laughed nervously. Something inside Draco was alight just then, like hot, slow syrup that spread out from his chest, and he felt the rumble of an involuntary growl through him. Sly rose an eyebrow and Evelyn looked concerned.
"You alright, Draco?" she asked, moving to stand next to him. She did something that they'd done many times before, but it was different in his new form. She laced what fingers she could through his claws and held his hand. Just like that, the heat crept back into a knot in his chest. He smiled reassuringly, and she let go as the crowds of monks descended the stands, eager to speak to her, some wanting to help Claire in her distraught state over Toukon.
(That...was weird...) Draco thought. He'd never felt that kind of quick, overly-powerful anger before. He was starting to hate this new body. No sleeping on Evelyn's chest, sudden anger, and more bad thoughts of his best friend than ever before every time he looked at her. (Why is this happening to me?)
"Because you evolved, stupid..." grumbled Shamma as she approached him through the crowd.
(Why does that matter so much?)
"Your kind, Charmeleons, are infamous for a hot temper and a...adolescent mind...consider it your species equivalent to puberty," giggled Shamma, but the laughter didn't reach her eyes.
(You seem disappointed. Didn't enjoy the show?) asked Draco, raising an eyebrow. To his surprise, she blushed!
"More than I should have. You were very impressive. I'm still upset to see Claire fall, but you were an amazing fighter out there, all the way through..." she said, but she was staring off just right of Draco, at nothing in particular, just avoiding his gaze.
(The hell's wrong with you?) asked Draco, bluntly. Shamma looked around at a few monks, some with their Pokemon out. She reverted to speaking through her mind.
(You have naughty thoughts about your owner, don't you?) she asked.
It was Draco's turn to blush, if he could. He cleared his throat a bit.
(She's not my 'owner', she's my best friend.)
(Doesn't answer my question, now does it?)
(You read minds, you tell me...)
(You seem ashamed of it. Why?)
(Why? Legends, what's wrong with you!? She's my best friend for fucks sake; my ever constant companion. The only person who knows me!)
(...I'm sorry, where's the part where you justify why naughty thoughts about her are bad?)
Draco mentally sighed and began to walk away from her, weaving through the crowd, but she was persistent in following.
(I can understand why; she's quite pretty and you two get along swimmingly. Hell, half her commands didn't make sense to anyone here but you! I just don't understand your shame for these fantasies. Well, except that one a few minutes ago where you put-)
(Alright!) Draco mentally shouted, coming to a stop. (Yes, I have them. Yes, I'm ashamed of them! First off, she's my best friend; untouchable. Secondly, she's human-)
(You don't even care about that...) Shamma mused, flat expression on her face. Draco rolled his eyes.
(But society does! Now, lastly, she certainly doesn't feel the same way. These thoughts aren't my doing, anyway! Right...?)
Shamma shrugged (I don't pretend to understand the male mind; it's dirty and I stay out of it as much as I can. However, if I were you, I wouldn't be so sure she doesn't have the same kind of thoughts about you...)
Draco's eyes widened. (Wait, what? Have you read her thoughts? What has she bee-)
(I CAN'T READ HUMAN MINDS!) shouted Shamma so loud that Draco flinched. Her voice got high when she was angry.
(Then why even put that thought into my head if not for false hopes...?) groaned Draco. Shamma gave him a cryptic smile.
(I could just see it; it's a girl thing, you wouldn't understand...) and with that, she turned around and disappeared into the crowd.
(Where's Swine Flu when you need it...) mumbled Draco as he walked through the people, some of them congratulating him or cheering. He was just following Evelyn's scent o find her when he heard her shouting.
"Take that back!"
"Fuck no! What, would you like me to sugarcoat it for you?"
"No, you'd probably eat it, Miss cottage-cheese-thighs!"
Draco started to push people aside as their yells turned to shrieks and scuffling sounds could be heard before a sudden SMACK echoed in the theater room. He pushed one last monk aside to survey the scene. Evelyn was on the ground, Claire straddling her chest, just above the egg in its pouch (thankfully unharmed), with her fist raised, a bright red hand-mark on her cheek.
"Is there anything else you'd like to call me?" shouted Claire. Evelyn just gave a nasty smile, just as angry as Claire.
"Oh, Claire, there are many things I'd like to call you, and most of them rhyme with 'Weevil Switch'!"
With an animalistic snarl, Claire tensed up her arm to strike, and Draco felt that hot sensation spread white-hot and faster than before. She was ready hit Evelyn when-
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" echoed a booming voice. All monks turned their gaze immediately to the archway atop the stairs of the stands. There stood a massive man and next to him was a shaking and worried Saria. The man wasn't fat as much as just huge, and his hair, beard, and mustache were all long and salt-and-pepper colored. Little spectacles balanced on the top of his large nose as he glared down at them. Claire was the first to speak, shooting up and off of Evelyn.
"Father Sabio..."
Ugh...so, sorry for my extended absence. First my BF comes down here out of no-where and I hang with him for a long-but-not-nearly-long-enough time. Then I had to work a whole bunch, go to register at college, and go to my uncle's for a few days. Finally, I get home and I'm having some medical issues that are still being addressed.
Long story short, my life just bones. Anywho, I hope you enjoyed the chapter; I've actually been extending the story, so Chapter 13 might not be the chapter with the first bit of smut in it. Might be 14; I dunno.
As usual; PLEASE REVIEW!
Random Fact: Most of my chapters are written in one to two days and I listen to Eclipse; the piano tribute to the first Evanescence CD while I type. Dunno...just soothing I guess.
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Next Chapter:A Drop of Truth
Even enemies have a story of their own. Relaxation and contemplation await before our pair face judgment.