Chapter 8

It Takes Two"

Shawn moved stealthily along the shingles, staying low behind the roofline to avoid being spotted by his quarry. There was just enough light on the street for him to keep an eye on the blue haired head of the Team Galactic member. Reaching the end of the building, Shawn worked Air to form a bridge to the next, paralleling the slow movement of his target. It was dark enough up here that he wasn't too concerned about being spotted, but he dashed across anyways. It didn't hurt to be careful, even though the guy was preoccupied with tossing the poké ball he had recently stolen from hand to hand.

Shawn had entered Hearthome only a few scant hours ago, and had used the time to explore a bit and shop for accessories for Cheri. He thought the concept of dressing up poké mon was a bit silly, but it was one of the contest stages, so he had to do SOMETHING at least. He had decided to keep it simple, purchasing only a long, black silk scarf, and a pair of sparkly nets that would be woven into her tail and mane.

Cheri had particularly liked the scarf, and he had definitely appreciated how it stood out strikingly against her orange fur and fluffy white mane.

"Just enough to be tasteful, your natural looks should do the rest," he had said.

"Flatterer!" she replied, although judging by her body language, it was clear she enjoyed the compliment.

The more time Shawn spent with Cheri, the more he felt himself genuinely loving the incorrigible Arcanine, beyond simply wanting to care for her needs. In some ways, she reminded him of Nina, with her stubborn determination and snap decisions. Although, Cheri was much more open with her affections than Nina had been. It was hardly a secret to the rest of the team that Cheri was completely smitten with her trainer. Marty just thought it was fantastic (as he did most things). Kirin seemed indifferent, and if Hina had an opinion, then she had yet to express it. Cheri adored the little Eevee, and completely considered her as her own. She and Kirin took turns keeping the playful Eevee occupied when they were all out of their balls together.

Hina was indeed growing quickly. Even though it had only been three days since Kirin had evolved, Shawn had noticed that she was using more real words. He even sometimes understood the odd one himself, although much of it was still her undeveloped gibberish. He supposed that it wasn't a matter of her not knowing what the words were, but just not being fully capable of saying them yet.

Shawn had spent the last few days of their trip to Hearthome working on the contest routine with Cheri. He had avoided battles, instead using the time to hash out the dance and ability sections that they would be required to perform in. He had also begun to teach Kirin how to use her new abilities, which Marty was more than happy to help with.

Having the Marshtomp there to provide an actual opponent made a big difference. Since he couldn't be hurt by the electric attacks, it allowed Kirin to go all out and see how an opponent might react. So far, she was still mostly learning how to release the energy at all, but she was picking it up fairly easily. She was a very motivated learner, and was a bit more focused than Cheri and Marty.

Shawn had almost despaired in trying to come up with a dance routine for Cheri. He had done his best to explain the concept of musical timing to her. She had seemed to grasp it pretty well, although the difference between three-four and four-four time was a still a mystery to her.

But, despite the fact that her large body moved quite gracefully, the Arcanine had two left paws. "Or four in her case," he thought. In the end, he had settled upon a series of hand signals to coordinate different movement patterns. He didn't know what kind of music they would get to choose from, so he had trained her in the same style as he had seen some canine acts perform back home. There was no rule that he had to direct her from the sidelines, but part of the test was seeing how well the poké mon communicated with the trainer.

He didn't think the abilities section would be any challenge, as she knew a wide range of moves that fell into the beauty category. The hardest part would be putting special touches on each move to make it look unique, and that had been what they had worked on. Using his own knowledge of fire, Shawn had shown Cheri a few tricks to change up her attacks slightly, making them more visually appealing.

The Team Galactic member stopped in front of one of Hearthome's hotels, and Shawn sighed in disappointment. "I guess they don't have any sort of hideout here after all," he thought. On his way back to the poké centre, he had seen the grunt bullying a younger trainer. He had just beaten the girl in a battle, and had proceeded to steal her defeated poké mon. Apparently, he had convinced her that those were the rules of the battle, and had walked away laughing as the little girl cried over her loss.

Rather than stepping in right away, Shawn had chosen to follow the guy, hoping that he would lead him to more of his team members. Shawn had gotten the girl's trainer ID before following the thief, telling her he would meet her at the poké centre later.

The guy had pulled out a cellphone, and was having a loud conversation right outside the entrance to the hotel. Shawn moved to the opposite end of the building, forming a ramp of air to slide down to the narrow alley between the buildings. Stepping out into the street, he walked purposefully towards the uniformed trainer.

"Yeah, it was awesome! Hey, I think I'll need to call you back, there's some guy here who looks like he wants something." Snapping the phone closed, the guy glared at Shawn. "Whatta you want? I'm busy." He appeared to be in his early twenties as well.

"What I want, is for you to give back that poké mon you stole."

The guy laughed. "Stole? I won it fair and square! The kid was stupid enough to agree to those battle stakes, so that's just my rightful winnings. Don't know what I'll do with a stupid Bidoof, but maybe I can trade it."

"Oh, so you're an idiot as well as a prick," Shawn said, raising an eyebrow. "You really think the police would see it that way?"

The guy's expression grew angrier. "Who the hell are you? Big tough trainer? Gonna tell on me to the cops?"

"No, I'm just offering you the same deal you gave her. Either that, or…let's just say you wouldn't like option B."

He snorted. "You? Give me a break. You've got balls, I'll give you that, but you could hardly take me in a fight. OR a battle."

"So, what do you have to lose then?"

He laughed once more. "Fine then tough guy. Same rules, but if you somehow win, you get that girl's lame poké mon."

"Deal."

The guy stepped back, moving into the street, and Shawn's poké dex beeped as it registered the battle information.

"Go Skuntank!" the grunt yelled.

Shawn rolled his eyes at the unsurprising choice. The file he had read said that at least half of the grunts for Team Galactic favoured this poké mon. He pondered briefly on who to send out. Cheri could win this easily, and Kirin could probably do it as well, despite the fact that she was only beginning to use Electric attacks. But he wanted to really teach this guy a lesson in humility.

"Go Marty, show them how it's done!" Shawn called, tossing up the custom made poké ball.

The Marshtomp appeared with his typical happy cry, facing the already set Skuntank as he landed.

"Toxic!" the grunt yelled, before the timer had counted down.

Shawn had been expecting a low blow, and was prepared. "Counter with Water Gun."

As the spray of highly poisonous fluid flew towards Marty, he drew back his head and blasted out a powerful Water Gun attack. The two streams met in midair, and a shocked look appeared on the Galactic member's face at the force and speed of the move. Marty's attack quickly overwhelmed the weaker Poison type move, and the residuals of it splattered against the Skuntank's aura. Not much damage, but Marty had avoided being poisoned.

"Uh, follow it up with Fury Swipes!" the guy said, seeming a bit unsure of himself now.

"Surf," Shawn said.

"What! Marshtomp's can't learn that!" the guy said, as his poké mon dashed on it's stubby legs towards Marty.

Shawn shook his head. "They sure can."

As they spoke, Marty built up the attack, a slight blue haze surrounding him as he pulled in water from the environment. A huge plume of water rose up around him, not unlike the move Shawn had used to rescue Cheri from the Golem and Graveler.

Just as the Skuntank brought its claws down on Marty, the Marshtomp released the attack. He was carried forward with it, only taking the single hit as the Poison poké mon was beaten down by the crashing water. Marty was carried several yards forward, the positions of the battlefield being reversed.

"Now finish it with Mud Shot," Shawn said, seeing that the Skuntank's aura had been half depleted by the single move. Obviously, this guy had pushed his poké mon's evolution rather than training it further. The evolutionary jump in strength would not be nearly as much if a poké mon was poorly conditioned for it.

"Use Smokescreen!" the guy yelled.

The Poison type managed to conceal itself in time, throwing off the aim of Marty's attack. Ground type moves tended to take longer most of the time, but at the moment Marty had to use what was around him as well. Marshtomps built up stores of mud when they could, packing it into special storage sacs in their body, but Marty hadn't had the opportunity recently.

Instead, he used dirt from a nearby planter, spraying it at his concealed opponent. The attack missed, and the Galactic guy yelled, "Night Slash!"

"Again Marty. Wait for him to appear."

Marty nodded, and Shawn sensed him pulling more dirt towards him.

The Skunk poké mon came flying out of the smoke with surprising speed, claws glowing with Dark energy.

Marty hadn't had time to gather his attack, so he instead released it halfway formed. The blast of mud struck the poké mon from the side, the super effective energy throwing it out of its leap. It started to roll up, but Marty finished the attack with the remaining mud, and it collapsed back down with a huff as its energy was depleted.

Shawn's poké dex beeped as the battle winnings transferred, and the grunt stared at his fallen poké mon in disbelief. "What the hell! That's impossible! You only hit him twice!" He returned the Poison poké mon with a disgusted look on his face.

"Here, have the brat's poké mon. I don't care," he said, spinning as he tossed the ball at Shawn. "You…d better watch yourself tough guy. Pretty soon, Team Galactic will be everywhere you look."

Shawn caught the poké ball, not bothering to stop the guy as he retreated inside the hotel. "Well done Marty," he said. "You pulled off those Mud Shots nicely."

"Thanks Master Shawn! I'm going to need to stock up again though."

"I know, sorry about that. I probably should've stopped at that pond outside the town for you, but I really wanted to get into town and check things out. I wasn't anticipating getting into a battle."

"No problem! The contest is tomorrow right?"

"Yep, so we're going to head to the poké centre now."

"Yay! I hope you and Cheri win!"

Shawn smiled at his partner, giving him a high five before returning him to his ball. Marty was showing great initiative in his battles, he had really taken what he had been shown to heart. Even though he had such a bubbly and innocent personality, he really seemed to like battling. He had told Shawn that he had always wanted a trainer, which was why he hadn't resisted being caught back at Mr. Backlot's gardens. It sometimes took him a bit longer to grasp concepts then Cheri or Kirin, he tended to get distracted in his exuberance. But he worked hard at it, and was making excellent progress.

Shawn made his way back towards the poké centre, idly rolling the recovered poké ball in his hand. He briefly wondered if Jasmine was still watching him. He hadn't felt the presence of the Ghost poké mon since their encounter, but he was sure she was around somewhere. He was still a bit curious about how the whole transition between plains thing worked. It had always been the kind of thing that interested him, and he wondered if it was possible to work out a way to do it himself.

There were other known races that could be described as metaphysical, but they all guarded their secrets extremely closely. To his knowledge, his encounter was the first that truly confirmed the existence of other levels of reality. Perhaps he would encounter more such phenomena of wizardly study in this dimension. The closest thing he knew of was fairly well understood in the wizarding world - the out of ambit dimension. It was a bizarre form of "catwalk" between dimensions, and could be used as an alternate route to move between them. It was not nearly as simple as gates however, and was rarely used on purpose.

Reaching the poké centre, Shawn went inside to find the stolen Bidoof's trainer sitting in the lobby, her eyes red from crying. The moment she saw Shawn, she ran up to him anxiously. "D-did you catch him Mister?"

He smiled at her reassuringly, holding out the poké ball. "I did. Here's your poké mon back."

Her face lit up, and she hugged the ball to her chest. "Buffy! Thank you so much Mister!"

"No problem. Just don't bet your poké mon in a battle anymore alright? And watch out for the guys with a G on their clothes."

She nodded, giving him a hug of thanks before running over to the counter to heal her poké mon.

Shawn followed her, turning Marty's ball over to repair the bit of damage he had taken in the battle. He glanced briefly at the TV screen on the wall. A concerned looking announcer was seated behind a desk, with a headline that said: Killer Strikes Again.

"Police are baffled by the third of these bizarre murders," the man was saying. "The officers in charge of the investigation have released a statement assuring that all measures are being taken to apprehend the culprit. However, all residents in the region of Eterna and Floarama are being urged to use caution."

Shawn only idly took notice of the announcement as he received Marty's poké ball back, then went up to his room. The news report didn't really stick out to him. After all, in his world, killings were constantly broadcast in the news. He decided against letting any of the others out. Hina had been inside her ball since that morning, and wouldn't have gotten hungry in stasis yet. Same for the others.

He himself was tired, and didn't want to fend off Cheri's advances at the moment. It wasn't that he didn't want to make love to the Arcanine again, but their vigorous schedule of the last few days had kept him out of the mood. She had been a bit frustrated when he had said no after their first training session, and had been dropping hints each consecutive night. He was going to have to make it up to her big time it seemed.

Shawn got himself ready to turn in. He wanted to get to the contest hall early to take advantage of the grooming centre before the contest. Even though he hadn't been that enthused about the idea, his competitiveness had kicked in, and now he really wanted to win it. For Cheri's sake as well, so she wouldn't go on thinking she needed to prove herself. He didn't want for her to be hurt because she felt she had to put herself on the line for him. He smiled as he drifted off to sleep. He would definitely have to give her a special treat when they took home the prize.

z88;

Cheri trotted beside Shawn as they entered the contest hall. They were a bit early, but that would give them lots of time to get fully ready. She was excited for this, her first real test as a member of Shawn's team. She wanted to make him proud.

Shawn gave her a brief scratch behind the ears before going up to the registration desk. She smiled up at him. "My mate…I love him so much!" Sitting back on her haunches, she idly glanced around the huge lobby area. A few other trainers were hanging around, usually in conference with their poké mon. Suddenly, she snapped her head back towards one of the pairs. That Arcanine standing beside that girl……It can't be! Can it?"

She saw him look over at her, and felt the simultaneous shock of recognition. Feeling drawn, as if in a trance, she trotted over. "Schrade? Is that really you?"

"Cheri?" He rumbled. "My mate! I've missed you so much!" He leaped forward from his surprised trainer, giving her a lick of greeting.

"Dek? You know this Arcanine?" his trainer said.

He looked back at her with a bark of confirmation, "She's my mate!" The girl only appeared to half understand it, she just shrugged and sat in one of the nearby chairs.

"I'm so sorry I never came back to you Cheri, I was captured," he said, giving her another enthusiastic lick.

She pulled back from him. "Schrade…It's good to see that you are alright. But…I wouldn't have been there even if you had come back."

He glanced towards Shawn. "Oh yes. You have a trainer now too I see."

She shook her head. "You don't understand. Schrade" Or do you go by Dek now? I have a new mate."

He looked taken aback. "You…you found another? One of your trainer's other poké mon? What is he? A Charizard or something?"

"Yes, I found another male…but not one of his poké mon. My trainer IS my mate."

His expression turned to one of pure shock for a moment. Then" "A HUMAN!" He roared. "You replaced ME with a weakling of a HUMAN!"

His trainer leaped up at the commotion, walking over to them and asking, "Is everything alright Dek?"

He snarled, glaring at Cheri. "No, it isn't! I've had my mate stolen by a HUMAN!"

The girl looked perplexed, and Cheri ignored her.

"You probably don't believe it, but he's far stronger than you ever were. His power is incredible. Even more than that, he was there for me when I needed it the most. He used his strength to protect me. He didn't catch me, I went with him of my own free will."

He seemed to barely be containing his rage. "So that's it then. We're done?"

"Yes, even if you weren't with a trainer of your own, we…d be done."

He gave an angry growl. "Fine, you're welcome to your pussy of a trainer, bitch. Arica was always a better lay anyways. I'm going to enjoy kicking your tail in the contest today."

Cheri resisted the urge to swipe him across the muzzle. Getting into a fight here would not be a good idea. She snorted, baring her teeth at him. "Good luck with that. Shawn will easily show why he's the better male! And for the record, his is bigger." She turned her back on him, taunting him by wiggling her rear a bit. She heard him growl something under his breath as she flounced back towards Shawn. She knew her former mate had a temper, but how DARE he insult her Master like that! He…d even given her a pup to care for! Far more than that DOG had! Shawn had shown her what a REAL mate was like!

"What was that all about?" Shawn asked as she reached him, sticking the registration ticket in his pocket.

"Oh, just my former mate," she said, still a bit irritated. "I can't believe he's shown up here!"

"I see. Are you going to be alright? They only have one contest category today. If they're here now, we're likely going to be competing against them."

"More than alright! Now I want to win this thing even more!"

He smiled at her. "That's good to hear. Let's go get ready shall we?"

Cheri followed him over to the far corner of the room, and Shawn swiped his registration ticket at one of the doors there. It slid open with a beep, and the pair stepped inside their private grooming area. As the door shut behind them, Cheri thought, I'll show you DEK. You're going to see a show like never before"

z88;

Once the door had been locked behind them, Shawn began removing his clothes.

"Oh, I thought we were cleaning up, not getting dirty," Cheri said, crouching down with a predatory look on her face.

Shawn gave her nose a friendly tap. "No tackling! We ARE getting ready, I just don't want to get my clothes soaked!"

She gazed at his naked form approvingly, licking her lips. "Okay then, but you…d better not make me wait much longer!"

Shawn sighed. "When we take home the prize, I promise you that I'll give you a fantastic evening. Now get in the tub."

She yipped happily, not even protesting as he gave her a push towards the bubbling water. The bath was recessed into the floor, and had several large bottles of poké mon shampoo around it. She balked slightly at the first touch of the water though, drawing a laugh from Shawn. "Can't I just give myself a REALLY good grooming? And you?" she asked, giving him her best puppy eyes.

"Nope! Not gonna happen. Trust me, it's nice and warm," he said, splashing her a bit as he got in.

She flinched back from the water, but it was indeed warm. It seemed to convince her, and she stepped in lightly, standing on the shallow ledge. Grabbing her forepaws, he heaved backwards, sending a tidal wave of water over the edge as she splashed down into the tub. "Hey! I wasn't ready yet!" she yelled, attempting to swat him with her paw. The strike moved slowly in the warm liquid, and he pushed back with a laugh. "We haven't got all day for you to get wet!"

She growled, standing stiffly and looking a bit indignant as he started sluicing her fur with the water. Her longer haired mane floated straight up in the water, making her look like she…d been shocked. She blinked as he got her head fur wet, shaking slightly to keep the water away from her emerald eyes.

Finishing with the soaking, Shawn grabbed one of the shampoo bottles, and Cheri shuddered as he drew a long line of it down her spine. "That's cold!"

"Don't worry, it'll get better."

Putting the bottle down, he began to massage the soap into her luxurious orange and black fur. She did keep herself well groomed, very little of the fur came off into the water. Still, there was plenty of accumulated dirt from their travels, and her coat would truly shine once he was finished.

She appeared to be enjoying this part, leaning against him as he worked her muscles, a soft rumble coming from her throat. The tub was just a little too small for him to manoeuvre around her easily, so he instead stood up and reached over to do the opposite side. As he progressed towards her rear, he felt her pressing back against him. "I think I like this position Master…"

He looked down, seeing that the pressure of her body had aroused him a bit. He shook his head ruefully. "You just don't give up do you?"

"Not until I get what I want."

He sighed, continuing his shampooing. He worked it into her fluffy tail fur, and was forced to hang onto the appendage to keep it from flicking away from him. "Hold still!"

"Sorry, just getting a bit excited."

With her tail in hand, Shawn could see her pussy lips, just above the surface of the water. She was indeed getting worked up. Even though she wasn't in heat, he could see a bit of a darker blush through the fur as her arousal engorged the region slightly.

He shook his head resignedly, rinsing his hands of shampoo. "Well, I can't have you like this during the competition can I?"

Dunking her tail a couple times to rinse it, he held it up out of the way, using his other hand to begin rubbing around her sex.

Cheri jolted, "Why Master! I thought you said later?"

"I know, but I need you calm if we're going to beat your ex-mate now don't I?"

She let out a happy bark, "Yes, I suppose so."

He smiled as he played with her vulva, sandwiching his forefinger between the lips and feeling her press back against it eagerly. He moved the finger up and down, teasing her entrance with his knuckles. Arching his appendage, he pressed it inside, feeling her clit and transferring the rubbing directly to her pleasure button.

He heard her breathe in sharply, and she hunched back against him. His finger slid in to the base, enveloped in the higher temperature of her inner walls. He added a second, rubbing her clit vigorously as he began pumping in and out. Her passage was tighter now that she wasn't in heat, and for the moment he left it at two fingers until she got a bit wetter. There was fluid inside, but not nearly the copious amounts of her season.

He felt the delightful contours of her walls, the firm ridges and delightful valleys. She clenched down around him, a whining moan escaping as he pleasured her. Pushing in as far as he could, his questing fingers sought out their target. There it was! Mercilessly, he attacked the little rigid patch a few inches inside her love tunnel.

Cheri's head arched back, her mouth open in a soundless howl. He could feel her passage tightening, juices starting to flow more freely as she neared her climax. He pressed his fingers more firmly against her G-spot, dextrously adding a third to rub the tip of her clit. The extra stimulation was all it took, and she came hard, humping back against him as she vocalized her pleasure. A bit of juice dribbled out of her, running down her wet fur and disappearing into the water as she came down from her ecstasy.

Shawn waited until her tunnel stopped squeezing before removing his fingers. He eagerly lapped up the exotic nectar, treating it as an appetizer for that evening's activities. "Better?" he asked.

"Ohhhh, much! Thank you Master!"

He grinned, splashing water over her rear to wash away the evidence of their act. "Good. Maybe now we can finish getting you cleaned up!"

He glanced down at himself ruefully, his now raging hard-on bobbing slightly in the water. Great, now I…M going to be all worked up through the contest! I suppose it's my punishment for making her wait, he thought. Ignoring the demands coming from his pants, Shawn continued washing his contented poké mon.

z88;

A good couple of hours later, Shawn and Cheri were standing on the stage with the other three contestants in the grouping. Normally, Hearthome hosted several contests daily, but occasionally they held more exclusive events. This was one of the latter, a specially sponsored beauty contest run by the poké tech company. They were holding one contest series of each type, and Shawn had just managed to get in for the beauty one. The three pairs that gained the highest scores out of all the groupings would each win an additional prize, on top of the usual one for winning their grouping.

It appeared they were indeed in the same grouping as Cheri's former mate and her trainer. He hoped Cheri wouldn't lose her focus on their routine. He was also a bit worried. Would the appearance of her ex-mate make her question her feelings for him?

Cheri looked stunning. After getting her through the massive air dryer (which had puffed her fur out amusingly), he had spent most of the remainder of their preparation time brushing her coat until it gleamed. The three accessories set off her looks nicely, the black scarf draped over her shoulders and adding to her own markings. The spotlights reflected off the sparkles in her mane and tail, making her look like she had stars woven into the creamy fluff. He himself had dressed up a bit in a freshly bought button up shirt and nice dark jeans.

"And competing first, we have April and Dek!" the emcee, Dexter, was saying. The spotlights focused on the pair, the other Arcanine puffing out his chest and glancing over at them briefly with a look of disdain. Shawn wondered briefly just what the two had said to each other. Cheri had been very irritated when she came back, but had been close mouthed about what had passed between them.

"Second, we have Garrett and Marika!" A guy dressed in a track suit with a Luxray stepped forward, the poké mon adorned with bows. "Third, we have Shannon and Summer!" A younger girl, with a Roselia draped with flower chains. "And finally, we have Shawn and Cheri!" Shawn waved at the applauding audience, Cheri proudly strutting forward with him and standing tall at his side for all to see.

The crowd fell silent as the three judges made their way along the line. They each had a clipboard, and studied the poké mon closely as they stood quietly with their trainers. When they got to Shawn, he gave Cheri a nudge. She dropped her forepaws down, bowing to the judges as he had taught her. The female judge stifled a giggle, and Dexter also looked amused. The third judge was stone-faced. "Going for miss congeniality too I see." He made a mark on his clipboard. Well, can't please everyone I suppose, Shawn thought.

Appearance judging over, they moved on to the dance phase. Shawn and the other two contestants moved to the side of the stage to await their turns as April took her position at the far end of the dance floor. Shawn waved towards the special viewing box set up for the competitors' other poké mon. Apparently, ever since someone had tried to cheat using an Alakazam, teammates of entrants weren't allowed near the stage. Through the glass barrier, he could see Marty waving back, and Hina was perched on top of Kirin, watching intently.

As the music started, he noted ruefully that it had been the same kind that he had selected for Cheri. They offered him a choice of songs at registration, but you weren't allowed to know what your opponents had picked in advance. He watched with growing incredulity as April directed Dek. She was doing virtually the same thing he had planned! "Okay, this isn't going to work," he said.

"What do you mean?" Cheri asked. She was watching the performance with narrowed eyes, and he hoped that she wasn't getting distracted.

"They're doing almost the exact same thing we were going to do. We'll never stand out if we stick to our routine." He drummed his fingers on the railing thoughtfully, before being struck by an idea. "Hang on a moment, I'll be right back."

He hurried off, leaving Cheri staring after him in bewilderment. What does he have in mind? She thought. She turned back to watch Schrade's performance. She suppressed an angry growl. She would show him! Insulting her mate! Just as the pair finished, Shawn returned.

"What did you do?" she asked.

"No time to explain, they bumped us up in the order," he said in a hushed voice. "Just follow my lead."

April and Schrade stepped off the stage, Schrade hanging back from his trainer as they passed. "You're lucky bitch. If there was a battle stage, I…d tear you to shreds."

Shawn overheard the comment, an angry expression coming over his face. "Can it furball. She's mine now." This last was whispered, with just a hint of menace to it.

Schrade's eyes widened in shock, and he stared at Shawn, who was somehow managing to loom over him. Even though Schrade's head was up to Shawn's chin, he looked a bit intimidated by the human all of a sudden. Cheri's ears pricked as she caught a faint, low humming sound.

"Dek, come!" April called, and the Arcanine broke out of his trance to stumble after his trainer.

"What was that?" Cheri asked, her affections for Shawn surging. He had laid claim to her! To the face of her former mate!

"Oh, just a little trick I learned to make pricks back down."

She shook her head, curious about what he meant. He had used his power on Schrade? Had that been the humming noise? Schrade hadn't been injured in any way, just" overawed somehow. As if he had suddenly been shown that there was no way he could match Shawn's strength.

"Next up, Shawn and Cheri!" the announcer said.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Of course I am! Are you?"

"I was born ready," he said with a chuckle.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing. Private joke."

The two stepped onto the stage, Cheri noting with surprise that Shawn was staying right beside her. "Aren't you going to direct me from the side?"

"Not anymore. Change of plans. Just follow my lead dear."

She nodded, wondering just what he had planned.

Shawn signalled her to take the bowing position, and he walked a couple steps away before turning and facing her in a bow of his own. The music started, a strange, lilting piece. Shawn began tapping his foot in time, giving her the signal to rise as he did so himself. He moved towards her, swaying with the rhythm. He held his hands out to her, murmuring, "Give me your paws." She reared up, placing her paws in his hands.

Shawn took hold of Cheri's forepaws, supporting her weight as he kept time. Her lack of bipedal mobility made it tricky, but he managed to keep himself on beat as he walked her forwards and back in time to the rhythm. He matched her cautious steps, moving them around the stage with a decent measure of grace. Stepping forwards, he gripped her chest with one arm, supporting her by the waist with the other. "Turn in a circle," he whispered. She did as he said, and there was a smattering of applause as she spun slowly in time to the beat.

Allowing her to land on all four paws, he directed her to step back and spin, and he mirrored her movements. He moved his arms in time, signalling her to walk forward with one foot in front of the other. As they met, he gestured for her to stand up again, and once more took her paws. Turning, he placed her paws on his shoulders, holding them in place as he danced forwards, her chin resting on his head. The music rose to a crescendo, and he released her paws and spun to the side. As he completed the spin, he caught her under the shoulders before she landed, in approximation of a dip. He held her there, gazing into her eyes as the last notes faded.

There was a moment of silence, and then the crowd burst into applause. Shawn released Cheri, sighing in relief as his straining arms were able to relax finally. Dancing with a three hundred pound poké mon wasn't easy! He and Cheri turned to the audience, both giving a bow to the standing ovation. "Well, THAT was something very different!" Dexter said into the microphone. "It's not every day you see a poké mon and trainer dance the Tango!"

They waited for a few more seconds, basking in the applause. Shawn gave Cheri a nudge, and they made their way slowly off stage. "Well, what did you think?" he asked.

"That was so much fun! Everyone else loved it too!"

He smiled. "It seems so. Good thing they had a piece of music I knew."

She nuzzled his hand. "We'll win for sure now!"

"Well, we shouldn't get overconfident, there's still the abilities, but I think we've got a good chance."

Resuming their places off-stage, they waited for the final two competitors to make their move.

z88;

Cheri strutted proudly beside Shawn as they entered the poké centre, the special edition blue ribbon for taking first in her grouping pinned to her scarf. Their score from their grouping had been high enough to place second in the overall standings, and Shawn had a fancy new poké tech watch strapped to his wrist. The latest model, with all the features. He had also received a nice little sum of prize money too.

Cheri was over the moon from their win. "We did it! We really did it! We kicked Schrade's tail too!"

He smiled at her. "That we did." The other pair had placed twenty-fifth overall. After winning their grouping, the team had enjoyed watching the other competitions. The Dragonair and his trainer that had placed first had been fantastic, putting together a beautiful water fountain display in the abilities section.

The judges had used psychic poké mon to form a barrier around the stage, so the contestants didn't have to worry about their attacks hitting the audience. Cheri's own manipulation of fire had been impressive, and even Shawn had been a bit surprised by how well she had done. He supposed that competing against her former mate had ended up giving her the focus she needed.

In their room, Shawn carefully disentangled the accessories from Cheri's fur, folding up the scarf and ribbon neatly. "Can I wear those when I'm walking with you?" she asked.

"Of course you can! Just better to keep them out of the way for now hmm?"

"I like the sound of that…"

"Food first though!" Shawn said, stalling her ardour.

Shawn released the rest of the team, Marty and Kirin exclaiming over the now collected winnings and offering their congratulations. "You really looked beautiful out there," Kirin said. "You and Master…you looked like you were meant to be together."

Cheri smiled at her, laying on her side as Hina began insistently nuzzling against her. "Thank you dear."

After quickly setting out bowls of food for the others and taking out his own meal, Shawn performed the lactation spell for Hina, who set into Cheri's engorged teats with a happy cry. Cheri rumbled happily, curling around the little Eevee as she ate her own dinner.

"You know, I'm really glad you talked me into this. I had fun out there," Shawn said.

Cheri grinned at him around her mouthful. "See? I have good ideas too!"

"That you do. I kinda feel a bit sorry for Schrade though, he's probably thinking about you now. Why would he say what he did anyways? I thought you said he wouldn't be upset?"

She snorted. "Him? Don't feel sorry for him at all! I don't! When he found out you were my new mate…he said some things. Things that made me really realize that he…d never even been such a great partner. Aside from the fact that I love you far more than I ever loved him. I don't miss him a bit! His reaction was uncalled for, he should have accepted the fact that I found a stronger male. Even one who isn't a poké mon. He deserves to be lonely!"

Shawn was a bit surprised at her strong words. It was reassuring that she didn't harbour any feelings for her former mate, but at the same time, he wondered just what he had said to her to provoke such animosity. Perhaps the two had never really been lovers at all, just a pairing of strength and lust. He realized that his own worry over the appearance of her former mate was pointless. It was clear that Cheri's feelings for HIM were genuine. Also, if worry about having to compete for her affections didn't indicate his own love, he didn't know what did.

Kirin and Marty stayed out of this conversation, focussing on their dinner. He noticed Kirin eyeing him though, a slight smile on her face before she turned back to her food. He gave her a small smile in return. The recently evolved Jolteon was perceptive. She clearly had some idea of the thoughts that had been running through his head.

The team finished their meal in silence, Shawn's reflection on his feelings finally confirming his emotions for him. As Hina pulled back with a satisfied exhalation, Cheri spoke again. "It's hard to believe. If you hadn't come along when you did" If Schrade hadn't been captured and had returned earlier" I would still be stuck with him. I wouldn't be here…with you…with a pup to care for," she gazed lovingly down at Hina with this last.

"There are no accidents," he said.

She met his eyes, and he could see her passion for him reflected in them.

Kirin stood up. "Alright Marty, Sis. I think it's time we go back in our balls and let Master and Cheri have some time alone."

Marty gave her a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

She snorted. "I mean, I don't think they want us around for what comes next."

"Oh I don't know, I don't mind if you watch…" Cheri said, the look in her eyes becoming a bit more lustful.

Marty finally clued in. "OH! You mean THAT."

Shawn felt heat rising to his face at the open discussion of his and Cheri's…activities. The lovable innocence of his Marshtomp was charming, but he was definitely NOT comfortable having his whole team observing!

Cheri had a mischievous look on her face. "Maybe you SHOULD watch, it would be…educational for Hina. And perhaps Marty too."

Kirin giggled. "I don't think Master likes that idea…"

"Are you alright Trainer Shawn?" Marty asked, noticing his reddening face. Even Hina was letting out a high pitched giggle, although she probably didn't really understand what was going on.

"I'm just fine!" he said. "Alright you three, enough teasing! Into the balls now."

As Cheri chuckled, the other three returned to their balls, thankfully NOT taking Cheri's suggestion.

"What am I to do with you," he said, as the light from the return beams faded.

"Oh, I can think of a few things…" she said, rising to her feet and prowling towards him. "You might want to take off those nice clothes…before I do it for you."

He took her advice, forestalling her advance by keeping the bed between them as he shucked his garments. He hopped up on the bed, quickly followed by the amorous Arcanine. The bedsprings protested under her weight as she pounced on top of him, licking his face.

He suppressed a laugh. For a moment, he had tuned in to what the bed was saying. "Oh! Heavy! Heavy! Why me! Why Me!" He quickly shut out the noise. It was something all wizards had to learn to do, or be constantly irritated by what everything around them was saying.

"Now what are you laughing at?" Cheri asked, rubbing her body against him as she bathed his face.

"Oh, the bed isn't too happy with us right now is all."

"Really? Well, tell it that that's just too bad! If I don't get you now, I…M not going to be too happy…"

"Mmm, can't have that now can we?" he replied, pulling her into a deep kiss.

By the time Cheri's long tongue exited his mouth, they were both short of breath.

"I believe you promised me something Master…"

"Oh yes. You really like the taste?"

"I do," she said, turning around and nosing his stirring maleness.

He drew in a breath as she began lavishing it with loving licks, drawing it upright from his groin. Her long, sloppy canine tongue slurping over him sent pleasurable jolts through his crotch. He reached over his head and tugged on her back legs. "Move forward a bit, I want to return the favour."

"I won't say no," she replied, drawing her rear forwards and arching her back a bit, now almost squatting over him.

He smiled as her treasures came into position, affording him a lovely view. He grasped her hips to pull himself up, extending his own tongue and drawing it several times over her nether lips. He felt her heavenly tongue bathing his balls, and as his shaft stood at full attention, she began lapping furiously at the base. He poked the tip of his tongue into her entrance, working it inside. He felt her stiffen slightly at the penetration, pausing her ministrations briefly before resuming with even more fervour.

Despite her enthusiasm, it was clear she didn't really know where his pleasure zones were. She was focussing most of her attentions on the base, where a canine was most sensitive. "How does it feel?" she asked.

He swirled his tongue around her clit, drawing a gasp from her before pulling out. "Great! But I'm more sensitive at the tip."

She quickly refocused her attentions, and this time it was Shawn that gasped. She took him right in to her mouth, holding the tip and suckling as she swirled her tongue. He felt a brief scrape from a fang, but she was being very careful. Not wanting her to get ahead, he plunged back into her folds, undulating his tongue against her clit. She sped up her own treatment, her growl of pleasure at his renewed assault vibrating around him and causing him to buck upwards involuntarily.

She started at this, but quickly adjusted, holding him in easily and fiercely applying her growing skills. He was now getting a good taste of her delectable fluids, the pleasantly spicy, warm juice dripping over his intruding tongue. He flicked the appendage firmly against her pleasure nub, drawing more of her nectar. In spite of her inexperience with the technique, it felt amazing! He felt a shot of pre spurt out, which she promptly swallowed. He felt himself already drawing close, the denial of earlier making it hard to hold on as Cheri attempted to suck his essence right out from its hiding place.

He pressed his mouth in close, thrusting his tongue as deep inside as it would go and wriggling it against her walls. He felt his balls drawing up, but he had one more trick up his sleeve. Questing around a bit, he found the nub of her clit, and as he felt the tension in his groin reach its peak, he nibbled on the little bud. Cheri bucked against him, the spike in pleasure throwing her over the edge.

As her juices tantalized his taste buds, his own orgasm crashed in. His fluid gushed forth, but she held onto him, gulping around her mouthful to avoid losing the treat. She had most of him in, and she eagerly slurped down the following spurts, not letting a drop escape. He did his best to do the same with her delectable honey, lapping up all he could as it leaked from her spasming folds.

She held onto him until he began to soften, finally letting his spent manhood drop from her maw. "That…was very tasty."

"Mmm, so was mine," he said. "But…I see something else that could be tasty too." Watching her feed Hina had given him an…interesting idea. "Could you lay down on your side dear?"

Standing up, she stepped to the side, flopping down on the soft mattress. "I think I know what you're planning you naughty male! There's plenty left for you."

Shawn turned around, meeting her eyes for confirmation. She nodded her head towards her belly, where her turgid nipples still stuck out, the spell not worn out yet.

Shawn licked his lips, bringing his face up to her silky belly fur. He gently took hold of one of the teats in his mouth, being mindful of his teeth, and began to suckle on it. It took a couple seconds to get the action right, pulling it a bit more into his mouth, but milk began to leak out. A loud murr of delight came from Cheri as the sweet, creamy fluid flowed into his mouth. Shawn enjoyed the flavour immensely, now he saw why Hina was always so eager! Reaching up with his hands, he massaged her silky chest fur.

As the one began to peter off, he switched to a second nipple, repeating the process and garnering more of the rich milk. "Mmm, I sure have large pups," Cheri said amusedly. Pulling away a bit, Shawn replied, "Yes, and you treat them so well!"

"Because I love them."

Shawn hugged her tight, snuggling in close as he returned to the bounty of her belly. Her warm, soft underside was delightful against his bare chest, her lower nipples pressing rigidly against him. This was a very'tender experience, a lovely interlude from the lustful throes of passionate sex. He loved hearing her contented rumblings, her satisfaction at being able to do this resoundingly clear. It was immensely rewarding, to be able to fulfill her desires, and as he drank his fill of the sweet liquid, he started to become aroused again. It seemed that she was also beginning to get worked up, as she started to curl around him more, and he felt the dampness of her groin slide against him.

z88;

Sasdithareusijazzmin floated in through the walls of the poké centre. It had seen the unusual human enter here earlier, and knew that this was where he was staying the night. Sasdithareusijazzmin's invisible mouth curved in a smile. It had begun thinking of itself by the name that Shawn had given it lately. It seemed that Shawn had more of a hold on it than it had previously thought. Jasmine still didn't think it was ready to travel with the human though. There were still things it wished to experience, benefits of the ethereal plain that would be lost when it was captured. For now, it wished merely to continue observing and experiencing.

Jasmine quested through the poké centre, passing through a human female and suppressing a pleasant shiver at the sudden burst of emotional essence. The female didn't notice Jasmine's passage, as it was still completely inside the ethereal plain. It sought out the now familiar emotional trails of Shawn. It was hard to pick out with so many living beings passing through here. It ghosted through several rooms, ignoring the other humans and poké mon inside. It had no interest in them.

Finally, it found the scent it was looking for, and it rapidly followed the trail up to a closed door on the second floor. Passing through the barrier, Jasmine stopped short. "Now THIS is interesting!" It had known that Shawn had mated with the Arcanine, but this was the first time it had seen such a thing firsthand. As Jasmine watched, the Arcanine rolled to her feet, crouching down and flagging her tail for the human.

"Show me who I belong to Master!" she said, wiggling her rump.

Shawn rolled to his knees, working his way up to her. Placing his hands on her back, he pulled himself into position, the tip of his stiff phallus meeting the vaginal entrance of the poké mon. "You are MY mate!" he said, and with an almost feral growl, he thrust himself inside, drawing a cry from the Arcanine.

Jasmine drifted closer. This was an opportunity! It had not experienced something like this before. It had observed and felt poké mon mating before, but this was quite different. It would have to be careful though, it didn't want to give away its presence. Edging closer to the physical world, the scents of emotions dulled somewhat, and Jasmine floated over and entered Shawn's body.

An explosion of sensation and pure emotion swept through Jasmine, and he stifled a gasp. Adjusting slightly, he edged a bit more into the physical, allowing the feel of the human's sensations to overtake him. This was incredible! The body parts weren't Jasmine's, but he could feel his shaft as it parted the tight walls of the Arcanine.

And the heat! It was almost unbearable, but the rising temperature seemed to spread from his groin to the rest of his body, a flare of impossible gratification. He felt his balls slapping against her as he pounded himself into her love tunnel, his weight almost entirely on her back, holding her down. Her chest had dropped to the bed as her rear stuck up for him to avail himself of. "Yess, take me hard Master!"

Shawn sped up his thrusts, and Jasmine groaned in tandem as he felt the vaginal walls of the Arcanine constricting around his member. It felt like little lightning shocks of ecstasy were coursing through his lower region from the sensitive head. He took a moment to examine the emotions coming from Shawn, as difficult as it was to focus. There was a strong sense of duty, of compassion, of caring. But, there was also something else, strong feelings that he could only associate with the human concept of love.

Drawing back slightly from the overwhelming sensations, Jasmine decided to try the other side of things. Flitting out of Shawn, he enveloped himself in Cheri's body. Jasmine's insubstantial mouth formed an O, and she couldn't stifle her cry this time! This bliss! This was even stronger than her experience with the human! She could feel the passion of the Arcanine, the undying devotion to her mate, the desire to care for his offspring.

Jasmine was completely overwhelmed by the experience. The sensation of the human ploughing her pussy" His firm member sliding against her sensitive clit" The satisfaction of having something thick and hard deep inside. She could hear Shawn grunting as he mated her as hard as he could, yips of ecstasy coming from Cheri and simultaneous moans of rapture from her. She felt the reassuring weight of the strong male above her, the one who would stand by her and provide for her needs.

She felt her walls begin to ripple wildly, juices leaking out, making squishing sounds as Shawn pounded her. None of the poké mon matings she had experienced had been THIS passionate! Of course, she had never gone inside quite so fully before, but she knew that this was something different. Suddenly, her eyes flew open as wide as they could, as she felt a new flower of paradise blossom inside her. The feeling of a female orgasm ripped through her, and she hid her own scream within Cheri's delighted howl, the phenomenal sensation washing away her awareness.

As if from far away on her cloud of bliss, she felt Shawn hilt himself, warm fluid spraying out from his embedded member. She could feel the ejaculate gushing into her, somewhere into the mysterious depths of the Arcanine's womb. She experienced her walls suckling his member, drawing out all of his foreign essence. His seed was like a glowing pool, deep inside her, the sensation piercing through her. She felt very…fulfilled, satisfied by having her mate's potential progeny swimming around within her.

He collapsed on top of the Arcanine, and she dropped her rear as her own strength wore out. "I love you," she heard him say, and the spike in Cheri's emotions was so strong, she felt her mind taken over by them completely. The love was a burning fire, consuming all thought, an orgasm of the mind. Weakly, she drew back from the corporeal plain, slipping out of Cheri's body. "I love you too," she heard the Arcanine say, as the pair of them snuggled close. Jasmine just floated there, watching them and recovering. That…had been an experience to remember.