The Kricketunes and Tots chirped melodically in the glades of the forest right out of Sparkglow city. The dusk lit sky slowly fading to dark in contrast to the fire that I started to cook our evening meal. The summer evening was warm but we found solace from the heat under the pine trees. The light layer of sweat that built up on my back made my shirt stick to it. I finished setting up the stew pot over the fire and quickly added the last few ingredients I had. We were almost out of food but at least we were less than a day from town where we’d be able to resupply. My companions were playing with each other or entertaining themselves. My team consisted of a Vibrava, a Sandile, a Gengar, and my trusty starter Emboar. Gengar was currently poking up out of the ground teasing Sandile before retreating. She was always a teaser especially over the newer members of the team. It was all in good fun though and I never let it progress any further than gentle teasing. Sandile would pounce at Gengar as she dipped below the ground and dig down after her when she would pop up behind him and poke him in the back.

Vibrava was swooping in and out of the camp streaking here and there, his wings letting out a tone that harmonized with the bug types in the dark in call and response. Emboar, the ever stoic one, stood tall and constantly vigilant. He looked out into the dark, his golden brown eyes leering into the growing darkness. He always looked out for threats, he was always on edge, it made me feel safer that he was constantly on lookout duty. But here it was a bit unnecessary.

“You know there aren’t any threats around here, bro. You can remove that stick up your butt and come help me cook dinner” I called to him. All I got was a snort back, his goto answer whenever I suggested he lapse in his sentinel duties. I shook my head. I stood up from my kneeling position and brushed my hands as the pot was all prepared, it just needed a couple hours of heat. Or a couple seconds of a high intensity Flamethrower.

“Well if the great general could take three seconds from guarding against the weedles and wurmples and blast the pot with his flames then I’d be most appreciative.” I took a few steps back out of his line of fire. He turned towards the pot and took a deep breath preparing his attack. Of course, this was the moment that Sandile pounced towards Gengar who was positioned right behind the mighty boar. Sandile bopped right off the back of Emboar’s tree trunk of a leg. Sandile took a moment to steady himself and when he looked at what he hit. Emboar towered over the smaller pokemon. Sandile, immediately contrite and intimidated by the large bulky fire fighter, shied back. Emboar sighed and signaled the Sandile to stay back. Emboar turned and unleashed a great stream of fire that was expertly controlled and directed. It licked around the metal pot that had sustained this attack a great many times before. The liquid inside was quickly boiling. Emboar cut the stream off.

He turned back to look at Sandile who was still cowering slightly behind.

“Sa..Sandile” he said apologetically. “Boar” the boar responded curtly. I’ve known Emboar long enough to know that not much phases him. He kept his mask of cool strength up almost always. Sandile was the newest addition to the team, obviously he still felt uncomfortable around the huge guy. I was sure in time they’ll come to understand one another.

“Thank you, Emboar.” I said as I patted his shoulder. He nodded at me before going back to standing watch over the camp. I sat next to Sandile, “Don’t let old Grumpy Butt get to you. He’s not the kind to get mad quickly. He just wants you to stay safe. His Flamethrower attack is no joke.” Sandile nodded, not quite meeting my gaze. I scratched under his chin. Gengar popped out of who knows where and started doing a little dance and it seemed to cheer Sandile up a little.

Vibrava came and landed next to me, I patted his head just enjoying the company that my team provided me. They were all a diverse group, so unlike each other it's odd that we get along as well as we do. The hyperactive dragonfly, the prankster ghoul, the stoic boar, a young carnivore, and me, the 19-year old trainer that just headed wherever I haven’t gone yet, catching the pokemon that I find unique. Vibrava flew off just as quick as he showed up, he was never in one place long. I laid on my back staring up through the trees as the first stars were winking into existence. I don’t know how much later I heard a growling sound from my side. Sandile was drooling a bit, looking at the stew pot. I laughed a bit.

“Let’s eat, everyone.”

A few moments later, hot fresh stew bowls were being passed around to everyone. I always feed my pokemon first, first Sandile, then Gengar, who dumped the entire contents into her mouth in one go and immediately demanded seconds, then a bowl placed on the ground for Vibrava to lap out of. Lastly, I brought a bowl over to my trusty partner who stood a few yards off, always vigilant.

“Here you are,” I said, holding it out for him to grab. He took it and set it on the ground. I sighed and sat down next to him with my own bowl. “I told you, man. There aren’t any sightings of dangerous pokemon around here. You can relax, or at least take a moment to eat. You’ve been on your feet the whole day, you must be hungrier than the rest of us.” Emboar shook his head, “Emboar” I knew he meant that he wasn’t hungry. “Oh come on.” I waved the bowl of soup under his face where I knew his sensitive nose was sure to pick up on the aroma. On cue, his large gut rumbled. He immediately turned away from me but I could see the touches of a blush on his cheeks. I chuckled but didn’t tease him further. I took a spoonful and brought it to my lips before jerking it away as it burned me. I let out a small yelp. Emboar quickly turned toward me, concern on his face looking like a predator had just pounced at me. “Sorry, it’s just too hot still.” I said, smiling at him, trying to put him at ease. He gave a sigh of relief. A moment later he sank to the ground to sit and pulled up his bowl and began eating from it. “Emmm..” he hummed. “Glad you like it.”

The night passed by peacefully, the five of us hanging around the fire. The stew was well and completely eaten. I decided to not put another log on the fire as I yawned and slipped into my sleeping bag. Sandile and Gengar were already asleep. The reptile laid on the ghost type's chest which slowly rose and fell with Gengar’s breathing. Vibrava found a comfortable spot up on a branch above and nestled in. I looked over at Emboar, as usual he hadn’t moved much. He must have been tired. His nightly watches meant he had little time to sleep and they had been on the road a bit longer than usual. This meant that the big guy had to be more than a little sleep deprived. Not that he’d ever admit that something was wrong. That’s just how he was, always looking out for everyone but himself. I’ll be glad when tomorrow we’ll be resting in an inn at Sparkglow, where he won’t feel obligated to watch over everyone. My eyes drifted closed as the sounds of the forest became my lullabye.

I awoke some time in the middle of the night, the forest around me swayed and whistled as the wind weaved through the branches. I needed to pee. I peeled the sleeping bag from around myself and walked a ways off of the clearing. Not far, but enough that I wouldn’t disturb the others. I drowsily finished relieving myself and began buckling my pants back on. A branch snapped behind me. I jolted upright, turning around. A lumbering black mass was approaching me, getting too close. The grip of fear shot through me. I was away from my team, my gear, and in my drowsy walk and shock I wasn't entirely sure which way they were. I turned to run but whatever it was grabbed my arm and pulled me back. I was about to scream out when my eyes finally processed what I was about to run from.

“Holy Hell, Emboar. Were you trying to give me a heart attack?!” I shout-whispered at my friend. “Emboar..” he said apologetically. He let go. I took a moment to calm the jackhammer that was my heart, using deep breaths to steady myself. Emboar wasn’t moving, his face downcast a bit. In the dark, his size really made for a menacing figure.

“Did you really need to follow me out here while I was peeing?” I eventually asked the big guy. He shrugged and said, “Boar.” ‘yeah’. It was exactly like him to do this. As he felt it was part of his duty as our protector. “Well, I’m done now. Not much left in the tank after a scare like that. I bet Gengar could take some tips from you on how to scare others.” He only replied with a snort. I took a step and realized that my pants were still halfway down my legs. My manhood on full display to the world. I quickly pulled them up feeling my face heat up. I’m not a prude, but there’s still something about being this close to another being with your junk out. I only hoped that it was too dark for Emboar to see anything.

We walked back to our camp silently, I knew I wasn’t going to get back to sleep soon with the adrenaline currently in my system. I sat and just looked up at the stars. It was one of the best things about traveling. The stars were always so bright. The few I could see through the branches above burned with great intensity. The lumbering mass of a pokemon that was Emboar sat down next to me. The heat that emitted from him was a pleasant comfort as the temperature had dipped down during the night. We sat, his deep breaths and mine accompanying the sound of wind and far off Hoothoots. It was peaceful. Eventually I felt a nudge on my arm. Looking over he pointed at his belly. I reached over and began scratching his stomach. “Boar..” he sighed contentedly. He had always liked belly scratches, even back when he was a Tepig. Nowadays, he only asked for them when it was just the two of us, never when the others were around or awake. It was nice that he felt comfortable around me, that he could shed his mask of stoicism that he wore for others when it was just the two of us. Deep under the persona of strength he displayed was a big softy that wanted to keep his friends safe. I understood that. We had grown strong together on our journeys.
“Emm.. Emmm” he hummed, clearly enjoying the treatment. His beard of fire glowed softly. He eased down into a lying position. I scooted closer so I could scratch the entirety of his vast belly. His eyes drifted closed and he smiled. I smiled too. He really was a big goof. I scratched up and down his stomach, sometimes briefly upping the intensity for a few moments before returning to prolonged strokes. He wiggled a bit under the ministrations. I leaned over and brought my second hand over to give him twice the scratches.

“Look at the big softy, melting completely under a few well placed scratches.”

“Boarrr..” He responded, I kept watching his expression, looking for the places that he reacted to the most and giving those more attention. I felt my hand pass over a fleshy lump. Surprised, I looked down and immediately froze. I had passed over Emboar’s genitals. Embarrassed, I pulled away and turned away from him. “I’m so sorry, man. That was an accident.” I said quickly. He rolled onto his side away from me just as quickly as I did. Of course I knew about the gender and anatomy of my pokemon, but it wasn’t something I focused on, and most of the time Emboar’s pubic hair preserved his modesty anyway. A bit of silence stretched between us. I felt so awkward. We sat for a moment like that. I cleared my throat before standing up and making my way back to my sleeping bag.

“Well, I think it’s time to get back to sleep. We’ve got lots of walking tomorrow, yep. Lots of walking. Got to be rested up.” I turned looked at my partner. He hadn’t turned back or moved. I coughed, “anyway, like I said. Sorry about that. I’ll see you in th-”. Emboar pounced up and began looking around the clearing suddenly. His nose was in the air, sniffing the wind. The action startled me. This wasn’t normal for him. “Hey, is everything okay?” I took a few steps toward him. He turned and looked at me. The next moment, his eyes went wide and he lunged toward me. I crouched down as he jumped.

His Fire Punch burst out brilliant flames, his beard igniting to full intensity instantly. It crashed into something big, dark, and furry right above me. The dynamic attack, backed by over three hundred pounds of built muscle, sent the beast flying back. I quickly turned and in the glow of firelight, I saw the Mightyena. It quickly stood up. While the hit was solid, it was reactionary. There’s no way Emboar was able to put his whole weight into it. I quickly scrambled away as Emboar protectively stomped in between me and it.

“EMBOOOOOOOAAARR!!!!!” He screamed out. The Mightyena was not frightened in the least. It growled ominously, taking tentative steps forward. I turned to look for the other members of my team. Gengar and Sandile were scrambling to get up and Vibrava was nowhere to be seen. The blaze from Emboar’s beard was the only light I had to see by. I looked for my pack where I’d have some flares but in the commotion I’d lost it. Something slammed down next to me. I could feel the shock wave through the earth beneath me. The form of Mightyena was crushed into the ground by the awesome fist of Emboar, it must have been in mid air about to pounce on me. But this couldn’t have been the one that attacked before. Looking through Emboar’s legs I saw the first Mightyena running up while he was distracted.

“Behind you!” I shouted. Emboar didn’t miss a beat. He picked the second Mightyena by the scruff of its neck and threw it at the charging one. The two canines barrelled over.

“Yes!” I shouted, but the two were once again quickly on their feet. I had a sickening thought. If there were at least two Mightyena, there could have been more.

“SANDILEEEE!” I heard from off to the side. Looking over, I saw Gengar and a third Mightyena. Its jaws were gripping down on her arm. She put herself between Sandile and the attacker but the type matchup was against her. Sandile was scared stiff and clearly in no state to fight back. I had to act quickly.

“Sandile! Dig in the ground and wait there! Vibrava, get your ass down here and Bug Buzz that bitch!!” I commanded over the noise. Immediately, the whine of ultrasonic waves pierced the noise. Vibrava dive bombed out of nowhere and crashed into the third Mightyena. The force and intensity of noise caused its jaw to loosen just enough for Gengar to slip away. I looked back at Emboar’s fight. There must have been a few hits in the altercation I missed while dealing with the third one. Emboar’s back was to me still but he was huffing. In a one on one, Emboar would have sent a Mightyena running with its tail tucked between its legs. But two-on-one was different, especially with pack animals like Mightyena.

“Gengar, find my bag and bring it to me!” I shouted out, while standing to my feet. Emboar roared out again, I didn’t like that. Emboar was strong, he didn’t need to use his voice to intimidate his foes. He was in trouble. But Vibrava was busy, Sandile was cowering, and Gengar was looking for my gear. If this went on much longer, it wasn’t going to end well. If Emboar could keep them off for just a few more seconds, I could use a repel from my gear to send them running.

My canvas bag sprouted up in front of me. Gengar, while invisible, held it. I started yanking pockets open looking for my repels. Around me the sounds of fighting kept going. I at last found my repels and flares. “Gengar, go assist Emboar. Attack from range with Sludge Bomb.” The bag dropped as the invisible ghost shot off. I lit the first flare and threw it up into the air where it hung like a will-o-wisp in the air, finally giving everyone illumination. I uncorked the repel and set it off. The smell was vile, but it’d be worse to Pokemon with much more sensitive noses and in particular wild pokemon. I took stock of the situation. Vibrava’s fight was over. I imagine that the Mightyena couldn’t pin down an agile Pokemon like Vibrava while Vibrava peppered it with Bug Buzz. The dragonfly hovered over a mound of dirt that I believed hid Sandile. Thank goodness that one was dealt with. Turning more to look at the situation with Emboar and the others, they were at a bit of a standoff.

One Mightyena was doused with a dark gunk that I knew was from Gengar’s Sludge Bomb. Ideally, it was poisoned and losing strength quickly. Emboar was on the ground holding off the second Mightyena. My friend looked wounded, the task of fending two off on his own clearly wore him down. But the repel was set off and soon the wild pokemon would scatter. I waited a moment and the effect was crystal clear. The attacking Mightyena whipped its head back and forth clearly feeling the effects. The lapse in its advance was enough for Emboar to grapple it underneath him and begin whaling it with Hammer Arms. I saw the Mightyena faint, the poisoned one had run off. Emboar was panting heavily, Gengar materialized in mid air and was shaking. Vibrava’s buzzing pattern was clearly agitated. I was panting too, I felt exhausted and wired at the same time. The flare above us continued to burn, the fwssh barely registering in my ears.

I fell to my knees. I tried to think of what to do next but my mind felt hazy. My team slowly returned to my side. They were all injured, but Emboar was clearly the worst off. Vibrava sank next to me. Gengar leaned on my shoulder for support. Only Emboar stayed upright. He never stopped looking around. I shook my head to clear it. Now was the time for me to act. I grabbed my bag and looked for my restorative items. I looked in my pack and found three max potions and… nothing else. I was shocked. There’s no way I only had three restorative items. I’m usually more prepared than this.

“Okay, I have enough for everyone. Emboar and Gengar are clearly the most injured. I’ll use these on you first” I said turning to the three of them. That number didn’t sound right to me. “Sandile!” I said out loud. I turned to where I had seen him last. I could see his eyes sticking out of the hole he dug.

“Thank god.” I said, “It’s okay now. You can come out” I said while beckoning him over. He crawled slowly out of his hiding place while constantly looking left and right for more foes. He was a few yards away from us. I smiled to myself to see that he was uninjured.

From behind him though, running quickly faster than any of us could react was another Mightyena. I don’t know where it came from, but I was only able to watch in terror as it closed the distance to the little crocodile. My limbs were failing me. Vibrava took off towards Sandile. Gengar tried to get up but was clearly wiped. Emboar was running forward but wasn’t as fast as Vibrava.

Time slowed down. Sandile realized it was being chased and in trying to flee towards us tripped on a branch. The Mightyena pounced on him, the Take Down flattening Sandile to the floor. Mightyena’s jaws were coming in for the finishing attack as Vibrava got there. He was able to get in the way to save Sandile but took the Crunch himself. He shrieked out in pain as the jaws clamped down. The Mightyena whipped its head back and forth before tossing the dragonfly aside. It turned its attention back towards the defenseless Sandile. However, it was enough of a distraction for Emboar to get there. With a mighty yell, backed by all the rage, anger, and training that the fearsome Fire Pig could muster into a single hit, Emboar’s Blaze-boosted, Fire Punch collided head on to the black and white pokemon. Its body lifted off of Sandile as it was violently thrown back. It crashed into the trunk of a nearby tree and I heard a snap as the bark split from the impact. The quadruped sank to the ground and didn’t move. Whether it was just fainted or worse, I didn’t know. I finally found my legs and ran over. Sandile was on the ground still, whimpering. Vibrava was unsteady. One of his wings was bent wrong and was clearly broken. Emboar was standing stock still with his arm still extended from his punch. I saw mirage lines coming off his fist as the trails of heat emitted off of it. Gengar paddled up next to me.

“Fuck.” I said. I didn’t know why the repel hadn’t worked on that last Mightyena, but now wasn’t time to think about that. I had a predicament. Now, all four of my pokemon were wounded and I had only three healing items.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!!” I shouted out. I didn’t know what to do. They all needed help and I couldn’t choose which to exclude. I didn’t know what to do.

“Boar.” I heard softly from above me. I looked up into my starter pokemon’s eyes. He met mine with a deep understanding. The strength that he held ran deep in those eyes. I knew exactly what he was trying to say to me.

“Dammit!! Why the fuck didn’t I pack better!” I shouted as I punched the ground over and over. Emboar crouched and put a hand on my shoulder.

“Emboar.” He said softly to me. ‘It’s okay’.

“It’s not okay! It’s my fault! I said there wasn’t anything dangerous. I said it was fine! I didn’t buy enough medicine. This is my fault.”

“Emboar.” ‘It’s okay’

“Fuck!!!” I yelled. I opened the first max potion and applied it to Sandile. The medicine’s effect was immediate. Sandile’s eyes opened up and looked at the rest of us. I turned, not giving myself a moment to think about what I was doing and sprayed the second on Vibrava. In a bit of a sickening display, his broken wing popped back into place and he gave it a few tentative beats. I tried, I really tried as I turned to Gengar. I held the spray up to the ghost type. She was just as much of my friend as Emboar, just as dear to me. Ever since I traded for that Haunter, she’s always been the humor of the group. Her jokes made the rest of us laugh. I couldn’t make this choice. I hesitated. My mind shut down. Emboar made the choice for me. He squeezed my hand that held the potion. The spray of the item spread over Gengar who looked as close to tears as I did. Gengar’s ectoplasm stitched back together, healing the half a dozen bite marks that dotted her body.

The empty can fell from my hands, three potions used, three of my pokemon were healed. I looked up at Emboar. His eyes were kind and he had a soft smile. He didn’t waver in his decision. He was strong. I was crying. The tears started.

“Dammit! Okay, Sparkglow City is nearby. They’ll have a Pokemon Center, a mart, something. We just got to get you there.” I pulled out Emboar’s pokeball. I almost never use it. My pokemon and I prefer to just stay out of them. “Look, I know you don’t like this. But you need to rest. You’re in no condition to move. I swear I’ll get you help! You’ll be fine!” I shouted at him. My face must have been coated in tears. Emboar just nodded, only once. He didn’t waver. He was strong.

“Emboar, return” I said while activating the ball. The red light condensed my friend down into his safe zone.

“We’re leaving now.” I said curtly to the rest of them, but they were already in motion. Gengar was putting the gear away as well as she could and Vibrava flew up into the sky with a lit flare. He’d be able to spot Sparkglow and lead the rest of us there. Something touched my leg and I looked down, Sandile was pawing me softly. The concern was evident on his face. I patted his head softly.

“Don’t you worry, Sandile. You saw how strong he was. He’ll be fine. He protected us and now we’ll protect him. Now, I need your help.” I grabbed a second repel out of my bag. “This will scare away the wild Pokemon. I need you to take it and follow Vibrava. He’ll lead us to town and you’ll keep the dangerous monsters away. It’ll stink, but I need you to be strong. Can you do this for me?” I saw determination spring forth in his eyes. The same kind that I see in Emboar’s. He nodded once. He was strong. I popped the repel and held it out for Sandile to bite. He grimaced once but clamped on to the repel and sped off after Vibrava’s flare. Gengar finished packing the gear and hoisted as much as she could on her back. I grabbed the rest and swung it over mine.

“If it gets too heavy, drop it. We need to be quick!” I said to her. She nodded once. She was strong. I lit my own flare, and sped off after the rest of my team. The flare I used in the clearing was fading out just as I left.

I don’t know how long I ran, but I ran the whole way. I had Gengar scout just ahead for any hazards that I wouldn’t be able to vault over. The acrid smell of the repel I gave Sandile was ever present. Vibrava had come back for a couple more flares. But I knew we must have been getting close. I saw the lights ahead. Streetlamps. I barrelled out onto a route. The main one that headed to Sparkglow, I guessed. I saw lights of the town down a hill and headed that way. I whistled to Vibrava who came down to me. “Find the pokemon center. We don’t have time to waste looking for it in town.” He nodded to me once. He was strong. All my pokemon are strong I thought as I watched Vibrava tear off into the sky. The sun was beginning to peak up over the horizon. I guessed it was maybe two hours since we were attacked. I briefly checked Emboars status through his pokeball. He was definitely very hurt still, but he was stable. I just needed to get him to a doctor.

Not twenty minutes later I bursted into the town’s Pokemon Center. “Please, help! I need help!” I yelled. A nurse who looked like they were bored out of their mind two second before rounded the main counter.

“What’s wrong?!” they answered. I was out of breath. Running for two hours plus straight had worn me down. Instead I just held up Emboar’s pokeball. The nurse grabbed it, “I’ll take care of this one, but you need to sit down. You are about to collapse.

“Just… save… my friend!” I hoarsely told her in between huge breaths of air. I bent over and put my hands on my knees. The nurse quickly brought over a chair and pushed me into it. I sat there as the ceiling spun in my vision. I don’t know how long it took me to recover my wits but as I did I felt a pat. Gengar was at my leg looking at me expectantly.

“I got him here, he’ll be fine.” I said. My voice was shot. Gengar turned and pointed at the door. Through the glass I saw Sandile and Vibrava. Both looked as tired as I felt. They had exerted themselves just as much as I had this night. However, they were stuck on the other side of the door. It was designed not to open for Pokemon, Gengar was able to sneak around the security measure. I meekly offered the two of them a thumbs up.

“They can come in but you all will need to be in your pokeballs. They won’t like pokemon just being around. Can you tell them that?” I told Gengar. I watched as she phased through the door and told the two others. They nodded and turned back to me. I fumbled with my belt that held their pokeballs. My bones creaked and my muscles screamed as I stood from the chair. I stumbled to the door while using the wall to support myself. I opened it up. “Return.” I said. All three dematerialized into their balls. I took a look around the lobby and saw a water dispenser. I made my way over to it and greedily took long droughts of water. I heard footsteps on the tile floor from behind me. I turned and saw the nurse from earlier walking towards me. They no longer had Emboar’s pokeball.

“Hello Sir. I’ve admitted your Emboar and I’ve applied some first aid and administered a mild sedative to put him to sleep to speed his recovery. I’ve called the doctor and he’ll be here soon to give a more thorough once over. I’ve also contacted our sheriff as they’ll like a statement from you how your Emboar came to be so injured.” I was only absently nodding as they were talking to me. My midnight marathon made my head really fuzzy. “Are there any other Pokemon of yours that also require medical attention?” they asked.

I held up my other three pokeballs, “I had only three max potions when we were attacked by a pack of Mightyena out in the forest. Emboar insisted I use them on the others first. Then I sprinted here to get him help.” The nurse nodded as I passed them the balls containing the rest of my team. “I’ll give them a once over to make sure the max potion was administered correctly. But I’m taking you to a bed since you are also in no condition to be on your feet.”

“Emboar..” I said.

“I’m sorry, what?” They responded.

“Take me to Emboar.” I said. The nurse nodded and led me down the hall they came from.

Emboar was on a cot and he was covered in bandages. An IV was attached to his arm and a respirator was wrapped around his face. The constant generation of fog on the inside was a clear reminder that he was breathing. The nurse helped me into a nearby bed. I kept my head turned towards Emboar. I watched as the condensation on his mask built up, disappeared, and built up again. I don’t know how long I stared at my trusted friend and partner before sleep took me.

Consciousness returned to me along with a splitting headache. The sunlight was slipping through the blinds of the window nearby. I needed a moment to remember where I was. I looked over to where Emboar was when I fell asleep. He was still there. He looked at peace actually. His mask still fogged up rhythmically. Looking down I noticed a big tan lizard across my stomach and a long green bug between my legs. While I didn’t see Gengar, I was sure she was around while invisible. I reached up and scratched Sandile’s back. The rough, coarse scales wiggled beneath my fingers. He slowly stirred and one of his eyes opened.

“Morning” I whispered. Sandile stirred from atop me which must have alerted Vibrava since he began to stir too. The purple form of Gengar materialized on the side of the bed, a big grin on her face before she yawned. I pulled myself over to the side of the bed. The ache in my muscles seemed manageable now but still present. I stood up and walked to Emboar’s side. I patted his stomach and gave him a scratch or two.

“Hey buddy.” I said to him softly, “I hope you’re feeling better.” I turned to the other three. “Stay here, I’m going to go find the nurse.” They all nodded. I found the nurse at the counter in the lobby. Upon seeing me they said, “Good Afternoon, sir. I hope your sleep was restful.”

“I can’t remember the last time I slept so soundly, did you say afternoon?”

“Yes, sir. You’ve been asleep for about ten hours now.”

“I see,” I responded. “Has the doctor been here to see Emboar?” I asked.

“Yes, he’s said- oh actually you can hear it from him yourself.” they said as they gestured behind me. I turned and saw the doctor in a white lab coat.

“Hello, sir. I'm glad to hear you slept well.”

“Thanks, how’s Emboar?”

“Emboar is going to be fine.” they said. “The wounds, while numerous, weren’t life threatening. They weren’t near any vital organs. It’s a testament to the skill of your Emboar in fending off so many Mightyena.”

“That’s good news.” If I still had tears left, I’m sure I would have started crying again.

“Indeed. I’d like to keep him here overnight for observation, but I believe I’ll be able to release him tomorrow.” I nodded.

“And my other pokemon?” I asked.

“All suffered from exhaustion and acute stress overload but their wounds healed properly from the max potion you administered them, but with proper rest and some nourishment they’ll also make a full recovery. They seemed hesitant to return to their pokeballs after their examinations but since they all seemed to want to be near you and Emboar I felt it was fine to leave them free. They’ve been sleeping soundly since.”

I ran my hands through my hair, and let out a sigh of relief. “That’s great news, Doctor. Thank you. Yeah, they’ve never been a fan of their balls and I’ve never enforced them while out traveling.” The doctor nodded understandingly.

“I’ve messaged the sheriff that you’re awake. They’ll want your statement as soon as possible.”

I nodded.

The statement with the sheriff passed quickly. There weren't many more details to share that I hadn’t with the doctor and nurse earlier. I told the sheriff about where we were camping and how we were attacked by at least three, maybe four Mightyena, about fighting them off, about at least one being immune to a repel, about the mad dash to get help for Emboar since I didn’t have enough healing items. The sheriff dutifully took notes and thankfully didn’t comment about my lack of preparation. They told me that they’ll follow my trail back to where we camped and investigate the pack. This was the first claim of wild Mightyena in the region. I thanked them for their time and let them know that we’ll be here at least until tomorrow.

I left them at the lobby and went back to Emboar’s room. I sent the others around town to find some food and stretch their limbs and that I’d signal them when Emboar woke up. The nurse told me that the sedative would last for about 14 hours, though enhanced metabolism of fire pokemon meant less for Emboar. Just as the sun was setting, my partner started stirring. His eyes blinked a few times. He looked around until he saw me. I held his hand and smiled at him.

“Hey Sleeping Beauty. I’m glad to see you’re awake.” I told him softly.

“Boar..” he said groggily while squeezing my hand back.

“Are you feeling okay? Does it hurt? I can go get the nurse.” I turned to head out into the hall but Emboar’s grip on my hand stopped me. He pulled me back towards him. “Boar.” He said while shaking his head.

“Okay, I’ll stay” I sat back down in my chair that I was just sitting in. Emboar’s eyes scanned the rest of the room.

"We're at Sparkglow City. In the Pokemon Center. The others are fine. I sent them out to get some air." Emboar nodded at me, clearly relieved. I leaned over him resting on his toned stomach in a half hug. I buried my face in his form.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" I cried into his gut. The tears streamed down my face and onto him. "I was so scared, you looked so hurt. And I didn't know if I was going to make it in time! I'm so angry at myself. You were right all along. Those woods were dangerous and I just wanted you to relax." My sobs echoed through him. A night's worth of tension and frustration weeped out from my eyes. I felt him rest a hand on my head and gently pat me. "Em.. Em.. " he cooed. I don't think I sat there crying for long. The calming bass of his voice, the strokes through my hair, his familiar heat and scent. I don't think I paid much attention to it before. It smelled of campfire smoke and sweat.

I stood up, wiping the tears from my face. My face couldn't have looked good. I'm sure I looked exhausted and my eyes were bloodshot. When I was finally put together enough, I looked at my friend. He was looking at me so sweetly, he didn't have an ounce of anger and blame in him. He probably was happy to hear that everyone was just fine and that we were safe. That's the kind of strength Emboar had. I complained a lot about how he never relaxed, but in the end he wanted us to be safe. He was fully willing to give everything he has if the rest of us just stayed safe. It's one of the things I loved most about my friend and partner.

"I'm sure you're hungry, I'll go find the others and come back with some food" I tried to walk away again but once more he reached out and grabbed my arm. With his great strength he pulled me into him, he embraced me in a hug. I was surprised by the advance. He mostly shied away from things like this. But it felt nice, even in his injured state, his muscles and arms rippled with power.

"Oh, Emboar." I said, leaning into the hug. "You're not a hugger. Is this for me?" He grunted while nodding at me.

"Thank you, Emboar. I'm really glad you're doing better." Then he did something I would have never expected. Not once in a million years would I have thought that he would ever do. He kissed my cheek. It was just a peck. No more than that. I pulled back. He let me go.

"Ha ha. Oh wow, that's. Wow! I- you- you just?" I was very flustered. He kissed me. Emboar kissed me! Stoic Emboar, who can't even be caught dead getting belly rubs by the other members of the team, kissed me. I was flabbergasted. I nervously laughed as I started backing out of the room. His eyes didn't ever leave mine, the kind eyes that he always had. The kind he always had for me.

I left the room and took a moment to grab my breath. My head was swimming and it didn't help that the imprint of his lips on my cheek was still there. It tickled and was pleasantly warm, of course that could have been the blush on my face. I walked down the hall thinking about what just happened. What could it mean? Was I looking too much into it? Did he know what that meant? He must have, right? Questions upon questions ran through my head. The nurse at the counter said something at me that I didn't catch.

"Huh? What? I'm sorry, I didn't catch that." I responded.

"I asked if everything's okay? You're looking a little frazzled."

"Oh, yes. No, everything's fine. Yep, nothing wrong." My response was hardly convincing.

"I see." They responded slowly. "Is Emboar awake? I heard you talking"

"Oh yes, he's awake. He seems to be doing great. Just great. I'm going to go find the others." I walked out the door. The humid evening heat of the day hit my face after being inside all day. A few others were strolling with their Pokemon. I looked towards the center of town. The kiss was clearly still in my mind. It was so out of character, if it didn't just happen I'd have dismissed it as a dream. But I was clearly awake. Maybe the sedative, maybe he didn't know what he was doing. Could that have been it? He had just woken up, but his eyes were lucid and clear. His golden brown pools that always looked so cool, so collected. The soft intensity that he looked at me with. It brought back memories. 

I remembered back when it was just the two of us on the open road, about how close we got. He'd been just a Tepig then. We spent so much time together. Exploring caves and forests all over. I traded for a Haunter which evolved into Gengar and after that it was the three of us. It was around then that Pignite started shying away from physical affection. He started training more on his own and grew very strong. Over time as the other members of my team joined us and he evolved into Emboar, his role as guardian fully cemented itself. I thought about how he lets down his guard when it's just the two of us, about how he's so soft when he just asks for belly scratches.

I spent a lot of time thinking and eventually I was at the city square. A street vendor was off selling something that looked fried, on a stick, totally unhealthy, and exactly what I needed right now. I shook my head of thoughts and stepped in line. I pulled my wallet out and fished through for a few bills to buy a couple for everyone.

"Sandile." I heard from my side. Looking down I saw my friend.

"Hey Sandile, everything going okay?" The little reptile nodded. He turned and pointed down the path I came from. "Dile?" I understood he was asking after Emboar. "Yep, he's awake. Just woke up actually. I'm here buying us some dinner. Can you go round up the rest?" Sandile perked up a bit and nodded vigorously before running off quickly. The line moved quickly, I bought five… whatever they were and started the journey back towards the Pokemon Center. My friends joined me in line. I handed out the food to everyone who all greedily started eating it. I finally put it together that they hadn’t eaten since dinner last night and it was past dinner time tonight.

I took a bite from the sticky sweet bun. It tasted pretty good. It helped me focus my thoughts. I concluded that it was just a fluke, it wasn’t anything more than that. Emboar just woke up and wasn’t thinking clearly. Yeah, that must have been it. We all went through a pretty stressful night and his didn’t end until he woke up earlier. Once we get back together, he will be just like he always was.

The door dinged as we stepped across the threshold. I held the final sticky bun on a stick as we walked down the hall towards Emboar’s room. The other three rushed ahead despite my warnings and pushed right past the nurse.

“Guys slow down, it’s not like he’s going anywhere!” I yelled after the reinvigorated trio. “I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s no trouble, they’re just as worried as you are.” The nurse responded while smoothing out their outfit. “I’m heading out. My 24 hour shift is ending, but my replacement will be here soon. Feel free to let them know if you need anything.”

“Thank you, for everything” I said.

“It’s my job, sir. Please don’t think anything about it.” They walked off and turned into what I considered to be a staff room. I looked back down the hall. From the room I heard the happy vocalizations from all of them. I walked up to the edge of the door frame but found myself hesitant to enter. I felt my heart rate spike a bit. The kiss from earlier sprang back into my mind. My earlier conclusions suddenly felt so hollow and half-baked. Even if he was happy to see me, why would he kiss me? Why was that what he did? It couldn’t have been a simple gesture, especially from him. I felt so conflicted. I wasn’t sure what to do. Unfortunately, it wasn’t my choice to move forward.

Vibrava sprang up in front of me and pulled me out of my maelstrom of thoughts. He chittered and whistled at me before pushing me from behind.

“Oh, sorry about that Vibrava. I’m coming, I’m coming.” I turned the corner into the room. The soft amber glow from the lamp in the corner illuminated a happy scene. Sandile was running around in a circle across Emboar’s legs while Gengar waved her malleable form in a wiggle that I identified as her happy dance. And, of course, there was Emboar. He was sitting up now, the bed folded to prop him up. He only briefly acknowledged me with a nod before trying to calm down the hyperactive reptile pokemon in his lap. Vibrava was flying in loops and spins overhead before settling on the wall above the crowd. The crowd were all addressing each other in their respective languages. I prided myself on knowing what my pokemon were trying to communicate but right now my thoughts were filled with other things. As I watched the four of them, it was clear that there was a lot of respect for the great protector and each was expressing that in their uniquely individual ways.

I was reminded again about the strength of our party and the bond we share. It finally felt like the scare of last night was ending, except I was hesitating to join them. I didn’t know how to approach him, I needed to ask him about what happened earlier but with the three others crowding his attention it clearly wasn’t the time. So I sat on a nearby chair and tried to avoid speculating too deeply before we had a chance to talk. I held out his serving of the dinner I bought earlier.

“Here you are, man. I bet you’re starving.” Emboar turned towards me and saw the treat I was holding out. He reached out to take the stick and for a moment our hands brushed over each other. I jerked a bit but managed to hold on to the food. As soon as the stick was securely in Emboar’s hand, I pulled my hand away. I couldn’t look into Emboar’s eyes. I felt so childish, so flummoxed by the meaningless contact. After the kiss earlier, I found myself overthinking everything.

Across the way, Emboar was chowing down and quickly the food was gone. I was still nibbling on mine.

Not long after that, the others were turning in. Exhaustion and relief led them to tire quickly, especially after the replacement nurse decided to chew us out about the noise we were making in a hospital. I apologized on behalf of my pokemon and promised we’d keep quiet. The three bundled together on the bed I occupied last night while I was still sitting in the chair next to Emboar. As the others fell asleep, it became clear that there was tension between us. The nurse had removed a lot of the devices that were connected to my friend and companion, and he was still sitting up on the bed. I was sure that the other three were well and truly asleep but I still didn’t know how to approach my pal. Any combination of words I came up with didn’t seem to properly articulate what I was feeling. Emboar likewise wasn’t being conversational, whether that was cause of his natural personality or because of what transpired earlier, I didn’t know. His face wasn’t betraying anything.

I looked at him out of the corner of my eyes while he tapped his fingers on his leg. I saw him turn and our eyes met for a moment. I quickly turned away.

“Boar…” he said sorrowfully. ‘Sorry.’ I thought about whether that meant sorry for looking at you, sorry for kissing you, or sorry for something else. Now that the silence was broken between us, I felt it was as good of time as any to move forward.

“So, earlier.” I started, “you kissed me?” It wasn’t really a question though I phrased it as one. I couldn’t meet his eyes but I settled for looking at his chest. A long sigh caused his chest to rise and fall. When he didn’t respond I felt the need to keep going. “And, I guess I’m not sure what that meant. Or if it even meant anything.” The stocky pig rotated around in the bed so that he was facing towards me. His stout legs hung off the bed. I saw him take a steadying breath. His body language was so different. His posture was bent and his gaze was at the floor. He looked weak.

“Em… boar.” He said. ‘I… like you.’ It was straight to the point, much like how he was. Emboar had clearly committed to getting this out and wasn’t going to beat around the bush.

“You like me? But how, why? I’m not even a pokemon.” I responded. The concept wasn’t entirely foreign to me. I had heard news of some progressive communes being set up around the world where the harmony of Pokemon and Anthros was… more intimate. It threw me for a loop.

“Emboar.” ‘Just do.’

“Have you felt that way for long?” My friend shrugged his broad shoulders.

‘Long enough’ he responded.

“Even though I’m a male?”

‘Never mattered to me.’ I took a moment to breathe. I felt a lot of nervous energy as I fiddled my fingers. The conversation fizzled a little bit as I tried to process this new information. It made me ask questions about our relationship that I hadn’t before. Certain behaviors made more sense and certain quirks of his had new context. I figured there was still a level of guilt, or perhaps shame, in him about his feelings. His lack of general affection for one, but the tender moments we have when we were alone for another. But beyond that, it made me think about how I felt about Emboar. He had been my friend for ages, ever since I received him on my 16th birthday. Here we were three years later. I felt safe with him, his strength made him dependable, respectable. I was more interested in the exploration of the world than taking on other trainers but in the few battles I participated in, I could rely on Emboar’s strength to help us prevail. I wasn’t worried with him around; however, I thought back to last night in the forest. I thought about the realization that I was low on healing items and I couldn’t help all my team. I thought about the gut wrenching sensation as I needed to choose who wouldn’t get healed. I thought about the willpower needed for Emboar’s choice to forgo healing for the others. I thought about how I felt in that moment.

“I was… so scared, last night.” I started. Emboar’s eyes rose to meet mine. “I was scared of losing you, you were so hurt, and your wounds looked so severe. I’ve felt so guilty. I feel like it was my fault. I took us through those woods as a shortcut to get to town. And then I didn’t have enough healing items for my team. And then I had to sprint headlong in the darkness to get you help. So, I want you to know that I’m happy, so happy, that you’re okay. I can’t thank god enough that you’re fine” My eyes were welling up with tears. “But that kiss, it has brought up all these emotions, all these feelings from deeper below and I don’t know what to do about them.”

“Last night, we were best friends, traveling buddies. But now, you’re telling me you like me. I just don’t know what to do with that.” I was shaking my head as I said that. Emboar looked away and scratched the back of his head. The muscles under his skin flexed and swelled. It was odd that I noticed that. I don’t think I ever looked too deeply into his physiology. “But…” he perked up at that. I hadn’t fully resolved my feelings yet, but I couldn’t deny that there was something there. Something new. “I guess, I’m not against maybe exploring them a little more. With you.” Emboar’s eyes lit up at that, his tail thumped on the bed behind him. I hadn’t seen him do that before. He must be really happy. He squealed, actually, squealed. He made a sound like clearing his throat and regained his composure. I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Easy there buddy, If you hadn’t just told me, I’d think you had a crush on me.” He snorted violently and shook his head at me. Clearly, he wasn’t a fan of my joke. He patted the bed next to him, beckoning me to come sit by him. I stood up from the chair and crossed over. I honestly expected him to do something cliche, like put his arm around my shoulder or something like that. Instead he did the obvious thing, he pointed at his belly and asked for scratches. I tutted.

“Should have known.” I said as I reached over and started to give him scratches. He almost immediately relaxed, like his 300 plus pounds of muscle tissue eased up in short succession. He groaned out loud with a deep rumble that vibrated down his torso. Emboar started to lean back on his elbows giving me more access to his stomach, more room to rub. His eyes were closed and mouth was slightly agape. My hand traced the swirly path on his belly. The yellow fur was short and tough and prickly. As I dragged it to and fro, it jumped back to its initial orientation. I experimented with full palm and just one or two fingers for variety. Emboar looked quite content. Here in the safety of the hospital we both were able to fully relax. There were no packs of Mightyena stalking us. I found that I loved watching him slowly sink into calmness.

“Such a softy.” I said softly. He nodded silently. “You just relax, I’ll make you feel great.” I cooed out along with another string of words. I praised his strength, his courage, his bravery, his colors, his muscles. Each one elicited a response from the supine porcine, like a hum or ahh. Something smacked across my hand and I had the biggest sense of deja vu.

Glancing down, I saw it, only this time it was erect. Emboar’s member was girthy, as wide as a lemonade can and about as long. It pulsed and shuddered to the beat of Emboar’s heart. I immediately felt my face go red. As I was pulling my hand away in embarrassment, Emboar’s paw reached out and held mine.

“-mboar.” ‘it’s fine.’ I gulped and looked at him. His eyes were missing the tough guy edge I normally associate with him. His face was kind and looked at me like I was the only thing in the world. I know he said he liked me but I wondered if maybe it was some deeper emotion. I looked over at the rest of my team who were all conked out on the only other bed in the room. The nurse had closed the door on the way out earlier so sound wouldn’t carry. I bit my lip in indecision. The room felt like it had increased a few degrees in temperature.

“Boar.” ‘Please.’ as he moved my hand back to his stomach. I noted that he didn’t move it straight to his cock and I was grateful for it, but it was clear what he wanted.

“Here? Now?” I whispered. I glanced over to the sleeping trio. I didn’t want them to wake up and then see us like this. I don’t think I would have been able to take it.

‘Only if you want.’ He grunted back. He removed his paw from mine and left my hand on his stomach. I thought about it for a moment. Something about the situation turned me on. I felt my own pants tighten as my member stirred. The air smelled sightly more musky, like a concentrated version of his natural scent. I heard that fire types typically had stronger scents as their elevated temperatures evaporated the pheromones from their skin quicker. I stood up and repositioned myself in between his legs. He sat up on the edge. His member bounced a bit.

I tapped my fingers on his stomach trying to decide if I wanted to do this. Emboar sat patiently just watching me. In the moment I appreciated that he wasn’t trying to coax me into this. Ultimately, I decided that tonight wasn’t the night for this. It was a lot too quickly. I pulled my hand off with a sigh.

“I’m sorry, Emboar. I can’t do that right now. It’s too soon for me after all this and I don’t want the others to wake up and see us.” He sighed but nodded. I sat back in the chair.

“Sorry” I said again. He shook his head and reached out to grab my hand. He delicately pulled it up to his mouth where he planted delicate, little kisses. Each one left a little tingling sensation as the heat of his beard of fire licked the underside of my hand. I kept being surprised at how tender his eyes were when he looked at me.

‘It’s okay.’ he replied between kisses.

“Well, aren’t you a classy gentleman?” I said lavishing in the attention of the soft kisses. He wiggled his eyebrows back at me. I yawned. A wave of sleep fell upon me. I suppose it made sense, between my interrupted sleep last night and the need to catch up on it. I looked behind me at the only other bed in the room. My other three Pokemon were absolutely zonked out. Sandile was on his back with his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth. Gengar was hugging Vibrava while sucking on her thumb. Vibrava wings were only ever still when he was asleep, his antennae however moved in an oscillating up and down pattern. They looked peaceful. It would have been a shame to disturb them to get in the bed. Emboar must have noticed as well. He let my hand drop and scootched over to the far side his bed. I eyed the space a little incredulously.

“No, you know, funny business, right?”

“Boar.” ‘No.’ He said while shaking his head.

“Promise?” I asked.

“Boar.” ‘Yes.” He responded, nodding. The bed was looking very enticing and my exhaustion convinced me. I settled in next to him. The bed was wider than the other one as it was meant to cater to larger Pokemon. Of course, Emboar was almost as wide as he was tall so he still took up most of the space. I wiggled my way in there so I was in the crook of his arm. It was a little crunched, but it would work for a night. I reached up to the remote that lowered the bed down to flat and flicked off the light. Darkness surrounded us as I laid there using my friend’s forearm as a pillow. I was on my side facing toward him and he draped his arm over me. The radiating heat from his form made me almost instantly drowsy. I spent the last few moments of consciousness thinking about back when he was just a Tepig. When he was much smaller and when he often slept in the crook of my arm. The irony of the current situation made me smile. I watched his chest rise and fall in a stable rhythm as he breathed within the dim darkness. I closed my eyes and let the sound of his breathing lull me to sleep.

I slept dreamless sleep. I awoke to the early morning sun streaming in the window. Emboar’s hand had moved off of me in the night and flopped out to the side. The burly bloke was snoring softly. He looked so deeply in sleep that I doubt he’d wake up for a few hours yet. I remembered how sleep deprived he likely was since our last stay in a city. As delicately as I could, I shuffled my way off the bed. I made my way to the door and silently creeped through it into the hall. My stuff was haphazardly tossed into the corner of the hall. I sifted through the assorted junk looking for my PokeNav. After I found it and began the boot up process, I found a snack of trail mix and sat down on one of the benches that bordered the hall.

Once the PokeNav was up and running, I navigated over to the web browser app. I hesitated on the search engine though. I had a lot of thoughts running through my head at the moment. There were a lot of questions on my mind and I certainly wasn’t equipped to answer them, but I just didn’t know where to start. I remembered hearing about the new communes that were starting a couple regions over and tried looking into them. Eventually, I did find the websites for them.

The homepage was a little dull but it did talk about the commune’s mission. “Letting love in all forms flourish between all forms.” There was some language about the nature of Pokemon and anthro relationships. It began by addressing the oddity of the commune’s premise, there was an understanding that typically Pokemon and anthros don’t traditionally have romantic relationships. However, the page continued on talking about what standards anthros use to judge relationships.

The first thing, the page argued, was the need to establish consent between any two individuals entering a relationship. The page turned to the anthro-equivalent intelligence and sometimes greater-than-anthro intelligence that is observed in Pokemon. Pokemon, for the most part, have a sense of self and presence to define themselves and act in their own interests. This, coupled with Pokemon’s ability to communicate effectively with others outside of its species, including anthros, showed that Pokemon have the ability to consent to a more intimate relationship with anthros, and equally important, deny and revoke consent. The page made it very clear that they did not and will never condone any intimate relationship where one party did not willingly consent.

The second standard it addressed was the age of consent, or sexual maturity, as it likened it. The logic presented was a little lacking here. It acknowledged that there is no defined, legal or biological, age of consent for Pokemon. Pokemon, wild or caught, behaved in their own interest and one of those interests was the desire to reproduce. It used studies of Pokemon mating and breeding to support the claim that Pokemon are practically born with the ability to sexually reproduce. However, it brought awareness to how evolution can be likened to physical maturity in the same way puberty is in anthros. The page proposed, and enforced within their community, that intimate relationships should not be initiated with Pokemon who have not evolved yet unless in the case of species that are not known to evolve. Further, it suggested that the standard of waiting until a Pokemon fully evolved provided the best scenario where a Pokemon has achieved a certain level of mental maturity as well as total physical maturity.

It followed up with a paragraph about compatibility and risk of pregnancy. Using egg groups, a well researched phenomenon, as evidence that Pokemon have sexual compatibility outside of their immediate species or evolutionary line, anthro’s biological history of descending from shared ancestors as Pokemon to suggest that anthros hold a unique “egg group”, and that there is no confirmed or recorded case of successful breeding of an anthro and Pokemon to conclude that no ethical problems would arise from a mutually consensual, loving relationship between two members of any species (anthro or Pokemon).

I looked away from the screen and could feel how flushed my face was after reading that. The logic was sound to me, but the fact that it was applied in such a way as to answer the question of “is it wrong to fuck my Pokemon?” was completely bizarre to me. I knew I was looking for answers, but I wasn’t sure I would have found this. But then I remembered what had happened between me and Emboar just last night. His cock was still in my mind. The heat it emitted. The smell it emanated.

I applied their logic to my particular circumstances between me and Emboar. Firstly, could we both consent? Yes, he clearly wanted some form of sexual contact last night and I didn’t. I communicated that to him and he agreed and honored it. Was he of physical, and sexual, maturity? Well, he was in his final evolutionary form. It couldn’t be argued that he’d physically mature more. He also wanted me to touch his dick so wanted some form of sex. I continued reading.

Ultimately, it said, a relationship between you and your Pokemon is an expression of the bond you both share. Just like how a relationship between two anthros was an expression of their bonds. We aren’t, and won’t ever, claim that any and all relationships between an anthro and a Pokemon will become or should be intimate. We only posit that you and your Pokemon should be able to express your bond in the way that any creature can, including romantically and more. We hope that this has eased your doubts and confusions. If you’d like to talk to us, please contact us at the PokeNav address below.

I closed the screen to my Nav and drummed my fingers across the top of it. I found myself agreeing to that last paragraph. I did feel something towards Emboar and he felt something towards me. I wondered how long he had known about his feelings toward me, I wondered how long before he would have told me about them if he hadn’t last night. I sighed. I felt so queasy, like when I had crushes in middle school. I guess it could have been a worse situation. We could be in some dumb romance movie where the two leads are endlessly skirting around each other since they don’t want to admit their feelings. I had to respect Emboar’s guts to confess like he did. And one thing he didn’t lack was guts.

I spent the next hour organizing my supplies and taking note of what I needed to buy before leaving town. I put healing items in bold letters, underlined it, and at the top of my list. I figured we’d spend one maybe two more nights here before moving on. I fully expected Emboar to get discharged today so I set us all up at a hotel room for the night through my Nav. After that was all done, I recognized how hungry I was. I ordered breakfast through Pokemates for the five of us.

The door to Emboar’s room cracked open and I saw the squat starter himself pop his head into the hall.

“Yo.” I said, hailing him down to where I was. His eyes brightened up when he saw me, it made me feel all bubbly inside. He quietly shut the door behind him and came down to where I was.

“Mr. Sleeping Beauty himself. Are you sure you should be out of bed?” I greeted. He gave me one of his signature snorts. “Just don’t push yourself till the doctor has a chance to look at you, alright?” He nodded once. “I ordered us some breakfast, should be here soon. Then I figured we’ll get you discharged, stock up on supplies, check into an inn, enjoy a night or two not on the road.” He nodded along with every step I listed off, though I felt he wasn’t listening as much as enjoying hearing me talk. He sat on the bench next to me with a groan.

“Emboar?” ‘How’d you sleep?’

“Not too badly, I was asleep pretty quickly. You make quite a good space heater.” I nudged his arm with my elbow. He smiled and rolled his eyes. “I wanted to talk to you a little more about last night, especially-” My Nav interrupted me, it notified me that my Pokemates order had arrived. I stood up. “Sorry, food’s here. Can you wake the rest up? We’ll talk later. I promise.” I walked down the hall and to the lobby. A Delibird in a Pokemates hat was outside with my order. I finalized the transaction and gave the Delibird a nice tip for the early delivery.

“Deli Deli” It said with a bow before flying off. I headed back to the room with the warm bagels, donuts, and other pastries. The smell of sweet fried dough wafted up to my nose and made my mouth water. This was going to be delicious. Breakfast was a pretty standard affair. Everyone ate their share and I knew enough about their tastes and diets to pick flavors they’d enjoy. That didn’t stop Gengar from trying to steal from me after she scarfed down hers. I had to fend her off and stuff my last donut in my mouth to get her to stop. Sandile and Vibrava thought the display was hilarious. The reptile was laughing and the dragonfly spun in place and buzzed a rhythm I recognized as laughter. Emboar’s normal mask of indifference was on. He chuckled once as I circled around him trying to put something between Gengar and myself. We all had returned to a semblance of normalcy after our scare from two nights prior. I was listing off what plans I had for the day to the group when there was a knock at the door.

The doctor walked in. “Glad to see everyone in high spirits in here.” they started. “I’ve come to do a checkup on our patient here.” Motioning toward Emboar.

“Awesome!” I replied. The doctor went through a standard checkup. Using his stethoscope to monitor my friend’s breathing, a pen light to check his eyes, and a quick leg reflex exam. He removed the dressings that were still wrapped around some of Emboar’s wounds to check for signs of infection. Seeing none, he reapplied new bandages.

“Well, my friend. You seem to be in great shape. You’re in good physical condition, all things considered. I see no additional reason to hold you here any longer.” The doctor turned to me. “I recommend keeping the wounds wrapped until they fully healed and monitor them for signs of infection but otherwise he’s one healthy Emboar.” My crew of Pokemon behind me cheered at the good news. A weight was lifted off my chest. I extended a hand to the doctor who shook it in return.

“That’s fantastic news, doc! Thank you!”

“You’re welcome, stay safe on your travels out there. The nurse at the front desk will finalize the  discharge.” The three stooges crowded around Emboar as the doctor left with a smile. I was feeling very relieved. I clapped my hands to get everyone’s attention.

“Let’s get out of here.”

A few hours later, we had been discharged from the Pokemon Center, checked into the inn, and mostly finished with shopping. I was browsing the store’s shelves for my food stores asking my team for input on what they were interested in having on the road. Emboar only briefly interjected if he ever did, Vibrava was quite vocal.

“Yeah, alright!” I said, taking Vibrava’s latest suggestion and adding the ingredients to the cart. Sandile was by my foot sniffing the vegetables. “Any thing interesting down there?” I asked him. He wrinkled his face and shook his head. I chuckled a bit. “We’ll head by the meat next. Then you and Silent General can give me some input on proteins you’d like.” My gaze flicked to Emboar who gave me a curt nod. Something beyond him caught my attention. A pair of Nanab berries were floating above his head which gave him the distinct image of having pink horns. I stifled a laugh and Emboar looked at me with one eyebrow raised. I waved it away and didn’t address it further, letting Gengar have her fun. The shopping trip was very successful, we brought everything to the counter to check out. I brought out a few extra Poke and presented each of my team with some.

“Alright, here you go. You can pick out one thing each.” Vibrava flew off dizzyingly fast with Sandile hot on his trail. Gengar smiled wickedly and vanished and I hoped that she’d be a little sensible. Emboar didn’t move and held the money in his hand.

“Not interested in anything?” I asked while the cashier was tallying up my purchase. Emboar shook his head.

“Well alright, we’ll be in town for a little bit so you can come back later.” I said with a shrug. I got the feeling that he had a lot on his mind, I guess I did too. I was focusing on other things at the moment though. I paid for my supplies and boxed them up in my pack. We all walked out into the midday sun which was quite hot since it was summer still. I shielded my eyes and blinked at the harshness of the light. Sandile bit down on his new squeaky toy that I was sure would be destroyed within a week. Vibrava had bought a new bell that hung around his neck. It clanged with a soft sound each time he moved, so constantly. Gengar didn’t let me know what she bought and only snickered when I asked. I suddenly felt very tired.

“Alright, I’m heading back to the inn to take care of this stuff. You all can go enjoy the town, but be back by sundown, okay?” I left them as I turned toward the inn, my pack heavy. I felt a weight lift off my shoulders as Emboar grabbed onto it. “Thanks!” as I said and wiggled out of the straps from my shoulders. He slipped it on his back but I noticed a wince as it passed over his bandaged wounds. “You let me know if it’s too much, okay?” He nodded.

A few minutes later I plopped face first onto a bed that was all mine. I had checked into two adjoining rooms each with two beds. I basically told the four of them that one was mine and to figure it out amongst themselves for the other three. I heard the other bed creak as Emboar eased his mass onto it. I sighed as I said, “Feels good to be out of a hospital bed, yeah?”

“Emboar.” ‘It does.’

“Short as always.” I replied.

“Emboar emboar.” ‘About earlier’ he started. I opened an eye and gazed at him from it. He was fiddling with his paws, his fingers tapping against each other. I guessed that he was referring to back in the Pokemon Center hallway. His eyes flicked between mine and the ground. I turned on my side so that I could look at him.

“You want to continue our conversation?” I asked for confirmation, no point in assuming and being wrong with a topic so personal. Emboar nodded. I rolled over so that I was sitting on my bed opposite of him. He looked a lot like he did last night when he admitted he liked me.

“So,” I started, “I was doing some… research into Pokemon-Anthro relationships this morning. And, what I learned was” I paused for a moment to get my words together, “as long as we both consent to it, it shouldn’t be an issue.” He nodded along. “That was my main hangup last night, but hey, I said no and you agreed. Thank you for that again.” Another nod. “As for us, I get the feeling you wouldn’t like the others to know.” A third nod. “Alright, that’s no issue. I wouldn’t want to tell them yet either. Especially when I have no idea what this is.” I made a back and forth motion with my hand between us with that statement. The one-sided conversation lapsed a little bit.

“Anything you’d like to add right now?” I asked. He shook his head. His eyes were soft and seemed to hang on to every word. I felt that he was perhaps dreading that I’d reject him after thinking about it overnight.

“Well,” I smacked my knee and stood up, “I need a bath. Badly. I’m sure I stink.” Days on the road and two nights in the hospital had not afforded me a chance to keep up with my hygiene. I walked over to the bathroom. Looking in, I saw that the tub was bigger than I had anticipated, another accommodation for larger Pokemon. I looked back at my pal, he had laid back on his bed and looked quite content. I suppose that he was relieved. Between being hospitalized, confessing to me, and spending all day thinking about the worst I was sure he was tired, body and soul. I thought about what I could do for him as I drummed on the door jam. I made a decision.

“You know, this bath is probably big enough for the two of us if you wanted to join me.” He perked right up at that. I turned into the bathroom and walked over to the faucets on the wall. It took a moment of fiddling to get the water flowing, the temperature right, and drain plugged but the tub was beginning to fill up nicely. I felt his presence at the door, he hadn’t entered proper. I didn’t blame him. I was feeling a bit awkward about this too. Not giving myself much chance to overthink, I pulled my shirt up over my head and tossed it back at him. I guess the move started the pig since he jumped a bit as it hit him. I snickered at his reaction. He snorted in response but I saw his eyes wander my back. I steeled my nerves and turned away from him for the next part.

My fingers fiddled with my belt buckle as I unclasped it and pulled my pants and underwear down in one motion. The short fur along my arms was standing on edge as I felt the oogling eyes wander my body. I stepped into the tub which was more like the size of a full on hot tub and eased into the comfortably warm water. The heat eased my muscles and I sighed out loud. I heard the claws on his feet cross the tiled floor. I looked up at him. He towered over me in my sitting position. The full bulk of his form on display. The power that rested in his defined muscles. The circumference of his thighs that I couldn’t surround with both hands. His portly belly that I know hid his rock hard core muscles. His forearms that pulsed with each movement of his heavy arms. His wide shoulders that made him look as solid as a wall of stone. He looked down at me, perhaps looking for permission to actually get in the tub.

“Join me, water’s great.” I said. He urged into action with that. He stepped into the tub down at the other end. His mass displaced the water and caused waves across the surface. I quickly turned to shut off the water to avoid overflowing. Looking back at him, I was smiling. He looked a little more sure of himself, a little more relaxed, now that he was in the water with me. I winked at him and rested my head back on the lip of the tub.

“Feels good, right?”

“Boar….” ‘Yeah…’

I understood his hesitation. I hardly was unclothed around my team. It was funny since the others were never clothed around me. I sat there naked in the tub with Emboar. As I peeked at him out of the bottom of my eyes, I watched as he slowly unwound. His breaths became long and deep. The rise and fall of his vast chest pulled the water up and out in middling swells. He kicked out his feet and they came in contact with my leg. Neither of us jumped at the contact. We sat in silence, enjoying the bath and bond we had and were forming. The inn had furnished the bathroom with a couple of complimentary soaps and shampoos for various types of skin and fur. Thank god for that, I would have hated having to go out to my bags to find appropriate soap. Emboar’s natural body heat kept the water at a wonderful temperature.

I grabbed the shampoo for Anthros and popped the lid. With a handful of soap I massaged it into my scalp. After getting soap into every nook and cranny of my head I dunked under the water. I shook my head as I resurfaced to shake off excess water. I noticed Emboar looking at me curiously.

“Something up?” I asked.

‘Never seen you bathe before.’ He wasn’t wrong. I shrugged.

“It’s not all that special. Just soap and water.”

‘Just like me.’

“Oh yeah?” He nodded in response. I typically left my Pokemon to their own devices unless there was a need to intervene.

‘How do you reach your back?’ the soaking starter asked.

“Easily.” I answered. The question perplexed me. He tilted his head in a silent question. I demonstrated by turning my back towards him and sudsing it up. I dunked down again to clean it off.

“See?” he nodded slowly. “How do you wash yours?” I asked.

‘Don’t. Can’t reach’ he said tersely. He demonstrated by trying to get his arms behind his head and shoulders. I noticed how his proportions made him ill-suited to reach his back. I wondered if that’s a carryover from his time as a quadrupedal Tepig.

“Interesting.” I noted.

We sat in silence for some time. A few drops fell from my fur and made plinking sounds on the surface in a regular rhythm.

“I’ll scrub your back for you, if you want?” I offered. Emboar thought about it for a moment and nodded. He turned around so that he was sitting criss-cross before me. I pulled out the shampoo and dripped it directly onto his back. I rubbed my palms into his short, tough fur. I moved my hands up and down. The fur bristled along my skin. The bubbles and suds welled up from the friction. He tensed up from the contact. I pulled away.

“Oh, am I hurting you?” I asked. He shook his head.

‘Feels nice.’ He grunted at me.

“Oh, alright.” I said as I continued. I swirled around his lower back, following the designs that were grown into the fur. I felt his back tense and relax as I moved my hands up and down. His breathing got quicker and quicker. As I moved up, I heard him groan out loud. I had to be careful around the pores on his upper back that spewed flames as he breathed. I heard him take a deep breath and hold it. The flames died down a bit but never went out completely. I did as much as I dared and pulled back from him.

“All done!” I said. He began to lay back into the water to wash away the soap. Eventually he eased himself all the way down so that he was laying on his back. We looked at each other inverted. He smiled at me. I cupped the back of his head to keep it from going under the water.

“Hey” I said softly. The moment of intimacy continued on between us. I leaned forward over him and planted a small kiss on his forehead. His skin was comfortably warm. As I pulled back, I saw that his smile had gotten wider. His eyes were alight with fire, the eyes he had for me when we were alone.

He rose up while turning so he was on all fours in front of me. He slowly leaned in and pursed his lips. His big tusks made it look quite goofy but I held my giggle back. I leaned in and kissed him back. The heat from his beard of fire licked the bottom of my face. The first few kisses were awkward and I chalked it up to both inexperience and differences in anatomy, but they were still fizzy with percolating passion and affection for each other.

I felt Emboar holding himself back but as we continued to smooch he pushed himself forward. I let him. I felt his advances ease me back. His strong arms moved up and enclosed me on both sides. I was soon going supine, dipping into the water below. Emboar snaked his firm hand behind my back until my head was in his hand. It kept me above water as his assault on my mouth continued. He used his lips to pry mine open. His wide tongue slipped over mine as he dominated my mouth. I moaned into him. I reached up and grabbed onto his sides, his arms, anything I could reach, anything to feel more of him. He eased himself down and I felt his mass push into me. He was hot everywhere. That heat seemed to transfer to my crotch as I felt my member swell. It pushed into his flesh somewhere and I wondered if he felt me get hard for him. He pulled out of our kiss. I opened my eyes even though I wasn’t sure when I had closed them. I looked up into the face of my strong protector. The fire in his eyes was now an inferno. The shimmering of the reflections on his body flashed this way and that.

He raised his body off of me a few inches and looked down mine. I couldn’t see past his head but I knew what he was seeing. My stiffness. I felt it throb with need. He turned back to look at me with a new glint in his eyes. It was an almost predatory sneer. I wasn’t worried. I was turned on. He readjusted himself so that he was on his knees, sandwiched between my legs, which were pushed out to accommodate his width. He grabbed my hips in his paws, the hard claws dug into my skin a little, and adjusted his crotch so that it was flush with mine. I was panting, I felt flushed. The water in the tub sloshed as we moved with each other.

He started grinding his growing erection along mine. The heat was sweltering along my sensitive length. He became fully engorged as he continued to frot. I may have been longer, but it was clear whose member was more impressive. It dwarfed mine. I had seen it once before but now I felt it. It slowly pulled along my shaft. He gave a hearty, deep snicker. I gulped.

“What?” I asked. He leaned down. His gut smashed our members into each other as he leaned down to whisper into my ear.

“Emboar.” ‘You’re small.’

I turned away in embarrassment. I knew it, he didn’t have to say it though. He reached up to turn my head back towards him. A claw hooked around my cheek. I resisted for a moment before letting him. His features had softened.

“Emboar..” ‘You’re cute..’

“Yeah, well… you’re.. not ugly.” I said, still a little hurt. He grinned widely. He eased up off me. I felt cold as his warm body yielded to the chilly air of the bathroom. He went back to slowly frotting me. The friction ignited my nerves as our skin pulled against each other. I sighed as I laid back and felt the connection between us. His thighs bonked against my legs and butt as he thrusted. A smell started to permeate the space. Sweat and campfire smoke. His member throbbed and leaked his pre. It slid down on and onto mine as we grinded together. The lubricant aided as we started to slip along each other. Emboar didn’t seem to be in a rush, content to make me squirm. His grip on my hips kept me from moving away from him. I didn’t want to.

Eventually, he ended it. He let me go and I flopped down into the water as I couldn’t catch myself in time. He kept his eyes on me as he shuffled back a little.

“What? That’s it?” I asked. I sounded a little more desperate than I wanted to. I was cold and horny. The water was losing its heat. Or was it me just getting too hot? He didn’t answer except to smirk and move his head in between my legs. He pushed my knees out so that I couldn’t hide anything from him, the power in his limbs and demeanor made me freeze up. I couldn’t act as I watched him move close to my cock. His eyes didn’t leave mine as he gave my head a quick peck. It made me flex and a little drop of my own pre dribbled out. He put his lips back on my shaft and kissed up and down my length. He even kissed each of my balls before moving back up. It didn’t do much except to tease me more. My breath quickened as he continued to make out with my junk. I finally got what he was doing. He wanted me to ask for more, to beg. He was getting off on pressing my buttons. And, legends above, he was.

I resolved to not give in to his games but I was in a compromised position. He was in complete control of my body. His hands on my thighs groped and massaged me all the while keeping the tension there, a reminder that he was leading us. He was in charge. Emboar was masterfully stoking the fire growing in my core. His breath was hot and wet. The mirror had long since fogged up from the sauna we were creating in the spacious tub. I didn’t want to, but gods above, I needed to get off.

I reached down and gripped his hand that was on my right leg. He stopped his kisses to give me a coy smile. A silent question was plastered across his face. I squeezed as hard as I could, but I felt like it didn’t even phase him.

“Please, Emboar. Don’t tease me anymore.” I shook my head as I pleaded with him.

“Emboar.” ‘Alright.’ he responded softly. He turned back to my junk, breaking eye contact for the first time in a while. I was surprised to see him lick his lips, like he was about to enjoy a delicious meal. I had an errant thought about what I tasted like down there. I didn’t get to wonder long as Emboar engulfed my entire cock down to my pelvis in one motion. I seized a bit as I entered his mouth. I thought his touch was hot before but now it was almost unbearable. I felt like I had put my dick in an oven. The entire time his tongue was writhing along me. The chaotic touches and drags of the rough surface pulled me even closer to my climax than I was before. The concentrated effort that Emboar put into me spiked my thoughts into overdrive. I was blasted with sensation after sensation each one brought me nearer and nearer. I wanted to move, my legs fought against his pins but he didn’t relent. He had me right where he wanted me and wasn’t about to let go.

I used whatever range of motion I could to try and push deeper into his mouth, into that heat. My back was arching as fireworks blasted off inside my head. I felt I wouldn't last another minute, another half-minute. My chest was heaving like I couldn't get enough air into my lungs. My second hand reached down to grab something, to grab him. It ended up on his head. I used whatever strength I had to push him down on me. I looked down at him.

His eyes met mine and I again saw the inferno in his golden eyes. It pushed me over the edge as I came in his mouth. My pulsing member flooded his mouth with my love. I couldn't count the number of strings that burst forth from me. His eyes didn't leave mine, his stare bore right through me. Slowly, my orgasm subsided. The crashing feelings became softer and softer. I felt like there was nothing left in my balls as my twitches tried needlessly to release more. I felt him swallow, the sticky wetness around my cock departed down his throat. Only after another half minute to be sure he took everything I had to give did he pull his lips up my member. It almost hurt to feel a new sensation on my battered and burnt bit.

He straightened up. His grips on my legs lifted as he towered over me. Emboar clasped my hand with his mighty paw, errantly caressing it with a large claw as I came down from my high. I got my breathing under control eventually. I expected that dominating gaze he had earlier, but he surprised me with a tender look. He looked upon me as he would a lover. I guessed we sort of were now. I pulled on his hand to lift myself up into a seated position in front of him. On his knees, our eyes were at the same height. The fires across his face danced and I wondered if there were patterns to it as his mood changed.

He pulled me close. My hand, he moved to his chest and his remaining arm embraced me. Emboar moved in for another kiss and I followed his lead. This one didn't evolve into a fit of passion like our previous kiss did but it was sweet nonetheless. Through Emboar's chest I felt his unbeatable heart. I pulled back away from him a bit as I needed to put a little distance between us less I would be lost in him forever. I pondered whether or not that would be too bad.

"Damn.." I breathed out. His chest rumbled in calm laughter.

'Was I good?'

"As if you'd even have to ask." I responded while shaking my head. He grinned wide. I sighed deeply, the remaining sparks from my climax made it difficult to concentrate on anything in particular. His paw on my back scratched lightly. My hand on his chest lowered to do the same to his gut. It was only then I realized he was still hard and dripping. "Oh!"

His eyes followed mine down to his body. He snorted indifferently.

'Don't worry about that'

"No way! I'm not going to sit here and let you give me the best orgasm of my life while you get nothing but blue balls." I answered defiantly. However, I couldn't hold his gaze as I said the next part. "Of course, I'm not too sure what to do."

I looked him over, his face was a little sheepish. His mask of indifference gone, his dominating stare from earlier gone. I shivered from recalling it. Those eyes that blazed with desires and passion, desire and passion for me. "Take me" I said eventually.

'What!?' he squealed.

"Take me" I said slowly. I added emphasis to each word. I wanted it clear what I meant. Emboar gulped and looked down at my body. I could feel the thoughts running through his head. The ways he wanted me were flashing in his mind's eye, I was sure. My arms pulled the big guy close. His sweltering erection was smashed between our bodies. He looked back at me.

"I know you want me." I said, I hoped my voice was as seductive as I planned. His hand on my back dragged down until it was at my ass. His hand palmed one of my cheeks. His eyes got a little more determined but I could tell he needed some more convincing.

"Are you worried about hurting me?" He nodded in response.

"Would you ever hurt me?"

"Boar!" 'Never!' I felt his hand on my butt pull me in possessively.

"Would you stop if I said to?"

"Em." 'Yes'

"Then don't worry." I concluded. "I trust you. Now, where do you want me?"

He leaned his head in till our foreheads touched. His pupils seemed to grow as we embraced.

“Emboar emboar. Emboar. Em-”

‘I want you here. With me. Now.’ His voice was swathed with feeling. This was coming from deep inside his heart, it also was the most words he’d strung together at once. It made me swoon even more for the big guy.

“Okay” I sighed back. The tip of his claw wedged itself into my crack and tickled the sensitive area between my cheeks. An involuntary groan emitted from my throat as he felt me up. Our foreheads remained in contact as his touch to my nethers made me grind up into him.

‘Sensitive?’ He growled at me.

“Very.” was all I could respond with.

‘I’ll stretch you first.’ he cautioned. I nodded my assent. He broke apart from me and scooted back. His fingers wiggled in a circle, telling me to turn around. My beating heart flipped and spun in my chest as I turned my back on him. I felt myself trembling in anticipation. My back was ramrod straight, my knees felt achy with all the time we’ve spent on hard surfaces. I noticed the water below us had developed an off color as dirt and filth and soap washed off our bodies. I leaned forward to pull the drain, not wanting to stew in it.

Emboar took that moment to make his move. He grabbed my hips and jerked me back. The drain plug was still in my hand as it came with me. I turned around to look at him but he placed a large paw on the small of my back. Gently, but purposefully, he angled me down so I was on all fours. My ass was on full display for him. The possessive feeling of his hands on my body was back. I felt my cock tingle in response. His light scratches helped calm my nerves as his other paw kneaded my butt. My breath hitched in my chest. His fingers and palms explored my body, up and down my back, legs, hips, thighs and ass. His touch was warm and I again experienced the quiet power in his limbs. He moved at his pace. It became almost unbearable before he squeezed my butt and pulled them apart.

I don’t know what he saw down there, but I knew I was clenching in suspense. The last of the water gurgled down the drain as I felt the heavy, hot, humid breath on my skin. I audibly gasped as the first lick traveled up from my sack to my tailbone. The motion repeated itself over and over and each time I twitched as the fleshy appendage made contact with my gooch. My hole bit down hard as the tip traveled across my orifice. Every few licks he’d spend a second or two flicking across my lower lips. I groaned as the tip worked in circles along my anus. I had no idea how anything was going to fit inside me with how hyperactive my muscles were being. But I forgot who I was dealing with here. His wide tongue tensed at the center of my hole and pushed in. Despite my body’s involuntary attempts to keep the invader out, my lover’s strength and perseverance was going to win out. He wasn’t going to lose to me. The first inch slipped into me and I gasped. I heard him chuckle. His massive mitts swung around to hold my hips. He pulled me back as he pushed in further. A second and third inch entered my rear. The textures of his taste buds pulled along my rim. All the while his breath kept me warm as water evaporated from my skin. I wasn’t sure if it was shivering from the cold or the feeling of his tongue going deeper. Eventually, it got very uncomfortable.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.” I said rapidly. He stopped forcing more into me. I breathed deeply as I got used to the mass inside of me. His right hand softly petted my side, encouraging me to relax. I spent about a minute there. He never pushed forward but didn’t retreat either, his breath was steady and I silently thanked him for being gentle with me when I needed it. I adjusted my knees so that my stance was wider. It alleviated some of the pressure.

“Okay, you can keep going.” I told him. He patted my side in acknowledgement. He pulled back no more than an inch and I thought he was going to completely exit me. The well trained Pokemon behind me knew however, when your enemy's defenses were down, you go on the attack. He started to bob and thrust his appendage in and out. It never went further than the limit I was just at but never completely let me relax either. He twisted his tongue left and right so that each little push probed a different part of my body. A particular angle grazed a particularly sensitive part deep in me. It made me moan out like a whore. Emboar took note of my weak spot and pumped the next few seconds directly into my prostate. I lowered the front half of my body down to the floor of the tub as he held my hips still. The sparks from inside me made me slam my eyes shut. Not for the first time I wanted to move, to wiggle, to writhe, but his grip was iron and I was nothing but putty for him to hold. His thrusts got longer as he pulled more from me each time, stimulating nerves that had some reprieve but were nonetheless worked over.

I used whatever range of motion I could to try and hump the air, whatever I could to relieve the flood that was growing behind my stomach. I reached and hand down and started stroking my cock which miraculously hadn’t become erect under the tonging. I didn’t get more than a half a dozen strokes off before one of his paw released its death grip on my hip to pull my hand off my dick. I whined as he held it firm. He released a deep growl from some primal part within him. Now that he wasn’t in complete control of my hips my wiggles had some effect and I pulled myself free from his rimjob. My breaths were heavy, the emptiness in my ass was oddly uncomfortable. He graciously gave me a break. I squeezed hard on the hand that stopped me from jerking off.

“You’re so mean..” I moaned at him. I turned my head so I could look at him in my peripherals. His shoulders rolled as he chuckled at my predicament. He patted my ass as a half-hearted apology. The wave of feeling in my loins subsided as he let me rest. He let go of my hand and I tentatively reached back to feel my hole. The rim felt puffy and I could stick a finger in without any resistance.

‘You’re ready.’ he said, his voice had the edge that vibrated up my spine. I gulped as he readjusted behind me. His paws were back on my hips, the cool air that soothed my hole was replaced with the heat that radiated off his crotch. He rested his thick meat between my crack. He grinded along my hole reminding me of his girth. I was so exhilarated and turned on. I had a thought about whether I was always this submissive or was it something new that my lover sparked in me.

“You’ll stop if it hurts too much, right?” I wanted to ask one more time.

‘Of course.’ was his only reply.

“Then take me, you sexy pig.” I begged him. I knew that’s what he was waiting for. No later than the last words left my mouth did he angle his hips. The flat head of his cock pressed up to my loose hole. Despite stretching me out earlier, his penis was still bigger. I tried to relax as I felt his hips press forward. Using my hips for additional leverage, he continued his assault on my hole. I wanted him in me, I wanted it so badly. I prayed for my body to give up its struggle and let him in. My prayers were answered as he finally forced his way into my hole. I cried out as I felt myself practically being ripped apart. Within moments, his hips were flush with mine. His heated length was deep within me. My battered body’s pathetic attempts to expel him did nothing more than squeeze him even tighter. Emboar emitted another one of those deep, primal, commanding groans as I’m sure the tightness of my ass shot up his spine to the pleasure centers of his brain. He didn’t move for a moment, just nestled there. His hardness jammed right up against my p-spot. I had to focus on my breathing or risk hyperventilating. He grinded his hips up and down on me. The movement pulled me along as his length mashed into my internal walls. If I thought his tongue was thick before, this was worse. Wider, thicker, and harder. It didn’t give like his tongue, it didn’t flex and bend.

“Em…, Em…” he cooed out to me as he petted my back. I could almost feel myself being lost to the pleasure but his voice and touch brought me back.

“You’re so fucking big…” I said.

‘I know.’

“Ass.” I shot back as he snorted. A few moments later he began to pull back. His dick pulled on my walls until his head was all that remained. Slowly and steadily, he thrust back into me, all the way until he was hilted. He kept going at that pace. My body relented to the invader, it opened up before him. Soon the sting of being stretched gave way to concentrated fullness where each centimeter rippled along my walls and prostate. A more concentrated feeling like before when he had his tongue in me welled up behind my loins. His earlier reaction made me hesitant to pleasure myself. I got the feeling he’d take the same actions. What I hadn’t expected was the noise. The shlorps and shlops as he pushed and pulled echoed off the hard tiled surfaces of the bathroom. The plops of his brutish thighs as they plowed into mine. Or my soft moans of his name, I was truly in the sub headspace now. I was quite content to go passive and let this strong male have his way with me.

As he fucked me deep and slow, Emboar shifted his weight forward. His massive arms hugged me around the chest and his torso rested on my back. The weight made it feel more real. From his new position, the humps weren’t as long and drawn out. They became shorter and more forceful, but not any faster though. My arms started burning with exertion as I had to hold him up as well as myself. He used his grip to pull me deeper in an effort to go further, if just a hair, into my ass. His pulls timed with his hips in a coordinated effort. There was a pleasant burn in me as we made love, the heat of his member relaxed my muscles to make it all the more enjoyable for the two of us.

His scent clouded my mind, it was in my mouth, on my tongue, and in every breath I took. His husky puffs and grunts on my back made me feel so happy.

“Oh, Emboar. It feels so amazing!” I praised him. His response was to plant soft kisses along my back.

‘I’m close.’ He said.

“Okay.” His grip changed as he hoisted me up off the floor. I was held upright, his arms tight across my chest and stomach. From here he used gravity to fuck me harder and bury as deeply as I could take. I was approaching my limit too. My cock was waywardly flopping up and down as he became more animalistic and less tame. I held onto his arms for dear life, like a port in the storm of his passions. He became more vocal.

“Boar. Boar. Boar. Boar.” He chanted out as he rutted me. I couldn’t take it anymore, I needed to get off or I was going to break.

“I need to cum! Please, Emboar!” I was over my hesitation to beg to him. I was much too far gone to care at the moment. His hand around my stomach slipped down to grab my cock. He furiously stroked it with no reservations. I came in less than 15 seconds. My seed burst out of my member and hit the wall of the tub with great force. It made a resounding thud each time. Emboar continued mashing into me, quite literally fucking the cum out of me. I lost sense of time as endorphins drowned my brain. I was only tangentially aware as Emboar slipped out of me. I looked down and saw his red cock between my legs. He came, just as hard as I did. Each of his spurts was accompanied by the same sound as it collided with the wall, along with a squeeze of his arms around me and short grunts.

I closed my eyes, my head was foggy, my ass was on fire, my dick twitched and tingled. Behind me I could tell that Emboar was no better off than me. He rested his head on my shoulder and I could feel his arms trembling. We let our orgasms subside for a minute. My heart was pounding in my ears. I finally remembered my death grip on his arms and willed my fingers to relax. I felt him stir as he again planted kisses along my back. A tender moment as we shared our afterglow together.

“Fuck..” was all I managed to say. He remained silent, kissing every part of my back that he could reach without moving more than his head. I groaned as I moved my legs to get my feet under me, his hand slid off of me as I wobbly made my way to standing. I used the wall for support. Emboar’s claws clacked on the tile as he too came to a standing position. I glanced at him sideways. His eyes were still alight with passion and fervor, but his expression was the softest I’d ever seen on his face. If there were any deeper levels of feeling that I hadn’t achieved before then that moment took me there. I turned towards him, keeping my hand on the wall for stability. I don’t know what my face looked like but he didn’t turn away from me. Our gazes beheld the other as we saw each other in a different light than we had before. I reached out to feel him, to remind myself that this wasn’t a dream. I cupped his cheek. I had always been scared that the fires from his beard would burn, but now they were just warm. He leaned into the touch and savored the gesture just as much as I did. Unsurprisingly, I was feeling very drowsy.

“I need to get to a bed or I’m going to pass out standing here.” In hindsight, not the words I wanted to say, but they were accurate. He nodded his understanding. Quickly and suddenly, I was in his arms being carried like a princess in a fairy tale. He held me close as he brought me out of the tub and back into the bedroom. I was too tired to even laugh at him. More gently than should have been possible from someone of his size and strength, he laid me delicately down on the soft sheets and comforters of my bed. I shivered in my nakedness. He quickly pulled the covers up and over my body and I nestled into sleep. My thoughts were sluggish but I watched him sit on the bed opposite me, his eyes didn’t look tired in the slightest.

“You’re not gonna sleep?” I slurred out. He shook his head with his eyes closed.

“Emboar. Emboar.” ‘You sleep. I’ll watch.’ Just like him, always looking out and standing guard. Still, I was quite happy for him to be there, to watch over me, and the rest of us, and keep us safe.

“That’s my stalwart general.” I mumbled out, I don’t even know if he heard me before I passed into the world of sleep.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

In the corner, unbeknownst to the two of us was an invisible observer. A spector. A trusted ally. Gengar sat hovering in the air, the darkness obscured her against the textured walls. She sat motionless, not daring to even move while invisible lest the two of us notice her presence or the object in her hand. This prank hadn’t gone as she planned at all. When she woke up last night with the smell of her companion Emboar’s arousal in the air she was extremely confused. She listened in to the trail end of the conversation between me and Emboar and missed half of the context. She concluded that we were mates that had been sneaking around behind the rest of the team’s back. The fact that we were keeping that a secret from her irked the ghost. It took her will power to remain still and appear asleep. But she planned, she knew that I would let them go off on their own for the day and knew that Emboar wouldn’t leave my side. It would be the perfect time to discover us, catch us in the act, and grab a couple of photos with the disposable camera she bought today to use for some lighthearted blackmail.

That was the plan anyway. The reality wasn’t so simple. She stalked the two of us back to our hotel room, her camera was purposefully hidden within my pack that was laden with supplies for the next leg of our journey. She delicately prowled about the room to retrieve it, the two of us were more concentrated on each other to notice the wisps she left as she moved. Here, she listened in on our conversation and noticed the flaw in her logic. It was obvious we weren’t mates, not yet anyway. She watched the change in Emboar’s body language, how vulnerable he looked as I told him I was interested in him back and more. I missed the look on his face as I turned to head to the bath. Emboar clasped his chest and looked to the heavens and mouthed his thank you before he collapsed backward to the bed in relief. She thought to leave then but she was too deep in the room to quickly leave without being noticed. Her camera was held in her hand.

As we entered the bathtub she kept thinking about how this was the moment to make her escape. We were out of the room, out of view, she could leave and we’d be none the wiser that she was ever here. Yet, she stayed. She listened in on her friends who have been traveling companions for quite some time. She listened to me washing Emboar’s back and had a twinge of envy, she wanted to know what it was like to have hands on her like that. My first moan as Emboar kissed me sparked her into action. She needed to see, to watch. Camera in her hand but completely forgotten about, she peeked slowly, silently, stealthily into the restroom. She sat and watched our moment together. She watched as the two of us made love to each other. She watched as Emboar took me into his mouth, and when he ate me out, and when he entered me for the first time, and finally when we came. The space was flooded with the acrid smell of Emboar’s arousal, it covered up the scent of her own arousal. Her vulva was hot and her insides kept getting wetter and wetter but she made no move to address herself, convinced that any movement would alert the two of us that we weren’t alone.

She was almost caught when she barely reacted in time to move away from the bathroom door as Emboar carried me through. She retreated into the dark corner she now found herself. She watched as Emboar put me into bed and I quickly fell asleep. She watched Emboar sit there looking over me. Despite his bravado she could see the exhaustion in his limbs. He sighed deeply and once he was completely sure I was deep asleep he settled back into his own bed to rest. Within a few minutes, Emboar’s slumbering snores filled the space. It was the only sound as Gengar hid her camera, with no pictures taken, back in my pack. She passed to the door to their adjoining room but gave the two of us one last longing look. Her shame in invading our private moment welling up in her. She dipped through the door and settled on to a bed in the other room. She thought about everything she saw, and she felt an ache in her heart. It wasn’t there before. Everything she saw in the bathroom swirled around her mind.

It was only then did she feel how turned on she was. She brushed her hand down her chest, imagining she was there in the bathroom with us, that she was a part of the love making. Her clawed hand finally reached her lower lips and dug into her folds. She bit a finger on her other hand to stifle a moan as she fingered herself, fantasizing more and more about the couple in the other room. The thoughts inching her closer and closer to climax.