Chp 16: Tidal 

	Seth cracked his knuckles. He was currently sat in a private room in the Pastoria gym. They had already been waiting for a while now. The door cracked open and an attendant stuck his head in. "Alright. It's time. But wasn't it a three on three? Where's your other pokemon?" 

	"Don't worry." Seth said. "We'll be out in just a second, just leave the door cracked." 

	He nodded and left. Seth looked into the hall, and then ducked back inside, shrinking down into a vaporeon. 

	'Wouldn't jolteon be better?" Sky asked, tilting her head in confusion.

	"Yeah, but I'd rather use this one. You'll see. I've got a plan." The three of them left the dressing room, and went around to the side entrance to the arena. They emerged into a darkened room, with a ton of spotlights shining on the center. In said center was a pool, with foam platforms floating in it. Crasher Wake stood on the other side. 

	He had a microphone in his hand. "Here we have a new challenger, Seth! But you may ask, Mr. Wake, where is he? Well you see, this trainer thinks he's so good that he can beat me without even showing up!" The crowd booed. "Come on now, don't be like that. I'm sure he's got a good reason. But that doesn't mean I will hold back. A tidal wave is about to hit!" He called out, putting on a show. He tossed out his first pokemon, a poliwrath. It grunted and flexed a few times on one of the foam platforms. The crowd was roaring in excitement.

	"Alright," Seth said. "Sky, you take him. Soul, you take his floatzel, and I'll pick up whatever's left."

	Sky gracefully leapt forward, landing on the closest platform. "Espy!" She cried loudly. Poliwrath jumped in and dove under the water. The sides of the pool were blue, making the water hide the pokemon perfectly. Still, Sky followed it easily, and leaped into the air just in time as it punched up, flipping the platform Sky had been on. The foam spun in the water, before growing still again. She landed on a different one, but it was also flipped. This time, she just dove into the water. A purple light could be seen under the water, and soon a second one appeared. The new one flew up to the surface, exploding in a torrent of water. Poliwrath flew several feet into the air, before plummeting back down with a smaller splash. Sky meanwhile climbed out of the water and back onto a platform, her bubble of psychic energy dissipating. She was barely wet. 

	Soul shied back from the edge to avoid the droplets flying through the air, while Seth got closer. The lights were drying out his skin and the water felt nice. 

	But poliwrath wasn't done yet. He suddenly burst from the water, flipping Sky's platform again, and this time when she dodged, he turned and dove in midair back down at her. He connected mid jump, slamming her down into the water, before she could erect a barrier. There was another huge splash, and then nothing. Poliwrath came to the surface, holding Sky over his shoulder. He swam over to the challenger side, and gently placed her on the ground. 

	"Sorry." She said weakly.

	Seth put a paw on hers. "It's fine. You did good. And this guy's no joke." He stepped forward and dove into the water.

	"And one down!" Crasher Wake called. "And now a water type? Against the best water type trainer in Sinnoh?!" 

	Seth chuckled under the water. Now that he was in, he could use his vaporeon abilities to turn into mostly water. It was a strange feeling, being so spread out, but he had more important things to do. This would require absolute focus, and the camouflage was just to hide it. Poliwrath was in the water too, swimming around swinging at every strange patch of water in an attempt to find him. For a split second, Seth reverted to human, his body starting to reform. But before anything else could happen, he changed again, this time to a jolteon. His still mostly water body pulsed as he unleashed a massive burst of electricity into the water, and then he changed human, and then vaporeon again. He could still feel the tingling of the energy, but nowhere near as much as Poliwrath got. He went limp, about halfway in the water. Seth returned to solid, swam over, and used his head to push the pokemon to the surface and up to Crasher Wake. 

	"What is this!? Poliwrath?! What have they done to you!?" He cried, falling to his knees. "I will avenge you!" He yelled, playing it up for the audience. He took his next ball, releasing a swampert. 

	That worked better than Seth could have guessed. No one had seen it. He wasn't sure it would even work in the first place. Swampert let out a croaking noise, slapping its huge paws onto the platform. Seth dove back under, hiding in the water again. Becoming water, well mostly water, was weird. It felt so natural to control, but the concept and feeling of it was so alien. He still retained all the feeling of his body, but he was spread out much greater. While no normal eye could tell the difference between his cells and the water, there was still something separating him from fully merging with the water. 

	Swampert interrupted Seth's train of thought when it clapped its hands together. The water began shaking, rapidly growing violent. Seth was thrashed around, until the water suddenly rushed towards the center, turning into a spout, which began to spin into the air. Suddenly, all the water plummeted, and Seth reformed in the air. Swampert leapt up, swinging one of its broad arms at Seth, who was still surprised at being forced out into the open. Seth was struck in the side by the hammer arm, and they both crashed back into the water. Seth got slammed into the base of the pool, still with surprising force. Now he was left with a problem. His previous trick wouldn't work. A leafeon would be perfect, but grass type moves were a lot slower, and could leave signs, and could also be seen better. 

	Before he could come up with a strategy, Swampert switched arms and used another hammer arm. Seth tried to turn into water again, but Swampert raised its arms, clasped its hands together, and smashed into Seth, sending him spiraling away. Seth righted himself, still with no solid plan. He was certainly feeling the powerful blows catching up to him. No longer content to sit back and think, he opened his mouth, sucking in a large amount of water, and unleashed a large hydro pump. It shot through the water, impacting Swampert head on. But nothing really happened besides that. Quite the opposite of the intended effect, Swampert began to sluggishly swim forward. It swung its arm again, but this time Seth swam out of the way, dodging the follow up swing as well. He had expected his mobility to have dropped in the water, but he felt even more lithe underwater now. Just another perk of being a water type. 

	Now he was up against the side of the pool, with nowhere to back up. Swampert took advantage of this, lunging forward in a body slam. Seth reacted fast. He used his own tail to launch forward, matching Swampert blow for blow as their heads hit. 

	Seth remained conscious, but he was done. His body could barely move. He considered pressing on, but his promise to Sky rang in his ears. So he remained limp and floated to the surface. Once there, he crawled up and out, lying next to Sky. 
	
	"Thanks." He heard her whisper. 

	"Two down!" Crasher Wake roared. "Good job!" 

	"Ughh..." Soul groaned. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to fight... I swear if I get wet..." She complained. 

	"You don't have to fight. But if you don't then we lose, so..." Seth said. 

	"Yeah, I know." She sighed and jumped forward onto a platform. "Get up here you bastard." She growled down into the water. 

	Swampert was not going to make it that easy for her. It stayed under water, swimming around and sizing her up, though it was moving a lot slower now. 

	"Well fuck you too!" Soul shouted. She swung her paw down, a slash cutting the water in half, and striking Swampert. The water quickly filled in, and Swampert floated up to the surface. 

	"That was a powerful move! But will this absol be strong enough to beat my best?! Tidal! It's your turn!" The crowd roared as Crasher Wake sent out his floatzel, a male. He put on a show, inflating its floatation sack and flexing. 

	Soul didn't want to wait however, and she launched her assault. She leapt into the air, swinging her claws down at Tidal as she fell. The floatzel jumped back, falling into the water. Soul's attack did not deal any damage to the foam, though her claws pressing into it did. Soul began to swing her claws and horn wildly into the water, slashing streaks downwards into the water. Under the surface, Tidal darted around like a torpedo, dodging every one of Soul's moves. 

	"Hit his sack!" Seth called out. "That's a floatzel's weak point!" 

	"Isn't that all males' weak point?" Soul asked back. The brief moment of distraction made her lose sight of Tidal.

	"Not that one, the one around his body!" 

	Tidal shot forward, bursting out of the water, and shot water right at her. She was hit from behind with the spray. It wasn't a powerful move, but it did soak her fur. She let out an angry growl and he splashed back down into the water. 

	"Mother fucker..." She jumped high up, and began swinging all four paws below her. This sent a wave of small slashes downward. Tidal once again swam around every single one, escaping damage free. This made Soul even angrier. "Dodge this!" A wind began to swirl around her. Tidal remained under water, ready to dodge her next move before launching an attack. A wave of wind built up, carving down into the water. The blast of razor wind created a large wave, splashing up onto Crasher Wake. The water was obscured for a brief moment, and Crasher Wake stood proudly as the wave crashed around him, striking a pose, much to the crowds pleasure.

	Soul looked around in a panic. She had lost sight of Tidal. Suddenly, the platform she was on was launched into the air, causing her to fall off and into the water. She splashed around for a moment before a bright light covered her. It burst outwards and she flew up into the air. Her body was now that of a mega absol, with an expanded horn and wings of fur. While they were not true wings, they amplified her jumping and slowed her descents, giving her the appearance of flight. 

	She glided in the air for a moment. "A mega evolution?! WITH NO TRAINER!?" Crasher Wake roared, causing the microphone to screech. 

	"Oh boy, she is pissed." Sky said. 

	"Oh, you're up. Feeling alright?" Seth asked. She nodded. 

	Soul reared back and swung her horn down, a huge crescent of dark energy shooting down and cutting the water in two. Two waves splashed out on either side, the water level dropping even more. 

	Tidal blasted out of the water, shooting at Soul while firing a hydro pump. Soul flapped her wings, spraying water everywhere, and causing a sparkling effect from the spotlights. He crashed into her, but this was all part of her plan. She clutched the male, her wings coming around and wrapping him tight in her embrace. They fell a few feet down, onto one of the platforms. Her fur stood on end as she began to unleash thunderbolt attacks over and over. 

	Tidal could do nothing. She had him fully pinned, and he couldn't even draw in enough breath for a water gun. The constant super effective attacks were too much, and his struggles ceased as he passed out. 

	"AHHAAHAA!" Crasher Wake bellowed in laughter. "That was a wonderful fight. Excuse me for a moment folks. I've got to go talk to a skilled trainer behind the scenes. Maybe I can get him out here." 

	"Oh shit..." Seth muttered. "Soul, you take care of Sky!" Seth yelled as he bolted for the dressing room. Soul released the floatzel and hopped back onto solid ground while reverting. Crasher Wake recalled his pokemon, and began to head for the dressing rooms as well. 

	Seth made it back first and turned human again, sitting down but still breathing heavily. His skin was still wet, and it began to soak into his clothes. 

	"Aye, you were right on. Some fine pokemon you've got." Crasher Wake said as he came in. "You've certainly earned this." He took a badge out of seemingly nowhere and gave it to Seth. "Looks like you had a battle of your own in here." 

	"Yeah, it's kinda hot."

	"The flames of battle can do that. I would love to see what you can do fighting alongside your pokemon. That absol really gave me a thrashing."

	"Yeah, Soul can be quite a handful." 

+++

	"So how can you two mega evolve like that?" Sky asked later that day, after they had returned to their room. "I thought it required stones and more than one person." 

	"I dunno." Soul said matter of factly. 

	"Well, she ate an absolite, and my father was a mega lucario when I was, uhh, made. So it's in my DNA, and I guess Soul absorbed enough of its power. As for the second part..." He rubbed his chin. "I have no idea. Maybe it's because of our connection with each other. Or with it being a part of our bodies instead of a stone around our neck, maybe that makes it easier."

	"But like how do you actually do it?"

	"It's like my transformations. Just a buildup of emotion and using the evolution as an outlet. It's really tiring though. Why all the questions?"

	"I just... You were talking about getting stronger, and Soul is already tough. I just feel like I'm the weak one." Sky said sadly. 

	"You don't have to be tough." Seth said. "You're the best at cuddling. That's all you need." He offered, motioning for her to come closer. She did, and they embraced. "I'm takin' a nap." He declared.

	"Kay. I'm still running on an adrenaline high." Soul said, turning the volume on the TV down.

+++

	Seth's eyes opened when he felt something poke his side. At first, through the blurry fog, all he saw was a hint of blue surrounded by white. He blinked a few times before realizing what it was. 

	Soul was lying on her back across from him, with her rear paws in the air, and forepaws on her belly. One was reaching down, using two claw tips to spread the organ there. Her cunny was an all too familiar sight to Seth, but he still found it attractive. Her face had a look that could only be described as perverted. He reached out, rubbing her clit with a thumb. "Good morning to you too." He said.

	She purred a bit, before rolling over and getting up. "Thought I would give you a bit of a treat." She said while swishing her tail about. 

	"You deserve the treat. You really pulled through yesterday."

	"I know. So how about instead of the usual, we get moving. I've got big plans in the making. The deal is, you have to go along with it." 

	"Alright?" He said, not too sure he liked where this was going. He wasn't truly scared, but she certainly could be mischievous when she wanted to. "And you..." He said, looking down. Sky was lying across his legs. She was already awake. "Come 'ere you little cuddleon." He said, reaching down and sweeping her up in his arms. She let out a yelp followed by a little chuckle, but Soul gave him a dirty look. 

	"That was the worst thing that has ever come out of your mouth." She said. 

	"Yeah, that was pretty bad." Sky said.

	He got up, and noticed a piece of paper under the door. 

	"Hey Seth, guess you were still asleep. Come by the gym when you wake up. Signed, Becky." 

	"Get ready to go. We've gotta go see Becky, then we're moving on." Seth explained.

+++

	"Seth!" She called when they arrived at the gym. She showed them back and into one of the dressing rooms. "You won't believe it." She unstrung and unzipped her backpack, revealing the egg inside. "Aqua laid this last night!" 

	"Oh, congratulations." Seth said. "Well," He quickly changed the subject. "You pulled through, so." He took the mega absol doll out and gave it to her. "We're moving on to Hearthome. It was nice to meet you." He said, beginning to turn around.

	"Likewise. Stop on by any time. Or maybe we'll meet each other again on the road."