CHP 14

	Seth returned to the campsite, crawling into the tent. He rolled over next to the girls. Soul let out a muffled noise of content and pushed herself into him. He closed his eyes and attempted to go back to sleep, ignoring the aching in his groin. He eventually fell asleep, though the morning would come soon. 

	He was woken later by Sky poking at him with her tails. He opened his eyes, sore and still exhausted. "What's up?" He asked with a dry throat. 

	"You." Sky said blandly. 

	"Huh?" Seth said, looking at himself. He saw his black furred body with a few golden rings, an umbreon body.  "Oh, that. I woke up last night like this."

	"Then why did you come back into the tent late last night?" She asked, squinting suspiciously.

	"I had to go to the bathroom." He responded, trying not to let her know he was lying. 

	"Alright." She said, dropping the subject. Seth could not tell if she knew or not though. "I wanted you to be an espeon..." She muttered as she left the tent. 

	Seth rubbed his eyes with a yawn. He did want to go back to sleep, but they couldn't stay in the woods all day. Stretching first, he clambered out of the tent, finding Soul and Sky outside waiting for him. "Let's eat, then we'll hit the road. We should be able to make it to Ira town today."

+++

	They had packed everything away and set out again. Seth had turned human again while they were eating breakfast. Nothing much happened on the road that day, as it was a nice and sunny day, most noises being the wind or wild pokemon playing in the grass. As they walked, Seth experimentally flexed his hand and arm muscles, nothing how little it hurt now. He decided to let it rest though, as the nurse had told him it would take a while to heal. After not too long, large steel towers and bulky factories came into view on the horizon, the signature of Ira town. 

	A few minutes later, the forest became sparse and they began to enter the industrial city. There wasn't really much to see in this city however. It was primarily a center of manufacturing instead of a tourist destination. The primary thing that Seth wanted to do was make use of the pokemon training areas. He headed to the pokemon center to book a room and then left for the battlefields. They were located right next to the gym, which was a converted factory, full of mechanical puzzles for trainers to solve. When Seth arrived, only one of the three fields was in use, a couple of rookie trainers were sparring. He could tell they were new by their pokemon, a bidoof and a pidgey. However he wasn't the least bit interested, claiming one of the fields for his own. Once there, he and the girls sat down and rested a bit. 

	"So, we need to break in our new addition. Soul, you want to spar with Eclipse?" Seth asked the absol.

	"I'd love to." She said with a sinister grin.

	"You are only sparring, I'm curious to see what she can do in a real fight so don't go overboard." 

	"I can't help but hate her... You understand don't you?" Soul whined.

	"I know, but she deserves a chance at redemption."

	"You trust me, right?" Soul said, suddenly becoming very serious.

	"Of course, what kind of question is that?" Seth said, a bit hurt that she had to ask.

	"Then let me do this my way." She said before returning to her usual flippant attitude. "It'll be cool."

	Seth accepted and sent out Eclipse on the opposite side of the field. "Eclipse, ready for some exercise?" Seth asked her. 

	"If you mean what I think you mean, then of course." She said, a naughty glint in her eye. 

	"Nope." Seth said flatly, pointing to Soul, who was raring to go. Eclipse got the message and bared her claws. 

	At that moment, Soul dashed forward, swinging into a slash attack. The jewel at the base of Eclipse's hair shined and her eyes began to glow. Both Seth and Sky wondered what she was doing, when Soul began to act weird, going completely off course and attacking the ground. She then went wild, jumping around, dodging to and fro while delivering quick attacks. It would have been impressive, if she had been attacking an actual foe. Eventually she stopped, panting heavily. She stood for a moment before her eyes drifted shut. Her horn started to vibrate, as if she was using her abilities but then her fur began to rise, flowing out around her. The three other's had no idea what was happening. That is, until a rainbow colored light enveloped her. Only Seth recognized it, but a familiar sigil appeared from the light. Seth had seen the same thing during his encounter with Mewtwo. As suddenly as it appeared, the light burst, revealing a creature similar to an absol, but more. The magnificent creature's horn and tail had grown larger and thicker, it was furrier and most notably, it had wings. 

	Before anyone could say anything, the mega absol dashed right for the zoroark, using her larger horn to deliver a empowered slash attack, before she spun around, doing the same with her tail. Eclipse was caught by surprise and failed to defend against the rapid attack. It knocked her down, and she stayed down, panting from the exhaustion of getting hit by such powerful blows. Soul fluttered her wings happily, a large smile on her face as she came back to Seth.

	"Uh, Soul...?" He stuttered out. "The hell was that?" 

	"Back when I was-" Her smile faded for a brief moment before returning. "When I was in the wilds, I ate a mega stone accidently. It never came out and ever since, I could transform if I focused hard enough. It's tiring though and I've never had a reason to use it since we met. I just wanted to show off right now~" She giggled. 

	Back on the field, Eclipse had just gotten to her feet and came over. "Damn girl!" She exclaimed. "That's one way to break my illusions."

	"Speaking of which," Seth started before anyone else could speak. "I wanna know exactly how your ability works." 

	"Sure. The base skill of a zoroark is illusion, where they can change their body to look like other pokemon, but the disguise falters when looked at closely. My skill with it allows me to essentially control the senses of a single target. It doesn't prevent them from acting, it only confuses them. But with enough effort, I can make the target do almost anything. None of it is real, and it only can work on one person at a time, that's the weakness."

	"Thanks for sharing." Seth turned his gaze to Soul. He reached out and playfully tugged at her wing, making her shake him away. "Let's head to the pokemon center and get some dinner." Soul briefly glowed again, reverting to her normal form. When she did, she was left panting and her legs were wobbling. 

+++

	They arrived at their hotel room shortly after and Soul pushed right past Seth as he opened the door, diving onto the bed and stretching out with a loud sigh. Seth sat down next to her while lightly stroking her flank. "I think we should get some pizza delivered. It's been too long since I've had some." He pulled out his pokedex, using its internet feature to order online, having it be delivered to their room. When he finished Eclipse began to speak.

	"Since Soul got to show off something..." Her form shimmered a bit, before she grew in size slightly. The number one thing that grew was her chest, forming a pair of d cup breasts. Her form became much more slender, her waist the stereotypical hourglass shape. She reached up and groped her chest, tweaking her erect nipples. "What do you think~?" Seth was speechless, holding up a hand as if asking permission to touch them.

	"What happened? You look exactly the same." Soul said without lifting her head off the bed. 

	"Why did you have to ruin it!" Eclipse shouted at her. Her form shimmered again and she looked normal again. "This is what I really wanted to show you." She reached to her chest and pulled aside some of her fur to show a large scar. "Back when I was with team Darkfire, I talked back to Demon once. He did this in response. He is vicious and unpredictable so don't underestimate him." Eclipse hopped up onto the other bed, laying back and struggling to pick up the remote with her claws. 

	Seth turned his attention back to Soul. "How you feeling?"

	"Like crap." She mumbled. "Worth it though." She stayed mostly still, laid out flat on the bed. 

	He got up, going over to Eclipse and taking the remote from her. She was about to put up a fuss but she realized he was trying to help. He found a channel they would all enjoy and shortly after, dinner arrived. 

	After they ate, all the girls had pizza sauce staining their fur. Seth took a wash cloth and cleaned them all up. Soul remained lying down hardly moving. He climbed back onto the bed and put his hands onto Soul's shoulders, beginning to massage her. She purred happily and pushed herself into his touch. He continued this for a while. "Ya know, a hot bath can be good for sore muscles." She growled lightly under his fingers. 

	"I agree with her," Eclipse said, tearing her attention away from the TV. "Baths are boring."

	"Well I'm gonna get ready for bed." He departed for the bathroom and soon the sound of the shower could be heard. A short while later it stopped and Seth came back out in his underwear. He flipped off the main light, leaving only the TV on for light. Seth got onto the bed and Soul and Sky got into their usual positions on either side of him. 

	Just as they started to get comfortable, Eclipse asked, "What, no room for me?" with a pouty look. 

	"These spots are reserved for my mates. You have to earn it." He said, squeezing them closer. 

	She got a mischievous look in her eyes. "Is that a challenge~?" 

	"It's not about sex. It's more than that." He said, rubbing his nose against Sky's ear. Eclipse realized her fault and turned over, her back to the other bed and pulled up the covers carefully. Soon they were all asleep.

	However, Seth's rest was not peaceful. Once again his sleep was plagued by vivid nightmares. They were even more powerful this time. The emotions they filled him with were so potent, it transformed him into his anthro lucario form. He was eventually roused from sleep by the vision of a lab table with many cruel looking instruments and a piercing scream. He shot up, the sudden movement waking both Sky and Soul. He instinctually brought up a hand to wipe the cold sweat off of his now furred forehead. After spending a few moments to catch his breath, he said, "Sorry, I had a..." He trailed off as he felt something. His single pair of aura sensors floated up. 

	He could feel something. It felt like someone crying out for help, but it was not auditory, more of a sensation than anything. Soul opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, but Seth put his hand to her lips. He got out of the bed, looking absently in the direction of the feeling. 

	"Everyone, wake up." He said, rustling Eclipse. "We're going out."

	"Why!?" Eclipse said in frustration. "Its past midnight!"

	"We've got work to do. Up, now." 

	Shortly after, they were outside the pokemon center, the place being totally empty at this late hour. Seth led them, following the feeling through the dimly lit city streets. It took them to a unassuming looking warehouse that looked to be abandoned. They headed inside and found nothing of interest. 

	"That's odd." Eclipse thought out loud. "This place should be much more dirty if its abandoned, but there is hardly any dust or trash lying around."

	Seth almost totally ignored her, making a beeline for a large pile of wooden crates. He reeled back and smashed the flimsy boxes with little effort. Behind them, was a large metal hatch in the floor. There was a hefty looking padlock holding it shut.

	"I got this," Eclipse bragged. She came over and began breathing a small stream of fire directly onto the lock. The metal became a bright red before she fired a small blast of darkness at it. The padlock shattered, giving total access to the secrets hidden within. 

	Seth was the first to go down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, they found themselves in a wide room, filled with many different crates. He curiously opened the top of one to find it filled with pokemon supplies, mostly balls and healing items. The cries for help were much more fervent now, filling his mind. "Alright, we are looking for someone in need. Split up in teams of two, Soul and Eclipse, and Sky, you're with me." They all saw the intensity in his face, and knew that this was serious. They split up, going opposite directions down the hall. 

+++

	Seth and Sky proceeded down the hall, seeing a few doors but they were locked. Seth could have broken them down, but he didn't want to start tearing the place apart... yet. They soon found a familiar room, an arena, covered in bloodstains. 

	"What happened here?!" Sky said, not believing her eyes.

	"If my dreams were right, they forced pokemon to fight here, sometimes to the death."

	"That's... horrible!" She cried out. 

	"This is exactly why we're here. I heard someone calling for help." He spotted another door on the opposite side of the room. "This way."

	Inside that room were many cages, inside some were pokemon. Seth walked over to one, looking inside at the growlithe. It's fur was torn, covering in bald spots and adorned with scars. Upon seeing him, it backed into the cage and began growling at him. Seth looked for a release but there was seemingly no way to open the cage. "I'll be back for you." He told it, before continuing on. Past the cage room was another door, and past that, a hallway. At the end of that hallway, was another locked door. Seth came to the door, looking back to see that this was the only way to go. He gave it a closer look. There was no way he could break it down, with how thick and reinforced it looked. The only way to open it looked to be the keypad next to it. "

	"Shit." He cursed under his breath. "We need the code. Let's go back to the other room, maybe we can get some of those cages open." Sky nodded, having steeled herself for the horrors ahead.  

+++

	Back on the other side of the facility, Soul and Eclipse had found a few supply rooms. In one room, they found what looked to be quarters, a couple of bunk beds lining the walls. A few were occupied even. Eclipse quietly shut the door. "Not here." She whispered to Soul. 

	They continued down the way until they found a lab looking room. There was little inside in the way of usable information. There were vials and chemicals around the room but nothing told them of the purpose. 

	At the end of the path, they found something good: a generator. "Oh yea!" Eclipse said. "Soul, help me bust this thing." Soul smiled at this and together they smashed the generator. 

+++

	Seth was attempting to pry the bars off of a cage to release the pokemon inside, but was having no luck. Suddenly, the  lights flickered before shutting off, plunging the room into darkness. A few seconds later, dim red lighting filled the room. From the hallway towards the locked door, Seth heard a noise and then a voice. "Hurry the fuck up!" A couple seconds later, a man appeared through the door. 

	"What the-" Was all he managed before he was lifted into the air, pulled into the room and slammed him to the floor. His arm reached for his hip, but Sky held strong. Seth recognized the shape on his belt, a holster. He rushed over and took the gun out of it and slid it away. 

	"Sky, take care of him." She nodded and Seth headed into the hallway. 

	Behind him he heard the man shout, "Who are you!?" Seth ignored him and proceeded down the hall. The door at the end was open and he could hear clinking glass and whimpering. He got to it, trying to be quiet. "Well? What happened?" A voice inside asked. Seth rushed inside and delivered a forceful punch to his stomach. The man in a lab coat toppled over, clutching his chest. Seth formed a ball of aura and pointed it at the man's head. 

	"What are you doing here?!" He asked, sounding very threatening. 

	"Fuck you, freak!" The man said, through his coughing, and spit at Seth. 

	Seth forced his hand down, the ball impacting the man's face. It exploded, sending him back and into the table he had been standing before. The impact had broken his jaw and burned his face, followed by the cascade of glass, cutting him up more. 
	
	Seth turned his heads to the table, where an obviously female lucario was strapped down. She had a pair of C cup breasts, which was odd for a pokemon. She was squirming and crying profusely on the cold metal table. Seth went to her and tried to pry apart the metal cuffs holding her down, but they did not budge. "I'll get you out, I promise." He reassured her. He turned his attention back to the doctor. 

	He now held a pistol and was pointing it right at Seth. Before he fired, Seth spun around and delivered a fearsome blaze kick to the side of his head. The fire lit his hair and clothes ablaze, and Seth felt his neck twist under his attack. The man went limp and fell to the floor, as his clothes lightly burned. The flames quickly sputtered out, leaving only a corpse behind. On the table, Seth found a key and quickly went to free the captive lucario. "Thank you!" She kept saying, tears still streaming from her eyes. When she was free, she pointed a paw to the wall, where a key ring hung from a hook. "Those are the keys for the cages. Please, you have to free everyone!"

	"That's why I'm here, come with me." He said, leaving the room. She followed close behind, her tears starting to stop. 

	"Did you hear my call? I've been sending out aura projections for a while now."

	"I think so. C'mon, we need to get the hell out." He responded, hurrying back into the cage room. Back there, Sky now had the man, who looked more like a security guard than a scientist, pinned against a wall, his arms twisted behind his back. He held up the key ring to her, jiggling it. He then went around and unlocked every cell, some pokemon ran away immediately, where as others just hid. None of them tried to speak, only driven by the desire for freedom. When all the cages were open, Seth looked to Sky. "Bring him over here, we'll see how he likes it." She got the idea and forced the guard into a cage, which Seth locked. "Okay, let's get the others." He left and Sky and the lucario followed him.

	"What are you?" The female lucario asked, "You aren't a normal lucario, your aura is different."

	"It's complicated. I can explain when we are safe." 

	Back at the original intersection, they reunited with Soul and Eclipse. "Are you okay?" Seth asked. 

	"Yea, we took care of things." Soul said. With that, they all headed back to the surface.

	Once there, Seth told the lucario, "You're free now. I guess this is goodbye." He turned to leave, but the lucario lunged at him, wrapping her arms around him. 

	"I don't have anywhere to go! Please! I want to come with you!" She begged, her tears wetting Seth's fur. 

	"Alright, alright." Seth said quietly, trying to calm her down. "Do you have a name?" 

	"The doctors called me Eve."

	"Are you comfortable being called that?" He asked.

	"Yes, I think I'll be fine." She said, still whimpering. 

	"So, Eve, let's go to bed." He said, taking her hand and leading her back to the hotel.