Varying Circumstances

Author’s Note: It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I suppose I’ve got the time to spin some more yarn.. it's the biggest chapter yet!

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What happy ending? It felt like the entire world had ended. Well, maybe for Nicholas it had. It only felt like a short time, but the trainer awoke with a splitting headache on a beach. Things seemed normal again. Well, as far as he could tell. There was no storms, no blinding sunlight, no panicked Pokemon making a run away from the ensuing chaos. It seemed like a normal beach, on a normal island, somewhere in a normal ocean. What time was it? For that matter, what day was it?

Groggily, Nicholas slowly makes his way to a stand, rubbing the back of his head. It felt dry and caked. Odd. He glances back at the sand. Flakes of dark red, dried blood. “What the hell is this?” He grumbles, slowly looking at the ocean. He wants to wash up, but the salt water would hurt like hell if he had an open wound. He forgoes that in favor of looking up the beach in both directions. Nothing but palm trees. Was he on a desert island? That sort of thing only happened in books… surely, whoever put him here - and he assumes, of course, that 'whoever' was probably Raina – wouldn't have put him somewhere where he wouldn't have been able to have contact with civilization.

Right?

Nicholas takes in the sight of Wailmer breaching the surface noisily far from the beach, and he tries his best to ignore a flock of Wingull hovering noisily not far overhead, riding the winds to stay aloft. They dive from time to time to snag fish, and the larger Pelliper dive for Remoraid. Krabby make way for Nicholas as he turns to walk down the beach. There's no point in staying in one place. Maybe if he follows the beach, he can find civilization.

Nicholas reaches down to check his belt. All of his Pokeballs are there and accounted for. He unclips the Pokeball containing his Absol, and he tosses it gently ahead of himself. The red light that launches from the ball exposes a growling, clearly angry Absol... and even as Nicholas catches the thrown ball and shrinks it again, that expression turns to pure confusion. “It's okay,” Nicholas smiles, kneeling to run a hand slowly along Aisha's head. She seems more preoccupied in insuring there is no danger, but soon, she turns and nuzzles her master.

Then, Aisha recoils. Stubble. Nicholas blinks and reaches up. His face feels like he's gone without shaving for several days. “Sorry,” he apologizes to his Absol. “I guess that means you don't think I should grow a beard,” he grins, for the first time in a while. “Where do you think Kristina is?”

Aisha lets out a gentle noise, watching as Nicholas rises back onto his feet. “So... let's break things down,” he reasons, looking around the beach again slowly. The Krabby from where he'd already walked peek their heads out from the holes they'd dug in the beach, before slowly walking out when they realize it's safe, content to sideways shuffle their ways up and down the beach, skittering away from the ocean when it comes in too far. “I have no backpack, I have no idea where I am, what day it is, what the hell happened, and who's around. I think I would be depressed as hell if I didn't have you, Aisha,” he smiles at her.

Reacting positively to the presumed praise, Aisha gently nuzzles her head into his hand. He pets her softly, running his hand slowly along the horn on her head. She seems content with this, letting out a gentle rumble from her throat, only stopping when Nicholas moves to walk forward, quickly catching up to walk at his side. “So, what do you think happened to Kristina and Melina?” Nicholas inquires his Pokemon, who responds with an inquisitive glance. “You didn't like the competition, did you?” He grins.

Aisha lets out a soft snort at that one, looking ahead with what Nick could only assume was an indignant look. He chuckles anyway, and simply continues to walk. It seems like hours of walking, but finally, there's what looks like a river. “Finally. Let's get some water..” He muses, jogging to make it to the river a little sooner. He treks up the river just a bit further, before working off the dirty, sandy clothes. Upon checking the back, it's darker than the rest, and he can only assume it's blood. Or it might be sweat. A quick dip of the shirt into the water shows a red tint to the slow rush of water. Definitely blood.

“What the hell, did she drop me or something?” Nicholas grumbles aloud, standing to wring out his shirt, watching his Absol simply leap into the water, where she sips the water. He kneels down again, cupping his hands, and bringing the water up to his face. Drinking his fill, Nicholas works off the rest of his clothes. It doesn't seem like anyone's even around, anyway, so he isn't modest about it. Aisha eyes him as he takes off his clothes, observing with some amusement as he climbs into the river and begins to wash up.

Aisha steps up to join her master, sitting down. Her chest breaks the water like this. He chuckles, and splashes her gently, playfully. Another curious look, before she leans her head down, dipping her horn into the water.. and flicking some water at her master. “Not nearly what you'd get if you had a hand,” Nicholas grins at her playfully, splashing her again gently. She gives him an annoyed look, snorting again. “All right, all right, I get the idea. You don't like getting splashed,” he smirks, leaning down to make sure he's washed his hair clean of any caked blood. He takes the time to check his head for an open wound.

When Nicholas doesn't find anything worse than what felt like several scabs, he simply shrugs and lets it go. No use getting worked up over it. He glances over at Aisha, who seems to be watching patiently as a Magikarp swims by. “And there goes another liability..” Nicholas murmurs, watching it swim without even considering where it's going. Out into the ocean, specifically. When he feels at least cleaner than before, Nicholas moves to a stand. Pants and boxers are dry, if still dirty, but that's all he's got, and so he puts them on. He dips the t-shirt into the river, and he pulls the shirt up and around his head, tying it from behind. A make-shift bandanna!

“How do I look? Rugged, eh? Like guys from those stories,” Nicholas poses, hands balled into fists, resting on his waist. He's staring out at the ocean, looking bold.. but he soon glances down at his Absol to see her reaction.. and he only gets a snort, and a slow shaking of the head. “Hey, what's that all about? I'm your trainer, y'know. And your mate, I suppose. I can deny you service!”

All Nicholas gets in reply is what he can only assume is her most honest attempt at a smirk and a laugh. “And to think, you were an obedient Pokemon at one point,” he smirks, slowly moving to walk away from the river. It takes another hour of walking, but soon, Nicholas finds what looks like homes made from bamboo and other materials on the island. Boats carved from the bark of trees seem to be hung up on a crude platform made of branches. Clearly, whoever lives here is not particularly technologically advanced.

As he gets closer, he realizes that there are indeed people there. Civilization! Not exactly with the same comforts of home, but as he watches what looks like a Chamander light a fire for the rapidly approaching evening, he figures life must be a little easier for these individuals, that they at least domesticated Pokemon. He doesn't figure they've got Pokeballs, anyway, considering the huts and boats. As he makes his way closer, the people, wearing what seems to be loincloth, stare at him. Well, he most certainly stands out. They've probably never heard of khaki before.

“Does anyone here speak English?” Nicholas inquires when he finally reaches the fire. Even the Pokemon nearby – the Charmander, a Primeape, a Sviper – are staring at him by this point.

“We all do,” one of the male individuals replies calmly. “Are you a visitor?”

“Not by choice,” Nicholas admits, leaning down to stroke Aisha's head as she moves protectively to his side, having initially been distracted by the curiosity from a nearby Shellder. “Is this island all there is? Is there a town or anything nearby? Where the hell am I, anyway?”

“Woah, one question at a time, friend. What is your name?” A man wanders up, clearly a chief.. or something. He seems far more decorated than the others did. Not to mention, he seems older and 'wiser'. “I am Chief Mantis.”

Nicholas feels a bit proud to have called that one. “Nicholas Gradston. I'm from the Kanto region. Have you heard of it?”

“Yes, we have,” the Chief replies.

“Excellent. Is there any way to get back?” Nicholas inquires, hopeful.

“No. The only way out of here is by flying Pokemon,” the Chief offers, shattering Nicholas' hopes. He must realize the dejected look on the trainer's face, because he quickly speaks up again. “Regarding your questions, no, there is no town. This island is called Caladisi Island, and yes, this island is all there is.”

Well, that makes sense, Nicholas calmly figures to himself. Raina would do something like this. He's already been a pain in Team Rocket's ass, so why not deposit one of their worst enemies on an island out in the middle of nowhere? There's a brief flash of anger, but Nicholas chooses to suppress it for now. He dusts himself off a bit, and he seems to realize he's still being stared at. “Um..” He looks around. “Well, if there's no way off the island, would it be all right if I stayed here?”

“Of course,” the Chief nods slowly. “Everyone, please welcome Nicholas as our guest. Treat him as one of our own. We will give him one of the empty huts.”

“Joyous day, right, Aisha?” Nicholas offers sarcastically, looking down at the Absol, petting her head slowly.

“Just be aware that we have an active volcano. Keep your Absol with you at all times, if you intend to keep her around, because there is an Absol that lives up in the mountains that comes down when the volcano is preparing to blow,” the Chief warns calmly. He claps his hands, and a young woman slowly moves to her side. “Escort Nicholas to his hut and explain how things work here, please, Lanai.”

The woman slowly makes her way around the crackling fire and moves closer to Nicholas, just as Aisha skirts past Nicholas and out into the jungle. “Aisha!” Nicholas cries to her, but she's long gone. He grumbles a bit, and focuses on Lanai.

Lanai giggles a bit, looking over her shoulder and into the jungle where the Absol disappeared. “Your Pokemon isn't very obedient, is she?”

“Well, it depends, really..” Nicholas admits. “It's an on-again, off-again obedience. She's like a light-switch..” When Lanai gives him a confused look, he clears his throat. “She's like the tide.” Then, of course, things click for the female, and she nods, giving him a knowing look.

“I know how that is,” Lanai smiles slyly. “My Seel has a mischievous streak a mile wide.”

For the first time, however, Nicholas focuses on Lanai and sizes her up. Like the rest of the tribe, she has a dark tan from being out in the sun almost constantly. Her green hair was tied back in a ponytail by what looks like some kind of twine, and her green eyes are prominent in contrast to her skin. Her body is lithe, though scars are immediately obvious on her shoulders. She lacks shoes like Nicholas, and isn't very modestly clothed, the leather used to cover both her chest and lower torso in small amounts. Still, it seems fairly comfortable, as far as he can guess.

“Follow me,” Lanai offers after a moment, turning to walk past the fire. Nicholas jogs to catch up, walking alongside her. “What Pokemon have you trained, Nicholas?” She inquires curiously, glancing over at him from the corner of her eyes.

“I have a Machop, a Beedrill, my Absol, as you saw for a few seconds..” Nicholas muses, getting a giggle from the woman. “I have a.. Cleffa.. Gardevoir.. and a Dragonair.”

Lanai seems to give pause when he finishes. “I must admit..” She muses calmly. “That I am unfamiliar with many of the Pokemon you've told me of. I've only ever seen the Absol we have on this island.. would you care to show me your Pokemon?”

“Seems a bit late.. why don't we save it tomorrow? Do you have more than just your Seel?” Nicholas inquires.

Lanai nods, continuing to walk again. “A Seedot, and a Weepinbell.” When she finishes, she stops at a crude door made of what Nicholas can only assume, in the dying sunlight, is a flap of leather.

Nicholas reaches out to push open the flap, and he enters, glancing back as Lanai reaches up to gently hook the flap to get in light from the dying sun, and the fire nearby. “I see. Well, I'll show you my Pokemon tomorrow. I'm.. really tired, and I've been having a really rough few months..”

Understanding, Lanai nods slowly, smiling at him. “I don't know how I'm going to sleep tonight..” She giggles, slowly moving to turn around, moving back to the doorway. She glances over her shoulder at him, and smiles. “Sleep well, Nicholas.”

“Good night, Lanai,” Nicholas waves a bit, watching Lanai walk back towards the fire. He waits a moment, before taking in a deep breath, releasing it. With the dark closing in, he's hardly realized how tired he was until just that moment. It all hits him like.. whatever Raina dropped him on. He grumbles a bit as he again remembers that, but for how tired he is, he simply lets it go. He turns to look at his room. The floor is made of bamboo, and tightly wound bamboo, at that. Like the hut, the floor is sturdy, and the roof and ceiling seem to be thatched palm leaves and a kind of large, broad leaf that Nicholas is unfamiliar with. Otherwise, the hut has a single open window, with its own flap of leather to fasten to stave off wind and rain.

For the moment, Nicholas leaves the window open, choosing to sleep tonight. He's hungry, yes, but exhaustion prevails today. He unhooks the leather flap that was his door carefully, lowering it. A quick look around the hut shows there's a kind of cot. It seems to be leather that's been tightly bound to the bamboo frame. Seems there's a lot of constants in their common building materials. Nicholas summons his Cleffa from its Pokeball, and it seems ecstatic to be let out. He leans down to pluck it up from the ground, and he lays down.

The Cleffa, typically excitable and energetic, seems to realize that it's time for sleep.. and it's difficult to ignore the clues. Nicholas is out almost the second his eyes close. Cleffa snuggles quietly into his master's arms, and it, too, finds sleep fairly easily.

––––––––

Only the sound of yelling awakens Nicholas from the deepest sleep of his life, and he grumbles. He's so tempted to yell at whoever is causing the racket, but then he seems to return to reality after a few moments. He's not in a bed, he's in some kind of primitive cot. He's not in a hotel, or even at home, he's in a hut. He's not even on a continent, he's on a desert island. “Son of a bitch,” he sighs to himself, before he slowly moves to a stand, lifting his Cleffa. The movement awakens the Pokemon, who looks around confused as Nicholas simply walks out of his hut, rubbing his eyes. The sun is bright in the sky again, and people seem to be gathering near where the fireplace was.

As Nicholas presses forward reluctantly, he spots Lanai in the crowd, slowly pushing through natives to get to her. “What's going on?” He inquires curiously.

Lanai doesn't even answer him, eyes focused on something that Nicholas can't even see past all the heads. “The Absol has descended from the volcano we spoke of the other night,” she offers. “We are considering our options.”

Nicholas steps forward through the crowd, past Lanai, and to the middle, where Chief Mantis stands, looking calmly at the Absol. The moment the Absol spots Nicholas, it breaks into a run. “Oh, it's just Aisha.”

The Chief groans. “Nicholas.. didn't I tell you..?”

“I'm sorry, I forgot all about her last night,” Nicholas kneels to catch Aisha when she gets closer, stroking underneath her chin gently. “I was just too tired to go looking for her in a dark jungle.”

“False alarm, people, go back to your duties,” the Chief lifts his arms, the crowd quickly breaking up, leaving only the Chief, Lanai, Nicholas and Aisha alone, who sniffs the Cleffa still held in Nicholas' arms. The two exchange dialogue with one another in the form of their names, even as Nicholas stands again. “Well.. it's fine. Just, please, don't let that happen again.” He murmurs, as he turns to walk away.

“I'll be a little quicker on the draw,” Nicholas muses, looking over at Lanai. “I owed you a presentation, didn't I?” He smiles at her, only to be interrupted by his stomach rudely interrupting him with a loud growl. Both Aisha and Cleffa look up in response, giving him inquisitive looks. “Oh, right, you've never heard that before, have you? I keep you well-fed.” He smirks.

The two Pokemon return to their dialogue after a moment of staring, and Lanai giggles. “Your Cleffa is adorable, and your Absol looks powerful.. I'm impressed, and I have not even seen half of your Pokemon,” she smiles genuinely. “I would like to see your Pokemon, but I know you're probably very hungry. Come, I will prepare a meal for you.”

Nicholas jogs quickly to catch up, Aisha swiftly turning to do so as well. The four of them enter what seems like an open sheltered area, with several 'tables' there. Again, bamboo is the order of the day for the furniture, as even the chairs and tables are made from the sturdy material. Nicholas moves to a sit, gently setting his Cleffa down on the table. Curious, and energetic as ever, Cleffa takes to exploring.. but refusing to jump down from the table as it takes in everything it can. “What do you have to eat around here for breakfast?”

“Usually fruits,” Lanai offers calmly, moving to pick up one of the broad leaves that Nicholas had seen thatched into his hut's roof. She lays it before him, and pulls it open, revealing several different kinds of fruit. Pineapple, oranges, bananas.. amongst other things.

Not hesitating to dig in, Nicholas plucks up some fruit and begins to eat, every once in a while tossing some of the fruit to Aisha, or handing some to his Cleffa. “I have to admit that I'm hoping there's going to be meat for dinner..”

“Yes, we usually have boar, or fish, depending on how lucky our hunters are,” Lanai offers, sliding slowly into a seat across from Nicholas. “Tell me more about yourself, Nicholas.”

Nicholas looks up from a bite of orange, and he seems to consider where to start. “Well, I was born on Indigo Plateau. I spent a lot of my younger years watching Pokemon battles. My father was an extremely strong trainer, and to become considered a 'Master', he was one of the people that a trainer had to defeat to be recognized,” he offers, allowing a short pause to let all of that sink in for Lanai, who seems extremely attentive. Not used to a captive audience like that, Nicholas chuckles, and continues.

“To become a trainer, you have to pass a test. I did fairly poorly,” Nicholas admits. “Passed by the skin of my teeth. You get a license..” he slowly reaches into his pocket to find his wallet. He's got all of his money, at least.. and his license, and badges he's obtained so far. He opens the wallet, extracts his license, and hands it to her. It has his picture and vital statistics. Lanai takes it and seems to look over every single detail. She even tests the durability of it.

“I have never seen metal like this before..” Lanai offers, handing it back to him. “It's very strong.” She smiles. “So, you are a trainer.. what does that mean?”

“It means you are competent in battling and raising and that you can capture and train Pokemon,” Nicholas offers, putting his license back into his wallet and pocketing it.

“Capture?” Lanai inquires, giving him a curious look.

Nicholas nods, reaching down to unclasp a Pokeball from his belt, and he offers it to her. “Press the button,” he smiles, glancing briefly at the stairs as a Seedot seems to slowly make its way up the stairs, intent on reaching Lanai, a look of extreme concentration on its face as it warily tackles its greatest enemy.

Lanai presses the button, nearly dropping the Pokeball as it enlarges without warning. “Oh, my! This is incredible!” She breathes, looking it over. “Now what?”

“Press the button again and gently toss it,” Nicholas instructs her.

Again, Lanai follows orders. When thrown, the Pokeball opens and, in a bright flash of red light, out pops Nicholas' Gardevoir. “This is the Gardevoir I told you about,” Nick offers, taking a bite of pineapple. Gardevoir looks confused for a moment but, seeing Cleffa and Aisha there, floats slowly over to converse with them.

“Amazing.. you are truly amazing, Nicholas,” Lanai smiles, gently picking the Pokeball off the ground and handing it to him.

Nicholas shakes his head slowly. “I'm only one of hundreds of thousands of trainers where I come from. We all compete in different ways.. some dress up their Pokemon and try to impress audiences, some fight to become the strongest and most well-known trainer.. and some journey and befriend Pokemon for the sole purpose of doing so. Others still breed Pokemon.”

“We have people here that do that,” Lanai nods slowly, smiling brightly at him. “We have men that breed and domesticate Pokemon. We do not have the things you do where you come from, so we must befriend them slowly. When you're given a Pokemon, it is yours for life. Nothing can seperate you. My first Pokemon was my dear Seedot..” She smiles, leaning down to pick up the aforementioned Pokemon from the floor. It had finally conquered the stairs! She holds it in her lap, and it watches Nicholas and his Pokemon eat with a look on its face that did not convey impression. “And, we do not usually fight them, but we have festivals where our breeders show off the power of their newest Pokemon, and we allow our Pokemon to fight. It's a little tournament we do once a season. The winner is given a special gift.”

“What's the gift?” Nicholas inquires in mid-bite on a slice of banana.

“You'll see. There is a festival in only a few days here.. you seemed to arrive at just the right time!” Lanai smiles brightly again. When Nicholas finishes and stands, so does Lanai. “Will you show me the rest of your Pokemon?”

Nicholas nods, cleaning his face off a bit with the shirt he'd unwrapped from his forehead. Completely forgotten from the other day. He's gotta wash this stuff again.. “Yeah. Let's go out into the sand.” With that, he plucks up his Cleffa and leaves the shelter in favor of the sun again, moving closer to the ocean, gently setting his Cleffa down in Aisha's back. He plucks each Pokeball off of his belt, and enlarges them, tossing them all at once. “C'mon out and say hello!”

When the red energy settles, standing in the sand is his Machop, Dragonair, and Beedrill. Of course, the Beedrill hovers over the others. The Pokemon realize there's no fight coming, and meet Gardevoir, Aisha and Cleffa half-way to discuss things. “They're really talkative today..” Nicholas murmurs, folding his arms across his chest.

“Your Pokemon are very impressive.. I've never seen anything like them before!” Lanai beams, moving closer to get a better look at the new arrivals. “There is no doubt in my mind that you will win the tournament.” She stands tall, looking at Nicholas. “I was thinking about fighting you, but my Pokemon aren't very strong..” She admits warily, before looking at Nicholas. “I want to be a trainer, though.”

Nicholas chuckles. “Well.. I don't see why not. Not like anyone's going to stop you,” he admits, looking around. “The Pokemon around here seem to be about around your Pokemon's skill levels, especially if you got them here.. so you should train them on the Pokemon in the jungle and on the beach.”

“We usually leave that to the breeders and trainers, but.. I suppose I'm one now,” Lanai smiles, watching as Nicholas returns all of his Pokemon but Aisha to their respective balls. “I'll have to go train.. I hope you'll forgive me for leaving you, Nicholas, but I must find my Pokemon. I want to start today! Maybe I can win a fight or two during the festival..” And, with that, she turns and plucks up her Seedot again, taking off back towards the huts.

“Yeah, well, that's a positive attitude to have..” Nicholas muses to himself, watching her run off. He folds his arms across his chest again, looking back down at Aisha. “Where the hell did you run off to last night, anyway?”

Aisha gives him a sly look, trotting away.

“You didn't... did you?” Nicholas groans. “You found that volcano Absol, didn't you?”

Only another sly look over her shoulder at Nicholas is all the answer he gets from his Absol.

“Do you want me to be jealous or something?” Nicholas grumbles, turning to follow her back towards the huts. “Because it's not working. I'll have you know, I can have whatever woman I want!”

A native nearby glances at him strangely, and Nicholas just smiles at him, before jogging to catch up with his Absol. “Get back here, you pain in the ass..”

––––––––

Several days passed, allowing Nicholas to get a better idea of what life was like there on Caladisi Island. Where the men lacked traditional metal razors to shave, they had taken old pieces of Cloyster shells and turned them into crude razors by sharpening them. It was a process that took a bit of practice – and a lot of pain – to get used to, but soon, Nicholas was good enough at manipulating his gifted shell enough to at least rid himself of the beard. Just shaving took a great deal of time, which he quickly learned.

The Pokemon on the island were surprisingly strong, as each battle Nicholas engaged in were fairly lengthy, but it seemed each day that passed, his Pokemon were getting much stronger, making the fights easier and easier. Only Nicholas' Cleffa set out of the fights, preferring to be held happily and observe as a part of the learning process. Their growth levels seemed to peak quickly, however. Much of the day that wasn't spent shaving, eating or fighting, was spent teaching Lanai about the continent he came from, and she listened intently to every detail, never missing a beat.

In time, Nicholas' clothes became torn and impossible to wear, so Lanai fashioned his own loincloth to allow him some modesty. It was definitely something different from what he was used to.

“It's like being naked, but you're not. The breeze is a bit unnerving, too,” Nicholas admits, looking himself over. The loincloth has little trouble properly covering him, but it seems like there's nothing there to protect him.

“We have had visitors here before,” Lanai admits. “And they've stayed long enough to have their clothes replaced by loincloth, and they've complained just as much as you have,” she giggles.

“What happened to them?” Nicholas inquires, leaning against the wall of Lanai's hut, watching her fashion a new holster for his Pokeballs, the six of them resting on a bamboo table not far from Lanai, who uses them to help her get an idea of how small to make the individual holsters.

Lanai looks up briefly from her work, before continuing again. “They wander off toward the volcano, and they're never heard from again. They just.. disappear. There are Victreebell in the jungle, so many think that they were devoured,” she admits with a smile. “Only trainers and breeders may enter the jungle. Everyone else is forbidden.”

“That explains why no-one questioned us going in the other day to train..” Nicholas muses, slowly moving to find a seat, preferring now to simply get off his feet. He's gotten used to wandering barefoot by this point, as his shoes have met the same fate as his clothes.

With a smile and a nod, Lanai slowly holds up the finished product. “Try this on and let me know how you like it,” she says proudly.

Leaning over to snag it, Nicholas once more stands – noting audibly how he'd only just sat down – and he pulls it on over his head. Fastening it to his waist, he inserts a Pokeball into each holster. One, two, three, four, five, six.. all three fit snugly. They're easily extracted with enough pressure on the bottom of the holster, but tightly set into the holsters to allow for vigorous activity. “Excellent. Thank you, Lanai,” he smiles at her.

“Don't mention it. It's the least I can do for you explaining everything about where you're from,” Lanai admits with a pleasant smile, slowly moving to a stand and moving out of the hut. Nicholas stands to follow, glancing over his shoulder as he leaves and hears a snort.

“Oh, c'mon, you would've known if we were doing that,” Nicholas muses to his Absol, who clearly seems unimpressed, but follows Nicholas anyway.

––––––––

The next day arrived fairly quickly. With his Pokemon well-rested, Nicholas eats breakfast, and approaches the Chief with his intentions to participate in the tournament.

“I have to admit,” the Chief chuckles a bit. “A lot of us were hoping you would. We've been wanting to see how powerful your Pokemon are.. they've never seen Pokemon like yours before.”

“Have you? Before now, I mean?” Nicholas offers, scratching Aisha's head gently.

The Chief nods slowly, giving him a knowing look. “I was born and raised in Sinnoh. I'm sure Lanai has mentioned the visitors that have shown up here to you..”

“Yeah,” Nicholas folds his arms across his chest.

“I was one of them. A former Sinnoh Master. I was impressed to find that they already knew English when I arrived fifty years ago,” the Chief offered. “So I changed my name, joined the tribe, and I found I was happiest here. Lanai's been telling me all about you.. Kanto, hm? Not a bad region.”

“You've visited?” Nicholas perks up a bit, glancing down at Aisha, who nudges his hand, trying to get his affections again.

“Mmm. Several times. Becoming a master in one region doesn't mean you're a master in other regions,” the Chief murmurs, leaning back in his chair. “How far did you get, Nicholas, before you wound up here?”

“Koga. I was on my way to Cinnabar, when I got sidetracked by.. an unfortunate turn of events,” Nicholas offers. “Kidnapping, nearly dying several times, cases of mistaken identity.. it wasn't exactly what I would have considered fun. You didn't have that sort of stuff happen to you, I bet.”

“Nope,” the Chief laughs heartily. “It sounds like you've outstripped my adventures. I wasn't much of an explorer.. I followed the path almost as straight as an arrow. I let no-one hold me back. I never had any companions. Those were my only regrets in life.. this is my way of making it up, I suppose.”

Nicholas nods slowly. “I'm guessing your Pokemon are pretty strong, huh? Are you participating?”

“Nope,” the Chief offers once again. “I stopped participating when I realized that no-one would ever get strong enough to beat me.”

“Fair enough,” Nicholas chuckles. “How'd you wind up here?”

“Got lost lookin' for Kanto's Pal Park. I landed on this little island, explored a bit, nearly got bored before I found these folks.. but I told you the rest of the story. The rest is history you already know,” the Chief muses. “Anyway.. good luck. I'm looking forward to seeing if you've got what it takes.”

“I guess someone who's conquered all four regions would know fairly well,” Nicholas smiles, before turning to go and find Lanai.

By the time evening was beginning to fall, the breeders began their fights. A variety of Pokemon from around the islands that had been bred were fought. Because they were limited to what was on the island, there were Wingull, Cloyster, Bellsprout, and even a Charmander.. likely the fire starting Charmander's offspring, but it was a Turtwig that came out on top. When the Pokemon was crowned victor of the breeder's tournament, the trainer's tournament began. Three on three rules. A large line was drawn in the sand, and fires were started in several places to provide enough light to see as the sun began to set.

The Pokemon were the typical fare from the forest. A large variety of grass, water and fire-types, likely from the volcano. The rarest one Nicholas could recognize was a Magmar, and one of the strongest Pokemon there in the fights. Nicholas' fights were over fairly quickly, with his team consisting of Gardevoir, Machop and, of course, Aisha. What Pokemon got past Gardevoir were quickly cut down by Aisha or Machop.

Despite participating and training hard before hand, Lanai was eliminated early into the tournament, but with two wins to her name, she was proud none-the-less. The Chief overlooked each of the fights, calmly watching and observing. Where the others clapped, he stayed quiet and relatively motionless, only his eyes moving, reflecting the fire's light, only moving when the final battle arrived, with Nicholas, and an older trainer by the name of Anuk, fighting. While the triple threat of the Magmar, Exeggutor, and Parasect were powerful, none of them could stand against Aisha, who cut through Exeggutor and Parasect easily, and finished a weakened Magmar, who fought an impressive battle with Machop.

“We have a winner for this season's tournament.. our guest, Nicholas!” Chief Mantis calls as he stands, garnering a cheer from the natives. “As promised,” he begins as he wanders over, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “For winning, you've been given a prize. The breeders hope that, when you finally return home, that you will allow this Turtwig the honor of taking you closer to becoming a master.”

“Thank you..” Nicholas was, to say the least, somewhat humbled. He leans down to gently pluck the Turtwig up, looking it over. It seems pleased, having watched all the fights while being healed.

“He has a lot of energy,” Anuk offers calmly to Nicholas as he approaches. “He will be a fine addition to your team. You are an admirable trainer, and I do not look forward to the day you'll leave. We have much we can learn from you.. congratulations.”

“Thanks,” Nicholas grins. Well, that's a first.. someone who's not a sore loser! He soaks in the attention. These are his people! Well, not really, but this is the closest to becoming a Master he'd gotten. It almost makes him forget everything that had happened before. It had only been a week, but even so.. things seem nicer here. Simpler. Plus, he's getting one hell of a tan being barely clothed like this. What's there to hate?

––––––––

“You're incredible, Nicholas!” Lanai squeals, leaping up to damn near tackle Nick as he finally gets away from the attention.

Nicholas catches her with a chuckle, shaking his head slowly. “No. Personally, I didn't think it was very fair.. but I guess I still won, and no-one seemed to care. Maybe they thought it was a challenge, that I had off-island Pokemon?”

“Who cares?” Lanai smiles, kissing Nicholas' cheek. “You're great. I'll always think that. Come here, I want to show you something,” she hops out of Nick's arms, and jogs towards Nick's hut. She disappears inside, leaving Nicholas to quirk an eyebrow and jog to follow. When he enters, she's taken up his entire bed, laying on it.

“Where am I gonna sleep, huh?” Nick muses playfully, looking down at her.

Lanai smiles slyly at him. “You're special, Nick,” she muses, slowly reaching back behind her to untie the cloth that protected her breasts, shucking it away calmly, with practiced grace. Or, that's how it seemed to Nicholas, anyway. “You're not from here.. you don't follow the same rules they do.. and I want you.”

Nick smirks a bit at that. “I've been right here for the past week.”

“I just wanted to see how well you did at the tournament,” Lanai says, reaching down to slowly slide the loincloth down off her waist, slowly working it down her legs, kicking it aside. “You've far exceeded my expectations. You're generous, you're interesting, you're smart..”

“If that's all it takes to impress you, you're going to be lost if you ever go to Kanto,” Nicholas slowly moves closer to her. “You know you're past the point of no return, right?”

“I don't care. I want it,” Lanai whispers softly, gently untying Nick's loincloth, leaning forward to grab the base of his rapidly hardening cock. A few gentle jerks, and she leans forward to take the head between her lips. Her tongue slowly circles the head, her eyes angled up to watch Nick's reactions to her pursuits. The warm wetness of her mouth, especially as she began to slowly take his cock deeper into her mouth, felt nothing short of incredible.

It had been such a long time since Nicholas had actually done anything like this that he'd almost forgotten what it felt like. Even Aisha seemed somewhat disinterested in any advances he made on the few nights he wasn't pushed to exhaustion, and the reasons that she'd been sneaking into the jungle, especially now, as he was enjoying the feel of Lanai's lips tightening around his cock, became clear. It explained why she was disinterested, anyway.

Well, that was fine. Nicholas decided he'd think more on it.. because right now, it was hard to think about anything more than the woman working hard to get him off at the moment. Her eyes finally closed, and she reached her free hand back to let her hair down. Her movements became a little faster, and the suction increased. “Mmmnnn.. Lanai..” Nick groans softly for her, the groan only seeming to drive her on.

Gently, Nicholas runs a hand slowly down to run through her hair, and after a moment, he gently pushes her away. “I need you,” he offers calmly to her, that look in his eyes undeniable to even someone inexperienced like Lanai.

Lanai looks up at her, reaching a hand up to brush her mouth with a wrist. “But I've been here for a while,” she smirks teasingly.

“Cute,” Nicholas muses, motioning towards the bed.

Lanai glances back.. and slowly moves to lay down on her back, spreading her legs wide. “I hope you don't mind if I want it this way.. this is one of few times I've ever done this..” She admits, breathing intensifying as he slowly climbs between her legs.

Not wanting to be left in any kind of debt, Nicholas slowly leans down and gently takes her lips against his, kissing her.. running those kisses slowly down her chest. “Not just yet,” he offers her, only to earn a whimper in both disappointment and pleasure as those lips take up an already hardened nipple, tongue slowly circling it, teeth coming together to nibble oh-so-gently against it. Each movement like that earns a gasp from the tanned woman, her body shivering. Slowly, Nick moves to pay attention to each nipple, switching between them. “You're driving me crazy, Nicholas,” Lanai whimpers softly, closing her eyes.

“Then it's time I stop teasing you,” Nicholas smiles up at her, leaning up a bit to kiss her lips gently again, before running his kisses slowly down her stomach, her muscles seeming to flutter as he does. He makes it between her legs, spreading her legs wide, happy to see her soaking wet. His lips gently press against her sensitive folds, eliciting another whimper of pleasure from Lanai. His tongue slowly runs along the flesh, taking in her taste. Her juices have a mildly sweet taste to them, no doubt from all the fruit the woman ate on a regular basis. It was more than enough incentive to continue.

Fingers slowly rise to take up her folds as his lips slowly migrate upwards to take up her clit. Each gentle tongue lap, each gentle suckle, gets the woman gasping, her body shaking. Her whimpers fill the hut, and Nicholas can only hope that the festivities are distracting everyone else. “Nicholas..” Lanai calls to him, panting, her body shivering. “I'm.. oohhh..!” She doesn't even finish her sentence as she climaxes, her body shivering violently, hands gripping the sides of the bamboo cot.

Knowing she's done this before, Nicholas has no qualms with bringing his body quickly over hers, pressing the head of his cock against her tight, soaked folds. He shivers softly as his cock pierces deep inside her in one swift thrust, and she gasps, pulling him down to kiss him passionately, closing her eyes, releasing her moan into the only thing available to her to muffle it when she can't hold back. When she finishes, Nicholas has bottomed out inside her, and she pants heavily, hands running to his arms. Her hands wrap gently around them. “Please, Nicholas..” She whispers heatedly, staring into his eyes with an apparent need.

Nicholas nods slowly in response, and he begins to take her slowly. She groans softly from the pleasure, closing her eyes.. tilting her head back a bit. With her neck exposed, Nicholas leans down and, much to her surprise, he nibbles and kisses softly at her neck, gathering whimpers from the woman with each inward thrust, each nibble of her neck. His thrusts begin to take up a harder, faster pace, and the harder he pounds her, the more she responds positively to his assault. She becomes more vocal, kissing him deeply whenever she just can't hold it in.

Each thrust only pushes Nicholas closer and closer to that inevitable climax. He knows he doesn't want this to end so soon. Attempts to distract himself fail when he looks down between them, watching Lanai's supple breasts bounce in time with each inward thrust. This is sufficient to distract him from his initial attempts to distract himself, and he groans deeply. She opens her eyes to look up at him as he does, and she kisses his lips softly. “Are you close, Nick..?”

“Yeah..” Nicholas admits, his eyes meeting hers as he fucks her harder, faster.

Lanai nods in understanding. “Cum wherever you want..” She whispers softly into his ear. “I'm safe..”

That's more than what's needed to throw Nicholas over the edge. His body shivers, his hands grip the edges of the bamboo cot.. his thrusts get harder, faster.. Lanai's eyes widen from the sudden intenser assault than what she was expecting.. and she groans, almost the exact same time Nicholas releases a second, deep groan. “Nicholas..! Nicholas!” She gasps, panting, holding his arms tighter. “Cum.. oh, God, cum inside me.. please..!”

Three more deep, hard thrusts, and Nicholas bottoms his cock deep inside her, letting out a guttural groan, pressing his face against her chest as he does, burying his face between her breasts to muffle the noise. His cock erupts deep inside her, the thick, hot seed spilling deep into her.. splashing her walls, filling her womb. Nicholas shivers, trying to recover from such a strong climax.. Lanai, however, is too busy trying to STOP climaxing. Her body shivers, and her hands slowly lift up to run through his hair. “I could.. I could get used to this..” She smiles softly up at him.

“You're not kidding.. I came a lot..” Nick admits, shivering as he slowly pulls out of her, leaning back to get a good look at his 'handiwork'. He wasn't kidding, as he watches the cum actively drip free of her folds. He looks up at her, and smiles warily. “Sorry..”

Lanai shakes her head slowly, slowly moving to lay down on her side. Nicholas moves to lay down next to her, wrapping his arms around her. “Would you mind if I slept here tonight? I don't want to risk getting caught running to my hut with cum dripping down my legs..” She whispers, giggling a bit.

“You may as well, because I'm fairly sure I have a few more rounds left in me..” Nicholas admits, chuckling nervously.

“Are you kidding?” Lanai's eyes go wide. “You must have really needed that..”

Nicholas shakes his head slowly. “You have no damn idea..”