Chapter 031

Waiting until the Vaporeon had finished eating and settled down, Leon asked, 'Is it just you and your egg here? What happened to the father...?'

Seemingly confused by Leon's question, the Vaporeon remained silent for a while before answering, 'There isn't one...?' as if it were a question.

'Then, if you don't mind my asking, how did you produce an egg...?' asked Leon.

'My bottom aches, so I track down those who smell good,' answered the Vaporeon, a distinctly smile-like expression developing across its face as it appended, 'Once the ache goes away, I return here and lay down until I get really hungry. When I wake up, there's an egg.'

'...'

Though it felt wrong, Leon deliberated for a moment before asking, 'So, when your 'bottom' aches, you go and find other Pokemon to make it go away? What do you do with them...?'

'They put their hot things inside me, and then I feel really, really good~!' replied the Vaporeon, raising its head and drumming its tail in excitement.

'So she goes out, sleeps with random Pokemon, and then returns to lay an egg...' Leon concluded, simultaneously getting the impression things were getting lost in translation as he and the Vaporeon conversed via telepathy.

'What happens when the egg hatches...?' asked Leon.

Angling her head toward the ceiling, the Vaporeon explained, 'I dig up and then use my mouth to carry the little one far away. Then I swim back so it can't follow my scent.'

'You abandon it...?' asked Leon.

'Abandon?' parroted the Vaporeon, appearing to contemplate the word for several seconds before supplanting, 'Not abandon. The little ones cannot swim, and they stop moving if I keep them here. And if I don't carry them far away, the yellow one will make them stop with its bright land and then eat them.'

'Yellow one...are you talking about the Electabuzz that electrocuted all those fish...?' asked Leon.

Nodding in affirmation, the Vaporeon explained, 'The yellow one scares away other ones and makes catching fish easy, but its light hurts, and it smells bad.'

'Then, what would you say if I told you I could take you and your egg to a safe place? A place where you can eat lots of food like the kind I gave you earlier,' probed Leon.

Catching Leon a little off guard, the Vaporeon countered by asking, 'Will you make my bottom feel good?'

Recovering quickly, Leon answered, 'I can't do it personally, but when your bottom aches, I can bring you back here. Then you can search for the ones that smell good.'

'But why?' asked the Vaporeon, once again leaving Leon at a loss as she stated, 'Leon has a very good smell. It makes my bottom and my mouth hungry.'

Choosing his words carefully, Leon explained, 'It's because I'm a human. Humans and Pokemon can be friends, but they shouldn't put their things and bottoms together.'

'Why?' asked the Vaporeon, tilting its head from side to side as it tried to convince him by expressing, 'It feels really good. It makes me happy and makes those who smell good happy. Leons smells really, really good, so it should make you feel really happy.'

Shaking his nonexistent head in exasperation, Leon gave up explaining and simply asserted, 'That's not the deal I'm making. I will keep you and your little ones safe, healthy, and well-fed. I can also help you get much stronger. But when it comes to...easing the ache of your bottom, you must rely on other Pokemon, not people, okay?'

'I don't get it...' mumbled the Vaporeon, resting its head atop its paws with a notably downcast expression, adding, 'Leon says that Leon will keep me safe, but here is safe. Here is happy. Leon stay here...?'

Instead of outright answering no, Leon proposed, 'How about this...come with me. I will show you it's safe and happy outside. And if you don't like it, I will bring you back here.'

'But how can I be happy if my bottom aches?' asked the Vaporeon. Then, demonstrating that she was already aching, she adjusted her position and started licking between her legs.

Following a lengthy silence, Leon asked, 'Should we look for the ones who smell good? We can take your egg with you.'

'Leon smells good,' the Vaporeon repeated, leaving the person in question feeling like he was speaking with a brick wall. He knew that even humans could be insensible when they were horny, leading to what was known as post-nut clarity, but the Vaporeon appeared to be on another level as she really began going to town on herself...

'Let's try this...' thought Leon, causing the Vaporeon to stop mid-lick as he proposed, 'If you go and find someone else that smells good, I'll give you more of the fish from before.'

Bouncing to her feet, the Vaporeon telepathically exclaimed, 'More of the happy fish!? Lots more!?'

'Enough to make your stomach super happy,' replied Leon, prompting the Vaporeon to all but ignore her egg as she dove into the water. Fortunately, Leon had been preparing to nab it for quite some time, managing to place it in his Storage before it was out of range...

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'This somehow feels worse than locking her in a room with Gakuto for a few days...' thought Leon, standing with his back turned and nonexistent arms crossed as the Vaporeon was swarmed by a veritable colony/troop of Mankey, led by a single Primeape. He was worried when the Vaporeon first led him there, but she assured him it was where she always went, a reality Leon's brain wasn't quite equipped to process...

Unfortunately, as he was the one who had 'coerced' her there, Leon felt obligated to stick around until the group of monkey-like Pokemon were finished or got violent. It honestly made him feel revolted, as though he had whored the Vaporeon out, but he knew it was ultimately just nature taking its course. Vaporeons, Mankeys, and Primeapes were clearly in the same egg group since they were able to produce offspring, so he just had to suck it up, be patient, and treat the incident like dropping his Pokemon off at a Daycare Center with a Ditto...

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Watching the now off-white Vaporeon chow down on the various plates of food he set out for her, Leon waited until she was finishing up the last one before asking, "Does your bottom feel better now?"

Hearing Leon's question, the Vaporeon plopped its butt down, adopted a distinctly smiling expression, and responded with a loud cry reminiscent of a dolphin or perhaps an orca's cry. He couldn't understand her without a telepathic link, but she was fairly obviously happy.

Taking a seat and crossing his nonexistent legs, Leon pulled out one of his few remaining Pokeballs, intending to ask the Vaporeon if she recognized what it was, but her reaction made that clear as she promptly lowered her body into a pouncing posture and growled with displeasure.

"I'm not going to force you to go inside," assured Leon. "I just wanted to ask if you know what it was."

Though it wasn't immediate, the Vaporeon eventually relaxed its body and even approached the Pokeball, sniffing it tentatively before directing her snout to where Leon was seated. More specifically, she lowered her face and sniffed at his crotch, but since he didn't possess a body, Leon wasn't sure how she could smell anything. He didn't ask, either. Instead, he once again possessed the Vaporeon, startling her as he asked, 'Can you tell me about this ball...?'

Before answering Leon's question, the Vaporeon curled up where he had been seated, yawning before resting her chin on her forepaws, closing her eyes, and responding, 'It is the tool of the Masters, the ones who come to take us away...'

'Have you ever seen one of these Masters...?' asked Leon.

'No, but we all remember them,' replied Vaporeon. 'They were tall, and all looked different, but they would come into homes, hurt us, and then take us away. Then, a long, long time ago, one of the Masters asked the shiny one in the sky to free us. After that, we were here.'

'Are you referring to Arceus?' asked Leon, causing the Vaporeon to tilt its head slightly, seemingly contemplating the question before offering a curt nod and responding, ''Yes, it was Arceus. And the Master who wished for our freedom was like you, someone who really smelled good. But he had a body, and his fur was green.'

Though Leon couldn't remember the specific game or the person's name, he had a good idea who Vaporeon was referencing. One of the series had a green-haired antagonist, later turned deuteragonist, who could link with the hearts of Pokemon, causing him to loathe trainers and the society that had formed around them. Leon remembered him as a pretty cool guy, but as it had been at least ten years since he played the associated game, the man's name had faded from his mind. One thing he did recall was that the man possessed a Zorua, but that was about it.

'My body feels heavy...' said the Vaporeon, shattering Leon's reverie. When he looked down, he noticed the Vaporeon's eyes closing, but since her Stamina was still around half full and gradually increasing due to the effects of the food she had devoured, it couldn't be that she was sleepy. Though, considering what she had endured, he honestly couldn't blame her for needing a nap...

As Leon stared down at the Vaporeon, wondering what the problem was, an orange box suddenly expanded from her side in his heads-up display, showing what appeared to be a tiny egg yolk flowing against a backdrop of bright red.

'Okay, I don't need to see that...' muttered Leon, swiping his hand to make the window move to the side and vanish, similar to clearing a notification on a cell phone. Then, looking between the slumbering Vaporeon and the Pokeball, he shook his head before canceling the possession, picking her up, and carrying her manually back to the portal. It was highly probable that teleportation was safe and easier, but as he didn't know for certain what would happen to the Vaporeon's newly developing egg, he decided to play it safe...

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"You want to leave her here...?" asked Wil, smiling, but the rest of his expression made it clear he wasn't prepared for the responsibility of raising an animal. 

"You know I already have my hands full with Aht..." Wil explained. "She currently has the mental capacity of a child, so there's a possibility she could inadvertently smother this, what did you call it, a Vaporeon...? I'd really like to help, Leon, but..."

"It's fine," stated Leon. "I won't ask you to forget that I asked, but since you're much more familiar with handling magical creatures, mind lending me some advice?"

Shaking his head, Wil replied, "I would need to observe her to offer any legitimate advice. What I can suggest is keeping track of everything she eats as well as everything she 'discharges.' Changes in fecal structure or urine color can be early warning signs of declining health or an improper diet. Ah...!"

Gently hammering his right fist into the palm of his left hand, Wil's usual smile returned as he suggested, "You should ask Ms. Kawakami for help. I seem to recall her stating that she was studying to become a Nutritionist in her previous life. She's also a very kind girl, so she may even be willing to look after the Vaporeon in your stead."

"If not, I'm certain Yamato would talk her into it," said Leon, rising to his feet and picking up the still-unconscious Vaporeon. He presumed, based on what she had said previously, that she would remain unconscious until her egg was laid. However, as he had no idea when that would be, he felt somewhat anxious as he hastily departed Wil's Workshop and carried the Vaporeon to his manor, intending to lay her in his room and watch over her as he sent Petra or another one of his employees to fetch Wanko...

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