Holding up the ‘PokéDex’ that Dr. Light had given him, Ranma looked to his right, where his Alpha stood. “Looks like this is it, Felicia.”
The Catgirl beamed at Ranma. “Yes, Master.”
Ranma blushed a little at the title the Catgirl had used for him. “Do you have to call me that, Felicia?”
Felicia pouted cutely. “It feels right.”
Sighing, Ranma nodded his head. “For you, maybe, but it kinda makes me feel like a heel.”
The Catgirl hugged Ranma’s side and rubbed herself against his body. “But why? You’re a Tamer.”
As his pokégirl hugged him, Ranma sighed once more, although he did return the hug. “You’re just going to keep calling me ‘master’, huh?”
Felicia nodded with a smile.
Rolling his eyes, Ranma said, “All right, all right...” He then smirked and kissed Felicia's cheek. “So, which direction should we go?”
“Well... You need to face at least eight of the Gym Leaders to get the necessary badges to qualify for the League Championships.” Felicia turned towards the horizon. “It shouldn’t be too long a walk from here.”
Ranma nodded. “Sure.” He smiled. “Lead the way, cutie.” Shaking his head, Ranma chuckled. He couldn’t help but compliment this pokégirl.
The Catgirl beamed at Ranma for the compliment and tugged on his arm to lead him towards the nearest city with a gym.
Ranma smiled and let the Catgirl tug at the arm-bracer on his right arm, the one article of clothing to make it in one piece with him into the ‘future’; this Pokégirl World.
The couple walked for hours on end, with Felicia more often than not bouncing around and generally having a good time. The wilderness was her kind of place, and it had been a while since she was on a journey.
Ranma kept close pace to Felicia as the Catgirl generally had a ball. The forest they were walking through seemed healthy, and relatively safe. He had seen a few other pokégirls since walking, but these mouse-like girls generally avoided him once they caught sight of Felicia.
Felicia on her part was eagerly looking around, searching for a chance to prove herself to her master. And so far, all they had come across were Titmice, pokégirls she was not only superior to, but were deathly afraid and wouldn’t even think to cause an PokéBattle encounter.
The Catgirl pouted in annoyance when she realized this fact, which happened after a couple of hours and dozens of titmice running away later.
Ranma looked about. “Boy, sure is quiet...” He then looked at Felicia. “Was Dr. Light kidding when he said the world was dangerous? Because this forest seems pretty damn calm.”
Felicia turned to Ranma. “There’s lots of wild Pokégirls around. They’re dangerous for humans.”
Shrugging, Ranma flexed his arms. “Probably not as much as threat to me, but I’ll take your word for it,” Ranma told Felicia as they continued to walk. “Just how far does this forest go?”
“It’s pretty big. Green Bush Forest extends for quite a bit of land.” The Catgirl was careful not to say how much, because frankly she didn’t know. She just knew they’d be at their destination and fighting a Gym Leader in a few days.
Accepting the answer, Ranma said, “Okay, and continued to follow Felicia.”
However, Ranma soon found out just how correct the Catgirl was as ten minutes more of walking, the area started to look a little more dead... The bare patches of dried grass covered in bones... The remains of Titmice.
“What the...” Ranma said in a bit of shock. Those bones looked fresh, and yet they had been picked clean.
Felicia crouched down by the bones and sniffed at them. She instantly frowned. “Poison.”
Looking over at Felicia, Ranma asked, “Someone poisoned those pokégirls?”
The Catgirl stood up. “Poisoned and ate.”
Wincing, Ranma asked Felicia, “Any idea what could have done that?”
“Probably a Bug-type,” Felicia answered and looked around, particularly over Ranma’s head, searching for the pokégirl responsible.
The Catgirl caught sight of the Bug-type further down the area, its brightly colored red exoskeleton reflecting like from the sun as it lay sleeping in the middle of a large spider’s web. It had apparently fed well.
Felicia pointed at it for Ranma to see. “There it is.”
Ranma’s eyes followed Felicia’s finger and he soon caught sight of it too. “A spider?”
“Should we PokéBattle it?” Felicia asked seriously, tensing and relaxing her muscles in preparation.
Ranma shrugged. “It looks like it’s sleeping. Maybe we can just bypass it.”
“Are you sure, Master?” Felicia asked hesitantly.
“Why not?” Ranma said. "You don't have to fight it if you don't want to.”
Felicia nodded doubtfully. “If you say so...”
Ranma raised an eyebrow when noticing how Felicia seemed to deflate at that statement. “Felicia? What’s wrong? Come on, tell me.”
The Catgirl looked at Ranma nervously. “It’s just that... I want to PokéBattle for you, Master.”
Ranma stared at Felicia incredulously. “And won’t you be doing that when we get to the Gym?”
Felicia realized Ranma was right and blushed in embarrassment. “Sorry, Master. You’re right.”
Smiling, Ranma said, “Good. Now let's just get going and...”
It was then that a loud yawn echoed through the area as the Spinnertit stretched her arms as she awoke. All six of them.
“Um...” Felicia offered, wondering if this was a good or a bad thing.
Ranma watched the Bug-type pokégirl begin to awaken and smiled. “You still want to fight, Felicia?”
The Catgirl smiled eagerly. “Of course, Master!”
Nodding his head to Felicia's eager response, he said, “Okay.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Good luck.”
Felicia blushed slightly before jumping forward and at the ready for her first fight with Ranma as her Tamer.
The Spinnertit licked her lips as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her top left hand. Damn, she was hungry again. And while the food was plentiful, she was getting so damn sick of Titmice. Wasn’t there anything else in this forest? A Kitten? A Pidgy? A Buzzbreast? Anything!?
The Catgirl smirked and cracked her knuckles, sound that caught the Spinnertit’s attention.
The Bug-type pokégirl’s segmented eyes widened considerably as it snapped her head towards the source. The spider-like pokégirl smiled as it caught sight of a rather healthy-looking Catgirl. “Spinnertit...” The pokégirl licked her lips.
Felicia narrowed her eyes. She knew what that look meant.
It was then the Spinnertit opened her mouth and initiated combat, a ball of web shooting from her mouth that erupted in a spider-web net.
Felicia jumped high into the air, dodging the projectile and landing on a nearby tree-branch. She used her enhanced agility to bounce down from it towards her opponent.
Looking up, the Spinnertit sat up on its web, holding all six of it’s arms open, in an effort to catch the Catgirl in a Wrestling technique.
The Catgirl kicked the Spinnertit dead in the chest with a powerful kick, sending her flying back against another tree.
Shaking her head, the Spider pokégirl growled. “Spin, spinnertit!” It said before launching itself off the tree, going right for Felicia. Its mouth open and shooting off a small violet-shaded cone at Felicia; the Poison Sting technique.
Felicia saw the projectile coming at her and used her speed to jump away from it, missing it by inches.
Seeing the Catgirl dodge, the Spinnertit opened her mouth and shot another Poison Sting.
Felicia jumped back, gaining some ground so the projectiles lost effectiveness. She had to figure out how to attack this one, since Bug-types were strong against her.
Ranma watched intently. He had to admit, Felicia was pretty good with mid-air fighting. He might be able to teach her some Anything Goes. But for now, his pokégirl needed advice. “Felicia!” Ranma called out. “That thing’s projectile attacks only seem to come from its mouth. Try to find a way to block it shut!”
The Catgirl nodded and looked around for something to use. She smirked when she caught sight of something that might work. She jumped over the next Poison Sting and took a hold of a branch, which broke with her weight, in her hands. She fell in a crouch and pounced forward, avoiding another Poison Sting, before slamming the branch across her opponent’s mouth and keeping it there with her hands as they toppled over. She smirked when they fell and started to use her legs to scratch at the downed Spinnertit. Thankfully cats all had four claws.
The Spinnertit thrashed beneath Felicia, trying to use its arms to get a good grasp on the Catgirl to squeeze her. However, the branch was getting in the way, and those claws were really starting to hurt!
Felicia smirked at the apparent result of her first battle under Ranma. It seemed like she could defeat a hard opponent, for her that is.
As the Spinnertit started to become lax under Felicia, Ranma knew that his Catgirl had won. “Excellent, Felicia!”
Felicia withdrew the branch from the Spinnertit’s mouth and slammed her across the face with it, knocking the other Pokégirl out. She jumped to her feet and beamed at Ranma. “I did it, Master!”
Ranma smiled. “That you did!”
However, unknown to Felicia, that last hit pushed the Spinnertit’s head further into the dirt, helping it make contact with an Evolution Stone that had been shallowly buried under the earth’s surface.
A Poison Stone.
Pretty soon, the Spinnertit began to glow brightly. Felicia was too happy celebrating to notice the glow.
His body tensing, Ranma pointed behind his Catgirl. “Felicia! What’s going on?”
Felicia turned and her smile vanished instantly. “She’s... She’s evolving!”
When the glow settled down, there stood the newly evolved pokégirl. Its now larger and more muscular form was even more intimidating and fearsome, as the red carapace was now ebony black, with two rows of three red dots along the back of the shoulders. It’s eyes were a blood red as well, which complimented the ferocity of the sharp teeth that were visible as it sneered.
Felicia gulped audibly and jumped away.
“Arachnae...” The newly-evolved Arachnae growled, poisonous saliva dripping from the corner of its mouth as it glared hatefully at the Catgirl.
Ranma frowned. This wasn’t good...
“Master?” Felicia asked, all cheerfulness gone from her voice as she stared at the imposing sight.
His frown deepening, Ranma asked Felicia, “It’s large and stronger, but it’s still injured,” Ranma advised as he pointed out the scratches still across the abdomen. “That might be its Achilles heel.”
Felicia nodded and charged once again, claws extended to strike.
And then Felicia was caught in a Psychic-based attack from the Bug-type Pokégirl; a hazy grayish blue aura enveloping the Catgirl. Disable.
And even as she charged forward, Felicia somehow couldn’t make her hand make the claws go to strike the Bug-type. It was like they refused to extract from her fingers. Felicia groaned as she felt her control over her own body out of reach.
Seeing as the cat-like pokégirl couldn’t attack, the Arachnae followed up its first attack, one again spitting out a cone. However, this one had a yellow-tint rather than a violet one as the previous cones had.
Felicia hissed in pain when her midsection was hit with the cone, and even worse was the feeling spreading through her veins like a fever. Felicia’s body then collapsed to the ground. She couldn’t feel anything. She knew she was caught in paralysis. She would’ve cursed if she had enough control over her vocal cords to do so.
“Arach, arach, arachnae...” The Arachnae chuckled evilly as she started to move closer to Felicia, licking its dripping lips. As it loomed over Felicia, the Arachnae opened its mouth wide, saliva dripping more freely as Felicia got a good look at its sharp teeth.
She closed her eyes in both fear and revulsion. So this was how it ended? She sure was disappointed with her short life.
However, Felicia was brought out of her fearful trance by the loud cry of “KIYAH!”
The Catgirl snapped her eyes open. That sounded male!
The battlecry was followed quickly by a hiss of pain. The sight Felicia got was of Ranma in mid-air; his foot firmly planted on the side of the Bug-type pokégirl’s head as he literally caught the Arachnae in the side of the head with a flying kick!
Felicia’s eyes couldn’t possibly open any further! She was staring at her master in complete shock!
The Arachnae was sent flying back a good distance as Ranma flipped in the air and landed in a crouching position. “Leave my pokégirl alone you buggy bitch!” Ranma seethed as he glared at the larger pokégirl.
Righting itself up to a standing position, the Arachnae growled angrily. If it weren’t so hungry, it probably would have thought to save this boy long enough for a Taming. Instead all she was seeing was lunch. “ARACHNAE!”
Seeing the Arachnae start to charge at him again, Ranma cupped his hands together, sparks starting to gather here and there.
Felicia gasped in shock. Was that an energy attack?
The Arachnae stopped in mid-charge. It recognized this as a Fighting-type attack; Chi Blast. It then smiled evilly. It was superior to Fighting-types. “Arach, arach, arachnae...” The Bug-type pokégirl chuckled before shooting out a Web at the boy. She knew her attack would make the chi fizzle out and capture the human.
However, Ranma will of power was stronger than the Arachnae’s web. Thrusting his hands forward, Ranma let out a cry of, “MOUKO TAKABISHA!” And let loose a roaring ball of pale-blue chi, which struck and disintegrated the web without veering off course; hitting the Arachnae square in the abdomen where all the scratches and cuts had already been placed.
Rearing its head back, the Arachnae let loose a scream of utter pain. As the light show dispersed, the Arachnae stood unsteadily for a moment, before collapsing unconscious.
Lowering his hands, Ranma looked at the unconscious Arachnae and nodded his head. “I wonder if it’s legal to win PokéBattles like this...”
Felicia could do nothing but stare at the victorious form of her master, seeming greater than life.
Deciding that the Bug-type pokégirl was no longer a threat, Ranma turned back to his Catgirl, kneeling beside her. “Felicia?” He asked softly. “Are you all right?”
The Catgirl smiled weakly at Ranma. The paralysis would ease over the next couple of minutes, but for now she was effectively rendered helpless.
Smiling at Felicia, Ranma reached his arms underneath her and picked her up as he stood. “We better get out of here before that thing wakes up, eh?” He asked as he did before the whole PokéBattle started.
Felicia felt herself blush at the way Ranma held her in such a protective fashion. For a Pokégirl that was as alien a feeling as it could be.
Smiling, Ranma told Felicia, “You’re cute when you blush,” And walked off in the direction they had been going, hoping to get to town.
As Ranma walked off, he didn't notice a set of eyes watching him. Standing in the tree, a woman dug the heel of her black leather high-heeled boot into the tree branch. Her emerald eyes stayed on his back, even as he made it further into the distance. “Most impressive...” The sultry voice said to herself. “I’m so dreadfully bored... Perhaps he’d amuse me?”
“It’s another Bug-type, or Something Else similar, like a regular Poison-type.”
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(Posted Sat, 21 Aug 2004 18:49)
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