11. Training and Tribulations

[X] Stay here and train with Red. The physical training sessions can't be that hard, can they?

------------------------------

You collapse to the floor, gasping desperately for breath. "T-Time out! Time out!" you wheeze. 

"Aww, already?" Red pouted, looking as fresh as ever. You have no idea how that was possible considering her personal training was just as hard as yours. Blood gifts are just bullshit. 

The dark skinned Amazon in charge of your training prodded at your form with her toe before sighing at your lack of response. "Very well then. We'll end the session here for today. Lady Blue, make sure to drink plenty of fluids and do the exercises I thought you every morning. Lady Red, please don't forget to do them as well. In fact, I want you to do another twenty reps while I take your friend to rest."

"Okie dokie!" your friend chirped, sounding completely unworried at the idea of even more training. You resisted the urge to say something uncomplimentary under your breath as the pokegirl lifted you over her shoulder and began carrying you to the tiny infirmary attached to the gym.   

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, Lady Blue." your trainer said quietly once Red was out of earshot. "You have done very well - much better then I had been expecting, to be honest. But Lady Red has been training for many years now. To try to match her after only a few days of work would be impossible."

You remain silent. 

"You may lack her natural gifts, but you are definitely no slouch in the physical department." the Amazon continued. "Simply continue the exercises I have shown you and I'm sure that you will be able to maintain the level of fitness needed for a wandering Tamer."

You groan incoherently, quietly horrified at the idea of doing an hour of exercise every morning just to be able to keep up. 

Judging from the pokegirl's chuckles, you don't quite manage to hide your concerns. "Oh, you'll be fine." she said, a hint of amusement in her tone. "After a month or two you won't even blink at this level of training. Besides, despite what a lot of young Tamers seem to think, training isn't just for pokegirls. When you have to run from an angry feral, you'll be happy that you actually put some effort into staying fit."

--------------------------------------

A few days later, you receive word from the hospital. It seems that your mother has woken up at last. You beg off training for the day and make your way over as quickly as possible. 

Once you arrive, you find your mother sitting up and barking orders to the various assistants surrounding her bed. You decide to wait outside as she chews up one particularly slow young man for accidentally deleting some of her research files.

"-and it'll take us weeks to get everything running properly again. Maddox, when did you say the new equipment is arriving?"

"About two to three days, ma'am, but they say they need your signature before-"

"Just bring over the paperwork and we'll sort it out tomorrow. Farley, I want you to talk to the police and see if they're done with the forensic work yet. I can't do any proper work with a dozen detectives scurrying around underfoot."

"Yes professor."

"And Charlie? Find the backup files. If I have to redo all those experiments because of your fuckup I will personally kick you out the door. Got it?"

"Y-Yes professor!" 

"Good. Now get out of here. I want to speak to my daughter."

Your mother's assistants file out of the room, most of them nodding politely to you as they go past. 

Except for Charlie, who looks like he's about two minutes away from a nervous breakdown. He shambles down the hall like a man walking to his execution, mumbling something to himself under his breath as the tiny Fairycute sitting on his shoulder tried to cheer him up.   

"Don't worry master!" she squeaked excitedly. "It was just a little mistake. I'm sure we can fix it in no time. Right? Right? Uh, master?"

As the doomed pair disappear around the corner, you slip into the room and take a moment to examine your mother. She's looking paler then usual, her right arm still wrapped in a sling. But her expression brightens up noticeably when she catches sight of you and she responds to your hug enthusiastically. 

"Gods, Blue. I was so worried about you!" she whispered, her one good arm squeezing you tightly. "If you hadn't been staying over at your friend's place..."

"I'm fine, mom." you insist. "But you... what happened? All I know is that someone broke into the lab and wrecked everything."

Your mother sighed, finally relinquishing her grip. "I'm afraid I don't have all the details myself, darling. I was just starting work when alarms went off. I didn't even see what happened - I ran into the foyer and got hit by some kind of explosive device. Next thing I know, I was in the hospital with a bunch of doctors running around and screaming for more bandages."

You sat on the bed, one hand still holding onto your mother's. "Well, the police haven't found anything either. They think it's one of the new Teams that are popping up lately, but there's no real evidence yet."

"Of course there isn't." your mother sighed. "Well, I suppose it could be worse. We lost most of the pokegirls, but our data is still intact. We'll just have to rebuild and redo our work. Urgh..." she leaned back into her pillow with a frown. "I'll have to sit through so many meetings to get this all straightened out..."

"So they were just after the pokegirls?" you asked. "That's kinda weird." You still weren't sure what exactly your mother was working on, but why raid a Lab if you weren't interested in the research?

Your mother shrugged, obviously unconcerned. "Who knows how these criminals think? They probably just saw all the starters being taken in and decided it'd be easier then trying to attack a Ranch."

You frowned. "Yeah, but still..."

"Don't worry about it, honey." your mom said, smiling slightly. "Leave that kind of work to the police. That's what we pay them for, after all. Now, I hear that you've been staying at the gym for the last few days. How's it going?"

"Well, it's a bit... tiring?" you attempt. "I can't last very long, but Red just keeps going and going."

Your mother coughed, blushing slightly. "Ah! Well, I suppose you're only young once. So... while I'm glad you didn't decide to go rushing off to 'avenge' me or something equally idiotic, I want to know what you're planning to do now that I'm awake. Any thoughts on how you're going to get a new starter?"

[] "I'll wait here until the next batch of starters arrive. Even if it takes a few more weeks, I can be patient."

[] "I might take a trip to the nearest city and just get a starter there. Red's mom said that she's planning to go there on a business trip in a few days, so I can probably tag along."  

[] "Red wants to go to the nearest Ranch tomorrow and collect a starter from them. It's only about an hours ride away from town, so we should be completely safe."

----------------------------------

Body Training: 25/100 needed for next level!

SL with Red gains 7 points!

10. Back to Red's Place

[X] Stay with Red. Her mother had insisted that you were welcome to stay over as long as you needed.

It was three days after the incident at the lab. Most of the damage had been fixed, but the police seemed no closer to identifying the culprits. You'd made sure to visit your mother at the hospital every day, though there wasn't really much you could do while she was still in the healing trance. 

Normally, the doctors wouldn't have bothered using magic to heal something as simple as burns and shrapnel wounds, but a pokegirl professor was technically considered a high value league asset. The officials you'd talked to had made it clear that they would do everything possible to get her back on her feet (and back to work) as soon as possible. 

Based on the doctor's prognosis, your mom would wake up by the end of the week, though she would need to stay in the hospital for another few days afterwards in order to build up her strength. 

You spent most of your time hanging out with Red (and occasionally Gold). The other girl did her best to keep your spirit up, and while you did appreciate her cheerfulness you sometimes wished that Red would learn to be a little more subtle in the future. 

On the fourth day, Red's mother asked you both to come by her office. 

"Officially speaking, I'm supposed to tell you to be patient and wait for the next batch of starters to arrive." she said before winking at you conspiratorially. "Unofficially, I've heard that Lady Silver is planning to organize a trip to visit a newly opened Ranch which may or may not be offering to sell pokegirl starters."

"That's Gold's mom, isn't it?" Red asked. "Why's she doing this?"

The gym leader sighed. "Apparently, she's helping to finance the Breeder in charge, so she's organizing this mainly as a big publicity trip. There'll be media and league people everywhere, but Lady Silver's offered to buy a starter for anyone who agrees to join her entourage. I can't confirm what exactly they'll be, but if you don't want to wait another few weeks for the bureaucrats to sort things out you can get your starter and begin training with them immediately."

"I don't know..." you frowned. "It sounds a little too good to be true."

Red's mom smirked. "I did mention that there'll be media there. Considering the situation, you'd probably end up with your face pasted all across the news. Whether that's a good thing or not..." she shrugged. "Well, that's up to you."

"And if I don't want to go?" you asked.

"Well..." the gym leader tapped her desk as she hummed thoughtfully. "Tell you what. If you want to stay, I'll put you through one of my training courses. Being a tamer means being fit and healthy, and letting you mope around like you've been doing over the last few days isn't going to help anyone."

[] Go with Lady Silver's delegation. You can deal with a few nosy reporters if it means getting your starter as soon as possible.  

[] Stay here and train with Red. The physical training sessions can't be that hard, can they?

9. Love and Loss

Character Sheet Updated!

New Trait Gained!

Caring Lover: Love is gentle, love is kind. You don't need fiery declarations or passionate speeches to show your loved ones how much you care for them. (Social Links increase faster [roll using 2d4s rather then 1d6], Special Actions Unlocked, Gain bonus when dealing with ??? people)

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[X] Cuddle and hold hands. You don't need to take this any further (loving)

Most people seem to think sex is all about physical pleasure. They use all sorts of toys and games to titillate the senses and expand the experience, but hardly anyone seems to care about anything more then getting their own rocks off. In your experience, the ones who tried to ensure that their partners enjoyed themselves as well were in the minority, and even then they seemed to think that getting a girl off once or twice was all there was to it. 

To you, sex wasn't just about the body. You always tried to make sure that there was an emotional connection as well. The gentle, soothing warmth of being next to someone you cared for was better then any aphrodisiac.

You and Red didn't fuck. You made love. 

You didn't use any exotic toys or athletic positions or exciting role playing, but simply kissed and held and touched each other, luxuriating in your partner's feel and scent. It was sweet and gentle and beautiful, and when you came you could almost feel the stars erupt behind your eyes. 

Afterwards, you held each other, exchanging soft kisses and gentle caresses until you both finally fell asleep, bodies still wrapped around each other.   

In the morning, you were both woken up by a loud banging on the door. Red's mother was on the other side, looking more grim and serious then you'd ever seen her before. 

"Blue. Red. I need you to come with me."

"But Muuuum...." Red groaned, trying to snuggle deeper under the blankets.

"There's been an incident at the lab." the gym leader announced, her words sending a chill down your spine. "We need to get over there right away."

------------------------------

"What happened here?" you whispered, staring at the scene of carnage before you. The lobby was completely demolished, with scorch marks and holes in the walls and floor. The wooden counter that Kiki had sat behind just yesterday was now nothing more then a pile of splinters. 

The worst part were the bloodstains that seemed splattered liberally around the area. Judging by the shroud covered body in the corner, whoever had done this hadn't been feeling merciful. 

"My mum, is she..."

"She's perfectly fine, Blue." the Officer Jenny was quick to reassure you. "She's in surgery now, but the doctors say that she'll be awake in a week or two."

Surgery? That's... not good. But at least she's still alive. 

"What about everyone else?" you asked. "T-The assistants? The pokegirls?"

The police pokegirl winced. "The lab assistants are being treated for the poison gas they were exposed to, but they're expected to make a full recovery. As for the pokegirls..."

Most of the pokegirls are gone. The starters shipped in last night were all taken away during the chaos. The Officer Jenny you spoke to insists that they'll do everything they can to track them down, but you have a sinking feeling that most of them won't be seen again. 

Everyone who passed the tamer's test will need to wait until the league can send in a new (more heavily guarded) batch of starter pokegirls before starting your journey. It's unfortunate, but understandable considering the circumstances. You overhead one of your former classmates whining about having to delay his taming career, but fortunately Red and Gold were able to lead you away before you could say something you'd probably wouldn't regret. 

Unfortunately, you now had a problem. While the lab itself wasn't too badly damaged, the police were somewhat wary about letting a teenage girl live there alone while the investigation was ongoing. Since you didn't have any other relatives you could stay with, you decided to...

[] Stay in the hospital with your mum. Even if she's going to be unconscious for the next few days, you want to be there for her when she wakes up. 

[] Stay with Red. Her mother had insisted that you were welcome to stay over as long as you needed. 

[] Stay with Gold. He was uncharacteristically quiet as he offered to let you use one of his guest bedrooms.  

8. Kiss the Girl

[X] Go for a kiss

You know that if you don't do anything, Red's just going to get herself worked up and upset. The best thing to do is to distract her before she can pick up steam.

The fact that it gives you the perfect excuse to kiss her is just a bonus.

"Eep!" your friend squeaked as you pulled her down. "Bluuue!"

"Shhh..." you whisper, trailing kisses down her neck. "Just relax..."

Her feeble protests are silenced by a gasp as your fingers reach up her shirt and begin to play with her breasts. The two of you make out for a few minutes, simply enjoying the sensations as you slowly stripped each other.

Just as you're taking off her bra, Red flashes you a smirk. "Banzai!"

In the sudden blur of movement, your positions are reversed - now you're the one being pinned to the bed as your friend looms over you, her cute little nipples stiffening up with excitement as she reaches down to lay slow, languid kisses on your body.

"Mmmm... it's been a while." she murmurs. "How do you want to do this?"

[] You're not giving up that easily! Turn the tables and pin her down (aggressive)

[] Just relax. You'll let her take the lead and simply enjoy the sensations (submissive)

[] Fetch the handcuffs from your bag. She'll be calling you Mistress Blue tonight (kinky)

[] Cuddle and hold hands. You don't need to take this any further (loving)

7. Sleepover

[X] Red is upset at the moment. Stay over for the night and see if you can make her feel better.

"It's been a while since we did this, huh?" Red said, drying off her hair as she sat on the bed. "I'm starting to feel a little nostalgic!"

"We've all been so busy lately... I guess we just never had the time for it." you said, carefully painting your toenails blue. Red insisted that it was traditional' to do makeup and girly things during a sleepover. You didn't really see the point of it yourself, but saw no harm in humoring her. 

Besides, these were a rather nice shade of blue. A shame no one else would ever see them, oh well. 

"But we should have found time!" Red insisted. She tossed the towel aside and reached for her hair blower. "It's not right, just abandoning our friendship like that!"

"It's not like we didn't see each other every week, Red." you reminded her. "We just didn't have time to hang out like this."

Your friend pouted. "I guess. It still doesn't feel right, though. I've spoken more with you today then I have in the entire last month."

"Red..."

"Sorry, sorry," she shook her head, her eyes tearing up slightly. "I know you're busy helping your mom, and Gold's got his family things to do, but..."

Ah crap. She's crying. This wasn't what you had planned at all!

[] Pat her shoulder awkwardly and try to say something comforting. Dammit, where's Gold when you need him?

[] Give her a hug. She looks like she needs a hug.

[] Go for a kiss. There's no way this could possibly go wrong. 

6. Where's the popcorn?

[X] Stick to Blue's POV

"You know, I've never actually seen that part of the gym before. It's... pretty impressive."

"How the heck did your mum get permission to build an arena like that?! It's a freaking deathtrap!"

"I know, right? Isn't it awesome?"

"'Terrifying' is the word I would use. One little slip..."

"I'm sure there are safety measures in place, Gold."

"But still-"

"Shh! Shut up! I can't concentrate with you two talking!"

"The view from this angle sucks." you noted, seeing the tiny figures on the screen. The two pokegirls on the battlefield were too small and fast to be seen clearly. "Can't we switch to a different camera?"

Red shook her head, still focused on the battle. "Nope. That's the only camera in the room. We had to make it special so it wouldn't get damaged by the heat."

"Just how hot is that arena, anyway? It's right above a giant lave pool." Gold asked, leaning forward to try to get a better view. You narrowed your eyes at him as you spotted him glancing down Red's top. 

"Eh, can't remember the number, but it's pretty hot. If you don't have some kind of heat resistance, you'd probably die if you stay inside for too long." Red spoke casually, seemingly more interested in watching the Dragoness and Whorizard tear into each other with brutal efficiency. "If you pass out, it's considered a forfeit."

You stare at the screen and shudder. "I am suddenly reconsidering my job options."

"Hmm? What?" your female friend blinked. "Sorry, wasn't listening."

"I didn't know gym battles would be so..."

"Intense?" Red smirked. "It's pretty awesome, right? I can't wait till my first gym battle!"

"I'm honestly dreading it now." Gold admitted. "I mean, lava arenas? And this is supposed to be a small gym. What do you think they'll have in some of the bigger gyms?"

"Oh, don't worry about it." Red said, pointing at the tamer on the screen. "My mum's going all out cause she know that he's a strong challenger. If he was a complete newbie she'd be fighting him in one of the normal arenas upstairs. And she wouldn't be using Jess either. A Whorizard would just crush any starter pokegirls, so it'd be totally unfair."

"Ah, I see. So stronger tamers get bigger challenges, then?"

"Yep." she said, popping the 'p' sound. "If the tamer has, like, one or two badges, the gym leader is supposed to go easy on them. Once they get more they start fighting the strong pokegirls. If you get five or six badges..." she pointed at the bubbling arena on the screen. "The gym leader goes all out."

"So every gym has a lava pit in their basement?" Gold joked. "At least it keeps the heating bill low."

Red shook her head. "No. Every gym's got a different thing. You know our motto?"

You racked your memory, trying to remember. It'd been so long...

"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the fire, right?" Gold answered, sounding thoughtful. "I guess that fits the theme."

"It's a warning." Red explained. "The smart tamers see it and know that if they're not prepared, they're going to get roasted. Other gyms have other tests. There's one that has an arena hidden up in the mountains somewhere, there's one that makes you walk through a cave of feral Zubutt before you can enter the final room... heck, there's even one that got built as cheap and flimsy as possible."

"How would that last one be a challenge?" you asked. 

Red smirked."If the challenger's pokegirls damage the gym in any way, they're kicked out and made to pay for repairs."

You wince. That's actually pretty twisted of them. And clever. 

"Aaand he's down." Gold announced. 

"Wait, what?!" Red cried out, turning back towards the screen. "I missed it again?!"

"There, there," Gold said, patting her shoulder condescendingly. "At least you got the recordings, right?"

Her face brightened up. "Oh, yeah! I've got them right... oh."

Curious, you leaned over to see what she was staring at. On the screen in front of Red, there was a single line: 

Memory Full. Please replace with new disk.

"NOOOOOO!"

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What will you be doing after this?

[] Red is upset at the moment. Stay over for the night and see if you can make her feel better.

[] Gold's invited you to watch a movie in his house. You get the feeling that the show isn't the only thing on his mind

[] You're feeling kinda tired. Maybe you should just go back home...

5. Tamer's Challenge

[X] "We had a tamer come in to challenge us earlier. Since we're about to get our licenses, I thought it'd be cool to watch an official pokegirl match."

"Are you sure we're allowed in here?" you ask, looking around nervously. Red had led you and Gold to a tiny door tucked into a corner of the gym, paying no attention to the 'Employees Only' sign hanging over the entrance. 

"It's fine, it's fine." your friend insisted, tapping away at one of the monitors on the wall. "Dave lets me in here all the time."

"Relax, Blue." Gold said, nonchalantly leaning against the wall. "Red's mom owns the place, after all. If she says it's cool for us to be here, what's the problem?"

You sighed. "Well, alright then. So what exactly are we supposed to be doing?"

"Hang on a sec... ah, got it!" Red announced, just as all the monitors on the wall lit up. "Aww... they've already started."

On the screen you could see a pair of pokegirls battling it out in the middle of a room. Their tamers stood on opposite sides of the arena, one of them dressed in the uniform of a gym assistant. The other...

Gold straightened up suddenly, staring at the screen with an almost frightening intensity. "Well, well... who would have thought he'd show up all the way out here?"

"Who's that?" you asked, leaning slightly closer to get a better look. "He looks a bit familiar, but-"

"Simon Havok. Age: 19. Alpha pokegirl: Dragoness. Badges earned: Six." Gold paused as he realized that you and Red were staring at him. "What? I met him once at one of my parent's parties."

"So you know him? You talked to him?" Red asked, almost bouncing in excitement. "Ooh! Did you get his autograph?"

"It's not like we traded life stories or anything." your friend shrugged. "I only met him once at a fancy dinner thing. He's nice, but a little too high-strung in my opinion."

"High-strung? High-strung?!" Red repeated, looking almost offended. "Don't you know who he is? He's the Hero of Sympathy Bay! He was all over the news just a few months ago."

"Sympathy Bay?" you blinked as the words clicked. "Oh, isn't that the guy who finished off a Widow before it could reach the town?"

"Yeah! That's him!" Red pointed at the tiny figure on the screen. "He's a hero! I can't believe I actually get to see him! This is so... eeeeeee!"

You actually had to lean back a little to preserve your hearing. Gold smirked as he nudged Red aside. "Well, Hero Boy there is doing pretty good. He just won that fight in less then a minute."

"Wait, what? I missed the fight?!" Red yelped. "Quick! Save the recording!"

"Oh, he's already moving to the next room." Gold noted. You step aside slightly to give your friend some room as the two of you watched Havok battle against the next gym assistant, ignoring the sounds of Red frantically searching for something in the background.

"He's pretty good." you observed, noting the way he commanded his pokegirls - short, almost silent commands that were nevertheless obeyed nearly instantaneously. "His girls have been trained well." 

"He actually lost most of his harem in that Widow fight." Gold informed you. "These girls have been with him for only two or three months at the most."

"Really?" you asked. From the way he coordinated his girl's attacks, you'd actually thought that he'd been training them for years. Even as you watched, he recalled his injured Marble and sent out... "Is that his Dragoness? She looks bigger then I thought."

"Yep." Gold replied, smiling sardonically. "Scared me too, the first time I saw her. She's actually really shy. Kept hiding behind her master every time someone tried to talk to her."

You watched as the dragon type brutally attacked her opponent, literally tearing off an arm before the gym assistant surrendered and recalled his girl. "Shy, huh?"

"I got it!" Red announced, pulling out a CD from somewhere. "Now we can record - what, did he finish already?"

"Yep." Gold said. You could almost hear the smirk in his voice. "'fraid you missed the show, Red."

"NOOOOOOO!!!"

"Oh, quiet down, you two." you drawled, switching the camera view on the screen. "It looks like he's just reached the final room. He's about to start battling your mom now."

"Quick! Save the recording! Save the recording!"

"Ow! Careful!"

"Move faster, Gold!"

"Sssshhhh!" you hissed. "It's starting!"

"Oh, this is so exciting!"

[] Stick to Blue's POV

[] Switch to Gym Leader Scarletine's POV

[] Switch to Tamer Simon Havok's POV