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Warming Up for a Battle
tags: skeledirge, SFW, transformation, human to pokemon, anthro, pokemorph, himbo, surprised-to-willing, obedience, hypnosis, hypno, mind change, twisted wish fulfillment, muscle, male, implied gay
by donedonedone
inspired by a drawing by guacandchips : https://www.furaffinity.net/view/54738625/
Ryan sat against a wall in an alley, shivering in his coat. He was already late for his fifth attempt at the ice-type gym, not like it really mattered anyway. He still didn’t have any pokemon with type advantage. He hadn’t found anything but ice-types in the miles and miles of tundra nearby.
After so many attempts, losing at the gym felt personal. He would do anything to show up those frostbitten bastards, even if he had to train for a whole extra year.
——
Little did Ryan know, a tiny orange bird watched him mope from a nearby rooftop. The bird sensed something in that young man: a spark that longed to be stoked into a conflagration. The bird ruffled its feathers, scattering embers. Yes, this human would do. All the human needed was a partner who shared his spark…
——
Ryan looked side-to-side, scanning the unplowed and snow-filled alley. He could have sworn he heard someone singing for a moment. The snow muffled the sound of his own breath. So much blasted snow…
Clunk!
Just then, something fell from the sky and smacked Ryan in the face! He jumped up, swiping at his nose. Whatever it was wouldn’t come off!
Ryan opened his eyes to find that his vision was limited to the eyeholes in a rigid white mask on his face. He swung his head around frantically, trying to see who put it on him. No matter where he looked, the mask’s long snout extended out in front of his nose, further obscuring his view. He pulled at the mask but it was like the thing was glued to his forehead.
“Ah!” Ryan burned beneath his coat and his suddenly very tight-feeling snow pants. He widened his stance and lifted his arms to let the heat out, but it didn’t do any good.
Riiip!
“Agh! What?!” Cool air caressed the back of Ryan’s thighs, indicating to him that the seat of his pants had just torn open. Despite how good it felt, he reached back to cover himself out of modesty.
His hands bumped into a thick, rough-scaled appendage that he didn’t have a moment ago. A tail?! It was attached to Ryan like the mask was, only the tail felt like an extension of his spine, and he could feel it hanging behind him! His breath caught in his throat, preventing him from calling for help.
“twe Twee-eet.”
A fireball alighted on the tip of Ryan’s snout and coalesced into the shape of an orange bird. The small, round finch looked into Ryan’s frightened eyes behind his mask and tittered,
“twe Twee-eet.”
Ryan gasped. A fire-type! The shock was enough to momentarily distract him from his troubles. He didn’t recognize the pokemon species, but he desperately needed to catch it. Why did it have to show up right then of all times? Couldn’t it see he was distracted?
Ryan could feel things moving around beneath his coat. The bottom half of his jaw was getting weirdly heavy, too. His snow boots split open to reveal red-scaled, three-taloned feet. The ground descended away from him as he grew, his thickened arm muscles reducing his coat to tatters.
Despite his changes, Ryan tried to keep his head still for the fire bird and its enchanting tittering. If his one chance to beat the ice gym flew away he would never, ever forgive himself. He kept eye-contact with the bird, hoping that it somehow saw and appreciated how much he wanted it as his partner.
“twe Twee-eet,” the bird chirped again.
Yes! Ryan thought. Stay right there. To entice the bird to stay he hummed back, “Hm HMM-mm.”
“twe Twee-eet.”
“Hm HMM-mm. Hm HMM-mm… Hm HMM-mm…?”
Ryan stopped humming, suddenly alarmed by his own behavior. What was he doing? The torn strips of his clothes were strewn about in the snow around him. He was going to be naked and freeze to death if he didn’t do something!
——
The bird ruffled its feathers and whistled angrilly. It needed the changing human’s full attention. The human was already looking the part of a strong and reptilian Skeledirge, he just needed a little more convincing to get into the role. Ryan would always be more human-like than the average Skeledirge, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be a great pokemon just the same…
——
“Tweet!”
The bird took to the air, making Ryan’s heart skip a beat. He felt it land on his head a moment later, a reassuring warm spot through his hair. Good, he thought to the bird. Please don’t leave.
Still, what was happening to Ryan terrified him. His hands and thickening forearms grew bright red scales, just like most of his body. Even his head felt different, reshaping so that his eyes aligned perfectly with the crocodilian mask over his face. He felt the cool air on the mask’s surface, as if it was his face.
“twe Twee-eet,” the bird repeated its tune from atop Ryan’s head. It was the same song, but every repetition made it that much more entrancing. Like a catchy song, it was hard not to replay it in his mind.
N-no… This was wrong, Ryan realized. He might have felt strong, but he was also naked outside in the cold. He should have been embarrassed and afraid, not playing music in his head. All of his clothes were shredded and he still felt like he was burning up. He was supposed to be a trainer looking for a fire-type, not some weirdo in the snow…
“twe Twee-eet.”
The bird on his head was just so easy to pay attention to. Thinking about the music made everything easy. No worries, just the song…
Ryan couldn’t help humming along. “Hm HMM-mm.” A part of him was apprehensive, but the song was like a fire in his chest. It bubbled up his throat and spilled out the corners of his elongated mouth.
“twe Twee-eet.”
“Hum HUM-hum!” That song was so familiar! He swayed his tail happily. He wanted to resist, but he also wanted to follow the song. He had to know where it led. A tingling spread over his muscular, bone-white abs and chest. His changed, mostly-pokemon body felt amazing. It was hard not to give in to his wonderful new body’s pleasures…
“twe Twee-eet.”
Unable to take the strain, Ryan’s mental resistance suddenly snapped.
Yes! What the bird was singing finally made sense. Ryan was the fire! He was the song! Weary of fighting his new pokemon nature, he let his torch song ring out for all to hear:
“Skel Le-dirge!”
Flames swirled around Skeledirge as he sang, vaporizing the snow beneath him in plumes of steam. He basked in his newfound strength. His whole body tingled with pleasure from snout to tail. Skeledirge posed and flexed in appreciation, happy to finally be on display where he belonged. He was a Skeledirge, like he was always meant to be.
——
The fire bird twittered and flew around the mighty humanoid pokemon that had once been Ryan, admiring its handiwork. After all that time alone the bird had found a lifetime partner to keep it company. Ryan may have become a little less intelligent after his transformation, but his quick wits wouldn’t be missed. Great pokemon didn’t need to be smart when they had good human trainers. Ryan would make a fierce addition to any human’s pokemon team.
——
When Skeledirge finished his song he stood in a circle of melted snow, feeling like the strongest pokemon who’d ever lived. As wonderful as it felt to simply exist and sing to himself without a care in the world, there was still one thing he wanted to do. He wandered off, fully content with his status as a pokemon in mind and body.
A few humans glanced at Skeledirge as he passed, undoubtedly wondering who his trainer was. Skeledirge ignored them.
The fire-type pokemon had a simple goal in mind. He wanted to defeat those strong ice-types that had onced vexed Ryan so. It was the one dream his simple mind could hold. If he could just find a trainer to capture him and take him into battle, that would be enough. And Skeledirge knew where he’d find trainers…
There was a queue of shivering college-age trainers outside the gym when Skeledirge arrived. There were always more challengers than there were slots in the gym leader’s schedule, so a long wait was hardly surprising. In fact, it was exactly what Skeledirge was hoping for.
One of the humans, a tall one near the back of the line, was the first to notice Skeledirge standing there. The pokemon’s presence caused quite a stir among the gathered trainers:
Whose Skeledirge was that? He looks strong. Is someone actually going to defeat the gym leader? It almost never happens…
The crocodile pokemon had no trouble tuning out the chattering humans. He was completely entranced by the alien view of them he had. His black-scleraed eyes revealed the souls of the humans to him, floating in their chests like little flames. Each flame had its own color, size, and character.
One flame in particular stood out amongst the rabble. Skeledirge wandered closer to it, ignoring the rest as they shuffled out of his way. The special flame wasn’t the largest or the brightest, but something about the rhythm of its flickering called to him. It filled him with a kind of joy he’d never felt before. He would do anything to stay in the presence of a flame like that. The very sight of it made him happy.
“Oh!” The special human hadn’t been paying attention to the commotion. He nearly jumped out of his skin when someone tapped him on his shoulder. He adjusted his glasses and squinted up at the newcomer’s face, quickly pocketing the pokeblocks he’d been feeding to some gathered snom.
To the human’s shock it was a pokemon that’d tapped his shoulder, not a person! The looming Skeledirge did look considerably more humanoid than average, almost intimidatingly so, but his markings and his reptilian head were unmistakable. His leathery skin and dark eyes indicated that it was very much not a costume.
“Skeledirge,” Skeledirge crooned absently. Yes, this was his trainer. This was the smart trainer who could guide Skeledirge to victory. His small size didn’t matter. He was perfect. He was to be obeyed.
“Um. Hi… there,” the trainer said nervously. “I’m D-Donovan.” Donovan looked around, perhaps wondering if Skeledirge was trying to get past him. The pokemon had eyes only for him. “Uh… How… How can I help you?”
“Hey man, is that your pokemon?” one of the gathered trainers asked in awe.
“He looks incredible,” another added. “How’d you get him to stand up like that?”
“W-what?” Donovan sputtered. “N-no. He isn’t mine, I—“
“Skel Le-dirge!” Snow sizzled away as Skeledirge threw a fiery tantrum. No! This was definitely his trainer! How could his trainer not know?
Donovan yelped as an ember-like bird circled him, twittering angrilly. “Ahh! What’s wrong?! Are you here to fight the gym leader?”
“Skeledirge!” Skeledirge replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He crossed his arms across his chest and nodded.
“O-Ok. And you want m-me to help you?”
“Skeledirge!” Yes! Skeledirge flicked his tail happily. Finally his trainer was getting it! His trainer was so smart, and his trainer’s flame was so nice to be close to, he just wanted to stop thinking…
The fading remnants of Ryan within Skeledirge felt a deep-seated satisfaction. It was hard not to be content as the pokemon of a nice human trainer who was about to let him fight at the ice gym. Sure, being a pokemon wasn’t how he originally envisioned things going, but the idea of bringing his trainer victory over those snobby ice types brought him more pleasure than he ever thought possible. It was even better than being a trainer himself.
“Ok…” Donovan said. “But where did you come from? And what about—“
“Ryan Anderson!” a gym official interrupted, calling to the waiting crowd. “Is there a Ryan Anderson present?”
No one responded, especially not the thoughtless bipedal skeledirge bouncing on his heels in excitement.
“…In that case,” the gym official said, “we have an opening for an additional challenger today. Kindly form a line and—“
“Skel Le-dirge!”
Skeledirge lifted his trainer into his arms and bounded to the front of the line, trailing fire. The gathered crowd swiftly parted for the towering empty-headed crocodile. Reactions ran from surprise to amazement to amusement. Donovan’s cheeks went almost as red as his new Skeledirge’s hide.
“Ah. Well this simplifies things,” the official said, waving Donovan forward. “Come along now, your gym test awaits…”
That night Donovan sat on the bed in his inn room, turning his snowflake-shaped badge over in one hand.
He’d tried the gym test out of curiosity. He never thought he’d actually succeed. He still couldn’t believe it, even though he’d given Skeledirge the commands himself. The way his mysterious pokemon had thrashed the gym leader’s team had been nothing short of artful.
In the hand opposite his badge he held Skeledirge’s pokeball. The pokeball had clicked instantly when he used it on Skeledirge after the battle, so luckily no one had even noticed he wasn’t Donovan’s all along. The crocodile pokemon, though tired and battered, had been even more excited about the win than Donovan was. He sang his heart out with his little fire bird until he nearly fainted. The first thing Donovan did after accepting the badge was take Skeledirge to the pokemon center.
Against his better judgment, Donovan had decided to let Skeledirge out in his room. It only seemed fair. He clicked the button on the pokeball and the anthropomorphic pokemon materialized in a flash of light.
Skeledirge was still dancing clumsily with his bird, like two best friends. Luckily the heat he gave off wasn’t as unbearable as it was before the battle. If Skeledirge was going to accidentally knock something over it would be with his tail, which was lifted up proud and swaying dangerously.
Donovan wished he could share in his pokemon’s excitement, but a spot of guilt nagged at him. What had he really done to deserve his badge? Sure, he’d played the role of Skeledirge’s trainer during the gym battle and he’d even done a passable job giving commands, but it was pretty clear who really won the fight. Even if Skeledirge was dumb as a sack of bricks, he could have practically taken out the gym leader through raw power alone.
Donovan cleared his throat.
Skeledirge immediately stopped his dance and turned, shockingly attentive. His gaze made Donovan a little nervous. Skeledirge had the physique of one of his highschool bullies, but unlike them Skeledirge seemed to have zero inclination to do anything but help his chosen human. He’d obeyed Donovan’s commands in battle without a moment's hesitation, even on the occasions when Donovan probably picked the wrong moves.
Donovan held out the badge to his scaly companion. “For you,” he said. “You earned it, buddy. You’re the one who really won the gym battle today.”
Skeledirge looked at the badge, clearly confused. Donovan chuckled ruefully. It was amazing how human-like Skeledirge seemed at times and how oblivious he was at others. Donovan looked away, trying to stifle the feeling that he’d somehow taken advantage of Skeledirge’s naivete. Skeledirge had done all the work while Donovan gotten all the glory.
Skeledirge, for his part, wondered why his trainer could possibly be sad. Donovan had made Skeledirge’s one dream for himself come true. He couldn’t have been happier with his decision to pick Donovan as his trainer, and now that the battle was over he was happy to devote himself to whatever his trainer wanted. It would be so nice to be useful. A pokemon like him needed a human to obey, and obeying Donovan felt especially right. His trainer…
Instead of taking his trainer’s badge, Skeledirge scooped up his trainer, held him in his muscle-bound arms, and sang. His trainer looked embarrassed, but Skeledirge could see the flickering of the special flame within him. Deep down his trainer enjoyed the opportunity to admire and touch his pokemon’s body, even if his trainer didn’t realize it consciously. That was ok. Skeledirge could see it.
Skeledirge swung his trainer around happily, singing his song. He loved having a trainer he could make happy just by singing and showing off his body. Skeledirge felt so complete knowing that everything about himself—his body, his song, his powers—existed for his trainer’s pleasure. It was like he was made specifically for his trainer to capture. He looked forward to giving his trainer all the hands-on shows he wanted.
Skeleridge’s existence would be a simple one, as befitted a simple-minded pokemon like him. He would be such a good Skeledirge for Donovan! The pokemon couldn’t possibly imagine a more fulfilling purpose in life.
Thanks for reading! As usual, I appreciate favs and comments if you liked this one. And check out guacandchips
tags: skeledirge, SFW, transformation, human to pokemon, anthro, pokemorph, himbo, surprised-to-willing, obedience, hypnosis, hypno, mind change, twisted wish fulfillment, muscle, male, implied gay
by donedonedone
inspired by a drawing by guacandchips : https://www.furaffinity.net/view/54738625/
Ryan sat against a wall in an alley, shivering in his coat. He was already late for his fifth attempt at the ice-type gym, not like it really mattered anyway. He still didn’t have any pokemon with type advantage. He hadn’t found anything but ice-types in the miles and miles of tundra nearby.
After so many attempts, losing at the gym felt personal. He would do anything to show up those frostbitten bastards, even if he had to train for a whole extra year.
——
Little did Ryan know, a tiny orange bird watched him mope from a nearby rooftop. The bird sensed something in that young man: a spark that longed to be stoked into a conflagration. The bird ruffled its feathers, scattering embers. Yes, this human would do. All the human needed was a partner who shared his spark…
——
Ryan looked side-to-side, scanning the unplowed and snow-filled alley. He could have sworn he heard someone singing for a moment. The snow muffled the sound of his own breath. So much blasted snow…
Clunk!
Just then, something fell from the sky and smacked Ryan in the face! He jumped up, swiping at his nose. Whatever it was wouldn’t come off!
Ryan opened his eyes to find that his vision was limited to the eyeholes in a rigid white mask on his face. He swung his head around frantically, trying to see who put it on him. No matter where he looked, the mask’s long snout extended out in front of his nose, further obscuring his view. He pulled at the mask but it was like the thing was glued to his forehead.
“Ah!” Ryan burned beneath his coat and his suddenly very tight-feeling snow pants. He widened his stance and lifted his arms to let the heat out, but it didn’t do any good.
Riiip!
“Agh! What?!” Cool air caressed the back of Ryan’s thighs, indicating to him that the seat of his pants had just torn open. Despite how good it felt, he reached back to cover himself out of modesty.
His hands bumped into a thick, rough-scaled appendage that he didn’t have a moment ago. A tail?! It was attached to Ryan like the mask was, only the tail felt like an extension of his spine, and he could feel it hanging behind him! His breath caught in his throat, preventing him from calling for help.
“twe Twee-eet.”
A fireball alighted on the tip of Ryan’s snout and coalesced into the shape of an orange bird. The small, round finch looked into Ryan’s frightened eyes behind his mask and tittered,
“twe Twee-eet.”
Ryan gasped. A fire-type! The shock was enough to momentarily distract him from his troubles. He didn’t recognize the pokemon species, but he desperately needed to catch it. Why did it have to show up right then of all times? Couldn’t it see he was distracted?
Ryan could feel things moving around beneath his coat. The bottom half of his jaw was getting weirdly heavy, too. His snow boots split open to reveal red-scaled, three-taloned feet. The ground descended away from him as he grew, his thickened arm muscles reducing his coat to tatters.
Despite his changes, Ryan tried to keep his head still for the fire bird and its enchanting tittering. If his one chance to beat the ice gym flew away he would never, ever forgive himself. He kept eye-contact with the bird, hoping that it somehow saw and appreciated how much he wanted it as his partner.
“twe Twee-eet,” the bird chirped again.
Yes! Ryan thought. Stay right there. To entice the bird to stay he hummed back, “Hm HMM-mm.”
“twe Twee-eet.”
“Hm HMM-mm. Hm HMM-mm… Hm HMM-mm…?”
Ryan stopped humming, suddenly alarmed by his own behavior. What was he doing? The torn strips of his clothes were strewn about in the snow around him. He was going to be naked and freeze to death if he didn’t do something!
——
The bird ruffled its feathers and whistled angrilly. It needed the changing human’s full attention. The human was already looking the part of a strong and reptilian Skeledirge, he just needed a little more convincing to get into the role. Ryan would always be more human-like than the average Skeledirge, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be a great pokemon just the same…
——
“Tweet!”
The bird took to the air, making Ryan’s heart skip a beat. He felt it land on his head a moment later, a reassuring warm spot through his hair. Good, he thought to the bird. Please don’t leave.
Still, what was happening to Ryan terrified him. His hands and thickening forearms grew bright red scales, just like most of his body. Even his head felt different, reshaping so that his eyes aligned perfectly with the crocodilian mask over his face. He felt the cool air on the mask’s surface, as if it was his face.
“twe Twee-eet,” the bird repeated its tune from atop Ryan’s head. It was the same song, but every repetition made it that much more entrancing. Like a catchy song, it was hard not to replay it in his mind.
N-no… This was wrong, Ryan realized. He might have felt strong, but he was also naked outside in the cold. He should have been embarrassed and afraid, not playing music in his head. All of his clothes were shredded and he still felt like he was burning up. He was supposed to be a trainer looking for a fire-type, not some weirdo in the snow…
“twe Twee-eet.”
The bird on his head was just so easy to pay attention to. Thinking about the music made everything easy. No worries, just the song…
Ryan couldn’t help humming along. “Hm HMM-mm.” A part of him was apprehensive, but the song was like a fire in his chest. It bubbled up his throat and spilled out the corners of his elongated mouth.
“twe Twee-eet.”
“Hum HUM-hum!” That song was so familiar! He swayed his tail happily. He wanted to resist, but he also wanted to follow the song. He had to know where it led. A tingling spread over his muscular, bone-white abs and chest. His changed, mostly-pokemon body felt amazing. It was hard not to give in to his wonderful new body’s pleasures…
“twe Twee-eet.”
Unable to take the strain, Ryan’s mental resistance suddenly snapped.
Yes! What the bird was singing finally made sense. Ryan was the fire! He was the song! Weary of fighting his new pokemon nature, he let his torch song ring out for all to hear:
“Skel Le-dirge!”
Flames swirled around Skeledirge as he sang, vaporizing the snow beneath him in plumes of steam. He basked in his newfound strength. His whole body tingled with pleasure from snout to tail. Skeledirge posed and flexed in appreciation, happy to finally be on display where he belonged. He was a Skeledirge, like he was always meant to be.
——
The fire bird twittered and flew around the mighty humanoid pokemon that had once been Ryan, admiring its handiwork. After all that time alone the bird had found a lifetime partner to keep it company. Ryan may have become a little less intelligent after his transformation, but his quick wits wouldn’t be missed. Great pokemon didn’t need to be smart when they had good human trainers. Ryan would make a fierce addition to any human’s pokemon team.
——
When Skeledirge finished his song he stood in a circle of melted snow, feeling like the strongest pokemon who’d ever lived. As wonderful as it felt to simply exist and sing to himself without a care in the world, there was still one thing he wanted to do. He wandered off, fully content with his status as a pokemon in mind and body.
A few humans glanced at Skeledirge as he passed, undoubtedly wondering who his trainer was. Skeledirge ignored them.
The fire-type pokemon had a simple goal in mind. He wanted to defeat those strong ice-types that had onced vexed Ryan so. It was the one dream his simple mind could hold. If he could just find a trainer to capture him and take him into battle, that would be enough. And Skeledirge knew where he’d find trainers…
There was a queue of shivering college-age trainers outside the gym when Skeledirge arrived. There were always more challengers than there were slots in the gym leader’s schedule, so a long wait was hardly surprising. In fact, it was exactly what Skeledirge was hoping for.
One of the humans, a tall one near the back of the line, was the first to notice Skeledirge standing there. The pokemon’s presence caused quite a stir among the gathered trainers:
Whose Skeledirge was that? He looks strong. Is someone actually going to defeat the gym leader? It almost never happens…
The crocodile pokemon had no trouble tuning out the chattering humans. He was completely entranced by the alien view of them he had. His black-scleraed eyes revealed the souls of the humans to him, floating in their chests like little flames. Each flame had its own color, size, and character.
One flame in particular stood out amongst the rabble. Skeledirge wandered closer to it, ignoring the rest as they shuffled out of his way. The special flame wasn’t the largest or the brightest, but something about the rhythm of its flickering called to him. It filled him with a kind of joy he’d never felt before. He would do anything to stay in the presence of a flame like that. The very sight of it made him happy.
“Oh!” The special human hadn’t been paying attention to the commotion. He nearly jumped out of his skin when someone tapped him on his shoulder. He adjusted his glasses and squinted up at the newcomer’s face, quickly pocketing the pokeblocks he’d been feeding to some gathered snom.
To the human’s shock it was a pokemon that’d tapped his shoulder, not a person! The looming Skeledirge did look considerably more humanoid than average, almost intimidatingly so, but his markings and his reptilian head were unmistakable. His leathery skin and dark eyes indicated that it was very much not a costume.
“Skeledirge,” Skeledirge crooned absently. Yes, this was his trainer. This was the smart trainer who could guide Skeledirge to victory. His small size didn’t matter. He was perfect. He was to be obeyed.
“Um. Hi… there,” the trainer said nervously. “I’m D-Donovan.” Donovan looked around, perhaps wondering if Skeledirge was trying to get past him. The pokemon had eyes only for him. “Uh… How… How can I help you?”
“Hey man, is that your pokemon?” one of the gathered trainers asked in awe.
“He looks incredible,” another added. “How’d you get him to stand up like that?”
“W-what?” Donovan sputtered. “N-no. He isn’t mine, I—“
“Skel Le-dirge!” Snow sizzled away as Skeledirge threw a fiery tantrum. No! This was definitely his trainer! How could his trainer not know?
Donovan yelped as an ember-like bird circled him, twittering angrilly. “Ahh! What’s wrong?! Are you here to fight the gym leader?”
“Skeledirge!” Skeledirge replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He crossed his arms across his chest and nodded.
“O-Ok. And you want m-me to help you?”
“Skeledirge!” Yes! Skeledirge flicked his tail happily. Finally his trainer was getting it! His trainer was so smart, and his trainer’s flame was so nice to be close to, he just wanted to stop thinking…
The fading remnants of Ryan within Skeledirge felt a deep-seated satisfaction. It was hard not to be content as the pokemon of a nice human trainer who was about to let him fight at the ice gym. Sure, being a pokemon wasn’t how he originally envisioned things going, but the idea of bringing his trainer victory over those snobby ice types brought him more pleasure than he ever thought possible. It was even better than being a trainer himself.
“Ok…” Donovan said. “But where did you come from? And what about—“
“Ryan Anderson!” a gym official interrupted, calling to the waiting crowd. “Is there a Ryan Anderson present?”
No one responded, especially not the thoughtless bipedal skeledirge bouncing on his heels in excitement.
“…In that case,” the gym official said, “we have an opening for an additional challenger today. Kindly form a line and—“
“Skel Le-dirge!”
Skeledirge lifted his trainer into his arms and bounded to the front of the line, trailing fire. The gathered crowd swiftly parted for the towering empty-headed crocodile. Reactions ran from surprise to amazement to amusement. Donovan’s cheeks went almost as red as his new Skeledirge’s hide.
“Ah. Well this simplifies things,” the official said, waving Donovan forward. “Come along now, your gym test awaits…”
That night Donovan sat on the bed in his inn room, turning his snowflake-shaped badge over in one hand.
He’d tried the gym test out of curiosity. He never thought he’d actually succeed. He still couldn’t believe it, even though he’d given Skeledirge the commands himself. The way his mysterious pokemon had thrashed the gym leader’s team had been nothing short of artful.
In the hand opposite his badge he held Skeledirge’s pokeball. The pokeball had clicked instantly when he used it on Skeledirge after the battle, so luckily no one had even noticed he wasn’t Donovan’s all along. The crocodile pokemon, though tired and battered, had been even more excited about the win than Donovan was. He sang his heart out with his little fire bird until he nearly fainted. The first thing Donovan did after accepting the badge was take Skeledirge to the pokemon center.
Against his better judgment, Donovan had decided to let Skeledirge out in his room. It only seemed fair. He clicked the button on the pokeball and the anthropomorphic pokemon materialized in a flash of light.
Skeledirge was still dancing clumsily with his bird, like two best friends. Luckily the heat he gave off wasn’t as unbearable as it was before the battle. If Skeledirge was going to accidentally knock something over it would be with his tail, which was lifted up proud and swaying dangerously.
Donovan wished he could share in his pokemon’s excitement, but a spot of guilt nagged at him. What had he really done to deserve his badge? Sure, he’d played the role of Skeledirge’s trainer during the gym battle and he’d even done a passable job giving commands, but it was pretty clear who really won the fight. Even if Skeledirge was dumb as a sack of bricks, he could have practically taken out the gym leader through raw power alone.
Donovan cleared his throat.
Skeledirge immediately stopped his dance and turned, shockingly attentive. His gaze made Donovan a little nervous. Skeledirge had the physique of one of his highschool bullies, but unlike them Skeledirge seemed to have zero inclination to do anything but help his chosen human. He’d obeyed Donovan’s commands in battle without a moment's hesitation, even on the occasions when Donovan probably picked the wrong moves.
Donovan held out the badge to his scaly companion. “For you,” he said. “You earned it, buddy. You’re the one who really won the gym battle today.”
Skeledirge looked at the badge, clearly confused. Donovan chuckled ruefully. It was amazing how human-like Skeledirge seemed at times and how oblivious he was at others. Donovan looked away, trying to stifle the feeling that he’d somehow taken advantage of Skeledirge’s naivete. Skeledirge had done all the work while Donovan gotten all the glory.
Skeledirge, for his part, wondered why his trainer could possibly be sad. Donovan had made Skeledirge’s one dream for himself come true. He couldn’t have been happier with his decision to pick Donovan as his trainer, and now that the battle was over he was happy to devote himself to whatever his trainer wanted. It would be so nice to be useful. A pokemon like him needed a human to obey, and obeying Donovan felt especially right. His trainer…
Instead of taking his trainer’s badge, Skeledirge scooped up his trainer, held him in his muscle-bound arms, and sang. His trainer looked embarrassed, but Skeledirge could see the flickering of the special flame within him. Deep down his trainer enjoyed the opportunity to admire and touch his pokemon’s body, even if his trainer didn’t realize it consciously. That was ok. Skeledirge could see it.
Skeledirge swung his trainer around happily, singing his song. He loved having a trainer he could make happy just by singing and showing off his body. Skeledirge felt so complete knowing that everything about himself—his body, his song, his powers—existed for his trainer’s pleasure. It was like he was made specifically for his trainer to capture. He looked forward to giving his trainer all the hands-on shows he wanted.
Skeleridge’s existence would be a simple one, as befitted a simple-minded pokemon like him. He would be such a good Skeledirge for Donovan! The pokemon couldn’t possibly imagine a more fulfilling purpose in life.
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Category Story / Transformation
Species Pokemon
Size 120 x 120px
File Size 114.1 kB
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