FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Well finally! Here's chapter three. I never thought I'd get this far haha. Thank you for reading my story so far and I hope you enjoy this one as well. SORRY once again no yiff although I do plan to include some in chapter four hopefully. Like I think I've said before I'm thinking new ideas up as I go along. Please comment and rate.

Oh yeah I don't own Pokémon :3

Recovery and Reunions

Pearl stifled a yip of pain, as once again she tried unsuccessfully to get to her feet.

"Dammit," she whispered angrily, flopping back down into the dust.

It was her fifth try and every time she rose up, the injuries hidden under her soiled fur made themselves known and sent shock waves of pain and soreness coursing through her body. She tried once more only to fall back down into the dirt. She dug her claws into the ground and tore up clumps of grass growling angrily to herself out of pure frustration. The previous night she had been pulled into one of the fiercest battles of her lifetime and it seemed as though now she was paying for it in every way possible.

She whimpered pitifully as she tried yet again, to suck in another deep breath. But before she could fully inhale, pain lanced through her heaving chest causing her to cry out in pain, louder this time. Rage built up inside her as she thought of the source of this particular injury. During the battle Aaron's Gliscor had slammed into her chest with a powerful Steel Wing when she had been rearing up with a Shadow Claw. The well aimed blow had knocked her off her hind paws and left her reeling from the impact. At that moment it had hurt bad enough. The only thing that had got her back to her paws was Phoenix who had stood beside her, urging her to fight alongside him till it was done. Her fighting spirit had blazed inside her and she had gotten back to her paws, much to the shock and amazement of all present. But now that she had slept on it, it hurt ten times worse.

She turned her head to the side resting her gaze upon May and Phoenix, willing them to wake up soon. But knowing there was nothing she could do until then, she laid her head on the ground and fell back into a deep sleep.

Pearl was running through a lush, rolling, sun-bathed prairie. Morning dew twinkled in the sunlight and dampened her short russet fur as she ran. The pungent aroma of flowers filled her nose and the wispy grass tickled her belly as she pranced through it. The breeze began to blow softly into her face as she paused beside a babbling creek and leaned in to take a drink from the pure source of water. As she pulled away she blinked in surprise and noticed her reflection. Instead of being tall, lean, and a shining pink color with blazing red eyes and pointed ears. She was short and fluffy, with amber colored fur and warm brownish eyes. Her cream colored belly was plump and fluffy and her six curled tails were pressed tightly together instead of waving separately apart from each other. She was a carefree Vulpix pup once more.

She turned her head quickly towards a new noise. It had interrupted her intent study of her new self and she watched with growing shock as her little brother Robin emerged from the bushes wagging his tails and skipping about playfully. She recognized him immediately from his oddly colored chest. The gene that gave Pokémon unique coloring ran rampant in her family. Instead of having creamy white fur on his chest like a normal Vulpix it was a dark attractive shade of russet and he puffed it out as he pranced around her trying to get her to play. Pearl on the other hand looked perfectly normal. Since her color change was so slight, from white to rose it wasn't noticeable at all when she was a young vulpix. She eventually decided to oblige her mischievous brother and crouched low to the ground waggling her hind-quarters high in the air preparing to pounce on his back.

But as she looked up to acknowledge her brother she noticed the glint of yellow eyes watching her from the shadows. Her brother had frozen in place and was looking into the glinting yellow orbs as well. She blinked slowly and when her eyes reopened the lush prairie was wilted and gray. The drooping dead grass above her broke off and fell to the ground where it bust into flames. When she looked to the sky she whimpered realizing that the sun had disappeared leaving a pulsating black disk to take its place in the rapidly graying sky. The scent of smoke from the burning foliage overwhelmed her and she fell back sputtering.

"Run Pearl! Get out of here or it'll get you too!"

Robin called out his warning and ran into the bushes squealing in fear. Déjà Vu washed over her. This was similar to what happened to her as a pup excluding the burning prairie and disappearing sun. Her brother had run off and she had never seen him again, she knew all too well what happened next. The concealed mightyena burst from the bushes and pounced on her pinning her to the ground, snarling in her face. She cringed away from its rancid breath, waiting for the burning pain of the mightyena's teeth to slash through her. To her shock and mounting confusion instead of maiming her and leaving her to die the Mightyena began to lick her and prod her sides whimpering. She tried to scramble to her feet but found she couldn't move. She felt as though a blanket made of heavy steel had been draped over her, crushing her to the ground. All the while the Mightyena continued to lick and call her name.........

Pearl woke up yelping loudly and flailing her hooked claws. She only stopped gained her bearings after her claws made contact and Phoenix cried out. She had caught him across his shoulder on accident. She hurriedly attempted to scramble to her feet but fell back down in pain.

"Pearl calm down, it's me!" Phoenix barked out taking a cautious step forward after she stopped flailing.

Pearl glanced around confused and took in the situation before her. May stood a little ways away with her hands on the fresh claw wound that Pearl had just inflicted on Phoenix in her dramatic awakening from her dream.

"It's okay Pearl you were just dreaming," he repeated again seeing the shock and guilt on her face as she realized she had just added to the list of injuries they both were afflicted with. May eventually stopped examining Phoenix's bleeding wound and walked over to Pearl stroking her soothingly.

"It's okay buddy. We don't have time to worry about that, we need to get moving."

"Both of you need to get to a Pokémon center really bad, and I don't feel safe hanging around out here in the woods." She said somberly, her thoughts were wandering to Aaron and his frighteningly violent and powerful Pokémon. If they returned she doubted she could manage to fight them off once more. Not in this condition.

As she looked over Pearl and Phoenix she noticed that both of them had various scrapes and wounds all over their bodies from where either the Gliscor or the Garchomp had struck them. Their coats were dirty and matted with dried blood. She was pretty sure Pearl had probably broken a rib since her breathing was so shallow and on top of all that their long fur was probably concealing countless bruises that needed medical attention.

" Pearl, do you think you can get up?"

May regarded the trembling ninetales with great sadness. She could tell how badly hurt she was and doubted greatly she could even breathe, let alone stand and walk to the Pokémon center. Phoenix, on the other hand, was quite confusing to her. He was injured just as much as Pearl if not more, yet he stood solidly on all fours and nudged Pearl weakly, trying to encourage her to stand. He acted as if his injuries didn't exist at all. May sighed and shook her head somberly, if she had to guess the source of this shocking indifference to pain she would pin it on his former master. The boy seemed to detest weakness and with an attitude like that, she was sure the monster had sought, and snuffed out weakness amongst his team. Most likely, if Phoenix had shown any signs of pain or exhaustion or anything else seen as "weak" he would've been punished, hurt or worse.

"What a shame..." she whispered to herself as she approached the two Pokémon. She pushed the thoughts of Phoenix's past out of her mind and and braced herself for what she would have to do next. She hardly ever put Pearl in her Poke ball except for extreme emergencies. She thought it was impersonal and that it stunted the growth of the bond that naturally flowed between human and trainer. It wasn't that Pearl hated being inside of it, May just never felt the need to use it on her since Pearl was quite well trained. Not including the occasional bouts of mischief and trickery that were true to her nature.

Pearl whimpered and raised her head as she approached also managing to smile weakly and wag one of her tails in greeting. Phoenix turned to watch her, a helpless sort of look seemed to twist his canine features. And he sat back on his haunches sighing with exhaustion.

"I'm going to put you two into your pokeballs okay? We're going to go to the Pokémon center back in Floaroma. Then you two can get the treatment you need. Okay?" Pearl just laid her muzzle back down on the ground in response and closed her eyes, silently awaiting the red beam of light.

She soon felt the unusual feeling of weightlessness and the gust of wind that signified she was being transported inside of her pokeball. She gasped in surprise at the exhilarating sensation. She had almost forgotten the feeling of being returned since May seemed to detest the devices with a passion. She felt unconsciousness blanket her as she began to hibernate inside of the capsule.

When she awoke instantaneously upon release she realized she was inside of a small white washed hospital room, obviously inside of the Pokémon center. She felt groggy and her limbs felt unusually heavy, as though weights were tied to them holding her down. Probably the after effects of a sedative they'd given her during treatment she reasoned idly. Glancing around she saw May standing outside of the room talking quietly and rather anxiously with Nurse Joy whose eyes were filled with suspicion and accusation. Pearl's keen ears eventually picked up the bulk of the conversation.

"I'm not sure how to explain this," May began. Her voice was flustered and tired as though she had been harassed for quite some time. "We were jumped by a terrible criminal. He was a Pokémon trainer and he attacked us out of the blue. We managed to beat him off but my two Pokémon were badly hurt in the process."

Pearl tipped her head to one side trying to figure out why May was leaving out major parts of the story, but dismissed the thought soon after thinking it. She obviously just wanted this to all be over and done with so she could return to the busy yet peaceful routine of a trainer. Pearl was going to get down from the comfortable bed she was on to approach May but stopped short realizing she was covered in bandages and hooked up to a steadily beeping heart monitoring machine. Understanding that she probably wasn't supposed to move much, she settled into a more comfortable position and waited for May to come back into her room.

---

May sighed with relief as she saw the accusing light fade from the kind nurse's eyes. She had expected some suspicion and harsh corrections when she brought her Pokémon in in such bad shape. But Nurse Joy had been relentless with her questions regarding exactly how the two creatures had been so badly injured, and to tell the truth May didn't feel like divulging the whole story. Pearl and Phoenix both had sprained this and wounded that and May had already stressed enough over the extent of their injuries. Telling the concerned nurse everything would surely lead to the involvement of the authorities and while May wanted very badly for Aaron to be tried for his actions she didn't have it in her to cope with any more drama or issues.

So after Nurse Joy had left to attend to others, she had walked back into Pearl's recovery room and spent some time with her before crossing the hall to Phoenix's room. The majestic canine had still been asleep from the strong drugs they had given him. Seeing this she had quietly exited after running her hands over his mane, marveling at its beauty and warmth, before walking to the main lobby where most of the waiting trainers got coffee and food.

She had turned towards the counter that had various snacks and drinks on it, so that she was facing away from the door when them heard them slide open. She payed no mind to the metallic noise and proceeded to pour herself a refreshment. As she turned back around to return to her seat she was shocked to see a sparkly eyed Luxray staring at her amiably. It wagged its star shaped tail and reared up suddenly, placing its forepaws on her shoulders and knocking her drink to the floor. It spattered and soaked her clothing. The Luxray seemed to pay no mind to this and began licking her face with its rough feline tongue. She pushed it off gently and as soon as its paws hit the ground it began to circle her playfully prancing and purring.

"This is so odd," May thought as she watched the lion-like Pokémon prance gracefully some more. She didn't recognize this Pokémon......or did she? The electric type was surely acting as if it knew her. It seemed ever so slightly familiar in some indescribable way... the Pokémon paused its prancing for a moment and locked gazes with May, its piercing yellow eyes bore into hers.

"Stella!?!" May exclaimed incredulously, in an open expression of confusion and shock.

The name had leapt to her lips as she recognized the energetic young lioness from her childhood. That was why she hadn't recognized her sooner. When she had known the Luxray it was just a young Shinx and Pearl, a Vulpix. Her trainer, Chris, had been a young boy and they had grown as childhood friends. The young Shinx's outgoing and energetic personality had even helped bring Pearl out of her shell after her accident with the Mightyena. The two girls had become very close friends in the process. Pearl and Stella were inseparable and trusted each other fully. It was tragic that they had to separate. After May's family moved from Sinnoh to Hoenn they had kept in touch but hadn't seen much of each other. Every once in a while she'd meet up with him from pure chance but recently two years had passed since she had last laid eyes on the pair. The Luxray responded to her name by rearing up once more, this time knocking May down with her weight and covering her face in eager licks.

"Stella, hey good to see you!" May stroked her hands through the Pokémon's silky black fur and smiled, completely forgetting she was still lying on her back in the middle of the Pokémon center. Despite her elation, she was beginning to attract unwanted attention. All the trainers present were either tired, agitated or a mixture of both since their Pokémon had been knocked out. It was quite obvious that they didn't want to be bothered. Neither Stella nor May seemed to notice the annoyed glares and continued to fawn over each other. Quite suddenly another important thought occurred to May.

"Where's your trainer Stella?" She asked eagerly. She propped herself up on her elbows and glanced around for his familiar face. Almost in response the glass doors of the Pokémon center slid open once more and a wonderfully familiar voice washed over her.

" Stella! There you are. I swear one of these day's I'm going to buy a freaking leash or something...." His voice contained a hint of playfulness despite his threats. "I'm sorry miss," regarding May as a stranger since her face was still mostly obscured by the Luxray. "My Luxray, she has a lot of um..... energy. I really do try to control her but-" His fervent and embarrassed explanation suddenly stopped short and was replaced with shocked silence as he finally got close enough to see her face.

" May is.....is that you?" Stella quickly hoped off of May and resumed her energetic barrage of happy yips and prances of delight, as Chris drew nearer and crouched down beside her. "May! It really is you!" his hazel eyes lit up and he impulsively pulled her into a quick embrace.

"It's great to see you too." May said trying to control her joyous emotions. In reality her heart was hammering in her chest and elation was making her light headed. It had been so long since she'd seen him and suddenly in a matter of minutes here he was ...... She studied him as he smiled at her. He obviously had grown a lot taller and stronger since the last time she'd seen him. He still had that same playful gleam in his hazel eyes and his light brown hair tumbled messily about his head completing his carefree look. He was dressed in traditional trainer apparel, with a short sleeved red shirt that had a pokeball on it and a normal pair of blue jeans. Despite the time lapse he was still the same old Chris.....

Realizing his rather affectionate display he drew back a little, to a more friendly distance and held out his hand to help her up, blushing slightly. "May I honestly cannot believe Stella led me to you." He said looking down apologetically at the Luxray who wagged her tail and finally began to show signs of calming down a bit. "I was just walking along, on my way to Hearthome and she just takes off." He laughed slightly and reached down to rub her affectionately between the ears. "Well," he said in a flustered sort of way. "What are you here for? Where's uh Pearl?" he said, looking around for the Ninetales.

A long silence fell over them, quickly diminishing the bright mood as May's thoughts rushed back to her fallen partner." It's a very long story.." she said rather somberly. "She's badly hurt. Just... follow me," May turned to walk to Pearl's recovery room without a backwards glance and Chris quickly followed behind her, casting a concerned glance at Stella who's brow was creased with sudden worry.

As they finally reached Pearl's room May placed a trembling hand on the doorknob and taking a deep breath turned slowly. After opening the door all three filed into the immaculate white room and turned their gaze to where Pearl was sleeping serenely. May walked over and silently sat on the edge of the rosey vixen's bed and placed a gentle hand on her flank. Pearl was curled up in a light sleep and her tails were draped over the edge of the soft bed as she slept.

"Pearl? Hey Pearl it's me." May said in a comforting tone gently prodding at her. At first there was no reaction. But after a couple more gentle coaxings, Pearl's ears pricked up and her tails twitched as she raised her head up groggily.

"Pearl, yo-you won't believe it, but look who's here." May whispered motioning to Chris and Stella who both stood at the other side of the room with a mixture of shock and concern on their face. At first Pearl didn't seem to understand but it eventually clicked within her. Her eyes lit up and she let out a shaky bark of joy and disbelief, her claws dug into the linen sheets and she inched forward on the bed as much as the bandages would allow. Stella immediately crossed the room in reaction and reared up placing her large black paws on the edge of the bed. She purred and leaned in to nuzzle Pearl her eyes threatening tears. Pearl returned her affections and her tails began to wag furiously. Each tail went in a different direction creating a churning mass of snaking fur behind her as she purred back to Stella pouring out greetings and affections. The two females continued this display for a couple minutes before settling with staring into each other's eyes barking back and forth fervently in Pokémon speech. During this time Nurse Joy knocked sheepishly at the door and entered quickly.

"May Phoenix's recovery is complete," she smiled warmly as she said this and held out the Arcanine's pokeball to May, who took it slowly.

"Thank you so much Nurse Joy." May whimpered, wiping the fresh tears of joy from her eyes.

"Your Ninetales should be fully recovered tomorrow morning." Nurse Joy said walking over and examining the vixen with a relieved expression. "She had me worried there for a bit. She was very badly injured, but she seems to have pulled through just fine." The petite woman flashed a warm smile and bowed slightly before exiting and shutting the door quietly behind her.

"Thank god." May whispered throwing her arms around Pearl's neck and pulling her into a hug. Pearl began to rumble as she purred and licked at May's face happily. Stella hopped nimbly up onto the already crowded bed and licked Pearl's cheek. Chris too joined in on the loving display and smiled as he ran his hand through the Ninetales plush fur, stroking her affectionately.

Once everyone had finally pulled away from her, Chris and May both sat down in the small chairs on the other side of the room and watched quietly as Stella curled up at the foot of Pearl's bed and stared up at her joyously. Before Chris could even begin to question May about Pearl's injuries and the pokeball she had just received from the Nurse Joy Pearl suddenly began to throw a fit.

She began to whine and bark kneading the sheets with her claws. Stella tipped her head to one side quizzically and watched as Pearl began to shred the sheets and bark even louder apparently frenzied over something. Pearl's cries soon became even more incessant and before it seemed as though she would jump off the bed May realized what she must be so upset over. With a skilled and fluid motion she tossed Phoenix's pokeball and sighed with relief as Pearl's wails died down.

Chris gasped audibly at the magnificent sight before him. Quite suddenly a majestic Arcanine had appeared in front of him immediately causing the temperature in the room to rise a couple degrees from its intense body heat. Quite obviously male, it stretched and shook out its shining golden mane and black striped fur before recognizing Pearl who had begun to whimper needingly. It crossed the room in one graceful leap. Stella had just managed to scramble out of the way before his massive paws came cascading down where she had been only seconds before. He reared up onto her bed and began licking her face passionately, his furry tail wagging furiously. He watched as Pearl whimpered once again and nuzzled the Arcanine who quickly returned her affections. Stella simply watched, awe struck and May smiled warmly as the two pokemon continued to purr and cuddle. From this display the two most obviously were close mates.

" May?" Chris whispered as he walked over to her. "Is that Arcanine yours?" He had quite openly seen Nurse Joy hand the pokeball to May but he still couldn't quite grasp the thought that such a powerful free spirited pokemon belonged to May. In fact Arcanine's were so quick and care free that they were hardly ever caught from the wild.

"Yes he is," she replied softly. Her blue eyes were brimming with love and warmth as she watched the affectionate display. "His name's Phoenix," Chris just nodded slightly, still unable to tear his gaze away from the pair. A couple minutes passed before Pearl slid over on the bed and the Arcanine managed to hop up onto it and maneuver himself in a way that allowed him to fit on the bed and curl up protectively around his mate. The two fell asleep almost immediately, their previous injuries still greatly sapping their strength.

Stella lied down silently at Chris' feet as he sat down with a tired sigh in a chair and motioned for May to take a seat beside him.

"What a reunion," he began quietly, glancing over at May who had slumped down tiredly in her chair.

"You're telling me," she said managing a flustered laugh. "Welcome back Chris," she whispered to him smiling wholeheartedly.

"So," he began. "Are you going to explain this to me or what?" he crossed his arms and leaned back preparing himself for a long story.

"Please not tonight," she begged feebly. "I'm beyond exhausted," she whispered closing her eyes slightly and turning her head to meet his curious gaze. "I mean, we do have time," she said, averting her gaze and blushing. "Unless you have somewhere to be," she finished, silently praying he would agree to stay. When she finally looked up to gauge his reaction he was smiling at her fondly.

"Of course not, where could I possibly need to be more than here," he said rather sarcastically and reached out, nervously taking her hand in his. Smiling at the bright shade of crimson that colored her cheeks.

"I'll go order two rooms for the night," she responded quietly after a couple charged moments of silence, her hand resting in his. He released it quickly and nodded as she rose to her feet and exited the room on the way to the reception counter. He drew in a shaky breath trying to quell the Butterfree that had taken off and fluttered in his stomach, when he felt Stella's nose prod his leg.

He looked down to see the mischievous lioness flashing him a cheeky smile before glancing in the direction May had just exited in. She wagged her tail and her smile grew wider showing her gleaming white fangs. She let out a happy yip and gave him a mocking sort of look before barking again, referencing the previous conversation with May. "Shut up," he whispered swiping at good naturedly at the electric type who dodged easily. She simply made a rumbling noise in her chest that resembled a chuckle and laid her head down again, resting it on the cool tile floor. Chris sighed dreamily, thoughts of what had transpired not too long ago filled his mind as he rested his hands on his lap, and dozed off, eagerly awaiting his friend's return.

Well that was chapter three! ^-^ Glad I finally got it done. Please comment and rate. Thanks for reading.