FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Another chapter of my old Poke'mon story, edited and updated. As always, all constructive criticism is welcome, and hope you enjoy.

---

I walked to Vermilion for two days straight, stopping only to eat, drink and get a couple hours of sleep. I didn't want to lose anytime starting to search for my Poke'mon and Sara. Problem was, I ran out of human food, which meant I had to stick with the Poke'mon food I had, which didn't fill me up very much. Sure, I still had the candy Bulbasaur and Nidoran got back in Cerulean, but I felt a bit guilty about eating that, since I did promise that for them and them alone.

Finally, about eight miles out from Vermilion, I swallowed the last piece of Poke'mon food, and I was still hungry. I kept walking none the less, sheer will power the only driving force I had. Don't panic, I thought. You're about to go into a city. There's plenty of food there. I'll just hit a fast food place real quick...Do I have enough money?

"Rai been robbed!" I exclaimed, turning my empty wallet upside down as though all my missing money would just spill out. Where'd it all go? It must have been back when the cops were near my stuff. They must have searched it, and someone probably took all my cash. Man, now I was poor, tired and hungry. Not a good combination.

I walked and walked, feeling weaker with each step I took. Great, now I don't even have the energy to change back to human. How was I going to get into the city now?

*sigh*"Raichu just get Chu water..." I muttered, kneeling down next to a large pond and pulling out my filter. Normal people can last a few weeks without food and a few days without water. I felt like maybe I could go ten hours without food, so I wasn't about to risk running out of water, even though my thirst hadn't really been a problem before.

I pumped the filter for a while, filling up all my canteens as fast as possible. I was halfway through the last one when something moved out of the corner of my eye. I looked up in time to see a blue streak of something below the surface of the water.

"Chu?" I stuck my head underwater to see if I could spot the owner of that streak. I couldn't see anything...maybe my hunger was getting to me. I pulled out my head and kept pumping. When I was done, I put everything away and got out a towel to dry off my face.

"Nuts..." The fur of my face was all messed up now. I put down the towel and tried to fix it a little. Though I've never really had been too concerned about my looks, being a Hybrid changed that. Now I'm constantly worry about keeping my fur nice and straight so I don't look like a dork. There, that's bett...hey, where's the towel?

Looking around, I saw my towel below the surface of the water...moving? I tried to reach in for it, getting more frustrated as it seemed to always be just out of reach. One errant grab made me slip into the water, leaving me annoyed and soaking wet. Whatever was doing this, there was no way to catch it now.

Just as I started to climb out, my towel came up to float by my side. I ignored it and started to climb out. Just as I was about to put my pack on, I dove in after the towel, making a less than spectacular belly flop, but grabbing the towel in the process.

"Come here!" Even though I couldn't see anything, there was definitely something pulling on the other end of it. It wasn't really strong, as I pulled around the invisible force rather easily. This little tug-of-war went on for a few seconds, before I gave one mighty pull. I fell back, gripping my towel and landing on my back. The water had concealed it at first, but on my belly there seemed to be something covered in a shimmering liquid that obstructed a clear view of it.

"What the...RAICHU!" My clothes started to smoke, followed soon after by a burning sensation against my stomach. Instinctively I shoved off whatever was on my stomach, only to end up getting my hands burnt, too. It was a chemical kind of burn, one that ate at my fur. That meant...this was an Acid Armor move. There's only two Poke'mon that spring right to mind that use Acid Armor, and Muks hate water, so...

"VAPOREON!" I always wanted a Vaporeon for my team, and of course now would be the time my Poke'mon were deposited all over Vermilion City! I didn't even have anymore Poke'balls, either. Still, as foolish as it was to try and capture a Poke'mon without any of my own, I felt equally foolish giving up on such a rare and powerful Poke'mon when it was right in front of me.

Vaporeon had gotten some mud on it when I threw it, giving me an idea where it was while the mud was being burned away. Grabbing the towel, I started to circle Vaporeon. His movements mimicked mine, apparently not put off by my strange appearance. I lunged at it, trying to wrap it up in the towel. We wrestled around for a while, and I acquired a few more nice burns on my clothes and fur. Soon, though, I had it in the towel, which I'd turned into a makeshift bag. It thrashed around for a while, then seemed to give up.

I was pretty proud of myself for my first catch, even without Poke'mon. I was so proud of myself, that it hadn't really occurred to me that I had absolutely no way to store my prize. I started to search through my backpack for something I could use as a makeshift container.

Ssssssss...

What was that sound? It seemed to be coming from the towel...oh man! Vaporeon was trying to burn its way out! I grabbed the first thing my hand came across, a pot for boiling water, and dropped the towel in it. Not a second after I did, the towel disintegrated into nothing. Before it could escape, I turned the pot upside down on the ground, trapping it.

"Vapor..."

"Rai wouldn't try that again." I advised, wondering if it would try to make its way through the pot now. "Rai a Hybrid. A Hybrid is Raichu of human and Poke'mon. Chu, not only do Rai look half like a Raichu, Rai have the abilities of a Raichu. Chu, my friend, are a water type. Even Chu must know Raichu water is weak to electricity."

I kept one hand on the top of the pot and the other close to the side in case Vaporeon did try to escape again. Hopefully it wouldn't, since I wasn't really willing to get burned again. I got lucky, however, as Vaporeon said something through the pot.

"Vaporeon. Eon lost."

"Chu admit Chu lost? And Chu won't run away?"

"Vapor..."

This seemed almost too easy. I wasn't about to lose a Vaporeon, so I made a quick contract with the trapped Poke'mon. Basically, it couldn't run away, hurt me or anyone else without special permission or in battles, and would stay in my arms until I got a ball to put it in. If not, and I quote, "May thou be struck by the curse of Ninetales, the punishment equal to that of grabbing all nine of its tails at once." A lot of people nowadays scoff at that idea, but I have yet to see anyone actually try and prove that old story wrong.

Vaporeon agreed to my terms(or at least I think it did.),so I carefully lifted up the pot. It dropped its Acid Armor, and I put the pot back. I put my backpack on and picked up Vaporeon.

"Well, Raichu hard, but Rai think it was worth it. Do Chu?"

"Eon, Vaporeon it." it said.

"Hmm..." Might as well ask... "Are Chu a male?"

"Vapor." he said with a nod. Another guy, huh? I hadn't planned on trying to get my Poke'mon to breed with each other, but I really could use a female to balance out my team.

"Raichu then. Come on, let's get going."

I started walking again, trying to figure out how to make Vaporeon comfortable. I told it the story behind my Hybridism, or at least as much I recalled. Yeah, it's not exactly a bedtime story, but the worst that could happen would be that Vaporeon be a little scared of me, and they say it's better to be feared than loved. Actually, Vaporeon seemed to enjoy it. It was actually rubbing it's head up against me, almost as if it liked the story(And who wouldn't? Sorry, just a little ego there...).

We heard the city well before we reached it. It wasn't just the usual city noises; there sounded like some kind of festival going on. Seeing the outskirts of the city as I got closed confirmed those suspicions; bright banners were everywhere, music of all sorts could heard, and there were all sorts of smells, especially...

"FOOD!" All the different food smells, combined with my own ravenous hunger, pushed me over the edge. I ran into the city full speed with the last bit of energy I had, totally forgetting about trying to cover up my condition at all. I dodged through crowds and crowds of people, clutching Vaporeon to my chest so I didn't drop him.

Finding a large table loaded with foods all sorts, I placed Vaporeon down on the table and dug in, passing up utensils and eating with my hands only. Vaporeon seemed hesitant at first, but after watching me gulp down bowl after bowl of food, it dove into a bowl of apples and started eating too.

I really don't know how much food I consumed, but I caught various comments like, "He's eating more than a Snorlax!" and, "What is that thing?" in between gulps, so it must have been quite a bit. Eventually, someone tapped me on the shoulder while I worked on a basket of some exotic dish called, "chicken".

"Can't talk. Eating." I mumbled through mouthfuls of food. The basket of chicken quickly disappeared after that. I looked up angrily, ready to shock whoever just stole my food. It turned out to be a very large, very angry looking man who stood on the other side of the table.

"Excuse me...sir..." he said in a threatening tone, "I hope you plan to pay for all that."

"Uh...pay?" Now that I was stuffed with food, I could see there were price signs on all of the foods on the table. I swallowed hard as I recalled my empty wallet sitting in my back pocket.

"Yes, pay. Even your kind...whatever you are...have to pay for my food."

"Oh, pay!" I tried to sound confident as I started to move like I was getting my wallet. "Rai, let me just get my Vaporeon here...Vaporeon, Water Gun Raichu!"

"Vap? Vaporeon!" Vaporeon looked out of the bowl, confused for a second, but then shot a stream of water from his mouth at the table owner. He yelped and tried to cover his face from the spray that was temporarily blinding him. After a few seconds, I grabbed Vaporeon and ran as fast I could.

I probably would've made it out without a hitch, had the table owner not been yelling, "Stop him! He's a costume wearing thief!" That attracted a lot of unwanted attention, and a few people actually gave chase. I outran them easily, but I still needed a place to hide as a mob grew in size quickly.

I lost a lot of ground at one point where I had to cross a busy section of highway. The cars were coming too fast for me to even dare trying to cross until the light changed, and by the time it did, the mob was almost on top of me.

After making it across the street and turning a corner, I saw the city's Poke'mon Center. Praying that I could convince Joy and anyone else that happened to be there to let me stay, I ran through the double glass doors.

"Joy, Rai...WHAA!" Two seconds after I ran in the door, I was tackled by ten little kids, none of them over the age of six. Some of them were petting my head, while others were yanking on my tail. Vaporeon escaped from my arms in the struggle as they crawled all over me, fighting down an instinctive urge to shock them all. On the plus side, I heard the mob go by while I was buried under the little bodies, so at least I lost them.

"Kids! I have ice cream in the kitchen!" a familiar voice said. At the mention of ice cream, the kids forgot about me and ran off to the kitchen.

"Thanks...JOY!" Geez, she surprised me! I scrambled to my feet and picked up Vaporeon. "Raichu, Joy, my name Chu Dan Gotem..."

"I thought your company said all the entertainers were booked for the Spring Festival..." Joy said, looking confused.

"Company?" I was as confused as her.

"You're not from the entertainment company? Then, why the costume?"

"Rai don't know...oh, the company!" Great, I walk into the perfect cover and still almost manage to blow it! "My last party...let Chu early, so Rai came here."

"Oh...what happened to your costume? It's all damaged." she said, referring to the large holes in my clothes, the burnt away fur, and the fact that I was soaking wet.

"Rai...Vaporeon has a little problem with Poke'mon Centers. Raichu found out Rai was taking him in for a checkup, he got a Raichu defensive."

"Vaporeon? Eon, Vapor Vaporeon checkup?" Vaporeon asked. Thankfully, I don't think Joy got the impression anything was wrong.

"Don't worry. There's nothing to be afraid of." Joy said soothingly, taking Vaporeon from me. To me, she said, "Thank goodness you're here. Parents keep dropping off their kids with their Poke'mon, and expect me to take care of all of them. I'm too busy trying to keep them from breaking anything to care for any of the Poke'mon!"

I nodded understandingly and went into the kitchen. While Joy took care of the Poke'mon for the next few hours, I took care of the kids...or rather, they took care of me. Like most little kids, they loved Poke'mon, and they enjoyed pretending to be all sorts of Poke'mon and wanted me to play with them.

Did these kids have energy! If they weren't pretending to be Poke'mon or trying to yank out a piece of my fur, they were doing almost anything else. At least ten times I had to pull out kids who'd ran for the operating room or the recovery room before they woke up the Poke'mon trying to get a little rest. A rather large Charmeleon that was healing from what looked like a tooth problem of some sort nearly turned one of them into a piece of charcoal, and probably would've if I hadn't yanked the kid away at the last second.

The worst part of those few hours, though, was trying to keep my tail in one piece. Kids were always yanking on it or trying to do something with it. At one point, two kids even turned it into a jump rope. It was fine at first, since you only needed one person to swing it(as the other end was connected to the base of my spine), but when a girl missed her jump and landed full force on top of it, it took every ounce of self control I had not to instinctively fry the kid.

It was getting pretty late by the time the last of the kids finally left, a great relief for me. I'd collapsed on the couch in the lobby when I was finally down to one kid, totally worn out.

"Are you sleepy?" the little girl asked.

"Yes, Raichu tired..." I said, wiping the sweat off my forehead.

"Oh." She paused for a moment, then said, "I know how to make you feel better."

"How?" She climbed onto the couch, and before I could say anything, started scratching my head, right by the ears.

"This makes my Pikachu feel better. Do you feel better?"

Oddly enough, it did make me feel better. I let her keep it up for a while, just enjoying the feeling I was getting. It was like all life's problems were just floating away. Too bad she couldn't keep it up forever.

Then again, I thought, what said she couldn't? Maybe I could go with her, be part of her team. She'd probably wants a Raichu anyway...I started rubbing my head against her, trying to get her to use both hands. Better yet, maybe I could get her to rub my stomach. Oh, if she did that...

BEEEEPPP!

"Sorry. My Mommy is here. I gotta go." The little girl apologized as her mother honked for her outside. She hopped down and left me feeling really depressed. Didn't she think I would be a good addition for her team? Didn't she think I was strong enough? Why did she turn me down?

"Whoa!" Dan, what are you thinking? You're not a real Raichu! That's never happened before...it's like the human part of me just went into a brief coma, and a Raichu took control of my thoughts. That was weird, and kinda creepy.

"Joy?" I called out, getting up and walking behind the main desk. "Can Rai use the kitchen and make Chu dinner?"

"Sure, but there isn't much here!" she called back.

Boy, she wasn't kidding! Going into the kitchen, all I found was half a container of ice cream, a couple of T.V. dinners, some vegetables and a half loaf of bread. I thought I was gonna starve! I micro waved all the dinners, one at a time, and made turkey sandwiches with everything else, saving the ice cream for dessert. It took a good hour to finish cooking everything, which seemed kinda pointless since I finished it all in ten minutes anyway. Despite my gorging, I was a gentleman and left Joy a dinner for herself.

"Ah, here you are." Joy said as she came in, watching me throw out the last tray from the dinners. "I was just about to pay you...aren't you hot in that suit?"

"Suit? Oh, no! It Raichu very well."

"Um...do you have to talk like that?" Joy asked, looking a little concerned with my speech impediment. "It's very distracting."

"Like Rai? Oh..." Think fast, Gotem! "It...helps me stay Raichu a role, that's Chu."

"Uh-huh..." Man, was that a lame excuse. Any second now, she was going to figure it all out, and then she'd call the cops on me, and then I'd be back in jail, and then...

"O.K., if you say so." she said, shrugging. "Can you help me clean up?"

I was so dumbfound that she actually bought my story that it she had to ask me again twice before I agreed to help. After we'd finished, Joy left to get the money for my work. While she did, I bought all my things to the trainer bedroom, getting ready to take a snooze. When Joy found me again, she seemed confused.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Getting ready Chu sleep. Why?"

"You can't stay here." Joy explained. "This is a government building, and they're all closed for the festival. The Center is the only exception, and even then, it's only open during the day."

"Raichu! Now where am Rai supposed to go?"

"You don't have a place to stay? Not even a hotel room?"

"No! Raichu from Pallet training. Rai just came Chu town toda...two weeks ago...and my room Raichu inn got rented out!"

"Oh...if I'd known that..." We stood in silence for a few moments, neither of us sure what to do. Suddenly Joy spoke up. "Listen, why don't you stay at my house? It's right across the street, so no one will see you. Besides, all the hotels are probably booked for the festival anyway, and I can't just leave you out on the street, can I?"

"Gee, thanks." I helped her close down, and she paid me for the day's work.(85 bucks? Could be better, could be worse.) After making sure everything else was locked down, Joy led me across the street to her home, offering me the couch for the night. Before I could say more than "Good night", she went to her room, claiming to be tired and not very hungry.

I definitely was worried about Sara and everyone else, and while I thought I really should be looking for them as I got out my sleeping bag, logically I knew I had to wait. After all, I'd just spent the last three days just trying to get here, without sleep. If I went out there now, I'd probably collapse with weariness before I got a block away. What good would I be then? I'd just have to hope that everyone would be O.K. till I could start looking for them again. First thing in the morning, I swore to myself. First thing in the morning, I'll find them.

---

I awoke around 7:30 next morning, the smell of fresh pancakes and syrup tickling at my nose. I rolled over to find just that piled high on the table next to me. Not hearing or seeing Joy anywhere, I figured that she made them for me. I tried to eat slowly, but once the first few bits of pancake made it to my mouth, I went into my usual face stuffing. Joy walked in just as I finished up about five minutes later.

"Wow. You didn't even wait for the juice..." she noted, setting a large glass of orange juice next to the now empty plate.

"Rai was hungry." I said simply, taking the glass. "Thanks for everything."

"Oh, it's no problem." she assured me. "Besides, how often to I get to have somebody over whose half Raichu?"

It's a good thing she said that when she did, because if she'd waited another second, she would've said that when I would've had a mouthful of juice, probably ending in a spit take. I set the glass down and looked up at her.

"What?"

"Don't worry. My cousin in Viridian told me all about you. I kind of guessed it was you when you first came into the Center, but I didn't say anything in case you were just an actor in a really good costume."

"Rai...So this means Chu won't turn me Raichu police?"

"Of course not! You didn't do anything wrong." She walked over to the window and glanced out quickly. "As long as you don't...oh my!"

"What is Rai...whoa!" I went to look at what had startled Joy. When I saw the giant hole in the Center's wall, I quickly understood her surprise.

"Oh no! I'd better call the police!" Joy rushed into the kitchen and headed for the VidPhone inside.

"Don't bother!" I told her, hearing police sirens heading in our direction. "Raichu already did."

"Good!" Joy went into a nearby closet and got her coat. "Dan, stay here until I come back!"

"Sure, where..." she rushed out the door before I could finish. Sighing, I took another look at the hole. It wasn't like someone just used a Machoke or something and broke a hole. It was way too neat, and the hole in an oval shape. It was like someone burned through it, but with what?

I sat around in the house for a few hours while the police taped off the area and started interviewing everyone. I glanced out occasionally, but never for a long period of time in case someone saw me. I really wanted to get out and do some more searching, but the front door was the only way out, and even if I changed to human form for a little while, I'd be dead tired when time was up.

Hours and hours passed. Most of the police had left early in the afternoon, but there was no sign of Joy anywhere. The police officers stationed outside the center kept me from going anywhere. Instead, I got another idea.

Going to the VidPhone in the kitchen, I turned on the speed dial function and found what I was looking for. Confirming my selection, the phone rang a few times before someone picked up. I was careful not to turn the screen on until I heard the Viridian Joy's voice on the other end.

"Hello, Viridian City Poke'mon Center. How can I help you?"

"Hey Joy!" I said, seeing her on the monitor.

"Oh, Dan! I'm surprised you called!" She looked around quickly before continuing, probably checking for trainers that might be coming in. "I see your still working on your...condition..."

"It's alright." I assured her. "Rai are things down there since Rai left?"

"Well, the police are still looking for you, but right now, they're not having much luck. They can't get any evidence you did anything, and their case got laughed right out of court."

"What case?" I asked.

"That's exactly my point. Do you remember that woman who claimed you attacked her? She failed a lie detector test about the incident, and few people are buying into the idea of a creature that's half-human and half-Poke'mon. There's rumors going around that it was just some weirdo in a Raichu costume that freaked everyone out."

"Well, Raichu to them."

"Where are you anyway?"

"In Vermilion City, at your Raichu house. By the way, why did Chu tell her about me?" I asked.

"What?!" Joy exclaimed.

"Yeah, she said Chu told her Raichu me. Why?"

"I...I haven't breathed a word of it to anyone!" Joy denied. "I wanted to protect you, and I doubt too many people would have believed me even if I told them."

"Well, then how does Raichu about me?"

"I don't know. Honestly, I never said anything to anyone!"

"Raichu? Well, Raichu talk to her when Chu gets back..."

"Uh-oh..." Joy sounded worried. "She not there? Or at the Center?"

"No. Is Rai a problem?"

"Um...look, can you keep a secret?"

"Sure. What's up?"

That's when I learned about Joy's addiction. It wasn't drugs or booze, thankfully, but something even more expensive. How so? About $1200 a day!

"...and one time, when the clerk asked her if she had enough, she reached across the counter, grabbed him by the shirt, pulled him so they were face to face, and said 'I'll tell you when I've had enough!'". Viridian Joy sighed, "I've tried to talk with my sisters about staging an intervention, but her problem is so... weird... that it's hard for us to even talk about."

Well, I was hardly the pinnacle of normalcy myself. Viridian Joy had already helped me out a lot since the beginning, and I need some answers from Vermilion Joy anyway. Perhaps I'll stage that intervention.

---

It was about 10 p.m. when Vermilion Joy finally came in, her arms loaded with small boxes. I stood by the stairs, waiting for her.

"Chu were out again." I said. She jumped three feet when I said that. One of the boxes fell from her arms and hit the floor, causing a shattering sound.

"No..." she gently put down the other boxes and picked up the fallen one, shaking it. I could easily tell by the noise it made that it was broken. "My...baby..."

"Joy, get a grip. Chu have a problem. Chu need help."

"Problem? What...what problem?" she stammered, picking up the other boxes and trying to go to her room. I quickly moved in front of the door to stop her.

"Raichu told me all about it. Joy, Chu need help..."

"Dan, I'm fine. Please, just let me go!"

"Really?" I grabbed a box from her arm and dropped it on the floor. It hit with a shattering crash.

"What did you do that for?!" she exclaimed.

"Because I'm ending this." I grabbed another box and dropped it too. It also shattered. I did this two more times. Just as I was about to drop the fifth one, she gave in.

"Please, stop! You're hurting my babies!"

"Babies? Joy, Raichu just..."

"I know what they are!" She yelled. "They're my children, you...you..."

"Children? Joy, Raichu not even living!"

"I...I..." I picked up one of the boxes and dumped out the contents. The jeweled egg fragments fell to the floor. Joy's eyes started to fill with tears.

"Please, stop!" she begged.

"Only when Chu admit Chu have a problem." I grabbed another box with a shattered Faberge egg and dumped it on the floor. "Look at all Raichu pieces...Have Chu ever seen so many?"

"No...no, stop!" she begged. I ignored her and dumped out more pieces from the third box. As I opened the fourth one, she finally cracked. "O.K.! I have a problem! Please, just stop!"

I closed the box and placed it on the ground, taking the remaining boxes from her. She numbly allowed me to place them on the ground, seemingly worn out.

"See? Was that Rai hard?" She sniffed a few times before she broke into tears.

"You...You have no...idea...what I...I...feel Chansey." Joy gasped between sobs.

"Chansey? Joy, are Chu..." Her hands felt warm to the touch, and strangely rubbery. I glanced down at Joy's hand, my gasp audible when I saw they were turning bright pink.

Joy fell to her knees, seemingly oblivious to her skin color change. I took a few steps back, not exactly sure what was going to happen.

There was a tearing sound, and a short pink tail shot out from Joy's dress. A Chansey's tail. A Chansey Hybrid?!

Looking closely, I could Joy's hair was growing out at the sides rapidly. It quickly grew till it looked like she had the bangs that Chansey's also have, just made of human hair. That weird, but nothing compared to what happened with her arms. Her fingers started to clench, and at first I thought she was just making a fist. Instead, her fingers kept constricting and seemed to melt into her hand continued to shrink and smooth into what looked like human sized Chansey arms.

"Uggh..." I moaned, trying to hold in my lunch. The worst was over, but the changes didn't stop there. Joy's dress started to get tighter and bulge around her stomach. It was small at first, but it grew rapidly until it looked like Joy looked like she was about nine months pregnant.

She slowly got to her feet, the change completed. Now I could get a really good look at her. Chansey shaped, human sized arms, bangs made of her own hair, three on each side of her head, pink human legs and face, one large stomach, and a pink tail finished off the complete Chansey Hybrid.

"This," she sniffed, "is my problem."