FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

A soft, cool breeze brushed against the three traveling pokemon as they made their way through the thick forest that surrounded the city of Avalon. They were initially traveling by car through the main rode but were instructed to leave it and proceed on foot through the forest. Two Gallades, one slightly taller than the other and much older, and a young female Kirlia made their way through the thick foliage and weaved past several trees. Clearly, the younger of the two Gallades wasn't fond of travelling through the thick, seemingly untamed forest.

"Argh!" the younger Gallade grunted as his elbow blades hacked and slashed away the thick foliage in their way. "Don't tell me Avalon's just as primitive as they were in the ancient times."

"Patience, son." The older Gallade spoke calmly. He had his hands folded behind him, letting the younger Gallade take the lead and pave the way for them. "Avalon's security is almost as impressive as ours, believe it or not. And this forest is but an extension of their defences."

"It's beautiful..." the Kirlia stared at the forest in awe with her glimmering sapphire eyes. "It's like... the forest is alive..."

"Last I checked, forests ARE alive." The younger gallade grumbled in frustration as he finally cleared away a decent path. "I can feel the life essence of living things as well."

"No, not in that sense." The Kirlia shook her head, though her curious smile never wavered. "It's like it has a conscience, it's thinking, feeling, it's..."

"It's spying on us." the older Gallade spoke with a smile and a chuckle. "As I mentioned, this forest is an extension of their defences."

"Amazing..." said the Kirlia.

The younger Gallade retracted his elbow blades and let out a sigh. "Alright, looks like I finally found a decent enough path that we can traverse." He stepped to his side and gestured for the path. "Shall we?"

With a nod, the three of them continued on their journey, no longer pestered by the thick foliage on their way. All seemed well at least. They were making good progress and felt that they'd be through the forest soon. Especially considering that they were in a supposedly secure forest, they didn't really feel that need to stress about keeping strict guard on their surroundings. All those were true until the point where the Kirlia let out a surprised gasp and stopped on her tracks.

"What's wrong?" asked the older Gallade asked.

"The forest..." mumbled the Kirlia. "It stopped watching us."

"What do you mean?" asked the younger Gallade.

"It means that nobody is going to come to your aid."

The unknown voice that spoke startled the three psychic types causing them to turn around and see that three Sableye had emerged from the forest.

The younger Gallade immediately extended his elbow blades in a defensive stance as he got between them and his companions. "Explain yourselves."

"Brother, there are more!" the Kirlia exclaimed moments before the older Gallade turned to face the four Sableye that appeared behind them. They glanced from left to right and found that they have been surrounded by a horde of at least a dozen Sableyes.

"We're surrounded..." the older Gallade mumbled as he too extended his elbow blades. Fighting these Sableyes would be incredibly difficult. Their dark type affinity would render their psychic powers useless towards them, and their ghost type affinity would mean that they should be able to phase through physical attacks with ease. Right now, he was just hoping that they weren't proficient with their intangibility that they could phase through pretty much anything.

"What do you want?" the younger Gallade demanded, his elbow blades glowing an ominous purple in preparation to use night slash.

All of the Sableyes began to chuckle, creating an ominous chorus. They didn't even answer his question before they all lunged at the same time with the intent to kill. Immediately, both Gallades turned to the direction where Avalon would be and focused their efforts there. With one, powerful swing, his _night slash_slashed away the Sableye in that direction giving them the window they needed for escape. The younger Gallade swooped up the Kirlia as they ran away from the Sableye horde.

The Sableye chased after them with stunning speed, clearly capable of outrunning them especially considering the older one's age and the younger Gallade's carried weight, holding the Kirlia in his arms. A volley of shadow balls were hurled at their direction and it took the combined effort of all three of them to cast a barrier fast enough that would be able to block the attack. Soon, they were surrounded once more.

"It doesn't seem like running would be an excellent option..." the older Gallade grit his teeth and extended his elbow blades once more.

"The Sableye are strong, far stronger than I anticipated." The younger Gallade followed, putting down the Kirlia and extending his elbow blades. The two Gallade stood with the Kirlia protected between them.

One of the Sableye advanced towards the younger Gallade who quickly intercepted with a leaf blade. The Sableye didn't even make an attempt to dodge or block the attack, he merely grinned all the more sinister as the glowing green blade of the Gallade phased through his body. The young Gallade wasn't able to move fast enough to do anything about it and the Sableye's shadow punched landed square in the Gallade's face, knocking him over, giving way for the Sableye to attack the Kirlia

The Kirlia concentrated, preparing to attack the Sableye when the older Gallade pulled her aside and blasted the Sableye away with a powerful shadow ball. "Are you alright?" the Older Gallade asked, referring to the Kirlia and the Gallade.

"I'm fine... Behind you!" the Kirlia exclaimed as she waved he arm and a salvo of _magical leaves_shot at the Sableye that was about to attack.

"Where's an Avalon patrol when you need one?" the younger Gallade cursed as he stood up with a grunt.

"RIGHT HERE!"

The three psychic types were startled when a sudden voice shouted from above then, immediately followed by a ball of fire that crashed down on a group of Sableye sending waves of fire surging from the epicenter and towards the other Sableye that jumped away to avoid the searing flames. Considering the dramatic entrance, and that he exclaimed 'RIGHT HERE!' as the young Gallade mumbled his question, they assumed that this was the Avalon patrol that they were looking for.

When the fire slowly died down, the three expected to see a fire type emerge. The psychic types were completely caught off guard when the burning pokemon that came to their aid was a young Riolu, dressed in a blue hoodie and a bullet proof vest, standing on top of the bodies of two badly burnt Sableye.

The Riolu was encased within a body armor made entirely of his solid, blue, battle aura, which must've explained how he emerged unscathed from that blazing inferno. That meant that he has a fire type partner nearby. The Gallades, though only for a brief moment, stopped pondering about their reinforcement and turned their attention towards the remaining Sableye who seemed to tremble in uneasiness with the arrival of the young Riolu.

'But why?' the older Gallade pondered to himself. 'If anything, that fighting type, Riolu, would stand less of a chance against ghost pokemon compared to us psychic types. Perhaps it's because of the still hidden fire type ally that could ambush them at any moment... but... I don't sense anyone else nearby...'

The two Gallade stood there, waiting for the Sableye to attack so they could counter it accordingly. They didn't want to do anything rash with these ghost types, especially the ones that are skilled in phasing through solid objects. Instead, they were surprised to see the Riolu charged at full speed towards the remaining Sableye.

"Stop, they'll just phase through your attacks!" the older Gallade shouted, trying to warn the 'doomed' Riolu

The aura around his right arm morphed and expanded, forming a large fist as the Riolu punched the Sableye before him. The Gallades and the Kirlia, even the Sableyes, thought that the Riolu's punch, though coated and augmented by his aura, would do nothing but phase through the ghost types. Both parties were immensely surprised when the Riolu's punch sent three Sableye flying with gem-smashing force.

"Pardon me, sir, what did you say?" the Riolu asked as he spun around, swiping away the other Sableye that jumped out of the way. "I wasn't able to hear you over the hum of my aura."

"It... was nothing..." the older Gallade was at a loss for words as the three of them stared in awe at the Riolu.

"Shall I deal with them all for you or would you like me to leave some of them to you?" the Riolu asked, smiling as though the difference in the number of enemies meant nothing to him.

"No, no... you may deal with them." The older Gallade said as he retracted his elbow blades and took a step back, the younger Gallade following suit. "Although I must ask, will your partner be jumping in any moment? I think it would be better if you had your fire type partner with you."

The Riolu may have kept a smile on, but they could feel that the Riolu's mood switched from happy to sad. "You must think that I had a fire type with me due to my dramatic entrance. As much as I did have a fire type partner, I haven't seen him for months now." Although the Riolu had just shared with them an emotional statement, it didn't inhibit his reflexes and combat prowess as he swiftly ducked under a Sableye's shadow claw and reciprocated with a powerful uppercut, which, yet again, hit the Sableye and sent him flying.

Immediately, the horde of Sableye decided that it would be best if they attacked the Riolu simultaneously and from a distance. The remaining six Sableye leapt backwards and hurled a barrage of shadow balls towards the Riolu. The Riolu's aura morphed yet again and formed a sturdy sphere around the pokemon, shielding him from harm.

The three psychic types stayed back and watched in awe at the Riolu's skill. As his aura shrunk back into its body armor size, the Riolu gave chase to the distancing ghost types. As much as the Riolu gave chase though, he never left the psychic types too far behind. He kept them at a distance where he could still dash back to their aid. Of course, the psychic types had a protective barrier on knowing that the Riolu can't give chase as well as block the shadow balls that the Sableye were dishing out.

"I've never seen a Riolu quite skilled with the aura." The younger of the Gallades said.

"Indeed, he is something." The older Gallade commented.

"He has powerful mental barriers set up as well." The Kirlia added. "Your contact from Haven must know this Riolu."

"Where did that fire come from though?" the younger Gallade asked. "If he is without a partner, how was he able to perform that blazing entrance of his?"

"Perhaps Avalon's developed a new type of incendiary grenade." The older Gallade suggested.

"I'm starting to believe that the fire came from him though." The Kirlia said.

"How so?" asked the younger Gallade.

"I was able to perform basic analysis on him." The Kirlia said. "Results show that he's part fire type."

"What?" the two Gallades gasped in unison.

"Look."

The two Gallades raised their heads to take a look at the Riolu who was fending off the six Sableye. The Sableye were at a distance where they were still relatively close to the Riolu but had enough room between them to jump out of the way should the Riolu lunge for them. But it seemed that that distance meant nothing to the Riolu. The Riolu stalled this long just to observe the Sableyes' attack pattern, their evasion style and how fast their reflexes are.

The Riolu grinned as he got the data he needed; the Sableye were done for. The solid aura around his right arm morphed once more, growing larger like it did before as he prepared for another powerful punch. The Sableyes shifted in anticipation for the Riolu's attack, but were completely caught off guard when the Riolu seemingly vanished and instantaneously materialized before them using extreme speed, but this time, the large fist of aura was engulfed in searing hot flames. The Sableyes weren't fast enough to jump away or to phase into the ground to avoid the attack as the Riolu slammed the fist down on them causing a large, fiery explosion in its wake.

The two Gallades stared wide-eyed at the sight, unable to comprehend what they just saw. The Kirlia, on the other hand, merely smiled, impressed by the skill that the Riolu displayed. "See, he's part fire type."

"But... how?" the younger Gallade asked.

"Is Avalon experimenting on mutating their soldiers?" the older Gallade asked.

The Kirlia remained silent while the two started blurting out questions and theories. She, on the other hand, focused merely on studying the Riolu, analysing him.

Soon, the Riolu's armor faded away and the Riolu began panting. The Riolu looked around at the destruction he's caused with a grin on his face, almost impressed by his own masterpiece. He pulled back his left sleeve and peered into his watch. "Hm, two minutes and fourty seconds... uh..." he looked around, turning his head from left to right. "One two three four..." he began whispering. "Twelve hostiles downed..."

"Do you keep record of all your battles or something?" the younger Gallade asked.

"I will be keep track of them, yes." The Riolu said as he walked towards the three psychic types. "I just want to see how much I improve with every battle."

"How were you able to fend off those Sableye though?" the older Gallade asked. "I mean... I understand that your fire punch would've hurt them but how were your regular or aura-based punches able to land a direct hit? Isn't your combat aura fighting type?"

"It is." The Riolu replied. "That's why I used my healing aura instead. By lulling the enemy's body into a state of calm, they can't concentrate enough to become intangible."

"Incredible." The older Gallade said.

"So you can use healing aura?" the younger Gallade asked, only then did Jason realise that there was a large gash on his face from the Sableye's attack earlier.

"Right, I'm on it." The Riolu said as he approached the younger Gallade, who knelt down so his face would be in reach for the smaller pokemon. The Riolu extended his arm and a blue, glowing, mist-like aura began coming out of his hand. As the Riolu held his hand above the surface with the wound, the blood around the cut began to 'evaporate' and the gash itself started to close. "There we go, all better."

"You're quite peculiar, you know that... um..." the older Gallade mumbled. "I'm sorry, may I ask for your name?"

"It's Jason, sir, Jason Alexander."

"Well, Jason, thank you for saving us." the older Gallade said with a bow, causing the young Riolu to blush in sheer awkwardness. "Will you be escorting us?"

"In a moment, I have to dump these bodies into the trees for interrogation." The Riolu said as he walked away and hoisted up the bodies of the unconscious Sableye. Just then, a dozen trees began moving, twisting and opening up as if on cue, and the Riolu began stuffing a Sableye in each tree.

"That's something you don't see every day." The Kirlia joked as the three psychic types just sat there, using this opportunity to rest. "Hm... well... the forest seems to be _awake_again..."

"'Dump these bodies into the trees for interrogation'?" the younger Gallade repeated. "So, what do you guys think of him?"

"What we think of him right now is irrelevant." The older Gallade said.

"You aren't the least bit curious why that Riolu has a strong connection with the aura or why he has fire affinity?" the younger Kirlia asked.

"Not right now, dear." the older Gallade said.

"Ugh..." the Riolu grunted as he pushed the last of the bodies into the tree that began to twist and close, as if swallowing the Sableye inside. "Welp, that's the last of 'em. So, the three of you well enough to travel? It shouldn't be too far now."

"We're good." The older Gallade said as the three of them stood up. "Lead the way."

---

"May we ask about this partner of yours, Jason?" the older Gallade asked after a few minutes of walking in silence.

"Sure, ask away."

"What happened to him?"

"Hm..." the Riolu gave it some thought. "I haven't really heard much about him recently... but I doubt anything bad happened. It's just that after the explosion, our parents decided to train us individually. Turns out I wouldn't even be allowed to leave my house for my own safety. That's what I meant when I said 'I haven't seen him'. He didn't go missing if that's what you were thinking."

"Ah." The older Gallade said with an amused chuckle. Whether he truly found the Riolu's story amusing or not, Jason may never know. "Although I must ask, the curiosity's getting to me, how is it that you're this proficient with the aura? Shouldn't your specie's connection with the aura start as a Lucario?"

"Well... to be honest... we don't really know." Jason replied. "Perhaps it's just as much of a mutation to me as my fire affinity."

"Speaking of which, how is it that you're part fire?" the older Gallade asked.

"We don't know either." Jason said with a slight chuckle, a bit embarrassed that he had no answers for their guests' questions. "Some speculated that it was because I was born on the summer solstice or that because my father was a fire type... but there weren't really any scientific evidence to back that up."

"Interesting." The younger Gallade mumbled. "Would you mind if we performed experiments on you so that we can get our scientific evidence."

"Ugh, someone's already suggested that they perform experiments on me." Jason groaned. "I'd really rather you guys not."

"Very well." The yonger Gallade said with a chuckle.

"Can I be the next to ask a question?" the Kirlia asked.

"Sure."

"How old are you?" the Kirlia asked. "You look like you're ten or something... but I'd rather believe that Avalon doesn't send children out on deadly missions..."

"Well... as much as I'm amazed that I've retained my adorable looks despite the vigorous training..." the Riolu said with a chuckle. "I'm fourteen by the way. And no, I am not a full-fledged soldier, I am a recruit. Recruits normally graduate at the age of eighteen so technically, we don't send children out to dangerous missions."

"Still, you're pretty powerful for your age." The older Gallade added. "Most children your age do nothing productive about their lives, little discipline and motivation. Sometimes, even though you Avalonians are more of a military nation, I admire how disciplined your people are."

"By the way, what type of organization is Avalon right now?" the older Gallade asked.

"What do you mean?"

"To the public, Arkha is an intelligence organization hired by governments around the world." The younger Gallade said. "Basically, our agents help countries spying other countries. Of course, all the data we collect end up in our archives anyway. So if any country decides to go rogue or threaten the peace of the world, we can always use their secrets against them."

"So, you're asking me about what Avalon does for the world?" Jason asked.

"Precisely." The older Gallade said.

"Well..." the Riolu hummed. "As far as we were taught and that my parents have told me... Avalon's considered as a mercenary organization. Basically, our agents are the ones sent by governments when their soldiers aren't good enough... for a price."

"I hope you guys don't extort them of their money." The younger Gallade said.

"It's better than holding their secrets for blackmail." The Riolu sarcastically replied. "Besides, none of them have complained yet. Our men have always managed to get the job done."

"Alright, let's just agree to pretend that this conversation never happened." The older Gallade said.

"Unless you're willing to have your memory of this conversation erased." He younger Gallade added.

"What conversation?" the Riolu jokingly, but convincingly, asked. "The one about my aura?"

The Kirlia giggled at the Riolu's joke and their trip proceeded in silence once more.

"We're here." the Riolu said, catching the psychic types' attention as the gates of the Military District came to view.

The towering walls of the Military District loomed over them menacingly, dotted with armed guards and turrets that could take out most hostiles from miles away. The guards were extra vigilant compared to before the bombing though, none of them walked alone and they made sure to cover all blind spots. The guards examined the visitors thoroughly, checking their papers, retinal and DNA scans, they even exchanged secret code phrases. Once they were cleared, the massive double doors of the gate opened and the guards stepped aside for them to enter.

"Welcome to Avalon." The Infernape guard said to the psychic types with a salute. "There is a patrol waiting inside to escort you to the Academy. Recruit," the Infernape turned to face the Riolu, who saluted to the soldier in return. "you will receive further instructions inside."

"Yes, sir."

And with that, the four of them continued to the inside of the district.

"Quite the security you have." The younger Gallade commented, turning his gaze from side and surveying their surroundings.

"We had to tighten security since that bombing four months ago." the Riolu said.

"This bombing," the older Gallade spoke. "where did it take place?"

"Over there." The Riolu pointed towards the newly built barracks. "When we rebuilt it, we added a few other facilities, fortified its structure and added additional security."

"I see."

"And this Hypno prisoner of yours," the younger Gallade said. "do you know what's happened to him?"

The Riolu shook his head. "I'm sorry, but this is literally the first time I've left my house in months. I haven't really been updated yet. I'm pretty sure this patrol that'll take over knows more than I do."

"Hm..." the Kirlia hummed. "that must be them over there."

The three males turned to see where the Kirlia was pointing and the Riolu's expression quickly changed. His eyes were wide with surprised and his lips were voicelessly mouthing probably the most random bunch of words.

"You know... I always knew that you have a stupid look on your face but this is a whole new level of stupid." The Charmeleon that spoke had his arms crossed and wore a smug look on his face. He was tall and his body was lean but muscular. He wore the uniform bullet proof vest, his pistol holster was strapped around his left thigh and he had a red bandana tied around his fight arm.

"Aw, don't be mean to him." The female Ninetails that stood beside the Charmeleon cooed. As much as she wore Avalon's military uniform, she didn't seem threatening or dangerous, not one bit because of beauty, her figure and the beauty products that she's put on her fur.

"Yeah, Charlie." The Grovyle snickered. "Jason just surprised, that's all. You, on the other hand, look stupid all the time." the Charmeleon was about to punch the Grovyle for his comment, but the Grovyle raised his hand and the Ninetails wrapped her tail around the Charmeleon's arm to stop him. "Anyway, let's not keep our guests waiting. Sirs, madam, my name is Leaf and my Ninetails partner is Veronica. We will be escorting you three to the Academy."

"Right, on to business then." The older Gallade said as the younger psychic types moved on. "Thank you, Jason, for accompanying us this far." And with that, the five of them left leaving the Riolu alone with the Charmeleon.

The Riolu watched as the Grovyle and the Ninetails led the three psychic types away then he awkwardly turned his attention towards the Charmeleon before him. "So, Charlie... long time no see eh?"