Pokémon Aura Battlers

Disclaimer: All characters depicted in this series are 18 years of older. In addition, all beings involved in sexual content in this series pass the Harkness test, meaning they are of enough intelligence and sapience that they have the ability to consent or refuse consent.

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He sat in the old medical chair in the school’s lab for what was the fifth time. Most of his peers had done this in one go.

The Eevee girl in an identical chair, sitting opposite to him, fidgeted with her skirt, smoothing it out, before giving him an uneasy smile. The Eevee girl from the school in another city - Miri was her name - that might end up being his battle partner.

They were each fitted with hi-tech visors hooked up to a battery of machinery. The techs were busy making sure everything was in order. Miss Dendra, the battle instructor, everyone’s favourite, was here, too, no doubt to cheer on her student. He was thankful she was there, but also not. He did not need his precious schoolboy crush on the athletic, busty, energetic woman to become apparent to his would-be partner during the period they would be Linked.

The room smelled too clean. It looked too clean. The air was still and had a slight chemical taste and scent to it. The tiling on the floor and the plaster on the wall was without any mark. The tables were stainless steel, glaringly shining. These were details he didn’t care to notice the first time. Now they bothered him.

This was the fifth time he had been through this process. Testing Link compatibility between two would-be rookie battlers, between human and Pokemon. They had been studying for five years for this moment, but instead of excitement at the prospect of finally being a full-fledged Aura Battler, he was numb to the rote nature of the procedure by now.

But he supposed boredom was better than the fear of failure that was creeping along the edge of his mind. Another emotion he did not want shared during the brief period he and Miri would be Linked.

“Okay, looks like we’re already ready to go.” Miss Dendra pronounced after one of the techs basically said the same thing. The only difference is she was addressing Miri and himself. “You ready kids?”

“Mhmm! Mmm!” Miri’s head bobbed up and down in a series of rapid nods.

“Osu!” Dendra exclaimed with an enthusiastic fist pump, before she turned to the other student. He jumped in his chair. Was it just his imagination or heightened nerves, or did she look extra pretty today? Whatever the reason, it seemed she didn’t notice, or was just that used to her student’s crushing on her. “And, Crim, you got this! I believe in you!”

Crim Rainier nodded at the affirmation of his teacher and crush and settled in as the process began. Fifth time was the charm, right?

The machines around the lab booted up with an audible whir. The interior of the visors - the Link Gear - came to life,text scrolling by in the form of a boot-up screen at first, followed by a proper HUD that showed off Miri’s “stats” (for lack of a better term) - her physical health, her energy, all manners of things only useful for Aura Battling. Other information that had become all too familiar to Crim appeared alongside it, namely Miri’s aura rating (stable and average), his aura rating (a jagged series of peaks and valleys, wildly rising and dipping), and their combined Link Rating (71%; higher than the minimum levels, which is all that mattered at this point).

Modern Pokemon Aura Battling used the Aura energies - or Auratality - of the human partner to link and connect the two, man and Pokemon, synchronizing their bodies, uniting their hearts and minds. Still two separate, distinct beings, but with more ephemeral elements like thought, memory, and emotion filtering between the two. Immediately after the process began, Crim felt the sensation - like cold fingers reaching into his mind and gently touching his grey matter, spreading the tingling coldness across his mind - ripple through him. He shut his eyes, but Miri began to slip into him.

She was nervous. She was afraid. The majority of Pokemon at her school already had partners and she was concerned she would never find one for herself for this season. She felt like a failure, grasping at straws. These were not judgments Crim was making of the girl, these were her own thoughts and fears, mingling with his own. This girl was a stranger to her, yet he already felt he had such intimate knowledge of her. It made him queasy. At least with his other prospective partners, they were from his school. He had known them and worked with them for the last five years. He felt like… he was invading this girl’s most private, personal space.

As Crim dealt with the rather invasive nature of Linking, the techs were busy at their monitors, making notes and neutral comments about the early minutes of the process.

“Link Rating started above acceptable parameters and has remained stable.”

“Crim, your Auratality is all over the place. You need to remember to focus. Even it out. Raise the dips and lower the spikes.”

“Miri… your Auratality is fine. Keep doing what you’re doing.”

“You can calm down, though. Your biosigns are a little shaky. Take a breath, relax. You’re doing great so far.”

“Crim’s bios are all green. Strange. Decent compatibility but these two couldn’t be more different in their statistics…”

Crim bristled at the advice and commentary. It was easy to say these things when you weren’t in the chair. When you weren’t being monitored with such minute detail. His brainwaves and soul were intermingling with a girl only ten-feet away from him, for crying out loud! Stay calm. Relax. Easier said then done.

Miri’s mom was sick. Miri wanted to get into battling to make enough money to help her parents maintain a stable, happy life.

Crim’s eyes snapped open. That was not the fleeting sensation of emotion. That was a distinct, sharp memory. Motivation. Something almost tangible. Phantom voices Crim had never heard echoed in his mind. This was how it began. How it happened.

He tried to calm himself. Step outside himself. Try and ignore the sensations coming into him and the panic he was undoubtedly radiating. Their Link Rating had decreased to 68%. At that level, their emotions didn’t create a feedback loop - he couldn’t feel Miri panic from his panic, but he was pretty confident she felt it regardless.

“Maybe those girls were right to bully me. Maybe I’m not cut out for this…”

From abstract emotion to distinct memory to her own inner monologue, more and more of Miri entered Crim. And he knew it wasn’t because it was her Aura was dominating him, her mind overtaking his - he had the data right out in front of him - but… he knew he was subconsciously pilfering from her! His mind was something monstrous, plucking away pieces of Miri with psychic tentacles, devouring it, and gladly going back for more.

Alarms began to sound and the tech replied in kind.

“Link Rate is fluctuating wildly.”

“Miri’s heart rate and blood pressure are skyrocketing.”

“Her Aurality is fading, too. Crim’s is spiking. Growing.”

“Growing rapidly. Beyond measured parameters. Beyond what we saw even in previous test runs.”

“Too much, too much. Link Rate is uncontrollable! Abort! Shut it down, I repeat: emergency shut down!”

Five times. This had happened five times. Five times the Link test started out fine, before things went haywire. The Link became too strong, too one-sided, his psyche pillaging that of his partner’s without warning or restraint. His everything overwhelmed them, to the point it had caused them distress. Five times Crim's consciousness dove too deep into the mind of a stranger, to the point that he largely dissociated from the pain he was causing, walking out of his body and into something more ethereals.

Five times did Crim cause a girl to go into almost temporary catatonia, forcing Miss Dendra and the techs to call for medical attention.

/////

Hello! And welcome to our world of Pokemon!

You may be familiar with Pokemon in your world, but in ours, they have taken a different tack in their development. In the ancient past, our Pokemon were similar to yours, fantastical animals of an advanced emotion and intelligence, though not quite of the level of humans, and capable of expressing extraordinary powers almost akin to magic.

However, then the Pokemon began to evolve, not as they normally do, but drastically changed into something different. All of the Pokemon of our world grew into something human-like, possessing the rough proportions of a human alongside human intelligence and sapience. No one knows why such changes occurred, other than Pokemon already possessing a wildly metamorphic DNA structure and can rapidly change and adapt to their environs. Perhaps they wished to be closer to their human partners.

Regardless, in the modern era, Pokemon now live alongside us humans as true equals. They are our friends, our neighbours, our partners, and our lovers. However, in the transition to their anthropomorphized forms, the Pokemon lost access to their incredible strength and mysterious powers. It was soon discovered, though, by combining with a human via the metaphysical energy of Aura, a Pokemon could recover their lost strength. In the past, Aura Linking was akin to magic and ritualism, and only the greatest Aura users could achieve it, but now modern technology allows many more people to Link with their Pokemon.

And from there, Aura Battles were born! Akin to the Pokemon battles of ancient times, Aura Battles see human and Pokemon partners united by their bond in order to achieve greatness. It is the most popular sport the world over, with entire school structures set up to train young men and women how to battle, with various leagues and battle types sending the people around the world into a frenzy at the spirit of competition!

This is a story about Aura Battling. About the trials and tribulations of young battlers, humans and Pokemon alike. A story of triumph, struggle, defeat, betrayal, and love.

This is a story about a boy and his Pokemon.

////

Hours after the… incident, Crim dragged himself downstairs for dinner, even if he still felt like crawling away from the world like a worm.

He barely picked at his food, even as his moms and sister chatted amongst themselves. He always felt super strung out after all of that, but the worst part was he couldn’t stop thinking of Miri, whimpering in fear as she was being taken to the hospital.

Of course, his family wasn’t oblivious to his distress, as his human mom came around to him, standing behind him and placing a hand on Crim’s shoulders in comfort and sympathy.

Aliza Rainier was a big woman, tall and broad-shouldered, but no less sweet or kind because of it. Both Crim and his sister Amaranth took after her (seeing as how their other mom was a Gardevoir, they kind of had to) with their height and red hair, but Aliza just had a presence to her, a warmth in her freckled face and blue eyes that made the world seem that much better.

“You know, I got a call from Principal Sal an hour or two ago.” Crim’s mom said, almost casually, as if she was only remembering this factoid just now. “He said that the girl from earlier was okay, they’re just keeping her overnight for observation, but she’ll be just fine.”

“Yeah, okay…” Crim felt slightly relieved by that. Despite his guilt, all of his other would-be partners - Gabi the Pikachu, Rally the Oddish, Kay the Kirlia, and Risha the Dragonite - had only spent an evening in the hospital, too. But it was more the lingering trauma they suffered that bothered him.

And, if he could be selfish for a moment, the tank in his reputation. He didn’t want to be known as the guy who hurt Pokemon when attempting a Link. Already, most of the Pokemon girls at school were giving him a wide berth. That being why they had to recruit Miri from another school.

“All that means is you’re gonna have to get a real job, Crim.” His sister, Amaranth, said in a teasing manner. When both their moms cleared their throat though, she backpeddled, adding, “Look, I know it was your dream, but you could still be involved in another way. I could get you a job at the newspaper. Maybe you could become a battle reporter.” Unlike Crim, Amaranth showed some signs of her Pokemon parentage. They both had Morgana’s deep violet eyes, but Amaranth also had two vibrant green streaks that slashed through the length of her red hair, electric lines framing the ponytailed mane.

“I do think that’s a good idea, dear.” Morgana Rainier, his other mom, said to him. Willowy and gorgeous like all Gardevoir, her soft features often placid and calm, but her eyes were vivid and sharp, never missing any detail. “I know you’ve wanted to be an Aura Battler since you were young, but I hate seeing the distress you’re going through over these girls.”

Of course, like almost all Gardevoir, Morgana was a sharp empath. Much as Crim wanted to argue the point, there was no use in debating his Pokemon mom when she could cut right through to him and see what was weighing down his heart. He smiled glumly and nodded along.

“I just… I wish I knew what was wrong with me.” Crim lamented openly, eyes on his food, still pushing around rice with his spoon. “Why this keep happening. Why I keep hurting my partners?”

“There’s nothing wrong with you, sweetie.” Morgana said, reaching across the table so that a slender green hand rested atop Crim’s. “Much as they say it is, Auratality is not a science. There’s still much we don’t know.”

“Could be you’re just not that good at it.” Amaranth said out of the side of her mouth. Crim was about to shoot back that he may not be a stellar student, but he had passed every exam - written or practical - put in front of him, but he felt the pressure of his mom Aliza pushing down on him, commanding his attention.

“Actually, Principal Sal had more to say when he called. He thinks he knows what your issue is and would like to meet with you before classes tomorrow.”

While Crim was grateful for the lifeline, he still couldn’t help but stare up at his mom in disbelief. “Why is he going out of his way to help me?”

“He’s an old family friend.” His mom answered with a shrug, as if that was that. “And he’s been nothing but a help getting us on our feet since we moved to Palo Vista.”

“That means we owe him.” Crim replied. “Means we owe him more.”

“The world doesn’t run on transactions, Crim.” Morgana said, patting him on the hand. “Sometimes, people help out to help out. Your principal is just being a good educator and ensuring his students get the help they need.”

Crim made a noncommittal sound. He didn’t like the idea of being a charity case. But if it meant no one else would get hurt because of him and he could become a properly licensed Aura Battler, he would swallow his pride and take it.

Aliza kissed Crim on the forehead, which helped his bruised pride even more.

“Whatever happens, sweetie, we’re all behind you. We’re rooting for you.”

////

The next day came, Crim still feeling guilty and uneasy, but he made it to the principal’s office, bright and early.

An older man with dark skin and luxuriously thick and fluffy white beard, Arjun Sal may never have been an Aura Battler, but he was a preeminent theorist in Auratality and the Aura Link technology. He also dabbled in the history of ancient Aura Battling. The original Aura Battling. An era of mysticism and rituals. In hindsight, Crim realized that if anyone could divine the issues he was having with Linking, it was his principal.

But, when Crim entered, expecting just himself and the principal and maybe Miss Dendra, he was caught off guard by an unfamiliar woman. Drop dead gorgeous but projecting an aura of coolness… no, cold. Cold and control. Long black hair styled to perfection, with hard red eyes staring out from beneath the jagged bangs. Her stylish attire of white capri pants and a pink spaghetti strap tank top belied the impassive, almost callous expression she wore. Standing next to Mr. Sal - seated at his desk - the woman crossed her arms and sniffed dismissively at the immediate sight of Crim, as if judging him unworthy outright.

https://www.deviantart.com/illasvyel/art/Sabrina-Casual-1164350820

This was Sabrina Geller, leader of the Saffron City Psyches.

Crim was floored by the sight of the stellar, talented Battler - one of the best in the country, no! The world, at only the age of twenty-four. And she was here, right in front of him. Even the cold glare she gave him was not enough to snap him from his reverie.

“Well, I see you’re familiar with Sabrina then, Crim.” Mr. Sal chuckled, beckoning Crim inside and to shut the door behind him. “She used to be a student at the academy, you know? She studied under me, just like you. And what an absolute success she has turned into.”

“Ah, yes sir…” Crim nodded absent-mindedly, his focus solely on Sabrina. “Miss Geller, er, Sabrina, I am a big fan. Your match the other week against the Driftveil Oiler was -”

“I am not here for small talk or for the gushing of a fanboy.” Sabrina cut him off. She spoke in a soft voice, but the presence she had **** others to quiet down and listen. She then turned to Mr. Sal and said, slightly more gently, “I came on your request, Sal. To help this boy.” Red eyes flicked back to Crim, lightning quick. “I can see part of the problem immediately.”

Then, Sabrina snatched up a file folder from the desk, flicking through it. Crim quickly gathered that it was his personal records. Should someone, even a Battler of Sabrina’s caliber, be allowed to look at that?

“Crim Rainier. A painfully average student in all regards.” Sabrina pronounced, causing Crim to wince. He was a straight-B student. Nothing average about that except above average! She continued to flip through papers, eyes swiftly darting across the text and absorbing the information. “But passing grades in both his academic courses and battling courses, regardless. Your Aurality tests are far more interesting. High potential but unpredictable yield and very little control. Hm. Something actually laudable. Your Type compatibility is quite impressive. Nothing below a six out of ten. Ah, here we are. One of your mother’s a Gardevoir.” Apparently done with his personal file, Sabrina tossed it aside, scattering papers across the office. “That would explain the source of your latent psychic powers.”

“‘Psychic powers’? Me!” Crim exclaimed. “Like… telepathy, telekinesis? That kind of stuff?”

“Yes. ‘That kind of stuff’.” Sabrina said with a withering roll of her eyes. Crim only shook his head, trying to wrap his head around this bombshell.

“But, I don’t… I don’t have that. I’m not a psychic.”

“Hence, ‘latent’.” Sabrina explained, arms crossed over her chest. “Often human psychics that attempt Aura Battling have their powers interfere with their Aura, usually causing it to spiral out of control.”

“Miss Sabrina here suffered from similar issues when she was a student attempting her first Links.” Mr. Sal offered. The corner of Sabrina’s mouth twitched in annoyance. “It took me a moment to figure out what was happening with your tests, Crim, but once I did, I knew exactly who to call.”

“Oh.” Crim nodded in apparent understanding, hopefully looking at Sabrina. “So, you’re here to train me and my powers?”

Sabrina replied with a sharp, short burst of laughter, as cold as her countenance.

“No.” As quick as it came, her laughter vanished, replaced with that flat, cool expression of hers, even as her eyes hardened slightly, jagged rubies gazing at Crim. “No. I am not here to train you. I do not waste my time with idle curiosities and those only possessing pure potential. I am here to assess your powers and to arrange the meeting of your next partners.”

Crim deflated slightly, both from Sabrina’s withering reprisal but also the fact he wouldn’t be working with one of his idols. But he did perk up when his brain slowly came to understand she said “partners”, plural.

“You can still Aura Battle, even with your untrained powers, but you need Pokemon of a finer quality than the riffraff you find at a public school.” Sabrina said, earning a gentle censure from the principal of said “riffraff”. “I also happen to run a private training facility in Saffron. I believe I have a pair of candidates that should be able to handle you. Now, I’m a busy woman…”

Crim wilted even more at the explanation. More partners. More tests. More potential to hurt some innocent woman who didn’t deserve it. He should be grateful for this opportunity, but he just felt a sinking in his stomach.

But then, as Sabrina rushed past him to the door, she turned to look at him. Perhaps she mistook the source of Crim’s disappointment, thinking he was just another fanboy crushed he didn’t get to hang around his crush. So, in a rare act of charity from the cold Battler, Sabrina tilted her head to the side and said.

“Well, how about I make a deal with you. Do you know about the Supernova Invitational?”

“Uh, yes. It’s an annual tournament held halfway through the rookie season. A tournament meant for the best rookie Battlers of the year.”

“Well, it’s being held in Saffron this year as chance would have it. So, I’ll cut you a deal, Crim Rainier. I will train you and your psychic powers, but only on one condition: you win the Supernova Invitational.” Sabrina tilted her head back, eyes shining once more. Those red eyes were calm and still, but Crim could see the beginning of fathomless depths of power beneath the surface. “I told you I don’t bother with people who have potential. Potential is worthless. Everyone has potential. But you and I at least have this one commonality, so I will give you this one chance to prove you have something more.”

Crim did not know it at the time, but this meeting, this chance encounter with Sabrina, this offer for two partner Pokemon, and this deal… not only would it change his life, but it would change the course of the entire world.

For better or for worse.

////

So surprise! Something different from me. I have been wanting to do an anthro Pokémon series for sometime but also wanted to do something more ambitious with it, hence this: a slow-burn Shonen action inspired battle series with plenty of human-on-Pokémon eroticism. Genie Wishing will still be my main concern, but I wanted to try my hand at a pilot of sorts and get it out there.

I also want this to be have a bit more audience involvement, and we're starting with choosing our hero's partner Pokémon. We'll do a two-part poll, starting with which Type and you get two votes each. Next poll for next chapter will be for the actual species of the partners.

https://strawpoll.com/xVg717b2Ryr