Chapter 33: Recovery
"Nnnnn..." I groaned groggily, my head throbbing like something had been beating on it.
"Ace! He's up!" I heard May exclaim, making my head hurt even more before I was suddenly swarmed.
"Are you alright!?"
"Do you need anything!?"
"Why didn't you tell us you were hurt!?"
"Ri!"
"Geo!"
"My head...." I groaned amidst the storm of questions, getting them to stop briefly as I reached up to touch my head, only to feel something tight around my chest. I glanced down to see numerous bandages wrapped around my wound, which also restricted my movements and breathing a little.
"Here..." May said gently as she offered me a bottle of water, which I readily accepted before chugging the entire thing.
"How long was I out?" I asked once I had quenched my thirst.
"A few hours." Dawn said softly. "After you passed out we carried you here and treated the wound on your chest.... Why didn't you tell us?"
"We had more important things to worry about... Plus it's not like we could've stopped to treat it. If we could've, then I definitely would've." I told them honestly, before accepting a bowl of canned soup that May brought next.
For a few minutes there was silence broken only by the slurping of me eating my soup, before Misty eventually asked when I was almost finished, "How did you get hurt anyways?"
I flashed a self deprecating smile at the girls before grabbing the only Pokeball I still had on my belt, and releasing the Pokemon within.
"Bee bee?" The little Combee uttered curiously as she appeared, surprising the girls and the rest of the Pokemon present before I explained,
"I don't think Vespiquen appreciated me catching her since, the moment I did, she came at me with a pretty vicious X-Scissor. It shattered my barrier and everything..." I then shuddered slightly as I recalled the raw bloodthirst the Vespiquen had towards me after I had caught Combee, apparently concerning the little bee as she came to my side and nuzzled me comfortingly.
"Awww..." Dawn uttered from how cute Combee was acting, before turning to May and Misty. "Come on you two! Even you guys have to admit that it's cute!"
May looked at me and Combee briefly before looking away pointedly as she said with reddened cheeks, "ok... It's a little cute..."
As she said that everyone turned towards Misty, putting her on the spot as she sputtered, "w-what are you all looking at me for?!"
With no one flinching or looking away from her, eventually the ginger grumbled as she muttered, "I-I guess it's not ENTIRELY gross..."
"Bee bee!" Combee exclaimed excitedly at her words, before flying towards Misty as quickly as she could.
"Wah! Don't come over here!" Misty shrieked as she tried to run away from Combee, who seemed determined to nuzzle up to her as well, making the rest of us laugh at her expense.
The laughter however hurt my chest slightly, making mine turn into a light groan as I gently rubbed it. It was then a thought came to mind as I asked, "By the way, what happened to the rest of the Beedrill?"
May turned back to me and said with a smirk, "I was waiting for you to ask!"
Before I could ask what she was talking about, everyone parted to make a path that revealed a figure that stood at a staggering six and a half feet tall and on two legs, with no arms and a large bush of foliage crowning it's head. Six eyes focused on me from the three coconut-like heads right below the bush, as the Pokemon cried out,
"Exeggutor!"
Despite my still sore wounds, I couldn't help grinning like an idiot as I took in the sight of my newly evolved Exeggutor. I ignored the protests as I pushed myself up to a standing position, even then my Exeggutor positively towered over me as I made my way over to him.
"Look at you!" I exclaimed excitedly, making my Pokemon beam back at me with even more excitement.
While normally Exeggcute were one of the species that could only evolve with an evolution stone, a leaf stone, there were some reported cases where there was no need for a stone.
Evolution stones usually formed in areas with high concentrations of energy of their relative typing, leaf stones in dense forests, fire stones in volcanoes and places where there were intense fires, water stones in rivers, lakes and oceans, and so on. If a Pokemon requiring a stone spent enough time in one of these locations, with the right requirements, then it was possible for them to evolve without the need of a stone. However if they weren't in these locations, then it would be impossible for them to evolve without one of the respective stones.
My training, combined with us being in Viridian forest and the numerous Beedrill Exeggcute had defeated had allowed him to evolve without the use of a leaf stone. If we had departed the forest already, then he wouldn't have been able to evolve without the stone no matter how hard we tried.
Naturally this wasn't necessarily common knowledge outside of certain academic circles, like a Pokemon professor's research lab.
At the moment though, I couldn't care less about the how's and whys. I was just excited to see my little egg boys grow up so big and strong already.
And even as the three girls gave up trying to make me lay back down, Misty stated as she tried to fend off Combee, "When you passed out Exeggcute evolved, and used the move Psychic to defeat as many of the Beedrill as possible at once. We were all amazed to see them falling like rain after taking the attack."
I nodded slowly in affirmation before turning to the rest of my Pokemon, and asking, "anyone else think it's safe to say that Exeggutor won the competition?"
My question was followed by several grumbles and pouts, but none of my Pokemon refuted my decision while Exeggutor hummed happily from winning the small competition.
As we were deciding that though, both May and Dawn gently, but firmly, grasped my arms and began pulling me backwards.
"That's all great and stuff, but you need to LIE DOWN!" May declared on one side, while Dawn nodded on the other as she added,
"You just lay there and rest, while the three of us cook some dinner."
I immediately became concerned with Dawn cooking for us, but any protests I tried to give were silenced by the two girls as they placed me down on my sleeping bag. They then went to prepare a quick and light dinner for all of us along with Misty, who had finally managed to escape from Combee as the snuggle happy Pokemon made her way back over to me.
"Bee?"
"We're going to have dinner soon." I told her.
"Bee bee!"
"No, it's not honey."
"Bee!" She exclaimed while turning her head up at my words.
"Hey! There's no need to get snippy little missy. You can at least try it to see if you'd like it."
"Bee bee!"
"Maybe you will."
"Bee!"
"..."
"Fine then..." I say to the bratty Combee, making her bob in the air happily from getting her way.
Truthfully I didn't know a lot about Combee and their eating habits outside of honey being their main diet. And while Combee could make her own honey, it would take some time for her to do so, especially since she's have to start collecting pollen first.
So, I turned to my ever reliable partner and asked,
"You up for another trip back to the hive?" Riolu tilted his head at me curiously as I fished out a few things from my backpack, like a fresh shirt and my Happiny egg, before pulling out a jar and showing it to him.
"I have about a hundred of these in here. If you'll go, I want you to fill as many of them as you can with the honey from the Combee hive. Maybe bring Treecko with you to help finish faster, and Combee so she can eat while you're there. Also, please try to use these spoons or something so you don't get fur and stuff into the honey."
Pulling out the various items as I mentioned them, so he would know what I was talking about, Riolu then saluted while giving a chirp of acknowledgment. My partner then turned on his heel and marched away purposely, Combee hot on his trail while he also dragged Treecko along with them.
Left alone with my thoughts, I went to recline back to rest like the girls wanted me to, only for one of my Pokemon to roll onto the space where my head was supposed to go.
"Tannnnnk." Miltank lowed softly as she moved into position for me to use her as a pillow, which I was grateful for since her fur was softer than one would think, and the layers of fat that every Miltank had made her very comfortable under my head.
And as I settled with my Happiny egg beside me, Squirtle and Charmander similarly crawled up to my sides to snuggle up as they get comfortable, with Pidgeot and Exeggutor also settling themselves near my head. The only one that wasn't present, aside from the group I sent to collect honey, was Sharpedo. But since she wouldn't necessarily be comfortable outside of the little pond she was currently in, none of us were worried about it.
And as we all relaxed I felt my eyes slowly closing of their own volition, until all I could see was the back of my lids as I slipped into a deep slumber.
...
"!"
I awoke suddenly in the middle of the night with my head resting on something noticeably different from Miltank, and a pleasant fragrance tickling my nose.
"Did I wake you?" A small voice asked from above, their features shrouded by the shadows as the full moon hung above them, but I could still tell who it was.
"Maybe I wanted to wake up." I told her with a smile, making her flash one back at me as she leaned down to cover my lips with her own.
It was only then that I realized that my visitor had done away with her pajama top as her bare breasts brushed against my head, her nipples erect in the chill of the night.
Our lips caressed each other's for well over a minute while our tongues became entangled in a war of their own, only being called off when we both needed some air to breath. Her lips curled into a smile above mine before she got one last peck on them, and moved down to kiss my chin, and then my neck.
Her petite breasts dangled tantalizingly close to my face as she carefully moved downwards, though she remained careful to avoid the wounds on my chest, prompting me to snap at her nipples playfully as they brushed my face.
After them came her tight and tone belly, upon which I planted numerous kisses as it slowly passed me until I found the waistband of her panties.
The soft cotton slowly brushed the tip of my nose as she moved ever downwards, before coming to a stop with her panty-covered crotch barely an inch from my face. I breathed in the scent of her arousal while she pulled at my waistband, before freeing my cock from its confines.
Meanwhile I pulled the crotch of her panties to the side, revealing her moistening slit before I leaned forward and ran my tongue along it. The movement at my waist paused slightly as she shuddered from my tongue running along her sex.
Her taste filled my mouth as my tongue explored her honeypot, making her squirm and wiggle above me as she desperately tried to keep her weight off my body.
Apparently she couldn't take it, as the girl stopped fiddling with my hardening cock and moved her body forward away from my face.
I saw her full figure for the first time since awakening, the moonlight illuminating her body that was completely exposed, adorned only by a simple pair of panties.
Dawn looked back at me with a look of desire in her eyes as she poised herself over my cock, holding it still as she rubbed her slit along it. This only lasted a moment before she positioned my head right at her hot and wet entrance, and slowly slid down it.
I had to bite my tongue as my cock was slowly enveloped within Dawn's burning hot and incredibly tight folds, which squeezed me like a vice as more and more entered her. And then finally the entirety of my cock was inside her as she reached the base, where she sat for a moment as we both enjoyed the sensation of the other.
"I'm going to move, Ace." Dawn breathed out quieter than a whisper, before she began to slowly rock her hips atop my own.
Each one of her movements sent a shiver through me as she slowly rocked and gyrated her body, forcing me to muffle a groan as she seemed to expertly tease my rod. Dawn herself was struggling to hold in her voice as she rode me, even going so far as biting down on her fingers to keep from leaking any sounds.
Ignoring the fire in my chest, I sat up and wrapped my arms around Dawn's upper body, startling her as I reached for her petite breasts and began playing with them. And when she turned to look back at me, I sealed her lips with my own once again to prevent her from crying out at the stimulation, even as her hips began to pick up speed.
As her aura became increasingly erratic with the repaid approach of her orgasm I decided to help her along even more, trailing one of my hands away from her breast as it crawled downwards into her soiled panties, where I found an erect little bead waiting for me.
"!!!"
Dawn's body shook the second I touched the little bead, sending currents of pleasure through her body as her movements became jerkier in my lap, and her inner walls started spasming around my dick.
With the stimulation to her clit, and the spasming around my dick, soon we both reached our respective threshold as Dawn came in my lap, and my cock erupted to pump her womb full of cum.
And even as our respective climaxes calmed, the two of us didn't immediately move as we continued kissing the other for a time. As for me cumming inside her? I wasn't too concerned since both Dawn and May had informed me during our first times together that their mothers had helped them take steps to avoid pregnancy right away.
I still planned to start a family with the two of them, along with Daisy, but that would be fairly far into the future.
So the two of us simply relaxed there as we enjoyed the other's presence, before Dawn eventually had to get up to return to her own sleeping bag. As she collected her discarded pajamas though, she kissed my cheek before whispering in my ear,
"I really enjoyed it, but maybe next time you could play with my butt a little..."
I looked at Dawn in alarm at her request, my sweet innocent little Dawn, who was blushing up a storm as she hurried to hide in her sleeping bag. And though I could hear the rustling within for a few more minutes, my mind was preoccupied with what she had asked of me before a grin began to form on my face.
Just as I was about to lie down myself and go back to sleep, I noticed someone's gaze on me as I turned to look directly at it.
The culprit was one of the two remaining sleeping bags that were around me, and as soon as the occupant notice me looking at them, they quickly covered themself before trying to pretend they were asleep. It was a rather cute reaction to getting caught peeking, I have to admit.
However, despite how much I wanted to tease them, it would have to wait until morning as I was still pretty tired. So I laid back down and pulled my Happiny egg closer to me while closing my eyes.
...
As dawn broke in Viridian forest I awoke feeling refreshed and a fair bit better than I had the day before, though I knew I still had to get to Pewter today to have a Nurse Joy properly examine my wound.
The first thing I saw when I woke up though, was Riolu and Treecko passed out on the ground nearby, their bellies slightly bulging and a sticky substance caked around their mouths. Treecko wasn't too bad because of how smooth his skin was, like the surface of a leaf. Riolu on the other hand was a genuine mess as what I could only presume was honey caked his fur on his paws and around his mouth, matting it horribly.
I got up and made my way to them with a wry smile, picking up my backpack from where they had left it on the ground, only to find that it too was extremely sticky.
Deciding to 'punish' the two for making such a mess, I made my way over to Squirtle as he dozed nearby. Nudging him with my foot, Squirtle awoke suddenly and shot me an annoyed glared, to which I placed my finger on my lips to indicate silence, before pointing to Treecko and Riolu.
Through our connection Squirtle realized why I had woken him up, and his look of annoyance quickly shifted to a smirk of amusement as he shot me a thumbs up.
The tiny turtle then looked upwards before shooting two blasts of water from his mouth, launching them straight up before they slowed and curved with a slight arc. Both blobs then came crashing down right onto Treecko and Riolu's heads, startling them awake.
"LU!"
"KO!"
Both of them cried out in alarm as they shot up, startling everyone else awake before they noticed me standing there.
"Honey hangover?" I asked them humorously, making the duo look away guiltily as I added "Did you at least fill up the jars before gorging yourselves?"
This time Riolu perked up as he barked in affirmation, surprising me as he said they filled all one hundred jars in my bag.
"Well that's good at least." I said as plans for the honey started forming within my mind.
Combee honey was very valuable in Kanto since they weren't native to the region, and it was incredibly difficult for people to get their hands on a female Combee to start their own hives. Of course, that just made me more curious how an Alpha Vespiquen managed to establish her own hive in Viridian forest without anyone noticing, but that was a question for later.
Thankfully I had managed to capture the daughter of that Alpha Vespiquen, meaning I could very well establish my own hive in the future after she evolved, and on top of that there was a good chance my Combee inherited the Alpha trait from her mother. It was also said that Vespiquen were able to store all of their subordinate Combee within their bodies to create a hive if there was no where for them to actually build it, meaning I would very well have my own personal traveling army when she did evolve.
So with a honey producing army being very much possible in my near future, I'd say it was fairly safe that I could sell most of the honey that I had Treecko and Riolu jar, while also sending several of them to my mom and other people around Pallet town.
But those plans were for later. For now I had two messy and incredibly sticky Pokemon to deal with.
"Follow me boys." I told them while grabbing my backpack, heading to a nearby stream to go wash them off.
"Yeah... We'll just start on breakfast then..." May grumbled as I walked away, making me flinch as I realized I inadvertently woke them all up as well.
I just pretended not to hear her as we got to the stream, where my two Pokemon quickly jumped into the water to start washing the sticky honey away. Meanwhile I pulled out several utensils used for cleaning and grooming Pokemon, along with some soaps and shampoos that were non-toxic to the environment, and safe to wash away in the stream.
Treecko was fairly easy to clean because his body was covered in leaf-like scales, so I scrubbed him first while Riolu soaked. Thankfully my partner had enough sense to remove his gi and training equipment when he got his paws in the honey, otherwise I would be here all day.
When Treecko was cleaned I moved onto Riolu, who was soon completely engulfed in bubbles as I scrubbed him as hard as my wounds would allow.
"Chu!" Riolu sneezed as one of the bubbles tickled his nose, making the rest of my spectating Pokemon snicker until he directed a glare that promised a beating during their next sparring session. Poor little Combee had no idea what she was in for, even when the rest of my Pokemon promptly shut up.
Another dip in the river to rinse off the suds, and both my boys were completely clean. I tossed them a couple towels to dry themselves off with while I turned my attention to my backpack.
I quickly removed anything from the outside of it that I didn't want to get wet, which included my earpiece to communicate with the Ranger Union.
Looking at it, I suddenly felt the urge to smack myself on the forehead as I realized my oversight. Instead I quickly attached the piece to my ear and spoke into it even as I continued cleaning my pack,
"Ranger Ketchum to Kanto Union base. Ranger Ketchum to Kanto Union base."
"This is Kanto Union base. Go ahead Ranger Ketchum."
"I'm calling in to report a turf war between the Beedrill hive of Viridian Forest, and an invading Combee hive that involved several Alphas. The invading Combee hive was destroyed yesterday, along with its Alpha Vespiquen, however the remaining Beedrill may continue acting aggressively towards trainers and their Pokemon for a while."
"Understood Ranger Ketchum. We will report this information to both Viridian and Pewter cities, however why have you waited until now to inform us if the battle occurred yesterday?"
I gave a self deprecating chuckle before reluctantly telling the operator,
"I was attacked by the Alpha Vespiquen and was severely wounded by her. After the Alpha Beedrill killed her they focused their remaining forces onto myself and my traveling companions, preventing me from taking the chance to treat my wounds. After running from them and trying to fight them off I succumbed to the blood loss and exhaustion, and passed out. Thankfully my companions were present, and promptly gave me first aid.
"We are intending to reach Pewter city today, where I hope to receive proper medical care. On another note, I also caught footage of the battle with my Pokenav. Should I send that to the Union as well?"
"Please do so Ranger Ketchum, and take care of yourself if you encounter any remaining Beedrill."
"Ok then." I answered while drying my hands, and pulling out my Pokenav to send them a copy of the footage Misty and I shot of the battle.
Once that was done I ended the call with the Operator, allowing them to analyze the footage before sending it to Viridian and Pewter cities in turn to be broadcast as they warned people of the heightened danger of the forest right now. And while it'll probably have the exact opposite effect, and will more than likely send trainers to the forest in droves to try and capture an Alpha Beedrill or Combee, they could at least say they tried to warn them.
With that done I finished scrubbing the remaining honey from my pack, before hanging it up to dry while I ate breakfast with the girls. After which we all prepared to leave the forest.