The Cave

Dashing through the snow

This bad boy can fit so much murderous ra-

*vaporizes*

oh she saw alright 

~~~

“He wanted to share his panda with the other dog, but it turns out the other dog already has the EXACT SAME PANDA. Very suspicious…”

spirits-and-scales :

Shortly before she heard the knock at the living room window, Katie and her pokemon were well into a conversation of idle chatter and visiting in the call with her mother. They weren’t discussing anything important other than simply catching up with goings-on. Her two other pokemon, an Espeon and Lycanroc named Kay and Fal respectively, were also visible in the video call and chittering amongst themselves and the pokemon she had on her team currently as if they were having their own conversations.

Usually Katie would have had Kay and Fal with her for the most part, along with Mimikyu of course. But after completely moving away from home to a new region altogether she needed another way to socialize with all her pokemon, old and new, while also making sure her mom had the help she needed along with her personal pokemon- a hot-tempered Houndoom she called York. So it seemed switching them every few weeks or so was the best option, which was an arrangement they were all content with.

This time around also worked out because the last time Katie and Pikaboo went on a trip with Echo it was the Espeon and Lyconroc that had accompanied her. So of course it was fair that Karri and her more recent pokemon Appletun took part in the vacation.

Speaking of which, while they had all somewhat lost track of time Katie had begun to worry about Echo’s whereabouts since her arrival was taking longer than expected. However, thankfully that was when she and the others heard the rapping at the window pane, which prompted Karri to sit up on the edge of the couch and peak through the window shades. The Liepard was surprised but not startled to see the massive Araquanid staring back. She gave a ‘yaan’ of greeting before turning and letting out an affirmative ‘Nee-yaa’ to confirm their friends were here.

“Oh, I guess that’s for us then,” Katie announced brightly in relief after her mother wondered aloud what was going on.

“Ah, alright then,” she responded with a smile. “I hope you all have fun, and be safe.”

Katie nodded and smiled back. “We will. And I’ll call you again after we get back.” She glanced between her Espeon and Lycanroc. “You two keep being good for Mom, and get along with York, okay?” At the mention of his name she saw the Houndoom’s horns shift in the far background as he sent a somewhat disinterested scowl from where he lay on the couch.

Kay trilled in reply with a light swish of her tail, while Fal cast her gaze to the side with a raspy ‘Rahff’ in agreement as if to say ‘very well.’ Getting along with York was never easy, but they always made an effort at least.

“Good. Just do your best.” And Mimikyu squeaked as well from where it sat on the tabletop, as if to copy her encouragement. “Love you, Mom! Talk to you when we get back.” “Okay, love you too! Buh-bye.”

“Buh-bye.”

The pokemon voiced their good-byes as well, and as soon as the video call came to an end Katie leapt up from her chair to go to the window and slide it open while Karri stood on the couch beside her. “Hey!” she greeted perhaps a bit more loudly than she intended. “Are you guys doing alright?” She wanted to ask first and foremost out of concern, considering how late it was.

@frostandpixiedust

Bastion’s wobbly levitating caused him to bump into the side of Katie’s cottage, letting out a startled noise as his flames burned brighter.  Grievous didn’t answer, being the least vocal of Echo’s Pokémon, only the eerie gurgling inside its bubble head answering.  It was obvious that all three were exhausted, and Echo, needing the most rest, had long ago sacked out on her Araquanid’s back.  

Grievous walked toward the direction of Katie’s door and began digging the pointed tip of his leg against it, making a clawing sound.  Bastion, who needed little encouragement, just flew in through Katie’s opened window with a whispery sigh.  Echo came to Wedgehurst so often with her mon, that they knew the house like their own.  Even Karri and Katie’s other Pokémon were familiar with Echo’s own house, as evidenced by Pikaboo sneaking into a cabinet to get cookies Katie baked, since Echo was too scared of the stove to do it.

The tired Chandelure began making work of Katie’s locks, moving them with an odd telekinesis that scared most people, his eyes glowing a faint blue.  Normally, he would grab a door and open it himself, but he knew Echo’s adoptive sister didn’t mind a few ghostly tricks, considering Pikaboo lived here.

When the door creaked open, Grievous ducked and tried to take a few steps through, having issues with slowly wriggling his way into the cottage with Echo on his back.

//@spirits-and-scales asked me to post this from our Discord chat lmao

#2748. Glowing Tiger - Illustration

The “Dragon Draw” tutorial book is now available at amzn.to/2Gx099L

Prints for sale: https://www.cryptidcreations.com/store/

For full res WIPs, art, videos and more:  https://www.patreon.com/piperdraws

Sincerely,

Ducklings on some lily pads

#2748. Glowing Tiger - Illustration

The “Dragon Draw” tutorial book is now available at amzn.to/2Gx099L

Prints for sale: https://www.cryptidcreations.com/store/

For full res WIPs, art, videos and more:  https://www.patreon.com/piperdraws

“Having a hard time getting any work done”

Back in Wedgehurst, where the sun shone more blightly save for the light cloud cover, Katie was half dozing with her feet up on the bench swing outside her own home. Since her own suitcase was already packed, she was simply enjoying the shade and soft breeze, listening to the Wooloo and Dubwool in the distance while a uniquely freckled Appletun snoozed blissfully in the warm light and a burgundy-colored Liepard was preferably curled up under the tree’s shade.

The chime of a notification bell promptly caught her attention. At the same time the wide-brimmed sunhat in her lap shifted and propped up to reveal the curious faces of the Mimikyu that opted to avoid the sun altogether. It wore a loose bow of baby-pink ribbon around the puppet’s neck, and there were signs of stitiching in the cloth of its right ear.

‘Kyu?’ The little pokemon squeaked as it reached toward Katie’s cell phone where it lay face down on the bench nearby, and carefully picked it up to investigate just as Katie opened her eyes.

Of course, since Mimikyu already had a hold of it she wasn’t going to just snatch it away without warning. That would undoubtedly upset the already timid creature. “What is it, Pikaboo?” she asked. At the sound of her voice, the Liepard opened one eye and twitched an ear back to listen.

‘Mi-kyuu,’ came the pokemon’s response after a moment, putting the phone in Katie’s hand so she could look at the notification herself.

She tapped on the screen to open the message when she saw it was from Echo, and read the text her friend sent.

“Oh, Echo’s going to be here fairly soon,” she announced to the two pokemon who were actually listening. “Sometime in the next few hours.”

At that the Liepard finally picked up her head and let out a raspy meow of interest. ‘Yaan?’

“I’m sure she’s bringing Bastion too. They go everywhere together after all,” Katie responded to the Liepard automatically, as if she knew what the question was. The two pokemon did get along, though perhaps in a somewhat…amusingly dysfunctional sort of way.

‘Ki-yuu!’ Pikaboo chimed happily and seemed to smile at that though. Partly because it was a ghost type, the Mimikyu and Echo’s Chandelure got along quite well. In fact, Bastion was probably the only pokemon outside of Katie’s family that it didn’t shrink away from. Not including the flock of Wooloo on the neighbor’s farm nearby.

Katie couldn’t help but smile at her pokemons’ collective enthusiasm. “It has been a long time since we’ve all been on a trip together hasn’t it?” she mused. “We can all use the time to relax and unwind.” She cast a glance to the freckled Appletun lazing in the grass without a care in the world, only moving enough to scratch an itch on her nose. And Katie couldn’t help but roll her eyes in amusement. “Seems like Appletun’s already got that covered,” she joked.

She glanced over Echo’s text message once more, before carefully shifting Pikaboo and her sunhat off her lap and onto the solid surface of the bench swing, allowing the pokemon to continue hiding under it while she stood up and stuffed the phone back in her pocket. “In the meantime, let’s go give Mom a video call to let her know we’ll be heading out soon. We can say hi to Kay and Fal while we’re at it.” Her suggestion brought the Liepard stretching to her paws, then Pikaboo quickly hopped off the bench to follow them inside as well. Appletun however stayed where she was after stretching her short legs to sprawl out a bit more, letting out a contented hum before sinking a little further into the grass. Her trainer would be in the video call until they left most likely, so she felt no need to rush. There would be plenty of time to say hello after another short nap in the sunshine.

The trip was definitely no easy feat.  Like many of the regions in the wonderful world of Pokémon, it took a few hours, maybe a day at most, to travel from one end to the other if you didn’t stop for touring and such.  Echo rarely made the trek like this on Grievous’ back, as if he were a Mudbray, but she was struggling as is to save money for the trip.  

Hours of effort, plenty of breaks for meals, and even a nap or two later, she saw the ring of light above the trees that indicated the warm lantern light of Wedgehurst at night.  Grievous was holding out strong, but it was obvious he was tired.  Even Bastion, who lightly napped at most, had a sort of teeter to his hover as they drew closer to the town.

She hadn’t expected to arrive after sundown, and would definitely be taking a flying taxi next time, even if she had to squeeze Grievous into the cab with her.  Hell, she would even volunteer to be carried in Corviknight’s mouth, or strapped on the cab if it meant not having to make that journey back on foot.

Wedgehurst was a rural town to begin with, known for its rolling hills, Wooloo and Dubwool pastures, agriculture, and its houses that seemed to be made into the rolling landscape.  Even for such a small town, it didn’t surprise Echo that the small cottage Katie lived in was more out of the way than the town itself.  She recognized the swing she had helped her hang earlier that summer, and the small, but beautiful garden outside.

By the time they approached, Echo was already slumped on her stomach on Grievous’ back.  The spider didn’t wait for Katie to come to the door, instead bapping her living room window a bit firm.  Her voice carried even inside the cottage, and it wasn’t hard to deduce she was in the living room, possibly on a call with her mom before they left.

Usually Katie would have had Kay and Fal with her for the most part, along with Mimikyu of course. But after completely moving away from home to a new region altogether she needed another way to socialize with all her pokemon, old and new, while also making sure her mom had the help she needed along with her personal pokemon- a hot-tempered Houndoom she called York. So it seemed switching them every few weeks or so was the best option, which was an arrangement they were all content with.

This time around also worked out because the last time Katie and Pikaboo went on a trip with Echo it was the Espeon and Lyconroc that had accompanied her. So of course it was fair that Karri and her more recent pokemon Appletun took part in the vacation.

Speaking of which, while they had all somewhat lost track of time Katie had begun to worry about Echo’s whereabouts since her arrival was taking longer than expected. However, thankfully that was when she and the others heard the rapping at the window pane, which prompted Karri to sit up on the edge of the couch and peak through the window shades. The Liepard was surprised but not startled to see the massive Araquanid staring back. She gave a ‘yaan’ of greeting before turning and letting out an affirmative ‘Nee-yaa’ to confirm their friends were here.

“Oh, I guess that’s for us then,” Katie announced brightly in relief after her mother wondered aloud what was going on.

“Ah, alright then,” she responded with a smile. “I hope you all have fun, and be safe.”

Katie nodded and smiled back. “We will. And I’ll call you again after we get back.” She glanced between her Espeon and Lycanroc. “You two keep being good for Mom, and get along with York, okay?” At the mention of his name she saw the Houndoom’s horns shift in the far background as he sent a somewhat disinterested scowl from where he lay on the couch.

Kay trilled in reply with a light swish of her tail, while Fal cast her gaze to the side with a raspy ‘Rahff’ in agreement as if to say ‘very well.’ Getting along with York was never easy, but they always made an effort at least.

“Good. Just do your best.” And Mimikyu squeaked as well from where it sat on the tabletop, as if to copy her encouragement. “Love you, Mom! Talk to you when we get back.” “Okay, love you too! Buh-bye.”

“Buh-bye.”

The pokemon voiced their good-byes as well, and as soon as the video call came to an end Katie leapt up from her chair to go to the window and slide it open while Karri stood on the couch beside her. “Hey!” she greeted perhaps a bit more loudly than she intended. “Are you guys doing alright?” She wanted to ask first and foremost out of concern, considering how late it was.