Impetuous... Carefree... The world was a realm of beauty and light and love, scattered with her newborns... She would float over it as if in a perpetual cloud of pink pleasure, flitting in and out with all the focus of a child amongst the tall reeds... Patiently observing or occasionally slipping down to play and... It was glorious. To have attracted titans to protect your creation, and then be allowed to play in it, with no real responsibility to...

None but the guilt of her actions... And the consequences thereof... Her awkward long feet poised on the ground... Her eyes flashing as she held up her paws to the writhe of energy. Her fur rippled with power... She was the only one who could stop it... And then...

A crackle... And an explosion...

A whirl of water slung itself sharply through the shell of a frustrated Crustle, who turned and snapped their claws furiously in retaliation... Noah's eyes narrowed as he landed and skidded back, jerking a scallop from his fur and reeling back to prepare... Before sending a crashing surf over the crab, who seemingly crumbled away into wet sand...

An Excadrill suddenly reared up behind him, and he spun around while bracing for a blow that never came... The Excadrill was pinned against a nearby wall by a few spinning shuriken, which glimmered like the sea for a few moments before they dribbled away to water. The great mole Pokemon didn't move beyond a soft groan...

Noah stood and felt himself as if to make sure he wasn't actually hurt before straightening and putting his paws on his hips instead... The Dewott's eye glinted so confidently that one would almost wonder if he had forgotten the danger mere moments before. But likely, he was staring at the Frogadier who was drawing herself up, like water from a well, with grace and a soft smug smirk of her own...

"Noah..." Ilianna said... "I have something to tell you..." 

-3 Months Before-

It was a summer evening in the early days, where the grass was still wet from dew and the Volbeat only just started to glimmer through the trees. Their eyes had met as they played under the roaming stars, and their lives were never the same. Now, they were members of a prestidgeous guild. They had worked towards it all their lives, short though thay may have been thus far... and yet...

A Guild like this was respectable. In the Pokemon world, long ago, there began to appear strange caves... Networks of caves like veins within the earth that would rise up and, if left unchecked, engulf the surrounding area...

The Pokemon there were strange. They refused to speak. They were violent. And they confined themselves to the unnatural, shifting labyrinth below...

No one wanted the world lost to these brutes. Most wondered if they even really were Pokemon. And so, the brave formed teams to enter the caverns, beat back the Pokemon, and recover whatever they could. Even now, so many generations later, it was a task that nowadays, many simply saw as a career, rather than a sworn duty... But for Noah, it had always been more of a dream... And for Ilianna, it had been always a duty she felt eager to take on... She had felt what she only knew later to be maternal instincts, extending to the land itself.

But that was later. Now? She was young... She was foolish... And she had been working hard...

She walked from the sauna room, still sticky and glistening. Her eyes were keen, and her reflexes sharp. Though she was wandering with her body reeking of need, she didn't allow herself to be seen by any others if she could hide... It thrilled her to see a Sceptile lumber by, his cheek pouches subtly inflating as he understood what he was scenting...

Heat. It was the only way to describe it, despite her amphibian nature. In the end, it didn't matter... It was the same thing; her body was making eggs... And she wanted to make use of it... 
She slipped through halls, occasionally attempting to act natural when a ghost or psychic flitted by, knowing full well their supernatural senses could catch her... But to the others, she herself was the ghost... Haunting  the halls for someone very specific. She eventually slipped outside into a warm summer evening... Lanterns flickering in the treeline, and over the vast lake that the town had congregated around...

She found him by the shore, doubtless having been taking the time to refresh himself, being a Water type. But now he stood on the grass, damp, and speaking with... A tall figure... A Dragonite...

"You have my word, sir. We didn't join just because we thought it would be easy. We were just... a bit distracted by one another..."

The Dragonite's face was inscrutable. The dragon was starting to show signs of age, which must have meant that he was truly old given his type. He turned and flew away, and after he did, the Dewott he'd been talking to breathed out hard and fell to a sit... "You make one mistake, and... Ah?"

Arms wrapped around him from behind, embracing him firmly. After a moment, she literally clung to his back with how intense she made the embrace... Between her typing and her skill, she was incredibly light... A fact which she oddly commented on now and again... As if it were a shame...

"Noah... What did he say?"

"Illy... Don't worry. He's upset we soaked a couple of the supplies we recovered yesterday..."

"He really is a stuffy old thing isn't he? Such important work we do..." she said, in a faux, sarcastic way. Noah grinned and pulled her into his arms to smooch her on the lips lightly. In a moment, they lost track of everything but the intense adoration they felt for one another, before they both tilted and fell into the lake... 
Under the water, they had plenty of privacy. Many of the other water types were far away in the murk, and wouldn't pay attention to them. They were more or less alone... And that's when Ilianna made her intentions blindingly clear.

But it wasn't as if Noah needed it. It wasn't as if it wasn't on his mind every moment of every day. How couldn't it be? He'd managed to fish up a mate that boiled water just by walking through it... Or at least, she should have for how hot she was... Especially now, as his dextrous paws settled on her steaming hips... The perfect figure to fulfill...

That NEED...

They locked eyes... Did they know...? Did they understand... What it was they needed? Something about the way Noah's paw trailed over her midsection, toned as it was, that made them both imagine how much better it would be... If only...

He couldn't help but bite at her shoulder as she suddenly pushed her hips against his sheathe. He abandoned his inhibitions and... Moved... Extended... Plunged in...

He gripped her thigh... He gripped her bubble 'hood'. He moaned in a soft, muffled way beneath the water, with both of them tangled in the seaweed. He made out with her, and she arched as lock met key, and her body quivered in anticipation... THAT. She needed THAT, more than anything else... Her own slender fingers wrapped around her mate's fur... And then one gripped at his face, his cheek fur fluffing between her fingers, waving a bit in the idle current...

"Noah..." she moaned, a reddened blush crossing her face...

"I... Il... ly..." he gasped. His female was wanting, and he could never say no, even if he were dead .There was a burning in her core that only he understood... That only he respected... And ironically, that only he wanted to 'douse'... 
A night of passionate love making. They floated amongst the bubbles, and he pinned her into the soft algae and thrusted his hips. She arched, and then pushed her face back into his furry chest. Steeped in their element, they moved the water around them with their pleasure... The tide of the entire lake becoming unusually rough...

Come the morning they were found on the bank of the lake, fast asleep and still entwined in each others' arms. But true to their word, when called on, they stood ready for a mission... In fact, for a time after they seemed to be the most effective duo amongst the Guild.  Some kind of otherworldly focus and excitement seemed to drive Ilianna, though other Guild members noted her change in style... One much more defensive and careful... Noah too seemed less willing to strike aggressively, and more inclined to stay by Ilianna, no matter the situation. If they had been cuddlebug types before, now they were inseperable... and not even they seemed to grasp why. But someone did. Someone was watching very closely, seemingly always nearby... judging... considering...

===

"What do you mean!?"

They stood now in the chamber of the Guild Founder. The great Dragonite stared down stoically from a perch on a large chair. His claws tapped as he studied the Dewott before him, whose fur was on end as he stood slightly in front of a Frogadier who looked shocked... but also distracted... Very distracted...

"We... We haven't been making mistakes! Look, I know, I get pushy around her! I... I didn't use to but... Dammit, she's my mate! My mate! I can't let anything hurt her and... I know, I... That thing with the Onix, I didn't mean... not that hard...  He was getting uppity and..."

"What was said to you..."

The Dewott  snapped his mouth closed, furrowed his brow...

"In the mission..." the Dragonite continued... "Today,  you fought Ground types. You cleared that nest away. But after you did, the others on your team reported to me, that you were very..." 

"Guess there's not much hiding it, huh?" Noah said, putting his paws on his hips and grinning softly again. Ilianna gripped her muzzle, but indeed didn't try to hide. She was trying to contain herself.

They'd figured it out at some point... It was showing apparent on the Frogadier's front... A subtle, but obvious swell to those who knew what they were looking for...

"We don't... Want to stop! We want to continue..." Ilianna said. The Dragonite lifted a claw to quiet her...

"This is why you are being let go. There is no crime in being passionate about your love, even to the point of this. But you wish to continue fighting, even now? And you, Noah, have shown to be protective and procreative. I doubt this problem will be soothed if I allow you to continue alongside her..."

"This isn't fair...!" the two water types fumed. The room was almost literally steamed with anger now, but the Dragonite remained distant... In fact, he even seemed to... smile, just a bit...

"Go." was all he said...

And go they did. They stormed from the room, took their things, and tied them to their backs... Mostly Noah's, but Ilianna assured him that later, she'd need all the counterweight she could get...

No one in particular seemed to notice they were leaving. No one came forwaed to tell them goodbye. They hadn't formed many relationships. They'd had enough time there, and worked well in a team but... when it came time to fraternize with the gruff glory hounds that made up the Guild, they hadn't had much interest...

And so, both said not a word to anyone there... and instead stepped forward quietly and into the night... Unaware of the pair of glinting blue eyes locked on them from the treeline, amongst the glittering Volbeat lanterns... 
They passed through the town their Guild was attached to, and into the countryside. They picked a direction, and simply traveled. For a few weeks, they foraged and camped. It was fun, they told themselves... but being so directionless is often the mother of introspection... 

One cool quiet night, Noah softly pushed his stick through the dim embers of a fire that should have long ago been doused. Ilianna was laid asleep nearby on her bedroll, but he was plagued by thoughts that, for once, weren't focused entirely her widening backside. He saw the shallow curve of her belly even at this angle. It sent a spark up and down his spine. He was grappling against an idea... wondering why he felt this aroused by a creature like her who... who... what? He loved Ilianna, of course, but this desire was something new... A shameless lust... but what was it about that shape... that desire... that...

Need. He froze, feeling as though something had whispered in his ear...

She wanted nothing more than to be a mother. The fire finally coughed its last wisp of smoke, leaving him in the dark, yet blinded with realization... 

"The pregnancy." muttered Noah. His sheath stiffened a bit at the mere thought. He set his jaw and grinned a little wider. For a time, he sat in the dark with nothing but his dreamed fantasies. He wore out Ilianna in his mind, every size and shape, before a stray thought took him... What would such a belly look like on...

He saw waddling Gardevoir as a start, almost typical... Then into Azumarill, Aromatisse, and even the ghost types... And it strayed further into Mightyena and Furret and...

"Why do they all look so Mew Damned good rounded out..." he crossed his arms in the darkness... "And why does it all seem so... RIGHT..."

WHACK 

Despite the dark of night, Noah's vision exploded briefly into white. Such was the way of bandits and highwaymen. Their one rule was to abandon every other rule in favour of advantage. Play dirty. And in the gloom, focused so firmly on Ilianna's soft breathing... The rise and fall of her middle...

Noah flew up... and then crashed down, skidding through the dirt a couple feet before coming to a stop, dazed. His eyes slowly focused and fluttered as he realized he was on his back, staring into a slender, purple face... one who smirked, and reached down to grab Noah's scarf...

"H-Hey!" he gasped, but wasn't yet in control enough to avoid having the clasp undone, and the thing pulled off...

"Don't get up. I might hit you again and I'd hate to do that..." said the Mienshao, who fastened the scarf around her own neck. Those were important on the road; occasionally the cave dwelling Pokemon below would wander to the surface and cause havoc. But more importantly, travelling with a scarf identified you not only as someone from the surface, but someone capable of adventuring on their own. Without the scarf...

"Give it back!" snapped Noah, as he hopped up, and took in his opponent... The lithe, graceful fighting type twirled back and posed once... For a protracted moment the world paused, the mink's cheeky grin and narrowed slit of an eye focused on him. Her body language seemed to whisper that whomever this was, they weren't to be trifled with. Noah, still dazed and stiffly distracted, took a small and unsure step back. He had noticed Ilianna was no longer in her bedroll, and she wouldn't have been captured without a loud fight... So she almost certainly had snuck away, planning a strike. He took his own stance... 
"I need it..." he continued... "Ilianna and I are... Are travelling."

"That's a shame, Ilianna's mate..." the female said as she suddenly spun, her 'sleeves' whipping and smacking a whizzing frog out of the air., foiling the ambush with surprisingly casual ease. Noah blinked, stunned at the speed, but he rushed over to and knelt next to Ilianna, unable to repress his growing protective instinct. The frog groaned and lifted her head, rubbing it lightly. Her face reddened as she scented her mate's mood, before she looked up at the Mienshao...

"I need it more."

And then the Bandit was gone... Disappeared into the treeline. Noah jerked up as if to pursue, but Ilianna gripped his arm and shook her head... He kicked the ashes of his fire in frustration and huffed...

By the next day, they had returned to a nearby town. As was feared, Noah wasn't allowed to travel far from the village without his scarf. If he was seen without it, he could be confronted by another travelling Guild member... Dragged back to a town for his own 'safety', (and the reward of course). Or he could resist and end up just like the outcast bandit who had taken his scarf in the first place...

"Bandit... Her?"

The two turned from the bull headed Passimian Guild member who was being as unhelpful as possible. Instead they faced the stooped Alakazam who had approached and spoken, a wanted poster floating by his head. The poster showed the triangle toothed smirk of the bandit that Noah and Ilianna had just crossed paths with...

"Who are you?" Ilianna said defensively. That was reasonable after what had happened: Both had briefly thought that the strike might have hurt her baby in some way, but thankfully Pokemon pregnancies were tough, and difficult to harm. Despite that, after what had happened last night and the fact that they were aimlessly wandering with no goal... nothing against their backs but the guiding wind... She was expctant, tense, and not in the mood to be hoodwinked by a sob story... 

"No one who is your enemy. I am asking for help. Your mate had his scarf stolen, yes? By this horrid forest mink. If you come with me... I can explain a way to recapture you scarf, so you can continue your journey. In the process, you will likely capture this beastly female... and help me greatly as well..."

Despite their reservations, Noah and Ilianna hadn't left their Guild willingly; they'd been kicked from it. And inside them even now sweltered a fiercely paternal instinct against injustice and suffering. 

Or...? 

Perhaps they just didn't want to admit being out against the odds while Ilianna was puffy about the hips excited them both. They followed the Alakazam to a tea shop, and after a small meal and introductions, the story unfolded...

This Alakazam had been an Explorer himself. He had many wild adventures, certainly, but now he was retired and helped to run this little town. But as of late, it had been plagued by unusual amounts of Mystery Dungeons...

"Our home is small, and we were so unprepared. We lost much and had to plea for help from other nearby towns, and even travel so far as cities to muster enough to hold back the tide..." he thumped his walking stick on the ground, his 'mustache' so long that it nearly swept his feet when he moved his head... "They come in the night, creeping out of their caves to steal food or... Even other Pokemon. Steal them away and alter their minds until they are feral monsters. Indeed, I have long suspected, as many do, that there is something deeper to these Dungeons that we are not properly appraised of...  But it is a fear to confront another day. For now, in the chaos, you must understand that we have few paws to spare where needs be less dire... And unfortunately, those who have... decided to direct the situation against the Mystery Dungeons, those... Guild members... Have deigned that my plight is less worthy of attention. And so, infirm and unable, I suffer in silence..." 
"What do we need to do?" Ilianna asked, her prior wariness entirely gone... Washed away in her desire to help. Noah blinked, then he grinned and leaned forward as well. There was no way he wasn't going to miss another chance at that bandit when she didn't have the drop on him... And the chance to help a Pokemon and feel like the hero while it happened...

"You see..." the Alakazam picked up his teacup and a spoon hovered up to stir it... "My daughter is missing. And I know the bandit had something to do with it. She spoke to me more than once, in the market under a shawl disguise. She asked if I wanted her daughter to be returned. I said, of course! And she is yet to do so. She has come back multiple times, demanding money or food, and yet... My daughter remains elsewhere... You see? I do not know for certain. But in my calculations, scenarios besides an extortionate kidnapping are few and far..."

He let the two soak that in, as Pokemon made their way around them. The town was bustling, but indeed, most Pokemon here wore the covetted Guild scarves, rather than simpler and restricting travel scarves, or the bare necks of the townsfolk...

"Close by enough that Noah can travel there without a scarf, there is a Mystery Dungeon. I have seen her slip in and out of there. More importantly... I sense my daughter is near there. I have tracked them to the point of knowing where they are... But I could not fight my way to her, even if she was as shallow as 3 floors down. And if the Bandit ever came for me... Even my type advantage, I think, would not match her crafty nature and youth. So... I contract you. You help return my daughter, and in return, you shall have a scarf." he extended his broad, smooth, three fingered paw...

"Is that an acceptable deal... Noah, and Ilianna...?"

The two looked at each other only briefly. They nodded in unison.

Noah turned back to the Alakazam and tilted his chin up a bit, before saying...

"Where do we start, then..."