Warning: This chapter will involve scenes of oral vore and graphic digestion. If this is not your thing then stop reading now. You have been warned!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Pokemon is the property of Nintendo and Game Freak.

Guardians of Alicrest: Chapter 2: Recovery & Resistance

Darkness surrounded Ava. The young Eevee seemed to floating in an endless void, mixed voices ringing out from the void around her.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

"I have something I want to show you."

"Do you know that is?"

"It's your parents."

A terrified scream came from behind her. She turned around to see a gigantic, wicked, disembodied smile.

"Down the hatch." it said before opening wide and moving towards Ava.

She turned and ran through the abyss. She looked back to see the mouth was still gaining on her.

"Mark my words, I'll make a meal out of you yet!" it shouted before chomping down over her.

******

Ava screamed as she shot up from her slumber. It had just been a terrible nightmare. She tried to calm her breathing as she took in her surroundings. She appeared to be in some kind of den formed under the roots of a tree. Sunlight shone in from the den's opening as well as a few cracks in the roots. She was laying on a soft bed of leaves, much like the leaves here mom used to gather for her. Realization struck her; Her parents were... they were... dead! Tears filled her eyes as she lay back in the pile and cried herself back to sleep.

After another round of fitful sleep, she awoke again. The sun was still shining, so it was still daytime. She noticed a small pile of berries in front of her. She slowly walked up to them, but found that she didn't have an appetite. Instead she just stared that them blankly.

"You really should eat you know." The sudden voice startled Ava causing her to jump in place. She looked to the source to find the Meowstic from earlier, and standing next to him was the Mienshao who had been with him.

"You've been through quite a traumatic experience. You need to replenish your strength." The Mienshao said.

Ava looked down at the berries again, but still didn't feel like eating. The Meowstic and Meinshao looked at each other. They could see the signs. This was not merely the shock from a traumatic experience; This was the depression caused by the loss of a loved one. The Mienshao moved over next to the Eevee.

"You lost someone close to you, didn't you?" She asked with concern.

The Eevee didn't respond. She just averted her head, not wanting to talk about it. That was all the indication that the Mienshao needed.

"Many of us have lost loved ones to the Vorlords. I lost my younger sister to one of those monsters, so I can relate to how you feel. Just know that if you ever need a shoulder to cry on, I'm here for you."

The Mienshao got up and returned to the Meowstic. They both turned to leave the den, figuring it was best to give the Eevee some time alone. Just as they were about to exit, they heard the smallest murmur of a voice "Thank you."

******

The next morning the they decided to check in on the Eevee to see how she was doing. The berries they had left her were gone, that was a good sign, but the Eevee still seemed distant and unresponsive. Despite the Eevee's silence, the Mienshao had something she wanted to say.

"You don't have to respond, but there's something we'd like to say to you. We never got a chance to thank you for saving our lives. Nefarious was even more powerful than we imagined. If you hadn't intervened we probably wouldn't even be here now. I know right now you probably feel like your existence is meaningless, but just know you've already made an impact on our lives."

They prepared to leave again when another small murmur reached the Mienshao's ear. "My parents."

"Huh?" she turned back around.

"Nefarious ate my parents." Ava said softly. Then the dam burst. Tears streamed down her face as she threw herself into the Mienshao's arms. "Why?! Why did they have to die?!" She sobbed uncontrollably.

The Miesnshao remained silent, not having the answer to the Eevee's question. All she could do was hold the poor Eevee in her comforting embrace. This went on for several minutes as Ava let out all the pent up emotion from the past couple of days. Finally the sobs died down to light sniffles. The Mienshao let her go and Ava rubbed the last of the tears from her eyes. "I'm hungry" she said softly.

"We'd be happy to show you where to get some berries" the Mienshao replied.

Ava nodded her head lightly.

"Wonderful, some fresh air will do you good." The Mienshao said cheerfully before preparing to leave the den.

One more question weighed on Ava's mind before they left. "Um miss, who are you?"

"Oh dear, how rude of us. We never even introduced ourselves. My name is Ming and this is my partner Cedric." Ming gestured towards the Meowstic standing against the wall. "And what is your name?"

"Ava. My name is Ava."

"And what a lovely name it is." Ming complimented her "Now come on, let's get you something to eat."

It had been a while since Ava had set foot out doors. The sun was almost blinding. As her eyes slowly adjusted to the light, she was surprised to see that they were not alone. She had simply assumed that they were in a secluded part of the forest, but that wasn't the case at all. Various different Pokemon wandered the area. Many of them forest dwellers, but there were some more exotic species as well.

"Wha-What is this?" Ava asked, a little overwhelmed.

"This is our base camp." Cedric responded.

"Base camp?" Ava was still confused.

"That's right." Ming replied. "This is a staging ground for those of us who are courageous enough to stand against the Vorlords."

"Every Pokemon here has a reason they fight. We are all working to take down those despicable Vorlors." Cedric further explained.

"Are you sure you can beat them?" Ava asked a little downtrodden, remembering how close Nefarious had been to defeating the two of them.

"We have to believe." Ming responded. "Believe that there is better future awaiting us."

On that somber note, they continued on in silence. Soon they approached a tree where a Gogoat seemed to be standing guard.

"Hello Jarod." Ming greeted him cheerfully.

"Ming, Cedric, great to see you again." The Gogoat replied with equal cheer. "And this must be the young Eevee you rescued from Vorlord Nefarious. What's your name little one?"

"Ava." she replied.

"Well it's nice to meet you Ava. I'm Jarod. I guard the food stores that the foragers bring in."

"Speaking of food, we need another ration for Ava." Cedric said.

"Happy to oblige." Jarod said with a smile.

Two vine extended from his back and made their way into the tree. They came back out with a small batch of berries.

"Here you go." Jarod said, but his face got a little more serious. "But you know you're going to have to take her to the council soon. Blaze doesn't like me giving out free meals."

"Thanks, and don't worry, we know how to handle Blaze." Cedric replied setting the berries down for Ava.

She began to snack away at them. "What's the council?" she asked between bites.

"They are the original founders of our resistance movement." Ming explained. "They make most of the major decisions around here and coordinate our activities."

"And I suppose now's as good a time as any to introduce you to them." Cedric added.

Ava finished up her berries and after thanking Jarod, she followed after Ming and Cedric. As they traveled across the camp, a question popped into Ava's mind.

"You said every Pokemon here fights for something. What do you fight for?" She asked curiously.

"I fight to honor my sister's memory and to avenger her death." Ming replied.

"I have been fortunate enough to not lose any loved one yet, but that is the reason I fight. I fight to protect my family and to create a future where they can live without fear." Cedric responded.

"Your family?" Ava asked, a little confused "So you and Ming are not..." she trailed off.

Ming looked confused for a second before bursting out in laughter. "It does seem like that sometimes doesn't it? But no, we are more like siblings than mates."

"We've fought together for a long time and know we can trust each other in a pinch." Cedric added.

As they continued along Ava thought about what they said. A reason for fighting... Her train of thought was broken when she spotted a large tree in the distance. As they approached the tree she could see a small group of Pokemon huddled around it. This tree appeared to be Ming and Cedric's destination.

Seeing that Ava seemed to be transfixed on the crowd, Cedric decided to offer an explaination. "These Pokemon are either awaiting new assignments or reporting back from completed ones." Cedric explained as they joined the huddle of Pokemon.

A Watchog kept watch by the entrance of the tree, occasionally motioning for the next group of Pokemon to enter. The line slowly widdled away and eventually Ava was standing in front of the Watchog guard. He regarded her with a cold scare which made her feel uneasy. like he could stare straight into her soul. Finally he motioned for them to go in and they made their way into the tree. The inside of the tree was large enough to hold a small crowd of Pokemon. The room was largely empty, save for three seats against the far wall, two of which were currently occupied by a Blaziken and Chesnaught. The Blaziken was the first to speak.

"Ming, Cedric." He regarded them. "So this is the Eevee that you rescued from Vorlord Nefarious. What is your name." He asked.

"Ave, sir." She said meekly.

"Hello Ava, my name is Blaze, offensive coordinator for the Guardians of Alicrest." He announced. "This is Rook, our defensive coordinator."

"Great to meet ya, lass." He said in a hardy tone.

"And that final seat is for our reconnaissance coordinator, Sheena, but I doubt you'll be seeing much of her." Blaze continued. "Now that we're all acquainted, let's get down to reason you're here. This may seem sudden, but you have a decision to make. You see the Guardians of Alicrest are a resistance camp, not a refugee camp. Every Pokemon here must earn their keep, whether it by by foraging, building, or other useful skills. And every Pokemon must be prepared to fight if called upon. So you must choose, either you can join our resistance or we can have someone escort you to a safe part of the forest. There are plenty of friendly Pokemon out there that would welcome and protect you."

"I...I..." Ava stuttered, overwhelmed by the sudden decision placed before here.

"Oi, cut the wee lass some slack!" Rook interjected "Ya' canya' expect 'er to make such a huge decision on short notice."

"Very well." Blaze relented "We are willing to support you for a few more days while you think it over, but after that, you must decide. You are dismissed."

Ava was stunned. She was finally starting to recover from her sorrow, but now this Pokemon was going to take that away from her too. It wasn't fair! She felt tears begin to well up in her eyes, but she was shaken from her thoughts by a sudden voice ringing through the tree.

"Rook! Rook!" a frantic voice called as a Pidgeotto came flying into the room. He landed in front of Rook, trying to catch his breath. Ava noticed that some of his feathers had been singed. "It's Vorlord Draco, he's coming!"

Both Blaze and Rook were shocked for a moment before looking at each other an nodding.

"Prepare fer evacuation." Rook commanded "An' tell the defense core to prepare for battle. We'll hold the beasties back while the others escape."

The Pidgeotto saluted before flying back out the tree. Blaze and Rook made their way towards the exit as well.

"What's going on?" Ava asked in confusion.

"We're leaving." Blaze stated bluntly.

"Come on, Ava. We'll explain on the way." Ming tried to reassure her as they made their way out of the tree.

"It should be a little while before Draco's forces get here." Blaze said "That should give up time to evacuate everyone safely."

Suddenly the ground began to shake, throwing everyone off balance. A moment later, two Garchomps burst from the ground.

"Curses!" Blaze shouted "He had some troops burrow to avoid detection! Draco isn't normally this clever!"

Blaze swiftly leapt into the air and landed a flying kick right in the side of one of the Garchomp's faces. As soon as he landed he turned and delivered a kick straight to the Garchomp's stomach, knocking the air out of him. Meanwhile, Rook charged the other Garchomp locking claws with it.

"I'll be derned if I let some overgrown lizard git the better o' me!" He shouted before lifting the Garchomp up over his head and slamming him headfirst into the ground behind him.

Their victories were short lived though as more rumbles occurred and more Garchomps burst from the ground.

"We can't waste time fighting them all! Push forward and only engage when necessary." Blaze commanded.

"We'll cover the rear!" Cedric said as they all made a break for it.

As they ran Cedric quickly turned to fire a shadow ball at one the pursuing Garchomps, forcing it to throw up its fins in defense. It didn't do much harm, but it did slow the pursuer down. They made it a short distance across camp before a loud roar from above signaled the arrival of the airborne dragons. The camp was in total chaos now as they and several other Pokemon made their way towards the evacuation point. A Salamence flew in through the trees, attempting to block their path, but it was quickly dispatched by a Weavile who jump from behind one of the trees and slashed it with ice infused claws. They pressed onward, joining up with more Pokemon as they advanced. Soon they approached a more open area of the forest, where some Pokemon were already waiting.

"Okay, psychics take up your positions!" Blaze commanded.

Several psychic Pokemon, including Cedric, formed a circle around the group of Pokemon.

"What's our head count?" Blaze asked.

"We're still short a couple." The Watchog from earlier stated.

Blaze grunted in frustration. "We'll give them as much time as we can, but if this position is compromised, we are out."

A few more Pokemon escaped from the forest into the circle before a loud roar rang out from the forest. Suddenly a black Charizard emerged from the forest and dove towards the group of Pokemon. He opened his mouth and shot a gout of flames at the crowd. Rook rushed forward and slammed his claws together, forming a barrier of spiky briar. He managed to hold off the flames for now, but it was clear he wouldn't last long.

"We have to leave, now!" Blaze commanded.

"But we are still 3 down, sir." the Watchog informed him.

"If we don't go now, then none of use will survive. Do it!" Blaze insisted.

The psychic Pokemon's eyes began to glow and purple lines appeared on the ground, conecting them with some arcane pattern. Then there was a flash and a beam of light shot into the sky. When the light cleared, the group of Pokemon were gone.

******

The black Charizard stomped angrily back into the now ravaged camp. All this effort and they had only managed to snatch three prisoners. He turned his attention to three Garchomps, each watching over a captured Pokemon. The Charizard inspected his spoils: A Furret, a Raichu, and a Chespin. Meager catches at best.

"Good thing I told you to send your Garchomps underground or they would have been long gone before you got here." A voice spoke up from behind the Charizard.

This did little to curb the Charizard's anger as her turned to regard the figure behind; A Grupig with a particularly wicked grin.

"You seriously couldn't handle this rabble on your own? You're pathetic Nefarious! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't devour you where you stand!" The Charizard glared at Nefarious.

"Well for one Draco, I doubt your noodle of a neck is up to the task. And two, you know you need my abilities in order to eat some of your more exotic prey." Nefarious was rewarded with a sneer from the Charizard.

Draco hated the smug little swine, but hated it even more when he was right. Certain Pokemon could prove... troublesome if consumed alive without proper preparation.

While Nefarious and Draco conversed, the Furret, Raichu, and Chespin snuck glances at each other. They had secretly formed a contingency plan for this sort of situation, but in order for it to work they couldn't let on to what they were planning. So they tried their best to hide any confidence in their demeanor and appear as helpless as possible. Draco and Nefarious finally finished their argument and turned their attention back to the prisoners.

"Dinner time!" Nefarious said gleefully. Draco shot him another glare. Draco did not take the same twisted pleasure in tormenting his victims as Nefarious. He simply enjoyed the act of eating. He loved the feeling of prey wriggling down his throat and struggling in his stomach. He believed it was his right as victor of the battle to consume the losers. This was simply the nature of predator and prey.

Without so much as a word he crouched down and picked up the Furret in his claws. Draco opened his mouth wide, giving the Furret a perfect view of the Charizard's drooling maw. The Furret began to struggle in Draco's claws, but he was no match for the Charizard's strength. Draco quickly shoved the Furret's head into his mouth, sealing his lips around the Furret's body. The Furret was quickly coated in saliva as the drooling flesh of Draco's maw encompassed him. The inside of the mouth was unbearably warm and humid due to the Charizard's fire nature. However, this became the least of his worries as he was shoved further into the Charizard's throat and tight muscles began to pull him towards the stomach.

The others could only watch in horror as their friend was eaten alive. His body becoming nothing more than a lump in the Charizard's throat. Only the Furret's long tail remained hanging out of Draoc's mouth, but he quickly slurped it up as the lump traveled down his neck. The lump made its way down Draco's long neck and disappeared into his wider body. Draco licked his lips in satisfaction.

"Okay Nefarious, do your thing." he commanded.

"With pleasure." Nefarious responded. He looked at the two remaining prisoners, his eyes glowing an ominous red color as he stared into their eyes. Soon the prisoner's eyes glowed the same color and they appeared to be in a trance. After a few moment the glow faded from their eyes. The Raichu and Chespin didn't feel any different, making them wonder what the purpose of that was.

"All ready for you Draco." Nefarious said with pride.

Draco crouched down and grabbed the Raichu with is claws. Just like the Furret, he put on a fruitless struggle. Draco shoved the Raichu's body into his mouth and began to swallow him. The Raichu was surrounded on all sides by moist rolling flesh as he was slowly pulled towards Draco's stomach. Despite the seemingly hopeless situation, he managed to crack a small grin. It was time to put their plan into action. This Charizard was about to be in for one hell of a shock when he unleashed a thunderbolt in the beast's throat. He prepared to shoot the bolt of lightning... and his mind drew a blank. What?! He began to panic. How was this possible? He was an electric type; Thunderbolt should be second nature to him. But despite his best efforts, he couldn't remember how to do even the simplest electic move.

Outside only the Raichu's tail hung out of Draco's mouth. He slurped it up like a spaghetti noodle as the Raichu traveled further down his throat. Nefarious noticed the confused look on the Chespin's face and took the opportunity to torment the victim some more.

"You know, right about now your friend is realizing that he can't remember how to do any of his attacks. How about you, care to try a pin missile? Seed bomb? Bullet seed?"

The Chespin thought about it and realized he didn't remember how to do any of these moves.

"Did you really think we would be stupid enough to eat Pokemon that could hurt us?" Nefarious mocked him. "You and your friends won't be doing anything inside of Draco's stomach except digesting."

The Chespin's eyes grew wide in horror as his last hope was stripped from him. He saw the Raichu lump disappear into the Draco's body, never to return.

The temperature steadily rose as the Raichu descended down the Charizard's throat. He was probably sweating profusely, but would never know due to the copious amount of saliva that coated his body. Soon he pressed against a tight ring of flesh that he knew was the door to his doom. The sphincter slow opened, allowing him to slide into Draco's stomach. As he was pushed into the fleshy prison, he was forced up against another slimy form.

"Who's there?" the Furret asked.

"It's me." the Raichu responded.

"You?!" the Furret replied frantically. "What are you doing in here?! I thought you were going to fry this sucker?!"

"I can't remember how!" the Raichu replied hysterically.

"What do you mean you can't remember how?!"

"That Grumpig, he did something to us! I-I can't remember how to use any of my attacks!"

The Furret was speechless. Sure the stomach was disgusting, but he had fully expected to come out of this alive. It was like the universe had cruelly danged hope in front of his face, only to snatch it away at the last moment. Panic began to set in as the realization slow sunk in that they were doomed.

The Chespin was visibly shaking now as Draco approached him. Draco picked up the Chespin and began to bring him towards his open maw. The Chespin struggled wildly. "No! No! Please don't do this!" But Draco paid his victim no heed. He was eager to feel his prey struggle down his throat. With one mighty chomp, he engulfed the Chespin's body in his mouth. Unbearable heat surrounded the Chespin as he trapped in the Charizard's mouth. The tongue lapped about his body, taking in his flavor and coating his body in saliva. After he was sufficiently lubricated, the tongue pushed him towards the back of the mouth. The Chespin tried to struggle, but was no match for the powerful muscle. Draco tilted his head back, allowing gravity to further assist in his prey's descent. The Chespin fell a short distance before he was gripped by tight throat muscles. His head was pulled into Draco's esophagus, the rest of his body soon followed as muscles rhythmically moved him down Draco's throat. The heat grew increasingly unbearable for the poor grass type as he was pulled towards Draco's stomach. Any attempts to move proved futile and the throat muscle kept his limbs plastered firmly to his sides. As he descended further, he swore he could hear muffled voices through the various bodily noises that surrounded him. He could only guess that it was his two friends and that meant that he was drawing close to his final destination. Surely enough he soon found himself pressed against the stomach's sphincter. The tight ring of flesh opened allowing the Chespin into the oven of a stomach with a loud squelch. He immediately found himself pressed against two other slimy figures. For a moment he was filled with dread as he thought they might already be dead, but he was granted the slightest bit of relief as he felt the other two squirm against him. It was a small comfort though as he knew it wouldn't be this way long. In fact he could already feel the Furret's exposed skin where patches of fur had fallen off. Not it was the Chespin's turn to panic.

"Come on you guys! We can't be trapped in here! There has to be a way out of here right?!" the Chespin said hysterically.

He received no words of reassurance as the other two had already given into despair. He wasn't done yet. With some effort he manage to turn himself around and began to claw at the sphincter he had entered through.

"There has to be a way out. There has to be a way out." He repeated to himself as he tried to force the muscle open.

The muscle refused to give thought and the heat quickly sapped the Chespin's strength. Soon he collapsed against the fleshy wall, tears streaming down his face.

"No! This can't...! I won't...! I don't want to die!" He broke down.

The stomach cared nothing for his plight though as it gurgles and released more acid to aid in digesting it's new contents. Suddenly the stomach walls contracted around them crushing the three helpless Pokemon together earning a cry from the three of them as acid was ground into their bodies. The walls retracted, allowing them to collapse onto the stomach floor. A small pool of acid was forming at the bottom of the stomach, causing their feet to tingle. The tingle slowly grew to a burn as the acid worked away at their feet. They all pressed up against the stomach walls as much as possible, attempting to escape the slowly rising pool of acid, however there was simply no escape from the hungry acids.

The stomach contracted again, earning another cry from the three, as it ground their weakening skin together and forced the pool of acid to rise around their bodies. The walls retracted again, but this time the Furret didn't screaming as small patches of his flesh fell away allowing blood to seep from his body and mix with the unholy concoction forming around their feet. It wasn't long before the Raichu's feet began to succumb to the acids as well. He cried out in pain as the weakened flesh began to tear away, leaving only muscle behind. The Chespin could only listen in horror as his two friends suffered, knowing that in mere moment he would be experiencing the same level of agony. Surely enough the burning in his feet reached an apex as the greedy acids ate away at them. His cries joined the cries of his friends as their bodies were slowly reduced to chime.

The stomach contracted again bringing the pain to new heights as exposed muscle tissue was ground together. As the stomach retracted their screams were reduced to hacks and coughs as the acids invaded their bodies. Soon the Furret's struggles died down and his lifeless body slumped down. The Raichu had little time to morn his friends passing as pain wracked every inch of his body. He could feel his life fading as he closed his eyes never to open again. The Chespin was all that remained, the physical and emotional pain reaching a climax. More than anything, he just wanted to scream, to let all his pain out in a single outburst. But he was too weak and all he could manage was one final hack as the life drained from his eyes.

******

Draco seemed content for the time being. He loved the feeling of prey squirming around in his belly.

"Well it looks like my work here is done." Nefarious stated "Watching you eat has worked up my appetite. Oh I can't wait to see what my servants have brought me today."

"What about the ones who escaped?" Draco asked impatiently.

"In do time. Let them cling to their false hope. It makes it all that much more satisfying when we snuff that hope out. Besides, there is nowhere in Alicrest that they can hide from us."