//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: A New World, a New Ranger // by ed2481 //------------------------------// Abby sat across from Ace in a room that she hadn’t ever be in with this particular set of circumstances. She sat on a metal chair, kind of awkwardly really, but it was the only way that she could manage it. Kasai sat beside her on the floor, his head level with her own. Ace sat across from them, a slightly haggard look on the black maned mare’s face. Abby had just spent the last twenty minutes explaining the basics of the Pokemon World to her so she couldn’t exactly blame the Captain for looking so worn. “Okay... so I think I get the basics, or at least I’m starting to,” Ace said with a nod of her head, she’d put off starting on all important paperwork until she’d learned more about what their new ‘guests’ were. The rest of Abby’s team had been regulated to the main room, none of the Guardsmen having the balls to tell the monsters that they needed to be in cells. “Good,” Abby said with a smile, happy to be of service. “So, anything you’d like clarification on?” “Yes... you mentioned a few things when I first ‘picked you up’ that were considered illegal where you come from, I believe they were ‘Pokemon Abuse’, ‘Pokephilia’ and I think the last one was ‘underground Pokemon battles’.” “Ah, right, I can explain all of th-” Abby was cut off as Kasai’s stomach groaned loudly. “Whoops, sorry,” Kasai said with a small chuckle before he shook his mane in the right way and a bag of Pokeblock fell out of it and onto the table. Ace stared at him. “What? I get hungry at night sometimes so I keep food in my mane,” Kasai said while rolling his eyes and bending down to open the bag with his teeth and then beginning to munch the little blocks down before glancing at his mate. “Want some?” Abby blinked twice, she’d forgotten about that. “Not right now, but save some for me okay?” “No promises,” he replied with a small chuckle. “Errhm.” Ace cleared her throat, clearly ready for Abby to continue her explanation. “Right... well let’s start with the easiest,” Abby said, moving on and ignoring as Kasai stuffed his face. “Pokemon abuse is when a Trainer hurts their Pokemon, doesn’t feed it, berates it constantly, or gives it orders that he/she knows is going to end up hurting them horrifically.” “So... basically animal abuse?” Ace asked with a small frown. A deep growl filled Kasai’s throat, looking up from his snack and glaring at Ace. “We’re not ‘Animals’,” he stated menacingly, his eyes narrowing. “We’re thinking beings.” Ace’s eyebrows raised slightly in alarm but thankfully, Abby wrapped a tail around Kasai’s and gave it a tug. “Kasai, she didn’t mean it that way, relax,” she said pointedly. Kasai frowned and then shook his head. “Good,” he stated before he went back to eating. “I take it I accidentally touched a nerve?” Ace asked Abby. “Yeah... word to the wise, the word ‘Animal’ basically implies that a Pokemon isn’t a Pokemon, instead it’s just a lesser creature or an intelligent beast.” “Ah, well then I’m sorry,” the mare said honestly before glancing at Abby. “But here ‘animal abuse’ is the closest term I can think of.” “I guess, but in this case, imagine that it’s all being done to another pony,” Abby stated darkly before shaking her head. “Right, well, Underground Pokemon Battles are also pretty easy to describe. They’re when Pokemon are captured or bred for the specific purpose of fighting each other to the death.” Ace blinked twice. “I thought you said that Pokemon were born naturally to fight? Didn’t you say that ‘battles’ were the natural way to solve things in the wild?” “They are, but in all battles there are a specific set of rules that must be followed,” Abby explained. “For example, no deathblows, no attacking other trainers, no purposeful maiming, no eye gouging, bone breaking, or excessive bleeding, etcetera,” the Ninetales listed off. “The Underground Battles disregard those rules and stick Pokemon in electrified cages and make them fight to the death, either by use of pheromone control, or by simply infuriating them to the point where they lose control.” “It’s not pretty,” Kasai stated flatly. “Ask Rill or Axel.” “I see...” Ace said, writing down a few notes on a piece of paper with her horn controlled pencil. “And the last one was ‘Pokephilia’ right? I think I can already imagine it if it’s anything like pedophilia.” Abby’s lips twitched in disgust. “No. Well... yes I suppose you could say that it is and it isn’t like that. Honestly, it all depends on the people involved.” “Oh?” Ace inquired, raising an eyebrow. “Yes... well let me start this out with the good, then I’ll move onto the bad,” Abby said slowly before she leaned over and nuzzled Kasai. “Pokephilia is the blanket term for when a trainer and a Pokemon have sex, consensual or otherwise. Kasai and I, despite both being Rangers, fell in love over the years and eventually started to ‘experiment’ a bit until we found some stuff that worked for us. Sure, it’s illegal, but I love him and he loves me.” Kasai looked up from his bag of snacks and moved his head over to nuzzle Abby and then lick her on the cheek. “Yep, she’s my mate, My Lady, and I’d lay down my life to keep her safe, and I know that she’d do the same if she had too,” the Arcanine said before giving her another lick on the cheek. “Exactly right,” Abby agreed, giving Kasai a lick of her own. Ace frowned as she continued to scribble down notes. “Okay, that makes sense. Here in Equestria we don’t really have any ‘race laws’ when it comes to marriage and sex unless it’s rape so I don’t really get where the ‘bad’ comes into play with what you’re talking about.” Abby’s face darkened a little and she sighed. “Well... not everyone is as mutually loving as Kasai and I...” she trailed off for a moment and shook her head. “This gets kind of dark, are you sure you’d like me to keep going with this?” “I run the police force of the gambling and strip club capital of Equestria,” Ace said plainly. “I’ve seen a lot.” “Okay then,” Abby said with a small shrug. “Okay, there are two main types of Pokephilia that I take personal offence to and which has gotten us all branded as immoral abusers. Type 1 is the more insidious kind. Wife Husbandry,” Abby explained. “That’s when a trainer catches a young Pokemon, usually a humanoid one, and indoctrinates it into thinking that it’s in love with them. Ralts get this a lot and so do Gothita. It’s a truly disgusting process and a lot of times, leaves the Pokemon in such a bad mental state that they take years to recover.” Ace was silent for a moment before she nodded her head. “And the second type?” “Sex slavery, which is exactly what it sounds like,” Abby explained, closing her eyes. “Young Pokemon scooped up off the street when they’re not expecting it and trained to be, and I quote ‘the best damn lays in the world’ by the monsters that do this. When they’re ‘good and ready’ they’re either sold off to people who want good obedient ‘partners’ or used by the men who trained them to cater to anyone with a Pokemon fetish who doesn’t care about actually bonding with their partners... by which I mean they’re whored out in clubs to teenagers using ‘daddy’s money’ or creepy adults who had no luck with actual women.” Ace looked distinctly ill at that thought. “If you really want to know more about it, just ask Luke,” Kasai said with a deep frown. “We got the poor guy out as a Kirlia after six years of hell.” “Actually, please don’t ask him about it,” Abby said, giving Kasai an annoyed look. “You know how much he hates even thinking about it.” “Yeah, right, my mistake,” Kasai replied, looking down and shaking his head. “Poor guy’s had a hard life.” “Well... I can certainly see why you have laws against those last two types of ‘Pokephilia’ but I don’t understand the first one,” Ace said with a small frown as she looked between the two of them. “I don’t get any bad vibes from either of you and your chemistry seems natural... so why aren’t you allowed to be together?” “Because the law is old,” Abby said with a dismissive sigh. “And so are the ones who put it in place in the first place, or at least the people who remember them being put in place to begin with. That means that they’re stubborn and ‘set in their ways’ about how life works and what is and isn’t morally right.” Ace snorted and nodded her head. “I know how that works, Las Pegasus doesn’t have too much ‘nobility’ but the ones we do have have their heads stuck so far up their old flanks that they fart when they talk,” she stated with a roll of her eyes before she glanced at the clock on the wall. “Okay, we’ve been talking for close to an hour now and I think I’ve heard just about all I need to to give you a proper sentence.” “You’re not going to send us to court?” Abby asked with a raised eyebrow. “Nope, no jury in the world right now would be able to give you a fair trial,” Ace replied as she got up from the chair. “So in the meantime, I’m going to give the five of you some community service.” “Oh?” Abby asked, raising an eyebrow. “What kind of service?” “You’re going to be my Pokemon Consultants and help the Guard deal with this whole mess,” Ace answered with a small shrug. “That means when a ten foot tall green monster crashes through a building’s wall that you-” *CRASH* The room shook and the wall collapsed. “...” “...” “...” A thunderous roar split the air and a ten foot tall Tyranitar stomped into the room, behind it, Abby could see several other walls that it had apparently crashed through, along with the walls of several other buildings as well. “WHERE IS MY SISTER?!” it roared loudly. “ANNA! WHERE ARE YOU?!” ... I hate my life sometimes, Ace dimly thought to herself.