I Want To Lay the Very Best! - Side Story! – Peak Performance

Side Story! – Peak Performance

"If you can't make it, I'm going to watch you fall," the Pokémon squatting at the top of the cliff said.

"After all this way?" Sam laughed as she pushed herself to keep her grip firm on her handholds. She'd misjudged just how long the climb up the Snowslide would be. Cleo had scaled it easily of course, but that was hardly fair with those massive claws of hers.

Cleo brushed a lock of her brown hair out of her eyes. The huge shaggy mane Cleo called a haircut usually kept itself tidy, but the wind up here was fierce, and even Cleo's gorgeous hair was struggling. "You can ask Amber for a lift back up. She'll love to see you humbled just as much as I will."

"Don't make me laugh. I really will fall," Sam said as she reached for a groove that Cleo had scraped out with her long claws. A thin ledge to hold onto but just enough to get her one step closer to the top and her smug Partner waiting up there. Cleo just loved the role reversal. Sam was usually the one pushing for more physical training with a well-muscled body that'd once made an entire gym of Machoke fuss over her. Compared to Sam, Cleo was far more stocky in her build, with a thick pair of hips and thighs that had put most of Unova's aspiring Trainer's out of commission at one point.

Cleo offered her claws down for support, and Sam grabbed on with a swing of her body. She pressed her feet to the cliff’s edge and used some upper body strength to pull herself up. Cleo watched with lip bit as Sam’s muscles strained and her feet scrabbled against the rock until she finally crested the top of the cliff. Her boots skidded in the snow as she found her footing, and then she hugged Cleo as the wind swirled around them.

"Happy now?" Cleo said and rubbed her button nose up against Sam's. "Making me climb all that."

"I am happy," Sam grinned. "And you could have gone into the binders with everyone else. You insisted on tagging along."

Cleo sniffed at the suggestion, which Sam always found adorable. The crinkles on Cleo's dark skin when she turned up her nose, made the smattering of white freckles on her face pop even more vividly. Sam caught her chin in her hand and turned Cleo to look at her. Cleo's eyes were almost pure black with just the hint of a white sclera around the edges, but Sam had been with her ever since she was a pipsqueak of a Sandshrew. She could read her like an open book.

"I know this might be our last adventure, but I'm glad you're here for it." Sam said, "I wouldn't want anyone else to have climbed with me."

"I don't believe for one second you're done with adventure after this," Cleo said, a tremble in her voice at her Partner's sudden burst of sweetness. "But thank you."

"Come on. We don't have to go right away. Sit. Enjoy the view."

So they did, snowflakes peppering them as they huddled together for warmth and looked out over the path they'd taken together. The Crown Tundra was beautiful, but the snowy peaks were a far cry from the Desert Resort. The place she'd met Cleo, the sun beating down on her as she tested out some of the first-generation binding balls. Sam still liked to joke that any sand that turned up in their kit came from that rather energetic first meeting.

Cleo was curled up tight on her side and wrapped her long waves of brown hair around them, trying to simultaneously warm her Trainer and herself. Sam's neatly clipped hair had been entirely straw blonde once, but the tips of it had slowly grown darker until they matched the brown of Cleo's, and huddled close like this, it merged into it, so they looked like a mismatched Doduo. Lightly tanned skin rubbed against dark as they nuzzled at each other tenderly.

This wasn't their sort of weather, and this certainly wasn't their home. But with Cleo by her side, home didn't feel too far away.

---

She'd waited patiently at the top of the stairs to the Crown Shrine for them to finish enjoying the moment. The branches of the great white tree that grew from the weather-bitten stone temple waved behind her like grand wings.

Her puffy, brilliantly vivid red hair grabbed people's attention immediately. She had so much of it that even after she'd tied it back into a giant ponytail, there was still enough spilling out that it framed her head like a halo. A dark blue, ridged horn poked out of the hair, and it was shaped like the head of a bone spear and polished to a brilliant shine. She stared down the stairs at Sam and Cleo with big blue eyes that a woman could get lost in and a chest a woman could also get lost in. Barely contained by a blue waistcoat that wouldn't have looked out of place in the age of escavaliers and dragonites.

She was tall, with gorgeously long legs and a slim waist, but Sam had expected taller for the Queen of Galar.

"Calyrex!" Sam called out, a fist raised triumphantly. "We've heard legends of a Pokémon so strong tha-"

The click of the Pokémon's fingers was sharp enough to echo through the valley.

"You think I'm Calyrex?" she said, her voice so syrupy soft it made Sam's spine tingle. "I don't think you're ready for this."

"Yes?" Sam said. A little of her triumphant attitude faded in the face of the Pokémon's haughty derision. "Ruled Galar forever ago. Lives on a mountain in a Shrine with a tree growing out of it? There can't be two of them!"

"They were here a long time ago," the Pokémon said. "But Calyrex rests now, and we hope to one day see her again."

"So you're, like, her butler?" Sam said, "Sorry, I'm not up on Galar royalty."

Cleo hid her face with her claws, shying away from her disaster of a trainer.

"I was her sword, and you," the Pokémon said, stepping down the stairs and pulling off her white gloves, one finger at a time. "Are rude."

"Holy shit, you're Keldeo. You're real?!" Sam said as she gave Cleo a nudge. The Sandslash took a peek through her claws, but knowing who she was looking at now certainly didn't improve her nerves.

Keldeo shrugged as she smoothed her gloves out. "You sought a myth and found another. There's no need for surprise, but now I must ask you to leave. This isn't a shrine for humans. Know your place."

The Legendary Sword, the blade that held together a kingdom. Sam had planned to come at the Queen and found her loyal guardian instead. Well, she hadn't climbed up all this way just to go home.

"World's changed." Sam grinned, "Pokémon and Humans get along now. Bond, grow stronger together. You should come to see it. I'll show you."

"I doubt it's changed that much. " Keldeo flicked her hand and sent her gloves sailing out towards Sam, an old-fashioned challenge cut short as Cleo lashed out with her claws and cut the gloves out of the air. Pieces of them drifted past Sam and blew away in the wind.

"It has." Cleo said, "And don't look down your nose at my Partner."

Keldeo tilted her head to one side and leaned in. "You're actually going to fight me over this, aren't you? Interesting, you have my attention. Don't waste it."

"Cleo here we go, give her the Doze!" Sam said with a snap of her arm. Cleo dug her claws into the ground and sprang forward, hitting the ground with a thunderous kick. The temple steps sprayed into the air as the shockwave rippled toward Keldeo. She didn't move until the very last second, stepping forward as it bucked up under her, her foot flat on a stepping stone as Cleo's Bulldoze threw it into the air. It threw Keldeo up with it, effortlessly calm in composure as she twirled through the air and then kicked off her platform.

Cleo got her claws up just in time to protect herself as the stone crashed into her, chips of it flying off as Cleo slashed out to throw it away. "She's fast!"

"You're faster, babe. Fury Cut her down!" Sam said as she went for the ball on her belt. "I'll bring in help."

"Not Amber!" Cleo said as she met Keldeo's cuts with her claws. The two were moving so fast it was a blur to Sam. Each cracking hit an explosion of sound that blew snow across the mountaintop and stung Sam's eyes.

Sam tossed the ball out, and it opened with a flash of red light. A willowy Pokémon took shape, strips of long green hair tied up with red flower hairpins and a leafy skirt that hid her lower body. She squeaked as snow blew in her face and flailed at the fight.

"Sam, are you crazy! I'm not fighting a Legendary!" the green-haired plant woman said as she rushed to hide behind her Trainer.

"Come on, Juniper, I believe in you!" Sam said, "Look how pretty her moves are. You have to show her you can dance too."

Juniper looked at the duel going on. Cleo's attacks were wild but blindingly fast, and Keldeo was turning them away with a few well-placed kicks and slight shifts of her body to dodge. It was clearly frustrating the Sandslash as her blows got quicker and wilder with every swing.

"No way, ask Amber! She's the crazy one!" Juniper said, "I just want to retire!"

"I'll ask her if you really don't want to do this," Sam said, and she reached back to lace her fingers with Juniper's hands and give them a gentle squeeze. "But I know you'll hate yourself if you never got to try. I believe in you, always have, always will."

Cleo skidded past them, glowing swords scything down into the ground after her as Keldeo flicked them out of the air.

"And she's kicking my ass, Juniper!" Cleo yelled, "Skip the confidence boost, be a sweetheart, and help out, please!"

"Terrors," Juniper said quietly, shaking her hair. The snow swirled around her as Keldeo grabbed one of her glowing swords and swung at Cleo, sword clashing with claws and kicking up sparks. Cleo hissed as the blade began to bite through her guard, Keldeo adjusting her grip to keep her hands pinned so she couldn't slash back. Cutting through her guard with an eerily intense focus.

Juniper swirled her hips, and the snowflakes around her began to orbit her body. She quickly gathered up a small storm of them, and with a shake of her hips, they drifted out over the fight. Keldeo just ignored them with a shake of her head. "I think it should be obvious I can handle the cold."

A hiss in the air as a bright line cut across Keldeo's cheek, and she reared back, Cleo keeping ahold of her glowing sword and throwing it away over the edge of the mountain. She had summoned a whole bunch, but it felt like a victory anyway as Keldeo pressed a hand to her cheek. With a wince, she pulled a thin white petal out of her skin, the edges of it razor sharp.

"Clever," she said as she flicked the petal away. Juniper swept her hands in, and the storm descended on her, the snowflake-like petals scything down and being parried away with glittering flashes from another of Keldeo's blades.

"Sam always wins." Cleo panted as she held her stomach still. "You'll like her if you give her a chance."

"She hasn't impressed me," Keldeo said as she tried to dust the Fairy glitter off her chest. "She's still only human."

"You don't know what that means," Cleo said, pointing to the sky. "They'll surprise you. They surprised all of us."

Keldeo turned to see a star descending from the sky. And growing.

"Oh, you are kidding me."

Flames licked around Sam as she held tight onto Amber's chest. The fire of the Flare Blitz that lapped around her burned at her clothes. She'd been with Amber for months, and it'd been a long time since her flames had burned her. But that was no guarantee of safety; when Amber got properly excited, her flames built and built, and right now, her red flames had built up enough to become a brilliant blue. It was enough to make Sam sweat, and she was scared her grip might slip.

"I can feel you getting turned on," Amber laughed as they descended on the mountaintop. "You love the danger."

"Why I love you, babe," Sam laughed. "The most dangerous there is."

"Don't ever forget it."

They smashed into Keldeo like a meteor, and there was no avoiding taking some blowback. The bone-crunching hit made Sam's teeth rattle as the flames roared until their very tips were white. Hot enough that they melted the snow off the mountaintop in one superheated burst, rock cracked around the impact crater as Keldeo was driven down into it under white-hot swirling flames.

"Fucking, dunked," Amber roared as she punched the smoke-covered ground and made the stones shake. "Nobody palms me off!"

"Sam might palm you off," Cleo wheezed as she lay flat on the ground, eyes closed. "For a move that sweet, you've earned it."

Amber grinned and rose up to flex her wings as the smoke in the crater whirled around her legs.

Sam leaned in to kiss her cheek, so hot it burned her lips, but it was worth it. "Team effort, going to have sore wrists later. Cleo you good?"

“Apart from her knocking my stomach into my throat?” Cleo lay out flat, her hair used as a pillow. “I’m good down here right now. Can you put out Juniper? Keldeo’s coat caught fire and she got her in the face with it. You know how much she hates fire.”

A bright line of white slashed the smoke in the crater in half and cut right up Amber's front. The dragon woman roared as she was blown back hard enough that she tipped over and landed on her back in a sprawl. Unfortunately, Sam was behind her the whole time, and being squished between a Charizard and a hard place was not a pleasant experience. She felt worse than when she'd let Cleo roll her flat to get at an irksome Blastoise.

Keldeo stood in the crater's center, multicolored motes of light weaved through her hair and around her horn.

"I cannot believe you pushed me to this," Keldeo said as she stroked a hand over her horn. "Maybe you are a little interesting."

"Thanks," Sam said, head pressed back to the rock. "I'm going to need a few minutes if we're going to fuck. I can only feel half my limbs right now."

"Fuck, what? Why would I do that?"

Sam pointed to Keldeo's hips, the rest of her clothes had burned away in the Flare Blitz, and it turned out it wasn't only her horn that was getting circled by the glowing lights.

"Magic dick," Amber snorted, "Well, now I've seen everything."

Keldeo stood on her head and forced the Charizard's face down into the rock, using her as a stool to stand on as she leaned over Sam.

"You haven't earned it."

Sam blew Keldeo a kiss. "So you think I can earn it? A human. You're interested."

"Curious. A little," Keldeo said. "But this isn't enough to excite me fully, Sam. Come back when you can actually handle me."

"Can anyone handle a magic dick?" Sam grinned.

Keldeo turned and stormed off with a huff, which wasn't the punishment she thought it was because Sam really enjoyed admiring a Legendary ass strut its stuff.

"She's nice," Juniper said as she threw the shreds of Keldeo's wet waistcoat away. She’d hidden under it when she’d seen Amber’s blitz come in. "But lonely. I think she needs someone."

"Well, it can only be us right now." Sam said, "I guess we're not done training."

"I fucking called it!" Cleo growled. "You're never retiring."

"You don't get prizes for stating the obvious sandball," Amber mumbled as she spat out little chunks of heated rock. "But I want to see Sam break her in. She's too cocky."

"Really?" Sam laughed, "Rich coming from you. Sense competition?"

"Hey, she might have a magic dick, but she's still a pipsqueak compared to me. No way you can't handle her."

"She handles you just fine," Juniper said, blowing some pollen at Amber when she turned to glare at her. "You can pretend otherwise, but we've all heard you moan her name enough."

"Picking a fight, are you?" Amber raised a ball of flame in her throat that got cut off when Sam stepped up and got a hand under Amber's chin, and a hand squeezed over the crotch of her pants.

"Be nice, or I'll be nasty," Sam growled, and Amber deflated, tail flicking lazily behind her. "When even you can admit I'm in charge without being physically shown it. Then we're ready to try this again."

"Never retiring," Cleo groaned. "I'm trapped between two immovable, stubborn forces."

"You love it," Sam said, blowing Cleo a kiss.

"Against all odds," Cleo said and came to squeeze in between Amber and Sam, resting on both as she let her muscles go loose. "Yeah, this is nice."

"Amber fly us back?" Juniper said, "I just want to rest. That was a lot."

"I'm not your taxi!"

"You can fuck her first. I know you complain she's all loose if I go first." Juniper blushed.

"I do not- hrmph. Fine," Amber snorted. "Come on, Sam. You gave it your best shot, but you still got some Trainer duties to fulfill."

"Do I get a say?" Sam said as she was picked up.

"Nope!" all three of them echoed.

Sam smiled at her Partners. They weren't the most well-disciplined or even the strongest she'd seen. But they were hers, and together they could do anything.

Keldeo could turn her nose up at them if she wanted. She believed in her Partners. It'd only be a matter of time.

Then they'd learn if Legendary dick really was magic.