A Night at the Library

Written by Dan-the-Countdowner.

WARNING! The following story contains soft vore. Those of a nervous disposition are kindly advised not to read this story, but those who aren’t, feel free to read on!

Prior to this story, my Serperior has gained the nickname “Lucky”.

The morning sun was beginning to rise and shine down on the Manor. Serperior was sitting in the library, as always. She had come to the end of yet another very interesting book and had closed it and then replaced it on the shelf. Now, she had read almost all of the books in the library at least three hundred times, but although there was a massive collection of books, there were one or two that the library didn’t have.

“Hmm, how peculiar.” she mused, adjusting her reading glasses with her vine.

The sound of footsteps could be heard as her trainer, A, (wearing his trademark cap and goggles, red shirt with a yellow star, camouflage trousers and boots) entered the library.

“Morning, Serperior. You look troubled, what’s up?”

“Oh, morning A.” smiled the Regal Pokémon. “As you’re aware, I’ve read all these fascinating books in here, but there are a few books not available in this library and I may need to spend time in the nearest library to here, to try and find one of them.”

“Ah.” replied A, putting his hand to his chin to think. “Well now, let me see. Erm…I think the nearest library to here is a couple of miles north beyond the town.”

“A couple of miles beyond the town, hmm? All right, I’ll make my way over there immediately, A dear.” nodded Serperior, acknowledging the location.

“Are you sure you’ll be fine on your own? You don’t want me to escort you?” asked A.

“Ooh, A, you worry too much. I’ll be fine, dear. I may be quite some time there, however, but I can look after myself. I’ll be back, you just wait.” Replied Serperior, a wise grin spreading across her face.

“All right, girl. Mind how you go, then.” Smiled A, and he went back out the library.

“Bye, A! Right then, better get going!” said Serperior to herself and she slithered out of the library, out of the manor and onto the forest path. She looked up at the sky and noticed a few clouds starting to form. “Hmm. I reckon a storm’s on the way. Ooh, that’s lovely! That’ll give me the perfect opportunity to have a good long drink!” she said to herself, gleefully.

...

It was around 10 o’clock in the morning. I had just entered another city somewhere, when I saw dark clouds loom ahead.

“Oh, for crying out loud!” I sighed. “Just what I needed, more rain! Ugh!”

Before I could say anything else, there was a sudden flash of lightning, a loud rumble of thunder and then the rain started to pour down. Everyone around me had started to run for shelter. The only thing sheltering me from the rain was my beige fedora, which began to get soggy.

“Argh! Just my stupid bad luck!” I cursed.

I decided it would be wise for me to take shelter, too. The nearest building was a library, so I quickly dashed over and went to go inside, wringing my soaking jumper and hat before I entered. This library, however, was a Pokémon library. Trainers and their Pokémon would come here to brush up on tips and generally read. Today, however, was rather a quiet day for the library, there weren’t as many visitors as there usually were. I gathered a few books from the shelves and sat down at a table close to the window. As I started reading, I looked around me. There were only a couple of Pokémon (a Kadabra and a Zoroark) with their trainers, quietly reading in different areas. I smiled to myself and carried on reading. The librarian glanced at me from her desk, then got up and walked over to me, looking out of the window. A Snivy jumped up onto the table in front of me and held onto my hand as if he was shaking it.

“Oh! Hello, little fella. I didn’t see you there.” I said, quietly.

The Snivy bowed. “Hello, sir!” he replied.

“Dear, dear, dear! Isn’t this storm terrible? I didn’t have time to pack a brolly this morning.” said the librarian, sighing at the steady rainfall.

“You’re lucky you didn’t get rained on just a few minutes ago.” I replied. “It is rather nasty out there!”

I looked out of the window again, and saw a couple of Snivys, Bellsprouts and Bulbasaurs splashing about in the rain, immensely enjoying themselves.

“Hmm, you’re not wrong, there. Mind you, don’t they look happy, though?” smiled the librarian.

“Yes, they certainly do.” I replied. “Obviously, they’re strong against water types so a large rainstorm, such as this one, won’t bother them.” I went back to reading, to keep my mind off the storm.

...

The hours passed and all too soon it was 17:00. It was still raining hard. Serperior had finally reached the outskirts of the city beyond Crossroads and was enjoying the storm enormously. For most of the day, she had stood still with her maw open, taking great gulps of rainwater and absorbing it into her twotone green serpentine body. She then closed her maw and looked around for the Library. She saw an old looking building and discovered that it was, indeed, the Library.

“Ah, there we go! A was right about there being a library here.”

She pushed the door open and quietly entered.

...

“Geez, will this downpour ever stop?!” I groaned to myself.

The librarian, the Snivy, the other trainers and their Pokémon had already gone home, but the librarian had left a note beside me.

“What’s this? ‘Since it’s still raining so hard, why don’t you stay here for the night? I’ve decided to brave the storm...’” I read. “Well, that’s charming, I’m sure!” I huffed, looking out at the continuous, thick and fast falling rain.

It looked as if a mini river had formed along the paths which cascaded into the drains.

“Oh dear, oh dear!” I sighed. “Looks like I’m stuck here for now. Lucky for me I have a flask of tea for such emergencies!”

After producing a flask of tea from my now dry fedora, I took my sketchpad and pencil out of my rucksack and started drawing to keep my mind off the storm. Occasionally, rumbles of thunder could be heard and I flinched at the lightning. Eventually, boredom got the better of me and I rested my head in my arms and started to doze off, unaware that I had company.

...

All the while, Serperior was on the top floor of the library, scanning the shelves for one of the books she wanted.

At last, “Aha, here it is!” she whispered and pulled out a yellow leather-bound book.

It was thick and heavy and Serperior had to carry it in her coils. All seemed very quiet, until she caught the sound of someone gently snoring on the ground floor.

“Oh my, what’s that?” she gasped.

Serperior flicked her tongue out, then tucked the leather-bound book under one of her short “arms”, slithered over to the balcony and looked down. She could see a figure, dressed in a sky blue jumper and light blue jeans, taking a rest at one of the tables. A sketchpad and pencil lay in front of him and a flask was standing to his left.

“Who in the world is he?” wondered the Regal Pokémon. “I haven’t seen him around here before.”

She looked around. The library seemed very empty indeed apart from the figure and herself.

Hmm, now then. I could either go back home right now…or I can wait until that fellow wakes up and have a chat. I could use some company round about now. Serperior thought to herself.

She opted for the latter option and slid down the stairs, slithering over to the table where the figure was resting. She curled herself opposite him, rested the book on the table and started to read. A couple of hours slipped away as Serperior became more absorbed in her new book - she was already two hundred pages in. She smiled as she read on, occasionally looking up at the resting figure.
…

Some time later, a very loud clap of thunder suddenly woke me up and I sat bolt upright. I looked around. The rain was still pouring relentlessly down outside the library. I sighed in frustration as I picked up my pencil again and reopened my sketchpad. I poured another cup of tea from my flask and drank it.

"Something wrong, my dear?" came a gentle voice.

I jumped again, spluttered over my tea and looked up to see a scholarly looking Serperior looking straight at me through a pair of reading glasses from the opposite side of the table.

"Oh, it's just this blooming storm!" I replied, recovering. "There's no way I can get on with my journey at present, judging by the amount of rainfall out there. Such a nuisance!"

The wind howled outside as the rain started to fall faster at an angle.

"Hmm, yes. That is somewhat a bit of a snag, I must say." replied the Serperior, briefly looking through the window. “Don’t get me wrong, I love the occasional rainstorm…but this one’s absolutely terrible!”

“I’ve never seen so much rain fall in years! Oh, how impolite of me. I’m terribly sorry, I didn’t notice you’d come in.” I apologised.

“Oh, that’s all right, you weren’t to know.” smiled the Serperior, looking back at me. “I came in at around 17:30 while you were busy reading. It was still pouring when I came here, in search of a book I don’t have back at the manor’s library...and I found it.” She glanced down at the thick and heavy leather-bound book in her vines, which was open at page two hundred and twenty two, before returning her gaze at me. “And rather a good read it is, too.”

“Ah, I see. So you...wait a minute!” My eyes widened in realisation. “Did you just say you live...at a manor?” I asked.

“Well, in a manor of speaking, yes.” replied the Serperior with a little grin, knowing that it had dawned on me where I was. “As a matter of fact, it’s not that far away from here, about a couple of miles south from here, give or take.”

“Well, if that’s true, then that must mean...oh, no...it can’t be...holy smoke!” I began.

“Go on...” grinned the Serperior.

I took a deep breath, for this was going to be a sort of long-winded deduction. “There is only one place I’ve heard of which has a manor, in which one of the Pokémon happens to be a Serperior who wears reading glasses and spends most of her time in the manor’s library. If I am right, then I must be close by to...Crossroads!” I gulped.

“Indeed, you are!” laughed the Serperior and she leant a little bit across the table. “And I am, indeed, that very same Serperior, my dear, and proud of it. Pardon my curiosity, but I don’t believe I’ve seen you around here before…hmm…you’re not from this area, are you?” she added, quizzically.

“Er...no, I’m not. Put it this way: I’m a travelling artist.” I replied.

The Serperior looked at me studiously through those reading glasses of hers.

“Hmm. Yes, you certainly look as though you’ve been about and I can easily tell you’re an artist, simply by the sketchpad in your hand.”

She placed the ribbon in her book to mark the page she was reading, then closed and pushed it to the side.

“Would you mind if I have a look?”

“Not at all.” I replied and I opened the sketchpad and set it flat on the table. “There you are.”

“Thank you very much.” replied the Serperior and she started to look at the pages, turning each one with her vine. There were several drawings of my own Pokémon. “Oh, my. You have your own Serperior, too?” enquired the Serperior.

“I do, indeed. Here she is…” I replied, picking up my Serperior’s Pokeball from my fedora.

“Splendid!” smiled the Serperior and she continued looking through my sketchpad. “Does she have a name, or is she just known as Serperior?”

“No, she has a name. She’s called Lucky.” I replied.

“Lucky? That’s a nice nickname, my dear.” Said the Serperior, smiling at me again.

I looked up at the clock...

”21:00? Blimey, I’ve been here for eleven hours!”

The Serperior closed my sketchpad and passed it back to me. “Eleven hours, hmm? I take it you’ve spent all that time sheltering from the rain, am I right?” asked the Serperior, a little surprised.

“Precisely right.” I replied, nodding.

Just then I heard a loud rumble coming from the Serperior’s direction and her red eyes shrank until they were mere dots. She had come to the conclusion that she was rather hungry and started to sweatdrop.

“Er...what was that?” I asked.

The Serperior looked away nervously.

“Oh, er, nothing. Hee-hee! Nothing!” she replied.

I looked at her suspiciously, raising an eyebrow. It certainly didn’t sound like ‘nothing’.

“Right...” I said, unconvinced.

The rumble came again, louder this time and the Serperior became more nervous by the second.

“Now I definitely heard that!” I gasped.

“Erm...heard what, my dear?” asked the Serperior, blushing and trying to look innocent.

“That rumble.” I replied.

“Rumble? Er...it was probably...the thunder. No?” replied the Serperior.

“Uh-uh! No, that was not loud enough to be thunder, Serperior.” I replied, drawing my chair back.

I had just got up to replace the few books I was reading, when I suddenly fell flat on my face. The books I had just picked up flew into the air and rained down on me. Being such heavy books, they hurt quite a bit!

"Ow!" I groaned and looked back.

The Serperior had started wrapping her tail loosely around my legs.

"Hey! W-what do you think you're doing?!" I gasped, startled and breaking free from her grip.

I hopped backwards and almost crashed against a bookshelf. The Serperior, grinning and flicking her tongue, slithered closer and closer to me until my back was against the bookshelf. Thunder rolled and lightning flashed, lighting the library briefly like a scene from a horror film.

"Why, I only want something to eat, I’ve come over all…peckish all of a sudden." she replied, looking around.

The Serperior had a hungry look in her eyes as she gazed at me, licking her lips as she salivated. I gasped in horror as I suddenly realised where the rumbling sound came from.

“Oh, y-y-you’ve got to be j-j-joking, right?“ I quivered, my eyes shrinking to dots.

The Regal Pokémon giggled at my increasing fear, pushing the end of her tail against my chest and holding me in place against the bookshelf. She then raised herself a little higher and looked down at me with a wicked grin as another flash of lightning briefly lit the library.

"Ooh, I’m afraid not, my dear, and since you're the only human here at the present moment..."

“Oh no, you d-d-don’t! Don’t even think about it!" I yelled, and muttering something under my breath, I put up a forcefield.

The Serperior blinked in surprise and lowered herself back down with a rather amazed expression.

"Oh, come on, now, don't be like that." she chided, tapping the forcefield which protected me. "I won't hurt you at all, really I won't..."

“M-m-my instincts say otherwise. Which part of “Oh no, you don’t” do you n-n-not understand?" I replied, fearfully. "I don’t think Lucky would like it at all, n-nor will any of my other snake friends for that matter."

"Ooh, I'm really certain they won't mind." replied the Serperior, poking the forcefield with the end of her tail. "Just like my friend and trainer A doesn't mind when...."

"Well, I'm not A, am I?" I interrupted, pointedly.

"Well, yes, that’s true enough, but..." replied Serperior.

"No buts! I-re-fuse-to-be-ea-ten!" I said in a sort of robotic monotone, deactivating the forcefield and dashing up to the first floor.

Serperior sighed as her reading glasses slid down to the tip of her snout. She readjusted them with her vine and glanced up to think.

Ah, so it’s a first-timer I’ve come across. Thought as much, he’s showing all the positive signs of an unwilling prey. She thought, then slithered up the stairs.

She flicked her tongue and found me easily. She bent down to my level, curled herself up and looked directly at me.

"Now, hold your horses, my dear, you’re getting yourself all unnecessarily wound up. Out of curiosity, would you mind if I ask why you don’t want to be eaten?" enquired Serperior, nudging me with her snout and keeping eye contact.

I began to go green in the face and shuddered.

"Because…I have this horrible mental image of being melted alive by stomach acids, that’s why. It’s a very nasty thought." I replied, shuddering and feeling rather ill.

“Aha, so that's the reason." said Serperior, nodding. “Hmm. I had a feeling that it would be."

”I’ve heard of late-night suppers, but this is ridiculous. Look, with all due respect, you do look rather intelligent,” I said. ”so you should know well, as much as I do, that flesh and acid do not mix!”

Suddenly, I felt a sudden jolt of pain in my stomach.

“Argh! Ugh! Oh, now look what you’ve gone and done! All this talk of being eaten and melted alive has made me feel very queasy, so I’ll ask you kindly to please refrain…" I said weakly, and with that, I quickly got up and rushed back downstairs, holding my stomach.

"Oh dear!" sighed Serperior. Her own stomach rumbled louder and louder. "Still, I’d better eat soon, I'm getting hungrier." I heard her and strode quicker.

Serperior slid back down the stairs and heard the library door open, saw me go out into the raging storm and slam the door behind me. Then, she watched me through the windows and gasped in horror as a large bolt of lightning struck me down.

“AAAAARGH!”

The electricity coursed through me, and I was left face first in the path, smoking and sparking from the lightning.

“Ugh...I...really hate…these...wretched storms...” I groaned as I struggled to get up again...and collapsed in exhaustion.

Serperior readjusted her glasses again.

"Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned eating him in the first place...poor thing." she sighed, a small tear rolling down her cheek.

She slithered out into the storm and over to the smoking, sparking trainer. She extended a vine and held it to my wrist to check for a pulse...and found it.

“Looks like it’s time for me to play lifesaver.” said Serperior to herself.

Carefully, she picked me up with her vines and brought me back inside the library. I was in a very sorry state: burned, sparking all over and dripping wet.

“Are you alright?” came a voice.

I could just make out the outline of Serperior as she set me down on the library floor, close by to the table where I sat earlier. I coughed several times.

"I think…so. But...why?" I asked, weakly. "Why did you...help me just now?"

"Guilty conscience, I expect, my dear." she replied with pity. "Oh, you do look absolutely dreadful."

"And I feel it, too..." I replied, admittedly. “Being out...in a nasty storm such as that...is bad enough, but...being struck by lightning...is a whole different kettle of fish!” I coughed again.  

Serperior quickly proceeded to sneak her thick coils around me again and hold me tight.

"Ow! Please...whatever you do, don't do it!" I pleaded, still with that gruesome image in my mind. But it was no use resisting, I was worn out from the lightning strike.

"Oh, I'm extremely sorry, I really am. But, trust me. It's the only way to keep you alive." she replied.

“Keep me...alive?” I repeated, confused. “How is eating me...going to keep me alive? It’s...a contradiction of terms. For all I know, it’ll be curtains for me.”

“Of course it won’t be, I am 100% certain that it won’t.” replied Serperior, confidently. “Just relax. You’ll soon see that things aren’t quite so bad for you as you think they are.” and with that, she raised her head and looked down at me, opened her maw wide and retracted her teeth, then lunged forward and engulfed my head.

“MMPH!” I gasped.

Serperior easily worked her jaws over me and I slipped easily into her stomach because I was still soaking wet from the rain. It took her four or five gulps in total before I found myself deep within her stomach.

"Ugh! Disgusting!" I groaned and I felt something wet and sticky splash over me. “Agh! Oh, no!”

In horror, I realised this could be it for me. I closed my eyes tightly and shivered, waiting for the end to come. On the other hand, Serperior let out a satisfied belch with a few sparks of electricity shooting from her mouth.

“Ooh! Pardon me!” she giggled, and looked down at the bulge in her stomach with a satisfied smile.

Serperior knew she now had a disgusted “passenger” aboard, but it was mainly for his own benefit as well as hers. She saw her bulging stomach shiver uncontrollably.

“Hey, now, calm down. Calm down...” She said, softly.

Slowly, I stopped myself shivering, but kept my eyes tightly shut. "I-I-I hope you're s-satisfied, milady!" I said in a trembling voice and restrictively folded my arms. "Now I may never see anything again!"

Serperior circled round and nuzzled the bulge in her stomach, bringing her tail near to it.

"Now, don't you be so silly." she soothed. "Of course you will, my dear, and I guarantee you'll be back to your old self in…ooh, a matter of a few hours from now? As right as rain, you might say!"

At that moment, I gasped as a large splash of saliva washed over me while Serperior laughed at her own little joke.

"Oh, ha-ha, very amusing(!)” I grumbled, sarcastically. “I sincerely doubt that. I wish I could share your confidence. Hmph!" I added, sighing.

Oh my, he is a grumpy one. thought Serperior to herself. I can’t really blame him, though. "Oh, do cheer up…please? Try and stop being so negative. If it makes the situation a little better for yourself, just answer me this: I know this is your greatest concern, but have you seen or felt any stomach acids at all in the past few minutes or so?" asked Serperior.

Nervously, I opened my eyes, looked around the stomach wall and ran my hand against it, but apart from the saliva, there was no sign of any corrosive liquid (to my relief and surprise)...although my hand got sticky.

"Yuck! Well, er...no, I must admit I haven’t." I admitted, hesitantly.

Serperior giggled at my disgusted remark and the ticklish sensation from me rubbing the stomach wall.

"Hee-hee! Well, there you go. There’s nothing to worry about, you’re in no danger at all, my dear. Didn’t I say before that I wouldn’t hurt you? Truth being told, I have to say...hic!...you did taste grand, if a little charred. Added to that...hic!...you were ever so kind to give me a free drink, too." replied Serperior, hiccupping a few sparks of electricity.

"Ooh, dear!  Steady now.” I said, feeling her hiccups against me. “I don’t know whether I should take that as a compliment or not, Serperior.” I added, continuing to rub the stomach wall gently.

I started to feel her heart beat against me. Serperior’s face held a wide grin.

“Ooh, keep that up a little bit more, would you please?” she asked, so I obliged, without giving any further thought to my current condition. Almost at once, Serperior’s hiccups subsided. “Aah! Hee-hee! That’s lovely! Thank you, you’re such a dear.” purred Serperior.

I blushed. “You’re welcome.” I replied, calmly.

“There, you see? It’s not so bad in there after all, is it?” asked Serperior.

“All right, I’ll admit it’s not so bad.” I replied.

At last, I was beginning to accept that I was in no danger at all, but I couldn’t help worrying.

“You know, I can’t think what I’m going to say to my own poor Serperior if she ever found out."

Serperior looked over at my 6 Pokeballs which were resting in my fedora on the table where I sat beforehand and then nuzzled the bulge again before resting her head on top of it.

"Don’t worry, I’m sure Lucky’ll be just fine. In fact, I’ll have a quiet word with her in a little while, I’d quite like to meet her.” she said.

“And, what about your trainer A? I’m pretty sure he’ll not be best pleased...” I asked, worriedly.

“A? Ooh, my dear, I only eat him on occasions since dear Arbok normally does nowadays. Quite a lovely pair they make, too!” replied Serperior with a laugh. “Come along, now. You just relax while I start...er, let’s call it ‘repairing’ you, shall we?"

and with that, the stomach wall tightened all around me and I sort of drifted off, mostly fearing the worst, but also hoping for the best...

...

It was therefore a surprise to me that when I woke up with a start at 5am the next day, I felt a cold, but pleasant breeze against my face and found myself resting against a large tree, near the entrance of a forest some miles away from the library. At last, the wretched storm had passed, for the sun was beginning to rise as the sky turned from dark blue to the usual colours of sunrise. I looked down at myself and saw...that all the excess electricity, the burns and the injuries I had received from the storm had gone...and, more importantly, I was still in one piece without any acid burns. That being said, however, I was still coated in saliva, which dripped off me steadily. My rucksack was leaning against a nearby tree and my sketchpad and fedora were resting on top of it. My Pokeballs were back on my belt. I pinched my shoulder to see if I was dreaming...I wasn’t!

“OW! Oh, phew! That’s something to be thankful for, at least.” I sighed, relieved.

"There, I told you so. That wasn’t so bad after all, now was it?" came a voice from up in the tree I was leaning against.

I looked up and saw Serperior smiling down at me through her reading glasses, clutching her borrowed library book in her tail and vines.

“Good morning, my dear!”

"Oh, er…morning, Serperior. No, I suppose not." I replied. "But, although I hope that never happens to me again...I can’t shake off the feeling that it will…" I added, shuddering as I rested my head in my hands.

Serperior adjusted her glasses and sighed.

“Oh dear, I see you're still rather nervous about last night. Aren’t you?" she asked.

I nodded regretably, starting to get up.

“Afraid so.” I sighed. “A pity, really, because…you really are as equally friendly as Lucky, too.”

Serperior blushed at the compliment and smiled at the same time.

“Ooh, do you really think so?” she asked, flattered.

“Think so? No ‘think’ about it, Serperior, I really know so. A’s lucky to have you as his friend and Pokémon.” I continued, smiling a little as I stood up. “Oh, well. Now that it’s happened to me, I suppose I’ll just have to get used to it and keep a better look out next time if it does happen again.”

I then heard an elongated squelch as the remaining stomach juices dripped off me.

“Oh, yuck!” I shuddered, grimacing as I walked around a little.

At that moment, Serperior chuckled to herself, then slithered down from the tree, rested her library book by my rucksack and quickly wrapped me up to dry me off. I cringed and stood extremely still.

“Uh-oh, not this again! You can’t still be hungry so soon after last night!” I groaned.

Serperior moved to look directly at me. “Ha-ha! Ooh, you are so silly! Calm down, I don’t need feeding again...well, not now, anyway! I got you all sticky, so it should only be fair that I dry you off, too.” she giggled.

The warmth quickly spread from her coils as the remaining juices started to dry up.

“By the way, with all the events of last night, I didn’t quite catch your name earlier.”

“Ooh yes, you never asked, did you?” I replied. “Ah, well, better late than never. I’m Dan.”

Serperior grinned as she gave me a light nuzzle.

“Pleased to have ate...er, sorry...met you, Dan.” she joked.

I cringed again before smirking.

“Well, if you want to put it that way, then it was a meal pleasure to have met you too, Serperior.” I replied.

Serperior snorted and burst out laughing, coating me in saliva once again. I freed my hand and wiped my face.

“Well, that’s nice(!)” I said, grimacing.

"Meal pleasure! Oh, dear me! I know A likes terrible puns, but that one was chronic!” giggled Serperior.

I turned my head away, looking sheepish.

“Oh well, I’ll admit it wasn’t one of my best ones.” I sighed.

“Hey, don’t look so downhearted, it made me laugh, at least.” replied Serperior. “I’ve been meaning to have another good chat with you earlier, but I didn’t think about it at the time, so why don’t we pass the time by doing so now?”

“Sure, why not?” I replied. “It’s not as if I’m going anywhere at this moment in time, is it?”

And so, we chatted for the next 30 minutes or so, before I said “Begging your pardon, Serperior.”

“Yes, Dan?”

"You mentioned that you’d have a quiet word with my own Serperior earlier...” I said, nervously.

“You’re quite right, and I did indeed speak to her.” replied Serperior.

I gulped.

“And...er...be honest with me...how did she take it?” I asked, my voice trembling as I prepared for the worst, my heart pounding against her coils.

“Well...” began Serperior, smiling a little. “...your dear Lucky was actually far more concerned about you getting struck by lightning in that horrid storm than me voring you, bless her.”

“Oh, thank goodness for that.” I sighed, thankfully.

Serperior continued. “She told me about your little episode in the forest where you rescued her as a Servine, encouraged her to evolve and she became your friend. You’re quite the hero…and very lucky indeed to have such a magnificent, loyal and caring Serperior on your team.”

I laughed modestly. “Well, er, thanks. I suppose I am.”

Then, I froze as I heard a little laugh and felt the chin of another Pokémon rest on my head as two thick vines crossed themselves over my shoulders and started hugging.

“Hee-hee! Aww, there’s no “suppose” about it. How are you feeling now, m’lad?” came an all-too-familiar gentle voice.

I chuckled slightly. “Well, I’m kind of sticky, but otherwise still in one piece...and alright.” I replied, resting my hand on the vines. “Hello, Lucky!”

Lucky nuzzled me over and over and tightened her vine hug.

“Oh, Dan, I’m so glad you’re alright.” she sighed happily, as she rested her head on my shoulder. Then, she saw Serperior beaming at us two, and winked. “Thanks very much for looking after him, dear.”

Serperior blushed.

“Ah, it’s the least I could do, Lucky dear.” she replied, unwinding her coils from me - I was now completely dry. “Well, I think it’s time I went back to the manor. A and the others will be wondering where I’ve got to.”

She started to leave.

“Oh, hang on a minute, Serperior!” I called.

Serperior turned her head back to look at me. “Yes, Dan?” she asked.

“I believe you forgot your book.” I said, holding up her borrowed library book.

“Dear me, so I have!” She giggled and slithered over to me so I could hand her book over. “Thank you.” She said, gripping the book with her vines.

“Actually, it should be me thanking you for...erm...’repairing’ me last night.” I replied, holding my hand out.

Serperior laughed and rested her head against my palm and nuzzled it in return. “Hee-hee! You’re welcome. You take care, now, and if you do return to Crossroads sometime in the future, please don’t hesitate to pay us a visit.”

“I’d be delighted to, Serperior. Although, that does depend on if we come back here. I’ll have to keep a sharp eye on my Pokémon in case they see me as a snack.” I replied, raising an eyebrow at Lucky, who giggled.

The three of us then laughed, before we properly said our “goodbyes” and went our separate ways.

“Oh, my. She was rather a friendly Serperior in the end, wasn’t she, m’lad?” asked Lucky.

“Yes, Lucky dear, she certainly was.” I replied. “But, as I said, I’ll need to keep a close eye on you and the others in case you get the idea of snacking on me in your minds.” I went on in a serious voice.

Lucky laughed out loud.

“What’s so funny, Lucky?” I asked, stopping in my tracks.

Lucky recovered, wrapping around and lovingly holding me close to her, licking me in the process.

“Oh, Dan. Would I ever do that to my own darling little hero?” she giggled, resting her chin on my shoulder.

I petted her head. “Well...heh-heh, after all I went through in that library last night, I’ve got the funniest feeling that you just might, one day.” I replied, laughing nervously.

Lucky laughed again as she nuzzled me, comfortingly.

“Aww, poor dear! Serperior told me how she ate you to help you recover from the storm. Put it this way - I and your Pokemon love you a lot. If we ate you some time in the future, like Serperior did, it wouldn’t be just a meal for us, but our stomachs will be a safe place for you because we don’t intend on melting you down. We’d only do that with actual, proper meals.”

“Ah, I see.” I replied, and thought briefly. “So it benefits the both of us, so to speak.”

“Right.” Replied Lucky. "Next time it happens, just think of it as an internal hug."

"OK, then." I laughed. "Now that you mentioned it, it certainly felt like it last night..." and as soon as Lucky released me, we carried on with our journey.