So  incinermyn and I have a really long roleplay that reads like a story. It's all about her OCs meeting up with mine and engaging in a wondrous chain of events involving balloonies, pools, transformation, and lots and lots of inflation! By the way, this is only part one. This story is HUGE.

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What Better Friend Than a Toy by Incinermyn and SqueakyTails
Chapter One: Angel's Playtime

Seraph walked quietly alone down a forest trail with her leather backpack slung over both shoulders. Her knife is sheathed and hooked on the side of her satchel, as is her Beyi Buckler fastened to the reverse side of her backpack. “Such a strange air to this place... I've never sensed anything so weird... It's almost artificial...”

Xeian carefully pads the forest trail beside his friend and partner, Sai. The inflatable Floatzel carried naught but a black, shiny air pump slung around one shoulder like a quiver, while Sai's blue satchel hugged his right side just before his tails. Suddenly the vinyl Ninetales stopped, catching a glimpse of a dark-grey skunk Pokemon that curiously stood on two paws much further down the trail. The skunk looked around with a furrowed brow as if lost. Sai nudged his friend with a paw before gesturing to the skunk-girl.
Xeian did not hesitate to call, "Good day, Miss! Are you lost? Can we help you?"

Seraph sighs and thinks, Of course... There have to be others... Solitary by nature, she rarely asked for help, but in this case she may well accept it given how she had lost her bearings. She'd never openly admit it, though.

"To be honest, I'm not sure..." she muttered softly, waiting for the others to approach. Making sure to keep her back turned, she didn't want to give them the impression that she was some helpless little girl.

Sai could not make out the words the skunk-girl muttered. She had her back turned, revealing a stream of black and white headfur resting atop a leather backpack yet obscuring her face. She seemed almost dismissive of the two, but Sai wasn't about to let a little thing like that stop him from making a new friend. He picked up his pace to more quickly reach the Pokemon, leaving Xeian behind as he jumped up to tap the girl on her shoulder with a soft plastic paw, asking "What did you say? Sorry, I couldn't make that out."

Seraph froze momentarily, feeling the silkiness of soft plastic rubbing against her fur. Hesitantly she turned to see the unnatural visage of a shiny pooltoy Ninetales. Jerking her shoulder away, the skunk girl jumped back several feet. She detached her buckler from her backpack and fit the shield onto her left arm defensively. Raising the small shield, she made she to keep it in front of her body so that its symbol of a red triangle with an amber-iris eyeball inside it showed intimidatingly. The girl wouldn't normally have shown such hostility, but whatever these creatures were, they weren't normal by any standard.

"What are you?" she gasped, making sure the Ninetales heard the fear in her voice. Generally she'd scream aggressively to scare him off, but for whatever reason, she didn't feel that'd be right this time around...

Sai stumbled back as the Skunanne jumped backwards and displayed her strange, creepy shield. Painted eyes widened as he realized that she, like so many others, was startled at his unusual... composition.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" he replied, as he sat down on light haunches, his tails instinctively curling into a fan formation. Generally it was best to let startled creatures approach him rather than the other way around. "I'm Sai, an inflatable Ninetales. I'm made of plastic and filled with air, and I'm as harmless as any other toy, I promise!"

Xeian stepped to stand beside the Ninetales, hollow, twin tails waving slowly. "I'm Xeian, also a pooltoy. though I have two chambers as opposed to Sai's one," he explained, gesturing to the two valves on his inner tube vest and his left tail. "I mean you no harm." He smiled politely and waved.

Widening her stance, the skunk lowered her shield slightly and muttered, "Living pooltoys...? I thought they were just a myth." Unsure of whether to stay or flee, she relaxed her muscles but reached back for her knife. Grabbing its case, she detached it from her backpack and showed it to the twosome.

"I am armed and unafraid to use a modified Psycho Cut, but I will put this away if you can show me you truly are friendly."

Sai could not help but yelp at the sight of the sharp blade. He cautiously rose to his paws and backed away a few paces. "H-hey now," he stuttered in fear, suddenly very aware of his fragile nature. "There's no need to attack. Really!"

Xeian, too, reacted with fear at her threat, but he did his best to remain composed for Sai. "Listen, we're not going to do anything to you, and we're not carrying any weapons," he spoke as he slowly lifted his pump off his back to place before him. "As a matter of fact, all I'm carrying is this pump and I'd loath to have to use it, if you get what I mean."

Sai followed Xeian's example by arching his back to let his satchel slip off of him and opening it to exhibit its contents of crumpled plastic bags. "There's nothing in there but some snacks and a couple patches, honest! Just... put away the knife, please...?"

Seraph sighed and put her weapon away, along with her shield. Now embarrassed she approached the twosome slowly, her ears pointed upward to show she didn't feel threatened anymore.

"Okay, you need to listen to me. I travel alone a lot, and I have been through pretty rough experiences. I was exiled from my tribe some years back and had to become somewhat of a survivalist..." she told them before muting her voice to less than a whisper, "and a part-time thief..

Xeian frowned and stepped towards her, oblivious to her comment of thievery. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that! Is there anything we can do for you?"

Sai joined in, "If you need to relax, we can certainly help with that. Otherwise, we don't have much in the way of normal food; just plastic, sorry. What do you need?"

"Oh, food's not an issue. I have plenty in my pack," she said, patting her heavy sack. "However, relaxing does sound good..." She hesitated at a thought. Plastic? Human garbage? Why would they possibly eat that? She was tempted to ask, but didn't want to seem rude. Perhaps sticking to the other topic would be better. It was best not to seem rude...though deep down she didn't really care if she came across as rude or not...

"Um, when you say 'relax,' what do you mean? Pardon me for asking. I'm just paranoid...erm, curious! I mean curious."

Xeian eyed her with a curious smile. "Depends on what you enjoy. We specialize in inflating ourselves and others, for one, though we understand that's not for everyone." He gestured to his pump, which seemed like nothing more than a simple bicycle pump. "For example, this pump here will inflate most creatures even if they aren't toys like us. My friend Sai, on the other hand-"

"I can make you a toy!" Sai interjected. "It'll last a few hours, but in the meantime you can see what life as an inflatable is like!"

"Right," Xeian continued. "So does that intrigue you at all?"

A look of dread spread across Seraph's face. Really, she was deeply intrigued by both propositions, but her gut instinct told her to show fear instead. She usually enjoyed playing games with people, making them think she's "scared" and then be "forced" to relax. It wasn't anything bad, just something she loved.

"Uh..." she responded, eyeing the pump and then the Ninetales. "Uh... I... I... I would like to try both, but... I'm scared!" Afterwards she turned away and started walking off a couple steps, waiting to see if they'd take the bait.

Xeian raised a paw and called after the skunk-girl, "Wait, wait!" The Skunanne stopped. The two relaxed. "There's nothing to be scared of; I promise," Xeian continued, "We can take it as slow as you like, and none of this will hurt a bit. Is that okay with you? Please don't leave just yet!"

"Ye...yes... But, what if you're wrong?" she said, forcing tears to well up in her eyes. "I...um... I'm afraid of what will happen if I...uh...pop?" It was hard for her to think up excuses on the fly. She really wanted to inflate, but now that she actually considered what she just said, she was really starting to make herself scared. She even began to shiver.

Poor girl... she can barely talk straight from fear! Sai thought to himself. He tilted his head with a sad smile; Too often are his new friends worried about inflation, but how wrong they are. "Trust me, Miss... Skunk lady... um, what's your name? Well, anyway, I've inflated and been inflated more times than I can count and never is someone hurt. Yes, you can pop if I turn you into a toy... but that's fun, too! You know, sometimes. You'll just regenerate after a few minutes."

Xeian continued, "That's part of the magic of my pump, too, but it works much faster, regenerating the popped Pokemon in a matter of seconds. You could do both if you plan to burst... But there's very little risk of that. Honestly, you'll pass for a blimp before you hit your limit."

"My name's Seraph...and I don't want to be a blimp..." she said shyly. "But, I'd still like to try... Mmm, maybe become a pooltoy...no, use the pump... Sorry, I'm not sure..." She forced back her fake tears and glanced back and forth between both pooltoy Pokémon.

"Really, I need a paw to hold before doing either... But, I think I'd like to be a pooltoy first to see what it's like. You're sure it's not permanent, right?" she asked nervously.

"Oh, I'm sure. I mean, if you really, REALLY want to I could make it permanent, but that's a whole other process. It'll last just a few hours if you just touch my tails. And, well... there's not much I can do if you want to change back early. I'm sure it's possible, but no one I've ever transformed has wanted to change back early!" The Ninetales giggled as he jumped and turned around mid-air, turning to display his nine magical tails to his new friend. "Just take hold of any one you'd like and watch the magic unfold!"

Xeian walked up beside the girl. "And Seraph, if you need a paw to hold, I'm here for you." He smiled comfortingly, gingerly wrapping one of his hollow tails around her furry one. Well, furry for now...

Seraph's heart rate returned to normal. The process of making herself sound fearful had taken its toll to the point where she actually worked herself up. The smooth fell of Xeian's tails soothed her in a way she couldn't really describe. It was like they'd been friends years, despite having just met. Sucking in a deep breath, she exhaled and slowly reached for Sai's middle tail. Nervously, she stopped herself right before touching it with her hand-shaped paw.

"I...I can't..." she said fearfully again. She needed help. She couldn't bring herself to do it on her own...

"It'll be okay," Xeian reassured, placing his paw on hers. "We'll do it together. Ready?"

Sai could hardly contain his excitement. It wasn't every day he got to transform someone, but when he did it always the most wonderful experience. He began imagining all he would show her... and unbeknownst to him, his tails began wagging, whipping directly into Seraph's grasp.

"Sai!" Xeian exclaimed as vinyl skin began to spread around Seraph's hand-like paw.


"Oh, good grief..." Seraph slapped said paw to her, as she saw the fur on her forearm change into vinyl skin. She immediately noticed that the impact was comfortably soft due to how her arm was now just full of air. The changes soon consumed the rest of her body, from chest and torso to abdomen, hips, legs and tail onward to her opposite arm until finally ending with her head, hair, and ears.

"You know the point of putting up that act was to make it 'special?' I mean, if you were just going to do that, why did I even bother faking...it...?" she remarked, until she realized she just gave away her ruse. She blushed embarrassedly and hid her face in her paws.

Sai was oblivious to her confession, instead blurting a quick "Sorry!" before leaping into the air over and over in celebration. "Hooray! You're a toy like us now! We're going to have so much fun...!"

Xeian tapped her now plastic shoulder with a furrowed look. "What act?" he questioned in a soft voice. "Did you not think becoming an inflatable was special enough to us as it is?"

"Uh, no, kind of not actually. Given the context, I assumed you did that all the time..." Seraph sighed, but then grinned. "Could be worse... At least my Vulpix friend Pyra's not with me. She'd turn you both into stuffed animals, and keep you that way."

Sai stopped, standing motionless for a brief second before launching a volley of questions, "Ooh, she can make plushies? I've always wanted to be a big soft plushie and cuddle with all my friends... do you know where she is? Can you do that?"

Xeian snorted. "I, for one, don't enjoy plushies, either as my toys or myself. If you ask me, air is the best stuffing. I'm guessing you agree, then?"

"I'm fine with either, but I actually kind of am afraid of inflation really. I'm not scared to death of it like I was trying to act, but...I'm still nervous about it," she purred. "Now you want something cool...petrification! That'd be awesome! But, I don't know anyone who's actually SURVIVED the process. The only Pokémon I know that causes is this fossilized monster called Carastone, and he eats his victims souls afterwards..." After thinking about what she just said, she suddenly turned her face to the ground, knowing she probably scared them.

Sai tilted his head, completely unfazed by her comment. "Petrification? Turning to stone? Where's the fun in that?! You can't float or inflate or do anything fun. Rocks aren't very cuddly either... speaking of cuddly, I'd still love to be a big plushie. Can you do that? Where's Pyra?"

Xeian was instead taken aback. "Devours their souls?! What an awful thing to do! He's... he's not anywhere near here, is he?"

Seeing the fear in the Floatzel's eyes, Seraph immediately hugged him and said, "Oh, no, please don't think of him as a monster... Uh, what are your names again? Eh, anyways... Carastone's very nice, but he lives very far away from here, in the desert within a tomb that he protects. He doesn't use his power often, and only when he has to vanquish intruders whom won't leave willingly. He's very rational otherwise, and won't attack unless absolutely necessary..." Feeling how soft her body felt hugging his, she suddenly fell in love with being a pooltoy. However, she didn't want to rightly admit it to them yet.

Removing her arms from him, she turned to the Ninetales and said, "Um, you know, I think it'd actually be cool to be turned into a statue, temporarily of course. I wouldn't want to stay that way permanently. I'd just like to see what it'd be like."

She then looked down and sighed, "I honestly don't think you'd want to meet Pyra... She gets really wicked when she meets new friends and, furthermore, she shrinks people down when she turns them into plushies. Not too small, though, just to about a foot so they're easier to cuddle and handle. In either case, she's back in my hometown of Pokémon Square about forty miles away. I was actually heading back there when I got sort of got lost. These woods are strange to me..."

"If you don't mind, I would like to hangout with you two for a while, like we were sort of planning a moment ago..."

"I'm Xeian," the Floatzel explained. "And that's quite relieving, thank you."

"Sai," the Ninetales reminded her. "And I changed my mind; I don't want to be that small... I was hoping to be a life-sized plushie, you see. Anyway, I'm so glad you want to hang out! Do you want to inflate or go for a float or what? And if you want Xeian lives just a short walk away and he has tons of other toys you can meet and everything an inflatable could ask for!"

"I did bring my pump if you'd rather stay here... and there's no need to be nervous. We'll go at whatever pace you'd like!"

"THERE ARE MORE OF YOU?" Seraph squealed excited, clasping her hands together. Realizing what she said, she changed to a nervous tone. "Uh... I mean, there...are more of you...?" She was secretly enjoying this more and more.

"Um, yeah, Pyra's got this thing where she loves to cuddle with her new 'toys.' She may be able to make life-size plushies, but I don't know. She did make me one once and it was actually a nice experience. I just didn't like not being able to move, though. It's not a pleasant feeling, but I also didn't mind it because I had a friend to carry me around."

With a faked nervous grin, she said, "I think I want to try everything really: inflate first, go for a float, and then visit Xeian's place...if that's okay...? I don't exactly have to be anywhere for the time being. Actually, I'm not even due back home for at least a week."

Xeian laughed silently, his body softly shaking in amusement. "I'm starting to think you're a lot more excited about this than you let on... anyway, let's begin." He offered the nozzle to Seraph, who took it in a soft, painted hand. "Go ahead and plug that into your valve; it's normally on the tail or belly. Oh, one last thing; I can multiply the pressure in the pump to inflate you much faster... but you don't have to, of course. We can take it slowly if you like."

Sai frowned as he thought of Pyra's abilities. "No, it's not for me. I like my mobility, even if it means I'll have to find someone else to 'plushify' me." His tails began wagging once more. "Trust me, inflating is a wonderful experience. You'll love every second of it! Um, how big do you want to get? I mean, if you'd like to float right after we'd probably have to stop early or go to the lake now."

Xeian painted eyes brightened. "Oh! Or we could kill three Pigdeys with one stone and go inflate you at my pool! It's pretty big, so you can still inflate as large as you want first."

Sai gasped, his body swelling almost imperceptibly. "That's a great idea! What do you think, Seraph?"

Seraph looked at her belly a moment, not seeing a valve, and then her tail. There it was, right at the tip of her long, elegantly smooth tail.

"Um, okay, you've got me! I'm absolutely enthralled with the idea of inflating. But, yeah, I think a pool would suffice a lot better than the open wilds or even a river. I feel safer in relatively enclosed places or even towns than I do the forest. That's why I keep my hunting knife and buckler on-hand at all times while traveling."

"Wonderful! I'll take that back for now, then." Xeian snatched the nozzle out of her hand and quickly strapped the pump to his back once more. Sai did the same with his satchel, nudging it closed with a paw before slipping through the strap to let the satchel rest on his side.

"Alright, let's go!" Sai exclaimed. "Xeian's house is just a couple miles this way," he directed, backtracking on the trail they had met on. Xeian waved with a paw for Seraph to follow. The Floatzel's calm expression masked his internal excitement. He was not one to show emotion, preferring to simply be the stoic, caring owner he always is. A thought suddenly appeared in his mind. Would she want to join my collection? No, certainly not. But she seems so excited about being inflatable... He pondered the idea without betraying a hint of emotion except to glance for just a moment at the dark, vinyl body of his new friend, enjoying the dance of soft light reflected off its glazed surface.

Seraph tightened her own bag so that it wouldn't slide of her now-malleable shoulders. Afterwards, she trailed down the path after her new friends. Friends being a modest term, of course. She wasn't doing any ruses now, but should the situation make her uncomfortable, she'd immediately act to defend herself... But, she had to keep in mind that using her knife wasn't an option. A regular Psychic attack would more than suffice if the need arose, though she highly doubted it given their kind nature.

"So, can you tell me about yourselves? I mean, we've been talking but I feel like I've been divulging more about myself than you guys have about each other, besides your powers and inflation interests."

Sai giggled and slowed his pace to walk beside the skunk-girl. "Sorry! So I was manufactured in a secret factory in the Kalos region with the design to spread the joy of inflatables, as I have with you. I've been at this for... oh, around eight months or so, right after I was inflated for the first time. I'm also trained in my own special version of first aid; I'm an inflatable, portable paramedic!"

Before Seraph could respond, Xeian gave his story. "I was manufactured a couple years ago at the same factory but with a different purpose- to take care of lost or thrown out living inflatables and balloonies. Some of them go on to find new owners, but many remain with me. I am very overprotective, my toys claim, as I take every measure I can to prevent my friends from being hurt, torn, or popped. Unless, of course, popping is their intent, but it still makes me nervous to see them burst..." He sighed. "Any other questions?"

"I see..." she said, somewhat unnerved now.

Seraph remained silent for a long moment. She'd heard of such Pokémon before, clinging to objects as though they were their own kin. Pyra was one such example of someone who was so clingy that she couldn't stand to see them leave even for short periods once she befriended them. Since she'd learned how to properly cast her plushie hex and plushie curse, she'd taken full advantage of her already powerful gift and turned an untold number of friends into toys. Albeit, that was normally for short periods of time, but still she kept at it.

As they continued to walk, she kept feeling an impending danger from these two. Or, perhaps not danger so much as a legitimate threat. She now had to take care not to fall prey to any unwanted persuasion, lest she be trapped with them forever. Hopefully...just hopefully they wouldn't sense her newfound fear amongst what previously was ease...

Sai looked up and down his new friend, delighting in every squeak of her limbs and the gentle swelling and deflating she experience from her breath. Even if was only for a few hours, he was euphoric to have shown another Pokemon the feeling of soft, vinyl skin and a light, hollow body. "How's the puffy life treating you?" he asked her. "Are you a good size? If not, you can always inhale or exhale a little until you feel comfortably tight or flexible, whichever you prefer. Oh, and do you like how light you are now? You got used to it pretty fast, considering you're not bouncing six feet in the air with every step."

Xeian laughed. "Slow down, Sai! I'm sure she's fine!" Smiling at the Skunanne, he noticed a hint of nervousness, which corroborated with her terse response. "Are you okay, Seraph?" he probed with a concerned look. "You're not still nervous about inflating, are you? I'm telling you, there's nothing to worry about!" He wasn't about to lose a potential new toy from some irrational fear of inflation. Realizing that he had subconsciously claimed the girl, he frowned and thought, No! I mustn't think about that! She's just going to be an inflatable for a few hours, that's all! I can't just claim whatever toy I meet, it has to be their choice!

Seraph glanced between the two inflatables cautiously. Unable to bring herself to speak, she fell back on the one gut instinct she knew would keep her from potential harm: run! Pivoting around as quickly as she could, she took off fleet footed at first step. However, she unwittingly tripped over her own feet and fell gently on her belly under the weight of her backpack. Covering her eyes, she sobbed in fear... These two kindly pooltoys were really trying to take her prisoner, she just knew it. Everything to this point had been a lie just to kidnap her.

Sai gasped as Seraph ran off in the opposite direction. Whipping around himself, he sprang a few steps only to stop in his tracks when she tripped and fell. His heart sank when he heard her sob, causing he and Xeian to share a concerned look. The two slowly approached, Sai gently caressing her with a tail as Xeian offered a hand. "Seraph? Are you okay? Did you spring a leak? I told you I have patches..."

"I'm fine..." she cried. "Please don't hurt me... I'll do whatever you want, but please don't keep me prisoner..." She reached for Xeian, but kept her face looking towards the ground fearfully.

"Prisoner?!" Xeian exclaimed as he pulled her to her hollow paws. "Why would we take you prisoner? It's a lot harder to play with someone when they want nothing more than to leave. What ever would put that idea in your head?!" In his head, he was berating himself for daring to consider owning her.

Sai nuzzled her hand, eliciting more than a few squeaking sounds. "I'm sorry, Seraph. If you're too worried you can just leave now..." The Ninetales whimpered before he continued, his voice quavering. "The curse will wear off on its own..."

"And... well, how hard could it be to overpower a couple plastic bags?" Xeian mentioned. "I mean, really, you do have that kn-knife." He couldn't help but stutter in fear of the razor-sharp blade just within her reach.

Seraph bawled horribly as she hugged Xeian as tightly as she could. "I'm sorry! The way you were talking and how you were eyeing me a few minutes ago, I just assumed that all of this was some horrible trick to trap me."

Composing herself somewhat, she turned to Sai and continued, "I really LOVE being a pool-toy! I don't want it to stop, but... I'm always scared that something horrible is going to happen whenever I make new friends. For a long time, I was an outcast living off the land and even resorted to thievery. I hated it...absolutely hated it... I've been trying to get away from those memories by taking a small trip away from my new home, but... I've always had a hard time trusting anyone new..." She hugged Xeian again, hoping for some comforting words.

Xeian stroked her vinyl back just beside her pack as he returned her hug. "It's okay, don't worry. We don't care where you're from or what you've done. What matters here and now is that we're your friends. We'll do our best to care for you and we're certainly not going to hurt you or trap you..." He sighed and deliberated for a moment before confiding, "I will admit, I want to be your owner a great deal, but... I'm not going to force anything on you. If you don't want to stay a pooltoy, or just don't want to stay with me, that's fine." He patted her back one last time before he pulled himself out of the embrace and grinned. "I'm not saying you have to trust us, either. You can keep that-" he suddenly found himself choking on his own words, his mouth opening and closing without sound.

"Shield? Knife?" Sai offered.

"Yes, that. You can keep those as long as you need until you think you can trust us. Even if you feel the need to... well, pop us, we'll recover. But please, just relax at least for now. We're almost to my house where you can inflate."

Sai gave her hand a friendly lick with his dry, rubbery tongue. "I'm so glad to hear you like being inflatable! The curse will still wear off in a few hours but I'll be happy to renew it whenever you want! I hope we can really be friends soon." He nuzzled her endearingly. He was quite relieved that it was only a misunderstanding. Soon she would learn all the joy that being inflatable can bring and they would be the best of friends!

"I..." she sobbed, "promise I won't pop you. I never had that intention to begin with." Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned her back to Xeian. There's no way I'll let myself become his toy. But I can easily take full advantage of him. Facing Sai, who was still next to her, she rubbed his nose with a insincere smile. This one... He's too sympathetic to make a patsy. He's too nice. His friend will more than suffice for my means. Revenge on Kent for reprimanding me after that failed mission... A good ballooning will serve him right!

Xeian smiled and proceeded to walk back along the trail. "Just half a mile to go," he encouraged. "I know how excited you are for this, even if you feel a little paranoid about us."

Sai smiled at her gentle touch and shivered with enjoyment before springing into step beside Xeian. "Come on, Seraph! We're so close to the best time of your life! Let's go!"

"Paranoid...?" she muttered to herself as she slowly followed after them. Xeian was right for repeating the term she used to describe herself. Perhaps she truly was unnecessarily cautious in situations she really didn't need to be? Sighly, she caught up to the two with a sincere smile on her face. She needed to be happy about finding two friends in the wilds, while the rest of her regular team was back home. If she could at least convince Xeian to come visit Pokémon Square with her, then she could get her vengeance on her harsh mentor Kent Zoltaine. All he'd need to do is bring that tank of his.

After a few minutes of walking in general silence aside from the bird Pokemon singing in the trees, Xeian noticed the chimney of his home cresting over the hill and immediately broke into a run. "We're here," he called. "This is my home!"

Just on the edge of the woods, barely hidden from the highway by the forest, was a well-managed home. Soft grass surrounded the modern-style building, a huge white, two-story house with a prism-shaped roof. As Xeian ran behind the house, Sai guided Seraph after him across the carefully manicured grass to an enormous pool at least fifty feet across and half as wide. "Pretty amazing place, huh?" Sai lauded. "It was a gift from our manufacturer. Now, come on! It's time to get you all pumped up and puffy for a good float!"

Seraph smiled happily at Sai, but remained silent. Her ulterior motive was starting to seem less obtainable now that she was actually here. Observing the pool, she realized something amiss about it. The airspace overhead was completely unobstructed... She assumed the area would've been enclosed given its proximity to human settlements. As a rescue team member, she was taught to avoid human contact at all cost. Her kind used to be very close to people, but in recent decades they instinctively become more reclusive and shut out humans themselves. The notion only became reinforced more while she trained under the mentorship of Kent Zoltaine and Saul Retford in Pokémon Square. It was good to help other Pokémon, but bad to do it in the presence of humans.

"Um... Your manufacturer...? Was he or she...human?" she asked abruptly. "Sorry, just curious." This time her fear was justified. Not of Sai and Xeian, but the humans they probably served. She would stay with them so long as she was kept hidden, but if humans showed up, she'd have to flee without question.

Sai giggled. "Sorry, he prefers to keep his identity a secret. Only his products know who or what he is. Suffice to say he's quite generous." Actually, there was a way for her to meet him... but first she'd have to accept life as an inflatable forever. As much as he tried, he couldn't give a good guess on whether she would. But of course, now wouldn't be the best time to ask.

Xeian set his pump before him, as if driving it into the smooth stone by the pool. "Ready to go?" he asked Seraph, offering the nozzle. "And again, how fast would you like to go? I can multiply the pressure if you'd like to inflate quickly. Just say the word!"

"I see how it is then..." Seraph said to Sai coldly. She then turned her attention to Xeian with a look of slight grimace.

Taking the nozzle, she replied, "Slow to moderate is fine for starters." She then went to put it in her valve, but hesitated again.

Sai grew nervous at her terse remark. "What? I can't tell you, honest! I promised to keep his identity a secret..." Upset, he laid down to watch her inflate. Maybe she'd be a little more friendly once she fills up a little...

But to their surprise, she hesistated, unwilling to open her valve. "Don't tell me you're still nervous," Xeian groaned. "You can stop at any time, really! Don't you trust me?"



"Oh, I do!" she said, opening her valve and attaching the hose to it. "I'm ready at any time!"

Xeian's countenance brightened. "Excellent!" he declared as he began pumping at the standard setting. Soon Seraph's belly swelled outward, as if she had swallowed a still-inflating beach ball. Still Xeian pumped. Sai giggled to himself as every part of her body swelled with air, though not nearly as much as her now enormous gut. This was always one of his favorite parts- the first stages of inflation when the difference is immediately noticeable.

"Just tell me when you want to slow down, okay?" Xeian explained as he maintained his steady rate- not slowly, but not particularly quickly either.

Seraph squealed with excitement as her body, tail, legs, arms, and finally head swelled. She'd never been so excited in all of her life and she was actually relaxed (if not, dare she say it, soothed) by the pressurized air filling her otherwise hollow body. Eventually, she got to a point where she was about six feet or more wide and decided she wanted to slow down.

"Okay, slow down please!"

Xeian stopped and looked up and around her large, round, figure. "Oh... oh my..." he whispered. Shaking his head, he continued, "I thought you were a scared! I don't normally inflate my toys much larger than this, maybe about double for inflatables, but for a pool ride, you're perfect! Sai's getting much better at his transformation, I can tell." He began to walk around Seraph in awe, gently feeling her rounded physique with a smooth paw.

Sai laughed and took over the pump, gently pushing the piston up and down as he looked to Seraph with a smile. "Just say when and we can start floating together." He giggled, "I might just join you and puff up myself!"

Seraph blushed unsure of exactly how to respond right away. She was nervous because she thought she may've overdone it, but at the same time she was ecstatic because of the sheer bulbous proportion she'd reached. Despite all the angst she'd been putting on and putting herself through, the girl had never felt more alive or, more so, soothed by the sheer experience of inflation. Deep down, she wanted to do this again and again as often as she could, possibly for the rest of her life. However, she...

"Oh? Am I too big? I'm sorry, Xeian. At first I really was scared, but then my body started puffing up and I couldn't help but want to keep going! I had no idea how comfortable I'd be while trying this! It's just so soothing. I've never felt this relaxed. I wish I could stay like this forever, and..." she cut herself before she volunteered anymore, trying to put her puffy hand-paws over her mouth futilely. After an awkward moment of silence, she continued, "You didn't hear that! I didn't say that! I didn't say any of that! Disregard it all... Seriously! Pl...please don't read more into that. It means NOTHING!" On rare occasions, when she got genuinely excited, her mouth and emotions got out of hand, resulting in a bombardment of words just flew out. This time, she was afraid she'd made a truly terrible mistake, though.

Xeian stroked her enormous belly. "Oh, it's okay. If you need a little more time to decide, that's fine. Not all my toys are enthusiastic to be inflated at first." In horror he realized he had still mentally claimed her as his toy. "I-I mean, not to imply that you're my toy, just that, you know, some of MINE aren't, w-well, you know-"

He was cut off by the ever-enthusiastic Sa, whoi leaped high in the air with a cheer. "I knew it! I KNEW it! You love it you love it you love it! Woohoo! My record stands- every toy I've made has been in absolute bliss when inflated!" He proceeded to push in and turn the nozzle a full circle before pumping as fast as he could.

Xeian ran towards his silvery friend. "Sai, stop!" he shouted. "She said she was done! Why did you double the pressure?!"

Sai held him off with his mess of long, squeaking tails as he pumped. "I'm not going to pop her. I just know she'd love to get even bigger!"

"Wai..." Seraph squealed, until she felt her body slowly start to expand again. She silently enjoyed it a moment as her form stretched more and more, until she was eventually eight feet in diameter. At that point, she started to feel a little frail.

"STOP IT NOW! PLEASE!" she screamed, not sure if she was really going to pop but not willing to take the risk.

"Got it!" Sai replied cheerfully, removing his paws from the pump. Jumping over Xeian, he pulled the nozzle out of Seraph's valve, letting her deflate for a moment before closing it. As he looked at he rounded, taut form, he realized he could just make out the sparkling pool water through her stretched form. "Good timing, too! You might have sprung a leak or worse if I continued! Also, no need to shout, really. Just an "Okay, that's enough" will suffice." Silently, however, he wondered if he should... "introduce" her to popping. Not now, though. That might scare her away and he'd lose a friend.

Relieved to have changed the subject, Xeian mentioned, "You know you'll be able to expand bigger in just a couple hours, right? Vinyl, especially black vinyl, get's stretchier in the sunlight. He prodded her rounded side, judging her capacity to continue. His paw sank in for just a moment before pressure halted it. What were you thinking, Sai? You're lucky she didn't spring a leak! "Not now, though. Sai's filled you up as big as you're going to get for now." He sighed. "Although, the cold pool water won't let you heat up enough to stretch, so it's an either-or scenario. Float or stretch, your choice. Unless, of course, you'd rather use my much smaller indoor hot tub. Well, smaller by comparison. You'll fit just fine at your size. The water's boiling hot, but that will help you stretch even more. And don't worry; you won't melt. All of our manufacturer's toys- including you- are rated for at least three hundred degrees Fahrenheit."

"I told you before I didn't want to be a blimp," she cried. "I'm fine with his, but please stop talking about inflating me further. Remember, I'm completely new to this! I have a little courage, but I don't think I can handle anything beyond this. I just want to float in the pool for a bit, get used to being this large before I decide what else to do."

"Oh, okay! Um... sorry, Seraph," Sai apologized. "I guess I got carried away when I heard you enjoyed it..."

"Well, at least you stopped in time. Come on; let's give her a good float." Xeian rolled the skunk-girl into the pool and deftly jumped atop her once she had righted herself. He laid on his back, taking a deep breath as he relaxed in the warm sun. Truly there was nothing like the feeling of relaxing on a nice, taut toy, breathing in the gentle aroma of her vinyl and gentle stroking the silky smooth plastic with a paw. The two gently drifted across the pool's wide expanse without a care. "You joining us, Sai?" Xeian asked lazily.

Sai, however, had other plans. Seeing Seraph swell to such a fantastic size inspired him to do the same. Already he could see himself towering over both of them with room to spare! "Say, Xeian, could you inflate me, too? Just really quickly; you can turn up the pressure if you want."

Xeian thought for a moment. He was quite comfortable atop Seraph and quite sure she felt the same, but it would only be a moment... "Do you mind, Seraph? It shouldn't take long, maybe three minutes at the most."

Seraph was lost in thought at the moment as she drifted towards the middle of the pool with Xeian on her back. The water rippled gently against her belly, wetting it but not dampening it. The waterproofness of her new latex skin was quite impressive. She hated getting soaked whenever some rogue water Pokémon used an attack against her or even just being forced to take a dunk. Despite not having proper swimming skills, she could still tread water, even in her regular form. This, however, was quite relaxing.

"Oh!" she said, realizing that Xeian spoke to her. "Yeah, sure. Give the baby his bottle..." She zoned out again, not realizing her habitual words may have insulted Sai.

Xeian frowned at her remark. He found it rather condescending; after all, he just asked once. Nevertheless, he decided not to press it. "...Right. Be right back," he replied tersely. He lightly jumped off her back, causing her to bob in the water for a moment as Xeian skipped across the water's surface.

Sai, who was too lost in his own thoughts to hear Seraph, had no reason not to wag his many tails in excitement as Xeian deftly jumped onto the concrete before him. "Ten times pressure, please!" Sai requested. "I want to get out there as soon as possible!"

"Got it," Xeian replied. Cranking the pump's handle several times, eventually ten little lights began to glow on the side of the cylinder. Sai offered his middle tail to Xeian who pushed the nozzle into it. With just one pump Sai's belly immediately swelled to touch the ground. With two pumps his limbs were pushed diagonally as they, too, swelled from the massive amount of air.

Xeian began to ponder his new friend while he pushed blast after blast of compressed air into Sai. She said she'd want to be like this forever...

"Hey, Xeian? You can stop now; I'm nice and full!" Sai asked. Xeian did not notice him.

But she was so quick to deny it! She's obviously embarrassed about her enjoyment. Up and down the pump moved.

Sai was getting nervous. He was full! Didn't Xeian hear him? "Xeian...? Th-that's quite enough! Please?" With each movement of the enchanted piston Sai felt his enormous, 12-foot wide figure grow tighter instead of bigger. Sure he's gotten bigger before... after stretching. Not like this!

If she likes it so much... why doesn't she want us to know? Surely she still doesn't think we're going to hurt her... does she? I guess I should be extra kind if I want to own her- I mean, be her friend! I'm not her owner! She'll turn biological again in a few hours and I certainly can't keep her then!

"Xeian, please! Why won't you stop! Say something!" Sai cried desperately. He didn't want to pop in front of Seraph! She'd get scared... but then again... If I burst, maybe she'll realize there's nothing to be scared of once I regenerate! Sai braced himself.

Once I'm done with Sai, I'll do my best to make her feel like the most special toy- With a low, thunderous boom Sai ripped open at the seam on his belly, dropping to the ground in a crumpled heap of silver plastic. Xeian's heart sank. Never mind Sai-he likes popping- what will Seraph think? "Oh my gosh, Sai! Um, don't worry Seraph! He'll be fine!"

Seraph remained silent as she glared over to the side of the pool to see her new friend deflated after the menacing bang. The sound alone terrorized her sensitive ears, but the burst itself looked outright hilarious. At that moment, all she wanted to do was laugh. She always enjoyed others' dismay, but not to the point where she could be considered sadistic. There was nothing better than watching someone fall prey to a terrible prank. This is why she hung out with Pyra so much.

Wearing little more than her trademark scowl, the girl commented, "It's fine. I am a little spooked, though... Not by the pop, just by the noise..."

"Oh?" Xeian spoke, relieved to have not terrified her. "Yeah, I'm not that big of a fan, either, but you get used to it, what with a house full of balloonies. He'll regenerate in a few minutes, but he'll probably want to inflate again after that. I'm sorry, I really should have been more aware... but I won't be able to ride you for a little bit. Do you mind?" After a moment of thought, he added, "Unless you'd like to keep inflating. Really, if you pop, you won't... well, be around for the noise. You'll be unconscious instead."

"Well..." Seraph hesitated. The prospect of popping suddenly didn't seem so bad now that she's seen it happen. But, at the same time, it wasn't something she really wanted to do. Not now leastways.

"Um, I think I'm fine just floating. Maybe a little later you can introduce me to your other...toys?" she said the last part with chagrin. She didn't like using the term since it implied that they were nothing more than playthings or, worse, prisoners. It reminded her too much of horror stories she'd heard as a child about strange Pokémon abducting others, hence her earlier apprehensions.

Xeian swelled-literally swelled- with joy at the thought of his toys. "Oh, I could blow up one or two now before Sai regenerates; do you have any you'd like to meet? They're mostly Pokemon from the field egg group like the Eevee family, Fennekin's family, Miltank and many others. Who interests you?"

"Oh, I'd love to meet Fennekin's family, if that's okay! I hear they're supposed to be such kindly Poké..." she cut herself short realizing what he just said. He has to blow them up, meaning he kept them deflated and in storage. Her suspicions had been completely confirmed at this point. He was one of those weirdoes who just spirited other Pokémon away to be kept as slaves.

"Y...you keep your friends...er, toys deflated...?" she replied timidly. She didn't want to sound scared again, but at this point, there was no way she could hide that feeling anymore.

Xeian tilted his head. Why was she so concerned about this? He didn't plan to deflate her. Maybe she was worried about that? He replied, "Well, yes, of course! They take up a lot of room, you see, and it'd be kind of hard to manage all of them at once. It's much easier just to keep them deflated until I want to play with them." After a moment of silence he added, "Um... if it helps, I have no plans to deflate you unless you'd like to, I promise. I'm a good owner- er, friend! A-anyway, I'll be right back!" He quickly fled into the house, leaving a flat Sai and a round Skunanne.