Story Time!!!


'It was just supposed to be a regular Friday afternoon in school' thought Buizel as he sighed to himself in one corner of the school's gymnasium. By some unlucky chain of events, gym class found itself stuck in the gym with all of the doors leading outside mysteriously jammed. The school was upgrading to electronic locks throughout campus and after the technicians finished installing locks to the gym’s doors, what was supposed to be routine test ended up jamming the doors shut. While regular gym activities continued as normal (ranging from laps around the basketball courts to stretches and exercise), once the activities were all completed, the class could only sit and lie around until the doors could be opened.

After two hours of the janitors and locksmiths failing to unlock the doors, audible groans of boredom and general discomfort reminded everyone of the predicament they had found themselves in. For those that hadn’t fallen asleep from boredom, the lack of seating with proper back support was becoming increasingly unbearable. Amongst the students included a bubbly Floatzel (who’d taken the liberty to inflate his tails like balloons to make a backrest) and Buizel who made sure to stay as far away from Floatzel as possible while seeking refuge closer to his other friend Riolu.

While the orange and blue duo lay on the hard polished wood floor of the gym, it didn’t take long before even that got uncomfortable. Rubber squeaking and giggling filled one corner of the gym as Floatzel invited students to use his ballooned tails as a backrest. Floatzel even called out across the gym to Riolu and Buizel to join him – at which point, Buizel immediately turned the other way trying to hide his beat red face. While Buizel was one of several pokemon in the school with the ability to inflate like a balloon, it was certainly something he tried to distance himself from and keep a secret amongst his closest friends.
Riolu could only chuckle at the chemistry between the two weasel pokemon. After settling down, he watched as Floatzel relaxed onto his bloated tails as others gave in and joined him.

’Well it’s not a bad idea. … Though…’ Riolu pulled his tail close pondering the idea of inflating his own tail to make a backrest for himself and Buizel. Unlike Buizel who gained the ability to inflate like a balloon at a younger age, Riolu had only recently awoken his powers as a balloon. He barely had any control over himself at times, sometimes spontaneously inflating limbs to cartoonish proportions. But, with some practice, he was making steady progress to control his newfound power.

As Buizel lay back down onto the cold hard floor, shutting his eyes, the sounds of a balloon being stretched and an audible hiiiiisssssssss continued to fill the gym. Passing it off for another one of Floatzel’s tricks, it wasn’t long before Buizel opened his eyes to be greeted by a big blue balloon slowly filling his vision. Quickly righting himself upwards and turning to face Riolu’s direction, Buizel watched slightly shocked to see Riolu’s tail swelling up to the size of a giant beach volleyball. Riolu was hidden behind his new enormous tail and before Buizel could protest the idea, Riolu had turned around only for his tail to swing aside and smack Buizel across the head with an audible boooiiinnnnggg.

After a brief pause, Riolu’s face turned slightly red realizing what just happened and quickly apologized. At that, Buizel could only facepalm at what was unfolding in front of him.

Squeaks escaped the small blue pokemon as he slowly rested himself onto his new bouncy backrest. After settling in, and a few nervous chuckles, but Riolu motioned Buizel to join him.

Buizel paused … clearly conflicted at what to do.

On one paw, he didn’t want to participate in any balloon shenanigans. But on the paw, this was Riolu inviting him, not an over ecstatic, bouncy, ‘loon like Floatzel. Sighing in defeat, Buizel took his spot next to his friend and slowly rested onto the giant blue balloon.

“Thanks for the seat,” Buizel muttered.

Riolu grinned back. “No worries. Just … try not to press too much into me.”

At that, the duo couldn't help but chuckle as squeaks continued to escape from Riolu’s shiny (and slightly transparent tail). Both closed their eyes and tried settling into their new bouncy seats. Just as the two were beginning to relax, Buizel turned towards his friend.

“I see you’re becoming more confident with inflating parts of yourself.”

With his eyes still shut, Riolu grinned and replied “it was a good idea. Besides, I think I can control myself like this.”

A bead of sweat ran down Buizel’s face at hearing Riolu’s uncertainty. “Well here’s to hoping I’m not resting on a balloon that’ll blimp at any moment," Buizel remarked, a clear hint of concern in his voice.

“Hey! I’m not that … uh… ‘blimpy’?… Besides, I made sure not to inflate my tail too much so we don’t accidentally blow the rest of myself up.”

Buizel resumed laying back into Riolu’s ballooned tail, only for Riolu to jump slightly in his seat as pressure displaced in him and pressed firmly into his backside.

“Though, I must ask, are you sure it was a good idea to inflate … here?” Buizel asked.

“What do you mean?” Riolu asked back turning his head, almost looking through his semi-transparent tail towards Buizel.

Buizel replied again hesitantly. “Well … if a balloon pokemon uses their powers in the presence of others, it kind of sets off a chain reaction.”

“I don’t understand.”

Without opening his eyes, Buizel pointed over to Floatzel who was now noticeably larger than before with a Lucario joining the inflation game. “You inflating is kind of causing them to inflate… or at the very least giving them more reason to join in.”

Riolu’s aura sensors nearly stood on end upon understanding what Buizel was implying. “WAIT, I’M CAUSING THAT?! ... B-but, what about you?!” Riolu whispered to Buizel, careful not to alert others of his friend's secret.

Buizel still had his eyes shut and was clearly struggling internally, even trembling slightly. With an audible gulp, Buizel managed to utter with a broken smile, “I’ve hung around those ‘loons long enough to learn how to hold myself back ……… if only for a little while.” Buizel chuckled hesitantly before continuing, “I’m counting on us getting out of here before then…”

“… Or ... else?” Riolu asked, pretty sure of what Buizel was going to say.

“… Or else one of us gets caught filling part of the gym under the other.”

The duo fell silent for a few seconds. Both turned to see Floatzel and Lucario growing their already overinflated frames as everyone around them played along resting on their elastic and bouncy classmates.

As if in unison, the blue and orange duo nervously chuckled before a gurgle escaped Riolu’s stomach. Both Riolu and Buizel snapped their heads towards the source of the sound. After pausing for a few seconds, Riolu raised both paws showing it was likely nothing. Buizel knew Riolu had missed lunch to talk with a teacher so it could just be that he was hungry… But some innate sense was telling him it could be something … more.

Just as the duo’s nerves were calming down, another, more audible, gurgle rang out. This time with Riolu crossing his arms over his chest and smiling innocently.

Buizel was clearly suspicious as pressure began to build within Riolu’s stomach.

…

Fin

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Oh Riolu... you still have a lot to grow learn XD

Long-time since I've posted something. This isn't as long of a story as the last one, but I figured this piece needed something more XD As always constructed feedback is always appreciated (could be about the image or the story. Either way, I hope everyone gets a smile out of this one XD

Best wishes to everyone for Happy Holidays and equally so towards a Happy New Year!


Buizel, Floatzel, Riolu, & Lucario © Game Freak