Borne of Caution (Pokemon Isekai)

[FTR2017]

Oh wow, this is hilarious! Hahahahahaha! XD

 

[Vanbers]

>Never do mass audience appeal

Hah, jokes on you, I prefer man-on-pokemon action anyways!

Anyways, I'm still on the Team LeeXNinetales, and nothing can stop that.

 

[Veles Basil]

"Oh, Lee!" Ninetales cries, leaping into the shocked man's arms and burying one of his arms in her cleavage. "Isn't this wonderful!? Now that I have a form acceptable to mainstream audiences, we can finally have a painfully awkward romance where neither of us communicates like adults to cause all sorts of cheap drama!"

Click to shrink...

Oh God! The Horror! I can't unsee it!

 

[Narmish]

It feels like the first half was taken from a real chapter then the second half is….

 

[Phantomknight99901]

Take a look here!

I'm reader-funded, and need your help to keep writing indefinitely. If you like what you're reading and want to help out, see https://www.patreon.com/fuggmann at the place of patrons. Patrons get to see updates early, suggest edits to the final draft before it goes live, and participate in polls to choose what gets updated next during my moments of indecisiveness.

If you want to keep up-to-date on releases, use discord code https://discord.gg/hive-of-degeneracy and opt in to the fic-updates role for a ping.

As always, thank you for reading.

---

The Mega Keystone in Lee's hand feels as if it weighs a hundred pounds.

For most of the previous night and the entirety of today, the shining, spherical crystal has dominated his thoughts, which have ping-ponged all over. From the terror on the volcano, to the disquieting fate that befell Aster, the darkest part of his imagination gnaws at him without regard for how it frays at his nerves.

Idly, Lee rolls the Keystone around in his hand, watching it refract the waning sunlight streaming in from the great hole in the ceiling. Along his hand and chest, rainbow light dances. 'For such a powerful little thing, it's deceptively innocent looking.'

With the day's training over, Lee and his friends are relaxing outside their hut in the center of the Meteorfall Crater, mostly at Lee's request. The last thing he wants is a lack of sunlight exposure making anyone crabby - not when the Dragon TE in the air already leaves everyone higher strung than usual.

A short ways away, a smiling Brendan and his team all lay in a bed of soft moss, soaking in the sun and resting. Even the usually jumpy Electrike is already dozing off.

'Brendan is taking the Keystone thing in stride, it seems…' Lee observes, unsurprised.

Zinnia is huddled with her five pokemon a bit further away. Noivern, Zinnia's newest capture, looks positively exhausted. Apparently being fully evolved doesn't mean that she's able to keep up with the rest of her team yet.

'That, and Zinnia was twice as brutal in her training today,' Lee lets his eyes roam his friend's pokemon, taking in all of the half-healed cuts and contusions amongst their number. 'The whole damn cave was shaking.'

Finally, most of Lee's team are in their balls, resting and waiting for dinner time. Sylveon and Shinx were both thoroughly tuckered out by the day's activities, and Octillery has been even more withdrawn than usual recently. Corviknight is roosted up on the top of the dome-like hut, quietly preening his metallic feathers with quiet rasps. Grovyle…

Lee frowns and leans back into the wall of the hut, closing his hand around the Keystone.

Around his Keystone.

Ever since the Oracle left the Keystones in their care last night, Grovyle has had a fire in his eyes and an intensity to him beyond that of any other pokemon on the team. When he moves, he does so with purpose and zeal, pushing himself even when the burn scars across his body angrily tug at his skin. Three times today Lee has told Grovyle not to overdo his training, and three times Grovyle complied… Only to forget minutes later and go right back to what he was doing.

Lee can see what's happening as plain as day, and it leaves him frustrated due to how powerless he feels in solving it.

Grovyle feels like he's falling behind.

For quite some time, there has been a clear hierarchy of strength on Lee's team. Ninetales remains at the top. Her raw power, deep bag of tricks, and typing relative to the rest of the team make it so. Even if Lee were to completely shut himself out of her mind and deprive the fox of his input, she would still be a force to be reckoned with.

Corvi is next. The great raven was a terror as a Corvisquire, and his evolution has only made him more so. His size, strength, deceptive speed, and stellar dual-typing make him a nightmare to fight. Although he suffers a type disadvantage to Ninetales, a clash between them wouldn't exactly be a foregone conclusion. Corvi is just too stubborn, too iron-willed.

Then comes Grovyle. Lee knows the Grass-type doesn't begrudge his teammates for being strong, but he does curse himself for not keeping up.

The longer they stay down here in the crater, the worse the problem becomes.

On their first day of training, Octillery won their game of keep away, and got his Thunder Wave TM as promised. The octopus was beyond delighted with his new ability to shoot bolts of paralytic lightning.

Meanwhile, Grovyle stood by, his arms crossed and his eyes narrow, but no complaint was voiced. The gecko pokemon made Siphon Blade battle-ready only a few days later, but the rain cloud over his head persisted.

Then Shinx began to improve by leaps and bounds, going from little more than a kitten to a headache on four legs. The same tactic never seems to work on Shinx twice, and when a foe's cards are finally all laid bare, overpowering her becomes the only realistic option. A simple enough prospect now, but who knows where she'll be in a week, a month, or a year? Once again, Lee resolves to make time soon to give his baby a full cognitive test.

Grovyle is no doubt comparing her growth to his, and finding his own lacking. The sting of comparing himself to an infant is likely even worse.

Even Sylveon is beginning to ramp up. The middle-aged Fairy is shaking loose all of the rust in her joints, and improves bit by bit, day by day. Her impressive repertoire of moves aided by Pixilate means she will never be irrelevant in a fight.

Lee stares at Grovyle's back as the Grass-type stands on a boulder a dozen yards away, his arms crossed and his eyes closed as he soaks in the sun. Being one of Lee's first three pokemon, Grovyle knows much of the meta-lore Lee has to share…

… Such as the existence of Sceptilite, spurring him into such recklessness down in the training chamber.

Warm fur cuddling into his side eases Lee out of his funk. Turning his head, he spies Ninetales settling down next to him.

'Worry not about everything today, Beloved,' the fox begins, casting a critical eye toward the rainbow-hued bauble in Lee's hand. 'Grovyle… If he cannot shake what bothers him in a few days, I will aid you in addressing him.'

Lee smiles. 'Thank you, Nine.'

The vixen smiles back, warming Lee. 'Think naught of it,' she says, before returning her eyes to the Keystone. 'What a curious little thing. I can only wonder if my kind has a Megastone out there. Were I to evolve once more, what would I become?'

For a moment, Lee tries to imagine what a Mega Ninetales would even look like, but fails. To him, his fox is already perfect the way she is. 'Who knows? The world doesn't have the limitations of a videogame, so it's entirely possible there's a Ninetalesite.' Lee wraps Ninetales in a half-hug as he rolls the sparkly catalyst between his fingers. 'According to Zinnia, the stones are essentially training wheels, so even if there isn't, maybe you could go Mega anyway?' He gives the Keystone a stare as he musters many of the fond memories he's shared with Ninetales thus far, filling his chest with warm, bubbling love. 'Activate!'

A split second after that, Lee remembers Zinnia's grave tale about Aster, and her fate after trying to mega-evolve her Salamence before both of them were ready. His stomach drops to his toes.

The Keystone sparkles with a faint light in its center… That begins to rapidly build, bathing both himself and Ninetales in a radiant glow.

'No no no!' Lee clamps his hands around the Keystone, but the light won't stop! 'Wait! I take it back! Stop!'

Ninetales stumbles away as everyone turns to look at the commotion. Just like with Maxie's Camerupt, a shell of solid light builds around her like an egg, and her wordless alarm tears into Lee.

Something goes terribly wrong.

Lee can feel it. On the other half of his connection to Ninetales, on the other side of his soul, her being is twisted. The expected pain is absent, replaced with a horrible numbness as Ninetales' mind warps into something Lee can't make heads or tails of, into something utterly alien.

'What have I done?'

Inside the shell, Ninetales screams.

The shell explodes outward with a great shock wave, sending fragments that dissolve into rainbow light in every direction, and blinding everyone with a flash.

Lee rubs his eyes and fights the sudden bout of nausea that threatens to topple him over. Standing unsteadily, he blinks the stars from his eyes and looks towards his partner.

Horror greets him.

Standing where Ninetales was is something, something that makes him sick to look at, but he cannot hope to look away. The creature stands upon two human-like legs, roughly the same stature as Lee. Arms ending in delicate hands hang limp, stopping near the thing's hips.

The more Lee looks, the worse things become.

Ninetales' beautiful tails remain, but they're an unfitting parody on this being. They don't belong. The same can be said for the fox ears on the top of its head. Much of its pale skin is covered by a too-small robe seemingly fashioned from Ninetales' fur, and that robe does nothing to hide the doorway-wide hips or enormous bust of the monstrosity.

Its face is flat, with high, razor-like cheekbones and full lips. Ninetales' warm ruby eyes are gone, replaced with predatory chips of frozen blood.

"No…" Lee shakes his head and steps back. He blinks his eyes and bites his tongue, but the flash of pain doesn't dispel the image before his eyes.

Ninetales Mega-Evolved into...

...A generic fox girl.

"Oh, Lee!" Ninetales cries, leaping into the shocked man's arms and burying one of his arms in her cleavage. "Isn't this wonderful!? Now that I have a form acceptable to mainstream audiences, we can finally have a painfully awkward romance where neither of us communicates like adults to cause all sorts of cheap drama!"

Lee tastes bile.

Ninetales pauses, touching a finger to her chin in thought. "Or maybe I can get irrationally angry over nothing and freely abuse you while you remain a wet noodle for the next one hundred chapters, then we can suddenly come to an understanding for an unsatisfying conclusion!"

The world begins to spin.

"Or…" Ninetales smirks and breasts boobily at him. "I can be a 2D cardboard cutout waifu who exists only to look pretty for you, and we can constantly have poorly written, bed-breaking sex because that's how real relationships work, right?"

The scream that rips from Lee's throat is long and anguished.

Never do mass audience appeal.

---

April Fools. Real chapter in a few days. This will be re-labeled to Extras when the real chapter goes up.

---

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Click to shrink...

Oh you piece of (art)work lmao

 

[Artful Lounger]

I knew this would likely be a joke for a number of reasons. It being only two thousand words was a big giveaway. Also it being labeled an interlude only to continue with Lee's POV. Credit for having the first half seeming reasonable, and honestly I wouldn't be shocked if the next real chapter started from the same point, but once the Megastone activated I knew we were in crack land.

Although, being QQ, the idea of Aster meeting her end at the hands of a horny humanized Salamance man wouldn't be the weirdest thing to find on this site.

 

[Kazumaa23]

Forgot today is the day were corporations and brands actively mock their customers by announcing things they would like just to make fun of them by saying it will never be happen or shame them for what they like, turns out some fanfic writers mock their reader based on what they like too.

 

[Sirarathis]

It feels like the first half was taken from a real chapter then the second half is….

Click to shrink...

It probably is! I wouldn't be surprised if Fugg has at least the first half of the real chapter written and just ported half of that over for the april fools chapter!

 

[Yeetboi]

"Oh, Lee!" Ninetales cries, leaping into the shocked man's arms and burying one of his arms in her cleavage. "Isn't this wonderful!? Now that I have a form acceptable to mainstream audiences, we can finally have a painfully awkward romance where neither of us communicates like adults to cause all sorts of cheap drama!"

Click to shrink...

Pants consider yourself severely shitted, cause this is a terrifying string of words. I was dead worried the story would actually go that way, before I remembered what damned date it is. You got me good!

 

[Fuggmann]

Take a look here!

I'm reader-funded, and need your help to keep writing indefinitely. If you like what you're reading and want to help out, see https://www.patreon.com/fuggmann at the place of patrons. Patrons get to see updates early, suggest edits to the final draft before it goes live, and participate in polls to choose what gets updated next during my moments of indecisiveness.

If you want to keep up-to-date on releases, use discord code https://discord.gg/hive-of-degeneracy and opt in to the fic-updates role for a ping.

As always, thank you for reading.

---

Note: A Bleach crossover oneshot that has been taking form on my phone for the last 4 or so months, growing one or two lines at a time.

---

Kurosaki Ichigo is, in a word, frustrated. He's been frustrated all afternoon.

For the past few weeks, the lull following Rukia's rescue from the Seireitei has been maddening. After those many days of constant combat and near-death situations, Ichigo can't help but feel high-strung with the sudden return to normalcy. Hell, it took him almost 3 days to stop immediately jumping to his feet after awakening.

The looming threat of that bastard Aizen has done nothing to ease the teenager's nerves, either.

Just as Ichigo was beginning to allow himself to relax, the ever-present hollow population within Karakura town suddenly and mysteriously plummeted into nonexistence. For the past several days, no hollows have emerged, and the sudden disruption to the norm was suspicious.

At first, Ichigo suspected that his spiritually aware friends were encountering the monsters first, but a conversation at school dispelled that notion. Neither Orihime nor Chad had encountered anything.

Uryu didn't say a word throughout that talk, and Ichigo struggled to not let his pity show on his face, knowing it would do nothing but anger Uryu, who burned his Quincy powers away with that glove to avoid death during the Seireitei invasion.

Hat-n-Clogs, aka Kisuke Urahara, didn't know a damn thing either, but after being alerted to how unusually quiet Karakura has been, the old shopkeeper said he would keep an ear to the ground.

The several days of restless quiet finally pushed Ichigo to his limit. After dinner with his family, Ichigo used the Substitute Soul Reaper badge gifted to him by Captain Ukitake to separate his spirit from his body, so that he could patrol the city as a Soul Reaper.

"Damn it," Ichigo curses from his place atop a tall building in the center of town. "What the hell is going on? Is this Aizen's doing?"

The orange-haired teen cranes his head around, his spiritual form unbothered by the cool evening air. As far as the eye can see, the town is quiet.

Scowling, the young soul reaper closes his eyes and concentrates. Even if his spirit-sensing abilities aren't the best, he should still feel something out of place.

…Nothing. Nada. Not even a hint of hollow reishi. Even the usual places in Karakura where spirits congregate are peaceful. He checked out the burned-out hospital on the edge of town, the section of train track where a young boy was tragically struck a decade ago, and the old shrine in the park.

Maybe he's just being paranoid?

With a sigh, Ichigo reaches back and wraps a hand around the hilt of Zangetsu. As it usually is, the zanpaktou is warm to the touch, and thrums comfortingly in his palm. Knowing Zangetsu has his back takes the edge off his nerves.

Opening his eyes, Ichigo turns and leaps off of the building, letting himself free fall for a handful of seconds. Then with a flicker, he Flash Steps once, twice, three times, moving at speeds far beyond any man. In just a few seconds, he's standing outside of Urahara's small shop all the way at the edge of town.

Stepping forward, Ichigo goes to open the sliding door and step inside, but pauses when he hears voices within.

"-like the rest of Sylvy's abilities, logic should be the last thing considered. Believe me, fairies operate on their own rules. Wish should do what you want, but it's not a guarantee."

"…I see. Thank you for the warning, but if you are willing, I would still like to try. There are… Some conditions I'd rather avoid with the other avenue of reclaiming my powers."

Ichigo's eyes widen. The second voice is Uryu! The soul reaper withholds the urge to throw the door open, instead leaning closer to listen a bit longer. Who is the first voice? And what's this about fixing Uryu's powers with a wish?"

"If that's what you want, Ishida-san, then we'll see about getting a spiritually sterile place set up for the procedure. The fewer variables that can foul up Sylvy's Wish, the better," the first voice says. Their Japanese is heavily accented, but fluent. "Urahara-san –"

"Kisuke is fine, Henson-san," Hat-n-Clogs says, sounding as if he's smiling. "Anyone I can talk theory with is a friend in my book. So tell me again, you said this "Wish" move is Normal-type? It seems to be a misnomer, isn't it?"

"Well, with Sylvy's Pixilate…"

Ichigo jumps back with a startled yelp when the door is suddenly thrown open, revealing Urahara's tall, mustachioed assistant, Tessai.

"Can I assist you, Kurosaki-san?" Tessai rumbles, his expression flat and unreadable.

"Oh, I didn't even feel Kurosaki-kun outside!" Urahara exclaims from within. "Tessai, see him in, please!"

The large man stands aside, gesturing for Ichigo to come in with a polite bow.

"Thanks, Tessai-san," Ichigo murmurs awkwardly, hurrying past. The shop is small, or "cozy" if he were to use Urahara's words, so it takes no time to get to the small meeting room of the Urahara shop. Without bothering to knock, he slides the door open and steps in.

Sitting around the low table are both Urahara, who looks at Ichigo with a small, resting smile, and Uryu, who looks considerably more disgruntled. On the table itself is Yoruichi in her cat form, watching Ichigo with a raised eyebrow. The fourth and fifth members, however, are new to the teen.

Across from Urahara is a brown-haired man. His face is distinctly Western in appearance, explaining his accent, and his blue eyes regard Ichigo with curiosity. The only thing outstanding about the man is the trio of burn scars on the left side of his face, which look painful.

'He must be 'Henson',' Ichigo assumes, moving his eyes to the next unfamiliar person.

Next to Henson and across from Uryu is a large, golden-furred fox. Nine tails tipped in orange trail out from behind the creature, slowly waving about as if possessing minds of their own. On the top of the fox's head is a hair-like tuft of fur, and its shiny red eyes lock into Ichigo, watching carefully.

'Is that a real kitsune? Or is it a soul reaper who can transform like Yoruichi?' He wonders.

"Really, Ichi-kun, eavesdropping?" Yoruichi asks before anyone else can speak up, her smirk all mischief. "That's a bad gateway to peeping. I know a growing boy like you might be tempted to snoop around where you don't belong as a spirit, but what would Orihime-chan or Rukia say if they found out?"

Ichigo's face instantly lights up red at the accusation. "Shut the hell up! Don't accuse me of being a pervert when you're the one who flashes people for fun!"

The cat clicks her tongue. "Flashing people? I'm a cat, Ichi-kun. There's nothing to see," she coyly teases.

"So what brings you to my fine establishment tonight, Kurosaki-kun?" Urahara asks, saving the blushing boy from the mischievous cat. "Did you finally encounter a hollow?"

"No," Ichigo shakes his head, the red color draining from his face. "I was just patrolling the town to clear my head. I decided to stop by to see if you had any leads on why there's been no hollow activity."

Henson interjects with a lame chuckle. "Ah, that might be our fault," he says, gesturing to himself and the fox. "Ninetales and I were actually attacked by a hollow a few days ago."

Ichigo withholds an eye roll. Nine tales? That's some lame wordplay.

"The hollow wasn't very strong, so Nine warded it away without too much trouble," Henson continues. "She didn't kill it, but she did hit it with Imprison, which may as well be a death sentence. If it told any other hollows what happened to it, it might have spooked them into not showing up here."

"Imprison?" Uryu questions with a raised eyebrow. "Is that some sort of traditional spell? I recall no Quincy nor Soul Reaper technique with such a name."

The gold fox lets out a snort, and Henson shrugs. "Imprison is more of a curse than a spell. Once it's laid, the target can't use any techniques that the caster also knows. With enough power, Imprison can dig deeper and cause worse debilitations. The gap between Ninetales and the hollow was so large that Imprison completely paralyzed it. It couldn't move, it couldn't mould energy, it couldn't even speak. All it could do was open a portal to fall into."

"Really, now?" Yoruichi chimes in, leaning forward. "Hypothetically speaking, if a soul reaper was to know Imprison and use it on another soul reaper, what would happen?"

"That's hard to say," Henson frowns. "If the two soul reapers were equal in power, had the same Kido spells, and both had unlocked zanpaktou, then the target would theoretically be locked out of all of their Kido and their zanpaktou abilities," he says, each word carefully considered.

The hair on the back of Ichigo's neck stands up. On his back, he can feel a chill run through Zangetsu.

"Do you have other 'moves' like that?" Urahara asks suddenly. "You mentioned that you wanted to use my Senkaimon, and I would be happy to let you do whatever you want with it… Provided we can trade notes?"

Henson smiles back knowingly. "Remind me later, and I'll do my best to teach some useful tricks to anyone of your choosing. Something tells me you would appreciate Heal Block and Embargo."

Heal Block sounds straightforward, but what the hell is Embargo?

"That sounds wonderful," Urahara grins, his eyes flashing in the shadow of his hat. He glances toward Ichigo. "Ah, where are my manners? Henson-san, please meet Kurosaki Ichigo, my troublemaking protégé. He was the spearhead of our little invasion a few weeks back."

"Protégé my ass!" Ichigo exclaims with a scowl. "You haven't taught me squat!"

If Henson is annoyed by the antics, it doesn't show on his face. "A pleasure to meet you, Kurosaki-san. Henson Lee is the name," he says with a smile and nod. "If Ninetales doesn't give it away, I'm a scientist of a supernatural sort."

"Yeah, I was about to ask," Ichigo begins, looking between him and Urahara. "How do you know Hat-n-Clogs?"

"I don't mean to interrupt, but can we return to what we were speaking about before Kurosaki barged in?" Uryu cuts in, visibly annoyed. "Henson-san," he addresses the scarred man. "What sort of price are you asking for to give me back my powers? I have more funds than most, but I can't hand out a blank check."

A waved hand is Uryu's answer. "Don't worry about it, Ishida-san. Urahara-san –"

"Kisuke!"

"– Gave me the story in broad strokes, and you've got my admiration and sympathy for everything you've gone through. If I can help you, then I will, no need for repayment."

Uryu's face flashes with annoyance, but he bows his head. "Thank you."

The fox, Ninetales, noses Henson-san's shoulder, prompting the man to look at Ichigo once more. "Huh, when you're right, Nine, you're right," he says aloud. "Kurosaki-san, have you been getting enough rest? You're looking a little rough."

"Huh?" Ichigo blinks. He looks down at his soul reaper robes, which look the same as they always do. "Yeah?"

"You're certain?" Henson questions. The man stands up and steps closer. "When it comes to spiritually attuned life forms, I've noticed that the physical self has a way of mirroring the emotional self. Take a look here – " he points to the edge of Ichigo's sleeve, "– doesn't that seem a bit off?"

The teenager looks down at his sleeve and holds it up to the light, feeling his jaw drop a little bit.

Some of the threads on his sleeve are bunched up! He looks more and finds other imperfections, like frays and tiny holes. Normally whenever he leaves his body and takes on his soul reaper form, his clothes seem to magically repair themselves. He's never given his spirit clothes any more thought beyond that.

"Tilt your head back a little, please," Henson continues, squinting at Ichigo's face.

Ichigo complies before he could even think to ask why.

"Slight bags under the eyes, and skin is a little pale," Henson murmurs under his breath. He reaches out behind him, making a grasping motion.

Back by the table, Ninetales audibly sighs before her eyes begin to glow. As her eyes glow, a backpack situated against the wall unzips itself, and a notebook and pen float out, landing in Henson's hand.

The instant that the notebook is in the scarred man's grasp, he flips to a clean page, uncaps his pen, and begins to write. "Kurosaki-san, would you say that you eat healthily?"

"What?" Ichigo questions, confused.

"Do you enjoy exercise?"

"I guess?"

"Do you smoke or make use of recreational drugs?"

"What?! No!"

"Have recent events been weighing heavily on you?"

"Uh…"

"Would you say that you are a kinesthetic learner?"

"A kine-what?"

As the interrogation rolls on and the page Henson is scribbling into rapidly fills, Yoruichi leans towards Ninetales. "Does this sort of thing happen often?" The disguised soul reaper asks.

Ninetales tiredly nods.

"I see…" Henson nods slowly. "Well, firstly, let me apologize for worrying you with the lack of hollow attacks. I know that you've probably been waiting for the other shoe to drop, and that can be stressful. Secondly, I understand that you were a key player when you went and rescued your friend Rukia, right?"

"I suppose I was," Ichigo admits, looking away bashfully.

"Would you do it again?" Henson asks, drawing the boy's eyes back to him. "Would you do something else like that, knowing that you could get killed?"

Ichigo's face hardens. "In a heartbeat."

Henson looks down at the filled page of his notebook, seeming neither pleased nor displeased with the answer. "Well, Kurosaki-san. My friends and I are going to be here in Karakura for a little bit, so if you'd allow me, I'd like to help you train and even the odds for your next encounter. I'm not very strong, but making others strong is my specialty," he says, looking over his shoulder towards Ninetales.

The fox's eyes shine, and she smiles back.

"I'll make sure that the next time you meet one Sosuke Aizen," Henson turns back to Ichigo, a smile rising to his lips, "he'll be in for a very nasty surprise."

That's all that Ichigo needs to hear.

"I'm in," he says, resolute.

"As am I,"

All the eyes in the room are drawn to Uryu, who doesn't shrink into the attention. "Henson-san, I don't mean to impose, not after you said you would assist in fixing my powers, but if you are training Kurosaki, then I would like to join as soon as I am able."

To his credit, Henson recovers from his surprise quickly. "Well, the more the merrier. You and Kurosaki-san might make good whetstones for each other. Heck, if you have any other friends who would like a better fighting chance, bring them along." He looks down at his notebook.

Ichigo looks at the book as well, feeling his eyes widen. The writing is small, and the page is full!

"It's been a while since I've had a challenge like this," Henson murmurs, flipping to a new page and beginning to write like a human printer once more. "Where do soul reapers land on the P.G.D.F. compass? I'll probably have to get my hands on some spiritually-saturated foodstuffs and begin testing immediately. I can probably set Octi on securing some local funds…" He looks back up towards Ichigo. "Kurosaki-san, you should head home and rest. You're going to need it."

For some reason, Ichigo can't resist the urge to gulp. 'Why do I feel like I just made a mistake?'

---

Below are the names of some patrons who got to view this short early and felt like signing it. A huge thanks to them and everyone else who supports this story and everything else I write.

RGBDRAGON, speedyzman13, Nithalys, DarkReader-14, BrokenOlive, Vinohr, WiseKitsune, Phoenix Bugg Derpydude9001, Pixel, Moxie,Civer, Ninjadanimo, DangerDesperado, artisticVulpes, Planetace, AMeek, Liqura, Spice_King, demonmonkey89, ShaRose, Dicloniuslord, Sinnohan, Emeraldleafeon, GordianVapCat, Superbuchi, Gavinfoxx, xydra22, Fabhar, TheTankiestTrain, Antel, KaurisAzurai, Regal Eagle, PAX AMERICANA, OmegaEntertainment, Titch,

 

[Blasterbot]

wonderful. Kisuke needs a science bro who is not as mad to help him out.

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

I sincerely hope we get more of this one. Its really good.

 

[oguh]

Note: A Bleach crossover oneshot that has been taking form on my phone for the last 4 or so months, growing one or two lines at a time.

Click to shrink...

I hope you plan for at least another chapter
So we can read about the gang reaction to His other Pokemon

 

[Vanbers]

In true anime gag fashion, the training must somehow end with Ichigo wearing dog ears, and Yoruichi being stronger in her Cat form than her Shinigami form, as a reference to Lee being more skilled at training Animals/Monsters.

 

[Yakubi42]

So what the heck is the P.G.D.F. compass?

 

[Eevee shadow bacon]

So what the heck is the P.G.D.F. compass?

Click to shrink...

Psychic
Ghost
Dragon
Fairy
The 4 types that give the biggest Fuck You to logic

 

[AckSed]

This would be sweet to watch, not least because I suspect Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka (who are totally faeries) would jump at the chance to learn actual Pokemon moves. She would get a ding from Lee for her latchkey-kid diet, though. And I want to see Chad sparring with Grovyle.

 

[Jarow]

Psychic
Ghost
Dragon
Fairy
The 4 types that give the biggest Fuck You to logic

Click to shrink...

Close, trade dragon for dark. Per Lokoko, those are the four "spiritual" types.

 

[Eevee shadow bacon]

Close, trade dragon for dark. Per Lokoko, those are the four "spiritual" types.

Click to shrink...

...RIGHT, it is dark. My bad

 

[Fuggmann]

This is a quick notice for you all. I'm not dead and neither is the story, and I'm sorry if I caused worry. After focusing on Borne of Caution for months, I was getting a bit burned out and it began to cause my writing to get sluggish. To combat this, I decided to work on a few other things for a while.

In addition, my subscribers on Patreon have been incredibly supportive, and I felt kinda bad that I wasn't giving them more for everything they give me. After talking it out with them, I decided to take the route everyone else seems to use and begin offering them advance chapters + a few other goodies. I didn't want it to be something crazy like 10 chapters, so we settled on just 2 ahead. Part of the delay has come from me generating that backlog for them. The next chapter of Borne of Caution is being worked on now, but I don't want to put a hard estimate on when it will be posted. To get status updates, my discord the best spot. If you're not really the interactive type, there is a pingable role you can opt into so you can mute the rest of the server and still get relevant updates. You can find a link in my account page and signature.

I know this news might be poorly received by some, but I owe my supporters for getting me out of a job that was slowly killing me. I'm also sorry for the post that isn't a chapter, but I felt like I should inform you all that the worst hasn't come to pass.

Thankee much,
Fuggmann.

 

[William Seymour]

Appreciate the honety and do what you need to do. The fans will be here to wait on your arrival, just be safe is all we ask.

 

[Tobi]

It's fine. I wish you well and thank you for the story so far.

 

[doomqwer]

Its fine man I love the story but even I knew eventually doing it as a job would cause a little burn out take your time and get back into the right mind for it and come back refreshed

 

[Dahak]

I know this news might be poorly received by some, but I owe my supporters for getting me out of a job that was slowly killing me.

Click to shrink...

I'll tell you the same thing I told Webb (The Gods are Bastards, etc)

Take the time you need to take care of yourself.

If anyone complains that you are taking care of yourself, remind them that more good chapters later are better than no more good chapters ever, or bad chapters.

Having something for the people who give you money encourages them to give you money. This helps keep you alive and happy. Your readers like you to be alive and happy.

The rest of us freeloaders can wait.