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destinedjagold July 23rd, 2013 9:05 PM

Four Paws [Rated T] (Complete)
 

Four Paws is a story about a two-legged human who suddenly found himself in a forest as a four-legged fictional creature. He meets up with four other fictional creatures, and together, they'll embark on a quest for him to get back home.

Rated Teen for it may contain mild swearing words, and other things.



Chapter 1
A groan escaped my lips as I tried to... uh... move myself... Yeah, that's the best way to explain it for now at least... I feel weak all over...

What happened to me, anyway? I couldn't really remember... All I know right now was that I groaned, my body's freakin' weak, and...I feel hair all around me. And, oh, I also feel like I'm lying down on my stomach.

Damn... How weak am I, anyway? I couldn't even open my eyes. Or...maybe I'm brain-dead? Wait, I'm thinking right now, so I guess I'm body-dead? Coma? Hypnotized?

But that can't be right. Why am I in this state in the first place, anyway? What can I remember, anyway? Hm... Let's see... Okay, earlier tod—rustling noises? If it's a person, then please help me! If it's a wild animal, then please don't piss on me. Eat me, for all I care! I do not want a dumb creature pissing on me as if it's telling me that I'm dumber than it.

Okay, that last few bits was unfair. I love animals, and nature as a whole, but, uh, I just don't want to be looked down upon. I really hate that. The rustling noise then stopped, followed by a gasp. Well, good point number one, it's not a wild creature.

"Guys! Someone's unconscious over here!" a female voice called out. By the sound of it, I am guessing that she wasn't facing at where I am. Well, at least there's more of them to carry me to the closest hospital.

The rustling noises soon resumed, and, this time, from each direction. I heard a few gasps, and the people were starting to talk, but I didn't pay any more attention because I've been busy chanting in my head for them to just help me already. Sheesh. I guess they're taking out their smartphones first to video-record their 'rescue' so they could upload this on YouTube later, or so they'll have something to show to the Yahoo! News crew... Sigh... People these days... Pokes..? Okay, so they're poking me on my head, back, tail—

...uh...

That last one didn't sound very… human, but my busy, ranting brain told me it was a… tail. My… tail. That single realization was more than enough for me. I snapped open my eyes, and flew up from the ground with a panicked jolt. It was just a small jump, but I like to exaggerate sometimes.

The first thing I saw was the large tree in front of me. I didn't mind it as I was distracted by a more pressing subject. I turn my head to face my hand—yeah no. That's a paw. That's my brown, furry paw. Oh, and, those are my furry, brown sides. And look! Resting just beside my furry, brown 'rear paw' was my brown tail, with splashes of white on the tip.

All common sense was now departing whatever morphed brain I now had. My mind just could not grasp what was happening. I wanted to laugh, even for a small bit. Just to convince myself that this was all a weird dream. Unfortunately—

"A-are you alright?"

My supposed-to-be-rescuers interrupted my train of thought. I slowly looked up at them. They were four beings of fiction. Fiction that everyone in the fandom would literally trade their heads off just to see even a microscopic hair of their existing hair fibers. I grinned at them, and it must have been a creepy-looking grin, judging from their horrified expressions before I returned to darkness again. This time, my brain made sure to stay brain-dead with my body-dead body...

destinedjagold July 23rd, 2013 9:08 PM

Chapter 2
“He must have hit his head or something...”

“Maybe someone attacked him and left him here?”

“Doubt it. There aren't any signs of fighting 'round here...”

“She makes a good point. What's more, he doesn't seem injured...”

“That also scraps the ‘he hit his head’ then...”

“Yeah...”

“I wonder what happened...”

Those voices are too damn noisy... I'm sleeping here for...wait...no I wasn't...

With a low groan, I opened one eye slowly. Thankfully, it's not bright, and I could see the green ground, and a few shadows, and a few paws. And oh, a brown paw's right in front of my vision. It's probably ‘mine’... Sigh...

I tried moving it slightly, and yes, it followed my brain's command: it moved.

“Hey, he's awake...” no duh. I wanted to roll my eyes, but maybe later when I'm fully awake.

I should be freaking out, but I already did that, if my brain's still working properly. And also, I've played the Mystery Dungeon games, so I'm not really that surprised though. The games kinda ruined the fun of discovering myself as a Pokémon. The only thing it didn't ruin was the questions ‘why the heck am I turned into a Pokémon’ and ‘how the heck am I suppose to get back home’...

I felt a tudge on the side of my neck. It was followed by a concerned voice. “Are you alright?”

I am... I'm just feeling weak an' all. “Yeah...” I quietly replied. Whoever it was that asked, he pulled away and gave me space to stand on my...four paws. “Quick question,” I asked, my head hung and my eyes on the ground right below me, “what Pokémon am I?”

“Uh...you're an...Eevee?”

Yeah, I figured as much. I just wanted someone else to confirm it. Now to greet my new ‘friends’ to help me on my ‘epic quest’ to return home, wherever and however that is...

I looked ahead and saw four Pokémon. They're all different from each other though. Let's see... There's a Bulbasaur, a Vulpix, a Pikachu, and a Rattata.

“Hi?” I said awkwardly. Even though the games spoiled me of these kinds of encounters, what I'm having right now's real, I think, and I have no idea how to start interacting with them...

“Hi?” they all replied back, their tones clearly carried the ‘doubtful’ tone. I don't blame them.

I'm still feeling quite weak though. I hope they don't mind if I sit while we talk. “So, uh...whe—iyawtch!” I gritted my teeth and jolted back up into four as I felt a sharp pain on my bum when I sat. I must have startled my small audience, but I didn't pay them any attention as I turned my head over my shoulder, and saw the problem: I sat on my low-hanging tail...

A chorus of low voices erupted in front of me. The only things I caught were ‘he sat on his tail’, ‘he's really weird’ and ‘I think he really did hit his head’...

Horay for me to have shown a stupid first impression... Wait, that was actually my second impression... Uh...third time's the charm?

“Um... Are y—”

“I'm fine, I'm fine,” I replied hastily, followed by a sigh as I lightly kicked my tail with my rear paw before I sat down. “I'm just...tired...I guess?” I turned to them and flashed them a smile.

That smile defused whatever they thought of me. Hopefully, that'll last for as long as I could make sense of things.

“So,” the Pikachu brought his small paw on his chin as he looked at me. Damn, why did I turn into a four-legged Pokémon anyway? I'm calling it right now: I'm gonna miss having arms in the upcoming days... Sigh... I can see it now... “...what happened? You fell unconscious for like...five minutes after we found you...”

Five minutes? It felt shorter than that. I shook my head. “I don't really know. All I know is that I'm...or rather, I was a hu—”

...

...

...

...should I tell them? Should I tell them that I'm a human? Or rather, I used to be a human? How would they react? In the games, everyone reacted nicely. How sure I am that they won't...attack me? It's a fifty-fifty percent chance. Well, thirty-three percent chance, if I count the fact that they'll not know what the heck ‘humans’ are... The remaining one percent would be...a mixed reaction?

My little train of thought was broken when the Rattata walked, or rather, crawled? Trotted? Ack, I'll stick with walk for now, and forever. The Rattata walked up to me, and walked around me.

“Um...what are you doing?”

“Catching your scent,” she replied. Yeah, the Rattata's a she. After she walked around me, she sat in front of me and looked at my face. “You didn't finish what you were gonna say, so I assumed you were afraid to say that you were hurt...”

...I guess ‘hu—’ could also mean that. Though that doesn't make sense, gramma-wise, I mean.

The other three stood beside their rat friend and looked at me.

“Eevees are a bit proud of themselves that they won't admit that they're hurt,” the Bulbasaur said. He's a he, by the way. “You sounded like none of them...well, almost.”

“Almost?” I asked with a blink. Well, we should be proud of ourselves, right? That is like, loving one's self. But not in a ‘forever alone’ kinda way. But uh...before I became an Eevee, I was a ‘forever alone’ kinda guy...with the ‘bad-luck bryan’ kind of luck with the ladies back home...

...I accidentally let out a deppressed sigh... I couldn't help it. Oh well...

“Sounds like you have a problem,” another she spoke up. It was the Vulpix this time. She slightly tilted her head to the side. “Care to share?”

Wow. I'm a stranger, and these Pokémon are actually friendly towards me. Well, I could scrap that ‘forever alone’ part on my ‘life's resumé’.

“Maybe later,” I smiled at them as I slowly scratched my neck. “I'm kinda thirsty though...”

“Well, there's a pond not far from here where Celebi lives,” Pikachu said, turning and pointing at a direction.

Celebi? “We're in Ilex Forest then?”

The others nodded as Pikachu turned back to me and nodded, and added, “yep.”

Cool. Maybe this little adventure won't turn into a long adventure after all. As fun as this is, I'd rather stick with playing the Mystery Dungeon games.

destinedjagold July 23rd, 2013 9:09 PM

Chapter 3
I've been wanting to give myself the pleasure of adventure for a long while now. I've been doing nothing but work, work and work, and barely no fun. Adventure is a very thrilling and exciting thing that I could possibly reward myself with. I guess if Celebi can actually help me go back home, then I think I'll stay here for a few days. It'll be like a vacation of some sort, but, I didn't file a vacation leave at work... Sigh...

Anyway, it took us only a few number of minutes to reach their small watering hole. During our little walk, I could actually hear quiet murmurs of flying-types on the trees' branches, either singing or talking to each other. Other than that, the Pokémon who are leading me to the pond were chatting with themselves.

I, on the other hand, walked behind their small cheery group. It's not like I hate to talk to them or anything. They seem friendly enough but, I don't actually know them yet, and talking to them like we're automatically best friends forever is kinda awkward...

The Vulpix however, glances back at me and gives me a small smile. Probably to asure me that she and her other friends hadn't forgotten about me walking behind them. I smiled back, since that's all I could do.

And so, here we are. The pond's actually...quite big. Bigger than I expected. The pond's on the center of this big clearing, and around the pond were lots of different Pokémon. Some were in small groups, talking to each other. While others were sitting on their lonesome, enjoying the sunlight on their furs.

...and also...I just noticed after looking around again... The Pokémon here, all of them, are in their basic forms. Though, I guess that's kinda understandable, in the games at least? Ilex Forest is one of the early areas the players can visit, so it'll probably be too difficult for gamers to progress if the wild Pokémon were all Ursarings, Arcanines, Ariados, Noctowl, etc...

“Well, we're here,” the female Rattata announced as she and her friends turned to me with smiling faces.

I nodded with a lame smile. “Yeah, I noticed...”

“Ooohhh... A sarcastic one,” the Bulbasaur said, poking the Pikachu on the shoulder with a vine. “Seems you have some competition.”

“Shut up,” Pikachu glared lightly at the chuckling Bulbasaur. He then looked back at me. “Water's for everyone, so don't hesitate to satisfy your thirst.”

I nodded and excused myself. As I neared the edge of the pond, I could hear their footsteps following me from behind. I stopped by the edge and looked at the fresh, cool, and clean water. Well, this is Celebi's pond after all, so it should be, and what's more, Suicune cleansed this, didn't...it?

I lightly shook my head as...how am I gonna drink anyway? I almost forgot to kick my tail away before I sat down. I raised a paw to my face and frowned at it. Great, so I'm gonna drink like a small pup now?

I sighed. I guess I don't have much of a choice, do I? Well, at least my tongue would do that ‘J’ shape thing like how dogs drink, or were those cats? Ugh, whatever... I leaned down and decided to get it over with.

My first taste of the water made me shiver of how cold it was. But I continued anyway. It was cool, and refreshing, and I could actually drink lots of it, if it weren't for this awkward feeling I was dealing of how I was drinking...

The four Pokémon behind me were chatting while I was drinking though, and I didn't really bother listening to what they were saying. However, after a few more...licks? ...drinks? ...they became loud enough for me to actually care of listening to them.

“For the hundredth time, no!” shouted an angry female voice.

I stopped drinking and brought myself on all four before turning to see what was going on. It sounded like the Vulpix's voice, and yeah, it indeed was her. She was glaring furiously at a Growlithe. The two of them were almost the same height though, the latter being slightly taller.

The Growlithe had a sly grin on his face. “Oh, com'on, Vixie,” I guess everyone here doesn't address to each other as their specie's name. That's nice to know. “You've been like this for forever now!”

“Lithe,” the Pikachu crossed his arms, “I'm actually getting tired of you and your insistence of getting our friend be included in your circle of mates.”

Circle of...mates? Uh, I guess that's...how things work here?

Lithe, the Growlithe, glared at the Pikachu. “I'm not talking to you, Shock. Stay out of this.”

The Rattata poked the Bulbasaur's shoulder with an amused face. “Wouldn't it be hilarious if Shock thought that Lithe was inviti—mmf!” and a vine wrapped around her mouth, shutting her up.

“Look, Vixie,” Lithe spoke, but that was all he managed to say when the Vulpix suddenly spoke up.

“I said no, and I mean it! Now scram!”

“Could you let me finish?” Lithe frowned a bit. “You've been playing hard-to-get ever since I first asked you out. Previously, I'd walk away when you say ‘no’, but I'm actually feeling lucky this time,” he grinned, “so I'm not gonna stop asking until you say ‘yes’.”

“And what made you feel lucky today?” the Bulbasaur suddenly asked, cutting the Pikachu's and the Vulpix's attempts of talking.

The Growlithe grinned further. “'Cuz I got my twelveth mate earlier today, and twelve is my favorite number!”

I...actually rolled my eyes at how lame his luck reference was. But wow, twelve?

They continued to argue while I scanned our surroundings, and yeah, all eyes were on them at the moment.

“Fine!” the Vulpix suddenly said. I looked back and saw the stunned look of her other friends, and the victorious smile of the Growlithe. “But on one condition!”

“Oh? Anything, my dear number thirteen,” the Growlithe grinned.

The Vulpix actually grinned back. “Beat me in a battle.”

Her friends gasped in unison. The Rattata started struggling to get the vines off of her mouth.

“Vixie, that's crazy!” the Pikachu shouted.

“Totally crazy!” the Rattata chimed in.

I saw the Bulbasaur look at me. I arched an eyebrow (if I have any) at him, and he just shrugged at me before walking towards me. “She's gonna lose,” the Bulbasaur simply said as he sat beside me and watched the upcoming battle.

I blinked at him. “Y-you're her friend, right? I mean,” why do I even care? “She doesn't want to be with that guy, and you're not gonna do anything to help her?”

He just smiled without looking at me. “Nope, but I know someone will.”

Eh? I looked back and saw both the Pikachu and Rattata sighed in defeat and stepped back to give room for the two fire types. Looking at her two friends, I'm pretty sure the Pikachu's the likely candidate to step up and help her...when things go bad.

Huh, come to think of it, I might actually like this. I mean, aside from the animé, I actually haven't seen a live Pokémon battle before!

destinedjagold July 24th, 2013 5:14 PM

Chapter 4
As Vixie the Vulpix and Lithe the Growlithe prepared themselves to battle, I played a typical Pokémon Animé Battle Theme music in my head. Also, I just noticed that I wore an excited smile on my face.

“Give it all you've got, love,” Lithe grinned. “I promise that I'll win without hurting you...much.”

I was about to roll my eyes, but Vixie beat me to it. She breathed out small fumes of fire from her mouth as she...disappeared?

I blinked, and saw Lithe smiled and pressed himself against the ground, in time to dodge Vixie's tackling attack.

Vixie skidded to a stop behind him, and cursed under her breath as she quickly spun and breathed out fumes of fire at the confident Growlithe.

Lithe jumped to the side with ease, and dashed towards the startled Vixie. He tackled her, although not a very powerful one. Vixie was thrown back, but not too far and didn't appear to be hurt badly. She looked more annoyed than ever, which completely contrasted Lithe's huge grin.

Vixie quickly spun in place, slapping her six tails on the surprised Growlithe's face. She followed it with a vicious tackle, pushing him a few meters back, but landed on his four paws with a pained smile.

“Not bad,” he said.

“Shut up,” she vanished.

I heard a sigh, and looked at the Bulbasaur who sat beside me.

“What's wrong?” I asked.

The Bulbasaur just shook his head slowly. “This is taking a while...”

“Uh, but it just started...”

After a few seconds of nothing, I returned my attention back at the battle.

The fire types gave us a very fiery seven or so minute battle. Even though Vixie gave it her all, it was clear that Lithe was winning. Vixie panted as she could barely stay on her feet, while the Growlithe just stood a few feet in front of her, still wearing that huge smile that annoyed the Vulpix too much.

“Ready to lose, love?” Lithe chuckled.

Vixie's eye twitched in annoyance. “No! I still hav—” she stepped forward, but fell to her side instead. “Ngg...!”

Lithe chuckled some more. “I'll take that as a ‘yes’ then.” His already huge grin went even bigger as he walked towards his glaring and panting prize. “So that makes me the vict—”

A bolt of electricity struck the ground in between the two fire types, causing Lithe to jump back in surprise.

“About time,” sighed the Bulbasaur beside me. “Took him a while.”

I faced him with an arched eyebrow (still not sure if I have any eyebrows at all). “So, this happens often?” I asked while I heard Lithe complained what was that all about.

Bulbasaur nodded.

“So, the Pikachu is always the one saving Vixie from Lithe?”

He nodded again. “But not this time.”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

“You'll see...”

I arched yet another eyebrow at him. I shook my head lightly, and returned to the ongoing argument going on. The Pikachu's cheeks were sparking a bit, and he was glaring at the fuming Growlithe.

“I clearly won and now I claim her as mine!”

“The only thing your claiming will be your sorry roasted arse, Lithe!”

“Who in blazes are you to try and stop me from claiming my prize, huh!? What!? Are you her mate or something!?”

Pikachu's glare intensified. “She's my friend and as her friend, I will protect her from the likes of you!”

I actually heard everyone gasp when Pikachu's face was suddenly in the middle of a hot train of fire. When it ended, Lithe growled and tackled him, only to hit nothing but air.

The Pikachu reappeared beside him, and placed a hand on the Growlithe's shoulder. “Bad move,” he said with a blackened face, and the two were suddenly surrounded by a bright electric shock.

I actually had to squint my eyes to see what was going on, and noticed the Rattata was helping the Vulpix stand back up and walk away from the scene.

I think Lithe saw her walking away, since he suddenly roared and managed to break the Pikachu's contact, and tackled him away from him.

“Wow,” I whispered, “what just happened?” I looked back at Bulbasaur, who appeared to be looking at the battle with a bored expression. “Hey, can't you help and stop this?” I enjoyed the first battle, but now I'm starting to get worried.

He just shook his head lightly. “No.”

“W-why the heck not!?”

“You'll see.”

I frowned. “Yeah, I hate you too, by the way.”

...and then he smiled without looking at me. “No problem.”

...I frowned even more, but tore my attention from him to the battle as a light explosion erupted. Judging from a few flying sparks of fire and electricity, I assumed that an ember and a thundershock attack erupted.

I saw both the Rattata and the Vulpix slowly heading our way. Few meters behind them, Lithe saw them, and was about to chase after them when the Pikachu reminded him that he was still there by punching him in the face after ‘quick attacking’ in front of him.

“A little help here?” the Rattata panted, trying her best to aid Vulpix on walking.

I blinked, and blinked again. “Uh, yeah...” I ran towards them, despite having no idea how to assist them. I walked beside the Vulpix, and she leaned on me for better support as we continued walking towards the relaxed Bulbasaur. Oh, so this is how we assist four-legged Pokémon? Kinda weird though, but if it works, then okay?

We were a few feet away from the Bulbasaur when a flying Pikachu landed beside him.

“Uh oh...” the Rattata and I whispered in unison.

“Take her,” I said, “I'll try and see if I can talk to him.”

I heard an objection, but I wasn't sure who it was from, but I didn't mind it as I pushed the Vulpix to the Rattata before turning around...and my nose touched the nose of a pretty angry Growlithe.

“Uh...hi?” I gulped, and took a step back.

He backed off, to my relief, but he suddenly tackled me!

“Ack!” I could not believe how painful that felt! Ow...! I think I was thrown a few meters back, almost beside the Bulbasaur. The Vulpix and the Rattata veered away from us, the Bulbasaur just sat there, watching us, and the Pikachu was trying to get back on his feet. And oh, the Growlithe's furiously glaring at me.

“I won't let anyone get in my way! Not even you!”

Heck? Who said anything about me ‘standing in his way’, anyway!? I stood back on all four and tried to glare at him, while ignoring the soaring pain on my chest. “Hey! You need to cool off! Who said anything about m—”

“Shut up!” and he burned himself up as he dashed towards me.

destinedjagold July 24th, 2013 5:14 PM

Chapter 5
Hey, look. There's a burning dog running at me.

I should be afraid. I really should be, but then again, why should I be? I was once human, and I've learned a lot of things back then. One of them was how to fend off a crazy dog. If it was only one dog, then it's not a good idea to run. Instead, stand your ground and be quick. If the dog jumps, kick it. If it doesn't, hop to the side and kick it. If it stops and just barks at you, slowly walk away.

...that last part doesn't work often, but whatever.

Anyway, I think Lithe's using Flare Blitz.

I pretty much grew up with the first three generation Pokémon games before life decided to make me busy to stay updated with the latest games. Even so, I still managed to update myself with what was going on in the world of Pokémon. Anyway...

Flare Blitz is a physical type of move, so I'm pretty sure Lithe's likely to tackle me and burn me to a crisp.

Anyway, I simply dug a paw and kicked the ground towards his angry. He yelped as he closed his eyes, but he gritted his teeth and continued running towards me, so I leaned my body to the side, and let the burning Growlithe trip on my feet, and he fell on the ground...hard...and he skidded until he fell to the pond.

...the few seconds, the quiet air was filled with a sizzling-kind of noise...

A few more seconds later, Lithe resurfaced and cried that the water was too cold and needed help.

I heard a sigh, and before I could move my head, I saw two green vines extended towards him and wrapped around him. The Bulbasaur grunted quietly as he began to lift the coughing Growlithe out of the water, and gently dropped him on the edge of the pond.

I felt something tapping my back. It was a vine, and the Bulbasaur smiled at me. “Good job.” He then frowned as he faced the coughing and shivering Growlithe. “Lithe...”

“Alright, alright,” Lithe whined, and coughed, “I'm going, I'm going... Ugh...” He stood up slowly, and weakly shook the water off of him. A few drops of water rained on me, but I didn't mind. He then glared at them, and then gave a longer and fiercer glare at me. “I'm getting you for this...”

I furrowed my bro. Great. Fine. As soon as I meet Celebi, I'm going home instantly. I wanted to say something, but Lithe yelped, startling me a bit, and he suddenly levitated up, and above the pond.

“Okay, okay! I'm sorry!” he cried. “I won't bother you guys again! I promise!”

“How many times has he said those exact lines, Fay?” Vixie asked while glaring at the flailing Growlithe above the pond.

The Rattata sat up and brought a paw on her chin as she looked skyward. “Hm... Twenty-two times...”

The Pikachu sighed. “Let him go.”

With a nod, the Bulbasaur lets go, and Lithe fell to the water again.

The Pikachu slapped a paw to his blackened face. “I meant ‘bring him back to the ground’, Saur...”

Saur, on the other hand, grinned as he pulled the Growlithe out of the pond again. “Uh...oops?”

“And you call me the sarcastic one,” the Pikachu shook his head.

As soon as Lithe was back on dry land again, he actually cried and ran to a direction.

It was quiet once again, and I looked around, and noticed that every eye were on us. Majority are on...me... I actually felt my two ears fall flat behind my head as I lowered myself closer to the ground, hoping to hide myself.

Suddenly, there was a clapping noise. I slightly followed with my head where it came from.

The Pikachu clapped his hands loud for every attention to fall on him. “Okay, show's over. Go back to your own businesses!”

And then the forest was back to normal.

Another sigh escaped the Pikachu's lips as he walked towards the edge of the pond and started cleaning his face.

While Fay and Vixie talked to each other, Saur sat beside me and smiled.

“Thanks.”

I blinked. “...for what?”

He faced the pond, still wearing the smile on his face. “I did told you that you're gonna help us. So thanks.”

I blinked. I blinked again, and again. I shook my head. “You're not making sense. Since when did you told me that I'm gonna help...” I...trailed off... And I blinked again. “Wa-wait... You knew that was gonna happen?”

He shrugged. “No. I'm not a psychic-type, y'know.”

I frowned, and shook my head. “You're a weird Bulbasaur.”

“And you're a hungry Eevee.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Eh? No I'm...” but apparently, my stomach decided to side with the one I'm arguing with. Great, thanks belly! “O-okay, I guess I am...” But I furrowed my brow and poked him on his shoulder. “But I'll be watching you. You're probably Mew in disguise or something.”

Saur blinked, and then faced me with a confused frownd. “Mew? What's a Mew?”

I blinked, and tilted my head to the side. I shook my head. “Never mind. So...”

Food. I need food, I guess. But wait...

“This is Celebi's pond, right?”

“Yes,” the Pikachu answered as he stood beside Saur. “I thought we told you that already.”

I ignored the last sentense he spoke. “So... Is...” He? She? ...it? “...Celebi gonna show up soon?”

“What made you think Celebi's gonna show up?” Fay, the Rattata, asked, as she and Vixie sat with their friends in front of me. “Do you know her or something?”

Celebi's a ‘she’ then. “Well, not really, but...uh...”

“But...?” Vixie asked.

I...looked away. Do I need to have a good reason to meet with Celebi or something? Is that a requirement? “I...just needed to ask her something...in private.”

“If you're gonna ask her to be your mate, then you'd better flirt with the moon instead,” Fay said with a smile, and then chuckled.

I actually snapped my head to face her. “That's NOT what I wanted to ask her!”

“Oh, but your red face says otherwise!” Fay teased, and my eye actually twitched.

“Fay, shut up,” thank you Pikachu. Hey, that actually rhymed! “Anyway, Celebi hasn't shown up for almost two months now. So I doubt you could talk to her, even if you wanted to. The best way for you to do right now, if you really need to talk to her, is for you to wait for her to come back.”

I frowned. “Almost two months...? Is...is she in some sort of time travel adventure or something?”

Four blank faces and four pairs of blinking eyes.

I sighed. “Never mind. Can we have some grub instead?”

destinedjagold September 25th, 2013 9:55 PM

Chapter 6
“Berries...” I muttered as I sat in front of a small bush, staring lamely at one of the Oran Berries that poked out of the bush. “Berries...”

“If you're not taking that,” Fay said as she sat beside me, “then I'll be happy to eat it for you!”

“Berries...” I sighed as Fay happily picked and ate one.

“Something wrong with eating berries?” Pikachu asked from behind me, and he asked while chewing something. Sheesh... A little decency please?

“Maybe he only eats meat?” Vixie asked, also from behind me.

The Vulpix's words made me blink. And blink again, and again. “Pokémon actually eat meat here?” I whispered to myself. Okay, if that's true, then I need to get outta here. No way am I planning on getting eaten by some random carnivoure wild Pokémon.

“You're scaring him, Vixie,” Soar's voice broke the silence.

“Am I?” the Vulpix asked.

In truth, yes, for a bit. Well, not really just a bit... I'm an Eevee... How am I suppose to defend myself if some random Pokémon decided I'll be its snack. A giant Pidgeot could easily pick me up and tore my head off... I shivered.

...well, I did won against Lithe. So I guess that heightens my survival experience? I closed my eyelids to give myself an eye roll.

“So I am...” I snapped back as Vixie sat beside me and tilted her head. “I'm not trying to scare you, by the way.”

“I'm not scared...” I whispered as I turned my head away from her, and my gaze instantly fell on the Rattata, who just happened to open her mouth and...grabbed a chewed berry from her mouth to her paws...

“See? I ate them for you!” she pulled the slimey thing towards me, and I didn't care if I was pushing the Vulpix, just as long as I got a safe distance from the weird Rattata. She smiled widely and innocently. “Now you can just swallow th—”

A vine wrapped around her mouth and belly, and she was pulled away from me, dropping her ‘offering’ to where she was seated a second ago. My eye twitched in disgust as I stood up and walked away from them.

“Where are you going?” asked...Pikachu, I think...

“Away from Eewyville...” I sigh as I brushed through some bushes, and bushes, and more bushes.

I soon found myself back in the large clearing where the pond was. There were still a pretty huge number of Pokémon in different circles and groups, minding their own conversations. A few sat by their lonesome, or by pairs, at the edge of the pond. I walked towards the edge of the pond, and sat there (after kicking my tail away) while silently staring at the Eevee who was staring at me on the rippling surface of the water.

Another sigh escaped my lips. So, what now? Should I just wait here for Celebi? What if she'll never ever show up again?

Wait...if this is Ilex Forest, then does that mean that there are humans here?

...and stupidly enough, and as if on cue, a small number of flying Pokémon flew away from the rustling noises from a direction. I turned my head to where the noise was coming from, and there, two humans came out from the line of trees and bushes. A boy and a girl.

I tilted my head at how...young they looked. Oh wait... Trainers can start their journey at ten years old... I almost forgot.

“Wow,” the girl said, with a pair of twinkling eyes, “so this is Celebi's pond?”

“Yep,” the boy replied as he looked around, and two Pokémon walked from behind them, and stopped in front of them, who also stared at the clearing. A Chikorita and a Totodile.

Damn, I feel kinda envious that those two youngsters received an actual starter Pokémon and are already in Ilex Forest! They must be pretty strong. I mean, they should probably have the first two badges if they're here, right?

The boy pulled out a Pokéball from his pocket, and ‘enlarged’ it by clicking the button on the middle, and looked around once again. “Now to catch a flying type to defeat Bugsy.”

Oh... Scratch that then. They only have one badge.

“Oh, big brother!” the girl squealed, pulling the annoyed boy's shirt as the girl pointed a finger at...me... “Is...is that an Eevee?”

The boy actually looked quite surprised as I gulped. One sad fact for being an Eevee in the world of Pokémon with humans is...

“Oh wow, you're right! Eevees are quite rare!”

I think I heard them shouting something as the fast rush of green flew in my eyes, as I kick my legs to get away from them.

I do NOT want to be CAPTURED!

destinedjagold September 26th, 2013 1:20 AM

Chapter 7
“What the—? H-hey!”

I think that was Pikachu who shouted as I ran through their little group. There was a rather tall bush up ahead, so I grit my teeth and jumped over it. Strangely though, I found myself floating over the said bush. It took me a few seconds for my tired body to register that a vine wrapped itself around me, holding me in place.

I struggled as the vine slowly pulled me back. “Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!” I cried.

“What in Arceus has gotten into you?” Saur asked, and I arched a brow at him.

“You know the God Pokémon, yet you don't have a freaking clue who Mew is?”

“Mew?” his three friends asked in unison.

I roll my eyes and tried to run for it as soon as the vines loosened, but they tightened immediately than I expected.

“Gah...” I began pulling myself away.

“Seriously,” Shock said, irritation clear in his voice. “Why are running all of a su—”

“The Eevee's here, big brother!” shouted a girlish voice that froze everyone around me.

“Run for it!” Vixie shouted and everyone bolted away in different directions.

“H-hey, wait!” the girl shouted as the loosening vines lifted me up a bit and lets me go as Saur ran away, leaving me to stumble back down on the grassy ground.

I dared a glance, and saw the girl struggling to go through the bushes, and her brother working his way towards her.

With a yelp, I hurried to my feet and ran— “Ah!” my world turned up-side-down when I stepped on something slimey and squeashy and eeky.

I wanted to cringe, but instead I hurried to my feet and—

“Chiko, vine whip, now!”

—vines wrapped my hind legs and made me stumble back to the ground.

...the earth is probably flirting with me, with me constantly falling onto it and me fighting to get back on my feet. Ugh...

“Leave me alone! I do NOT want to be captured!” I shouted as I tried to crawl forward with my front paws, which was useless as the vines pulled me back towards the humans.

“You have no say to that,” said a female voice as I was lifted up in the air again. The vine turned my up-side-down gaze at the Chikorita, who was smiling at me apologetically. “I'm only following orders. Sorry...”

I glare at her.

“Aww... He's so cute!” the girl squealed as she pinched both my cheeks painfully. I growled, but she didn't seem to care and kept on pinching my cheeks.

“Yes yes,” the boy said, and to my horror, I saw him walking beside his sister with a Pokéball on his hand.

****! I need to get outta here! I scratched the girl's hand with a paw, but that seemed to only anger the boy further, and wanting to capture me even further. I gulped as I close my eyes.

I felt a cold metallic surface hit my head a bit forcefully, and I suddenly felt very warm all over.

I canNOT understand what just happened to me. After that warmth, I felt really really really weird all over. I couldn't feel my body, and my mind told me that I should really feel very uncomfortable, but strangely, I felt comfortable. Wait, no! Pokémon can break free from a Pokéball, right? They didn't weaken me! They just captured me! Tried, at least!

Fight this weird comfortable feeling! Fight this warm and relaxing feeling! Ugh... It's too damn difficult! How the heck can I fight this “weird feeling if it's too goddamn comfortable in here—oh hey, I'm out.”

I blink and saw the surprised looks of two humans and two Pokémon in front of me. Glancing slightly higher, I saw Chikorita's vines held aloft above me, and the broken Pokémon on the boy's hand.

I smiled awkwardly as I took a step ba—eew! Not that eeky thing again!

“Wrap him again!”

I held on a cringe as I kicked the eeky and chewed Oran Berry towards the Chikorita's startled face and made a run for it.

Damn those four for leaving me alone! W-wait. I was running away from them without telling them about the humans... I sighed as I suddenly felt like I was the one trying to abandon them in the humans' mercy...

I heard a loud popping noise and some weird noise that you always hear from a Pokéball sending out a Pokémon.

I skidded to a stop when a white blob of energy landed a few feet in front of me. The white blob formed into a shape, and then turned into a Sentret.

“Hi! I'll be battl—”

I kicked some sand into his eyes and ran pass him. “Yeah, not happening!”

And I was gone. To them, at least...hopefully.

destinedjagold September 26th, 2013 8:58 PM

Chapter 8
“Hey, slow down!”

“What are you rushing to?”

“Is something the matter?”

Voices of plenty of Pokémon blurred through my ears as I kept on kicking my four paws to run as fast and as far away as I can. I ran through bushes, clearings, small streams, trees, and Pokémon. I don't understand what is going on anymore, but one thing's for certain; I do NOT want to be captured!

I am a human, for goodness' sake! I cannot let myself be caught and follow orders of some random kid do to his battles!

“S-slow down!”

“Watch it!”

“What the?”

I huffed and puffed. I could feel a lot of sweat around my fur. I feel so hot and tired, but no, I kept on running. I grit my teeth as the sides of my vision started to dim and blur.

Where am I going anyway? Away from those two humans? But I'm running farther and farther away from Celebi's lake! I need to meet up with her if I wanted to go back home, but how can I go back if those two are still hot on my trail!

“Arceus, damn it!” a voice shouted from behind me. “I said slow down!”

Suddenly, fumes of fire flew pass me, much faster than my speed, and fire erupted on the ground a few feet in front of me. I skidded to a stop, but my weak legs gave in and I stumbled and rolled through the small wall of fire.

I gasped for breath through my open mouth. Damn, how my body aches so much, and it's hot...it's so damn hot... I actually feel some of my saliva running down from my tongue and open mouth, but I didn't care. I wanted to gulp as many of this cool air I was breathing as many as I wanted.

“Darn it, Eevee... I-I'm sorry!” a blurry red and orange thing stood before me. I recognized the voice though, so I allowed myself to relax for only a bit.

My heart's pounding so fast and hard, it actually hurts... I coughed a bit and closed my eyes as I wondered what the heck was going on with me. I'm tired yes, hot, sweaty...fur... No, that's not sweat I was feeling. I dunno what that is, but it feels like sweat. I forgot that furred creatures like me don't normally sweat. Furried creatures like who I am now sweat through our tongue and nose... Cooling down will definitely take me a while...

I just closed my eyes and tried to calm myself. Deep breathes... Deep breathes...

It's quiet... Too quiet... Well, not really. I could still faintly hear a few flying types chatting amongst themselves, and Vixie's feet touching down on the ground as she walks around, probably keeping an eye out.

D-darn, I don't want to just lie here for too long... But my body is refusing to stand. I'm just so darn tired from all that running. Damn...I must be so terrified of losing hopes of getting back home... Why shouldn't I be? I am not supposed to be a Pokémon, but that attempt of capturing me...inside that Pokéball...this is reality...my NEW reality...and I can't accept this! I can't... I want to go home...

“There, there...” a felt a paw gently running from my head down to my back. “It's all right, Eevee...”

I just realized, I was crying... W-wow, I never cried for a long while now, that the cold tinkling feeling of tears from my eyes to my furry cheeks almost felt so...foreign... Crying almost felt so foreign... I choked on a sob and cried quietly.

I have lost track of how long I was lying there on the ground, crying my hearts out at how scary this world really was, but Vixie was patient with me, still ‘petting’ me with her paw from my head to my back.

“...I'm a...pathetic wreck...aren't I?” I whispered in between my quiet sniffs.

“Eh...” was the only thing she said as I slowly rose up into a sitting position.

I sniffed and wiped my nose with a paw. I am not sure if the very wet moisture from my nose was sweat or mucus, but whatever... “Th-thanks...”

“You should have told us that there were humans...”

I guess that's her way of saying ‘you're welcome’. “S-sorry about that...”

I just then suddenly noticed how windy the place is. That's probably one reason why I cooled off quicker than I thought. I looked around, and noticed that, beyond the small bushes, there was a bright clearing to my left. The cool windy air was coming from there.

“Sure is windy over there...” I whispered.

“It's a cliff over there though, and beyond's a human city...”

A human...city? Curiousity got the better of me, and so I stood on all four, and I didn't even bother checking if I was already fit for standing and walking. I slowly walked towards the so-called cliff, and brushed through the bushes, and yeah, it was indeed a cliff. I stopped a feet or so from the edge, and down below and beyond was a magnificent golden city that completely stood out from the rolling green hills and waving blue ocean.

“G-Goldenrod City?” I whispered as I saw a grayish train speeding up, leaving the city, and making almost no noise in traveling the metallic rails.

“Goldenrod City?” Vixie asked, sitting beside me and staring at the city. “Kinda fitting from it's yellow color...”

Huh...so...Goldenrod City... I blinked. Now what?

destinedjagold September 29th, 2013 6:51 PM

Chapter 9
Goldenrod City... Goldenrod City... Golden-freaking-rod City...

I should be dying of fangasm that one of the greatest fictional cities is right in front of me. I should have been, if I weren't ‘magically’ turned into an Eevee.

Whoever did this to me must not have heard of the Mystery Dungeon games. I mean, heck, I should probably be doing some rescue missions right about now!

...wait, what? What the heck am I even thinking? Why the heck am I troubling myself with those anyway? I should be thinking of how to get back home!

Okay, okay... Damn, that city's bright when the sunlight hits it. Or maybe Eevee eyes are just sensitive...

I drop my gaze from the golden city to the grassy hills. Green is always a good color to stare at because it's cool to the eyes, or so I've heard.

Anyway, home... How am I going to get home?

Well, clearly, I'm in the Pokémon world, so...I'm in a completely different dimension...which is also called ‘space’... And space is governed by Dial...er...Palkia, rather. Yes yes, that pink dragon thingy, Palkia.

So, in conclusion, I need to look for Palkia and talk to it.

Great!

Now how do I freaking find a stupid space-warping dinosaur?!

I close my eyes, hung my head and let out a very very depressed sigh...

...and by the way...even if I do find Palkia, how the heck am I going to turn back into a human...?

I shook my head lightly and sighed once again...

“Care to share?”

Oh yeah, Vixie's with me at the moment... I almost forgot...

...and she reminded me of my earlier troubles... Should I tell her that I used to be a human? Another sigh escaped my lips...

“I...” I began, feeling really really unsure if I should pour everything to her... “I...just want...to go home...”

“Is that why you wanted to see Celebi?” a new yet familiar voice came form behind me.

I actually felt my two ears stood up as I turn to see who it was. Yep, it was the Rattata. What's her name again?

“Fay?” I asked.

She nodded with a small smile. “The one and only!” she then walked and sat in between Vixie and I. “Wow. A cheese city!”

My two ears fell flat as I deadpanned.

Vixie chuckled. “It's not a cheese city, Fay... Eevee said that it's Goldenrod City.”

Fay looked at her, and then she turned to me with a puzzled look. “Have you been there before?” Fay asked.

I blinked. Wow, I never expected that question before. “Er...no, but uh...”

She smiled wide. “Then you don't know if it's made of cheese!”

I tightly closed my eyes and slapped a paw over my face. I shook my head a bit with a groan. “Where's that Bulbasaur when I need him?”

“Why?” Vixie asked, blinking at me.

“Oh, those two will get here,” Fay said, still staring dreamily at the city. “I was farting all the way here—” I jumped and back away from her, “—while following your scent. They don't have a strong nose like I do, but their noses are good enough to follow the trail I left for them.”

And as if on cue, rustling noises erupted from the bushes. I turned and saw a very green-looking Pikachu and an annoyed-looking Bulbasaur. Both newcomers were covering their noses with a leaf.

“At least we found them,” Saur grunted as he slapped the Rattata's head with a vine.

“Yeah, finally...” Shock sat down...and fell on his belly with an exhausted sigh. “I'm never forcing myself to follow an awful smell...ever...” he sounded like he's on the verge of tears... Poor guy...

While Vixie was rubbing Shock's back and Saur choking the Rattata to death, a sigh escaped my lips, and then I turned back to the city.

Right now, these four are the closest to friends that I have at the moment. And right now, I need their help if I want to go back home. But...

I stared back at them. The four seem to be so close to each other... What if I'm just going to break whatever they have?

I don't want that...

I turn back towards the city again.

Goldenrod City... I blink... W-wait... Wait wait wait...

A smile slowly grew on my lips. Hope was blazing brightly inside me.

There IS a way for me to return to being human!

Bill!

All I gotta do for now is to concentrate on turning back to human, and then I'll look for Palkia. Searching for that pink dragon will be much much easier being human. Heh, who knows... I might even go into an adventure and collect badges, visit regions, and finally kick some age on Ash Ketchum!

I turned back to the four Pokémon, and they were currently busy chatting with each other. Yeah, as much fun as it would be to have them around, I don't think they'd be okay with a human-turned-Pokémon. Judging from their reactions after those two trainers appeared, asking them to help me search for Bill in Goldenrod would be close to impossible.

And...I guess I'll just have to leave quietly. No use explaining what my plans are to them. Better to leave them happy with the four of them together.

I looked around, and saw a very narrow inclined pathway behind me. It was narrow...for humans at least, but it was big enough for an Eevee such as myself. Upon closer inspection, the rocky pathway was on the face of the cliff, heading all the way down to the base.

I smile. Perfect. I allowed myself one last glance at the four Pokémon. I mouthed a ‘thank you’ and ‘goodbye’ before I walked down on the pathway, and onward to Goldenrod City.

destinedjagold September 30th, 2013 11:10 PM

Chapter 10
I was tired by the time I reached the foot of the cliff. It didn't help that I started walking down that rocky path from a few minutes of rest after those two humans chased after me.

Even though the air here was not as strong and constant that it was above, at least it was cool here. The trees weren't as thick as the previous ones though, and there are more gaps above the sea of leaves for me to actually see the golden sky.

Golden sky? Must be close to sunset now. Shoot. I need a place to sleep then.

There was a fifty percent chance that those four Pokémon might follow me, so as soon as I found a small stream, I jumped towards it, and carefully continued walking to the direction of where the flow was heading.

The stream will hopefully cut off my scent, disabling them from following where I'll be heading.

The cool water helped me forget how tired and soar my body was, at least for that moment. Aside from the sounds of the water, there were also small groups of water types seated on the edges of the stream. Some of them were merrily chatting amongst themselves, while others took a moment to say hi to me.

Strange that they were also basic Pokémon though. No evolved Pokémon yet, as far as I've noticed.

After about five minutes of walking, I found a small clearing by the edge of the stream up ahead, and I saw a pair of tall tents, and a grayish smoke in the very middle.

Humans. Of course. No other specie would build up tents for shelter.

And that smell... Oh my... Is...is that a stew? One nice thing about being an Eevee is my newly gift of smell, and I can smell that it's a beef stew. My mouth started to water as I inch closer and closer to the clearing.

I pull myself out of the water and shook my paws, one by one. I don't know how dogs do it in Earth, but eh, this'll do for now.

It's great that there were tall bushes for me to hide from the humans though.

After brushing myself inside a bush, I cleared some leaves with a paw to have a better look. Three humans, already in their sleeping clothes. Two boys and a girl. Well, the trio looked like their teenagers though, and two of them seem to be a couple. One of the boys and a girl, I mean.

The other boy was seated on his sleeping bag at the entrance of a tent. He was busy with a pencil and sketchpad.

The couple were ‘lovingly’ teasing each other as they stir their cooking pot by the fire.

Judging from how big the pot looked, it seems that they won't be able to eat all of those.

“'kay, it's ready,” the girl called after taking a sip from a spoon. She has a red, short hair, only up to her shoulders.

“Oi, Fritz,” called her boyfriend, as he turned to their friend. “Stop your sketches and help me prepare the plates.”

This boyfriend had dark-blue hair, if the light from their fire isn't blinding my judgement of colors. His hair is long enough to cover both his ears though. This Fritz dude wore glasses, but he doesn't look nerdy at all. He has black, short and seemingly unkept hair.

“You should have prepared the plates while I was cooking, honeybun,” the girl pokes her boyfriend's cheek.

I roll my eyes. Ugh, lovey-dovey couples are sappy and weird.

Fritz then stood with a sigh and walked towards the couple. A small telescope swayed from his neckline as soon as he stood up though. And here I thought ring necklaces were weird...

“You two really know when to disturb me, huh? I was about to finish my sketch of the Eevee and Vulpix up in that mountain.”

Eh? I guess he must have seen Vixie and I while we were staring at Goldenrod City.

The two males prepared...nine...ten...twelve plates? They placed nine plates on the ground, near the fire. Soon, the three trainers threw Pokéballs in the air, calling out names of their partners. Soon, the entire clearing was filled with white light, and those white blobs materialized into nine different Pokémon...which are all in their basic forms.

Let's see here...

The Johto starter trio, two Sentrets, two Pidgeys, a Ledyba and a Hoothoot.

The nine Pokémon happily greeted their trainers, and soon, the girl scooped some stew and poured them on their Pokémon's waiting plates.

I heard a low growl, and I barely caught my gasp. Darn, I'm hungry, yes, but how the heck am I suppose to grab something to eat with nine Pokémon? Worse is that my growling stomach might blow my cover.

Seeing the happy munching Pokémon almost made me want to be captured.

With a sigh, I quietly walked out of the bushes and quietly left the campsite. Seconds after I began walking away, two Pidgeys and a Hoothoot landed a few feet in front of me.

“What is it gu—whoa! An Eevee!” the boyfriend's voice said from behind me.

I gasped and was about to make a run for it when the three flying types extended their wings, blocking any possible direction except to the trainer behind me.

Darn it! I have a runaway ability! Why isn't it working?!

“Oh wow, you're right!” came girlfriend's voice as I spun around.

The three humans were stood on the edge of the clearing, and behind them poked the heads of their curious Pokémon.

“Hey there, little guy,” Fritz said, slowly walking towards me with a gentle smile.

I glared at the approaching trainer, growled and took a few steps back, until I felt a soft feathery pillow on my tail.

“We're not going to hurt you, we promise,” Fritz said, stepping aside for me to see the girl preparing a Pokéball.

“Tell them I don't want to be captured,” I hissed.

A Pidgey shook his head. “Can't do that.”

“I prefer you not put on a fight,” the Hoothoot said. “It'll be quicker that way. And besides, they're pretty good humans.”

“Shouldn't we weaken it first?” the boyfriend asked.

The girlfriend shook her head with a determined smile. “I don't want to hurt a new family member. Just stay back and watch how an expert trainer captures a rare Eevee!”

Fritz rolled his eyes while the boyfriend chuckled.

“Last warning,” I hissed as she prepared herself to throw the Pokéball at me.

I felt my sharp nails on my front paws as she threw the Pokéball. I quickly grabbed a yelping Pidgey and used him as a shield. While still having a hold on him, I pulled myself up with my front paws, making the Pidgey cry in pain, and kicked the beaks of the other birds with my rear paws.

I then pushed the Pidgey aside and dashed forward, and in between the legs of the yelping girl. I headbutted a startled Cyndaquil, pushing him to the others, who stumbled in the process.

I kept my pace towards the plates, and used my mouth to grab the closest meat I could get, and made a run for it.

Dinner is served. Whew...

destinedjagold October 1st, 2013 7:47 PM

Chapter 11
After going through countless trees and bushes, seven streams, eight hungry predators, three campsites, and a hundred flying Pokéballs, I finally arrived in Goldenrod City's...Team Rocket's underground base, inside a small and metal cage...

Great...

Seriously though, Gold should have already disbanded these creeps a long time ago!

A painfully slammed my aching head against the iron bar for God-knows how many times now. I painful groan escaped from my lips as I let my head slide down, along with my body, to lie down on the flat, cold and metal base. Sigh...

“What did Ah tol' ya, kid?” Blue spoke, who is also inside a cage beside mine. “It's useless ta try an' escape from 'ere...”

Blue's a male Spearow. He kept on talking and trying to tell me to stop my efforts of escape as soon as those grunts brought me here and left the room.

Speaking of, the room appears to me metallic and, even with my fur, the air is cold. The room consisted of four walls, and three of them were filled with cages stacked on top of each other, while the other is where the door to freedom is.

These Rocket grunts appeared to be smart enough to put some restraints on the Pokémon who can use elemental attacks. A Growlithe has a very painful-looking iron harness, shutting its mouth shut. A Cyndaquil has one as well, plus a metallic shell covering his back. Other fire types are also having some other metallic restraints on them, as well as some of the water types. The grass types however, were inside an aquarium-like cage, with very small holes provided for air, but not big enough for their vines to snake through.

...and oh, not all of the Pokémon here are alive, which increased the drive within me to escape as soon as possible.

Anyway, I kept on thrashing inside my cage, in hopes that this chunk o'metal falls down to the floor, and gets dismantled in some ways or another, and then I could flee.

After another weak attempt of a Double Kick, my front paws gave in, and I collapsed, panting heavily.

D-darn it... If only I wasn't so nervous of being caught by the trainers chasing me, I would have noticed the net trap that was hidden in a pile of leaves. That small clearing was almost clear of fallen leaves, except for that one suspicious spot, but oh silly me, I thought that if I hide under the leaves, the trainers wouldn't bother trying to look at it.

After the net sprang and lifted me in the air, those three trainers, who were strangers to each other, agreed to put me down and let me go, but lo and behold, Team Rocket showed up, and damn, their way of battle was very very dark for a children's game.

Those young trainers witnessed the death of one of their Pokémon before they decided to run for their lives after the grunts tried to attack them directly.

“Ya okay there, kid?” Blue asked again.

I don't really know his name, but I decided to name him ‘Blue’ because instead of red, his beak is blue.

I was so excited to reach the city and look for Bill, that I forgot that this world of Pokémon also has evil human organizations running around. Great. Just freaking great!

“Ah'll take that as a ‘no’ then,” Blue sighed.

“Just shut up and leave me alone,” I grunted as I tried to stand back up in all four.

“That would be a difficult thing ta do, kid, since, y'know, we're neighbors now, and yer makin' quite a racket for me ta leave ya alone...”

I slammed my skull against the iron bar again, and I was reward by a powerful wave of pain. I suddenly collapsed yet again, and panted for breath.

D-darn it... I should have told them where I was going. I should have told them about my plan! If I did, then they'd sure to try and talk me out of it. Or at least chase after me, so there would be a small glimmer of hope that they'd come and rescue me...

Oh, who am I kidding... The grunts would just easily capture them as well. No... It's best that I didn't let them know about my plan... At least they're still out there, free...

There was clicking noise that echoed in the entire room. I turn my head in time to see the door open, and a single grunt, complete with their black uniform with a red ‘R’ on their shirt, came inside, carrying a cage with a sleeping...something.

He quietly placed the new cage beside mine, and left without saying a word. He closed the door, and another click echoed in the room, signalling that he locked the door from the outside.

“Oi,” Blue chirped, sounding happy for God-knows why, “that's a fine lass ya got as a neighbor there, kid.”

I roll my eyes and grunt a reply as I turn my head again to see who's the newcomer. My tired eyes gave me a weird sight. It was a Rattata, complete with a goofy grin directed at me.

“F-Fay?!” That would have been louder if I wasn't tired.

“The one and only!” the stupid Rattata replied, all too cheery.

W-what the heck!? I crossed a lot of small streams in hopes that they wont catch my scent! Apparently, all those attempts for them to be unable to track me down fell useless...

“D-don't tell me that the others are here as well...”

She blinked, and smiled. “Okay. Then I won't tell.”

I slammed my head against the iron bars. “Great. Just great... You're caught, and soon, they'll get caught!”

“What? I'm caught?”

“Yes!” I hissed and turned to her. “Can't you see that...” and the cage was empty.

I blinked, and looked around. My gaze fell on Blue, and with his wing, he pointed at the floor below. I followed, and saw Fay was staring at me with a confused look on her face.

“How the—?” I looked back at her cage. The space in between the iron bars were too small for her to get through! “How? How did—you know what? Never mind...”

Either the rat logic back on earth applies here as well, or she's Mew. Or Ditto. Really, rats back on earth can go through small holes, even smaller than their heads. Maybe it's just their fur that makes them look big.

I stared at Fay, and shivered at the thought oh how skinny she was without the fur. Thank goodness for fur!

...and what's that smell?

“Aw, good heavens, Fay!” Blue cried, covering his beak as other Pokémon's disgusted voices echoed in the room.

I covered my nose with a paw and glared at the Fay, who was smiling sweetly and innocently. She then turned her head to a direction, and I followed it, and saw an air vent just above the door.

...and I think I heard groaning noises from there as well...


And I strangely found myself opening my eyes with a groan, even though I was still glaring at Fay...

“Gah! Fay!” was that Shock's voice? “Could you PLEASE stop doing that?!”

“Can't stop what nature designed me to be,” and that's definitely Fay.

I suddenly felt my tired body as I realized that I was still lying on my back inside a tree root cave, perfectly hidden by bushes that surrounded this tall tree. I don't really recall how I found this place last night, but hey, at least it sheltered me from the cold night and the eyes of those three trainers.

...and it's spacious enough for four noisy Pokémon to stay.

“Oh,” Vixie was the first to notice my rising form. “Good afternoon.”

I stopped my yawn when her words sunk in. “A-afternoon?”

---

Author's Notes
This chapter was supposed to be Chapter 10, but I didn't like where this chapter was going.
So, I decided to just label this chapter into ‘Deleted Chapter 1’, but then I needed to write a dream for the hero while he's sleeping, so, here ya go~

destinedjagold October 1st, 2013 11:11 PM

Chapter 12
I don't know why they have followed me here. I don't even know if I should ask them that question.

Shock, Fay, Saur, and Vixie.

Those four are really great friends, judging from the way they talk and laugh as we ate some berries that they have gathered while I was sleeping.

And oh, about sleeping... Vixie was right; it was already afternoon. I guess my Eevee body must've been pretty darn tired from the events that happened yesterday. I got chased by two young trainers, ran for who-knows how long, went down the cliff, walked in a stream, and fought against a group of Pokémon just to grab some meat to eat.

By the time I woke up, my belly's too hungry for me to complain about eating berries. They're actually not that bad, but I still prefer meat over berries.

...and I don't care if the meat came from Pokémon! Just as long as the meat's cooked and all. I don't think I can stomach raw meat.

I shivered at that thought.

I think I missed a joke or something, since my four companions laughed for a few seconds before their laughter died down.

“Well, anyway,” Shock said, fixing me a frown as he chewed on a berry. “I'm a bit angry at you, Eevee, for leaving us back there while you're down here wandering around to go home, if,” he waved a hand at Fay, “what Fay said was true.”

“I didn't... I mean,” I slowly returned my half-eaten berry back on the large leaf we used as a plate. I shook my head lightly.

Should I tell them now? Maybe I should, if I wanted them not to come with me.

...why wouldn't I want them to come with me? Wouldn't it be safer if we're going somewhere together, than being on my lonesome? Sure, I managed to snatch some food from trainers last night, but I don't think I can be that lucky every single time that I need to. ...I think...

As I look at their faces, they have every right to be angry with me for leaving them. When I first woke up in this world, they guided me to Celebi's pond. They treated me like a friend already, even though I was mostly complaining about Celebi not showing up and berries.

I sighed. “I'm sorry about that... Really, I am...”

Saur extended a vine and patted me on the head. I don't know if he realized, but his pats are a bit forceful and painful. Judging from his sweet smile, I'd say that he doesn't.

“...and ‘ouch’, by the way.”

“Oh, oops,” Saur quickly pulled his vine back with an apologetic smile. “I got used to smack Fay every now and then...”

Yeah, I noticed.

“So,” Vixie began, “why did you come all the way here?”

I guess I should tell them now. Whatever their decision will be, I'll respect it. I don't want them tailing me against their will anyway, or without their knowledge, and if my dream was any indication, I don't want to bring them to their very dooms...if Team Rocket still exist, that is.

“I'm...going to the city...”

The four gasped in unison, but Fay's was the loudest.

“You're going to cheese city?! Can I come? Please?”

I closed my eyes with a sigh of frustration and amusement. “It's not a city made of cheese!”

“We will never know until we get there!”

“Fay, shut up,” Shock said with a glare before he turned to me, his glare fading into concern. “Why are you going there? Surely, there will be humans in all corners!”

“Before I answer that,” I raised a paw to stall his objection, “how did you guys find me?”

“Pidgeys,” was Fay's cheerful reply.

“Oh...” Right... Even with my trail gone, they can still ask any Pokémon that happened to be where I was going. Stupid human logic... “Well, I was hoping to find someone there who could help me.”

“You're not willing to wait for Celebi in the forest?” Saur asked.

“You guys said that it's been months since anyone has seen her...”

“True,” Saur replied, “but it's still rather safe to wait there than wander in a human city.”

“Cheese city!” -whap- “Ow! Hey!”

“You guys make a lovely couple,” I whispered with an amused eye-roll.

Saur blinked. “What was that?”

“Nothing,” I looked away, pretending that I didn't say anything.

“So,” Shock said, earning my attention, “you're meeting with someone in the city?”

I nodded as my reply.

“Who?” Vixie asked.

“A human who—” I wasn't able to finish when they all gasped again. Sheesh, I could almost tell they were practicing their choir of gasps while they were looking for me.

“A human?”

“Why would you want to meet up with a human?”

“They'll catch you if they see you!”

“Is this human your trainer?” Eyes fell on Fay after she asked that question. The Rattata blinked, and looked at her friends' shocked faces. “What?”

“Eevee,” Saur frowned, looking at me apologetically, “you're a captive Pokémon?”

Eh? “No. Not re—”

“Well,” Shock crossed his arms over his chest, and shot me a glare. “I for one, think that you shouldn't go there to meet up with your trainer.”

...what?

“If he, or she, was heartless enough to just leave you unconscious in the middle of a forest, then you're just wasting your loyalty!”

...what?

“I agree with Shock,” Vixie said, looking at me with a sad frown. “I think you're better off here than to be with some cruel human...”

...a third what?

I looked at their faces, each looking at me with sad frowns, except for Saur, who has a neutral face.

Finally, the Bulbasaur spoke. “We're jumping to conclusions, aren't we?”

I nodded. “Yes, you guys are...”

The other three let out a sigh of relief.

“So, then,” Vixie spoke up, “why?”

...time for the big reveal?

Should I tell them, or shouldn't I tell them? Should I? Or shouldn't I?

“Do you have a flower?” I asked her. Y'know, I'll pull the petals so I can decide what my decision will be.

“Of course she has a flower, silly,” Fay spoke up, cheerfulness in her voice. “Even I have one. See?” She rose on two an—

Oh holy **** nope nope nope! I closed my eyes tightly, and turned away as Vixie gasped, Shock groaned, and Saur slapped a vine behind Fay's head.

“Not THAT kind of flower! Arrrggghhh!!!”

I need some brainbleach!!!

destinedjagold October 2nd, 2013 11:07 PM

Chapter 13
“So what happened?”

“Oh, well, I remember Lithe and Risa arguing about the circle. I'm not sure what exactly they're arguing about, but I heard bits of it, about raising a family, having some kids, and uh...”

Fay fell quiet as the five of us walked towards the direction of the city. We can't really see the city from our small points of views here inside the forest. We're only trusting Shock's instinct here, who is currently leading the party. He's an electric type, and he told me that electric types are always drawn to places with rich sources of electricity.

That sounded mighty logical...in a Pokémon-logic kind of sense, that is. There aren't really any electrical creatures back on earth...or are there?

“If Lithe and Rosa—”

“Risa,” Fay corrected her.

“Whatever,” Vixie shook her head. “If those two starts a family, then I'm glad I'm out of there. Those two have the thinnest line of patience, and to see them with kids...” she shivered at the thought.

They chuckled. I wanted to point out that they're going back there soon, but...

As usual, I was at the end of their little group. Somehow, despite the fact that they're afraid to be caught, they wanted to come with me to the city. Or escort me to the city.

It's almost sunset, or maybe the sun's already setting, if the golden orange sky's any indication. I still can't believe I slept all morning though.

There were other kinds of Pokémon that we've ran into. Aside from the normal flying types above the tree branches, there were also some Oddishes, Caterpies, and other Pokémon doing their usual stuff.

...we even ignored a little scene where a group of Spinarak were feasting on an unfortunate Venonat.

Vixie and Fay continued their little girl gossip. Sheesh, even in this world, girls are still gossiping about something. Saur was just happy to listen to them and answer when asked. Shock is busy leading the way, while still listening to their conversation. I, on the other hand, had no choice but to listen, since there's nothing more for me to do.

Soon though, faint noises of cars and other human civilization noises started to pierce through my ears. I saw Shock's ears twitched, and his tail shivered. Yeah, we're getting closer now.

I quicken my pace until I was walking beside the Pikachu.

“So,” I began, eyeing him in the corner of my eyes, “uhm... I guess this is where we split ways?”

“I guess so,” he whispered his reply. “Can't I talk you out of this though? I still think it's stupid to go there...”

“I need to go there...” I whispered back as I held a sigh.

I haven't really told them my reason of going there...yet...nor about the fact that I'm...that I used to be a human.

Soon, we reached the edge of the line of trees, the edge of this forest, and beyond our eyes was now a grassfield of a few meters before concrete roads, walls and fences replaced the natural ground. And beyond those are buildings, streets, posts, a few trees, vehicles, and of course, humans. Lots and lots of humans.

“Wow...” Shock said. “This is even bigger than the other human settlement near the pond.”

“Azalea Town?” I asked him.

The others turned to me.

“For being an uncaptured Pokémon,” Vixie said, “you sure know a lot about the humans.”

I just shrugged a reply. We then noticed that a few humans were having a picnic in the grasslands. There were only a few of them though, but it looks like it'll be impossible to go to the city without any of them noticing me.

Children were playing around with other children or with Pokémon, and grown-ups are either keeping an eye on their kids, or were enjoying each others presence.

While Fay and the others were talking to each other of what they think of the humans, my eyes fell on a rather lonesome picnicker. She was the only one who is on the edge of the forest. She sat on her picnic blanket, her back leaned on the base of a tree, and her sad eyes stared at the peaceful rolling clouds.

She has pink hair, she wore a white and pink shirt, and blue mini skirt. Blue and black socks, and black shoes.

Of course, she's none other than Whitney, and she's looking sad. She probably lost to another trainer for her badge yet again.

I hate seeing sad people though. I have a soft heart for sad people back home. I guess I must have carried that same soft heart here, which is kinda lame. How on earth can I ask what's bothering her if she won't even be able to understand me?

But I felt like I needed to try though. Consider it a give and take opportunity, wherein I can satisfy my soft heart of helping her out, she lightens up and brightens up after talking about it, and who knows, maybe I can get an added bonus of her helping me out...or me ending up being caught by her.

...that last line of thought made me reconsider the idea of talking to her...

I still don't want to be captured, although I'm a bit sure that I'll end up being caught one day. If I do, then being caught by a gym leader would be a bit cool, and suck at the same time. I mean, if she catches me, does that mean I'll be spending the rest of my life here, bound by her gym's rules of staying a normal type forever and battle every single challengers?

Yeah, no. I don't want that. But I'm kinda curious if she still has that Nidoran though...

“Ahem...” Shock snapped me back and earned my attention. “So uh, this is goodbye then?”

“Yeah,” I nodded, while ignoring the weird feeling of my drooping ears, “I-I guess it is. Thanks? For everything, I guess.” I smiled, I tried.

It...is kinda sad to say goodbye to these four though... Even though I don't know them that well, it felt like I knew them since forever. Saying goodbye to them, strangely hurts, and I almost wanted to forget my quest and stay with them.

Unfortunately, I don't plan to stay as an Eevee forever. Not to mention that I don't want to stay in this universe forever. I need to get home, and the sooner, the better.

Seeing their sad faces hurts me. My heart ached, and I just...wished that they'll just walk away already...

“At least tell us your name before we go, Eevee.” Vixie said, trying to smile, but failing.

I blinked at that though. I never said my name? Wow, how impolite of me!

“Ah, yeah... My name's Jay, by the way...”

“Jay, huh?” Saur said. “Weird name for an Eevee.”

Strange that this Bulbasaur knows a lot though...

“I was expecting Eon or Leon or Neil, but eh...”

I arched an eyebrow. “Why?”

Shock just smiled and shook his head. “He was from a human daycare orphanage whatever before we found him wandering in the forest.”

Huh, really? I got a sudden strange feeling of wanting to learn more about these guys, but...

“Well, since you're right about the city not made out of cheese, I guess we should go back now!” Fay said cheerfully, although there were clear mixtures of hurt as well. I dunno if she's hurt that I'm leaving, or that the city's not made of cheese.

After they said their goodbyes for one last time, I watched them walk back further in the forest. Seeing them leaving was...painful to watch.

I took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly.

destinedjagold October 3rd, 2013 11:07 PM

Chapter 14
Take 1.

I tried sneaking my way towards the city. It didn't work. Some kids spotted me and started chasing after me.

Take 2...

I decided to walk casually, with no care in the world, walking in plain sight and headed straight to the city. Pokéballs were flying towards me...

Take 3...

I grabbed a Spearow and used him as a glider. I fell flat on the forest floor...and a lot of pecking on my head as an added bonus...

Take 4...

I disguised myself as a bush, and snuck my way towards the city. Some kids with great memory wondered how on earth a bush suddenly grew out on a spot.

I sighed as I started climbing down from the tree where I hid to lose those eager trainers off of my trail.

“You owe me a Caterpie in the morning,” I heard a flying type snickering, and another groaning.

My attempts have gathered a few spectators though, betting here and there to see if I could reach the city.

As I spent a lot of minutes on the ground, thinking of new ways to get to the city, the sun has already set, darkening the area, and my spectators went back to their homes, and some gave me words of good luck and other things like I'm crazy or I'll be ending up being caught.

The slowly darkening area was suddenly pierced by the city's bright lights, yet that didn't stop the cold evening air from making the picnickers to leave and go back to their homes.

...I wondered why I didn't decide to just sit and wait for the night to take over. Sheesh. Now, the grassfield is empty as heck, except for a few Rattatas and Sentrets and other scavenger Pokémon collecting leftover food from the humans.

Looking left and right and everywhere, just to see if there really are no humans around, I started walking out from the forest and walked on the grassfields. A few scavenger Pokémon hissed at me as I walked pass a few of them, threatening me not to steal their gathered food. I just rolled my eyes at them and continued.

I was halfway there when I stepped on something leathery. I picked it up and saw that it was a collar of some sort. It was pink.

Hm... Back home, dogs with collars meant that those dogs have owners. I wonder if that works the same in this world? Well, I am no dog. ...are Eevees dogs? Cats? Foxes?

...and shut up. Foxes don't say ‘ring dingdingling’ whatever.

I slipped the pink collar on my neck. It was stretchable, and it fits comfortably around my neck. I nodded to myself with a smile before I continued my way towards the city. Pink isn't really my favorite color of choice, but I hope it'll do it's purpose well.

There was a tall fence that separated the city from nature, but there's also a gate there, with two security guards standing by.

Okay... Time to see if this collar works.

I walked up to them, and one of them immediately noticed me.

“Hey there little guy,” he bent down and started petting my head. It felt...really comforting though, and I almost let out an annoyed growl when he pulled his hand back.

“Someone must have forgotten their Eevee...” the other said, scratching his head. “Really careless for them though. I heard Eevees are rare.”

“Are you lost?”

I shook my head, unknowingly wagging my tail a bit. It felt weird though, my tail wagging like that. If felt as if something was wiggling on my ass...

“Do you know how to get home?”

I nodded, despite the fact that I absolutely have no idea how to get home.

The guard smiled as he stood up. “Well, alright then. Just be careful, little one.”

Sheesh. They talk as if I'm a small child who cries when my candy's stolen from me... Whatever. I just walked and stopped on the sidewalk, waiting for the traffic lights to go red for pedestrians to cross.

A few people who were waiting to cross took a look at me, yet they just ignored me and looked ahead. A few even started petting me, much to my delight. I even earned a nickname ‘Cutesie’ from a small girl.

Finally, the traffic lights changed, and the many humans and I crossed the road. They were quite mindful not to step on me though, even those who were crossing from the other side. A trainer snapped his fingers in annoyance after he noticed my collar. Har har to you.

I was walking by an electronic shop when a reporter said someone's name. It caught my attention, and made me stop and turn to see a few television sets displayed behind a glass window of the shop.

“...and here we have Professor Oak to discuss with us his latest findings on this weird phenomenon. Professor Oak?”

A number of humans started to gather around me though, who were also interested in the news. I decided to walk closer to the shop's window so no human legs will be blocking my sight.

The cameraman moved the camera to none other than the very famous Pokémon Professor. Wow, he looked much older back on earth. Here, he just looked like he's in his late thirty's or early fourty's...

The professor nodded, shifting his serious gaze from the repoter to the camera.

“Thank you. Ahem...” he pulled out a folder, and flipped a few papers before he spoke once again. “Before that though, I'll give a quick summary of what's going on, for those who are still unaware of this phenomenon.”

Thanks. I guess?

“Two months ago, a strange shadow fell upon our region, and within the two-month timeframe, we've discovered that the whole world was affected. And within that timeframe, many researchers and professors searched for answers of the questions ‘what it was’ and ‘what did it do’, and many others.

“Unfortunately, even now, we don't know what it was, who or what did it, and why. As to what it did, well, many of you, who own and train an already-evolved Pokémon, have noticed that your partners went back to their basic forms.”

...what?

“Aside from that, it would seem that Pokémon, all over the world, lost their ability to evolve...”

...what?

Is...is that the reason why all of the Pokémon I ever met since I woke up are still in their basic forms? But they didn't seem to know anything about it, or do they?

...is that why there were many Pokémon by the lake, waiting for Celebi's arrival?

I suddenly noticed the growing rise of voices of the people around me. Their voices carried worry, annoyance, doubt, and fear.

“Now, from what we've gathered, we have discovered a number of legendary Pokémon on the move. Some of them are psychic types, and have the ability of telepathy. One of our researchers was able to converse with the legendary Mewtwo in the Hoenn region, sharing with us that Mewtwo and others are also looking at the cause of such phenomenon.”

“Legendary Mewtwo? I'm afraid that I haven't heard of such a Pokémon, professor.”

“Hence their titles as legendaries,” Professor Oak chuckled a bit, before looking serious again. “But anyway, knowing that even them are figuring out what caused this, that doesn't mean that we're just going to stop and let them deal with this, just because it's a problem only affecting Pokémon.

“No. This does not affect only Pokémon, but us humans as well. We have bonded with our beloved partners and grew up with them, and evolution is one of the greatest achievements we have gained from the bonds we have with Pokémon.”

Murmurs of agreement erupted around me, and others started sharing sad stories of discovering their devolved partners.

This is a strange phenomenon indeed. I wonder if it's somehow connected to how I got here. I don't think that there are any official games from Nintendo with this kind of phenomenon where a hero must go on an adventure and fix it.

Team Rocket wouldn't be behind this. It won't benefit them if all Pokémon are just in their basic forms. Then again, maybe their Pokémon still stayed normal and fully evolved.

But it has been two months now. Surely, that was enough time for them to ‘take over the world’, right? Or other evil organizations taking action. But neither the reporter nor the professor mentioned anything about it, so there wasn't any evil organizations behind this.

...wait, no. I have another problem to take care of. And that's to find Bill. Now where can he be?

destinedjagold October 6th, 2013 7:14 PM

Chapter 15
I never really imagined that I'd one day be a homeless guy...er...Eevee. Back on earth, it always hurts my heart to see homeless people on streets and alleyways, sleeping, scavenging, or begging for food or money.

It really hurts... I help whenever I can though, like giving them some spare coins, with quiet hopes that they'll have a good day soon...

Now, I am forced to sniff some things out of this garbage bin in an alleyway. Things that could still be considered as food. I could go back to the forest, but I've spent the entire evening wandering around, trying to look for Bill. I'm in the deepest parts of the city, so I don't know if the forest is close by or not.

And stupidly, I spent the evening looking for Bill, without the knowledge of what the heck he even looked like! I have seen him in the animé, but I forgot what he looks like. I just kept on searching, hoping that the sense of familiarity will get to me when I do see him.

I looked at faces, climbed on windows, everything...

At least I managed to pull out a half-eaten burger. It was completely wrapped before it was thrown though, so I can at least consider myself lucky. It was too difficult to move around while holding this burger, so I bit it slightly to carry it before I carefully jumped back down on the concrete ground of the alley. I tasted the juices of meat and mayonaise, increasing the supply of saliva flooding inside my mouth.

A cold drop of water hit my nose as soon as I was back on the ground. Then, a lot of cold droplets of water began to shower the entire city. Yeah, there was a growing raincloud during the interview with Professor Oak though.

I quickly looked around, hoping to see some shelter. I do have the pink collar on me, but I don't want the humans to see me in this condition. They might pick me up and put me in some anima—er...Pokémon shelter or something, and lock me up there until my ‘owner’ comes to get me.

I saw a slightly worn-out cardbox box a few feet away from me. It looked like a makeshift cave or den, since the opened top was on the side, and there was a Pokémon lying there when I reached it. It was, thankfully, big enough for two Pokémon to fit.

“What do you want?” asked a grumpy Meowth, opening an eye to glare at me.

I nervously put the burger on my paws to talk, while shivering slightly from the cold rain and air. “Um... M-may I come in?”

“Go back to your female trainer,” and he closes his eyes, putting a tone of finality to our conversation.

But... “P-please?” I flashed a pout and puppy-dog eyes when he opened an eye again.

“...are you a female?”

I blinked. “N-no.”

He rose up into a sitting position. “Then don't give me that look unless you're a female.” He grunted as he extended a paw to me. “Half the burger.”

“B-but it's already half when I found it...”

“Then cut it in half, dumbass.”

I hated this Meowth already. Still, I get to have some shelter for the night. I went inside and gave him the burger as I tried to make myself comfortable. As soon as I lied down, I realized how stupid that was... This Meowth might eat the whol—

He threw the other half towards me, and I barely caught it with both my front paws. I glared at him as I began eating with a satisfied smile.

“Ah...nothing like a tasty Miltank burger before a good night's sleep,” he whispered to himself as he licked his paws as I ate.

I still craved for more though, but I guess this'll have to do for tonight.

“You're a run-away, huh?” the Meowth asked, starting up a conversation as the rain slightly became stronger. He was still busy licking his paws and rubbing them over his head and ears.

Since I am not doing that, nor does my body instinct is telling me to do it, then I guess Eevees aren't cats after all.

Anyway... “No,” I replied, “not really... I'm just...”

“Lost?”

“I'm looking for someone...”

“So you ran away to look for someone?”

I groaned. “No, I didn't run away from anyone. I came here to look for someone.”

“Why the girly collar?”

“It's just a disguised so I won't be captured.”

“Clever.”

I glanced at him, and he was giving me an impressed smile.

“Very clever. I might actually try that some time.”

“You can have it once I find the guy I'm looking for...”

“Eh...no. I know a Sentret in the sewers who collects collars out of boredom.” He yawned and lied down, eyes closed. “So, who are you searching for?”

I might as well tell him. He might be able to help me. I did asked a few Pokémon around the city during my search, but none of them knew Bill.

“A human named Bill...” I whispered before I sighed and closed my eyes. Damn, I'm suddenly feeling so tired all over...

“Heh... That crazy inventor?”

I opened my eyes and stared at him with hope. “So...you know him?”

“Of course. He gives me some Magikarp fillet each day when he's around.”

I rose up, and ignored my rumbling tummy after I heard the name of food. “R-really? Please, can you tell me where he lives?”

He just blindly points a paw towards the house across the road. With the lights from the street lamps, I could actually see the engraved letters on the door, spelling his name.

...oh. Well then... I'll just go there tomorrow. It's not like the house will disappear after a good night's rest, right?

“But you might want to prepare a few more food if you want me to let you sleep here.”

“Why's that?”

“He won't be back for another month or two. He just left to the train station ten minutes ago while you were digging up some food. So if I wer—h-hey! Where are you going?!”

destinedjagold October 7th, 2013 12:34 AM

Chapter 16
I'm never getting a decent rest, aren't I? I know where the station is. Heck, I passed by that place twice or thrice during my search! As I pant and ran through the chilly night rain, I mentally cursed at fate for laughing at how much of a joke I am at the moment.

I no longer care for traffic lights. Heck, why should I? With the rain and the current time, I doubt there's anyone else awake at this hour. Well, Bill is, and a few people, but whatever.

The train station was far ahead now. I could actually see the reflected lights from the large glass doors of that huge building.

But suddenly, I heard a very piercing whistle noise form behind. I slightly took a glance, and saw two humans running after me, with a Growlithe and a Houndour in front of them.

“Pokémon Control!” Growlithe shouted.

“Stop or we'll be forced to stop you!” Houndour growled.

Oh, for f*ck's sake, I seriously got no time for this! I continued running through the streets, heading straight to the train station. There was a large digital clock on top of the building, lighted just right for everyone to see the time.

Ten minutes before midnight...

I was running towards another road when a slow-moving truck suddenly appeared from the corner of the building. But I didn't stop. Normally, I would, but I'm an Eevee at the moment, and I am small enough to run through under the moving truck.

I glanced back, and the two humans were no longer on my tail, but their Pokémon are, and they're angrier than ever. Well, one of them, at least...

The Houndour was getting pretty annoyed though. One factor is probably the rain. But the cold rain wasn't enough to stop him from breathing out fire aimed at me. It was fast, and I barely managed to steer myself out of the way before it hits me. The fiery wave heated my side as the inferno passed by, and erupted into a wall of fire a few feet in front of me.

But I didn't stop. I ran through it, and barely felt anything.

“I'm asking you stop, right now!”

I almost stumbled on my paws when that voice spoke directly from my other side. I turned and saw the Growlithe glaring at me.

“How'd—”

“Agility,” he said. “Now, stop or I'll force you to!”

I gritted my teeth. I can't stop, yet I can't lose them as well! I don't know any moves, but Sand Attack! Or a headbutt, or tackl—!?

I suddenly lost the feeling on my left paw, and I ended up stumbling and rolling until I sled to a stop on a bakery's sign post. The Growlithe skidded to a stop as I forced my tired body to get back up, but I suddenly lost all air in my lungs when I felt a powerful force pinning me down on the ground.

“You're lucky I'm not allowed to eat you, pup!” the Houndour growled close to my ear. “But try anything funny, and I swear, you'll never see daylight again!”

“Grindark!” Growlithe hissed. “Don't scare the poor champ!”

The Houndour growled at him. “Like you weren't scaring him earlier, Vic!”

“I wasn't.”

“Good job, you two!” a new voice said, panting for breath.

Those must be their human partners... D-darn...

“Looks like your Houndour is scaring another one again...” another one sighed.

“Shut up. Houndour needs to be intimidating in this job!”

“You two need to lighten up! Look! The poor thing's crying, and it has a collar! Who knows what kinds of trauma you two are causing him.”

...I'm crying? I...I guess I am... I must not have realized, seeing that I'm suddenly way too tired to even bother with the rain soaking me...

“So?” the human asked as the weight that was pinning me down was gone.

“So, if this Eevee's owner asks us what's wrong with it, you better be ready for an explanation.”

“It's them that should prepare an explanation for leaving their Pokémon running around in the city!”

“Are you lost?” Vic asked, walking towards me.

“W-when...” I whispered. “...train...depart...?”

I weakly stared at Vic's reflection on the wet cemented street as he turned towards the direction of the train station.

“Uh... Six minutes... Is your trainer there?”

“Bill...” I whispered as my sight was slowly becoming dark.

“Huh?” Vic asked. “What was that?”

I was too weak to respond, and I was slowly losing my consciousness...

“The pup said—”

destinedjagold October 7th, 2013 11:08 PM

Chapter 17
Chirping...

...chirping...

...wait...chirping...?

A groan escaped my lips as I moved my body, which felt really really strange at the moment. I'm lying on my back, on a very flat and uncomfortable bed, and I could feel the thin blanket covering my body, except for my head.

Ugh...is it morning already?

I grabbed the blanket and tossed it to the side. I sat up and stretched my arms as I grit my teeth. After that, I dropped both my arms back as I yawned. I then started rubbing the sleep off of my eyes with my...hands?

I blinked as I stared at the human hand right in front of my face.

Chirping noises... They sounded louder now. Iorgetting the hand for a moment, I turned to the noises and saw two little blue birds hopping inside my room from an opened window and landed beside an opened box of pizza on the nearby table. The two birds started pecking on the leftover pizza.

Oh yeah... I did order pizza last night. But I didn't manage to finish it and left it there...and now the birds are eating my breakfast.

I looked back at my two hands again. I wiggled my fingers, and they moved.

I heard the birds viciously flapping their wings as they chirped in panic. I looked back at the window and gasped in horror.

A large human eye was staring back at me from the outside! The huge head moved upwards, and I briefly saw the giant's manic smile before it pushed its large and lengthy arms through my window, breaking it in the process! It stretched its palm open to grab me!

I suddenly heard a lot of panic shouts in the background as I pushed myself further back, but the giant arm quickly grabbed me, squeezing me as I was pulled outside—

—the cage...?

“Oh, you poor thing...” I heard a female voice, from a sea of faint voices, as I felt myself being carried like how humans carry a newborn baby.

I felt a swish of air, probably whoever was carrying me turned a bit. I briefly saw a uniformed guy locking the cage, probably from where I was sleeping. There were other white and clean cages, but my blurry eyes couldn't focus on any creatures inside...

I suddenly felt my tired body... My furred body... I looked up and saw Nurse Joy with a look of worry as she looked ahead and walked...somewhere...

I was feeling a bit uncomfortable, so I slightly moved to get comfortable. My little struggle made the nurse glance down on me with a small smile.

“Don't worry little one... I bet a good and healthy breakfast will fix you right away!”

...horay that I'm still a small Eevee...and horay that I'm being treated like a child... I sighed. Well, at least that dream reminded me of how much I missed being a human. Hopefully, that'll give me strength to keep on looking for a way to get back, since Bill is no longer an option...I think...

...I just hope there's no titan invasion back on earth...

I heard a creaking noise as a fresh cool breeze swept by and the soft morning rays of the sun temporarily blinded me. Nurse Joy went outside? With me?

Nurse Joy turned and then started walking.

I faintly remembered that I got captured by the animal con—er...the Pokémon control...unit? So, does this mean Nurse Joy pulled me out from ‘prison’? Can't get my hopes up just yet though. She might just be a nurse there, just checking up on the Pokémon.

I'm not comfortable with the idea that there are Pokémon being caged against their will. Then again, I shouldn't really trouble myself with them, no matter how sad the idea was. I should worry about myself more...

I sighed... I don't want to sound selfish...but I don't want to stay as an Eevee forever... I want to be a human again! And despite my sucky luck with the girls, there was one girl that I was planning to ask out on a date! I was just...gathering my courage...slowly... Sigh...

I heard a mechanical hiss from the sliding glass door, and the instant it opened for us, my powerful and hungry nostrils was struck with a lot of delicious scents of food that instantly flooded my mouth, and my stomach immediately started a noise barrage...

The nurse chuckled at my reddened and embarrassed face.

She put me on a table, like, literally on top of a table, just beside the glass window of the cool restaurant. She sat on a chair and smiled at me, before turning her attention to the menu after the waiter arrived and gave it to her.

She ordered some salad, and the waiter nodded as I rolled my eyes. Sheesh, even the girls here are on a diet to stay in shape. Then again, why shouldn't they? Nurse Joy seems attractive enough, and around my age...er...my human age, at least, and I could definitely be willing to ask her out, if I weren't a Pokémon.

But...she lacks...the spark? I dunno. I only try and ask girls out if the instant I saw them, I feel this weird ‘spark’... Though most of those with the spark are already in a relationship...hence why I am still single...

A few of my friends kept on urging me to ask the other single ladies back home, but they don't have the spark, so I didn't bother.

...or maybe I'm just being picky?

“What would you like to have?” Nurse Joy asked as she slipped the Pokémon food menu on my paws.

...and no. I will not consider this as a date...

I stared at the assorted blocks of colored marshmallows with slight irritation until I sighed and randomly pointed at something. The waiter nodded at us before he left, promising us that the food will arrive shortly.

“So,” Nurse Joy said, smiling at me. “The people at Pokémon Control assigned me to look after you while your trainer accidentally left you here all alone...”

So I was right all along that Nurse Joy's just doing this to me because it's her job now... I sighed. I was still clinging to a faint hope that something caused Bill's train ride to be cancelled... I let the nurse babble as I stared at the city beyond the glass window.

On the bright side, at least I'm not caught by some random trainer and forced to travel with him...or her. And at least I won't be starving in the streets. Still, waiting...sucks...and I'm a bit impatient. Okay, I'm really impatient.

Hm... Maybe I should go to Bill's home and see what things I can dig up...

“—so until then, you'll be staying in the center until your trainer comes back to pick you up.”

...crap...

destinedjagold October 9th, 2013 1:17 AM

Chapter 18
“So, who's the lucky guy?”

I gritted my teeth in annoyance as I ignored Grindark's remark. I was seated on a white circular table, where Nurse Joy hummed and groomed me with a pink brush.

“Don't forget to bring some chocolates.”

My eye twitched as the Houndour laughed at his remark.

“Har de har har...” I glared at his laughing form.

“Sounds like you two are getting along,” Nurse Joy commented as she moved to brush my tail.

I glared at her, but she didn't bother looking at my face.

“He-hey, maybe if you're lucky, you and your special guy might even have some fun later tonight!”

He howled in laughter as I added more force on both my clenched teeth and death glare. Vic, the Growlithe, who was seated beside him, sighed.

“Knock it off, Grin...” the Growlithe began, “you're making the young lad angry...”

The Houndour just kept on laughing.

The Growlithe sighed and looked at me with an apologetic smile. “Try not to mind him so much, lad. He's just frustrated for never having a mate.”

“Hahahah, yeah that's so tr...” Houndour stopped and sharply turned a glare at his friend. “H-hey! I resent that!”

Now it was my turn to grin. “Oh, so that's why, eh?”

The Houndour glared at me while the Growlithe chuckled.

“Shut it, pup!”

“Or what? You'll murder me and gift me to the closest girl and ask her out on a date?”

Grindark barked at me and stood up on all four, and looked like he was ready to jump at me on this table when Nurse Joy shushed him. I stuck my tongue at him.

“Grr... Just you wait when she leaves, pup!”

“Oh? Don't worry. I'll ask her to groom you pink.”

Even though I finally turned the teasing to my favor, I needed to mute them down as I began to think of ways to get outta here. I am still inside the Pokémon Control building, where a lot of humans and Pokémon can see me if I try to escape.

Hm... Maybe I can stir some chaos around here and flee while everyone's distracted? Yeah, no, I don't think a puny little Eevee can do that. I can try and anger Grindark to the point that he'll want to kill me, but...eh...no.

My little train of thought was broken when Nurse Joy suddenly carried me up to her br...chest. Yeah, chest. Darn...even though I'm an Eevee, I still think and THINK like a human... I looked away from...it, and tried to ignore the feeling.

...why didn't I felt like this when she carried me to and from the restaurant earlier? Probably 'cause I was tired back then...and hungry, but whatever...

Deep breaths... Calm down and take deep breaths...

Hm...maybe just a touch? I've been wondering what it actually feels like... Ack! No! Bad brain! Bad! Bad bad bad bad bad!

Eh? We're outside?

“We're going to the Pokémon Center, little one. Even though I'm asked to watch over you before your trainer comes back, I still have a job back at the center,” oh...yeah...figures... “And I can already imagine the angry look my little sister's going to give me for being late.” And she laughs a bit.

Gee... I've always wondered why all the nurses are Joys... Identical Joys... How did their mother ever...you know what? Perish the thought. I don't wanna know.

Hm... The Pokémon Center's a few more blocks away, but I can already see the red roof from afar. If the center's glass doors are facing us, that means we're facing North. Ilex Forest is down south.

If she's going to be busy treating trainers' Pokémon back to health, then that'd be the perfect time for me to make my escape.

Took us a lot of minutes to get there though. She walked slower than other people around, she needed to stop on pedestrian lanes, and she had some small talk with a few girls on the way. And when I say small talk, I meant talks that lasts for almost half an hour, complete with my cheeks being pinched and my head being petted. Normally, I'd enjoy the petting, but she took god knows how long, and it ticked me off!

Gah! Whatever! At least we're now here, and she's having an earful from her identical twin for being late.

After their little argument, she carried me to the nurse's room, and I showed some decency by turning around and closing my eyes as she changed her clothes into...

“Ta-dah!”

...it still looked like the same nurse clothes she wore from earlier, but a bit...cleaner now.

After that, she carried be behind the counter, where her sister was angrily waiting for her. With her sister storming her way to who knows where, Nurse Joy sent out her Chansey, and they started treating trainers' Pokémon, along with other not-Joy nurses around. Huh, well, I guess not all nurses are Joys. But still...

Anyway, I just sat there on the counter, and from what I heart, most of the trainers' Pokémon received their wounds and bruises from the gym leader herself.

Yeah, a Miltank's one scary not-evolved Pokémon.

...and since Pokémon can no longer evolve, trainers would be having a hard time defeating a rollout monster. Damn... I sure am glad I wasn't caught by trainers! I can't imagine myself flattened by that monstrosity.

...and I've been sitting here for far too long. I looked around and saw a wall clock. Almost noon. Eh, I guess I'll have some lunch first before I go wander around.

destinedjagold October 9th, 2013 11:04 PM

Chapter 19
Nurse Joy gave me another plate of those marshmallow-like Pokémon food again for lunch... I sighed as I forced myself to satisfy my belly. They're really not that bad but, it just feels...kinda awkward for the human within me to eat...Pokémon food. Talk about major discrimination...but what can I do about it? I turned into an Eevee, and there's nothing I can do about it...yet.

Nurse Joy, after she was done eating, just left me here in the center's cafeteria with other Pokémon and trainers. Both humans and Pokémon were discussin about strategy on how to beat Whitney.

Ah, my early nightmares of crying for how many tries it took me to beat Whitney is flooding back.

After I ate, I rested for a bit, since it's not really a good idea to start moving after a meal. It'll upset our stomach, as far as I've heard and experienced back on earth.

I allowed myself a half hour rest, just listening to the trainers and Pokémon talking with each other. Strange that these Pokémon weren't concerned about their freedom taken away from them. I wonder if it's because a Pokéball brainwashes them, or something. I mean, come on, even Saur and Shock warned me that I'll probably get captured.

...huh... I wonder how they're doing. They're probably pushing Lithe away from Vixie again. Heh...

Anyway, I stood on all four and went back to the main hall. Nurse Joy appeared to be busy enough not to notice my arrival. I could try and climb out from that window, but the trainers might notice me. Hm...

I walked towards the sliding doors and tried not to put any attention to myself. I sat beside a large plant pot...well, I was going to say flower pot, but the plant's not a flower, so a plant pot it is.

I waited for trainers to retrieve their Pokémon and walk out. I tailed a female trainer, who was wearing a very very short skirt. And yesh, I glanced up for a bit, and it was pink. Shame on me, eh? Blame the ‘human male urges’ within me. Whatever. At least I'm out now.

Pink... Huh, I almost forgot that I'm wearing a pink collar.

I quickly turned towards the nearest alley and hid myself in the shadows. It's still bright and sunny, despite the strong rain that occurred last night.

Hm... I need to look like I'm not hiding from human eyes. I did it last night, so it shouldn't be a problem if I try it again, right?

Eh, I think I'll need a few props to look like I'm already ‘owned’. I looked around and saw a box of some kiddie meal from a fast-food restaurant or something. There was nothing inside, but at least the box looks like it's just recently thrown here. This'll do.

I bit the cardboard handle and walked out of the alley. I walked on the streets, amongst humans and a few Pokémon following their trainers. Eyes fell on me, but most of them ignored me. Most of them, 'cause a few of them stopped and stared at me, wondering who on earth was my lazy trainer for ordering an Eevee to buy meals for him. Some found my little pretend to be cute for doing my trainer a favor. I just rolled my eyes at them.

Whatever. At least I'm now in front of Bill's door. His name's engraved on the wooden door. I spat the box I was carrying and stared at the knob.

The doorknob's too high for me to reach though, for some strange reason, so I quickly ran to the alley between Bill's and some house. The windows are closed shut, like at front. I walked to the other alley, and yeah, windows are also closed. Darn... I wonder if there's a backyard or something...

Eh, no. Exactly behind the back wall of the house is another wall of a tall building, leaving no spaces for even dust to enter in between...

Hm... I could try and poke the windows, and hope that I could open them?

Eh, nope... All windows are closed shut and tight. ...a pet door perhaps?

Still a no... Sigh... This is getting frustrating...

“Need a paw?”

My ears stood up as I looked up, and saw a Meowth lazily lying on his back on the window sill.

...strange that I didn't even notice him there 'til now. Maybe he just got here?

“Eh, yes please?”

He smiled. “And what's in it for me?”

...darn it... Hm...

“Uh...maybe there's a fridge inside and some...Magikarp fillet?”

“Heh... So you're bribing me to steal food?”

“...you'd rather want trashed food?”

“I like how you think,” he stood up and jumped beside me. Cats have great jumping abilities, even in this world, it seems.

He gestured for me to follow him, and we went to one of the alleys, and stared at a window.

“Can't let any humans see us breaking in under the clear day, eh?” He lifted a finger and a very sharp and shiny nail poked out as he grinned.

He slid his nail on the window in a circle, and afterwards, he carefully pulled it out. Wow... That was the first time I ever saw something like that in real life. I mean, they're common in movies, but come on, it felt so impossible to do realistically!

Anyway, he jumped on the window sill and extends a paw towards me. He helped me up, and pulled the window curtain up before we went inside.

Bill's home's...gloomy. Well, the curtains did shield the sun's light. We were in the living room, and the two of us jumped on the sofa and then on the floor.

“Nice place,” the Meowth commented as we stared at the neatly arranged furniture, paper stacks, magazines, and books.

The place doesn't really look anything special though, except for his flat-screen t.v. It has a lot of wirings crawling up from a wall behind it, and continued to a room beyond.

I heard a faint and cold hiss, and saw an orangey light from another room. That was probably the kitchen, and...

“Hello, my love...” ...Meowth was already rummaging through the refrigerator.

I shook my head and went to the other room where the wires were going. The door was opened slightly. The wires probably stopped it from closing completely. I lightly pushed the door open, and I was greeted with a room far messier than my own room being hit by a tropical storm. Papers, folders, pen and pencil were littered everywhere. There was a computer on a table filled with other pieces of paper, a bed of papers, a chair of papers, a shelf of papers, and a drawer of papers...

Damn, these are a lot of papers. I looked at the walls, and saw a few pictures stuck on them. There was a calendar, and it was filled with small notes, and one date was circled red. Walking on the sea of papers and jumping on the bed of papers, I leaned closer to the calendar. The circled date was Saturday, and there was a note there.

‘Meeting with Professor Oak’

So he did went to Kanto... Sigh...

I wonder if I could get into the train. Since he went to see Professor Oak, then Bill probably went to Pallet Town.

I nodded to myself. Yeah, that's probably a good plan. Besides, it'll be cool to visit Kanto, especially Pallet Town. I just hope that Red and Green are there and not Ash.

I looked around the room again. I don't want many people around when I try and get inside the train, so yeah, I guess I'll just wait for the day to be over.

Hm... Well, while I'm here, I might as well do some research. If Bill went to see Oak, then he's also probably researching for whatever caused all Pokémon to be unable to evolve. A good place to start a search would be on his computer.

I jumped off the bed and went to the system unit that sat under the computer table. I turned it on and jumped on a chair, and waited for it to boot.

Password... Darn. Erm...

Eevee? Eh, no. Pokémon? Nope... Bill? No... Hm... Inventions? Gah...

I jumped down and pulled the power cord. Sigh...

Well, the sea of papers should hold some valuable—

“I'll save this fish for later... Now...” I heard Meowth's delighted voice echo around the house.

I roll my eyes as I began to fish something interesting from the sea of papers...

destinedjagold October 10th, 2013 11:47 PM

Chapter 20
There were a few of those papers that were just filled with data about different Pokémon, and some comparisons between the ‘then’ and ‘now’. I think Bill was researching if there were any changes within a Pokémon after their inability to evolve. Unfortunately, he found no changes.

There are also files about the different teams assigned to investigate in different regions, and the summaries of their findings, which was...none of any significance, except for what Mewtwo have told a few researches in Hoenn.

I have also learned that a team in the Kalos region have spotted Celebi and Mew flying east. Of course, they were unable to catch their attentions, nor have they managed to capture a picture. Still, that information was very useful. At least now I know that it's useless to wait for Celebi in Ilex Forest.

There was also a team tasked to go and look for Arceus in the Sinnoh region. Since he's known as the God of Pokémon, it's quite understandable that they'll seek his knowledge of what happened. Unfortunately, locating the Pokémon was close to impossible, but the team were still looking for ways to make contact.

I also managed to dig up Bill's worn diary. The first page contained his computer's password. I plugged the computer back in and booted it up. It was difficult to type with paws though, but manageable. Anyway, I hit the Enter key, and it accepted the password.

The computer's O.S. is...I dunno what this is. It's not Windows nor Mac, nor anything I've seen back on earth. But whatever. That's not important.

“Wat'cha lookin' for?” Meowth asked, licking his paws as he sat on the bed.

I...am not entirely sure why I'm doing this research... To kill the time, maybe? I am, after all, waiting for the night so I can sneak into the train.

“Just...doing some research about why Pokémon can't evolve anymore...” I replied as I opened a folder labelled ‘important’. Using a mouse with paws is too freaking difficult! I miss my thumbs!

“Oh?” Meowth said. “Huh, I actually forgot all about that.”

I stopped and looked at him in shock. Seriously? Evolution is one of the greatest things a Pokémon can achieve, and he just ‘forgot’ that no Pokémon can evolve?

“You're kidding, right?”

He shrugged and resumed cleaning himself by licking his paw and rubbing it around his body. “I guess it doesn't really affect me much. In fact, I think it's a blessing.”

“Pl...please enlighten me...”

“Hey, things are fair now. No more overly powerful evolved Pokémon pushing us weak and unevolved Pokémon around. It's a win for me, and good riddance for that dum ol' Persian.”

Ah...huh... Territorial rivalry... Okay then... Still, I got nothing else to do to pass the time, so I might as well see what's up.

I didn't realize the hours I spent there though, searching for something, but I was thankful for the time on the lower-right of the screen. It was already six in the evening. Though my search ended up as nothing, at least I did managed to kill the time.

I shut the computer down and made my way towards the fridge and pulled some meat from the freezer after pushing a chair to climb on. Thankfully, Bill has an oven, so I placed the meat inside and set the oven to the appropriate settings, and waited.

After a few minutes of waiting, the smell of deliciously cooked meat made my stomach growl and woke Meowth up, who fell asleep on the bed of papers.

“Mm... Never knew you can cook!” Meowth said, jumping on the counter and sat beside me. “I could have asked you to cook those tuna cans I ate earlier.”

I shrugged. “You didn't ask. And oh, do you have a name?”

“Just call me Kit.”

“Jay.”

“Weird name for an Eevee.”

I shrugged again. “Not the first time I've heard someone said that to me.”

“Heh, so anyway...” Kit turned to the oven, staring at the cooked meat under the orange light. “You plan on living here and wait for that inventor?”

For an inventor, I am yet to see any of his inventions around. Maybe they're all in the attic?

I shook my head. “No. I don't think I can wait for a month or two for him to be back.”

“So...?”

“So... I'm going to ride the train to Kanto.”

Kit was about to react when the lights from the oven was gone and a ‘ding’ sound from it startled him.

“And dinner is ready!” I opened the oven and went to grab some cloth to grab the hot tray, but Kit beat me to it by hungrily pulling the tray out, and yelped as he dropped the tray of meat down on the floor. “Careful,” I deadpanned, “it's obviously hot.”

He shot me a glare. “You could have told me that before you opened this damn cooking box machine, you know!”

Kit jumped down and kicked the tray that covered the meat. I just remembered that he's a street cat, and he might claim it all to himself!

He looked up at me with an angry frown. “So, oh so wise one. How will we cut this in half?”

I blinked. Cut in half? Now that I think about it, he also did cut that burger in half...

His frown deepened. “Meowth to Eevee. Hello?”

I snapped back and shook my head. “Oh, uh, sorry...”

He just glared at me some more. “I'm getting hungrier by the minute here, so don't force me to eat this for myself.”

I pulled out a small knife from the silverwares and jumped on a chair and then to the floor. Kit just shook his head. What? It was a very high jump from the counter to the floor! I'm not a cat.

I put the knife on the floor in between us.

“Use this.”

He took it, studied it, shrugged, and started cutting the meat with the dull edge of the knife.

“Um... Wrong side.”

He jerked a bit before turning the knife to the right edge. “I knew that.”

destinedjagold October 14th, 2013 2:01 AM

Chapter 21
Kit and I went out of Bill's home through the hole the Meowth created on the window. Before we left, however, we made sure that the few lights we turned on were off, the oven was unplugged, and the fridge was closed.

Unfortunately, as soon as my four paws landed on the ground, flashlights were lit on us, followed by an angry growl and a tired sigh.

After my eyes adjusted to the sudden torrent of bright lights, I saw the two Pokémon Control humans again, the same guys who chased me last night. In front of them were their loyal dog Pokémon, and behind them was a worried-looking Nurse Joy.

When I turned to my companion, the Meowth was already gone. There was a struggling noise up above, and when I looked up, I saw his curled tail disappearing on the rooftop.

Fighting, fleeing, or talking would be useless though, so I sighed and let Nurse Joy pick me up. The humans were heading towards the Pokémon Control building as they tried to talk to me of how much trouble I've caused. Nurse Joy voiced out her concern of my sudden disappearance from earlier.

I didn't pay them any attention though.

They stopped and waited for the pedestrian light to turn green. I stood on my hind paws and rested my front paws on the nurse's shoulder as I glanced at the large clock on the train station blocks away.

Six thirty-one... The sky is bluish black with a sprinkle of twinkling stars. No rain tonight, it seems.

I looked down and saw the two dogs were eyeing me. I ignored them as I looked around. There were a lot of humans waiting for the lights to change.

Hm... I wonder...

I turned to where the nurse was facing. Lots of humans on the other side of the road as well. And...there's a truck facing the station's direction.

Hm... ...yeah...it's worth a shot...

“Hey pup,” I blinked, and turned to my left, and saw Houndour stood beside the nurse, and was glaring at me. “Remember... Try anything funny, and I'll rip your head off.”

“Grinda—”

“Shut up!” he sharply turned to the Growlithe who was behind him. “I missed my afternoon nap because of that freaking kid!”

The pedestrian lights turned green. Humans started walking. The driver of the truck seemed to change gear. It was a pick-up truck. Perfect.

“Oi,” I called without looking. I felt my heart race. I'm feeling nervous, but I decided to ignore it as best as I could. “Wanna see crazy?” my tone failed to hide my nervousness though.

If the dogs said something, then I probably have missed hearing it because of the loud painful scream of Nurse Joy after I bit her arm. I quickly jumped towards the face of a woman before the nurse's flailing arms would throw me away. I kicked my paws again from the yelping face and my back landed on the chest of a man. He yelped as I fell on the concrete road. I scratched his foot and ran towards the truck, which was already passing by.

I jumped and barely managed to grab a hold as I heard a lot of fallen coins from the chaotic crowd. I gasped as I slipped, but a paw grabbed my paws and pulled me up to the truck.

“You owe me a lot of dollars, kid!” Kit grunted after I was finally inside the truck. “And I still think this is a dumb idea.”

I ignored him for a moment as I ran to a crate near the driver's seat. I climbed up on the crate and looked at the time.

“Six thirty-eight...” I then turned back to the Meowth. “What time is the train going to Kanto again?”

Kit deadpanned. “Gee, you're welcome. And Seven.”

My eye twitched as I ‘tsk'ed’. Twenty more minutes. No no... Just calm down... Just concentrate on going to the tra—

A loud thud echoed and Kit and I yelped as an angry Houndour growled at me. “That's it! You're dead!” and he fired a fierce flamethrower which I barely managed to dodge.

I was actually quite surprised that I was able to dodge it from how shocked and unprepared I was. I landed, but then the truck screeched to a stop, sending me towards the metal wall with a thud, along with Grindark and Kit.

The Houndour was beside me, and opened his mouth to bite me, but I swiped my paw on his eyes, making him yelp and jump back.

“What the devil—?” the driver said and gasped.

“Inside!” I shouted as I ran and jumped towards the driver's face. “Hurry!” I kicked my paws and landed on the driver's seat.

Kit nervously jumped inside as I jumped down and slammed my two paws on the gas, almost throwing me back when the truck suddenly moved forward. Kit yelped and was probably thrown back as the door slammed close.

“Wh-wh-w-what the hell are you doing?!”

“Grab the wheel!” I yelled back.

“Wh-what wheel?!”

“The steering wheel goddamni—ack!” The truck crashed on something, and I heard shouts and gasps as my head hit something solid and ouchful. I grit my teeth as I pulled Kit's tail, pulling him down. “This?! See this?!” I grabbed his scared head and made him stare at the gas pedal. “Push that thing down! Got it?!”

He mumbled something as I let him go and climbed back up on the driver's seat. I turned and stood on my hind paws and grabbed the steering wheel with my front paws as best as I could. Eh, we hit a car...an expensive looking one as well...

Before I could tell Meowth to push it for Pete's sake, the passenger's door bursts open and Grindark was climbing up on the seat.

“You are SO dead, pup!”

“Shi—”

The driver's door flew open and the frantic-looking driver looked at me in utter disbelief.

“NOW YOU USELESS CA—WHOA!!!” I was almost thrown back when Kit suddenly hit the gas. I turned the wheel to get away from the car we hit. We got away and the doors closed, one of them slammed on Houndour's yelping body. There were cars up ahead, and I did my best to steer and dodge them.

Six forty-two...

“C-can I stop now?!” Kit cried.

“You better stop now!” Grindark snarled as he grabbed on the seat for dear life.

“I'm tempted to slam this truck and turn you into a pancake!” I snarled back at him.

“W-what?!”

“Not you, Meowth!”

The station was close now...

“Brace yourselves!” I shouted as I sharply turned the steering wheel, turning it to the right and slamming on a concrete wall. The impact made me slam myself on the steering wheel and I almost lost all of the air in my lungs.

The windscreen shattered as the truck skidded and was slowly turning over, and when it finally did, it continued until the truck was up-side-down and finally skidded to a stop.

I groan as I felt a hot trail of liquid from my nose and head. As painful as I body was, I needed to move...

I pushed myself up, and saw both the Meowth and Houndour were knocked unconscious. I quickly ran outside through the broken windscreen and ran through the sea of humans who were thankfully ignoring me.

Six forty-five... Fifteen more minutes...

The people were so busy staring at the wrecked truck that I managed to slide through the sliding doors of the station. The air was cool, and I wiped my nose and head with a paw before running towards the train.

There was a ticket booth and waiting seats, but all were empty as all eyes were outside. Well, the train isn't empty at least, though the passengers were trying to have a good look at what happened through the windows. I managed not to get any attention as I walked inside the opened door, and quietly lied below a seat by the trash bin. Hopefully, the bin and the sea of feet will shield me from the eyes of humans...

Ugh...now that I'm resting here...I'm...feeling really really weak... Ow... I...I guess the adrenaline in my body's gone now.... Ow... Ow ow... Ack... It hurts... It hurts...

destinedjagold October 16th, 2013 11:39 PM

Chapter 22
A groan escaped my lips as I woke up. Damn...yesterday was as crazy as heck... My body feels so darn beat... Ugh...doubt that I could move...

...strange that I'm lying on an earthy ground and not on the metallic floor of the...train...though...?

...I rode the train...didn't I?

...but...why...? ...wha?

Even though I'm covered in fur, I can positively tell that I'm lying on an earthy ground. Gah... This is useless... I opened my eyes and squinted after the bright...everything welcomed my sleepy eyes. Took me a few seconds for my eyes to adjust, and I saw that I was indeed lying on the ground. Ahead was...uhm... On the left was a peaceful stream, while on the right was a line of trees, probably an edge of a forest or something...

“He's awake!”

“GAH!” I jumped back in fright after a huge white face flashed before my eyes. As I landed back on the ground, however... “F-F-Fay?!”

“The one and only!” the Rattata stood on her hind legs and twirled in place, and bowed to me like a ballerina would.

“Stop scaring him! Geez,” a familiar voice echoed from my right. I turned and saw the rest of her friends standing up. “One of these days, you're gonna give him a heart attack!” Shock scolded her, but Fay appeared to have not heard him. “...it went through the other ear, didn't it...?”

Saur and Vixie chuckled.

Okay, I'm totally missing something here... Also, strange that I no longer feel weak nor hurt all over... Anyway... “Could anyone please explain what's going on?” I looked at Fay, and then at the group, and then at Fay again, and I'm starting to get annoyed at her innocent smile.

“Oh! Oh!” the Rattata excitingly jumped in place, smiling wide. “Can I tell the story? Can I? Can I?”

“By all means,” Shock glared at her, “no.”

“Aw...” her ears and smile drooped.

“But you can add your comments in the story,” Saur said.

“Really?” her ears stood up and her smile was back...

“Stop encouraging her...” Shock facepalmed. I sat down (after kicking my tail out of the way) as he and the others joined their rat friend. “Okay, where to start...”

“We were so worried about you so we went to the city despite the danger and there were crashings and noises everywhere(!) and then we asked a few Hoothoots of where you are and we went to this HUGE huge human building but the humans were busy looking at what they called an ‘accident’ so I followed your scent to the huge and speedy metal thingy that didn't move so we took you and brought you here! The end!” Fay said with a huge and toothy smile. “Nice pink collar, by the way!”

...and that's how to make a short summary...

“That...actually sums it all up...” Shock sighed in relief, probably thankful not to tell a long story.

I pulled the collar off of me and threw it to Fay, which she caught with her paws happily. “Go crazy with it.”

Fay actually giggled like a child and started playing with it...thankfully, not in a dirty way...

“But I was hurt all ov—”

“Saur used Synthesis,” Vixie explained.

“—er...er...ok.”

“But Joe—”

“Jay,” I corrected.

“Whatever,” Shock rolled his eyes. “What in Giratina's marbles were you doing there?! We heard that you caused that wreck back in that human city!”

...I wonder if things would have been easier if I told them everything about me...and I wonder why I am not mad at them for destroying my chances of going to Kanto... Huh, now that I think about it, I can't seem to get angry with them for ruining my chances to get to Kanto.

...weird, but anyway... Shock was still giving me an angry glare. Saur and Vixie wore neutral expressions. Fay's busy with fun world.

“Um...may I explain?”

“By all means,” the Pikachu hissed, and I cringed, strangely feeling guilty for some reason...

“Shock,” Vixie spoke, making the Pikachu to take a huge breath to calm down.

“Sorry... Sorry...” Shock said, still breathing in and out to calm himself.

Saur nodded for me to talk.

“Well, uhm... I was...trying to go to Kanto.”

“I thought you said that you went to the city to go and look for some human?” Vixie asked, blinking.

“I was,” I nodded. “But I learned that he wasn't in the city anymore, and is in Kanto.”

“But why the wreckage?” Shock asked.

“A couple of humans and dog Pokémon were trying to stop me...so I...tried to force my way to that train so I could get to Kanto.”

“What's a train?” the Vulpix asked.

“The ‘huge and speedy metal thingy that didn't move’,” I explained together with air quotes.

Shock nodded. “Okay. Things are understandable.” He nodded again and gave me a small, apologetic smile. “So...I guess we ruined your chance to get to Kanto, huh?”

Strange that they know the region names, yet they don't know what a train is. Aw well...

I shrugged and smiled. “I'm not angry though...which is strange, even for me.” I'm actually glad to see these four again, but eh...I'd rather not tell them to avoid being sappy and all...

The three smiled back, and I then noticed that Fay's four paws were tied by the collar, and she was giggling while hopping in place, trying to keep her balance, but eh, I guess the force of my stare must have pushed her to the stream.

Her friends didn't seem to mind, until I told them that the Rattata's paws were tied. The two panicked while Saur sighed and fished the rat out with a vine. Shock and Vixie scolded the laughing Fay while Saur was trying to pull the collar off of her paws.

Yeah, I am really glad to see them again.

...and I guess it's about time that I told them who I reall am... I should brace myself...

Dillon1102 October 17th, 2013 9:55 PM

I really enjoy reading your stories but I wish that you would Make them longer or release them more often. I find myself not liking any of the other fan fictions but I do not leave comments because that one guy just deletes them which is ridiculous. Nonetheless I look forward to the next addition!

destinedjagold October 18th, 2013 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dillon1102 (Post 7888191)
I really enjoy reading your stories but I wish that you would Make them longer or release them more often. I find myself not liking any of the other fan fictions but I do not leave comments because that one guy just deletes them which is ridiculous. Nonetheless I look forward to the next addition!

Thanks, but I only write chapters when I'm bored at work though, and try to publish them before I go home. :3

Chapter 23
“Where are we going, anyway?” Shock asked for a hundredth time.

I ignored him and his friends as I led them to...somewhere more...private. Almost everywhere I looked, there are Pokémon nearby. If I wanted to tell them my secret, then I needed us to be in a place where it'll only be just the five of us, and no one else.

It was still an hour or two before noon, so, despite the thick sea of leaves up above, I could clearly see where I am going. We turned away from the stream a few minutes ago, and far ahead, I could see a bright clearing.

...and...is it just me, or do I actually hear a—

“The beach!” Fay squealed as she ran passed me and onward towards the shore beyond the forest.

...where in Johto are we, anyway?

“E-eh...” Vixie said, “...I don't really like the beach...”

“Seriously Jay, why are we here?” Shock asked as we exited the forest, and we were immediately greeted by the fresh salty breeze.

Fay wasn't the only Pokémon here though. There were also others who were enjoying a swim or a sunbath. I stopped and looked around, and saw tall boulders on the sandy shore, meters away from us. I was about to start going there, but my tail was painfully held in place.

I gritted my teeth in pain as I turned my head back. The Pikachu was angrily holding my tail.

“We're not making another step to somewhere you're leading us to.”

Vixie and Saur nodded.

I sighed. “I am just trying to find a place where we can talk in private.”

“The place where you woke up was—”

“It had Pidgeys and some bugs around that could hear us,” I cut him off and pulled my tail off of his grip. I turned ahead and pointed at the boulders. “I think that's a good place though.”

“Why is it that you insist of talking without anyone else to hear?” Shock asked, failing to control his temper. “We hear the Pidgeys talk all the time, but we actually don't mind them.”

“Unless of course if they suddenly said something very interesting,” Fay added as soon as her soaked body arrived.

“So...” Saur said slowly. “It'll be an interesting story then?”

I sighed and nodded. “And the sooner, the better...I think...”

“If it's that big of a secret, then you shouldn't tell us,” Vixie frowned. “We have secrets of our own that we're not comfortable of sharing with one another...”

“Yeah,” Fay nodded, “like Saur's life back in that daycare thingy.”

“Look,” I began, “at first, I thought it was best not to tell you guys, but you kept on asking why I do this and why I do that.” I took a breath and sighed. “So, it's time for me to tell you guys why, and the sooner the better.”

Shock brought a paw to his chin, his eyes on the ground, deep in thought. “Hm... Honestly, I'm not good at keeping secrets.” He then looked at me. “When I get angry, I tend to spill everything...”

“Don't we all?” I said.

“Nope,” Saur smiled.

I deadpanned at him. “You're full of secrets. Anyway...” I turned towards the boulders and started walking.

I could tell that they're following me though, so I continued as I ignored and tried not to bump into other Pokémon laying on the sandy ground. A few of them said hello, so I greeted them back with a small smile, and the four who were tailing me greeted them as well.

Soon, the low voices of Pokémon died down as we neared the boulders. I walked around to hide us from the eyes of many Pokémon. Thankfully, there weren't any Pokémon around or near the boulder. I turned and slowly kicked my tail out of the way before I sat down.

“You need to learn to lift your tail there,” Fay said as she and her friends sat down in front of me.

I shrugged. “Meh... Maybe later...” I took a breath to calm myself down. My heart's starting to beat nervously fast though, and I didn't realize that I already took quite a number of calming breaths.

“Better not talk about it then,” Saur commented. They must've noticed my nervousness. No duh...

I closed my eyes and shook my head. “I'm...a human...”

And there, I said it.

...the silence is so f*cking cliché...

“Pffftttahahahah!”

I...guess that's one of the cliché responses though... I curiously opened my eyes and saw Fay laughing her ass off as she fell on her back, still laughing. The other three just...stared at me...with pokerfaces...

“That...um...” Vixie spoke unwillingly. “...explains...the tail?”

Shock shook his head. “You,” he pointed at me with a serious look, “...are...brainwashed.”

“...what?”

“That, or you've really really REALLY hit your head MIGHTY hard when we first found you.”

I sighed. “Look. I'm not brainwashed, nor did I hit my head...I think...but I'm not lying!”

The Pikachu shook his head in annoyance. I guess he doesn't like these kinds of talk. “No. Impossible!” He glared at me. “Do you really expect us to believe that? We're hoping for you to answer why you insist on going to that city, and this is your answer?! Really?!”

...I never said it'll be this easy...but I didn't expect it'd be this hard.

“Prove it.”

...okay, difficulty level increased... I opened my mouth to say something, but no words went out. I'm drawing a blank on what to say. I sighed instead.

“I...didn't expect you guys to believe me anyway...”

“Like hell,” Shock snarled.

“Okay, enough,” I glared at him. “I said my secret, and I swear I am not lying. How in the world do you think I can prove to you guys that I'm telling the truth, huh?!”

Shock glared back for a while before he shook his head and turned his back on me. “Why am I even wasting my time on you, anyway?”

“I'm starting to wonder that myself,” I snarled back.

Sparks flew from the Pikachu as he quickly turned back to me. I felt my heart sunk a million depths when I saw Shock's electrifying glare. “What was that?!”

...I really really hate being electrocuted...

“Shock, stop that!” Vixie called. “You're scaring him!”

“He should be!” Shock shouted, glaring at my shaken form. A vine slapped behind his head. “Ack!” The sparks were gone as he turned and glared at Saur. “What was that for?!”

“For scaring Fay,” Saur calmly said, and I saw Fay was shaken in fear as she hid behind the Bulbasaur.

“F-friends don't hurt friends...” she kept on whispering.

Shock's ears drooped, as well as mine.

“Sorry...” I whispered with a sigh.

The Vulpix sat beside the Rattata and began rubbing her back. “It's alright Fay, it's alright...” she shot a glare at the Pikachu.

“I-I'm sorry Fay...” Shock sighed. “I didn't mean to...” He then slowly turned to me, and I felt nervous under his sad stare. “Sorry...”

“Um...okay...?” I mentally slapped myself...

“That'll do,” Saur nodded. “So... You're a human?”

I nodded weakly.

“How?”

I blinked. “How...what?”

“Sorry,” Saud chuckled. “Trying to practice saying only a few words. Doesn't work all the time, it seems...”

“No kidding...” I lamely replied.

“How did you become an Eevee then?”

I shook my head. “No idea. That's why I was trying to find Bill. He's a human inventor, and I know that he created a machine that can turn humans into Pokémon.”

Shock and Saur arched their eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, yes... It's crazy to hear. Just let me finish. Ahem, anyway...” somehow, I remembered that magician that turned Ash into a Pikachu. Eh, whatever. “...his invention didn't work well though, so he was forced to change himself back. And that's why I wanted to see him. He might be able to change me back.”

Saur nodded. “And...this Bill is in Kanto?”

I nodded.

Shock sighed. “I still think your crazy.”

I rolled my eyes. “Thank you. I try.”

“Whatever,” Shock shook his head and turned to his friends. “Let's just return to Bi.”

“Bee?” I asked.

“Who knows,” Shock started walking away, “she might help us snap some sense back into this Eevee.”

“Huh, not a bad idea,” Saur nodded and turned to Fay. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” the Rattata smiled a small smile. “I think so.”

Saur smiled and nodded, and they walked after the Pikachu as I walked and stopped beside the Vulpix.

“Who's Bee?” I asked her.

“Huh?” she blinked and turned to me. “Oh, right... you never met her before.” She gestured with her head to follow the others, and we then started walking. “Bi is Celebi.”

Oh... Oh. Oh! “S-seriously?!” B-but I thought... You know what? Never mind. Those papers were probably dated back a few weeks ago. “Celebi's back?” I asked.

She frowned. “Not for long though... She just came back to check up on us.”

“Oh...” Well, that sucks. We'd better hurry then. Also... “Um...can I ask you something?”

Vixie just shrugged.

“What do you think of me now?”

“...a crazy Eevee. No offence.”

Ouch... “Eh... None taken...”

destinedjagold October 20th, 2013 11:05 PM

Chapter 24
I discovered that the beach where I confessed my secret was west from Goldenrod City. I learned this after I quietly followed Shock and the others, who were heading east.

We went around the city though, careful not to be seen while we were running through an open route.

We spent two days walking, eating, talking and resting before we reached the bottom of the cliff. We were thankful that it was a clear afternoon while we were climbing up the cliff. If it was a windy or stormy afternoon, then it'd be a totally different story.

I was so tired by the time we reached the top, and so were the others, so we decided to camp for the night, since the sun was also about to set.

We sat in a circle, lying on our bellies. We rested as we tried to catch our breaths before one or two of us would collect something to eat, like, berries.

During our little dinner, we talked for a few about random things. Almost all of those random things were questions about me and my previous life as a human. Shock was still doubtful though, but our anger towards each other has faded long ago, and we occasionally talk and smile at each other, which was good.

I was the first to wake up when a cold drop of water hit my nose. At first, I thought it was going to rain, but when I looked up, the sleepy dark-blue morning sky was clear. I then heard faint giggling noises from the bushes. A quick look and I saw an Azurill playfully squirting water at the fleeing Sentret. They didn't notice me as they chased each other deeper into the forest.

After everyone woke up, we took a quick breakfast, berries once again, before we continued on our way back to Celebi's pond. It's the third day since we started going back to Ilex Forest, and I started to wonder if Celebi was still there. Vixie and the others did say that Celebi only came back to check up on things and then would be gone for who knows how long.

Then again, none of the four were showing signs of concern that Celebi might be long gone before we even arrive at the place. So I guess that's a good sign that Celebi will still be there. Either that, or it never occurred to them that it's been three days now, and the chances of Celebi still being there is close to zero percent...

“—so what do you think, Jay?” I snapped back to reality after Fay turned her head over her shoulder to look at me. I was still tailing their little group from behind though.

“Er...sure, I guess?” I hope that was the right answer...

The others turned to me with arched eyebrows. Eh, nope... Not the right answer...

“Me being born as a Pikachu has something to do with me not devolving into a Pichu, and you answered with ‘sure, I guess’?” Shock frowned.

“Clearly, he wasn't paying attention,” Saur noted.

I deadpanned. “Thanks, Captain Obvious. Clearly, I wasn't.” I shook my head. “Anyway, a Pichu?”

...I haven't really thought about it until now. Shock's an evolved form! So...

“...shouldn't you be a Pichu?” I asked.

He frowned. “That's what the others kept on asking me back in the pond. So, welcome to their club.”

I rolled my eyes. “Seriously though... Why aren't you a Pichu? Then again... I can't imagine a tough and hot-headed guy like you being a Pichu.”

Shock glared at me as the others chuckled. “Ha ha... Funny.” He shook his head and looked ahead. “Anyway, as I've said, I was born as a Pikachu, and so were my siblings back home... I'm from a clan of Pikachus in the Kanto region.”

Eh? “Viridian Forest?”

“That's what the humans call that forest, and I really hate that name,” the Pikachu said. “But us Pokémon call it Green Forest. Because the forest's leaves were a lot greener than any other forest. Even this one.”

“I...think viridian means blue-green... I think...”

Shock shook his head. “Whatever. It's Green Forest, and since you're a Pokémon, and clearly not a human, you should call it Green Forest and not Vivi-whatever.”

I frowned and was about to complain, but Vixie shot me an amused look and shook her head. I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Fine. Green Forest it is. At least it's easier to say...”

“So...” Fay asked. “What do you think? Why isn't Shock a Pichu?”

Erm...yes... That question... I almost forgot. Hm... “Well... The phenomenon made all Pokémon to return to their basic forms, and couldn't evolve. At least, that's what I found out while I was in the city. Buuut... Shock's still a Pikachu. So... I think that...uhm... He's a lucky one to escape the weird ‘return to basic’ black magic thingy, or because it's in his DNA or genes that his basic form is a Pikachu, and why the heck are you two laughing?!”

I frowned at Fay and Vixie, who were laughing at my answer slash explanation.

“Do all humans talk that weird?” Fay laughed. “Basic? Magic? Dee en ey? Jins? What?”

My frown went further down. “Yeah, ha hah. Go laugh your asses off...”

Shock and Saur chuckled.

“Seems we're even now,” Shock grinned.

I glared at him for a few moments before I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, whatever. Are we there yet?”

destinedjagold October 21st, 2013 12:26 AM

Chapter 25
Fay smelled a human scent up ahead. Carefully, Shock volunteered to take a look. Saur explained to me that it was always Shock's job to check out the humans before coming up with a plan to evade them.

Shock was a few trees ahead, taking a peak behind the bushes. My own curiosity took the better of me, and despite the whisper warnings of the others behind me, I reached the bush and stood beside the Pikachu. He has good hearing, but he was probably focused on the human or humans though, that he wasn't aware of my presence yet. Startling him would be fun, but it might not be a good idea, especially if the humans are trainers.

I wanted to take a peak, but I might cause enough noise to startle the Pikachu. So, I mentally sighed as I closed my eyes and focused on my hearing.

“—don't think that this is a good spot, lass,” an old voice said.

“Aw, but we've been walking for, like, forever!” a young female voice replied. “I wanted to rest, and maybe start painting! I did promised granny to at least paint once a day!”

“And what in heavens are you going to paint in the middle of this forest? Trees?”

“Hah hah... You're so funny, gran'pa.” There was a soft thud. Probably a medium-sized bag. An unzipping zipper. Yep, definitely a bag. I heard paper and wood noises. “There. Now, for inspiration.”

“Well, good luck with that.”

“Gran'pa, zip it. I need to concentrate.”

“They don't look like trainers though...” Shock whispered to himself. “But they're on a clear path... We can't go through without them noticing...”

I opened my eyes and looked at his back.

“Hm... They don't look like they'll be leaving any time soon either... We can't wait though...”

I grinned. I quietly walked behind him and turned my back on him. Besides, if anything goes wrong, he's a fast runner. I looked ahead as I lifted my two hind legs. Fay, Vixie and Saur were looking at me in disbelief, their breaths frozen.

Ladies and gentlemen! Without further ado, let me kick the Pikachu!

“WHA—!!!” Shock screamed in pain and surprise as he flew through the bush and landed on...

“AH!”

There was a thud. There was a crash. Wood. Paper sheets. Tin cans. A louder thud. More wood.

“Ohmygosh! A Pikachu!!!”

And then a mixture of two voices: squeals and screams.

...whoops?

“You'll be perfect for my painting for the day!”

“Never have I seen a Pikachu fly before... Oi lass, that'd be a rare one. I have a Pokéball here to catch that.”

“Wha?! No! I just want to paint this Pikachu! Not capture it!”

I pushed my head through the bush to see what was happening.

I heard the old guy sighed. “Yer gonna live the rest of yer days with a Smeargle?”

“Hey you old bum! Glee is a faithful companion of mine in painting! We share the same passion, so I don't need to capture any other Pokémon!”

My face poked through the bush, and my gaze instantly fell on Shock's death glare. The young teen was hugging him like a pillow. I smiled sheepishly as he mouthed ‘I'll kill you later’.

I heard loud rustling noises beside me, and out came three more faces, one of them glaring at me.

“Jay! What have you done?!” Vixie hissed at me.

“Calm down,” I whispered back. “She's not capturing Pikachu. Just wanna paint him.”

“Oh! Painting?!” Fay squealed, making the rest of us gasp as we turned to her. “But hey! Can we go and get painted as well?” she looked at us with a pouting bottom lip. “Can we? Please?”

I heard a spark. I turned ahead and saw a happy female teen, and um...Shock was grinning like a maniac, both his cheeks sparkling.

“Of course YOU can!” Shock said in a very terrifying way. What have I done?! “And let's call it ‘Beat The Eevee!’”

I gulped. “No thank you!”

Zap!

Can't...move...

---

“I still think that we should'a caught that Pikachu, or at least that Eevee...”

“Oh, quiet you old timer,” I heard the young teen squealed as she and her grandfather walked away, carrying my shame.

“Aw, cheer up,” Vixie poked my shoulder. “It wasn't that bad.”

“My manhood was exposed and painted right in front of a gir-hu-hurlll...!” I cried, my face underneath my two front paws as I quietly cried my shame off.

“Well, uh... I...think I have a clue what ‘manhood’ meant but, if it's any consolation, not all of us...um...seen it?”

“Go away, Vixie...”

Saur, Fay and Shock were laughing their asses off as they continued on our way, Saur's vines dragging me along...

destinedjagold October 21st, 2013 11:14 PM

Chapter 26
We reached the pond in half an hour after our lunch break...with berries... Sigh... I miss the taste of meat already...

The Pokémon residents were still separated by groups though. Grouped by the trees or by the edges of the pond. A few were alone as well.

As usual, I was behind our small group, and in front of me, the four were, once again, arguing with Lithe... Sigh... Things aren't really going to change here, huh?

“Lithe,” a new voice called from...above? “Go back to your circle.”

I turned up just in time to see...Celebi, descending, with an annoyed frown directed at the retreating Growlithe. Well, there's a change.

“I can't believe he's still after you,” the legendary said as she touched down in front of the four. If not counting the Pikachu's ears, Celebi's as tall as Shock.

I stepped up beside Fay and Shock as Vixie replied. “I just hope he gets tired soon...”

“Bi,” Shock said, “can't you tell him to stop going after 'Xie?”

Celebi turned to him and sighed. “I already lost count of how many times I told him that.” Pikachu sighed as Bi finally took notice of me. I felt nervous under her curious gaze. “Who's this?”

“Er...” Com'on mouth! You can do better than that!

“Oh, this is Jay,” Fay said, turning to me with a smile and then turned back to Bi. “He wants to ask to be your mate.”

“What?!” I shouted as I gave her a pound on her head. “No I don't!”

“...ow...”

I looked back at the legendary and smiled nervously. “Er, don't listen to her.”

“Jay huh?” Celebi brought a hand to her chin, and tilted her head as she stared at me while floating around me...as if she was...scanning me... “Well,” she said as she landed in front of us. “You don't look that bad to be my mate.”

I stepped back in shock. “Wait, what?!”

She nodded. “I don't like loud noises though, so we'll have to work on minimizing your shouting habit...”

This is weird! This is beyond weird! I looked at the others. Saur just shrugged his shoulders. Shock was giving me a thumbs up. I glared at him. Fay had a huge grin. Vixie was quietly clapping her paws.

Celebi's face was suddenly inches away from mine. It was impossible, but I actually felt a sweat ran down from my head as I nervously gazed at her piercing sapphire eyes. I involuntarily took a step back to regain my personal space, and she floated back and sighed.

“Eh, I guess I shouldn't be choosy...”

“You CAN'T be serious!” I said, still not believing what the heck is happening.

She shrugged and turned to the others. “Mew already has a mate, and she never stops talking about how sweet he was, so,” she shrugged again and looked at me with a sweet smile. “I guess it's time for me to have one.”

“Is it time for me to run away, screaming?” I asked. “And how in blazes will this work? Legendaries can't...um...have babies, right?” At least in the games, they can't...minus Manaphy...Latios...Latias...

Celebi shook her head and began hovering closer. “No, you can't run, and no, that's just a bunch of rumors.”

Eheh...

Eheheheh...

“Eheheheheh....heheh... O-okay, hahah,” I laughed nervously as Celebi blinked. “Funny... Hahah... You guys can stop the joke now, 'cause I'm honestly freaking out...”

Celebi blinked, and then glared at me. She suddenly grabbed a hold of my face with her grassy-viney arms and glared directly into my soul. “Were you really wanting to be my mate, or not?”

I gulped. Please, kill me now?

“Okay, we're getting overboard,” Shock sighed as Celebi suddenly lets me go, giggled, and floated back towards the laughing Vulpix and Rattata.

“Not. Funny!” I snarled as I tried to calm my fast-beating heart.

“It was to us!” Fay replied.

I mumbled some jumbled letters for the sake of mumbling...

“But two points of serious,” Celebi said after their giggles died down. “One, I'm seriously of looking for a mate, because Mew's making me jealous...”

“I'm not applying,” I glared at her innocently-smiling face. “No thank you! And you shouldn't have a mate just because you're jealous!”

She just shrugged as Saur chuckled.

“And two,” Celebi continued, “Jay, that's your name, right?”

I nodded reluctantly.

“I can't seem to see his time.”

I...raised an eyebrow. “What? You mean I'm dead?”

“Wow!” Fay wow'ed, for some reason... “Zombies do exist!”

I deadpanned at her. “Yeah... Blearghurgh and some gibberish...” I shook my head. “Seriously, what does that mean?”

“Celebi can travel through time,” Saur said.

...and Captain Obvious strikes again~!

Celebi nodded. “I can also see others' connection with time, but...”

“...you can't see mine?” I guessed.

She nodded again and frowned. “...and it's weird, really.”

“Bi,” Shock called, and looked around, before looking at Celebi again. “He claims that he used to be a human,” he whispered.

Celebi stared at Shock for a couple of seconds before turning to me with an arched eyebrow. “...really?”

“Really,” I said. “And no, I ain't joking.”

She landed and looked at the four. “...and you believe him?”

A series of ‘nuh-uh’ and ‘nope’ echoed from our little group.

I frowned. But eh, if a human walks up to me and tells me that they used to be a Pokémon, I wouldn't believe them either. But still...

Celebi looked at me and nodded. “I'll give you the benefit of the doubt then...”

I sighed in relief. At least she doesn't fully not believe me... “Thanks. That's...really why I wanted to see you.”

Celebi nodded. “It's worth the wait, at least.”

It's...worth the wait? I turned back to the four and they just smiled back at me.

“We asked Bi is she could wait here for you,” Vixie said.

“One of the reasons that we pulled you out from the city,” Shock said, crossing his arms with pride.

I rolled my eyes, but I'm quite thankful that...they actually care. “Thanks, I guess?”

They nodded back.

“So, uh,” I looked back at Celebi. “What now? I um...kinda expecting that you'll know of some ways for me to turn back into a human...”

“Arceus might know...” Celebi thought. “But he's really grumpy if I visit him without an invitation from him. Big meanie...”

A...huh... Okay then... “Can't you at least try?”

She nodded. “But I can't promise you anything...”

“Good enough,” I smiled.

“But what about that Bill guy you were talking about?” Fay asked.

“Who?” Celebi asked.

“Bill is currently in Kanto, who has a machine that I think might help me return to being human.”

“Oh, then that simplifies things then,” Celebi nodded. “You can just go there and meet this Bill.”

I frowned. “Bill's a human.”

“Never mind I said anything then,” Celebi chuckled. “But it's worth a try, right?”

“I...guess so?”

Celebi nodded. “Then it's settled. While I try to talk to Arceus, you go to Kanto and meet up with Bill.”

“You um...” should I? Eh, what the heck. “You probably might need to talk to Palkia as well though...”

Celebi blinked. “Why?”

“I'm...not from this world either...”

Silence... At least our group was quiet... Other Pokémon around the area were still talking amongst each other.

“You're getting crazier and crazier...” Shock shook his head.

destinedjagold October 22nd, 2013 11:52 PM

Chapter 27
Celebi did one last fly-through around the forest before she left. Before she left however, I asked her where she was headed. She assured me to make time to visit Arceus and ask about my concerns.

That wasn't really the reason why I called her though. I asked her what she was gonna do, and she just shrugged and said that she needed to continue searching for the cause of the phenomenon.

After that, we and the other Pokémon around the pond bid her good luck and farewell. Aaannnddd...as soon as she was gone...

“Yo! Vixie!” ...Lithe's back in action...sigh...

“No!” Vixie shouted and glared at the approaching Growlithe.

We're thankful that we're still on the edge of the pond. I turned to Saur, and he stared back at me with a vine slightly poked out from under the bulb on his back. I smirked, and so did he.

“Aw, com'on Vixie!” the Growlithe whined. “I just got my nineteenth mate yesterday! You'd be my lucky twenty!”

My mouth hung open... “Wow... Not sure if you're extremely lucky, or extremely pervy.”

Fay chuckled at my statement, Vixie nodded, Shock and Saur laughed, and Lithe glared at me.

“What was that, punk?!”

“Deaf, too...” I deadpanned.

“As always...” Vixie added.

Shock coughed. “We don't have time for this.” He turned to me. “Bi gave us a task, so we should go.”

I blinked. “To...Kanto...?”

Saur and Shock nodded.

Fay smiled wide. “Of course to Kanto! Where else?!”

Erm...yeah, but... “You're coming?” I looked at all of them, minus Lithe. “You're all coming?”

“I would love to hear that from my mates and Vixie tonight,” Lithe commented with a grin, and I involuntarily had a coughing fit. Wow...just...wow...

“Dream on, perv,” the Vulpix hissed before turning to us. “Let's get outta here.”

We nodded and started walking towards the forest. I wanna ask if they're really sure of coming along, but right now, I'd rather be as far away as I can from this Growlithe.

“Ack—!” Vixie was pulled back, and we turned to see her on her belly, pinned down by Lithe who was on top of her.

“They can leave,” Lithe whispered to her ear, “but you're staying here.”

Vixie squirmed, but she suddenly gasped when Lithe made a forward motio...

A yellow blur passed over and knocked Lithe back. Fay and Saur quickly ran to the Vulpix, who was shakily returning to her paws.

“Did he...?” Fay trailed off, and Vixie slowly shook her head. Fay sighed in relief as sparks flew in the air. “Oh, thank goodness.”

...and here I was, standing, stunned. Lithe was... Lithe was...

“You can't stop me!” Lithe shouted as the Pikachu was thrown back, burned, and barely standing up.

“You hurt my friend!” Fay shouted as she ran past Shock, headbutting Lithe and throwing him back.

The Growlithe managed to stay on his paws and angrily blasted the yelping Rattata with a fierce wave of fire. When the fire vanished, so was Fay. Scanning around, I saw a hole on the ground from where she stood mere moments ago.

A light tremor erupted as Fay suddenly burst out from the ground from where Lithe stood, throwing his yelping body up in the air. A vine shot up and pulled Fay down, and was soon followed by a storm of leaves, slicing the Growlithe while in the air.

Lithe growled and was enveloped in flames, making the razor leaves to do nothing but turn into ashes. He landed with a growl, in front of an angry Pikachu. Shock immediately turned around, slapping his metal-gray tail at Lithe's face, and throwing the burning Growlithe in the pond.

Seconds passed, and I felt a faint tremor. The others noticed as well, and Shock was about to jump, but the ground below him erupted. He was forced up as Lithe headbutted him, and breathed out fumes of fire for a second before a torrent of water swallowed them both.

When the geyser was gone, Lithe landed on his paws and growled as he dashed towards Saur. Shock landed on his back with a thud as Saur calmly wrapped his vines around Lithe and...the Bulbasaur pushed himself up and lets go, landing beside Shock. He gently presses a paw on him and his bulb started glowing.

Skidding to a stop, Lithe angrily spun, and gasped when he was face to face with an angry Vulpix. She immediately spun and slapped her tail on his chin like an uppercut, sending the Growlithe flying a bit. She followed him up and pounds him back to the ground with her paws.

The Growlithe gasped as he landed on his back. The Vulpix landed behind him and snarled.

“You want me so badly?!” Vixie shouted. “Then have it!”

Lithe howled in utter pain as Vixie bit his...

I cringe, and so were those who were watching the whole scene.

Vixie suddenly jumped back before Lithe could kick her. I...didn't see Vixie's face as she stared at the bloody mess she'd made before she walked towards the pond. Shock, Fay and Saur were surprised when they saw Vixie. I...guess I'm glad not to see her face, but judging from how bloody Lithe was...um...

Lithe cried as he limply crawled towards the pond, purposely going farther from the Vulpix, who was washing her face.

Fay said something, but her voice was too quiet for me to hear.

Vixie stared at her reflection, and sighed as her ears drooped. She quickly turned and slowly approached her friends. Her face was normal now. Well, normally clean, at least. She was still looking angry, and sorry at the same time. Relieved, and guilty.

I'm not sure if I should join them at the moment. I might as well keep my distance...

They slowly began talking, and I looked at them for a short while before I looked at Lithe. He was being helped by a few Pokémon though, cleaning his...ahem. I guess those are his ‘mates’...

O-okay... Things really are serious around here... One wrong move and I'd probably die...or maybe if I die, I'll automatically return to my home?

Uhm...no... I don't want to test that theory.

“He'll be fine.”

I jerked and turned, and saw Saur seated beside me. The others were still by the pond.

Saur turned his head to look at Lithe. “I'd say, he had it coming.”

I cringed. “B-but still... That looked like it hurt...a lot.” I was kicked there once. Never again would I want to experience it.

Saur nodded. “It does hurt a lot.”

“No duh...” I sighed as I closed my eyes and heard a few footsteps approaching us. Must be Saur's friends. I opened my eyes in time to see the others sitting around us. My gaze instantly fell on Vixie. “Hey um,” I caught her attention. “Uh...how are you?”

“Horrible...” she then looked angry. “And glad that he won't bother me again.”

Uh...huh... I nodded anyway. “Remind me not to get on your bad side.”

“You're not like Lithe,” Fay chirped, “so don't worry. Unless you want to.”

I frowned at her. “Hell no.”

“Anyway, let's go,” Vixie said, her voice carried the tone of finality.

The rest of us nodded as she walked towards the trees. We followed her, and Fay sped up until she was walking side by side with the Vulpix.

“So,” the Rattata said, “just curious... But how'd it taste like?”

I guess she haven't tasted blood before... I had. Common example would be when I get scratches on my hand or fingers. I quickly put them on my lips and apply some saliva. When I was young, my mom told me that our saliva helps stop the wound from bleeding. Still not sure if it was true or not, but I carried that belief even now. Er...when I was still human, at least.

Vixie shook her head. “Horrible...” she replied.

“Oh,” Fay said, her ears flattened. “Was it really that bad?”

Vixie turned her head to her friend and blinked in confusion. “The...blood?”

Fay slowly shook her head.

Vixie blinked again. “Um...Fay... What...are you asking about again?”

...brain...shut up.

“You know, his pokey—”

“FAY!” I snarled and pinned my ears against my head with my paws. “Shut up!”

destinedjagold October 23rd, 2013 11:06 PM

Chapter 28
I still stayed behind their group was we walked through the forest. The sun was about to set, if the orange colors of the sky was any indication.

Vixie suddenly stopped, and everyone stopped as well. She sighed and turned to me with a sad frown.

“Look,” she said, and I immediately felt scared, “I'm not going to hurt you, alright?”

Uhm... She must have noticed that I get scared every time she checks up on me.

“S-sorry...” I said a bit nervously, and I laughed weakly. “Eheheh...eh...eheh...yeah...”

Shock crossed his arms and arched me an eyebrow. “What are you so nervous about, anyway?”

I felt my two ears drooped. “Um...” I sighed. “I...know Vixie wouldn't do that, but I...guess I'm...just...still shocked from what happened...I guess?”

Shock rolled his eyes, Fay chuckled, Vixie frowned further, and Saur just nodded.

“That's understandable,” the Bulbasaur said.

I smiled at him. “Thanks. And don't worry about me.” I shrugged. “I...guess I just need some time to recover.”

Saur nodded before turning to the rest. “We should go and look for a place to camp out.”

“Already?” I asked.

“Right,” Shock nodded and turned to a direction. “I can hear a stream up ahead. I'll go and check if it's a good spot.”

“I'll come with!” Fay chirped happily and ran after the Pikachu.

“Fay, stay behind,” Shock complained.

Fay just shook her head. “Nuh-uh! Nope! I'm coming with!”

Shock sighed. “Fine... Just be quiet.”

“Of course! I'll be super quiet you won't even know I'm here!”

The Pikachu groaned as Saur and Vixie chuckled.

Saur then turned to Vixie. “I'll find some good berries then.”

Vixie nodded. “I should, too.”

Saur just shook his head. “I'll handle it.”

Vixie frowned as Saur walked to a direction. “But...”

Saur ignored her and soon, he was gone.

Um... I looked at Vixie. She was still staring at where the Bulbasaur went. She sighed and turned to me. I gasped and looked away. Ah poop... I should have asked to join Saur...

There was a shuffling noise as I saw Vixie's shadow moved. Sigh... This is awkward... People can easily talk when they're in a group, but find it difficult in a one on one situation... I guess it also applies to Pokémon as well...

The faint voices of the flying types in the quiet air isn't really helping much though. I sighed. I guess I should try and break this awkward silence...

“Um...” I noticed her shadow's ears perked up. “...beautiful weather?”

She looked up. “It is...”

...and silence once again.

She sighed. “Look, I really really will not hurt you.”

I looked at her frowning face. “I...know that. Just that... I need time to recover?” Yeah, I'm just repeating myself.

“I know, I know...” she sighed. “I just don't like my friends to be scared of me...”

Eh? “Fr-friends?”

She blinked. “Yes. Friends.” She slightly arched an eyebrow. “We are friends, right?”

“I...” remember, don't go to her bad side... “...guess so...?”

She gave me a small smile. “Just like Fay said, friends don't hurt friends.”

I nodded with a small smile of my own. Strange that she considered me as her friend. Even more strange is they consider me as a friend. Despite a few facts that I barely helped them or even left them on that cliff...

“So I will never hurt you, because you're a friend!”

“But...” I began, my heart suddenly having a difficult time beating. “...I'm a human.”

“Well, right now you're not.”

My ears drooped. “So...once I am human again, you'll attack me?”

She grinned. “Only if you'll try and capture me.”

I rolled my eyes. “I don't even know how a Pokéball works. I'm originally not from this universe, remember?”

She blinked, her smile fading. “What...do you mean?”

“I mean, where I come from, there are no Pokéballs, because Pokémon don't exi...st...” ...oops... Good job, me! I'm not even sure if they're ready to know that yet!

She blinked, and blinked, and blinked. “Pokémon don't...exist?”

Welp, the truth was out. “Well, in my world, at least...”

She shook her head. “A world where Pokémon don't exist?” She shook her head again. “That's... That's a sad world you live in!”

“Ouch...” I frowned. “The truth hurts a lot more, coming from you living in this world...”

“S-sorry...” her ears drooped. “I...didn't mean to offend you...”

I slowly shook my head. “Eh, what you said is true, so don't worry about it...”

“But...a world where there's only humans... I just can't imagine your life there...”

Let's see. Work, games, crimes, girls, wars, plagues, natural disasters. I shrugged. “It's not really a sad world though,” I lied. I'd rather you not worry.

“Really?”

I just nodded. “Yep.” Gonna close this topic now. “Why do you think I'm working so hard to get back home?”

“Huh... I guess that's true.” She nodded with a smile. “You must be missing something very important if you're doing everything to return home.”

Eh...not really. I just don't want to get captured by a stupid trainer. That, and I don't wanna die or get eaten as a Pokémon.

“Wife and kids, maybe?”

I frowned at her. “I don't have any of those.”

She blinked. “A...girlfriend?”

Ouch... That stung, girl... “Nope.”

She placed a paw on her chin, deep in thought. “Hm... Boyfriend?”

I choked. “What?!”

She shrugged with a grin. “Hey. I'm not judging.”

I glared at her. “Fay, get off that costume and tell me what you've done with Vixie?”

“Hah hah,” she frowned. “I can be funny too, y'know.”

“Oh?” I grinned.

She puffed. “Fine. Why can't you take a bath in Celebi's pond?”

I arched an eyebrow. “Erm... I give. Why?”

She grinned. “Because everyone might Pikachu.”

Smile...stop... Stop... Darn... Laugh, stop! Stop! I failed. “Hahahah! O-okay, that was a good one.”

Vixie posed proudly. “See? I can even make jokes!”

“Heh...” Okay. I've read some jokes before... Let's see what I can remember... “Hm... You found Skuntank. What do you say?”

“Um... What?”

I smiled. “Odor you are!”

Vixie chuckled. “That was lame.”

“Yeah? Well,” you're just lucky most of the jokes I know will not make any sense to you Pokémon.

“Very lame!” Fay chirped as she and Shock walked out from a small bush. “Here's one! What does a Dratini smell every morning?”

“His dragonbreath,” Saur said, dragging a large leaf with assorted berries on it.

I chuckled as Fay frowned at Saur. I admit, that was a good one.

destinedjagold October 25th, 2013 12:42 AM

Chapter 29
Gah! Ugh... It's still dark...

I fell on a bicycle... Damn, I hate those kinds of dreams. They jolt me awake. I swear, this Eevee body's trying to give ME a heart attack.

I yawned as I rose into a sitting position and rubbed my eye with a paw. I looked up at the starry sky. Damn, the evenings here are beautiful than back on earth. Heh, probably because of the air and light pollutions back there.

The quiet noise of the stream, the evening black-n-blue hues of the twinkling night sky. Damn. I could stare at it forever.

“Awake already?”

I turned to Shock, who was seated by the pond.

I arched him an eyebrow. “I could ask the same to you.”

He just smirked at me before lying on his back and stared at the sky. What's up with him? I quietly rose into four and quietly walked out from the others. I sat beside the Pikachu and slowly lied on my back. Eh, it's not easy to lie on one's back if you're a four-legged creature. This damn Pikachu has an easy life...

“So...what's up?”

Shock shrugged. “The Hoothoots are noisy...”

I deadpanned while looking at the sky. “I could barely hear anything.”

Shock just chuckled, and sighed. “Nah, I just couldn't sleep, i's all.”

“Close your eyes and count some sheep.”

“...sheep?”

“Er... Mareeps. Yeah, Mareeps!” Darn, this world's too weird.

“And...how does that help?”

I sighed. “Forget it... Pretend I didn't say anything.”

We were quiet for a while before Shock broke it. “Can't sleep?”

“Not if my dreams give me heart attacks.”

Shock chuckled. “Yeah, those are annoying kinds of dreams. I remember this one dream of mine that a Snorlax rolled over me.”

I cringed. “Ouch.” What's even scarier is that it is possible to happen in this world! I'll dodge Lavender Town if Snorlaxes block the paths though.

Shock chuckled again. “Yeah...”

And we were quiet once again. I sighed with a smile as a cool breeze passed by.

“So...” I softly said, “...you and Vixie, huh?”

“Huh?” Shock turned his head to face me. “What do you mean?”

I turned to him. “You know,” I gestured with my front paws. “You and her. Together.”

“...what?” his face turned red. “Wh-what?”

I shrugged. “Hey, no need to be shy about it. I mean, com'on,” I shrugged again and turned to the sky. “We're both guys. Back home, guys share stories and thoughts about girls.” My co-workers, at least. Damn, they complain too much. They should be thankful that they have a girl, for goodness' sake!

“What makes you think we're mates?”

“Hm... Well, you're over-protective of her around Lithe. That's one thing. And...” I turned back to him with a grin, “...that red face of yours is another thing.”

His red face went even redder and he quickly looked away from me. “Th-that's nonsense!”

I nodded. “Denial. Another thing. Three points now.” I snickered.

“Zip it,” he turned back to me with a glare. His face was still red though. “We're not mates, okay?”

“In the future, yes?”

“No!”

“Sheesh, you're going to wake everyone up at that volume, Shocky~”

“Don't call me that,” he hissed with a glare for a few seconds before turning back to the sky and ‘hmp'ed’.

We were quiet once again for a few minutes until I sighed. Strange feelings of guilt from teasing him is eating my consciousness...

“Sorry...” I said, almost a whisper. “I guess I assumed too much...”

“If Saur were awake,” Shock said, “he'll tell you that that's our job.”

I chuckled, and so did he. “But seriously though. I'm curious here... You and Vixie are...?” I trailed off for him to fill.

“Just friends,” Shock finished. “Nothing wrong with friends looking out for each other, right?”

“Nah, but, seriously, the thought never occurred to you?”

“Just now, by the form of an Eevee.”

“Hah hah...”

He took a breath and sighed. “She's okay, I guess, but...”

Always a ‘but’...

“She's not really a Pikachu, now is she?”

“We can ask that human painter and paint her yellow.”

He chuckled.

“But...why only Pikachus?”

“I am one, for starters...”

“But...the magic-thingy... Wouldn't they be Pichus by now?”

He turned to me with an arched eyebrow. “Who are you talking to at the moment?”

Eheheh... “Good point.”

He looked back at the sky. “Why only Pikachus? I dunno... I'm not really attracted to other species... Anyway, I'm pretty sure that there are Pikachus back home.”

“Is that why you wanted to come with me to Kanto?”

He shook his head. “Not really. I mean,” he shrugged, “since you brought that up, it doesn't seem like a bad idea. I'm sure Saur and the others would understand.”

I frowned. One reason I wasn't so friendly back home is that I hate friends leave to continue with their lives. There are various technologies to keep in touch, but it's not the same as meeting them up again in person... I sighed.

“Sounds like you disagree...”

“Yeah, well,” I sighed and stared at the stars. “I just...don't like friends leaving... That's why I was...surprised that you guys considered me as a friend. Now I consider you guys as my friends, and I swear, I'm gonna be so f*cking hurt once I find a way to go home...”

“I still think you're not a human, and you just hit your head pretty hard and started believing in crazy stuff.”

“Gee...thanks...I guess?”

Shock chuckled. “But, let's say what you're saying is true...”

“Which definitely is.”

“...you said you hate friends leaving friends. Friends leaving you... But can you leave your friends?”

I sighed as I closed my eyes. No I can't. “I'll...cross that bridge when I get there...”

“But since the bridge is not yet here, you need to learn to defend yourself.”

“Eh?” What a straaaaange shift of topic.

“That's why we agreed to come with you. You can barely do anything in the face of danger.”

I glared at him. “Hey! I threw Lithe in the water the first time I got there!” Exaggerated, I know. But com'on! I ain't that useless!

He nodded. “Uh huh... And...?”

My glare intensified. He doesn't believe me that I can defend myself? “And...! And... And... Uh...” Um... “I...tackled a Cyndaquil?”

Okay... I guess I really am a cute and defenseless Pokéfood...

“Okay, you win,” I admitted. “So I don't know how to fire some fire or zap lightning or shoot leaves... But I'm still here, right?” Yeah...I'm pathetic...

Shock just chuckled, and I felt really really sad at myself... “We'll let Vixie train you.”

I blinked. “Why her?”

He grinned. “You want Fay to teach you?”

My eyes grew wide. “No!”

Saur might be a good teacher... Then again...with his oh-so-mystical prophet-of-the-future like ways of talking, I doubt I can do anything new...

Shock seems to be too...assertive... He and Saur both rely on elemental attacks though... I can't manipulate the elements...

Fay...eh...

Vixie seems like a good candidate. And I'm not really that scared of her anymore.

I hate to do stuff that I don't like yet I'm forced to do. What's worse, I need to do these stuff to survive!

I sighed in defeat. “Fine... I'll let her teach me.”

“That's not yet final,” Shock said. “I'm not sure if she'll agree.”

Well, I hope not.

...wait... I'd be dead meat if I can't properly defend myself...

“I hope she will...” I whispered in defeat.

destinedjagold October 28th, 2013 11:21 PM

Chapter 30
“Gah!” I yelped as I was thrown back.

I tried to skid to a stop, but my weak legs gave in and I ended up rolling on the ground until I gradually stopped. My dazed eyes fell on the gentle rays of the morning sun that poked through the sea of dancing leaves.

Ow...my aching...everything...! I never would have thought that training would be THIS hard?! And trainers have the nerve to complain if their Pokémon weren't doing good in battle! Training is so, freaking, hard!

“You okay?” Vixie asked as she stopped beside me, her concerned look taking over my vision. “S-sorry! I was expecting you to dodge it!” she frowned even further.

I tried to smile and shrug. “At least I now know how ouchy your tail slap is...ow...” Even simple talking hurts.

It was around noon by the time our little group decided to take a break from our journey. Shock and Saur went to go and look for something to eat. Vixie and I started training. Fay was...

“You need to focus on using your feet for jumping and dodging!”

...Fay was my coach...sort of...

“...and the way you run is weird. And the way you're using your head for tackling is wrong. You should strengthen your neck more if you want to keep using your head.”

...and she strangely knows a lot about battling. Never judge a funny rat by its fur, I guess...

“...and you should stop wagging your tail while you run. And you shouldn't—”

“Okay! I get it!” I hissed. “Ow!” and a painful headache made me wince.

“See?” Fay chirped as I felt Vixie's nose pushing my side to turn me on my belly. “Even your head's not well enough for tackling! Or headbutting! If you keep that up, you're gonna have a sore head and a headache at the same time!”

I gritted my teeth in annoyance. I took a deep, deep breath, and sighed. “T-thanks...” No use getting angry at her...

“Sorry if I was too hard on you...” Vixie whispered, sitting beside me.

“You apologize too much...” I joked.

The Vulpix just gave me a worried frown.

“I was kidding... Don't worry...” I assured her.

Fay arrived and sat on my other side. “Why don't you just use a shadow ball?”

I blinked. “I can...do that?”

Fay rolled her eyes. “Well, duh! Anyone can do a shadow ball!”

I arched her an eyebrow as she jumped in all four and opened her mouth as she raised her curled tail. I heard a weird noise as a black dot thingy appeared in front of her opened mouth. It grew quicker than a blink, and became a size as big as her head. She lifted her head up, as well as her front paws, up in the air, and slammed her paws back on the ground as she ‘fired’ the shadow ball forward, exploding in dust and splinters when it struck the base of a large tree.

My jaw fell open as the dust settled, and the tree will forever carry the scar of the Rattata's playful wrath.

Fay smiled and looked at me. “See? Now you try!”

“You're kidding, right?” I gulped. “I...I don't even know where to begin! I don't even know how that was possible!”

Fay rolled her eyes again. “You saw it, right?”

I nodded reluctantly.

She smiled. “Then it happened! Seeing is believing, after all!”

I deadpanned. “Not everything we see is real, too.”

“Oh, pfft,” she raspberried as she waved a paw. “That only applies for ghosts! They make illusions all the time!”

I sighed, and then turned to Vixie, who was just sitting there quietly. “You okay there?”

She blinked. “Yeah...” Her ears drooped. “Sorry for hurting you.”

I rolled my eyes in annoyance. Sheesh. Where's the tough Vixie I knew? Talk about complete change in character. “Are you sure you're okay? What happened to the tough Vulpix I know?”

She shot me a glare. “Is it wrong to be concerned about my friends?”

Ouch... “Okay, sorry... It's just...” I stared at the ground. “...I just don't like other people worrying about me.”

Fay giggled. “Then learn to defend yourself so we'll stop worrying much!”

Vixie still had that glare of hers. “If you want the tough Vixie back, then stand up and get back to training!”

Sheesh... Can't she take a joke? I groaned as I tried to stand in all four. Took me a few seconds than normal, but at least I'm standing...wobbling a bit.

Vixie walked a few meters in front of me and turned, and was now in battle mode.

“We'll work on your dodging techniques first,” she said, preparing herself. “I'll go slower than normal, but I'll increase my speed with each successful dodge you make, okay?”

I sighed and prepared myself. “Fine, fine...”

Fay run back into the audience zone.

Vixie then started running towards me, her head ready to hit me. She was running pretty slow than normal though. Still, this is training after all, so yeah. I jumped to the side in time and managed to stay on my paws on my landing. She skidded to a stop and turned to me.

“Jump was too high!” Fay shouted.

Darn it. I keep forgetting. If I jump too high, it'll take me a while to land and dodge another attack.

Vixie ran towards me, faster than earlier. I jumped in time, this time minding the height of my jump. I ended up landing farther than usual.

“Good!” Fay chirped! “But get on your feet quicker than that! Foot work! Foot work!”

What does she mean by that? This isn't boxing!

I turned and— “Agh!” Vixie tackled my side, and I was thrown against a tree. “Ow...” I landed on the ground with a thud. “A...nother ow...”

I...wonder if my ribs are still okay...

“Foot work, see?” Fay said as she stood beside me and helping me up. “Always keep an eye out on your foe!”

Obvious advice. Thank you...

Vixie was frowning at me with worry, but the instant I looked at her, she glared at me. “Rest for now. I'll go and worry about you somewhere so you won't see me.”

Ugh... “You don't have to...”

She turned her back and started walking away.

I sighed and lied down on the ground. “Sheesh... What's with her?”

“You're selfish,” Fay chirped.

I shot her a weak glare. “No I'm not.”

“Yes you are!” she smiled.

“No I'm not!”

“Yes you are!”

“No I'm not!” I stood up and glared at her. Suddenly, my heart felt heavy, and my eyes guiltily fell on the ground. “...right?”

Fay patted my head as she lightly giggled. “Yes, you are, ” she gently said. “But you're still a good friend!”

I'm...selfish? “H-how am I selfish?”

Fay blinked, her smile slowly fading. “Well...” she hummed as she stared above. “...you ditched us back on the cliff. But that's all forgiven and in the past now, right?”

“I...shared with you guys about who I am.”

She nodded and then turned back to me. “You also didn't accept that berry I was giving you.”

My eye twitched. “Y-yeah... Sorry about that?” No I'm not. “I...gave that Meowth half of the meat we found?”

“Was he your friend?”

I blinked. “Not...really... I barely even know him.”

She nodded again. “You don't want us to worry about you.”

I shook my head. “Just because. I hate feeling useless.”

“You barely know any moves.”

“Because I can't... And I used to be human!”

“You're not using my advice during training.”

“It was difficult to do!”

“You don't want us to help you.”

“I can help myself!”

“But we're going to Kanto.”

“I can go there myself!”

“You don't need our company...”

“Yes I don't nee—...” I blinked. That caught me off-guard. Fay's annoying but...what were we arguing again?

She grinned. “We're all your friends, right?”

My ears drooped, and I suddenly felt very very tired. I closed my eyes and sighed. “Yes.”

“And friends help each other, right?”

I lamely nodded.

“You're being prideful. You don't want to be looked down upon. You believe you can do anything. You believe you don't need anyone's help. And...you don't want anyone to worry about you, because you believe that you don't deserve it. You're selfish, and you're prideful, but you know it, and that's why you don't want anyone to be around you, because you don't want them to be hurt because of your selfishness and pride.”

I slowly looked up to her. She was still wearing that sweet and innocent smile of hers. What she said, everything that she said, hurt...a lot, but in a weird ‘relief’ kind of hurt.

I sighed as I hung my head. “I'm...just tired of hurting my friends without me knowing. Just like with Vixie. I didn't know my little remark would hurt her.”

“We'll get used to you, so don't worry too much!” She placed a paw on my head and rubbed it like a maniac. “Just swallow a few of that pride and let us help and worry about you, silly!”

I batted her paw in mild annoyance.

“Friends also look out for each other, y'know!” She smiled. “And don't worry. We won't be looking down on you.”

She stared at me for a few moments, and slowly, her gaze wormed down. I suddenly felt naked and used my paws as a shield as I glared at her.

She giggled. “Well, I just looked down on you. What do you do?”

I arched an eyebrow. “O...kay? Way to ruin the moment, Fay.”

“Can we eat now?” I heard Shock's whine.

I gasped and turned around, and there they were, Shock, Saur and Vixie, standing a few feet from me. The Pikachu was looking annoyed, while Saur and Vixie were smiling.

I felt like apologizing to her though, but... “H-how much of that did you hear?!”

Saur just shrugged. “We won't tell you.”

Ugh... This is humiliating... I groaned and lower myself to the ground. “Fay...I'm going to kill you in your sleep,” I hissed as they chuckled, except for one hungry Pikachu.

“Seriously you guys, can we eat already?”

destinedjagold October 29th, 2013 11:06 PM

Chapter 31
It was still morning by the time we walked out from the forest. Our eyes were greeted by the fine green arts of nature. A grassy field, its tall leaves swayed peacefully with the cool wind. Tall rolling hills could be seen from afar, and further beyond were mountains, some tall enough for their peaks to be covered by the thin layers of whispy clouds.

Metal-black train tracks were set on the grassy plain. That was probably the tracks for the Magnet Train.

Near the edge of the forest were different kinds of Pokémon, eating and talking. I didn't pay them much attention however.

Around the grassy plains was a large herd of Tauroses, grazing on the grass, locking horns with each other, and chatting amongst themselves.

“Phew...” Shock sighed, dropping himself into a sitting position. “We made it,” he said with a smile.

It would have been a beautiful scene if it weren't for one question that kept popping in my head.

“So...why the heck are we here?” I blurted out.

My companions shot me a look as though I've lost my mind.

“You...don't know?” Vixie asked.

I deadpanned. “That's why I asked...”

Saur chuckled, Fay snickered, and Vixie glared at me.

Shock sighed. “Those,” he pointed at the herd, “are Tauroses.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes. And you're a Pikachu. Amazing...”

Shock shot me a glare. “And we're here to get a ride.”

I blinked. “On...a Tauros?”

“No, on an Oddish” Shock deadpanned. “Of course on a Tauros!”

Well excuse me for not knowing! I noticed Fay's knowing smile, and I sighed. Ugh... Too early for an argument. “Okay... But how?”

“We're going to ask them,” Saur said, cutting Shock off, and earning an annoyed stare from the Pikachu. The Bulbasaur doesn't seem to notice. “If they say no, we ask another, until someone will let us.”

“Oh, okay...” I said. “But just to check... They're heading to Kanto, right?”

Saur nodded.

“They're always moving from region to region twice in a month,” Vixie said. I was about to ask something, but she cut me off with a grin. “And don't ask why. I don't know either.”

I gave her an annoyed stare. “You're a mind reader. I'm watching you.”

Vixie and Fay chuckled, and Shock grunted.

Soon, the earth started to shake, but only slightly. I turned east and saw a few Tauroses already started moving east. A few earth-bound and flying Pokémon were trying to ask the Tauroses for a ride though.

...why would flying types want to ask for a ride? Can't they just fly there?

...and...my eyes grew wide when... D-did...did a Tauros just stepped on and k-killed a Sunkern?!

“Yeah, that happens often,” Fay chirped cheerfully. She must have noticed my horrified expression. “But as long as we're careful, nothing will go wrong!”

“Oi, let's go!” Shock said, and the others followed him.

My breath stopped and my mind was a jumbled mess as I stared at my four friends walking towards danger. I could honestly feel that runaway ability of mine kicking in, not to rescue them, but to flee away from danger.

I felt my rear paw moved back, followed by my front paw. I was...turning...turning back to the forest. Yeah, the gloomy, but safe forest! I learned some basic attacks from Vixie and Fay, and with this runaway ability thingy of mine, nothing could stop me, right? B-but... I can't just leave them here! I should talk and bring some sense into th—

“Gah!” I gasped as I suddenly felt something push me back, and I dropped myself on the ground. I felt something wrapped around me. I panicked and turned my head, and saw Saur was boredly dragging me towards... “No! No no no no no! Let me go! Let me go let me go let me go let me go let me go—”

Shock sighed. He took a breath and turned to me with an annoyed glare. “Will you shut up!”

I winced and closed my mouth as Saur kept on dragging me, Shock and the others were walking beside me.

His glare intensified. “No Tauros will ever let us get a ride if you're that noisy and whiny!”

I didn't even bother hiding the tears of fear running down my face as I tried to crawl out of Saur's grip. “We're gonna die...!” I sobbed.

Fay chuckled and Vixie had a mix of amusement, worry, and annoyance...

Vixie then flashed me a small and assuring smile. “Don't worry. Shock and Saur will do the asking. We're just going to stand and wait in a close yet safer distance.”

Well, she at least calmed me down, if only a bit. I smiled. “R-really?”

Fay and Vixie nodded, and Shock just sighed at how pathetic I must be at the moment.

B-but... What is Shock and Saur... “You guys do this all the time, right?” I asked.

“Nope,” Fay chirped happily. “This is our first time, actually.”

My heart started racing as I felt my pupils shrunk.

“Fay,” Shock hissed, “stop scaring him already! It's hard enough to deal with a panicky coward...”

“I am not a coward!” I glared at him. “I'm panicking 'cause I just care for our lives' safety, that's all!”

“Tell that to a stone. Now shut up,” Shock said as I felt the vines loosen and slid off of me. Fay and Vixie stopped beside me as Shock and Saur continued walking towards the moving herd of Tauroses. “Wait with the girls, you girl.”

I stood up, turned and shot him a glare, but he already turned his back on me. The stomping noises from the herd were much louder here though. I sighed. I just hope nothing bad's going to happed to those two.

“Aww,” Fay suddenly cooed. I was about to turn to face her, but I was stunned when she started rubbing her head on the side of my neck. This is called ‘nuzzling’, right? My cheeks suddenly felt like it's going to burn from how intimate this was... “It's so nice of you to care for us, Jay!” She returned my personal space and smiled.

“Ye-yeah...” I stammered as I rubbed my violated neck. “Don't do that again, please.”

Fay blinked in confusion. “What? The nuzzling?”

“Yes...”

“Why?” Vixie and Fay asked at the same time.

“'Cause it felt weird... Really weird...” I shivered.

Fay chuckled. “You'll get used to it.”

I glared at her. “I'd rather not.”

Vixie blinked. “You weren't nuzzled before?”

I blinked back. Was I ‘nuzzled’ before? Do humans even nuzzle each other? Eh, what a stupid question...

I shook my head. “Nope. Fay was the first, and hopefully the last!”

Fay and Vixie chuckled as a shadow was casted over us. We slowly looked up and saw an old-looking Tauros, its black mane were now slightly gray and its brown coat was a bit pale than normal. Um...is this an old Tauros or a shiny Tauros?

“You kids need a lift?” he asked. His voice was very very dark, and...almost grumpy, or rusty, or whatever, but old...

“You bet'cha!” Fay chirped and ran to his side as the Tauros lowered himself for us to hop onto his back.

“Hope ya kids don't mind if I'm a li'l slower than the others,” Mr. Tauros said as Vixie helped Fay up by pushing Fay's bum with her nose. Eh... Wouldn't that be awkward?

“Oh, it's no problem,” Vixie replied as she climbed up and me reluctantly walking to where she stood.

Fay extended a paw with a smile. I just stared at it for a few seconds.

“Um...shouldn't we try and call for Saur and Shock first?”

“Ungh...” Mr. Tauros winced. “Better hurry up there, kid. My knees aren't as strong as they used to be.”

I felt my ears droop as I grabbed Fay's paw with two of mine. She lifted me up...with surprising ease. I suddenly found myself sitting on the slowly rising Mr. Tauros' back. Mr. Tauros then began to move forward.

I blinked. “W-what just happened?”

“Oi! SHOOOOOK! SAAAAAAUR!” Fay shouted as Vixie chuckled at my stunned look.

“Just like Fay said, you'll get used to it.”

I stared at her. “A mind-reader and a super rat. I'm definitely going to have my eyes on the two of you.” I gave her a suspiscious glare.

She just rolled her eyes in amusement as Shock and Saur ran towards us, and away from the herd of killer hooves.

“Why'd you picked an old geezer?” Shock asked as Vixie and I grabbed Saur's vines, and pulled him up.

“I heard that!” Mr. Tauros said, turning his head to glare at Shock, who was currently being lifted up by Saur's vines.

Shock just ignored him though, and continued to address us. “Seriously, why? It'd be much faster if Saur and I asked younger ones back there.”

My eye twitched. I...have a soft side for old people. “Get off and ask for a ride on younger Tauroses then,” I glared at him.

He glared back. “What was that?”

“You heard me,” I hissed. “If you're so ungrateful that Mr. Tauros gave us a lift, then get off and be on your way!”

“I'm the leader of this group,” he snarled. “What I say, goes!”

Oh, so that's how it goes, huh?! Well then, “I'll—”

“Now now, you two,” Mr. Tauros called.

Shock and I blinked and turned to see him, who was also giving us a displeased look.

“I don't want friends arguing with each other, so would you mind to keep it down? Your loud voices are hurting my ears.”

“Ow!”

I jerked in surprise and quickly turned back to see Saur retracting a vine and Shock fixing the Bulbasaur a glare as he rubbed the back of his head.

“What was that for?!”

Saur glared at him. “You're being rude, picky, and out of control.”

Vixie nodded. “I agree with Saur... Sorry Shock...”

“I'm out of con—you know what?” Shock sighed and sat on the furry back of the elderly Tauros. “...maybe I am. Sorry...”

Wow... Saur actually glared. I wonder if that was the first time I ever saw him glare at someone.

Fay's giggles snapped me out from my little train of thought. I turned to her and her giggles died down.

“Mr. Tauros? Really?”

I blinked. “What's so funny about it?”

Fay just giggled some more, and Vixie joined her.

My ears drooped as I fixed her an annoyed stare. “Fay, you're weird... No, scratch that... You're always weird...” I fixed Vixie a glare and cut her off. “And no! I will not get used to it!”

“Your problem,” Vixie grinned.

destinedjagold October 30th, 2013 11:04 PM

Chapter 32
I sat in front of our group, while my friends are behind me, chatting with themselves. I was enjoying the scenery, despite how slow we were moving. Though we weren't really that slow. We were still within the herd, or rather, outside the herd, but we're keeping up. The thunderous hooves kept echoing to my ears. It hurted my ears earlier, but I guess I got used to it now.

Tall greeny hills on the north, a forest on the south. The sun was high up, but the wind was cool and breezy here. There were also lots of flying types soaring up high, matching the speed of the herd.

Suddenly, a weird electrical hum echoed louder than the Tauroses' hooves. It was coming from behind, and I worriedly look back. There was a tall and whitish barrier-like wall moving towards us.

“What the—?” I asked, but stopped myself as it cut through the herd.

It stopped behind a Tauros, and it looked like it was slowly pushing the Tauros aside. When the Tauros did budge away, the barrier continued moving in a fast pace, only stopping to move a Tauros out of its way.

I sighed in relief. At least it wasn't cutting Tauroses in half.

“Oh, oh!” Fay chirped, and I curiously turned to her. She was staring back at where the barrier-wall-thingy had come from.

I haven't seen the Great Wall of China, but damn, this wall is long!

“The human fast-moving-thingy's coming!”

I blinked at Fay. “Uh... The...Magnet Train?”

“Oh yeah,” Fay turned to me with a smile. “You did tell us it was called a train!” She then turned back. “Oh, oh! The human train is coming!”

...at least she didn't say the ‘human centipede’... I cringed... “Drop the human, Fay. It's called a train. Nothing more...”

“But humans made it, right?” she asked.

Damn... I lose... “Eh... Well, yeah, but...”

“A human train it is!” she proclaimed.

I sighed in defeat. “Yes, yes it is...” I then turned to my more sensible companions. “But what's the wall for?”

Vixie smiled. “Just one example that not all humans are bad.”

The other three nodded their heads in agreement.

Eh? I arched an eyebrow. “I...don't fol—” I cut myself off when I noticed a long black train from far away, traveling fast, and inside the barrier-like walls.

I blinked and turned to see the tracks. Even though the Tauroses blocked it, there were a few gaps were I managed to take a glimpse, and confirmed my thoughts: the barrier was raised around the tracks so Pokémon won't get hit by the train.

The Magnet Train sped its way through my vision, and the Tauroses didn't even seem to mind. A few seconds after the train passed by, the barrier-like walls started to lower and disappear.

I blinked again. “Wow. Don't see that everyday.”

Mr. Tauros suddenly started laughing wholeheartedly. “I heard the same line from an Eevee a month or two ago... I gave her a lift to Kanto as well.” He paused to chuckle. “So, I take it that you're a human as well?”

I blinked as I stared at the back of his head. Was I hearing things. I turned to my friends to confirm that I wasn't hearing anything. Eh, they were looking mighty surprised as well.

I turned back to Mr. Tauros in puzzlement. “I'm a...what now?”

“Oh? You're a secretive type, then?” he chuckled. “So I take it you're heading to Kanto to go and see this Bill fellow, right?”

“...am I repeating a repeated journey here or something?”

Mr. Tauros simply shrugged. “You could say that. I still don't believe it, but who am I to judge? I've seen and heard stranger things in my lifetime.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Even...stranger things that a human turning into an Eevee?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Shock cut Mr. Tauros' attempt to reply. “Are you saying that there's ANOTHER crazy Eevee, thinking he used to be a human, who is in Kanto, and already looking for a way back?!”

Mr. Tauros nodded. “The first two parts, yes.” He shrugged. “No idea about the last two. Sorry...”

Shock shook his head in irritation and scratched his head as he looked like he was going to suffer with a very painful headache. “I'm going to have a headache...”

...well, that was redundant.

“And that Eevee was a ‘she’, by the way.”

Oh?

“A strong lass, very bright and cheerful, but very talkative.” Dunno why, but I strangely felt that Mr. Tauros started grinning. “You two would make a fine couple, no?”

“A crazy couple, yep!” Fay chirped and giggled.

I turned and glared at her. Saur tried, but failed as he chuckled.

Vixie grinned. “So that's why you wanted to go to Kanto so badly.”

I intensified my glare and aimed it at her. “I hate all of you.”

“Ah, so you're after her?”

I poked his back with a sharp nail.

“Ow! Hey! Watch it!”

“Zip it and I'll watch it!” I hissed, and Mr. Tauros chuckled.

“Ah, young love. Ow!”

“Jay,” Shock called, and I turned to him. “Focus. There's another one just like you?”

“Same specie, different gender,” Fay chirped, and I hit her head. “Ow!”

I turned back to Shock. “If what Mr. Tauros says...” I paused to glare at the giggling Fay, “...is true, then yes, I guess?”

“Do you kow her?”

I deadpanned. “Ask Vixie. She's the mind-reader in this group.”

“Hah hah...” she deadpanned.

I returned to Shock. “Anyway, no. I didn't even know about it until now!”

Shock nodded. “So she's been there for a month now, or more. Maybe she knows something more about what happened to you...” he brought a hand to his chin as he hummed in thought.

I tilted my head to the side. “I...thought you don't believe me and my crazy story.”

“If a map has one cave, I'll start wondering why there are two caves.”

I arched an eyebrow. “I...don't understand what you just said.”

“Neither do I,” Shock said, still looking serious. “I just thought it sounded cool.”

I deadpanned...hard.

“Anyway, we should probably go and look for her as well.”

“If she's still in Kanto,” I pointed out. “And even if she is, I'm still going to Pallet to look for Bill.”

“Pallet?” Mr. Tauros asked. “Pallet Town?”

“Yeah? That's what I said...” I replied. “Something wrong?”

He just shrugged, and turned his head to the herd. “Oi! What's that human town called again? The one the humans call Pallet?”

“Seaside!” a few voices replied back.

Seaside? Well, I guess that's kinda logical, since the town is close to the shore, in the game, at least.

Mr. Tauros shouted his thanks and looked ahead. “That's close to where the herd is going.”

I nodded with a smile. “Sweet! How long 'till we get there?”

“Three days if there won't be any storm to stop us.”

My smile faded. “I'm...starting to consider going back to Goldenrod...”

Mr. Tauros chuckled. “What? That cheese city?”

“See?” Fay chirped. “I told you!”

I sighed. “Whatever,” I turned back to Shock and...he was still thinking deeply about this. “Shock? You okay?” he just nodded. “What's up with you? So what if there's another one like me?”

“Different gender! Ow!”

I'm strangely starting to like hitting Fay's skull... Anyway, I glared at her before turning back to Shock. “So what if there's another one like me? It's not like it's going to help in anything...right?”

“He likes mysteries,” Saur said. “And he'll try to piece everything together to make sense of it.”

Eh? “Can't you just tell yourself that I'm crazy and go with it?”

Shock shook his head. “Can't if there are two same cases...”

I sighed. “Fine. I'll let you have your little detective work.”

“So,” Fay chirped, catching my annoyed attention. “When you meet her, you're gonna ask her to be your mate?”

“What's with you and mates, Fay?” I asked in annoyance. “Are you looking for one?”

She giggled. “Maaayyybbbeee,” she sang.

“Well, I'm not applying.” I don't think I'd want to be with you, anyway. Heck, I'm not into furries. That's beastiality, and I'm not into that sort of thing.

“Why not?” Vixie teased with a grin. “You two look good together.”

“Hah hah hah...” I glared at her. “I'm a human, and you guys are an—Pokémon!”

Mr. Tauros suddenly chimed in. “I once heard a human and a Gardevoir having se—”

“NOT LISTENING!” I pinned my ears to my head as my friends started chuckling, except for Shock, who looked green and horrified.

destinedjagold November 3rd, 2013 11:07 PM

Chapter 33
It's been two days now. Only one more day, and the Tauroses will finally be able to reach their destination. Wherever that is.

During the past two days, our little group did little to pass the time. Most of our time was spent talking, admiring the scenery, and then talking. The Tauroses also pauses for a short while two times in a day. The first is a quick less-than-twenty minutes for lunch, and four or six hours of sleep.

The nights were freaking cold, especially on the second day, since we were now traveling on green mountains. At first, when the herd started climbing the elevated path, I was awestruck at how beautiful and green the mountains were. It even had so many trees, unlike back home.

But the nights. Oh god, the nights were too freaking cold! I assured them that my Eevee body's fur will keep me warm at night. In the end however, I swallowed a bit of my pride and inserted myself in between my friends, who were closely huddled together to share their body warmth. It felt really weird at first, but over time, I got used to it.

...but I'm just not going to sleep beside Fay nor Shock. The Rattata has a nasty habit of kicking while sleeping, and she mumbles. The Pikachu drools! Eek!

Saur was okay, but his skin felt really really weird though. It felt like scales, but he's not covered by scales. I dunno. It just crept me out.

Vixie was great to sleep with. And no, I don't mean anything beyond that! She snores, like, very loud, but she's so warm... I guess that's one good thing for being a fire type.

So, on the first night, I was between Fay and Vixie. Second was in between Shock and Vixie. No offense to Saur. Thankfully, he doesn't mind.

Unfortunately, Fay got the idea of teasing me of wanting to be with Vixie more. Sigh... Thankfully, Vixie was also getting annoyed by her when the Rattata teases the two of us. But it's kinda weird that the Vulpix was blushing whenever Fay teases us. But meh, I've seen a few animé where character faces turn red when they're getting annoyingly angry at someone.

Anyway, it was a bright and peaceful morning, and the herd were still moving on a flat plane on the mountain range. We're probably on the border of Kanto and Johto now. There was a very tall mountain up north though, and I think that was the mountain where the Ice Tunnel is located. Or was it Ice Path? Ice Cave? Bleah, whatever.

Wait, that means we're still in Johto then. And that means Blackthorn's close by. Wow, the last gym of the Johto region's a dragon master. I wonder how she's handling her devolved Pokémon... But eh, Clair's a tough chick. I'm sure she's handling things well.

And...I'm bored as heck as I lied on my belly, my head boringly lying on Mr. Tauros' head.

“Are we there yet...?” I asked as a form of an ice-breaker joke.

Unfortunately, my current company didn't get it.

“Nope,” Mr. Tauros replied. “We'll get there by tomorrow afternoon.”

I sighed once again out of boredom. “Tell everybody we're on our way~” I sang quietly, but it strangely made me feel a bit...not bored. “New friends and new places to see~” I continued, a bit louder as I slowly rose up.

“Oh! Oh!” Fay chirped, “Jay's singing!”

Shock groaned. “Oh, please no...”

I smiled as I turned to them. “With blue skies ahead, yes, we're on our way~ And there's nowhere else that we'd rather beeee~” I prolonged as I extended a paw to my side while I close my eyes to feel the lyrics.

“Tell everybody we're on our way~” Fay suddenly sang, quite loud yet beautiful.

I blinked at her as she stood on two hind legs. Saur and Vixie were smiling, heads bobbing, while Shock shook his head in annoyance.

“And I'm loving every step we take~” she continued.

“The Tauroses are doing the step-taking,” Shock mumbled.

Saur suddenly cleared his throat. “With the sun beating down, yes we're on our way~”

Vixie brought a paw to her chest. “And we can't keep these smiles off our face~”

“-ses,” Fay chirped and then giggled as I suddenly noticed the stomps of the Tauroses were rhythmic to the song. Do they know this song or something?

“'Cause there's nothing like seeing each other again~” the herd sang, their different voices blending together harmonically. “No matter what the distance between~”

“And the stories that we tell will make 'em smile~” a few Pokémon who rode the Tauroses sang along. “Oh, it really lifts our—”

“—hearts~” I joined along.

Everybody suddenly joined in on the chorus, minus Shock. That killjoy...

“So tell 'em all we're on our way~”

Fay and I smiled at each other. “New friends and new places to see~”

Vixie and Saur smiled at each other. “And to sleep under the stars, who could ask for more~?”

The four of us smiled at each other as the rest joined in. “With the moon keeping watch over meeee~”

“Not the snow—”

“Not the rain—”

“Can change our minds~”

Fay soloed, “The sun will come out, wait and see~”

I poked Shock to join as I soloed, “And the feeling of the wind in our face—”

“-ses,” Fay chirped as he slapped my paw away.

“—can lift our hearts~” I continued and smiled nonetheless as I turned to my other smiling friends.

Vixie soloed, “Oh, there's nowhere we would rather beeee~” She then inhaled and smiled at us.

“'Cause we're on our way now~” Saur sang as we bobbed our heads with the song.

“Well and truly~” the Tauroses sang as I poked Shock again.

“We're on our way now~” the Pidgeys sang as they flew overhead.

I was about to whistle when I thought if it was possible for me to even whistle. To my surprise, Shock whistled the whistling part of the song. I turned to him with a grin, and he shot me a glare as he continued whistling.

Suddenly, after the whistling part, the Tauroses stomped audibly and rhythmically along the song. A few even joined in by clapping their hands and paws.

Suddenly, I felt that flare inside me when we're close to ending a very good presentation. I smiled as I stared at my friends' smiling, and one frowning, faces.

Everybody sang as one, “Tell everybody we're on our way~ And we just can't wait to be there~”

“Just can't wait to be there~”

“With blue skies ahead, yes, we're on our way~ And nothing but good times to share~”

I continued singing, “So tell everybody we're on my way~” but a bit surprised that they made me solo the lines, but I continued anyway. “And I just can't wait to be home~”

I turned and smiled at my friends, but I can't help but notice Vixie's sad frown, which she quickly changed into a smile.

I continued the song, albeit a bit reluctant. “With the sun beating down, yes we're on our way~” I gestured with my paws for my friends to join.

“And nothing but good times to show~”

The Tauroses then sang, “We're on our waaaaayyy~”

This time, I made sure Shock joins us. “Yes, we're on our waaayyy~~~”

A lot of Pokémon suddenly cheered as I felt the strange happy, cheery and energized atmosphere in the herd. Mr. Tauros chuckled wholeheartedly as Fay and the others poked Shock to smile.

But... Vixie's frown earlier... That line I soloed...

...oh...

Vixie chuckled as she turned from Shock to me, and she smiled.

I tried to smile back. Hopefully, it was good enough. And it was, as Fay chuckled away from Shock and hopped in front of me and started nuzzling my neck again.

“That was a great song, Jay!”

“Um...Fay...” Vixie chuckled. “You paralyzed him.”

Saur chuckled at that.

Yep, I was... My breath even stopped as I felt how hot my cheeks were.

“Oh!” Fay pulled back and smiled sheepishly. “Whoops!”

Shock grinned at me. Darn, I can't glare at him...

destinedjagold November 4th, 2013 11:42 PM

Chapter 34
The sun already passed its zenith by the time the herd reached the base of the mountain path. The green plateau was like a paradise compared to the dirty urban jungles of buildings and skyscrapers I had back home.

The wind felt cool, and fresh, and soothing. And oh, there were maybe six or seven tents by the edge of the plateau. And sure enough, humans were around the tents, ranging from random ages. A few adults wore white coats while the younger ones wore assorted kinds of colorful clothing. There were three empty and yellow school buses as well. A field trip, maybe?

I suddenly felt like fleeing away, but the herd moved on to the middle, where the grass were taller and greener. I turned to my friends, and they looked ready to flee as well.

“They're here!” a young feminine voice squealed from afar.

I turned back and saw the young humans rising up in two and stared at the moving herd with wide smiles. My ears drooped. ...It kinda feels strange to call them humans...

“Why are there other Pokémon on the Tauroses' backs?” a teenager asked.

A few of the adults walked behind the small line of the human audience.

“They took advantage of the Tauroses migrating here from Johto.”

“Well,” Mr. Tauros said as he sat down on his belly, “good luck on finding your long-lost mate, kid. Ow!”

I poked his back with my sharp nail as my friends started climbing down. I then hopped down and turned as Mr. Tauros said his farewell and moved elsewhere, leaving our group together with the other Pokémon who took a ride. The voices behind me ranged from concern to assurance.

“Whoa!” a voice said from the humans' direction. A teenaged boy walked forward, eyes bright and determined, and his grin was directed at me. “An Eevee!” He pulled out a Pokéball from his belt, and I took a step back as fear suddenly washed over me.

“Jonathan!” a female adult shouted, making the teenager wince and slowly turn towards her. “Need I remind you that we are all here to learn more about the Tauroses, NOT to catch any wild Pokémon!”

“B-b-but...!” he tried to argue with a losing voice, “t-that's an Eevee! And Eevees are rare!”

The female adult adjusted her eyeglasses as she fixed him a glare. “And so are you grades if you won't earn a passing grade from the report you're suppose to write from this field trip!”

The teenager winced one more as a few ‘students’ chuckled at him.

I let out a big sigh of relief, and I suddenly felt someone patting me on the back.

“Someone's popular,” Shock snickered.

I glared at him. “Shut up!”

“Thanks,” we heard Saur's voice. It sounded like he was a bit far from us. The four of us turned and saw Saur walking to us from a group of Pidgeys. “They said that Seaside's that way,” he turned to a direction, which was towards the humans. He blinked. “Hope they won't be a problem.”

“I sure hope so,” I whispered as we heard lots of eager footsteps from that direction.

I turned in time to see small kids running towards us. They stopped a few feet from us, and I pulled Shock in front of me as my shield.

“H-hey!” the Pikachu gasped as the children chuckled.

I poked an eye out and saw the children knelt down to see us better.

“That Eevee's a shy one,” a boy chuckled.

“Papa said that they're rare,” a girl said as I noticed that they don't have anything to protect themselves from us.

Fay suddenly jumped in front of them. “Hai! Please don't cause any trouble, 'k?”

“Fay! What are you doing?!” I shouted as a kid suddenly petted her head.

“Jay,” Vixie called, and I turned to her. She had an arched eyebrow. “Why are you so afraid of humans if you were once one?”

Shock finally pulled himself away from my grasp, and I fell on the soft grassy ground, face-first.

“It means that he probably just made it up,” Shock hissed as I pulled myself back up.

“I just don't wanna be captured,” I answered quietly. “I don't wanna go around places with a stupid trainer and ordering me around,” I gestured with a paw. “And keeping me away from home.”

Vixie blinked. “Is...that all?”

“Yes?” I replied reluctantly. “Why?”

She slowly shook her head and turned to Fay. I turned to her as well and saw that the kids were pulling her from Saur's viney-grip.

“Well, it makes sense, I guess...” Vixie replied as Shock stepped in front and threatened the kids to zap 'em. The children immediately lets go of Fay and ran back to their campsite, frightened and tearful.

“You okay, Fay?” Shock asked.

Fay jumped in all fours and smiled at him. “That was fun! Anyway, what was your question again?”

Shock sighed. “Never mind...” He then turned to Vixie and I. “Come on, let's go. We can probably go around the humans though.”

I arched him an eyebrow. “You're not planning on jumping off a cliff, right?”

Shock raised a hand to counter, but no words came out from his opened mouth. He instead just fixed me a glare as Vixie and Saur chuckled.

“Let's just check it out and see how to get down,” Saur said. “And yes, walking around the humans sounds like a good idea.” He then extended a vine and slapped Fay's head from behind.

“Ow! Hey!” Fay glared at the Bulbasaur. “What did I do?!”

Saur just shrugged. “I just felt like doing that after the humans tried to take you away.” He then started walking.

Fay ran after him and walked beside him with a glare. “They were not taking me away! We were just having fun!”

“Are they...always like that?” I asked as Vixie and I slowed our pace when we reached Shock.

“Always,” Shock and Vixie replied at the same time.

I looked ahead, and stared at them, and a grin formed on my lips. “At least I now have something to tease her back if she teases me again.”

Shock just chuckled. “Yeah, good luck with that.”

He threw a grin at Vixie, and she smiled back.

I looked at them suspiciously. “On second thought... Maybe I won't...”

Vixie just grinned at me. “Curiosity will get you, eventually.”

I glared at her for a short while, and soon, we walked in silence, following Fay and Saur who were still arguing with each other. After a few minutes of walking, we reached the edge of the cliff, and down south, we saw a group of small houses by the shorelines.

Pallet Town was peacefully in between two tall mountains. North from the town were tall grasses and trees. East and west were trees, and further were the foot of the mountains. South was the sea. Pallet was like a peaceful town in a valley by the sea.

“Wow,” I said in awe. “Pallet's a really beautif—”

A large shadow was casted over us. No, the large shadow darkened everything around us. By the time we looked up, whatever covered the sun already moved away. While my friends shielded their eyes, I squinted mine to see what it was.

“Teach! Teach!” a young voice called from the tents. “Wh-what is that thing?!”

“Wow...” Fay said in a dumbfounded tone, “that's a big bird...”

Ho-oh... Ho-oh was black all over, but it's probably due to the fact that the sun's light were above it, making the rest of its body covered by its own shadow. But still, the faint and sparkling rainbow trail it left behind as it slowly flew, it was definitely Ho-oh.

I smiled. Well, I guess this means that my journey will finally begin!

...wait... I frowned. I came here to END the journey!

destinedjagold November 5th, 2013 11:09 PM

Chapter 35
Unlike that cliff back in Johto, the green plateau here is steep, so it was easy to climb down to the base. There were a lot of trees around though, which shaded us from the sun, though the cool breeze would be enough for us to ignore the sun's heat.

Anyway, as we got closer to the base, the tall grasses were annoyingly getting taller and taller, until I was only a fourth or so of the grass' height by the time we reached the base.

Aside from the noises that we make, both from walking and from talking, we could also hear rustling noises from every direction. We weren't really sure if it was from the wind, or from other Pokémon. We decided to ignore them though, the noises, I mean.

“How the heck are we going to see where we're going?” I complained as I pushed myself through the thick grasses. “And why in blazes aren't these humans trimming these grasses down?!”

“Complained the used-to-be-human,” Fay snickered, and I shot her a glare.

“You complain too much,” Shock said as he led our small group. He stopped and turned to Saur, who stopped beside him. “Well?”

Saur turned towards...I dunno what direction he faced.

“There,” Saur simply said, and began walking.

“There?” I asked as we followed him. “There where?”

“To Pallet Seaside, of course!” Fay chirped.

I arched an eyebrow. “Are...you guys certain we're heading to the right direction?”

“Saur's a grass type,” Vixie explained. “He can feel the plants through their roots. Well,” she shrugged. “He used to, when he was an Ivysaur. I'm not sure if he still can.”

Oh? He was an Ivysaur before? Neat. I was about to ask our Bulbasaur friend what it felt like when he devolved, but then a thought interrupted me. Maybe it's a very hurtful and sensitive subject. I'll ask that question when the time's right, or when I can. Anyway...

“How can he tell?” I asked back.

Vixie shrugged again. “Not sure... Saur said something about his feet and plant roots, but the details are escaping me...”

I nodded anyway. No use understanding the illogical logic of Pokémon if I'm going back to human soon. “You guys have been friends for a long time, huh?”

Vixie smiled and nodded. “Yup! That's why we always stick together.”

I smiled back, but my ears fell flat. I suddenly remembered Shock's plan of settling down in Viridian Forest... I'm quite sure that they already know that I'm really going to return to being human, and they're probably ready for that to happen, but... I...wonder if they already knew about Shock. And...I'm going to be human soon...so why am I concerned by Shock leaving the party?

Well, in any case, I should probably concentrate more on getting to Pallet Town, and think of ways to move around without carrying an ‘OMG A RARE EEVEE’ sign around town.

We heard a loud rustling noise up ahead though, and it got louder as we progressed. We decided to make a turn to avoid whatever was making the noise, and after a few seconds of walking to a different direction, we heard groaning noises. A careful look and we saw a young teenaged guy annoyingly pushing himself through the tall grass.

“Geeze! If Pokémon weren't living here, I'd already asked you to burn the grass down!”

Oh, a Charmander sat on his shoulder, chuckling at his, or her trainer.

Suddenly, another set of rustling noises came from where the human came from, and a new voice to accompany it.

“Oi! Wait up!” a female voice called. She was a teenaged girl, and was grunting and puffing as she pushed through the tall grass as well. “Eek! I shouldn't have wore a skirt! Ow! I-I think I got a cut on my leg!”

“You complain too much...” a Squirtle scratched his head as he calmly followed his trainer. He stopped and blinked when he noticed us though.

Even though we were a few feet away, I glared at him. “I have a grass type here and I'm not afraid to use it.” I pulled an absent-minded Bulbasaur to my side.

“What are you doing?” Vixie asked, but I ignored her.

“Now move along or taste the fury of the grass!”

The Squirtle gulped and hurried to his trainer.

“Huh? What was that?” the female voice asked. “Oh, it's just you, Bubbles. I thought I heard an Eevee just now. Oh well... Here, let me carry you so you won't get lost.”

“Hurry up over there!”

“Sheesh! What are you hurrying for?! The gym's not going anywhere, anyway!”

“Well, the day is! Now, if you don't want to sleep in the middle of nowhere, I suggest you hurry up!”

“We can just go back to Pallet, you know!”

I chuckled and turned to my friends. “I have a feeling those two are going to be a couple, or they'll kill each other.”

The others smiled as Shock chuckled.

“That'd be hilarious,” the Pikachu said as he followed Saur leading the way. “But anyway, let's continue.”

I nodded as Fay, Vixie and I followed them. There was another rustling noise up ahead, and it was getting loud fast. Before we could react, a Nidoran jumped out and...skidded to a stop when she noticed that we were on her way.

The female Nidoran blinked. “Oh, excuse me.”

...were there Nidorans on Route 1?

“Hai! And no problem!” Fay chirped, making the newcomer smile. “What's the rush?”

“I heard a rumor from the Spearows that there's a large gathering in Green Forest.”

“Oh?” Shock said, interested. “I was born there. Something going on?”

...she just said that there's a large gathering there...sheesh...

The Nidoran just frowned and shook her head. “I don't know the details, but I heard that they're going to talk about something important. Or maybe it was they're going to meet with someone important, or someone important's going to show up and talk about something.” She shook her head again. “Anyway, I better get going. Hope to see you around!”

“Yeah,” Shock nodded as the Nidoran continued on her way. He then ‘tsk'ed’ and glared on the ground. “I hate interesting news without details about the news.”

“Hence why they're called ‘rumors’,” I smirked, and he glared at me as Fay chuckled.

“Still,” Shock said as we continued on our way. “We should probably check it out after we're done in Seaside.”

I shrugged. At least, if Pallet has nothing for me, then we have something else to do. But then, what if a female Pikachu caught Shock's eyes in Green—er, Viridian Forest? Will he leave our little group and settle down?

“Excuse me,” I whispered to the girls as I quicken my pace and slowed when I was beside Shock. Saur was a bit ahead, and Fay and Vixie were a bit behind, so I guess this is good enough. “Hey Shock...”

“Hm?” He didn't spare me a look.

“So...Green Forest?”

“Yeah? What about it?”

“Well, I remember our one-on-one talk that one time, and...well...” I hesitated... Why am I hesitating?

“Spit it out, already.”

Hesitation, gone. “You're going to find a girl there and start a family?”

Shock chuckled. “Me? Look for a female and suddenly start a family? What do you take me for?” He gave me an annoyed smile. “I'm hurt, but amused at the same time.”

Eh? Find a girl and start a family? Oh, I guess that's considered as ‘that escalated quickly’...

I deadpanned at him. “Seriously though. Will you?”

Shock looked ahead and shrugged. “Eh, I'll cross that bridge when Iget there.”

He's...using my own lines? I glared at him. “I hate you.”

He chukled.

destinedjagold November 10th, 2013 11:09 PM

Chapter 36
Pallet Town's very quiet and very peaceful. With the golden rays of the setting sun, the town was ablaze with golden hues, which was absolutely beautiful. I love art, and nature, and that is why I really love nature's work of art.

My friends and I sat under a tree on a hill on the edge of town. The air was cool and carried small hints of saltiness. It was a nice change of smell, and it reminded me of how much I miss home. Damn, I'm going out for a swim when I get back. I'm gonna spend a lot and throw a beach party, to celebrate my return and how much I missed home. I don't care if I'll be hitting zero on my account. I'm gonna show the world how happy I'll be when I get back.

Anyway, we sat here, waiting for the night so we could easily sneak around the town without drawing too much attention to ourselves.

While my friends were busy talking to each other, I was happily staring at Oak's laboratory on top of that hill on the other edge of town. There were a few dots moving around that place though. Heh, it's quite obvious. Ash's or Red's Pokémon are there, so it makes sense. If Red is here instead of Ash, then I wonder which Red it was. Red from the manga or from that origins special?

Anyway, as the night finally arrive, I forced myself to finish eating my last berry before we climbed down the hill. The air was cooler now, but I'm thankful for my Eevee fur, which was enough to keep me warm.

Pallet was now lit by the lights from houses and a few street lamps. There weren't any cemented roads, and most of the houses here were built by either wood or bricks.

We were about to plan on how we're going to go through town when we noticed a number of Pokémon wandering around the town, either by themselves or by group. So we decided to have a vote by either stealth mode or ‘we don't care’ mode. Shock and Vixie voted for stealth, while Saur, Fay and I voted to try our luck by walking casually.

Shock and Vixie weren't comfortable with the idea, so they let the three of us lead the group. There were a few humans outside though, walking towards somewhere, sitting by their front lawns, or sharing some gossip with their neighbors. A few have noticed us, but they don't seem to mind.

I turned to Shock and flashed him a victorious grin. He just shot me a defeated glare.

Since the people here don't really care about wandering Pokémon, we decided to split up to cover more ground. Shock went by himself, Vixie and Fay went together, and that left me and Saur taking the other path.

From that hill where we waited for the evening to come, Pallet seemed like a small little town, but now that we're here, the town somehow became quite big.

“But not as big as Goldenrod...” I suddenly said out loud. Saur doesn't seem to mind. We stopped in front of a white fence, next to a lit street lamp. “So, how should we search for him?” I turned to the house that was ‘protected’ by this white fence. “Should we look through their windows?”

“Humans won't like that,” Saur said. I turned to him and he shrugged. “The old couple back at the daycare would get angry when we look through their windows from outside. I still don't understand why though.” He then flashed me a smile. “Since you claim to be human, do you know why?”

I shrugged. “They probably just want some privacy. Anyway, yeah, I see your point. Worse, they might try and capture us.” Welp, there goes that option then.

I looked around, and saw a Murkrow preening its wing as it stood on the next house's mailbox. I turned to Saur and gestured with my head to follow me. We walked towards the Murkrow, and I saw that it looked at us for a split of a second before returning its focus on its wing.

“Good evening,” I greeted, but I stopped when the Murkrow flinched.

“Ah,” the Murkrow said, its voice obviously that of an old and cranky female. “Quite rare to see young 'uns with manners these days.”

...good thing I greeted first, then?

The Murkrow ‘fixed’ herself before flying down and landing in front of us. She was...quite tall. Taller than Saur and I. I guess age adds height?

“The name's Lais, known well as Lais of Shadows back in the days,” she stood proud.

Now that I got a good look at her, her feathers seemed to be...untidy? Messy, yeah, messy. Like an old feather duster. I guess that also comes with age.

“Well, pleasure to meet you. I'm Jay, and—”

“Weird name for an Eevee,” Lais butted in.

I ignored her. Not like that's the first time I heard that comment. “And this is Saur.”

Saur simply smiled and nodded.

“Saur, huh?” Lais brought a wing to her beak. “I remember that Magikarp stew I had one time. The flavor sounded awfully the same as your friend's name... Hm...”

I deadpanned. “His name's Saur, not sour.”

She shook her head. “Anyway, have you seen Mak anywhere?” She looked at random directions. “I swear, that old coot is prob'bly hiding from me again.”

I blinked, and turned to Saur. He was still smiling, but I could already tell he was just faking it.

I turned back to the Murkrow and gulped. “Uh, I'm sure he's just around, anyway...”

She turned to us, and blinked in confusion. “Sorry, didn't notice you there, young 'uns.”

“Uh...”

She brought a wing to her chest and stood proud. “D'name's Lais, and I used to bring quite a scare to my foes back in my days.”

My ears drooped as I deadpanned. “I'm sure that's one way to win. Anyway—”

“Oh, quite so! I remember that one time when—”

...and I lost focus when I felt Saur's vines pulling me away...

“Let's...ask someone else,” I suggested as I stared at an old human couple who were chuckling at the yapping Murkrow in front of their fence.

As soon as Saur lets me go, the front door of the old couple bursts open and out came...

“Gah! I'm late!” the man exclaimed as he carried five large cardboard boxes stack on top of each other, which was already beyond his head, and there were papers and wires dangling from the boxes. He hurriedly marched forward...and clumsily bumbed on the waist-high gate of the fence. “Ahhh!” and everything fell outside the fence.

...I should be worried that he fell flat on the ground, but I was still wondering how he got out of the entryway carrying those boxes...

“Goodness, child!” the old man exclaimed as he helped the young man up. “I just fixed that gate earlier this morning! If you break it again, I'm going to charge you!”

“I'm sorry! I'm sorry!” the young man said, who hurriedly stacked the boxes once again, with the Murkrow slowly picking a few papers that fell out. The man then carried the boxes again and off he went. “Lais! I'll be at Professor Oak's!”

The Murkrow just rolled her eyes and continued picking the papers.

Saur suddenly chuckled. “Humans are clumsy.”

“That clumsy human was Bill!” I exclaimed as I tried to make up my mind if I should follow him, or call the others first. “Gah! It's him! It's him! But what to do?!”

Saur just calmly poked me on my shoulder. “He just said he's going to an Oak tree.”

I blinked. I nodded. “Right. Right. Almost forgot about that.”

Saur nodded and turned around. “I'll call the others.” Suddenly, the bulb on his back spat a black seed, and it landed on the ground. “Don't leave this spot.” Saur said as he ran off, and the seed began sprouting roots and pulled itself underneath the ground.

I blinked. “Oookay...?”

Lais mumbled something. I turned to her and saw that she was now having a hard time collecting the papers. Since I got nothing else to do, I sighed as I approached her, and collected a few pieces of paper and stacked them.

The Murkrow smiled at me, and spat the many papers that she already collected from her beak. “Ah, it's great to see helpful young 'uns in today's time.”

I groaned as I picked up more paper. “Yeah... Lucky me...”

destinedjagold November 11th, 2013 11:27 PM

Chapter 37
“—an' then a giant erupting volcano emerged in the middle of the ocean!” Lais exclaimed, extending her wings wide apart, but suddenly yelped and flapped them again to stay airborne.

Lais carried two stacks of papers on both her claws, or talons. Hm... I don't remember much about my animal science subject during grade school. Were bird's feet called claws, or talons? Or were they simply called feet? Blah...

“Wwwooowww...!” Fay wow'ed in amazement, who was walking beside the hovering Murkrow, and I could actually see small sparkling stars sparking from her eyes as I and the rest of us followed the two nutty-heads.

“An' then as soon as it came out, a giant purple cen'ipede came out from the mouth of the volcano an' rushed down towards my trainer an' I!”

I groaned as my headache was getting worse.

“But Bill an' I weren't prepared to face such monstrosity, so he ordered some Saur Magi—”

“Sour,” I interrupted with an angry tone.

“—karp Stew... Er, yes, Sour Magikarp Stew when the waiter arrived, and he said that I should use it and splash it on the millipede's eyes!”

I tiredly grit my teeth as I turned to my other friends. Vixie was helplessly smiling in defeat, Saur was faking a calm and reassuring smile, and Shock was gripping both his ears flat down with both hands, and he has a reddened forehead from all the face-palming.

“One loose screw was bearable,” Shock hissed through gritted teeth. “Two's insanity...!”

I wanted to chuckle, but I was too annoyed to do so. “M-maybe we should give some distance from insanity?”

The three of them immediately agreed by nodding their heads. We stopped and waited until we could no longer understand a single word the Murkrow was feeding the Rattata.

Anyway, we were already climbing up a hill on an earthy pathway towards Professor Oak's laboratory. There were trees and houses on either side, and there were humans and Pokémon who were either staring at us for no apparent reason, or were simply ignoring us. There were a few kids who wore huge smiles as they stared at us and called us ‘Lazy Oak's Pokémon.’ I guess it's normal for people here to see Oak's Pokémon walking around...

“Jay,” Vixie called.

“Huh?” I actually felt my ears twitched as I turned to her. “Wazzup?”

“Just curious, but how are you going to talk to this Bull guy?”

“Bill,” I corrected her. “And to answer your question...” I trailed off as words vanished from my throat and mind. I was hopelessly drawing a blank here... Drawing! That's it! “...I could write my message on paper or on the ground or something...”

Vixie looked as if she didn't understand my answer. Shock as well. Good thing Saur was now giving me a real and calm smile.

“You didn't think this through, did you?” Saur calmly asked.

My eye twitched. And here I was thanking him of his smile. “Screw you, too,” I glared at him, and the Bulbasaur just chuckled.

Hm... Yeah, what Saur said was definitely true... I should try and think of a good way to communicate with him.

“—but there were sticky webs everywhere an' I needed to—”

Dangerously close to danger range there... Anyway, how in blazes am I going to talk to him? I can just go with my plan and write it down, but I don't have anything on me for writing, aaannnddd...since I'm considered a ‘wild Pokémon’, me rummaging around for a pen and paper might give them the wrong signal and try to either capture me or throw me out...or get beaten to a pulp by their Pokémon...

Hm... Well, Lais currently has a few papers I could use. All I need now is a pen...or something for writing...

“We're here!” Lais suddenly shouted, snapping me back to reality.

She and Fay were in front of a tall iron gate. The lab was apparently protected by an iron fence, that was taller than regular houses in the town. And oh, the gate was apparently left wide open for ANYONE to enter. What's the use of the gate then?

“Lais,” I called as we approached the duo. “Can I have a piece of paper please?”

She blinked while flapping her wings to stay airborne. “Why?”

“Well, I'm going to—”

She dropped everything on the ground, scattering the papers everywhere AGAIN.

“Okay!” she chirped as I glared at her.

“Lais!” a familiar voice called from ahead of us. The door of the lab, which was meters away from the gate, opened, and out came the person I've been wanting to talk to. “What took you so lo—aiiiyyyeee!” he screamed as I noticed a few papers flying by in front of me, floating with the gentle evening breeze.

Bill started running towards us in panic as Saur, Fay, Vixie and Lais busied themselves by catching the papers. I looked around and noticed a paper that landed on the ground in front of me. Hm...

I poked a nail out from my paw and wrote my message. Bill and the others were busy collecting the papers while Shock was observing what I was doing with an arched eyebrow.

“You weren't kidding with your drawing plan, huh?” the Pikachu commented.

I ignored him as I heard Bill sighed. “Well, hopefully, I didn't lose anything.”

I still have a paper pinned down by a paw here. I looked up to him and he noticed me.

“Oh, thanks!” he said as he leaned down to grab it.

Now's my chance, I guess. “Saur,” I called, my eyes locked on Bill. “Grab him!”

“What?”

“Just do it!” ...I miss my shoes...

Saur reluctantly shot two vines up and wrapped the yelping human, restricting his arms and feet from movement.

“He-hey!” Bill stammered. “W-what is this?! What are you doing?!”

“Shock, Vixie,” I called. “Light's up!” I gestured on the ground.

The two blinked at each other before Shock began to summon bright sparks from his cheeks on my left and Vixie slowly breathing out fumes of bright fire on my right.

I stared at Bill, and he looked at me with nervous eyes.

“If you guys won't let him go,” Lais rubbed her head, “then I'm going to attack you.”

I ignored her as I gestured with a paw for Bill to stare on the ground.

He didn't understand at first, so I poked the ground a few times before he looked at it, and he quietly gasped as he read my handwr—paw-writing.

“‘Bill,’” he read, his voice converting from nervousness to curiosity, “‘I need your help.’” He slowly looked back at me with surprised eyes, and then he groaned as he hung his head. “Ugh...not again...”

I...arched an eyebrow... So...am I actually repeating a repeated journey here or something?!

Suddenly, I felt something knocking me down, the air escaping my lungs as my head hit the ground, hard, and the last thing I saw before I lost consciousness was black feathers covering the white full moon....and red glowing eyes.

destinedjagold November 13th, 2013 5:32 PM

Chapter 38
“Welcome back to the land of the living!”

A loud feminine voice spoke way too cheerfully as I groaned and slowly regained consciousness. How'd she knew I was waking up, I have no clue. All I know at the moment is that I'm so f*cking hurt all over...

Ugh...what happened to me?

“You can't pretend to be asleep forever, ya know!”

“Can't a guy have some peace and quiet?” I hissed as I opened my eyes and immediately, I saw my up-side-down reflection, only, my reflection was smiling, which was completely contrasting my angry frown. “Why am I staring at a broken mirror?”

My reflection touched my nose with its soft paw. “I'm not a mirror, silly!”

I blinked at that. “Oh...”

Honestly, I wanted to try and overreact, like shout in surprise and accidentally hit our heads, like the ones in an animé, but eh, I'm still hurting all over. And I think I'm starting to remember what in blazes happened. Moon, feathers, evil glowing eyes. Yeah.

I sighed as I pushed her head away from mine with my own paw. “Personal space, please.”

“Oh, right,” the female Eevee moved away as I rolled to my belly.

I groaned as I slowly pull myself up into a sitting position. I was on a white tiled floor. It was hard yet cool to the touch. Anyway, not important. I looked around, and saw a giant living room. Well, I'm a small Eevee, so an average-looking living room's a giant one in my point of view. There were sofas, a flat-screen television, table, some potted plants and hanging plants, and a Mr. Mine humming a tune to himself as he cleaned the carpet with a vacuum cleaner. There was also a Ledyba wiping a few portraits that hung on the wall.

Unfortunately, me feeding my eyes with everything around me isn't really satisfying my belly, who just decided to tell the world how hungry it was. I felt hot on my cheeks when the Ledyba and Mr. Mime looked at me. I felt my ears droop as I lowered myself to the floor, my Eevee companion chuckling at me.

“Looks like someone's hungry,” she said.

I deadpanned at her. “Gee... Ya don't say?”

She gasped. “You know meme's!” And then she grinned. “Why so serious?”

I...blinked at her... “W-wait... You're...”

She nodded and cheerfully sprang on all four. “Oh my gosh! I never actually believed what that Vulpix and Rattata and Pikachu and Bulbasaur has told me about you being human!” she blurted out all too cheerfully as she hopped around me in a circle. “Oh, how long ago did I last talked to someone who I could actually relate?!”

I'm starting to have an early morning headache and neck pains if I keep following her with my eyes and head.

“Oh! There's so much I wanna talk about! And ask about!” she stopped in front of me with a big goofy grin complete with cyan sparkling eyes. “So, what's your name?! I mean, your friends said your name was Jay, but I wanna know for sure! Maybe Jay is just an alias or something. And where were you from? And how old are you?! What did you do to before you woke up here?! And—”

I pushed a paw inside her mouth as I glared at her. She gasped and hopped back, spat and stuck her tongue out in disgust.

“Like, eew much!” she glared at me. “That was rude! And here I thought I could finally have someone to talk to! That I can relate to!”

I tried my best to ignore my wet and dripping paw as I raised it to make a point. “First of all, no, I can't relate to you if you're full while I'm hungry.” And to stamp a certificate of approval to my statement, I hereby allowed my tummy to use Uproar.

She just glared at me some more. “That's not a good excuse to shove your arm, or foot, or paw inside my mouth! You use that for walking!” She cringed and shook her head while sticking her tongue out as I wiped my paw on the carpet.

“Here you go,” the Ledyba gently landed beside me and placed a plate of meat on the floor between us. “Master Oak left that on the table earlier for you to eat when you wake up.”

I smiled at her and almost attacked the meal before I remembered to thank her. She just nodded and flew somewhere.

I pushed my opened mouth down to my meal with an audible ‘ah’ as I boredly stared at my glaring Eevee companion. After a few seconds of nothing but me saying ‘ahhh’, I sighed and pulled my head back up.

“Do you mind? I'm going to eat.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Someone as rude as you expect me not to be rude to you?” She puffed. “Ha.”

Ooohhh, so she has bad attitude, eh? I rolled my eyes and bit the meat. I lifted my head back up as I chewed quite loudly. “Om nom nom nom...” Well, it didn't really sounded like that, not with me chewing this juicy cooked meat, but hey, it at least made her cringe in disgust.

“You're disgusting,” she grimaced.

“'ou fauff,” and I continued chewing loudly. “Mmm...”

Her eye twitched. “You're so immature, you know that?”

“An' 'ou'f 'hild'sh,” I replied.

She glared at me. “Oh, so having proper manners is childish?”

“Nah,” I licked my paws as I finished eating. Damn, that was one quick yet satisfying meal. I guess small creatures get full quicker. “Proper manners are for snubbish and rich people whose nose are higher than their eyes.”

“I hate snubbish people,” she glared on the carpet. “They always bully me around back in school.”

What a strange shift of topic, and ahh, so she's still a young student then.

“If you ask me, I'd rather be an Eevee forever than be back there, but I have two loving parents, so...” her glare softened, and she closed her eyes with a sad sigh. “I miss them.”

“Meh,” I shrugged. “We'll be back home, eventually.”

“How?” she asked as she looked at me with sad eyes. “Bill couldn't help me. My friends and I asked Bill for help before. Believe me, we tried all sorts of things, even that transforming machine of his back in Cerulean City.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “It didn't work.”

My felt my ears drooped as my spirits fell down to hopelessville. “Oh...” was the only thing I could say to that. I tsk'ed as I looked away. “Now what?” I whispered to myself.

“Oh?” Vixie's voice echoed. I looked back and saw her approaching us with a small smile. “You're awake.” She sat down and took a sniff on my plate beside me. “Human food is strangely delicious,” and she began licking the plate.

I chuckled as the female Eevee cringed.

“Oi!”

The plate was suddenly surrounded by a weird bluish glow and it levitated away from us, and into an angry Mr. Mime's hands.

“I already told you not to lick the plates!” He turns the vacuum cleaner off and retreated to the kitchen, probably. “Gah, she did! Ugh...”

“I couldn't help it!” Vixie shouted back at him. She received an angry groan as a reply. She then turned back to me. “So, you two catching up?”

“Eh? I don't even know her.”

“Oh, right,” the Eevee said, cutting Vixie's attempt to reply. “Forgot to introduced myself.”

“Indeed you have,” I teased her.

She glared at me for a short while. “My name is Krystal. Krys for short. My last name's not important. Sixteen and...was attending high school before...” she gestured herself with a paw, “...this happened.”

I tilted my head to the side and blinked. “Sixteen?” Well, I guess that would make sense. “Well, name's Jay. Twenty-three and working in an IT department.”

She blinked. She gasped. “You're twenty-three?!” she stuck her tongue out. “And you...! You put your hand in my mouth! Eewww!!!” She scurried away as Vixie and I arched her an eyebrow. “Pedophile! Pedophile! Eek!”

I gasped and jumped on all four paws. “Now wait just a second!” I glared at her. “I am NOT a pedophile! Never before! Never now! Never ever!”

“Jay's a pedophile!” Fay's voice suddenly chirped as she jumped beside Vixie. She started giggling when I turned to glare at her.

“I AM NOT!”

“Pedophile~ Pedophile~” Fay sang.

“FAY! SHUT UP!” I shouted.

Vixie just blinked at her. “Fay... Do you even know what that means?”

“Nope!” Fay chirped, and continued her teasing song as Vixie sighed in defeat.

My eye was quite tired of the twitching, so I shut her up by pinning her mouth closed with both paws. I leaned closer to her, our eyes almost touching each other.

“I,” I hissed, slowly, quietly and venomously. “Am. Not. A. Pedophile.”

I felt her mouth grinned. Nope, she ain't giving this up soon. My eye twitched again as I turned to Krystal, holding a paw to her mouth to stop herself from chuckling.

“What. Have. You. Done?”

She grinned. “Pedo.”

“Aaarrrggghhh!!!”

destinedjagold November 14th, 2013 4:42 AM

Chapter 39
“...and you can see here,” Bill said, clicking a button on his laptop, and changing the image that was shown on a large screen through a projector that was connected to his laptop.

My friends, and Krys' friends and I sat together on Oak's backyard, under the shadow of a large wall-less tent-thingy. Bill was discussing a few of his discoveries, which wasn't really that much, in front of a large group of scientists and researchers. Among those in the audience were Professor Oak himself, Elm, Rowan, and other random professor NPCs.

Anyway, back to Bill... He showed an image of his nutty Murkrow, with lines and some scientific mumbo-jumbo labels on 'em.

“Now, I'm sure everyone here already know these, as I've shown this to you from our previous meeting,” Bill said, clicking another button, and changing the image, this time the image was split in half. One half was some sort of aurora-like DNA structure or something, while the other was a normal-looking DNA structure. “But, I've busied myself with comparing data between my devolved Murkrow and that of newborn Murkrows, and this image right here,” he hovered his mouse pointer and circled around the normal-looking image of DNA. “This is from newborns, while, of course, the other image is from my devolved Murkrow.

“I have reason to believe that, if I may call it, the ‘evolution aura’ is still present in my devolved Murkrow. Now,” he clicked and changed the image once more, this time displaying various DNA images with labels of different Pokémon names. A few of them were normal-looking, while a few were rainbow-colored. “I've also collected DNA samples from trainers' Pokémon. I've also conducted a small interview on them. Interestingly enough, all these rainbow-colored DNA's are from devolved Pokémon, while normal ones are all from Pokémon who haven't experienced evolution yet.”

“Are you saying that,” Elm spoke, a hand on his chin, “the magical process of evolution is still inside a devolved Pokémon?”

“In other words,” Rowan spoke, “something is stopping the evolution process from making these Pokémon evolve. But we already know that.”

Bill nodded, looking determined. “This discovery is a step closer of strengthening the theory that some strange magical force is locking the evolution process from ever happening. Once that force subsides, devolved Pokémon might evolve back.”

Murmurs erupted from the audience, as well as from my friends.

“So,” Krys spoke, and capturing my attention. “What do you wanna evolve into?”

“Eh? Honestly, I never gave thought to it.” I shrugged. “I am just concentrating on going back home.”

“I know, but,” she smiled. “I'm kinda curious what it feels like to evolve! I wanna be a Vaporeon! No, wait! An Espeon! Yeah!” and she dreamily stared into the blue sky. “Oh, Espeons are so cool and beautiful... If I ever evolve into one, then I don't think I'll ever wanna leave this place! I'll be a beautiful Espeon forever!”

I rolled my eyes. “Hate to rain on your parade, princess,” she curiously looked at me, “but that would mean a trainer capturing you, and,” I grinned slyly, “give you lots and loooooots of looove,” and I wiggled my eyebrows for that ‘special’ emphasis.

It worked. The redness and the look of horror on her face is too epic, I burst out laughing.

“This isn't really something we can all just laugh about, you know,” Shock glared at me as I wiped my teary eyes with a paw. “This is serious.”

Saur and my other friends nodded. I just rolled my eyes.

“Shock's right,” a Chikorita agreed, who was one of Krys' friends. Her name's escaping me at the moment.

Anyway, aside from the Chikorita, Krys also befriended a male Surskit, who was currently on the Chikorita's back, his thin legs wrapped around her belly. The two strangely look like a discolored Bulbasaur, if you ignore Chiko's long leaf on her head. Anyway, the Surskit's name is also escaping me at the moment...and he's too freaking quiet. The only thing I ever got from him was his ‘nice to meet you’ when Krystal and I were introducing everyone to each other. Meh...

“If something is stopping us from evolving, then we must go and look for it and try to stop it.”

The professors already resumed their discussion, but we were ignoring them, since we were having a discussion of our own.

“Something,” I said, “or probably someone.” They all gave me curious looks, and I just shrugged. “Hey, even the legendaries are still clueless of what or who did this. Anyway,” I shrugged, “I don't really care if I'll evolve or not. I just want to go home.”

Krystal frowned. “Do you really think Celebi can ask Arceus to help us? A lot of Pokémon actually don't believe Arceus even exist.”

“Celebi looked like he's real, so there's that,” I smiled.

“I agree,” Saur nodded. “She did speak and look like Arceus is real.”

Shock just sighed. “Still, interested or not, you got nothing else to do, right?”

I smiled. “As long as Oak provides free meals, then I ain't going anywhere.”

Shock groaned. “You're hopeless...”

“Well,” Krystal turned to Shock. “I wanna help.” She nodded with a smile. “I mean, hey, it's going to be a once in a lifetime adventure! I'll gladly take this opportunity before I turn back into human.” She puffed. “The human world's boring.”

I chuckled. “Once you reach legal age, males will give you a—”

“Don't you dare finish that sentence,” she hissed and glared at me.

I snickered. “Whatever you say, princess. You know its true.”

“Pedoffffffffffffffff...”

My eye twitched. “I'll shut up now.”

She grinned. “Good.”

“Jay has a point,” Fay chirped.

Krystal glared at her. “I will NOT become a wh—”

“If Bi and the other legendaries couldn't find the cause, then what will our chances be?”

Everyone were dead quiet. Fay is weird, and sometimes she points out very good points. Yeah, she's weird like that.

Shock sighed in defeat. “I hate to say it, but Fay's right...” he looked back at us. “There are many legendaries in the world. They're powerful, and they have different kinds of abilities that would surely locate something they wish to find.”

“The problem is that they haven't yet,” Vixie frowned. “Even with their legendary powers, they still couldn't fix it.”

“Or maybe another legendary's hiding or protecting it from them,” Krystal said. All eyes fall to her.

“That...” the Chikorita said, “...might be possible...” She looked at the others. “It's possible, right?”

“A legendary who is lying...” Shock crossed his arms and thought about it. “Why would they even hide such a thing and lie about it to the others?”

Vixie nodded. “And what could they possibly even gain from it?”

“Yah,” Fay chirped. “It's not like legendaries can evolve!”

They continued their quiet throws of questions and theories as I turned back to the discussing humans. Apparently, their discussion were going in a loop, while my group managed to land on a possible conclusion. This is even deeper than I thought.

But I do have a choice though. I could just wait here and not be involved, or I could join them into whatever quest they're going to take. The former sounds very appealing though, but what if neither Arceus nor Palkia will help me? And Krystal, for that matter. What if they're too busy worrying about their fellow Pokémon's problems?

...or what if one of them's the culprit behind all this?

destinedjagold November 15th, 2013 1:49 AM

Chapter 40
“There,” Bill smiled as soon as he finished tying this weird collar-thingy around my neck. “Try it out.”

It felt cold and heavier than that pink collar I used to wear. Anyway, it has a shiny black circular icon-badge-whatever thingy, which has a filter-like microphone and small speakers inside. Talk about a weird invention.

I touched it with my paw for no apparent reason, and then coughed.

“Ahem,” I said, shifting slightly on the sofa. “Testing, testing... One, two, three...”

Bill's smile grew wider. “It worked! And you even test it like a human does!”

I deadpanned. “That's because I am one.”

Bill nodded. “I wonder if I could filter your Eevee voice so English will not mix with it whenever you talk...”

“Whatever... At least you understand me now...”

Krys walked beside me and curiously poked the collar with a paw. “I can't believe he actually managed to make one...”

I grinned. “Don't let our poor technology back home judge the technology of this world.”

“So,” Shock gestured with a hand, “the human can understand everything you say through that thing?”

I looked up at Bill. “Hm... You're an ugly human.”

“Hey!” he frowned. “I'll have you know that girls used to storm over me, and I could have dated all of them if I weren't so busy with science and stuff!”

I grinned. “And when was that?”

He blinked, and glared at me. “I'm starting to regret inventing that thing now...”

I chuckled and turned to my snickering Pikachu friend.

“I'm convinced,” Shock chuckled.

Fay excitedly jumped in place. “Oh! Oh! Can I try it! Can I? Please?”

Oh, if only... Nah. I shook my head. “Sorry Fay, but I don't think his small head can take it.”

“Okay,” Bill suddenly grabbed the collar. “I'm taking this back before I'll do something I'll regret.”

I chuckled and allowed him to remove the collar. Ah, it's good to have a lighter neck.

Bill then sat back on his chair in front of the sofa. He then sighed and took a paper that Krystal and I printed from his laptop. While everyone were having lunch, we borrowed his laptop and typed down a few things that our little group has found out about the black-magic phenomenon. We were kinda disappointed that we only managed to fill half of the paper, but meh, it was at least straight to the point.

He scratched his head as he read it again and Lais landing on his shoulder. “A legendary Pokémon who is protecting whatever stops normal Pokémon from evolving...” He leaned against his chair and stared at us. “If it's true, then this is big...like, really big...”

I was about to talk, but I suddenly remembered that I no longer had the collar on. I gestured with my paws to have them back, and he eyed me suspiciously. I rolled my eyes and pointed to Krystal instead. She just blinked and gasped.

“Oh no! No!” she stepped back, and bumped on Vixie's side. “I don't like public speaking or anything like giving my own opinion to a large crowd!”

“That didn't stop you from voicing out your opinion when we were outside,” I pointed out. “Besides,” I pointed Bill, “you're just going to talk to him anyway.”

“I think it's a good idea for the others to hear this as well,” Bill spoke out loud as he stood up. “They're about to resume, so I guess that will be the perfect time to let them know about what you guys know.” He then turned to Krystal. “No offense to Jay, but Krys, you're a more sensible one, so—”

“No!” Krystal barked at him.

“Sheesh, girl,” I shook my head. “You are bound to talk in front of many people when we get back home. What, with graduation, job interviews...”

“No,” she glared at me. “No! And that's final!”

“Sheesh,” I rolled my eyes, “you don't have to be a b*tch about i—ack!”

She slapped me! How the heck can she slap me? At least no nails were used.

“Jay,” Shock called with a smile, “you keep that up, and you'll never find yourself a mate.”

“Put a sock in it,” I then glared at the slapper. “And you...” I trailed off as I noticed she wasn't paying me any attention. Typical teenagers. “Never mind.”

“Ah, young love,” Lais suddenly said, staring at the ceiling with dreamy eyes.

“I'll take it that Krystal doesn't want to talk,” Bill sighed as he put the collar on me again. “Just promise me to talk properly...”

“Don't count on it,” Krystal whispered all too loudly. That...kinda ticked me off.

“Hey you,” I turned to the Chikorita. “Do something about our princess' attitude, will ya?”

“I'll try,” she replied. “But you'll need to do something about your attitude as well.”

The Surskit nodded.

“And what does that su—you know what? I'm not going to argue with you, 'cuz I don't even know you.” I jumped off the sofa and walked towards the kitchen. “The sooner I'll get back to human, the better.”

“Someone's on a foul mood,” Fay chirped as the rest of my friends followed me.

I heard Bill sigh and said a few things to Krystal before he walked after us and opened the door to the backyard.

“Maybe you should let Shock or Saur do the talking,” Vixie said, who walked beside me. “No offense, but I don't think you can think straight when you're angry.”

“Gee, ya think?!” I snarled. I suddenly felt a powerful slap behind my head, throwing me a few paces forward. “OW!” I heard series of gasps, but I ignored it as I spun and glared at Saur, who was in the process of retracting his vine. “What the hell was THAT for?!”

Shock slowly lowered his hand and closed his mouth, and let Saur do the talking.

“You're angry,” he calmly replied, “but you shouldn't pour it on Vixie, or us.”

“Do you know what I think?!” I snarled as I pulled the collar off, and threw it on the ground. “Screw this!” I turned around and walked off. I don't know where I was headed to, but I don't care.

I'm angry? Yeah, obviously, I am! Thank you for pointing that out, genius!

...why am I so angry all of a sudden?

I sighed as I spun around, sat on the ground, and slowly leaned my back against the tree. Wow, I was probably a few meters away from the meeting site. Still inside Oak's property, but whatever. Also...it's kinda strange that it's now a habit to kick my tail before I sit down... Anyway...

I guess Krystal's attitude just ticked me off. Sigh... Well, at least I now know that I'm never going to have the patience to be a dad. I guess that's a good thing. Is it a good thing? Blah.

I felt myself slipping down, but I didn't bother. I slipped from leaning on the tree, and my back was now on the ground, my gaze on the soft rays of the sun that poked through the leaves that quietly danced with the soft breeze. Wow...that was almost poetic.

“You okay?”

I sighed and closed my eyes. “A bit, yeah...”

Vixie sat beside me. No idea what she was doing, since my eyes are closed.

“Sorry if I snapped at you back there...” I said quietly. “I didn't mean to.”

“Eh, I got used to it. Shock's always like that.”

That made me chuckle. “Heh, good point. Still,” I opened my eyes, and saw her gently smiling back at me. “I'd like to say sorry...”

“Forgiven,” she simply replied.

She's cute when she smiles though. Well, Vulpixes are really cute Pokémon, I guess. She then turned her head up and stared at the sea of leaves.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and sighed through my mouth. I love how peaceful this world is. Well, not really, but, oh never mind.

“So...” I said, “I imagine that the humans are eagerly listening, huh?”

Vixie chuckled.

“I'll take that as a ‘yes’.” I chuckled as I opened my eyes.

Vixie then turned to me, her smile slowly fading. “So, we're going to find out what is causing us from not evolving.”

“Yeah,” I felt my own smile fading as well. Welp, time to go back to seriousville... “I guess I'll wish you guys good luck.”

She frowned. “You're...not coming?”

I slowly shook my head. “Sorry, Vixie, but,” I rolled to my belly and pulled myself into a sitting position. “I told you guys that I'm human, and I just want to go back home.”

Her ears drooped and her gaze fell on the ground. “Oh, right, that...”

I smiled. “Hey, cheer up. At least you got Saur, Fay, and Shock.” She looked at me. “And who knows,” I shrugged, “maybe you can force Shock to be your mate.”

She had a blank expression on her. “What?”

Smile...fading... “I...mean... Well, Shock seemed overly-protective of you, so...um...” I trailed off when she was now angrily staring at me. “...please don't hurt me?”

She sighed and shook her head. “Well, I did liked him before, but...” she looked away.

I blinked. Ah... “He turned you down because he's into his own specie?”

She sighed again and nodded.

“That's...kind of racist, don't you think?”

“I don't know what ‘racist’ means, but I got over it.” She shrugged and smiled. “I guess I'm just glad that we're still friends, after I offered him my...love.”

“I am starting to imagine a very very sappy story...” I teased.

“Oh, shut up...” she then turned her gaze to the peaceful rolling clouds. “And...just curious, but...”

She trailed off... Sheesh, fine, I'll bite. “But...?”

“Do you like Krystal?”

I choked on air and coughed. “Wh-what?!” I fixed her a glare. “No! I am NOT a freaking pedophile! Damn it!”

She blinked at me. “Sorry but, I don't know what that means as well...”

I blinked. “Oh, right... Sorry, again, for snapping at you...” I sighed. “It means an adult that wants to have sexual relations with a child.”

She blinked. She cringed. “Eewww...”

I nodded. “And your vocabulary has been expanded.”

“I wish I didn't...”

I grinned. “You fault.” I then took a breath and sighed through my nostrils as I turned to the sky. “I've been accused of being one when I was just helping a young girl one time who was lost.” She was lost in a mall and was crying. I bought her some candy and promised to help her. Unfortunately, those who were watching branded me as a...sigh... Humans are stupidly judgmental that way... It's no wonder that people are rarely helping each other... Well, to be fair, not all humans, but...

“But she doesn't look that young,” Vixie said. “I think she's already thirty moons old.”

I blinked and turned to her with a confused look. “Moons?”

“Well, that's how we count our age.”

“Ah...” Moons... No idea how that works... “And what about me?”

She examines me with critical eyes. “Hm... I think you're also thirty moons old. Or maybe older. So...it's not considered, erm...pedo, if you'll as—”

“Don't,” I glared at her, “finish that sentence. Whatever our ages might be in this world, the two of us are still humans, and our human ages will still count. Besides,” I waved a paw, “I don't like her that way.” And then curiosity struck me. “What about you? How many moon cycles old are you?”

Hm... Moon cycles. Ah, I think I now have a vague idea of how their moon age works. Each month has one full moon, right? Yeah, I think so. Or maybe not all. I dunno. Anyway, maybe they count their age on each full moon? I think I've read something like that back home a long time ago.

“Twenty-seven moons,” she replied.

Twenty-seven moons. There are twelve full moons in a year if there's at least one full moon in a month, so... Vixie's 2 years and a few months old. Wonder if it's also like dog years. Seven human years is equivalent to one human year?

Anyway, I nodded. “And if Lithe was any indication, I'd say twenty-seven moons is an acceptable age for having a mate, yes?”

She frowned at me. “I don't want him to be my mate.”

I shrugged and turned back to staring at the sky. “I never said that. I don't have one, back home I mean. Even though I'm already at that age as well.” I shrugged yet again. “I guess I haven't found that special girl yet.” I'm still planning to ask that girl. I just hope time froze back there while I'm here. Wait, no... Krystal was here for some months now, so time didn't stop... Darn it...

“Still, I'm also looking for a mate...” she turned to stare at the sky. “Sometimes, I think he's just somewhere out there...”

Sheesh, and I thought those kinds of lines are only for Disney movies...

“...or...he's somewhere nearby...”

...uh... I turned to her and arched her an eyebrow.

She looked back at me with a very soft smile. “...or...maybe he's just right in front of me...”

...

... ...

... ... ...

destinedjagold November 18th, 2013 1:49 AM

Chapter 41
A strange feeling of thin and ticklish hairs on my cheek snapped me back with a quiet chuckle.

“Ah,” Fay chirped, who pulled her whiskers back. “You've been floating on clouds for quite a while now,” she giggled.

I blinked and suddenly realized that I was still seated on the sofa in Professor Oak's living room. I was by the arm-rest, and Fay was beside me. Beside her was Shock, and beside him was Saur, and beside him was Vixie, and beside her was Krystal, and beside her was Lais, and beside that bird-brain was the Chikorita plus the Surskit bagpack.

And I think we came here to discuss a few things with Bill and Professor Oak, who currently sat on the other sofa in front of ours, a simple table in between, where Bill's laptop and stacks of papers were placed, and some cups of coffee, and two plates of Pokémon brownie-like food.

Aaannnddd...there's a reason why, as Fay put it, I was floating on clouds... Vixie's confession was...uhm...shocking? Surprising? Unexpected?

For all my life, Vixie was the first female who ever confessed their um...feelings to me...or at me? Anyway, yeah, she was the first, human or Pokémon, and I have absolutely no idea how to handle such a situation.

My cheeks suddenly felt hot as I recalled my reply to her when she told me about it.

“Um...okay...” I blinked as I felt my heart started pounding nervously hard, my eyes were deeply locked on hers. “...th-thanks?”

Oh, how her smile faded and that disappointed look she gave me... Goddamnit, that was so freaking embarrassing! How stupid of a reply was that?! Ack! Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupi—

“Are you okay?” Bill asked, and I blinked back, and realized that I was gritting my teeth.

I saw everyone's eyes were on me as well, and I felt my two ears droop. “Uh...y-yeah... Yeah, I'm fine...”

“He said he's fine,” Krystal said, who currently was wearing the Pokémon-to-English translating collar. She was still angry at me, if her voice was to be judged. “Just busy thinking of home.”

I turned to glare at her, but my eyes instead fell on Vixie, who then took a glimpse at me and smiled. My throat suddenly felt dry, and I found it super-freaking hard to turn my head back.

Ugh... This is really really stupid. Why in blazes am I feeling this way? I mean, com'on! She's a freaking Pokémon! I'm a human! Yeah... Yeah, I'm right... She's a Pokémon, while I'm a human... That won't work. That will never work! And I don't care if there was a human eks Gardevoir watchamacallit. I am NOT into Pokémon! Period! Nope! No siree!

“Are you in love?”

“Ayyyiiieee!!!” I jumped back in surprise, and saw Fay's confused stare. I looked at the others, and their eyes were once again on me.

Fay slowly, slowly had a grin on her lips, and a very mischievous glint on her eyes. “You are, aren't you?”

“No I'm not!” I replied. “That's just stupid and silly!”

“What's stupid and silly?” Oak asked, blinking at me.

My...voice was probably very loud for the collar to translate it.

“Um...nothing?” I gulped.

Krystal rolled her eyes and turned back to the two humans. “Ignore him. He's probably currently hitting puberty.”

“Hey!” I said as the two humans chuckled. I was about to add something more when I saw Fay's snout closing in on Shock's curious ears.

“Whoa!” she gasped as I pulled her beside me with her tail.

I grabbed her face with both paws, fixed her gaze on me, and I glared into her very soul.

“Don't,” I hissed, ignoring Shock who was asking what was going on. “You. Dare. Spread. Such. Lies.”

She just grinned, strangely got off from my grip, and leaned beside my ear. “So who's the lucky girl?” she whispered.

“I told you that I am not in love!” I whispered back, ignoring Saur and Shock, who were giving me strange looks. “Nor am I attracted or magnetized or whatever you wanna call it!”

“Liar,” she snickered. “There's Vixie, Krysie, Lais, Chiko, and me.”

I groaned as I pushed her away from me. She however, was still talking while in deep thought, her gaze concentrated on the sofa.

“But I don't think you're into birds, so Lais is out...”

This time, Vixie joined in on giving me a strange look. I just chuckled at the trio. “Please ignore her?”

Shock shook his head. “You've been acting very weird ever since Vixie fetched you...” He then turned to her. “What happened?”

Saur turned to her as well as Vixie blinked at Shock.

“Oh, uh,” Vixie slowly looked at me, and I glared at her. She just gave me a grin before turning back to Shock, still wearing that grin. “Nothing out of the ordinary.”

Shock fixed her a suspicious glare. “You're lying...”

“Oh my gosh!” Fay suddenly shouted and turned to the surprised Pikachu. She pointed a paw at him. “That's it! Jay's in l—mmf!!!”

I jumped on the rat's back and pushed her face against the sofa. She struggled to break free while Saur and Shock wondered if they should stop me.

Krys just sighed. “See? Puberty...”

I wanted to glare at that annoying brat, but once again, my eyes fell on Vixie, who was just smiling at me. I glared at her as I mouthed ‘we need to talk.’

She just nodded and returned her attention at the humans. Shock was already pushing me off of Fay as Saur blinked at me, and then back at Vixie, and then back at me, and then a wide smile formed on his lips.

Oh, poop... This is spreading incredibly and annoyingly fast. I tiredly glared at the Bulbasaur and gestured with my paw to zip his lips. He just nodded and returned his attention to the discussing humans.

“Really Jay,” Shock rubbed Fay's back as he fixed me a glare. “What was that all about?”

I shrugged. “Just stopping Fay from saying something, which is completely nonsense and could ruin my day...”

“Ah...” Fay turned to me and grinned yet again. “So it's true then.”

I looked away.

“Fay,” Shock sighed. “Stop pushing his buttons.”

“Okay,” she chirped happily at Shock, who nodded and turned back. She quickly then turned back to me with a very big grin. “For now...”

“Oh, Joy...” I buried my face against the sofa.

Fay chuckled and leaned her mouth by my ear. “She likes yellow flowers,” she whispered, and I mentally blinked. “She doesn't like Rawst Berries. She hates it if you give her stuff she thinks are useless. She used to have a huge crush on Shock. She always wondered how it would feel to lie on her mate's back while he carries her around. She—”

I touched her nose with a paw as I slowly pulled myself into a sitting position. “Shut up, please,” I sighed. “Just...shut up.” I pulled my paw back and looked away. “I don't like her, okay?” I turned to her. “So, stop. It's...annoying.”

Fay nodded with a smile. She then turned and sat beside me. “Yeah, I know.” She took a breath and sighed. “Love's confusing, no?”

I hung my head and sighed. “Yeah...” I blinked...and blinked, and blinked. “Wait...”

She giggled and hurriedly walked away before I could hit her head.

“Darn it,” I hissed at her retreating form as I lowered my paw.

Fay pushed herself in between Shock and Saur, eliciting an annoyed grumble from the Pikachu as he moved beside me. Fay then walked back and pushed herself in between Saur and Vixie, wherein Saur gladly moved as he turned to me with an apologetic smile. I felt my two ears droop yet again as I sighed and as Fay whispered nonsense to Vixie...

Ugh... I just want to go hooommmeee...

destinedjagold November 18th, 2013 11:01 PM

Chapter 42
“Vixie,” I said as I finally got to her.

She turned and smiled. “Hi.”

I kept a flat face. I wanted to tell her how long it took me to find her, and here she was, under a tree in Oak's front lawn, beside the gate. Unfortunately, there were more pressing matters we needed to talk about, and my heart wasn't making things any easier.

I took a deep breath and sighed to calm myself down. It didn't work. “We need to talk.”

“I know.” It was quick, but I noticed her frown before she quickly replaced it with a smile. “What do we need to talk about?”

“First,” I sat in front of her and raised a paw. “Could you please drop the smiling act. It's getting annoying,” and making me having a difficult time to be serious at you.

She frowned and sighed. “I heard a lot from females that a smile will always charm our potential mates.”

I rolled my eyes as I brought my paw back down. “You're just making yourself look so plastic.”

She blinked. “What's plastic?”

“Never mind that,” I shook my head and squinted my eyes a bit. The clouds have moved and the golden sunset rays struck my eyes. “Just be yourself if you want to attract someone.”

She grinned at me. “I'll keep that in mind.”

I rolled my eyes. “And the second thing... Could you please...” My throat suddenly felt dry. Am I going to say it? I never wanted to break hearts. I know what broken hearts felt like. B-but... She should have known better! I'm a human... “Go and find someone else to be your mate...” I lifted a paw to stall her. “...who will be willing to be your mate.” I brought it back down, sighed, and looked away. The mountains are golden now... “This won't work. You and I, I mean. You're a Pokémon, while I'm a human...”

“But you're not human yet...”

I turned back to her and gave her a soft glare. “And by the time I'll turn back into human... What then?”

She shut her mouth and looked at the ground.

“I'm sorry, Vixie,” I sighed. “I'm just saving you from a potential heartbreak in the future. It's better to end a blooming flower now than taking down a full-grown tree...” Wow, I admit, that was deep.

Silence reigned. I sighed.

“I'm a human. Please Vixie, remember that.”

She said nothing. She just stared on the ground.

I sighed and stood on all four paws. There, I said it. I turned and started walking away. It's better to leave her alone to think things through. Now, to concentrate on going back home...

If I recall correctly...

I stopped as my heart suddenly felt too freaking heavy. It was heavy, and painful. I sighed and slowly turned my head over my shoulder. There was no sound, but I saw her movements. She was sobbing quietly.

I wanted to comfort her... B-but that would be awkward, wouldn't it?

“I'll take care of it,” Saur's soft voice said.

I turned in time to see him walking pass me with an unreadable expression.

“Go inside and stop Fay.” His voice was calm, but it felt so commanding.

“Sorry...” I whispered. No idea it reached his retreating form.

I sighed and slowly walked towards the front door of Oak's house. The door was opened slightly, so I poked my head inside and pushed it wide enough for me to enter. Instantly, Shock turned to me from the sofa and gave me an arched eyebrow.

“So...you and Vixie, huh?”

Fay suddenly jumped beside him, giving me a wide toothy grin. Chikorita smiled at me, and Krystal just gave me a blank look.

It took them all a second or two to notice my frown.

“I...take it that things didn't go too well?” the Chikorita finally said, breaking the silence.

Shock jumped down and started walking towards me with a threatening glare. “If you hurt her, I swear to Cresselia's moon, you'll be so—”

“Could you shut up?” I spat, and Shock stopped in surprise as I fixed him a glare. “It was freaking hard to dump her, okay?! It hurt! And I have no idea why!”

“Then why have you—”

“I'm human!” I snarled at him. “She's a Pokémon! And I am a human! It will never work!” I grit my teeth and walked pass him. I continued walking pass the sofa.

“S-sorry...” Krystal said, but I didn't mind her, or anyone, as I turned to a corner and started climbing up the stairs. “H-hey!” she called as I heard her paws landing softly on the carpet. “Wait!”

“Leave me alone,” I continued my climb. “I want to be alone for a while.”

I heard her started climbing after me. “No! I'm not going to lose someone again!”

I blinked as I reached the last flight of stairs and turned to her with a puzzled look. “W-what?”

Her ears drooped as she stopped climbing. “M-my brother died from a broken heart...” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “L-long story, but please!”

Despite everything, I deadpanned. “Sorry, but I'm not suicidal.” I turned. “But sorry about your brother...”

“J-just promise me you'll be okay...”

“Why do you care?” I turned to her and gave her a painful smile. “Earlier today, you wouldn't even care if a meteorite fell on me.”

She glared at me. “Fine. Go and lock yourself in a room for all I care!”

I sighed as she carefully started climbing back down. I lost my sense of direction, so I randomly picked a room and pushed open the door. I suddenly found myself in a small room. The Ledyba from earlier was peacefully napping on a bed.

I quietly walked through the room and went out of the small balcony. Big mistake. I saw the tree...the gate...and my four friends...

I quietly lied on my belly as I stared at them who were trying to comfort her. Chikorita and Krys suddenly appeared from the edge of the balcony and were slowly walking towards my friends.

I quietly sighed. What's wrong with me? I thought that I'm not into furries...that I'm not into Pokémon. I had a few dates before, and lots of breakups... Why is this one so freaking different, and painful?

...is it because that this is the first time that a girl was the one who made the first move? Mmmaybe, but that sounded kinda shallow...

...is it because I've been wanting to love someone, but never actually lucky enough until now? Gah, now that just sounded stupid...

...or is it because...she was the first girl who I felt was so true and sincere about her feelings...for me...

B-but...she's a Pokémon... Yeah, sure, I'm a Pokémon right now but, what if I'll finally be able to return home as a human being again?

I know it's sad, and I know it freaking hurts, but I also know that I did the right thing. It's useless to make her feelings bloom. And I also need to stop worrying about her. She's just a Pokémon. She's just a Pokémon...

...now that I think about it...it's kinda surprising that she didn't beat me up to a pulp... I mean, she can do that to me if she wanted to...b-but...

...um... I just noticed that Vixie was staring at me. I blinked to clear my blurry vision, and finally noticed her eyes. She had very determined eyes. She had a very determined frown. And after she knew I was now staring at her, she gave me a very determined smile.

...she's giving me a determined and a very persistent smile.

...suddenly, jumping off this balcony sounds like a very very wonderful idea...

destinedjagold November 19th, 2013 11:15 PM

Chapter 43
“This is so degrading...” Krystal sighed as she slowly started eating her bowl of meatballs.

We were having our dinner in the living room, and ever since we started, I was annoyingly pushing my bowl away from Vixie, who kept on pushing hers close to me. At least Fay, Saur and Chiko found it funny to watch.

Shock however... “Could you two quit it?” he hissed and glared at us.

I glared back. “If you're so angry with her chasing after me, then you shouldn't have dumped her!” And there she was again. “And get away from me!”

She chuckles and finally sat down. “Fine, I'm getting hungry now, anyway.” She then grinned at me. “But afterwards...” she trailed off.

I gritted my teeth and pushed my bowl with my nose and settled down beside Krystal. “You wouldn't mind, right?”

She just sighed. “How are you accepting that we're no longer eating with our hands?”

I shrugged as I ate. “Dunno,” I replied with a half-full mouth. “Hunger does wonders.”

She puffed and grunted. “Ugh... I can't believe you...”

“Why?” I grinned. “If you're staying here forever as an Espeon, then you should start getting used to it. Besides,” I shrugged. “You've been here longer than I have. Why haven't you gotten used to it yet?”

She glared at me, and I chuckled. I was about to continue eating, but I noticed Vixie from afar, fixing me a glare. Hm... I turned to Krystal. Hm...

I sighed. Vixie may be annoying, but I won't go all pedo-mode just to push her away...

“I think your girlfriend's getting jealous of me being near you,” Krys commented, adding an evil grin to it. “Pedo.”

My eye twitched. I pushed my bowl away from her chuckling form and settled down in between Saur and Shock.

“Seriously,” Shock grunted. “Get a den already.”

“Someone's jealous,” I grinned, receiving a glare from him. “You know that I can still give her to you, right?” and I resumed eating.

His eye twitched. “Vixie is not an item you can just pass to someone else!”

“She will be if she keeps on bothering me,” I said simply. I was about to eat the last of my meatball when Shock rudely grabbed my collar-fur thingy and forced me to look into his angry eyes.

“You will not treat her that way,” he hissed. “I won't let you!”

I deadpanned and was about to reply when Saur spoke.

“Let him go, Shock.”

Shock's eye twitched, and reluctantly lets me go.

“You know he doesn't mean it.”

I blinked and turned to the Bulbasaur. The heck? Of course I meant what I said.

“It's just annoying to hear,” Shock sighed.

“Now listen here,” I said to the still-eating Bulbasaur. Oh, he's eating some crispy leaves, by the way. “I don't love Vixie, ya hear?”

“Oh?” I heard Shock spoke. “I wonder what was that ‘I'm hurt, but I don't know why’ you said earlier.”

My eye twitched and was about to glare at him when Mr Mime came in and started levitating our bowls away. Huh, isn't he an evolved form as well, or does he have the same case as Shock? Anyway, I immediately bit the last meatball before it flew away from me.

Bill suddenly walked beside the maid-mon and clapped his hands. “Okay everyone. Light's out in ten. We need to sleep early so we can leave early tomorrow.”

I blinked at his retreating form. “We're going somewhere?”

Shock sighed. “Sheesh... You and Vixie need to pay more attention during meetings.”

“Well, he was lovesick at the time,” Fay chirped, making Shock grin. “So it's understandable.”

“I hate you all,” I mumbled. I shook my head and turned to my more sensible friend. “Where are we going?”

Saur blinked at me. “I thought Vixie said you're not coming with us?” And then he smiled at Fay and Shock, who were behind me.

“Well, duh,” Fay chirped, and I am no longer liking where this is going. “He's coming with, since Vixie's his mate now! If she's coming, then so will he!”

I gritted my teeth. “You three are so...gah!” I was about to storm off when I noticed Vixie in front of me. “Oh, uh, hi?”

She smiled. “You're coming with us, right?”

“I guess so.” Wait... What the f*ck, mouth?! “I mean, n—mmfff!” a vine shut me up.

Fay giggled. “See? Told you he'll come with!”

“Ow,” Saur winced when I poked his vine with a nail.

“I'm staying here!” I glared at Saur. “And you can't make me come with you guys!”

Vixie suddenly brushed herself beside me, sending electric jolts to my spine. “I guess I'll stay here as well.”

I quickly jumped beside Saur and wrapped a paw behind his neck. “We should all get some sleep! Yep! Need to rise up early to wherever we're going, right?!” I hate the world right now... “Right! So goodnight everyone! I'm sleeping with Saur tonight!”

Saur just blinked.

Krystal shook her head in disappointment. “Pedo and gay...”

“Shut up, you,” I glared at her. I then took a breath and sighed as I pulled my paw back. “But seriously though. Where are we going?”

“Green Forest,” Shock said as the Ledyba flew by and switched off the lights. She greeted us good night and flew away. “Remember what that Nidoran said?”

I blinked. “We met a Nidoran before?”

Despite the darkness, I could still see Shock's deadpanned expression. “Yes.”

“Wow,” Fay chirped, who lied down beside Vixie. “He's head has been on clouds for far too long.”

“Har har...” I deadpanned.

“Anyway,” Shock continued, “we're going to Green Forest to see what the gathering was all about. Even if the gathering is already over, we can still ask a few Pokémon there some details.”

“Okay...” I nodded. “But how will Bill fit into this quest of ours?”

“He'll drive us there,” Krystal said, who was trying to get comfortable in between Vixie and Chiko. “You really haven't paid any attention at all, huh?”

“Lovesick~” Fay quietly sang, and then yawned.

Oh yeah, Yawn's a known Pokémon move, so it's no wonder everyone else yawned as well, including myself.

“Suddenly, I feel so sleepy...” I whispered, making Saur chuckle. “Good night, everyone.”

After a series of ‘good nights’, everyone became quiet and went to sleep.

My ears twitched when I heard Vixie's soft voice. “Night, Jay.”

I took a breath and sighed through my nostrils as Fay quietly giggled.

destinedjagold November 21st, 2013 12:16 AM

Chapter 44
“She's a heavy sleeper, no?” I chuckled as Bill carried Krystal's sleeping form from the living room to his white pick-up truck.

Chikorita and Surskit, who was still glued on the grass starter's back for reasons unknown, chuckled in embarrassment.

“Yeah,” Chiko nodded. “She's worse than a rock when she's asleep.”

Bill then carefully placed her on the carpeted surface of his truck, where the rest of us were currently waiting. Aside from us Pokémon back here, there were also three wooden crates, filled with papers and some random machinery-thingies of his. Lais stood on top of a crate though, also asleep.

“Hurry up, professor!” Bill shouted after he turned back to the house.

“In a moment!” came Oak's reply from the second floor. “Waaahhh!” and then crashing noises.

I winced before I turned to Chikorita. “So, what gives?”

She blinked at me. “Pardon?”

“I mean,” I gestured her back with a paw. “What's up with you cosplaying as a Bulbasaur?”

She frowned. “You humans certainly have a lot of weird words, huh?”

Ouch?

“But I think I understand your question.” She slightly raised her head up with a smile, enough to tilt her long leaf and pet Surskit on his head. “We're best friends.” They then stopped and smiled at me. “More than friends, but...” she flashed me a sad smile. “But still, its how we feel for each other's important.”

“Uh...huh...” I nodded with a lame smile. “Too romantic and cheesy for my taste...”

Chiko frowned while the Surskit chuckled. “Get's one to know one,” he said.

I blinked, and was about to ask what he meant when I suddenly heard Vixie's giggles from behind. I shot the couple a glare. “Har har...” I then turned around, and glared at Shock.

He quickly hid his grin. “What did I do this time?”

“It's not fair!” I shouted as Oak came out from his house, assisted by Mr Mime and Ledyba, who were carrying a few of his things. “Why does she keep on pestering me after I said no, while you got an easier way out?”

“Did he?” Vixie grinned, turning to the glaring Pikachu.

“Don't remind me,” he hissed at her before turning to me. “Been there, gladly to be done with it.” He then grinned. “My turn to enjoy the show.”

“I think Vixie's just going easy on you,” Fay nodded.

“She's just warming up,” Saur smiled, Fay and Shock chuckling afterwards.

Mr Mime and Ledyba placed a few of Oak's items beside the crates as the professor took a seat on the passenger's seat.

I closed my eyes as I moaned in frustration. “I can't believe this...”

“Jay, was it?” Oak asked, who poked his head out and was looking at me. I nodded, and he smiled. “Well, don't you worry. I promise that we'll help you out.”

“Yeah, sure,” I sighed. “Whatever...”

He just nodded with a smile, completely oblivious of my reply. Bill took the driver's seat and started the engine as Oak spoke to Mr Mime and Ledyba.

“Seriously, Vixie,” I turned to her smiling face as the truck slowly began moving down the hill. “Can't you just treat me as a friend? I WILL turn back into human sooner or later.”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “I know. So what?”

I blinked... “W-what?”

“So what if you turn back into human?”

I deadpanned. “You do realize that what you've just said is incredibly stupid, right?”

She frowned.

“What you're telling me is bestiality, and I am in no way into that kind of...thing.”

“Another strange word again,” the Chikorita behind me sighed.

“It means humans and anim—” and I almost bit my tongue. “—Pokémon having s...you get the idea.”

“So?” Vixie asked, but my attention was to Shock, who was slowly turning green.

“That's disgusting, Vixie!” Shock snapped, turning to her. “Sorry, but I'm with Jay on this one!” He glared at her. “It sounds absolutely, ridiculously, stupid!”

She glared back at him. “You can't decide how I live my life, Shock.”

“Vixie,” I quickly said, cutting Shock off. “Are you really, really, REALLY, that desperate in finding a mate?”

She turned to me, opened her mouth to reply, yet no words came out. I stared at her eyes, ignored how fast my heart suddenly felt, and saw a conflict there.

“Besides,” I softly said, “it's not like I'm the last male you'll ever meet anyway.” I looked up and stared at the thin whispy clouds in the still-waking sky. “The world is a big place, Vixie. There are still other male Eevees, and Vulpixes out there.” I shrugged as I looked back to her. “Or are you maybe in heat?”

She blinked and blushed furiously. “W-what? No!”

I grinned as Fay quickly turned her head to the Vulpix, while Saur chuckled and Shock laughed.

A voice from behind me didn't sound so very amused, unfortunately. “Being in heat isn't something we should laugh at, you know.”

I turned and saw Chikorita's frown. I almost forgot she was even there.

“She doesn't smell in heat,” Fay said.

“Sorry,” I said to the Chikorita. “I'm a human, so if talking about it offends you,” I turned to Vixie with an apologetic smile, “then I wanna say sorry. I didn't mean to.”

I'm also quite glad that it's a bit easier to look at her, even though she has this whole crush-thing on me at the moment.

Vixie quietly stared on the ground, and after a few more seconds, she quietly sighed and turned, and moved closer to the crates.

Sigh... There she goes again.

“I'll handle it,” Saur said, who was about to turn when Shock grabbed his bulb.

“No. Let's—”

“I'll do it!” Fay chirped, but Shock grabbed her tail with his other paw. “Um... Shocky? You need to let go of my tail if I want to go with Vixie over there.”

“I told you not to call me that,” Shock grunted. “And no.” He lets go and turned to me. “You break something, you fix it.”

I blinked at him. “Why would I if others are willing to do it?”

He glared at me.

I rolled my eyes. “Fine, fine... Sheesh...” I stood on all four and slowly made my way to Vixie, who's back was on me. I wobbled a bit when the truck ran on some log or something, but after that, I got to her no problems at all. I internally sighed as I sat a foot or two away from her. “Vixie...” and I have no idea what to say? Well, I did offend her, I think? “I wanna say sorry for...um...insulting you, or offending you...or whatever I did that made you angry or sad or whatever it is your feeling right now.”

I heard a paw to face behind me. I almost chuckled at that sound alone.

The Vulpix inhaled, and quietly exhaled. “I suck at this...”

I blinked. “Suck at what, exactly?”

She slightly raised her head, staring at the white wall of the truck. “T-this...” She sighed. “I tried to smile all the time, but it didn't work. Then I tried your suggestion of just being myself, but it's still not working.”

Ah... “You don't exactly suck at it though.”

Nothing.

“But...maybe you're looking at this the wrong way?”

And finally, she turned to me, fixing me a confused look.

I shrugged. “I mean, hey,” I smiled, “for a relationship to work, the two must like each other on the same level, right? That's basic knowledge, for humans, I mean.”

She blinked. She closed her eyes, turned to the crate, and bumped her head.

I arched an eyebrow.

“Of course...” she mumbled. “I'm such a dummy...”

Uh huh... Go on...

“I keep forgetting that our ways and human ways aren't always the same.”

Uh huh... “I don't get it.”

She pulled away from the crate and flashed me a frown. “Well, honestly, I um...” she looked on the ground. “What I was um...doing was um...” She took a breath and sighed. “Let's just say that in finding a mate, what I was doing was the cheapest and lowest of ways to get one as a female.” She looked up at me with a frown. “And it really hurt my pride but, I like you, I really do, so um...” she looked away, blushing a bit. “...yeah...”

I let out a slow whistle. And I'm actually surprised I could whistle. Yey? Hey, I should cherish the small discoveries as well. Anyway...

She once again took a breath and sighed. “And...now you know.”

Despite everything, I smiled, stood up, sat beside her, and wrapped a paw behind her neck. “Why don't we start small and see where that'll lead us.” Oh wait... “But you do realize that I'll still want to turn back into a human, right?”

“Y-y-ye...” Wow, she was stammering way too hard.

I chuckled as I let her go. “Like I said though, I just want to avoid hurting you in the future.” I shrugged. “But uh... I guess it wouldn't hurt to try and see where it'll lead us.”

Am I actually going with this? Really?! But the poor gal's been crushing her poor pride and heart just 'cause she likes me. Might as well give her what she wants until her little crush on me dies down, right? But what if it wont? What if it'll grow and grow, like how her smile was growing wider?

“Oh, just f*ck already!” Krys yelled from behind.

My eye twitched as I turned and shot her a glare. “Way to ruin the moment, Krys. And goor morning to you, too.”

I suddenly felt another set of fur brushing on my side until I felt a head nuzzling my neck. I shivered as electric jolts shot up to my spine and made my heart beat sky high. I quickly pushed Vixie away with a paw as I nervously smiled at her confused frown.

“Start small, 'member?” Ugh... I hope I won't regret this...

“Seriously,” Krystal groaned. “Just f—”

“Missy,” I hissed as I glared at her. “When we get back home, I am SOOOO telling your parents!”

She gasped. She glared. “You wouldn't dare!”

I grinned. “Try me.”

She glared some more.

The others looked at each other and shrugged.

“Probably a human thing,” Shock said.

destinedjagold November 21st, 2013 11:12 PM

Chapter 45
“Who knew that there are drive-thru's in this world!” I said as the female employee gave the food to Bill through the opened service window.

We were already in Viridian City, and the city just woke up, since the sun just completely risen up from the horizon a couple of minutes ago. I turned and ran to the other side as Saur and the Chikorita grabbed the Pokéfood from the woman with their vines. I climbed up and stared at the other parts of the city.

“I wonder who's running this city's gym...” I whispered to myself as Vixie climbed beside me, and started looking around as well.

“Oi, lovebirds!” Krys called from behind. “You eating or not?”

I huffed and dropped myself back down, Vixie following along. I still think I'm going to regret letting Vixie being all lovey-dovey around me though.

“I'm starting to reconsider getting captured if I get to eat these kinds of food everyday,” Shock said as he ate.

“You and me both,” Fay chirped as Vixie and I joined in.

I didn't even realized that the truck was moving when I noticed that Bill parked in a parking area by a tree. They were probably going to eat as well.

“Ah, yes,” Lais smiled. “Humans may be very weak and fragile, but mostly weak.”

Krys and I gave the bird a glare.

“But they taste good when cooked!”

I almost choked, but Krys wasn't lucky enough.

Lais blinked. “Wait. I think I said that wrong.”

“Ya think?!” Krys hissed, her eyes a bit tearful.

The Murkrow just shrugged and resumed eating.

“It may be delicious,” Saur nodded as he calmly chewed. “But we're not supposed to always eat these kinds of food.”

“They're not healthy,” Chiko added. Damn, I need to know their names once again... “But no harm in eating them from time to time, right?”

“I wouldn't mind eating this stuff all the time,” Shock said.

I smiled at his direction. “Then you'd get fat and can no longer run fast.”

He gave me an arched eyebrow. “Oh? You're just pulling my tail.”

Fay giggled. “Chubby Shocky.”

He shot her a glare. “I am not chubby! And stop calling me that!”

Fay giggled again. “Well, Saury Shocky.”

Shock groaned as Saur and Fay chuckled.

“Good one,” the Bulbasaur said.

Vixie and I chuckled along.

“Jay,” Krystal called, and I blinked at her. She pointed at Vixie, who was beside me, and she then pointed at the Pokémon food, and then she pointed at her opened mouth.

I glared at her.

She rolled her eyes and pointed at Vixie again.

I turned.

Vixie stopped eating and blinked at me.

I turned back to Krystal with a glare.

Krys slowly put a block-like Pokéfood into her mouth.

I glared at her some more.

Krys closed her eyes and sighed. “You're hopeless...” she whispered as she chewed. She then opened her eyes and gestured with her pupils.

I followed the direction and saw Chikorita using her vines to grab a few Pokéfood and feed her Surskit buddy.

I looked back to Krys, and instead to glare, I arched an eyebrow when I saw that she was pouting her bottom-lip.

I gritted my teeth behind my closed mouth as I turned to my other friends. Shock, Fay and Saur were busy chatting among themselves. I turned again. Chikorita and Surskit were in their own world at the moment. I turned to Lais and...who is she talking to? I turned to Krys, her pouty lip was still present.

I sighed and grabbed a block of food with a paw. I turned and stared at Vixie, quietly enjoying the meal. When she noticed that I was looking at her again, she stopped and raised her head to look at me curiously.

“Hm?” she asked.

I shot a quick glare at Krys' direction before I lamely smiled at the Vulpix. I slowly moved the paw with the block so she could notice it.

“Er...want some?”

She blinked at my offering. “Why?” She looked back at our meals. “There's plenty to go around.”

...I turned, feeling a bit disappointed and relieved at the same time, and my eyes were on time to see Krys slapped her forehead with a paw.

“Not sure who's hopeless here...” she groaned as she slid her paw from forehead to chin.

“It's Vixie's first time,” Saur suddenly said. I turned to him, and saw that he was no longer with Shock and Fay's chat circle. Worse, Saur was proudly smiling at me. “Give her time.”

“What are you two talking about?” Vixie asked.

I groaned as I placed a paw behind the Vulpix's head and pushed her back to her meal. “Go back to eating,” I said as Krys shook her head in disapproval and Saur chuckled.

The food was gone after a couple of minutes, and soon, the truck went back to life and started moving again. Lais squawked and flew on top on a crate once again, and fell asleep.

The others kinda grouped themselves into their conversation buddies. Saur and Chikorita plus Surskit, Fay and Shock, and finally, Krys and Vixie.

Saur said something, and the Chikorita just nodded. Fay probably asked something, since Shock looked like he was giving a long explanation about something, complete with paw gestures. Krys was talking to Vixie, while holding a block of food with a paw, and sometimes gesturing at it.

Since everyone seemed busy, I decided to simply watch the scenery. The truck stopped when the traffic light turned red. If it weren't for the fact of how clean this place was, this city wouldn't be any different from the city where I work.

I felt something poking my hind paw. I looked down and saw Vixie staring up at me. Wondering what she wanted, I jumped back down and faced her. And I just now noticed a block of Pokéfood on her mouth.

...and if I'm judging the slight blush on her cheeks, I already do not like where this is going.

She slowly grabbed the block with a paw as her gaze shifted from my eyes to my nose and vice versa. “Would you...like some?”

I just took a breath and sighed through my nostrils. Although it felt kinda late, it still was kinda nice of her to offer, and uh, sweet? But yeah, the fact that it's late...well...

I just flashed her an apologetic smile. “Maybe next time. I'm full now since,” I shrugged, “ya know...we just finished eating?”

Her ears drooped, but she smiled in embarrassment. “Oh, right...”

I faintly heard another paw to face behind me, followed by a quiet groan.

destinedjagold November 25th, 2013 12:24 AM

Chapter 46
Bill parked the truck outside Viridian Forest, a few kilometers away from where trainers usually enter or exit the said forest.

In the games, there was a building that separated the forest from the route. At least in the first gen. and the remakes of the first gen. games.

Anyway, yeah, we were up on a hill-like parts just outside the lines of trees. Oak sent out an Abra and helped him set up some research camp thingy, while Bill was making some final adjustments with the collar translator thing with Krystal.

Shock was quietly staring at Viridian Forest though.

“Hey,” I said as I sat beside him, Vixie following behind.

Shock's ears drooped as he sighed. “What do you want?”

I arched an eyebrow. “Stingy much?”

Vixie chuckled. “He's like that when we disturb his moments of deep thought.”

Eh, well, I'm like that, at work most of the time. It's kinda irritating to be disturbed if we're concentrating and having a lot on our minds, trying to solve a stupid problem on a broken webpage.

Aaannnyyywwwaaayyy...

“Sorry,” I whispered to Shock.

He sighed again and rubbed both his cheeks. “Nah, forget it.” He then took a breath as he turned to us. “So, we're ready to go?”

“Hm...”

I turned back and saw Bill was busy with his laptop while Krystal sat on the table a few inches in front of the laptop. Bill said something, and Krystal appeared to be talking. I faintly heard English words coming out from the laptop though, and I think that was a video player, currently showing Bill's face, slightly covered by his laptop. The collar has a built-in camera now?

I turned back to Shock and slightly shook my head. “Nope.”

Shock frowned, then turned to Vixie. “So, how are things between you two?”

I shrugged as Vixie replied. “Boring.”

Ouch. I glared at her. “Well, excuse me if I want to take things slow.”

Vixie sighed. “Human ways of mating is slow and boring.”

Mating also means...

Shock just chuckled. “What? You're giving up already? Quite unfair on my part, don't you think?”

Vixie just rolled her eyes and then turned to me. “Why am I falling for complicated males...”

I shrugged. “You could have just accepted Lithe's o...”

I swear, Shock's and Vixie's glares almost vaporized my soul...

I gulped... “...eh...heheh... S-sorry?”

Our ears twitched as a loud clap was heard in the air. We turned and saw Bill addressing to us.

“Jay,” he said. Or, he was just addressing to me. “Come here for a sec.”

I gladly ran towards him, but I felt humiliated as he suddenly and easily carried me on the table. I gave him a glare, but he didn't notice as he busied himself again with the collar.

Krys snickered. “You'll get used to it.”

I sighed. “I sure hope not. It felt like seventy-five percent of my adultness just went down the drain...”

“Well, does that mean I'm the older sibling now?”

“Don't get your hopes up, sister.” We're not even related by blood to begin with.

“There,” Bill suddenly said and put the collar on my neck. “In case the other one glitches up or something.”

I blinked. Eh? I turned to Krys, and yeah, there's a black collar around her neck. I tried to loosen my collar a bit though.

“It's kinda tight...” I said.

Bill heard what I said from his laptop and made the collar a bit more comfortable. “Sorry about that,” he said. He then took a small black circle and inserted it inside my ear.

“An earphone?” I asked.

“Wireless,” Bill said with a proud smile as he lets me go. “That way, we can stay in touch with each other.”

I stared at him. “Won't these be more suitable for legendaries?”

He frowned as he shook his head.

“A fine question, lad,” Oak's voice was heard from the tent. “Unfortunately, the legendaries seem to be quite busy to stop and talk with us humans.”

“So we're using whatever we can get to gather information if the legendaries aren't going to help or cooperate,” Bill said.

“So...” I pointed at myself. “We're your data collectors now?” He frowned as I shook my head. “I didn't sign up for this.” I glared at him. “I don't really care what you guys agreed from that meeting, but my only goal is to go back home.”

“Uh huh,” Bill nodded. “How are you going to do that?”

“By...”

...Palkia?

Bill nodded with a soft smile. “Exactly. There might be a chance that what caused your arrival is linked to what disables Pokémon from evolving.”

I still find it hard to believe how accepting Bill and Oak was to me and my claims of being a human. I guess Krystal has done quite a lot of convincing before I arrived.

Also, linked? Hm... In Krystal's case, since she was here for two months now, I think. And it's been two months since the devolution process... Her being here might be linked, but me? No idea...

I sighed and adjusted the earphone on my ear. “Fine, fine. Just make sure not to blast me with your voice.”

Krys nodded. “Oh yeah, mine as well.” She suddenly became conscious of her ear. “I don't like loud noises.”

“Eh,” I shrugged. “It's you who'll be making loud noises when the time comes.”

Both of them blushed as I chuckled. Kinda weird that I'm making green jokes, while I don't want to hear green stuff from Fay. Eh, I guess I'm weird like that. Oh well.

While Bill made some adjustments with his laptop, Krystal fixed me a glare, but her blushing cheeks lightened her glare's weight.

“I hate you,” she hisses.

“Testing, testing,” Bill said through a thin microphone. He was looking at us, and Krystal and I just nodded at him.

“Yeah,” I said. “Volume's okay. Anything else?”

“Yeah,” Bill nodded. “Be careful.”

I rolled my eyes and jumped down from the table. “It's Viridian Forest. What's the worse it could throw at us?”

“Beedrills live there,” Bill replied as he sets Krystal down beside me. “They're quite dangerous, especially if they'll swarm.”

I nodded. “Yeah, thanks for the heads up about a devolved swarm of Beedrills.” I lamely stared at his sheepish smile. “Seriously, give us something here.”

“Other than the Pidgeots and the Beedrills,” Shock said as he and the others approached us. “There's nothing else to worry in the forest.”

Saur nodded. “But since they ‘devolved’, they're not much of a threat, if we keep a cool head and work together.”

I blinked. I turned to Krystal. She blinked at me. I nervously smiled at her. “Working together?”

Her eye twitched. “With you? No way!”

“Ah...young love,” Lais sighed, who was on the table, staring dreamily at the sky.

“Why do I feel like you've already said that same line before?” I glared at her. She ignored me though.

“Anyway,” Bill said. “Professor Oak and I will be out here, monitoring your progress. If trouble comes up, and you couldn't handle it, let me know and we'll send our Abras to fetch you.”

I blinked at him. “You have an Abra?”

“What's an Abra?” Fay asked.

Bill nodded. “Your collars have special stones that our Abras can detect. But they can only teleport you back one at the time, since,” he frowned, “they're Abras. They're not as strong as they used to be when they were Alakazams.”

“I still hate how lazy their names were made,” Krystal frowned. “Abra, Kadabra, and then Alakazam? Talk about childish cartoon magic.”

“Oi,” I said, a bit offended. “Old cartoons back in the days were the best. The new Tom and Jerry show felt so boring and...bleah. It didn't have the old Tom and Jerry feel to it.”

She frowned at me. “Because it's for the new generation of kids. Not for old pedos like you.”

My eye twitched. “You teenagers are really...you know what? We've derailed the discussion.”

“Indeed you have,” the Chikorita nodded with a sigh as Fay chuckled.

Bill blinked. “Oookay... You guys need to focus though. Now, just a small recap of what we've talked about before. The gathering of Pokémon held in Viridian Forest—”

I heard Shock mumbled something, but I failed to catch what it was.

“—might have some info that we need. Of course, it probably ended but, there's a chance that Pokémon living in the forest might know what it was about.”

“Go inside,” I said. “Ask about the gathering. Survive. Sounds simple enough.”

Bill frowned. “It's not really that simple. You should—”

“You worry too much,” I glared at him. I then turned to my friends. A question suddenly popped in my head, about Bill not joining us, but eh, he and Oak might scare the Pokémon away... “Let's get this over with. Who knows,” I shrugged and turned to Shock with a sly smile. “We might find Shock a mate there.”

Shock glared at me, but his ears drooped. “Funny. Hahah...”

I tilted my head to the side. “Shock. Something wrong?”

He shook his head and turned, and marched towards the forest. “Just like what you said: let's get this over with.”

I blinked and turned to the others. Even Krystal, Chikorita and Surskit arched an eyebrow at the retreating Pikachu.

I turned to Vixie. “Is there something I should know about?”

Vixie just gave me a confused blink. “If you're talking about Shock, then no,” she shook her head. “No clue...”

I turned to Saur. “Saur?”

Saur just shrugged. “He'll tell you when he wants to.”

I deadpanned. “I hate you too, by the way.”

destinedjagold November 27th, 2013 10:16 PM

Chapter 47
Krystal and I agreed to split into two groups: my friends and I, and her friends and herself. That way, we could cover more ground, and it'll make her be away for a while to stop giving Vixie some advice.

The usual, I stayed behind our small group. The unusual, Vixie walked beside me. It was a bit annoying at first, but the feeling of annoyance immediately disappeared when Vixie and I noticed Shock was in the middle of our group, Saur and Fay leading on the front. It was strange, since Shock was always the one leading our little group. What was worrying was that his ears were drooped.

Vixie and I shared a troubled and worried look. Strange that we could almost communicate just by making eye contact.

‘What's up with Shock?’

‘No clue... And I'm worried about him.’

‘Yeah, same here...’

‘Should we ask him?’

I shrugged. ‘He'll just tell us that he's fine.’

Vixie sighed. ‘You're right...’

We then looked ahead, and turned left after Fay and Saur spotted a bunch of Weedles by a stream.

“Hi!” Fay chirped as we arrived.

The Weedles, all four of them, turned and immediately sprayed sticky strings at us. I yelped and turned, but I slipped and couldn't move. I heard sparks and fire, and painful yelps soon followed, and then splashes of water.

“You okay?” Vixie asked with a worried frown as she leaned her head too close to mine, our noses almost touching.

“Yeah,” I said as I heard Saur and Shock helping Fay out from the webs. “Can't move, though...” I tried to move, but I found my paws locked on my sides.

Vixie grinned at me. “I could keep you like this forever.”

I glared at her.

“Is it just me,” Bill's voice echoed comfortably on my ear from the earphones. “Or does that Vulpix like you?”

“Bill said hi,” I groaned as Vixie used her nails to cut the strings around me.

“That sure is helpful,” Shock groaned as I shook myself.

I turned and blinked as I noticed the absence of the worms. “Where are those creeps?”

“Fled,” Saur said. “They jumped to the water.”

“It's common for wild Pokémon to attack humans,” Bill's voice made me lose my attention on my friends who were currently discussing the next course of action. “But it's weird for them to attack other Pokémon.”

“Survival of the fittest, I guess,” I shrugged. I accidentally caught my friends' attentions, and I smiled back at them. “Sorry. Was talking to Bill.” I then touched my collar.

“Ah,” Shock said. “Forgot about that thing on you...”

“What a bunch of meanie Weedles!” Fay kicked the grassy ground with an angry pout.

Saur just patted her shoulder with a paw as Vixie and Shock turned to me.

We then heard flapping noises from above. We looked up and saw two Pidgeys about to fly by.

“Oh!” Fay chirped, waving both front paws at them as she sat on her bum. “Hey! Hey!”

The Pidgeys were about to fly by, but one of them hovered on a spot and looked at us.

“We're friendly,” Vixie shouted. “We just want to ask some questions!”

The Pidgey hovered in the air, probably thinking things through. The bird sighed and slowly landed on the other side of the stream.

“If this is a trick,” the Pidgey glared at us, his voice sounded young. “I swear, I'm going to—”

“Look,” Shock interrupted. “We just want to know about the gathering.”

The Pidgey's angry features disappeared as he blinked.

“We're kinda late, so we're hoping to know what it was about.”

“The gathering?” the bird blinked again. His brows then furrowed as he glared at us. “Are you trying to trick me or something?”

Shock and I groaned.

“Just,” I said slowly, “go away if you don't know anything about it.”

“Thanks for wasting my time then!” the Pidgey shouted as he extended his wings, but he yelped and immediately fled when Shock fired a thin bolt of electricity at him.

“I didn't know Pokémon could be so mean,” Bill's voice echoed in my ear. “What an eye-opener.”

“An update of Krys' group would be more useful, Bill, rather than your obvious observations,” I deadpanned as I stared on the stream, my friends turning to me.

“Oh, right, right,” Bill said, and I could almost hear his sheepish smile. “I'll get back to you.” And then I heard a soft clicking sound from the earphone.

“So?” Shock asked. “Anything?”

I shrugged. “Bill's still asking her.”

“I see,” the Pikachu replied simply, looking around. “Didn't know the Pokémon living here could be so...” he trailed off.

Vixie and I shared a confused look before turning back to him.

“But...” I said, “don't you live here?”

Shock shook his head. “Green Forest is a big place, you know.”

“Ah,” was my only reply.

“I don't live on these parts of the forest.” He turned and headed north, walking close to the stream.

The others and I followed him, this time, Shock was leading the way, Fay and Saur in the middle, and Vixie and I following behind.

“Jay?” Vixie whispered.

“Hm?”

“Can we walk together?”

I gave her a deadpanned look. “We already are.”

“Yep,” Bill's voice echoed on my ear. “She likes you.”

I ignored him as Vixie chuckled. “I know but...” She suddenly closed the gap between us, and I could actually feel her fur against mine, sending shivering jolts to my spine. “I mean...like this.” She sighed softly and leaned her head on my neck.

“Confirmed,” I heard Bill smirked.

I kinda can't picture how awkward the two of us would look like this while walking. And her weight was making me turn to the side, so I had no choice but to apply some force back to balance things out.

“Bill,” I said, my eye twitched slightly, “shut up. An update, please?”

“Kinda weird how Jay's talking to himself all the time, huh?” Fay chuckled.

While Bill was talking, Saur turned his head and blinked at the two of us, and then smirked. “Someone's enjoying some sweet time.”

I glared at him. “If you're jealous, go get a mate of your own.”

“Does that mean Vixie's your mate now?” Shock turned with a teasing grin.

Vixie suddenly purred as she slowly rubbed her head on my neck and cheeks, making me blush.

I took a calm breath and sighed. “Bill said that Krys' group found a lead. They're on their way to the said location to confirm.”

Saur and Shock stopped and turned to fully look at me.

“I thought we're suppose to only ask about what was talked about?” Vixie asked, thankfully returning my personal space.

“Yah,” Fay nodded. “Unless Krysie's group asked someone who just heard about it, but never actually attended.”

Shock and Saur stared at the smiling Rattata, while I just blinked at her.

“Um... Bill said yes,” I slowly nodded. “And yes, Bill. She's as weird as hell.”

We suddenly heard faint noises from the lines of trees. We slowly followed the sound. As we got closer, the sound got louder and more detailed. There was a fight, and there was a voice.

“Use Ember!” a young male's voice said.

“Right,” another voice, much younger, replied, and was followed by sounds of fire.

There was a screech of pain, and as my friends and I took a peak behind the line of bushes, we saw a young human trainer throwing a Pokéball at a beaten and burned Spearow.

The Spearow glowed red as the Pokéball hit it and floated in the air, and then the red-glowing Spearow was absorbed by the Pokéball.

I shivered involuntarily as the memories of what it felt like being inside one came back to me.

“Oh my gosh, an Eevee!” a young feminine voice shouted excitedly from behind us.

I yelped and turned to see a young teenaged girl staring at us with star-sparkling eyes.

“Zap her!” I yelped.

“On it,” Shock said, his cheeks sparked.

A torrent of water struck him, pushing him hard on a tree and knocking the air out of his lungs.

“Shock!” We shouted in unison.

“Bubbles!” the girl exclaimed. “You missed! How could you miss?!”

I turned and saw the Squirtle scratching his head as he looked at his angry trainer. “So you wanted to get zapped instead?”

“Whoa! You're right!” I gasped and turned my head up, and my vision was filled with a smiling teenaged boy. W-weren't these the trainers we saw back in Route 1? “This Eevee's mi—” He blinked, and suddenly, his eyes rolled back and he fell beside me, snoring.

Um...what just happened?

“What did you do?!” a Charmander leaped out from the sleeping boy, his claws glowed white.

“Eek!” the teenaged girl shrieked. “That Bulbasaur's using sleep powder!”

Vixie and I jumped back before the Charmander's claws could hit us. The earth shook slightly, and Fay came out from the ground underneath the yelping Charmander, pushing him up in the air. Her tail glowed and she turned while in mid-air, slapping her tail on the Charmander's cheeks, and throwing him towards the yelping Squirtle.

“Eep!” the young female trainer pulled out a Pokéball and threw it in the air. “Hearts! Help me!”

A blob of energy came out from the opened Pokéball, and it materialized on the ground, into a female Nidoran. She looked ready to battle, but she then blinked and dropped her stance.

“H-hey!” the Nidoran said. “I know you!”

“Use double kick!” the trainer commanded as she turned to the rising Squirtle. “Bubbles, use water gun again!”

Vixie and I jumped on opposite directions before the torrent of water could hit us. Fay quickly ran towards the turtle, but jumped back before fumes of fire could hit her. I jumped once again to dodge another water gun, and I bumped into the blinking Nidoran.

“I DO know you!” she smiled. “We met outside that human town a few days ago!”

“Hearts! What are you doing?!” the trainer angrily stomped her foot on the ground. “We're being attacked! And...uh...” she suddenly smiled goofily as she slowly fell back on the ground, snoring.

Her underwear's white. I couldn't help it if she collapsed right in front of me.

“Pervert,” Bill's voice echoed. “Concentrate on the battle!”

I gulped and turned to the blinking Nidoran. “You're trainer whited out—” I don't even know what that means. “—so you can't fight without her orders!”

“Is that how it works?” she blinked at me as I heard growling noises from behind.

“No!” I turned and saw the Squirtle and Charmander glaring and growling at Fay and Vixie. “They can still hurt our trainers!”

Suddenly, two vines wrapped around Fay and Vixie, dragging them back to Saur. “We're leaving,” he simply said while helping Shock up, who was leaning on him.

“Let's get outta here,” Shock whispered as he and Saur began to move back to where we came from.

Vixie and I kept an eye on the trainers' Pokémon as we retreated. Once we were on a safer distance, we both let out a tense breath and followed the trio.

“Wow, Shockie,” Fay chirped walking beside him. “You went down with just one water gun! Talk about lame!”

His ears drooped.

Silence...

...shouldn't he be angry with that kind of remark? Or at least, since she called him with a nickname?

“Shock?” Vixie called. “Are you okay?”

Nothing... Even Fay began to look worried.

Vixie and I shared a worried look as I ignored Bill's directions of where Krystal's group was.

destinedjagold December 6th, 2013 1:45 AM

Chapter 48
I'm a bit thankful for Shock for suddenly being quiet, weird, mysterious, unresponsive, and some other words. I know it's bad for me to think like that, since, he's a friend and I'm his friend but, it turned Vixie's attention from me to him, which is a totally great relief at the moment.

I am really starting to regret accepting her love though, and now I am afraid of breaking up with her, just because ‘it was a mistake on my part.’ ...I don't want what happened to Lithe's...um...thingy...to happen to me as well. Well, this Eevee body's not mine, so whatever harm happens to this won't apply to my human body, I think. But still, I'm currently ‘using’ this body, so I can already imagine the hurt I'm going to be in if my Eevee thingy meets Miss Bitey.

“Why are you shaking?” Fay asked from behind as I led our little group. “It's not cold or anything.”

Oh yeah. It's kinda weird for Shock and Saur to tell me to lead the way. Well, it would make sense, since I am currently the one wearing the ear-piece, or earphone, or whatever. Anyway, Bill's giving me directions of where to go.

I shook my head to get rid of the awful image in my head. I took a breath and sighed. “It's nothing...”

“Did that Billy-guy said something bad?” Fay asked.

“Uh...” Bill's voice echoed in my ear. “I said what now?”

I shook my head, turned, and flashed my friends a soft smile. “Just something I suddenly thought about. Nothing to worry about.”

Shock blinked. “You're not leading us to our deaths, right?”

I deadpanned. “Unfortunately, I am.”

Even though he's clearly troubled about something, Shock still has his sense of...sarcasm? Or Humor? Or sarcastic humor? Whatever. Still, it was nice to know that at least that whatever was troubling him wasn't really pulling him further down to moping.

Anyway, we've been walking around the forest for almost maybe forty minutes now. During that time, we met a few Pokémon living in the area. We dared asked a few, and thankfully, none of them attacked us. Unfortunately, none of them knew anything about the gathering as well. Still, we were thankful that they didn't gave us a hard time.

...Now that I think about it, I should have asked that female Nidoran back then. Then again, two trainers wanted to capture us, so I don't think I would have even thought of asking her about the gathering anyway.

Or maybe the gathering was cancelled because that Nidoran was caught? She did tell us she was going to attend. Maybe that's where she was caught? Although it was also possible for her to be captured before she arrived there.

Blah, why am I suddenly thinking too much about all of this?

Left? Okay.

Hm. Then again, I guess it's perfectly fine for me to think about this. I mean, it's either this than Vixie. She's cute and all but, eh...still not into furries. Why in blazes did I let her, anyway? I did say that we'll take things slow, but so far, I don't feel any progress on me. I still don't like it, and I doubt I ever will. Still, our relationship isn't even a day old yet, so who knows?

Wait... Why do I think like I'm hoping that I'll like her back? I'm a human. Unless Eevee genes are starting to eat away my humanity. That'd be horrifying. Also, what ever happened to the real owner of this Eevee? Did its spirit drifted somewhere and turned into a ghost type? Would it haunt me forever once it found me? Or did my human body transformed into this Eevee, like those typical fanfics I read a few times during boring hours at work?

Damn, I think lots of weird stuff when there's nothing else to do. Turn right. Oh, there's a clearing up ahead.

“Oh!” Fay chirped. “There's a clearing up ahead!”

...that was redundant...anyway, I stopped and turned around to face them. “Bill says they're over there.” I gestured with my head towards the clearing behind me.

“Oi!” Krystal's voice sounded from behind. “We're over here!”

I deadpanned for yet another redundant line. If this was a fanfic, I'd remove that line. Sadly, this isn't a written fanfic of some die-hard PKMN fan who wants to share his weird imagination to the world of other PKMN fans...

Anyway, I turned and waved a paw at her and the Bulbasaur cosplayer. My friends and I then went out of the trees, and into the bright clearing.

“Just for the record,” I said, looking up, “the leaves and trees here doesn't seem to have any difference from Ilex Forest...”

“Hah hah...” Shock lamely said from behind.

Krystal blinked in confusion. “Buh?”

I shook my head. “Don't worry about it.” I just then noticed how big this clearing was. It wasn't a circular-like clearing like most in an anime, but...eh...its just big. There were a few sleeping and chatting Pokémon around though. Mostly were Weedles, Pidgeys and Caterpies.

“This is where the gathering was held?” I asked, looking around.

“Yep,” Krystal said, and then frowned. “Bill said you guys got into trouble. All of you okay?”

“We're fine,” Fay sat with a smile. “Nothing we can't smile about.”

“That's taking things lightly,” Saur said.

Fay grinned at him. “Hey, we weren't captured, right?”

Krystal and Chikorita gasped.

I just shook my head. “We're in one piece, and that's the only important part of it.”

They both frowned, but didn't say anything. Our groups then sat in a circle by the treeline, with Vixie sitting in between me and Shock...

“So,” Vixie said, “the gathering? What was it all about?”

Krystal frowned slightly. “Bill didn't tell you yet?”

I blinked. “Um...maybe?”

I heard Bill sighed. “I did.”

“Then I was probably not paying attention then...” I chuckled. “Still, it's kinda better to hear about it together.”

Krystal frowned, but nodded anyway. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”

“If that made sense,” Shock said, “then us meeting here isn't.”

I blinked and turned to him. “What?”

Shock crossed his arms and showed mild annoyance. “We could have just returned to those two humans and talk about it there.”

Oh. Right. Yeah. That'd make perfect sense.

Krystal and Chikorita, and Surskit, just shook their heads.

“No,” Chikorita said. “Not if we're going to look for that Scizor.”

“Oh.” I blinked. Yeah, I should have paid more attention when Bill was telling me all about it. At least I was paying attention now. “Wait, Scizor?”

Krystal and Chikorita nodded. I turned to my friends, and they also had confused looks on their faces.

“But,” I turned back to the news bearers. “Scizor's an evolved form, right?” I waved my paw around. “Impossible to mistake a Scizor from a Scyther...”

Krystal frowned. “Red and black armor. Two pairs of pincers for arms. Yellow eyes. Yeah, definitely a Scyther.”

I glared at her. “You don't have to be d*ck about it, you know.”

“Oi oi, you two,” Bill's voice echoed while the others, minus Krystal, blinked. They probably are trying to figure out what that ‘d’ word meant. Shock shrugged after muttering ‘human thing’ again. Well duh, it is a human ‘thing’. “I don't want you guys arguing right now, you hear?”

It kinda felt weird being scolded at my age, but eh. I took a breath and sighed. “Yeah, sorry for snapping, Krysie...” Her glare lightened, and disappeared. “Continue?”

“Well, to make things short,” Krystal said, “from what we've heard, that Scizor was looking for strong Pokémon who was worthy of evolution. The gathering was like a boxing match, to see who can hurt the Scizor.”

“Worthy of evolution?” Shock and Saur asked at the same time.

Chikorita nodded. “The Scizor was the speaker, but there were also two other evolved Pokémon with him, but they just stayed in the audience. Those two were a Pidgeot and a Rapidash.”

“But,” Krystal frowned, and turned to look at the few gathered Pokémon.

I turned as well, and I just noticed the grass. A few patches were cut down, pulled out, and other evidence of a battle.

“They said that they killed every single challenger, claiming they weren't worthy of evolution.” She then turned back to us with a very sad look. “A lot then began to escape, while those desperate to evolve stayed and fought...and got ki...”

Silence...

Oh great... Just what we need. We got the heroes, their friends, and to complete the fanfic, we got an evil team. Great, just great...

destinedjagold January 12th, 2014 11:40 PM

Chapter 49
There are a few things I don't understand in the world.

...well, in my world, at least.

In this world? There are LOTS! And one of them that really struck the number one spot in the mysterious charts is that...why the f*ck are we going after those...those...killers?!

They murdered almost everyone who wanted to evolve!

And oh, before I go further, number two of the mysterious charts at the moment is the mystery of "how the heck were the bodies and blood of those who were killed disappeared: no traces nor stenches"! It doesn't make sense!

I did asked my friends here, who were currently pretty determined to meet the killers. Unfortunately, they, minus Krystal, didn't find it a thing worth to be concerned about. Seriously?

I would have bothered to ask them about it, if it weren't for the fact that the majority of "us", which is "they", decided to directly ask the evolved ones how they evolved, who were they working with, and if our deaths will be swift as well.

...that last one was mine, but come on, that's bound to happen if we keep this up.

"Sh-should we—"

"No." Shock quickly said, sounding seriously tired of me making any more excuses to turn back. He and the others were leading the way, Krystal and I at the tail of our joined groups.

Krystal was also determined at first, but after a few of my whining, human versions of "common sense" finally managed to worm their way back into her teenage brain and now she was starting to doubt if this was a good idea to begin with.

"Jay," Vixie called, looking back at me with a smile. "We'll be fine, so don't worry!"

My ears drooped. "We're gonna die..." and I hung my head as I felt my heart sank. Goodbye cruel world. At least there's still the 'what if I wake up in my human body if I die' mystery. I really don't want to test that mystery out, but, sigh...

"We should run," Krys whispered beside me. I turned to her, and saw her nervously trying to calm herself down. She barely looked ahead, her gaze almost on the ground in front of her. "Still not too late to run..."

I blinked. Yeah, she's starting to become a scared little teenaged girl who is lost and is now being forced to face death against her will.

She suddenly sniffed, and she stopped to wipe an eye with a paw. I stopped and turned to face her properly. She grit her teeth and shook her head. Bill's voice of concern rang in my ear, but I ignored him.

"What's wrong?" Chikorita asked, her voiced sounded like they were a bit farther now, but then their steps began to get louder, so they were probably walking back to us.

"Jay," Shock hissed, "we got no time for your nonsense!"

I turned and glared at him as Krystal sniffed and sobbed.

Shock's ears twitched, and his angry frown disappeared as his ears drooped. "Oh..."

I moved to the side to let Chiko pass and comfort her friend. I then stared at my friends and gestured with my head to give them some space. Luckily, Saur understood, and he and I led our friends away from Krys, just to give her some space.

"What happened?" Fay asked, looking sad at the trio as we sat by the base of a huge tree.

I sighed. "I guess her human instinct kicked in."

"Meaning...?" Shock asked.

I sighed yet again. I don't understand these Pokémon... "Shock, we're walking to our deaths here by following those three evolved Pokes."

"Pokes?"

I rolled my eyes. "It's just short for Pokémon, Fay."

"So it's 'humes' for humans?"

I grit my teeth as my eye twitched. "T-that's not the point!" I shook my head. "Look, why can't you guys see the death flag?"

"What's a flag?"

"Mmf!" I shut my mouth. I took a big breath, and exhaled. "Look, Fay, shut up for a moment and let me finish, please?"

She nodded with a blink.

"Thank. You." I hissed. "Seriously guys. Can't you see we're walking to our deaths by following those three evolved Pokes...émon?"

Shock just blinked, and then looked at me as if I just lost it. "You think we're weak to just die?"

"They're evolved, Shock!" I argued. "How in blazes can we fight them?! How—!"

I stopped when Shock raised a paw. I don't like it when I'm interrupted, but fine, I sighed and shut up.

Shock then cleared his throat. "Again, do you really think we're that weak?" He pointed Vixie. "Vixie can burn the Scizor." He pointed at me, or rather, beyond me. "The Surskit can handle the Rapidash." And he then pointed at himself. "I'll handle the Pidgeot." He then pointed at Saur. "Saur can give them trouble with spores."

"Shock," I sighed. "Not to ruin your confidence or anything, but you barely even won the fight against Lithe!" I pressed on before Shock could make a word. "And Lithe's a freaking unevolved Growlithe! How the freaking hell can you expect ME to believe that YOU GUYS can defeat THREE EVOLVED POKES if you CAN'T even BEAT A GROWLITHE?!"

Shock glared at me, his cheeks sparking a bit.

I glared back, unwilling to stand back down. I know I made a good point. Hell, I'd probably kill myself if Shock can counter that fact I just laid.

"Point," Shock hissed, still glaring at me. "...taken." and he looked away.

I actually blinked at that. Wow, I actually made him see how valid my point was! Th-that's a huge win for me, I guess. Though I doubt we could just simply let go of such a lead, but at least we can make time to actually plan stuff now. And why the heck is Krystal still crying like an idiot?

I looked back, and saw Krystal and her friends staring back at us. She wasn't crying anymore, which, I guess is a good thing, but why do I still hear that someone's still crying? I looked at my friends, and they were wondering the same thing, I think.

Fay's ears twitched, and walked around the tree. "There," she said as she pointed at the tall bushes.

We carefully gathered at the bush, and sure enough, the sounds of crying was coming from the other side. As Krystal and her friends walked near us, Shock nodded to us and slowly pushed his head through the bushes. Seconds of quiet struggle later, Shock's tail fell on the ground.

Well, curiosity finally made me see what was going on beyond the bushes. The small and sharp twigs are annoying though, but I'm just thankful for having fur. Once I was able to push my face through, I finally had a clear look at...oh hey...there they are...

...crap.

destinedjagold January 12th, 2014 11:41 PM

Chapter 50
"Why?!" the Scizor cried, on his knees, by the stream, his claws covering his eyes, and he was crying, well, sobbing. "Wha-hu-hu-hy?!"

"Oh, for Arceus' sake," the Rapidash shook her head, her burning mane slightly flying to each side and disappearing in the wind. "Give it a rest already!"

"Hush, you," the Pidgeot hissed, glaring at the Rapidash, who just rolled her eyes. He extended a large wing and slowly patted the back of the sobbing Scizor. "There, there now. It's okay, it's okay..."

"It's okay?!" the Scizor shouted, sharply turning his pathetically-sobbing face at the wincing Pidgeot. "It's okay?! How in Giratina's balls could it be okay?! I killed them! I killed them!"

"By accident!" the Pidgeot reasoned back. "You didn't mean to kill them all, right?"

"B-b-b-b-but I still killed them!" the Scizor cried, again burying his face back to his claws.

The Rapidash groaned, sat down, and slammed her face to the ground...twice.

The Pidgeot ignored her, and continued to pat the armored bug's back. "Hey now. It's wasn't your fault! It was...erm..."

"Accidental murder?" the Rapidash suggested, making the Scizor sob even louder.

The Pidgeot glared back at her. "You're not helping." He then sighed and turned to the Scizor with concern. "Hey now. It was them that threw themselves at you while you were explaining things!"

"These t-things..." the Scizor whispered, pulling his face and claws away from each other. He stared at his shaky claws, slowly opening and closing them. "I...I tried to put them down so I could continue talking, but...but...I..."

"You cut them in half," the Rapidash continued.

"By accident!" the Pidgeot hissed at the flame horse. "And stop making him feel worse!"

"Oh, joy..." the Rapidash dropped her face on the ground again. "Yeah, and ignore me for suffering from his pathetic outburst."

"You'll live," the Pidgeot hissed, and then turned back to the Scizor. "It was an accident! Don't blame yourself for what happened!"

"B-but I killed them!"

"Um..." the Pidgeot looked away, trying to think of something to say. "T-they'll turn into ghosts anyway, so, uh..." he turned back to him with a nervous and hopeful smile. "You just...erm...transformed them?"

"By killing them!" and the Scizor sobbed again. "I don't know my own strength, and I killed a lo-ho-ho-hoooootttt..."

"Oh Arceus..." the Rapidash groaned. "Please kill me now..."

I felt something poking my...um...bum...so I slowly and quietly pulled myself back and out of the bush. The first face that greeted me was an unimpressed Pikachu.

"Oh, yes," Shock said, sounding veeerrryyy unimpressed, "we'll definitely let those pathetic creeps kill us."

"Oh, shut up," I shook my head. "They're still evolved Pokes, so we'll still have to be careful if we want to go and talk to them."

"K-killing by accident..." Krystal shivered.

I turned to her and flashed her a small smile. "Eheheh...yeah. Those are the bad guys of our fic..."

She blinked at me. "What?"

...I said that out loud? "Um...er...never mind."

"They don't look like how those Pokémon described them to be," Chikorita noted, and the others nodded in agreement.

I shrugged, ignoring the quiet sobs from the other side of the bushes. "They probably just exaggerated the story, since," I shrugged again, "y'know, they were on the receiving end of 'getting killed.'"

Vixie smiled at me. "So, it's a good thing that they're unlikely to kill us, right?"

I nodded, feeling great relief. "Yeah."

"I knew there were voices here," a female voice said from above me. I froze and found difficulty in turning my head up, and saw a bored-looking face of the Rapidash, towering over the bushes. "I can talk to you Pokémon, right?"

"Uh..." my mouth suddenly felt very dry.

"Hi!" Fay chirped. "We were just talking about you guys!"

I snapped to my senses and hit her head with a paw. "You shouldn't have told her that!" Oh, poop, me and my big mouth.

"Owie..."

"That's no surprise," the Rapidash sighed, and just laid her neck on top of the bushes, her head hanging like a vine. "Always the center of talks ever since I evolved..."

"About that," Shock said, walking closer to her, "how did you evolve?"

The Rapidash stared boringly at him. "Shouldn't you know that as well?"

"Huh?" Shock blinked, and then understood. "I was born as a Pikachu."

"I see no difference."

"Just answer my question," Shock snapped back.

I'm starting to feel nervous at how Shock was talking to the unicorn horse of fiery doom. That horn looked very very sharp...

The Rapidash glared at him for a moment before she sighed. She then pulled her head back as she stood up. "And here I thought I could have a normal chat with you Pokémon." She then turned back to her comrades. "If you really want to know, ask the Scizor over there." She then started walking away. "But try not to touch him."

Shock shook his head and turned back to us, but his gaze fell on me, and he arched an eyebrow. "What?"

I glared at him. "If only you were a little bit kinder, then maybe, just maybe, we wouldn't have to talk to that Scizor."

Shock was about to say something when Fay cheerfully skipped in between us, humming to herself.

"Fay?" Vixie called, but Fay ignored her, "where are you going?"

"To the Scizor, of course!" was her only response before she leaped through the bushes.

Saur sighed and pulled his vines back, too late to catch the happy rat. "Let's just keep our distance from them as we ask them questions."

"Hi!" Fay's loud voice reached us. Knowing her, I'd say she doesn't understand the word 'distance'...

"I'll just..." Krys spoke, "...um, stay here."

I turned to her, and saw Chikorita smiled and nodded at her. "We'll keep you company."

"Can I stay, too?" I asked, but then something pinched my ear and dragged me towards the bushes. "Ow ow ow...!" I hissed, my vision started to blur from the tears of pain as Shock dragged me to the bushes, Saur and Vixie helplessly followed.

destinedjagold January 12th, 2014 11:41 PM

Chapter 51
"AHHH!" the Scizor shouted, jumping to his feet.

"AHHH!" I shouted back, pushing my paws to run back.

"AHHH!" the Scizor pushed his back, um, backwards, flailing his claws around.

"AHHH!" Shock pinching my ear is starting to hurt.

"AHHH—"

Splash!

A wave of water rained down on the face-winged Pidgeot while the Rapidash...dashed off to somewhere to avoid the water.

"..." I blinked, trying to understand what just happened. "...um...ahhh?"

Shock sighed and let go of my ear.

"So much for making a first good impression..." the Pidgeot sighed again as the Scizor got out of the water's surface, and was now flailing his arms around.

"Help!" the red bug cried. "I can't swim!"

Saur calmly walked towards the stream and extended his vines, but a large wing blocked them. Saur and the rest of us turned to the owner, and the Pidgeot just shook his head and folded his wing back.

The Pidgeot sighed once again and turned to his drowning friend. "It's shallow."

"No it's not!" the Scizor cried, then blinked, and slowly stopped moving. "Oh."

"Yes, Jay," Shock said, "we're dead."

I ignored him. I still can't believe how...um...pathetic the Scizor was, who crawled out from the water and smiled sheepishly at his deadpanning Pidgeot friend.

The Scizor turned to us and, "AHHH!" fell back into the water again.

"Does he love shouting before taking baths?" Fay chirped, but I ignored her.

"He probably is still traumatized from the murder he did," the Rapidash's voice said from behind us.

"Pyra, please," the Pidgeot hissed, pulling the red bug back on soaked ground. "It was an accident." One of his large talos quickly grabbed the frightened head of the kneeling Scizor, the entirety of the bug's face was almost covered. "And please, oh please, stop screaming."

The Scizor was crying, trying to get away.

The Pidgeot sighed and turned to us. "Um... Little ones," little ones? Ouch. "May I ask of you to take lots of steps back away from us?"

"That is," Pyra, the Rapidash, smiled, "if you don't want our friend over there to 'accidentally' murder every single one of you."

The Scizor whimpered loudly.

"Honestly, Pyra," The Pidgeot grumbled as I pulled Shock's tail back, who was stubbornly wanting to stay on his ground to ask them. "Give it a rest already."

Pyra grinned as we walked passed her. "Oh, I will when Scythe over there does as well."

I wonder if she wouldn't mind if I'll look up. I've never really seen a horse in real life back home. Just curious what her parts would look li—ow!

"Let go of my tail already!" Shock hissed after pounding me on the head.

"Ow..."

Fay chuckled. "Hahah. Now you know what it's like!"

I hit her head.

"Ow!"

"This good enough?" Vixie called, making Pyra take a few steps to the side for the Pidgeot to see us.

The Pidgeot then looked back at his held bug friend, studying whatever features he could still see from taloning his friend's face, and nodded at us after letting the Scizor go.

"Please don't come near me..." Scythe, the Scizor, whimpered and sobbed, and his entire body shook a bit. He then stared at his arms, er, cla...pincers? "Th-these things... Th-they kill things!"

"Oh, Xerneas' hairballs..." Pyra groaned.

"What's a Xerneas?" I mumbled to myself. I then shook my head to get rid of the thought. "Anyway, can't you guys just tape that thing?"

Aside from my friends, the Rapidash and the Pidgeot blinked at me.

"Um...I mean...String Shot it in place?"

"Good idea!" the Scizor shouted, making the rest of us jump. He then grabbed the Pidgeot by the wing joint, or shoulder, or base. Whatever. "Get me some strings! Plea-he-he-hessss!"

The Pidgeot's eye was twitching, and if he had teeth, I'd say he would grit them as well. "Pincers, ow ow ow, pincers..."

The Scizor gasped, pulling his pincers off of his friend. He then looked at his ar...pincer, you know what? I'm gonna stick with arms! He looked at his arms in horror, his mouth quivering as his eyes starting to water.

"No no no no—" the Pidgeot tried, but the Scizor cried a river once again.

"I need an arm to slap my face with..." the Rapidash sighed as she walked away. "I'll go grab some worms."

"Finally!" the Pidgeot shouted back at her. "Thank goodness, you're being useful for once!"

The Rapidash just ignored him as she went through the tall bushes. Well, those are tall in my perspective. To her, they're just knee-high. I miss being a tall human...

The Pidgeot sighed, and looked at his crying friend for a moment before turning to us. "Um...whatever you're here for, may I ask of you to wait just a bit more?"

"No," Shock said firmly, crossing his arms. "We're kinda wanting to know—heymmf!"

A green vine wrapped around his head, covering his opened mouth in the process. Shock shot a venomous look at Saur, who completely didn't notice as he stared at the Pidgeot with a smile.

"We can wait," Saur calmly said, and calmly turned his calm smile at the glaring Pikachu. "Can't we?"

Shock's ears drooped, and nodded in defeat. Saur chuckled and lets go of the vines and retracts them back.

While they were busy doing those things though, I kept on wondering why the freaking hell was I checking out that fire horse. I thought I already told myself I wasn't into furries! Gah...

destinedjagold January 12th, 2014 11:41 PM

Chapter 52
Remember when I said that there are way too many mysteries in my world and this world? Well, seems like that these mysteries liked to pile themselves up to kill whoever planned to solve them all.

Anyway, after the awkward web-cuffing of the Scizor's pincers, and the Rapidash kicking the Caterpie to kingdom come after his usefulness was over—the Pidgeot wasn't happy about that however—, the red bug finally managed to calm down and the three evolved Pokémon were now seated in front of my and Krys' group.

The Scizor first cleared his throat and then apologized for his behavior after seeing us the first time. After that, he began a short story of what was happening around the world, er, this world, at least. During the story-telling however, other Pokémon began to appear and joined the audience, listening intently to the story.

The story went like this...

Arceus created worlds, and then created guardians to watch over those worlds before he went to slumber, because, hey, when a god is bored and randomly decided to created worlds, he'll need living, breathing and intelligent beings to watch over them after he wasted all of his power just to satisfy his boredom.

First, there's Dialga, who watches over space. Then, Palkia, overseer of space. Sorry, I often mix these two dragons up. Dialga watches over time and Palkia watches over space. Then there's Giratina, who watches over the Torn World, a world that balances this world, wherein Mew's the one who's watching over.

I really don't see how Mew can do a good job though, which the Scizor has pointed out, after the evolution process went glitchy. Sorry, can't think of other terms at the moment. I was a human working on computers and internets and blah blah blah. So sue me.

So anyway, back to the story.

Apparently, inside a mountain, there's this weird gem-like rock that was taller than any tree the Scizor has ever seen. I bet the Scizor will take that back after he learns the existence of the Tree of Life where Mew... Huh, now that I think about it, are there two Mews in this world? Eh...

Wait...I meant the Tree of the World's Beginning. Wait... Isn't that like the same thing? Bleah, whatever.

So anyway, this Scizor must not have seen that tree yet.

So there, Mew was being happy-go-lucky, something went ka-blooey, everyone devolved, Mew went nutsy. I don't know if Celebi already knew this or not. If she does, then I don't really know why she kept this information from us if she and Mew were soaring all over the world together, trying to figure out what caused this. Maybe she just didn't want to cause a panic or something. The audience here are feeling scared though, after the Scizor told us that something tampered with the Evolution Gem.

Yep, so Pokémon's evolution is possible thanks to the great big rock of evolution. It sounds like a Digimon animé though, now that I think about it. If that evolution rock suddenly turned into a Pokémon, then this will definitely start to sound like a cheap Digimon 3 rip-off.

Fortunately, that was not the case. The Scizor explained that the rock used to have been glowing brightly like that of the sun at high noon. Unfortunately, now, it's fluctuating like a dying light bulb.

A random Pokémon among the crowd asked how he knew all of these. The red bug explained that he lives in that very cave, or at least, near the cave, where lots of other Pokémon live as well. They have heard stories about that bright towering rock being the source of evolution, but they didn't really believe it until everyone living there started to devolve after a sort of darkness exploded from the glowing rock, and after he, the Pidgeot, and the Rapidash evolved when they touched it.

Other Pokémon also tried touching the stone, but none of them evolved except for the three in front of us. The Pokémon living there then called them the chosen ones, for reasons unknown. Mew checked that place a day after, and tried using her psychic powers to try and fix it. Unfortunately, it didn't work, though she did felt small traces of dark essence that lingered in the place. Mew said she used to live there when other Pokémon started living there a long long time ago. So the dark essence was new to her, and that's what kept her from believing that someone did do something with the gem.

Unfortunately, none of the Pokémon living in the area see nor hear anything that would have caused the gem to malfunction. It just went wonky.

So now, this infamous trio are going everywhere to gather other Pokémon to try and see if they can evolve, for reasons unknown yet again. There have been other Pokémon who were able to evolve though, but the number sadly only consist of one digit, five, excluding the trio in front of us. So there are eight evolved Pokémon in the world.

And that's the story. While the trio were doing some Q's and A's, I wondered if that dark essence belonged to Darkrai. Well, if the movie was to be judged, he's a good guy, right? After Palkia accidentally town-napped Alamos to another dimension.

Then again, there was another Darkrai that pawned Ash's team in a league match or something. But Krystal told me that neither Ash nor Red exist in this world, after she went around Pallet Town. Though Professor Oak does have a grandson, but the name escapes me at the moment, but I'm sure it wasn't Gary nor Green.

So, I guess I should stop using the show or manga as sources. Or at least, not base this world on Ash's nor Red's adventures.

So... Darkr—

“What's on your mind?” Vixie's voice snapped me out of my train of thought as she sat beside me.

I shook my head. “Nothin'. Just thinking about what the Scizor just told us.”

She blinked. “Well, at least now we know why everyone couldn't evolve.”

I sighed as a thought popped in my head. “Yeah, but nothing about why Krysie and I got here.” I saw a small hint of sparkle in her eyes, and I glared at her. “Well, I'm glad that's good news for you.”

She frowned. “You...don't like me, do you?”

I blinked. I didn't expect that coming. I looked away and sighed. “Sorry, Vixie. I tried, but...” I took a breath and sighed again. If she kills me here and now, well, at least someone can try and stop her... “Don't take this the wrong way, but I do like you, I just don't like you as in completely like you. If that makes any sense.” I slowly glanced back at her, and I could clearly see a question mark above her head.

She lightly shook her head. “I'll just try harder then.”

Whew, that was a big load off of my chest. So she wouldn't tear me apart if I break up with her? Cool. I'm a bit thankful that Bill's busy studying all the information that he just gathered to pay attention to what Vixie and I were discussing. But anyway, there was a new question that popped in my head. “What do you see in me, anyway?” There. Better be blunt about it than swaying around the point.

“Um...” she stared on her paws. Then she looked around.

I looked around. Everyone were busy with their own discussions, but I guess this wasn't really the right place and the right moment to ask such questions. Then again, she started it.

“I just like you,” came Vixie's reply. I turned my attention back to her and saw her small smile. “I don't know how humans do these things, but for us, well, for me, when I see someone that I want to live the rest of my life with, well...” she trailed off.

I blinked at her. “You weren't like that when we first met.”

She glared at me. “These things don't grow overnight, you know.” She took a breath and sighed. She then looked at me with tired yet longing eyes. “Feelings are like flowers. They take time to grow.”

Heh, wow, she used my metaphor when we first talked. But eh, two can play at that game. “If you give a flower to the wrong person, then that flower won't last long.” And brain, shut up. I meant a flower. Nothing else.

She smirked. “Good thing you're not a person then.”

I frowned at her. “Har har...” I shook my head. “Seriously Vixie. I tried, but I...just see you as a friend.” Please don't hurt me...

She still wore a smile as she stood up and...nuzzled my neck, and that contact made me freeze in place. She pulled back and smiled. “Your flower's just taking longer to grow. I can wait.”

My brain's dirty side was immune to freezing, it seems. I shook all over, brr, and shook my head. “Fine, fine... Just don't do that again.”

“No promises,” she winked, complete with a slightly tilted head.

I groaned, though I found that really really cute. ...um...

“Shock?!” a really loud voice erupted from the crowd somewhere. I was a bit thankful for the interruption though, for that at least made Vixie wonder who that was.

I turned to Shock, and was just in time to see his ears droop as he slowly pushed himself down to the ground. “Oh no...” I arched an eyebrow at that.

“Oh, Arceus!” a Pikachu exclaimed, who just got through the crowd and was now smiling wide, staring at Shock. “It is you!”

The newcomer was a female though, if her voice and that heart-tipped tail wasn't any indication. She rushed towards us and tackle-hugged Shock—I barely dodged in time—pushing him back and landing on top of him.

“Oof!” Shock groaned as he tried to push the female Pikachu off of him, who was currently nuzzling his neck. “Get off of me!”

“Where have you been all this time, Shockie?!” she asked cheerfully as she crawled off of him. “Mom and dad are gonna be so so happy to know that you've come back home!”

I blinked at the exchange. I turned to my friends, but they were busy staring at the scene as well. I poked Vixie's shoulder, capturing her attention.

“Um, explanation please?”

She just gave me a confused blink.

destinedjagold January 21st, 2014 10:45 PM

Chapter 53
This new female Pikachu's annoying. She force-dragged Shock away from us, and we didn't have any other choice than to follow wherever this Pikachu's taking our Shockie. Krys and her friends decided to stay behind to gather more info from the evolved trio.

So anyway, back to our situation. This jolly female Pikachu's cheerfully walking on two feet, and pulled Shock's tail as she walked. Shock was gritting his teeth as he clawed on the ground, but his efforts were useless as we followed along the two line paw marks he left behind.

And oh, the female Pikachu kept on talking.

Worse, Fay was walking alongside her AND cheerfully talking with her.

“Where are we going exactly?” I asked the two females for the umpteenth time, but once again, it fell on deaf ears. I sighed and looked at Shock. “You okay there, bud?”

He shot me a very venomous glare. “Do I look like okay to you?” He then gritted his teeth as he tried to dig his hands on the ground to stop the female 'chu from dragging him, but he failed.

“Where do you think she's taking him?” Vixie asked as she turned to Saur.

The Bulbasaur calmly shrugged as his reply.

I sighed again. I'm getting derailed more and more. I need to return home, and the sooner, the be...

I stopped when I saw something from the corner of my eye. I turned to where I thought that something was supposed to be, but all I saw were bushes and trees. Just a forest, and nothing out of the ordinary.

“Huh...” I mumbled as Vixie turned and walked beside me. “I swore I...”

“Swore what?” she asked.

I just shook my head. “Nothing, I guess.” At least there are berries on those bushes. “I'm probably just hungry.” Quick white lie.

“Then why didn't you say so?!” shouted the female Pikachu, who was already far ahead. No idea how she hea...eh, Pikachu ears... Never mind. She turned to smile at me. “We're almost there!”

“There where?” Vixie asked as we resumed our walk.

“Where else?” she grinned and turned her attention ahead.

I blinked, and noticed that we were heading towards a clearing, if the sun's light from there was an indication. I looked around and noticed that the line of trees are getting smaller. I guess that we're either heading towards a clearing, or we're going to exit the forest.

“Wow!” Fay chirped as the duo plus Shock exited the line of trees, Vixie, Saur and I close behind. “What a lovely place you got here!”

“And so many Pikachus...” Vixie breathed out as we exited the forest.

“Just kill me now...” Shock mumbled before he planted his face on the ground.

I have no clue where in the world map this place is. There's a stream, lots of miniature green hills and burrows underneath. And as Vixie pointed out, there were a lot of Pikachus around. There were even smaller versions of Pikachus playing around!

Anyway, this place was a clearing, that much I'm sure, since there were still lines of trees that bordered the place, but damn this area's huge. A few scattered trees here and there, bushes and flowers, the small hills I mentioned earlier, and...and...that's about it.

Also, Pikachus weren't the only ones living in this area though. As far as my little height vision could see, I could also see Poliwags near the streams, Pidgeys, Sandshrews, and Rattatas. Each species of Pokémon are grouped into their own kind and are settling in one part of the clearing.

“Visitors!” a random voice shouted from somewhere. It was loud enough to make almost every Pikachus' ears to twitch and their attention to turn to us.

I suddenly felt really conscious about myself with that many eyes on us...on me. I couldn't help but take a step or two back.

The Pikachus smiled and waved a paw at us while a chorus of hi's and hello's bombarded our ears. There were even Pikachus who were close enough to walk up to us and...started smelling us.

I awkwardly pushed myself beside Vixie as I try to push a Pikachu head away from me. I think some are even smelling my behind.

Vixie was ‘very helpful’ for giggling at my awkward situation.

I got awkward replies of ‘what's with you?’ and ‘stop pushing me’ and some other crap. I just kept on muttering to stop invading my personal spac—“EEP!”

I jumped forward, bumped on a yelping Pikachu, spun with a racing heart, and stared in disbelief at the Pikachu who poked his, I mean, her (if her heart-shaped tail's an indication) nose on my... She just blinked and smiled at me.

“Hey, back off!” Vixie hissed at her as she walked beside me and glared at the Pikachu. “He's mine.”

“You squealed like a girl, by the way,” I heard Bill say, and he chuckled.

I just dropped myself on the ground and put my two paws over my eyes. “Can't this get any more awkward?”

...ah, poop. I hope I didn't jinx it.

“—and then I saw Shock among the crowd!”

My ear twitched when I heard the female 'chu's voice. I pulled myself into a sitting position and ignored Vixie's fur that brushed on my side, and turned to look. I'm glad the large numbers of Pikachus already went back to whatever Pikachu business they were doing. The female 'chu's hand still has a tight grip on the tip of Shock's tail, and Shock was still lying flat on the ground.

They were surrounded by other Pikachus though, clearly happy for some reason. The female 'chu was talking to what looked like an old-looking Pikachu, complete with wrinkles and a graying fur. A shiny silver Pikachu! Har har...

My attention was caught by two small Pikachus who offered me and Vixie some berries. There was an adult Pikachu behind them, and Vixie growled at her. I just rolled my eyes and petted the two Smallchus on their heads. ...and they awkwardly liked it.

I guess Pokémon Amie taught me a lot of stuff. I wonder if belly rubs will work.

“So you like Pikachus more than Vulpixes?” Vixie side-glared at me.

W-what? I turned and raised an eyebrow at her. “I'm just petting them.”

She turned to fully give me the full intensity of her glare. She opened her mouth, closed it. She mumbled. She looked away, clearly frustrated.

And oh, the three Pikachus were already gone. I'm surprised I hadn't notice them leaving. At least they left us some berries.

I...internally sighed. I better fix this not-in-a-good-mood fox friend of mine before she eats me. And shut up brain. You of all body parts should know what I meant.

Anyway, I sat up straight...raised my paw, sighed, and scratched Vixie's nape. And by scratch, I mean like scratching an itch on one spot. I dunno. Back home, my neighbor's dog loved it. And it kinda surprised me that Vixie purred, her whole body shook, if only slightly.

I arched an eyebrow, but continued ‘pet-scratching’ her. She purred again as she turned her head and...leaned closer and started brushing her head under my chin like how cats do on our feet and knees. ...It was my turn to tremble.

“Aw...” I heard the female 'chu ‘aww'ed’ at us. “Shockie, why can't you be just like your friends over there?”

From the corner of my frozen eye, I could see and feel Saur's giant grin.

“Get a den, you two!” Fay shouted teasingly.

“There are lots of dens around here!” the female 'chu chirped. “I'm sure there's an empty one around.”

destinedjagold January 24th, 2014 12:05 AM

Chapter 54
“Shockie,” I said, but I received a venomous hiss from the Pikachu. I rolled my eyes and sat beside him by the clearing's stream.

He didn't seem to mind my presence, minus the nickname part. He just stared down at his frustrated reflection on the water.

“Oi, what's up?” Well, I kinda knew what was going on. Though I am still just guessing what's what, but it's kinda obvious, if what that female Pikachu said—during that little ‘affection show’ of Vixie rubbing her face on me—was any indication.

Shock closed his eyes and sighed. “The sky...”

I felt my two ears droop as I deadpanned. “Har har... Seriously though, what's going on?”

He was quiet for a few minutes though, just sitting there, staring at his reflection. Finally, he sighed again as he rubbed his forehead with a hand. “She likes me.”

“That much is obvious,” I replied. “Though at first, I really thought she was your sister or a relative or something...” I shrugged.

Shock just sighed again. “If only she was...” He sighed again as he slowly turned his gaze up to the blue sky. “I don't like her, but she couldn't accept it.”

I rolled my eyes. “I think I can relate.”

He chuckled bitterly. “Hah hah... Good point.”

“But I thought you'd like to settle down with...y'know...your own kind?”

He shook his head. “Yes, I did, but not so soon!” He turned to face me, angry. “She's too impatient! I don't want to settle down just yet! And definitely not with her!” He extends both hands to his side as he stared back at the thin white clouds. “There's still a lot of things that I'd like to see in the world! I'm not ready to stay in one boring spot, being annoyed to make babies all the time!” And he finished it by punching the water, splashing the both of us in the process. He took a long breath and sighed as he pulled his hand back. “S-sorry...”

“Nothing to be sorry about,” I said as I shook a paw towards the stream, so the droplets would land there instead of on me or on Shockie. “But can't you just, I dunno,” I shrugged, “leave?”

“'cha! Mewtwo's toenails,” he chuckled. “If only it was that easy.”

...he knows Mewtwo, too? Eh, Pokémon have weird kinda-swear words here... What was that previous one? Xerneas' hairball? Then again, those are probably their versions of my world's ‘oh my god!’ or ‘holy sh*t!’ or ‘Jesus effing Christ!’

“Arceus knows how many times I tried and failed to get outta here...” he then turned to look back, and pointed at a direction. “See those?”

I followed the direction and saw a small group of Pikachus near the edge of the forest. Fay was with them as well, handing them some berries on her back. “I think so,” or maybe he was pointing at the thorny-looking bush behind those 'chus...

“We have scouts and watchers here,” Shock explained as he turned to me. “They're the fastest Pikachus around here, and they can easily...outrun me...”

I arched him an eyebrow. “What? Why would they want to catch you?”

He sighed. “Because they're ordered to.”

My arched eyebrow arched even further.

He rolled his eyes at me, and then turned back to the water. “She's the daughter of the herd leader.”

“Ah...” I think I get it. Actually, I think I'm starting to get it. “Does that mean you'll be the next leader then?”

He glared at me. “That's not the point!”

I chuckled. “I know.”

He grunted in frustration. “Gah! And I thought I could seriously talk to you about my problem! I'd rather talk to Fay!”

“Talk to me about what?” Fay asked, who spooked the living crap out of me by suddenly appearing right beside me from out of nowhere. There were still a berry or two on her back though...

Shock growled. “Go away, Fay.”

“Okay!” she cheerfully said and hummed to herself as she walked away.

“What am I going to do...?” Shock whispered to himself.

I lamely stared at him. “Oi,” I poked his shoulder. He ignored it. “You forgot. This time, you got us!”

I smiled wide long enough for him to see it as he turned to me a few seconds later. He arched me an eyebrow.

I huffed and grunted. “Aw, com'on. Let us help!” I grinned wide. “Besides! You don't want to stay here, and we don't want you to leave just yet!”

“That's just you,” Shock sighed. “They don't really mind if I stay here and leave the group...”

I blinked at him.

He then stared back at his sad reflection. “But, thanks for caring.”

I...don't know what to say to cheer him up... I honestly don't. I wanted to say something. Heck, my mouth is even opening and closing, making me feel the need to say something.

But, two green vines started to wrap around Shock, which surprised him, if only slightly. It forced him to turn around, and so did I. Behind us were our friends, and behind them were...

Shock gasped. “W-wh-what happened?”

Behind the innocent and happy smiles of our friends, each and every Pikachu on sight were...lying on the ground...and asleep.

Fay jumped on her feet and flashed us a berry. “Sleep powdered berries!” She then pulled it close to her and ate it, much to Vixie's surprise. “See?” And she was out like a light.

Saur rolled his eyes and pulled her on his back.

“How'd you...” Shock stammered. “Why'd you... B-but... H-how?”

“Saur,” was Vixie's simple answer.

I nodded and chuckled. “Good enough for me.” I turned and slightly punched Shock's shoulder. “See? We helped!”

He turned and arched me an eyebrow.

I rolled my eyebrows. “Fine. I was useless once again. They helped.”

He smirked as he turned to our friends. “I could hug you guys, but eh,” he turned around and started running. “That's not how I roll!”

“You're welcome!” Vixie chuckled as we chased him out of the clearing.

I dunno why, but I'm actually feeling quite glad that Shock's not leaving us just yet. Vixie and I shared a smile before focusing on the road ahead of...

I skidded to a stop and turned to my left. I swore I saw something. And this time, I'm not hungry to see black spots of unconsciousness.

“Jay?” Vixie called, but I ignored her.

“Oi!” Shock shouted. I turned and saw that they were already back in the forest. “What are you standing around there for?!”

“Ah...” I looked back at where I saw...something. It's not there... I tsk'ed and ran after my friends. I guess I'll have to tell them about what I saw later, when we're far far away from the land of the Pikachus.

destinedjagold January 27th, 2014 12:16 AM

Chapter 55
“—and then you're seeing these black spots in the corner of your eye?” Vixie asked, or rather, turned my statement into a question.

Shock rolled his eyes. “That's called ‘being hungry’, Jay.”

“I told you,” I said, “I wasn't hungry that time. And they weren't exactly spots...”

“Hidden hunger, most probably.”

I turned and arched an eyebrow at Saur. “What? Is that a name of an attack or something?”

We were currently walking through the forest, heading back to Krys' group. It was hard to get lost though, since Shock left a pretty good trail behind.

Saur closed his eyes and shook his head. “You were hungry, you ignored it, your mind learned to ignore it, but in fact you're actually hungry.”

I shook my head. “That doesn't make sense.”

Saur just shrugged. “I heard the old human couple say it a lot of times on young trainers who leave their Pokémon for them to take care of. They usually compliment or scold the young humans, reminding them of their health.”

I chuckled. “That was the longest line I've ever hear you talk, Saur.”

He just smiled.

Fay chuckled. “You should listen to him when he drinks a lot of Rawst juice!”

Saur frowned at her. “Hey now. You promised not to—”

Vixie and Shock chukled.

“Oh, I remember that,” Shock chuckled again.

Saur gently glared at him, and Shock just chuckled, and didn't say another word.

I just blinked at everyone. “Yeah, I'm clearly missing something out here, but anyway...” I looked ahead. “It looked like something was hiding behind the bushes.”

“LOTS of us hide behind the bushes,” Shock said.

My two ears drooped. “Er, well uh... Good point. But still. Twice?”

Shock sighed and turned to look at me. “Loo—”

“Make that thrice,” Vixie announced, stopping.

We stopped and stared at her for a second or two before we followed her gaze. A bush shook, if only slightly.

Vixie growled low, jumped forward as she inhaled, and breathed a large wave of fire as soon as she landed. The bush burned, but only after a blur of red leaped out and stopped meters in front of us.

“Well,” I said, taking a step back, “...f*ck...”

The Growlithe grinned wickedly. “Been a while, Vixie.” He then ducked low to dodge a lightning bolt, slightly jumped to his left to avoid numerous razor leaves, tilted his head to avoid a fast shadow ball, and his grin was still plastered there. “...and company.”

I made a quick check. The bush was mostly burned, but flames were already out. The second to the last thing we needed right now would be a forest fire.

Shock stepped forward, cheeks sparking. “What do you want?”

“What do you think?” He lifted a paw and pointed at Vixie.

“No!” Vixie growled, and then ran to my side, and quickly nuzzled my cheek before glaring back at the shocked Growlithe. “I'm with Jay now!”

Well, if looks could kill, then Lithe's furious glare would have melted my soul already.

Lithe was angry, and slowly, red flames started covering his body. He growled. “Then let me change that!” And he charges at us. “You're mine, and you WILL be MINE!”

“SH*T!” I jumped back and slipped.

Fay suddenly popped out from the ground in front of Lithe.

The Growlithe stumbled, and rolled towards us as the flames around his body weakened. He jumped before a bolt of lightning could struck him. He landed, well, he could have, if it weren't for the vines that wrapped around him.

Saur hissed, bearing the pain as he lifted the growling Growlithe up and slammed him back on the ground. His eyes watered as he quickly withdrew his smoking vines back.

Fay's tail glowed, and spun horizontally, but Lithe was too quick to get back up on his feet.

Lithe breathed out fumes of fire at Fay, who was awkwardly still recovering her balance.

A bolt of electricity struck the ground in front of her, creating a wall of rocks and dust that shielded her from the flames.

Vixie suddenly appeared beside him and bit his back.

Lithe howled in pain, ducked, and jumped as he breathed out a blaze on the ground below him, sending him up like a miniature rocket, and carried Vixie with him. They were almost over the tree tops when Lithe stopped as Vixie yelped in panic. He grinned and grabbed her, and bit her nape as they both started falling back down.

Shock appeared below them, ready to catch her. He was instead showered by a wave of fire.

Lithe used Vixie as a cushion as they landed on Shock. He jumped and breathed another wave of fire to counter Fay's shadow ball. He then howled in pain as he landed, and wobbled. Two green leaves were stuck on his side.

Fay's tail glowed once more. She ran and jumped, and spun her body to slap her tail on him.

Lithe growled, and bit her glowing tail. The Rattata yelped as he pulled his head on one side, and slammed the Rattata on the ground on her back. He then breathed fire around and above him, burning the spores that were falling towards him.

Saur tsk'ed as he took a step back. “He knows us too well.”

Lithe growled and charged towards us.

I yelped and ran a safer distance, but Saur stood his ground. I skidded to a stop and witnessed just in time to see Saur slammed his head against Lithe. Saur was thrown back.

Lithe then breathed fumes of flame at Saur, and then turned his glare at me.

I gulped and took a step back. I then stared at my friends. Shock and Vixie were both unconscious. Fay was out cold. Saur was smoking...

“We Arcanines are born of strength,” Lithe hissed, turning his whole body to face me directly.

My ear twitched when I faintly heard someone from far away shouted someone's name...

“And no one stands in our way!” Lithe shouted, his body ablaze once more, and charged towards me.

F*ck, I hope that old trick still works! I quickly dug my paw on the ground and with all my might, threw sand and pebbles at him. I then quickly ran to the side, but Lithe turned an—

“ACK!” I wa...

THUD!

I fell on the ground, my back feeling completely...hurt... I ignored Bill's stupid question if I was alright as I...

...oh, goddamn it...it hurts to freaking much...

“That's it?!” Lithe growled. I slightly opened an eye and saw him already standing in front of me. “What does she sees in a pathetic fur ball such as yourself?!”

He bit my nape, and I was too weak to even yelp or cry. I felt air rushing to me, and the next thing I knew, I felt myself landing on the ground...hard, and rolled twice before I stopped on my side.

This pain...is too much... I wanted to cry...but I can't... I can barely move my body... Everything sounds so peaceful and quiet now... I could actually hear the gentle rustle of the gentle breeze against the blades of grass, the rumbling thunder that came louder and louder by the second, the angry female scream shouting Shock's name...

...what?

A tiny spark...um...sparked on my nose, causing me to jerk to consciousness. I gasped for air, and coughed as I saw through my blurry eyes a sparking Pikachu a few meters in front of me.

“Who are you?” the female Pikachu asked. “And where is Sho—” she gasped, and suddenly ran towards me. Well, not really towards me, but she stopped close. “Shockie? Shockie?!”

Lithe must have tossed me close to them... The Growlithe stood from a distance, and shook his head. “I'll take the Vulpix, if you don't mind.”

“What happened here?”

I coughed... I coughed again... I tried coughing louder this time...

Finally, I felt two paws grabbing my head. “Hey! Hey, you're awake!”

“He won't be, soon enough,” Lithe growled.

“Gr...” ugh...talking hurts as well... “Growlithe...fed you...sleepy berries...”

Though blurry, I could tell the female Pikachu blinked in confusion. “He did what?”

I hope this lie works... “To...to hurt...Shockie...”

Hey, if I die, at least bring along the one who killed me.

The Pikachu gently put my head back down, and if I wasn't in total pain as I already am, my ears would have felt another wave of pain from the angry shout and violent roar of thunder from the Pikachu right next to me.

“B-B-Bill...” I hissed, barely even hearing my own voice from the loud clash of fire and lightning. “Tele, please...”

...a flash of light.

...yellow hands...

...a flash of white...

destinedjagold February 3rd, 2014 1:49 AM

Chapter 56
“Vixie,” I said as I stared at the setting sun as Vixie and I sat on a rock on this beach. I turned to her.

“Hm?” She was smiling as she stared at the golden orb that slowly returned to the sea. Her fine and beautiful(bleah) features were highlighted magically.

Unfortunately, none of these magical things were affecting my confusion, and I was pretty sure my face was showing it. “Where are we?” I then turned around, and looked around. The place seemed really peaceful and quiet, which disturbed me. “And the others?”

I looked at her.

She looked at me. She smiled.

I frowned.

“They're not important,” she said softly.

I arched an eyebrow.

She placed a paw on top of my own. “Not right now, at least,” she said as she leaned close.

I awkwardly leaned back, but I froze when our noses touched. I saw a weird shadow from the corner of my eye, but my gaze were locked on Vixie's beautiful eyes that made my throat dry.

She moved her head up, and licked my lips and nose in the process. She giggled as I jerked back, and I fell down on the sandy ground on my back.

“Wh-buh-hu...” Yeah, I'm a jumbling-mumbling mess at the moment.

Vixie poked her head over the edge of the rock, smiling down at me. Smiling down... Smiling as she eyed down... Oh god...

“No!” I shouted as I noticed her preparing to...drop herself on me. “No! No no no no no—” I tried to run away, but was too late, she was already on top of me, grinning as her two paws pinned my shoulders down.

“You've been a naughty prey,” she growled, grinning.

My heart raced as I actually felt my pupils shrunk to dots.

She suddenly bit my neck with a ‘rawr’. Well, not really. I mean, she did bit my neck, but not forcefully. She just bit my fur, and shook her head as she growled, all the while eying and grinning at me. ...and she was slowly working her way down.

I suddenly felt my shoulders were freed. I quickly pushed them up, if only I could. I suddenly found my paws, separately wrapped by two green vines, and forced them on the ground.

I shouted in horror as I then saw Fay and Shock — both grinning like maniacs — each holding down my hind legs as Vixie hungrily eyed my—!

“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“Wow...” a voice echoed everywhere as I shut my eyes and waited for the inevitable. “You're a weird one if these arousing dreams are what you considered as nightmares...”

I ignored that annoying echo-voice as I tried to calm my racing heart by breathing fast and hard...shut up, brain.

I slowly opened an eye, and it was dark. Well, it was dark. Everything around me was dark.

I felt happy. I seriously felt really happy. Oh, god-damn it, it was all just a stupid dream!

I chuckled. I was still shaking all over, still breathing fast, and heart still racing, but I chuckled. Damn, I never felt so relieved.

“Definitely a weird one...”

I slowly rose up into a sitting position, and looked around. Weird that I can clearly see my own paws as if there was light, but everything around me was dark. Shouldn't I be awake by now?

I took a breath and called, “hello?”

Something suddenly appeared a foot or two in front of me. “Hi.”

“Darkrai!” I shouted, jumping back and...and...what the heck am I supposed to do here?!

“Whoa, whoa! Easy!” he(?) said, waving his hands at me. Weird that I could actually see his features clearly despite the dark background. His white wavy ‘hair’ was...well, waving? And his light-blue eye, wasn't so...threatening? “I'm not going to hurt you!”

I...just froze there. Darkrai, right? A nightmare legendary than can turn itself into a shadow and can jump at you without you even knowing?

He sighed, dropping his hands on his sides. “Sorry about the nightmare I gave you. It happens each time I come near someone who's sleeping...”

...I guess I've pictured him way too wrong? “Darkrai?”

He strangely sighed in relief, and nodded. “Yes, that's me.”

I blinked. “You're...um... You're weird.” Is that even the right word to use?

He rolled his eye. “Says the one who considers having a sexy dream a ‘nightmare’,” he said.

I arched an eye. I shook my head. “Whatever. It's just that I...” I waved a paw, “...I pictured you to be more...tough? Serious? Scary?”

He actually chuckled. “Try being with Mew for a millennia. She managed to rub her childish ways on me,” he shrugged.

I shook my head. “Okay, so uh...” I looked around, despite knowing there was nothing else to see around here. I ended up facing him, still feeling awkward. “You paid me a visit?”

“Yes,” he nodded as he floated there.

I waited a few seconds, thinking he'll say something more. But after a few awkward and quiet seconds of nothing, I cleared my throat. “Um...why?”

He blinked in surprise. “Oh, right!” He fidgeted awkwardly, making me arch an eyebrow. “Celebi says you're a...um...” he waved a hand at me. “...human?”

I blinked. Wow, I didn't expect that. I nodded, feeling slightly hopeful.

He awkwardly scratched the back of his head. Damn, this Darkrai is weird... He completely destroyed how I pictured him. “Well um, Arceus sent me here to tell you that he'll look into it.”

My hopes...dropped like an anvil as my eyebrow soared like a rocket. Am I being treated like those annoying agents on the phone? Arceus, the ‘god’ of all Pokémon, just told me to ‘please hold’ and hung up? “Bullsh*t.”

Darkrai just blinked.

I stomped a paw on this dark ground and hissed. I glared at my own paw as I gritted my teeth. My eye twitched as I felt my blood boil.

...but why? Why the heck am I getting angry? Arceus just got notified that I shouldn't be here!

But what the actual f*ck! He just told me to wait for a moment? Can't his godly powers just, I dunno, send me back?! What the heck is far more important than my—!

I gasped and looked up. “You!” I shouted, stepping back and pointing a shaky paw at the blinking Darkrai. “You! You're the...y-you messed with the evolution gem thingy!”

He blinked. “What?” he asked with a flat tone.

“You're the one who caused every single Pokémon to devolve!” I shouted, feeling stupid that I'm actually saying this on my lonesome. He's a freaking legendary! Dream or not, he could kill me here if he wanted too, and I'm actually giving him a reason to!

I turned tail and ran away as I chanted to myself to wake up. This is a dream. MY dream, to be exact! And I want to wake up!

“What are you doing?” Darkrai's voice echoed as he hovered beside me.

In actuality, I seriously have no idea if I was really running or not. He was just...hovering there, staring weirdly at me.

“For the record,” he said, crossing his arms, “I did NOT tamper with the evolution stone.”

“Lies!” I should probably just shut up now. No idea why I felt like I shouldn't. “You're a dark-type! The Scizor told us that Mew felt your darkness around that stone!” I should also stop running now... I'm just tiring myself, strangely...

He blinked at me, uncrossing his arms. “Well, yes. Mew did told us she felt a dark essence there...” He closed his eye and shook his head. “But that wasn't me.” He opened his eye and stared at me. “I haven't been there before. So,” he actually shrugged again, “I have no idea where that stone is located.” Then he glared at me. “And even if I do,” his voice sounded...loud and scary, making me wince and stumble down.

I gasped as I felt his cold arms picking me up, helping me to stand back up. “C-cold arms,” I shivered.

He shrugged as he let me go. “Anyway, no, I didn't do anything with it.”

I looked down on the ground. “Then who?”

“No clue. And we legendaries are trying to figure that out as well.”

I looked up at him. “For two months now?”

He scratched his arm with the other. “Well, actually, almost three months now, and it's rather difficult to solve this mystery if all we had was that dark essence to go by...”

I tilted my head to the side. “Then why not ask Dialga to open some time-portal thing to see what happened in there?”

He blinked. He blinked. He blinked. And oh, he blinked. “Huh...” he whispered. “We never thought of that...”

I facepawed.

destinedjagold February 9th, 2014 11:35 PM

Chapter 57
I woke up, and found myself staring at a white ceiling. I felt tired all over, and I wanted to fall back to unconsciousness. I could have easily have done that though, but after I turned to my left to have a more comfortable position on this comfy bed of mine, the crestfallen faces of Saur and Shock shook my sleepiness away. The two of them plus Fay were all seated on the bed right next to mine.

"Um," my throat felt itchy and dry. "Hey guys."

Saur and Shock just glanced at me, and went back to staring down. Fay, on the other hand, who's back was on me, turned to flash me a...rather pained smile.

"Hey, Jay," Fay chuckled, lowly. "Good to see you're awake."

It's strange that Fay was the one who greeted me. It felt like Shock or Saur should have been the ones doing the greeting. I forced myself up into a sitting position and ignored them for a short while as I scanned my surroundings.

We were inside a white four-walled room. The wall close to the bed's head had nothing but two picture frames. Opposite to that wall only had a door. The other two walls had glass windows, where I could see a hallway on the other, and a city under the golden hues of a...rising or setting sun.

I saw a bowl of water on the middle of my bed though, and beside it was my black collar, with a few holes on them. Huh, I guess that thing kind of saved me from Lithe's bites. Anyway, I satisfied my thirst first, which helped me with my throat problem. With that done, I returned my attention back to my friends.

I just then noticed their bandages. Saur around his forehead, Fay around her stomach, back, a paw and her tail, and Shock on one ear, and around his chest and back. I inspected myself and noticed that I had some around my neck, stomach and back, and on my right paw.

"So," I said, "what'd I miss?" I then slightly looked around again, double-checking. "Where's Vixie?" Not that I really care that much, anyway. She's a tough cookie.

I noticed my friends wince, making me arch an eyebrow.

Fay chuckled nervously at me. "Um... Lovely weather we're having?"

I furrowed my brows at her, ignoring the growing worry within me. "Fay. And the rest of you. Where's Vixie?"

Shock turned to look at me, and he tried to glare at me. Tried though. The intensity of his glare was...off, and...weak, and... "Why would you care, anyway?" He looked back down on the soft white bedding. "You don't care about her, anyway."

I gritted my teeth, forcing my mouth to not bite on that one. I turned to Saur. "Saur," he winced slightly, but didn't look away. "Where's Vixie?"

"She's...still recovering."

I blinked at him. I furrowed my brows as I glared at him. "No lie?"

He shook his head, slowly. "No lie."

I sighed in relief, if only slightly. I then rolled my eyes. "Sheesh, so she's still recovering. That's good to hear, right? Or..." I suddenly felt my throat dry again. "...she's not dying, right?"

"Of course not!" Shock suddenly shouted at me. He gritted his teeth and hissed as he looked away.

"What the f*ck is wrong then?!" I shouted back at him. He ignored me. "She's alive and recovering! What's the big deal then?!"

"The big deal—" Shock shouted as he turned and glared at me, and this time, I felt his glare, "—is that she's—!" he stopped. He opened and closed his mouth several times, but he sighed in frustration and looked away again.

Saur looked worried at him. "She's...in another room."

"A-and um," Fay stammered, keeping her back on me, "we...we just don't know if she's already awake or not! Yeah!"

"Uh huh," was my only flat reply. Yeah, I'm not buying it. I wore my collar back, and winced during the process, and glared at my so-called friends. I was about to ask why they were lying when the door of the room suddenly swung inward, Nurse Joy and a tall Chansey coming inside.

"Good afternoon, every—h-hey!" she yelped as I jumped down, bore the pain from landing on my four paws, and scurried out of the room.

Fay and the others called for me to come back, but I ignored them. They're clearly hiding something, and it's about Vixie, too.

The hallway felt really big and long for a small one like me, but I finally reached an intersection of sorts. I turned left, for it had the brightest of lights out of all the three.

Up ahead was the main hall of the Pokémon Center. Y'know, where trainers come in and out, and where another Nurse Joy was stationed at the counter. That's what's up ahead. A few inches in front of me was no other than a startled Vixie, and if I hadn't stop in time, I would have crashed into her.

"Vixie!" I gasped, taking deep breaths as I suddenly felt how tired I was for bearing my painful body.

She was surprised. She was conflicted. Her mouth curved in a loop of smiles and frowns.

I actually felt...relieved to see her okay. I smiled, but now that I'm here...erm... I should probably say something other than shouting her name though. Maybe after I've caught my brea—

"There you are," a teenaged boy said, stepping a few feet behind Vixie, who winced after she heard the guy. "You seriously need some training and discipline if you're going to run off like that!" The guy said as he pulled out a small Poké...ball...

My mouth dropped open in shock at the sight of the Pokéball, and I ignored the slow footsteps of my friends coming closer from the hallway behind me.

"Vi...Vi..." I stammered. I couldn't...believe it... I...

She looked away.

The Pokéball grew bigger after the trainer pressed the button on the middle of the device. "I already have an Eevee if you're looking for a good time. But," he pointed the ball at her, "that would be your reward if you decide to be a good Pokémon."

"Jay... I..." Vixie said, looking at me with tearful eyes, but she couldn't finish whatever she was going to say. A red aura enveloped her, and soon she was absorbed into the trainer's Pokéball.

"Vixie..." I whispered...at nothing...

"Go find another Vulpix, Eevee," the guy said before walking towards the exit. "It was trouble enough to catch her from those rampaging Growlithe and Pikachu in Viridian Forest." He shook his head. "Caught that strong Growlithe though, which is nice."

I snapped and inhaled sharply at that.

"Tsk, but that Pikachu got away. Missed that Abra, too..." he sighed.

Time seemed to slow down as I stared at the trainer's retreating form. Vixie was captured, by that guy... He stood in front of the door, waiting for them to slide open.

...he caught Lithe as well...

"Jay..." Fay whispered behind me.

I ignored her as I watched the trainer walk out, and as I felt hot all over...

destinedjagold February 10th, 2014 10:31 PM

Chapter 58
Elsewhere...

A huge and tall mountain stood taller than its neighboring mountains. From afar, one could say that half of the said mountain was already covered by the thick and peaceful white clouds. In reality, it actually does. Its peak was as white as snow, going down until it was only a few more kilometers before it reaches the area where mountain's earth and the clouds itself touched each other, where hues of brown and green colored the mountain until it's very base, with a wide and blue water crashing down.

The tall mountain's base was overgrown with trees as old as time itself, housing many magical creatures of different species. Some flew, others walked and crawled, and others swam. The forest was full of life and chatter as the creatures prepared to embrace the darkness of the night as the sun beyond began to set.

However, a strange wind blew on tree tops, silencing the creatures who've felt it. After a second, silence governed as each creature froze to concentrate on what it was.

Something was wrong, they thought. Something was approaching, they felt. Something big.

There it was again. That strange wind. It blew in the opposite direction of the calm air current. Everyone shivered.

Finally, something boomed, a strong gust of air blew over the trees as a bright and white light broke through the space far above a clearing. Some shrieked and yelped as they tried to hold their ground, trying their best not to be blown away, even though the shockwave of air wasn't strong enough to blow anything away but loose twigs and leaves.

A huge purple creature leaped out from the large portal. It looked down before it dropped itself on the clearing below. The gigantic creature would have created a miniature earthquake if it didn't hover a few feet above the ground before landing as gently as its massive body could. It still made a loud thud! when it landed, but it was better than a miniature earthquake, it's black companion clearly pointed out to it.

“Huh, I'm impressed,” the black and small one said as it hovered just beside the tall creature's shoulder. This one was small that the giant purple one could actually eat it in one gulp. “That's actually a very big progress that you've showed me, Palkia.”

Palkia rolled its red eyes as it slightly shook its head slightly.

Another giant creature, a dark blue one, emerged from the portal up above. The newcomer floated down slowly and landed gently beside the purple one. Blinking, the blue one darted its red eyes left and right as it looked around.

“Hm...” the blue one said as the portal high above them disappeared. “I was expecting your fourteen-hundred seventy-eighth crater, sis.”

“Hah hah,” the pink one glared at the blue one. “Your head could use a good crater.”

“Now now, you two,” the dark one said, floating in between them. It actually softened the giants' glares. “We don't want to destroy the other creature's homes around here, now do we?”

“No, Uncle Darkrai,” Palkia grumbled.

Darkrai nodded at Palkia before it turned to the blue one. “Dialga?”

Dialga sighed, and then rolled its eyes. “No, Uncle Darkrai. We don't want to make the lives of those puny creatures to be more miserable than it already is...”

Darkrai quietly stared at the blue one.

Dialga grumbled and turned its eyes on the tall mountain. “Can we please just get this over with?” It turned once again and glared at Palkia. “I don't want to be anywhere near her.”

Palkia growled low. “We actually agree on something for once, brother.”

Dialga flashed a small smirk. “What? You can't stand yourself as well?”

Palkia roared at Dialga, it's gauntlet-like arms glowed bright pink as the air was filled with an other-worldly hiss.

Darkrai sighed and floated in between their line of glares. “I'm still here, you two...”

Palkia growled long and low as her arms dimmed and went back to normal, its glare never leaving its brother's teasing smirk.

Darkrai sighed again and murmured to itself, “I could use one of Mew's stolen candies right about now...”

“I can give you one if you'll let me punch a hole on that blue bastard's face.”

“Deal!” Darkrai suddenly said.

Dialga gasped in surprise. “Wh-what? That is not fair!” he cried.

“I was joking,” Darkrai said before turning its attention to the tall mountain. “Jokes aside, I ask you two to bear each others presence and work together of solving this mystery.”

“Fine,” the siblings grumbled in unison.

Darkrai then turned to the blue one. “Dialga,” it extended a hand, gesturing at the mountain. “If you may?”

Dialga nodded and took a step. And another. And another, until his two giant front legs were barely touching the lines of trees. He stared at the mountain, his gaze working up, up, and up.

“Hm...” Dialga hmm'ed as he slowly worked his gaze back down. “Sis needs to go away while I do this one...”

“What?” Palkia asked, angry. “I didn't ask you to go away when I opened that portal to get here!”

Dialga looked over his shoulder to glare at her. “I'm serious. Your space-aura might break the time here and of the time I'll be opening.”

Palkia and Darkrai blinked at him. Dialga ignored them and returned his attention back on the mountain.

Darkrai turned to Palkia. “Do as your brother asked, Palkia.”

“Grr...fine,” she turned and walked to the other edge of the clearing before turning back, ignoring its strong tail from creating a strong sweep on the trees behind her, eliciting a lot of startled cries as a cloud of earth, dust and leaves slowly settled back down.

Darkrai sighed and rubbed its head.

“What?” Palkia asked in annoyance...and in complete innocence.

“Nothing,” Darkrai simply said before turning back to Dialga. “Good enough?”

Dialga simply shook his head.

Palkia huffed. “Fine!” She extended her wings and flew up, much to the small creature's relief.

“I should try and calm her down,” Darkrai noted as it eyed the floating Palkia up above, who was obviously glaring daggers at Dialga. “Will you be fine on your lonesome?”

Dialga simply nodded, and Darkrai flew to Palkia.

Palkia stared at the approaching Darkrai, which helped her in calming down, if only for a bit. As soon as Darkrai settled on hovering beside her shoulder, she returned her angry gaze at her brother down below.

“Who do you suppose have caused this mess?” Darkrai asked, only to receive a low growl as a response. Darkrai rolled its eye. “Oh, but of course you'll blame him.” It crossed its arms as it stared at the concentrating time dragon. “But my bet is on that Cresselia. I still think she wants to frame me of causing this.”

“You and Aunt Cres are really angry at each other...” Palkia spoke out loud.

“I could say the same to you and your brother.”

Palkia growled lowly at that.

Darkrai crossed its arms. “It's not really my fault if Mew favors me more than her.”

Down below, Dialga had his eyes closed as he concentrated. Suddenly, he opened his eyes, his pupils glowed in hues of white and blue.

“Now...let me see...”

destinedjagold February 13th, 2014 10:32 PM

Chapter 59
Darkness.

The air was cold and still, and undisturbed.

Nothing could be heard but the occasional droplets of water that either lands on solid ground or on a small puddle of water.

A loud booming noise suddenly erupted from the used-to-be-dark cavern, which was now engulfed in bright white flashes of light as an enormous portal appeared from one of its walls.

The cave-dwelling creatures of the area shrieked in fright. Some flapped their leathery wings to fly away, while those bound on the ground worked their claws, feet and slithery bodies to flee from the sudden source of their terrifying awakening.

A purple creature leaped out from the portal —THUD!— and bumped it's massive head on a giant stalactite, much larger than the wincing purple dragon.

“Is it too late to say to watch where you're going?” a blue dragon said as it emerged from the very same portal and landed gently on the cavern floor below.

The purple dragon hissed and dropped itself down, crushing a stalagmite or two in the process.

A small and dark creature then emerged from the portal, and hovered in between the giant dragons.

Finally, the swirling portal vanished, washing the cavern once again in total darkness.

“It's too dark in here,” muttered the dark one, “even for my taste...”

“Oh?” the blue dragon said as it began to radiant a faint blue aura around its massive body. “That is strange to hear, coming from you, Uncle Darkrai...”

The faint blue light was enough for the three creatures to see enough detail of their surroundings.

Darkrai shrugged, and then looked around. “I believe the gem should be...around here?”

“Palkia must have made a mistake...” the blue dragon glared at the purple one.

Palkia hissed at the blue one, as its body started to glow with faint purple light. “Be quiet, Dialga. It was you who have told us where to go.”

“Visitors of the gem, perhaps?” a voice echoed in the cavern, silencing the two arguing dragons. A gray spherical boulder suddenly began to move from a corner. Slowly, strong sets of arms and feet pulled out from it. It stood, turned around slowly, and an old yet smiling face greeted the legendary trio. “Are you here to test and see if you are worthy of evolution?”

The trio blinked at him. Palkia wanted to break the piece of rock for not addressing her as a legendary. Dialga was in awe for it was his first time for a normal creature to address him normally.

Darkrai was just wondering how a rock could move and talk. Then again, he already have seen a living ice cream and a living cotton candy in one of its and Mew's adventures a long time ago. Then again, he probably have already seen living rocks before, though he probably didn't pay them enough attention to care for their existence.

Blinking back to the scene at hand, Darkrai floated lower and settled in front of the old Golem. “We're...”

“Huh,” the old Golem scratched its chin in wonder. “You are a weird-looking Dusknoir, if you don't mind me saying.”

Darkrai just blinked at him. It doesn't actually know what a Dusknoir is, nor is the Pokémon before it. “Yes. Excuse me, old...rock thing, but may you tell us where the gem is?”

The Golem nodded. “You are very lost if you've reached this high part of the mountain. The gem is located far below, though—”

Palkia roared as she created a massive white portal underneath the four of them. They all glowed in white as the portal absorbed them, and vanished the instant they landed on a rather very well lit cavern.

The creatures living in the area yelped in surprise from the four's sudden appearance

“—I wonder how you could have missed it. The Pokémon living around the entrance of this mountain would have directed you there,” the Golem continued to explain.

“Is that it?” Dialga asked, staring far ahead where the light was coming from.

“Huh?” the Golem asked, turning to the same direction. “Why yes, yes that is it.” He smiled. “My my. How did we got here so quickly? I must be getting very old if I couldn't notice the time...”

The giant dragons ignored him as they flew towards the light.

Darkrai said its thanks and good byes to the old Golem before floating after them. As it followed them, it noticed that there were fewer and fewer Pokémon around the cavern, until there were no more. Or maybe some of the rocks lying around are probably sleeping Pokémon, it thought.

Emerging from the tunnel-like cavern, Darkrai noticed that the gem was glowing brightly, but not bright enough for it not to notice it's crystal-like features.

The gem had an almost transparent color, and towered even beyond the large cavern's ceiling. It stood in the very middle of a calm body of water, where other smaller and almost-transparent stalagmite-like gems surrounded the giant gem.

“Reminds me of that large crystal in Anistar where Mew visits her friend Dian...Deian...” Darkrai said as it stared at the crystal. “...the name escapes me at the moment...” It then turned to Dialga. “You said that whoever was responsible came here, correct?”

Dialga nodded. “It was during ... as you call it, a new moon. The darkness of the evening could easily hide its presence, but it's companion was easy to spot.”

Darkrai nodded. Dialga have told them that he saw two beings stealthily going inside the cave. They were suspicious, but it could have been nothing. But he kept on watching that timeline, and after almost an hour after the two creatures went inside the cave, a much darker-colored wave of energy erupted from the colossal mountain.

Dialga's eyes started to glow.

Darkrai took notice of this. “Is it okay for you to see through time in here?”

“We are in a closed space.” Dialga replied automatically. “Palkia's presence won't be a hindrance.”

Palkia was silent, but it took a few steps back, just in case.

Darkrai followed Palkia by giving the dragon of time some space. It hovered back and settled on floating beside the dragon of space.

Dialga glowed in a faint blue light. Faint white wisps of other-worldly aura swirled around him as he concentrated. Hiss fin-like metal-gray wing glowed in white. Finally, Dialga roared, creating a wave that grayed everything around them. Everything except for the trio of legends, where Palkia and Darkrai blinked and turned to see two four-legged creatures emerging from the long tunnel behind.

The two beings, just like their surroundings, were removed of color. The one walking up front was darker. It had a sleek body, two pointed ears and a bushy tail. Its ears and tail had a lighter shade of rings on them.

The other quadruped creature had a lighter tone of color. It had slender legs and dainty paws. Its ears were large, it has tufts of fur near its eyes, and had a small gem on its forehead.

Darkrai held a breath of awe. Never have it thought that they could actually see the events of the past. Why Dialga never have done this while outside puzzles it. It probably has something to do with closed spaces, as Dialga mentioned earlier.

“There it is,” the darker quadruped creature said in awe, it's voice that of a male.

His companion shivered and stopped. It nervously took a look back at the dark tunnel behind them. “I...I am starting to doubt that this is a g-good idea...” she said, her voice that of a female, her tone full of doubt and nervousness. She looked back at her male companion. “I...I really think we shouldn't be here.”

“What's with you?” the dark one asked in annoyance as he turned around to glare at her. “We've done so much research and already gotten this far! We can't stop now!” He looked back at the brightly-glowing tower of gem. “We'll be the greatest Eevees in the whole world! We can evolve to our different evolution branches at will! We'll be the first two that could achieve such greatness! We will never have to worry about being weak to other elements! We'll be invincible! We'll be...” he paused, took a breath, turned, and smiled victoriously at his doubtful companion. “...legendaries!”

“Insanity!” Palkia growled, creating a distorted wave around them.

“Hush, sister,” Dialga said in annoyance, his eyes still glowing as he stared at the scene of the past. “Don't break the sequence, or you might accidentally alter the past.”

Palkia growled lowly, not understanding this whole time-thing Dialga was spattering about, but altering the past is bad, that much she knows, so she kept quiet and controlled herself as the scene before them continued on Dialga's command.

Actually, now that she thought about it, changing this exact moment in the past wouldn't be a bad thing, would it? She is not certain, but she will have to remember to ask this to Arceus if she were to be given a chance of meeting it.

“Now, come on!” the dark one said in a mix of excitement, impatience, and annoyance, snapping Palkia's attention back to the scene. “Let's begin the extraction!”

“The...extraction...” Darkrai repeated in a whisper as it and the two dragons watched.

The lighter one gulped nervously and slowly, slowly, walked towards her impatient companion.

“Ugh...” the dark one growled, hurried behind his startled female companion, and pushed her forward with his head on her— “You're in heat? Already?” he asked with a slight shiver of excitement. “Is that why you're being so nervous?” he chuckled as he stood beside her, and nuzzled her neck.

“U-um...”

“Don't worry,” the dark one whispered, still nuzzling her. “After this, we'll deal with that problem of yours.”

The lighter one shivered, but tried her best to nuzzle him back. They have been together for a long time now, going out on adventures. He promised that this would be their last adventure. After this, they'll settle down, start a family, and live a peaceful and loving life together. That recollection alone made her feel confident enough to swallow her nervousness. After their little show of affection, she took a breath and nodded, looking at him with determination. “Okay. For our last adventure.”

The dark one arched an eyebrow, and chuckled. “Last? Hey,” he nuzzled her again. “Every single day together with you is an adventure.”

Darkrai took note of that one. “Celebi might learn a few things from these couple.”

Dialga rolled his glowing eyes.

“Okay,” the dark one said, stepping aside and turned his attention at the glowing tower of gem.

He and his partner adjusted their paws and started concentrating, their energies making their bodies glow faintly.

A melodic hum started echoing around the cavern, making Dialga blink in confusion. The gray scene before them started to fade as Dialga lost his concentration.

“Dialga?” Darkrai asked, turning to the dragon. “Is something...”

The cavern they were in was back to normal. They were now seeing their own time, where the evolution gem was humming as it glowed brighter and brighter.

“...wrong...” Darkrai breathed out.

“Evolution,” a new voice said, coming from the tunnel. The tree legendaries turned and saw the old Golem slowly walking towards them. “My my. It's been such a long time since I last saw the gem this bright.” He took a moment to appreciate the beauty of the glowing gem before he addressed the confused legendaries. “Right. So, which one of you has been granted of evolution?”

The three blinked at him.

destinedjagold February 16th, 2014 9:37 PM

Chapter 60
“Jay!” Shock shouted in surprise.

I gritted my teeth so hard as I glared daggers at the retreating trainer. I ignored the burning sensation that I felt and ignored how bright my surroundings were at the moment. He captured Vixie, and I wanted nothing more than to—

A gasp. A lot of them. I saw the trainer turned around and regarded me with a surprised look.

He should be, for I already ran and leaped towards him, my long front paws pushing his chest back, and he landed outside on his back with a thud. He yelped in pain. He gasped in surprise as I growled and leaned my angry face towards his.

“Release her!” I shouted.

He gasped. “Y-yo-you can talk?!”

I sensed something. I wanted to rip him apart right here, right now, but instinct kicked in and I jumped away from him, in time to avoid the fast-moving squirts of water from a Squirtle and a Poliwag.

I growled at them, but kept my eye on the gasping trainer. With a trembling hand, he pointed at me in fear. “Th-that Flareon can talk!”

“I know!” another trainer from the crowd outside said with a confident grin. “And my sister and I will catch it!”

“Right on, bro!” a younger female trainer said with confidence, and pointed a hand at me. “Poliwag! Bubblebeam!”

“Assist with your water gun, Squirtle!”

I growled and easily took a step to the side to dodge the fast bubbles. My vision brightened so suddenly as I glared at the approaching water gun. I allowed it to hit me, and I felt myself be absorbed by the water as I swam towards the yelping Squirtle. I growled as I splashed out from the water, and quickly felt my whole body ache in pain as I zapped the two water types with electricity.

“Wh-where'd that—!?”

I landed, and jumped out of that spot as soon as pillars of earth erupted from there. I glared at the Sandshrew. My body ached once more, but I didn't care as I saw the shrew slowly turned around as I was suddenly behind it. I growled and threw the shrew up with a torrent of water. I felt myself sliding up with the water, and I leaped out and found myself above the yelping ground type.

I felt my leafy bangs glow and harden, and I used it to slash and cut the shrew as we fell down. I used the bleeding thing as a cushion of my landing, and I then blew a wild fume of fiery breath at the sparking —and yelping— Magnemite.

My body ached, but I ignored it. I growled at the gasping crowd, and I furiously looked around as more Pokémon popped out into existence, readying themselves to battle.

I growled again, furiously leaping out to dodge thrown rocks as I countered by swinging my head to throw razor leaves at a Geodude. I growled as I zapped Spearows and Pidgeys. I glared as I floated a flailing Machop into the air and spun him around me and hitting the other surrounding Pokémon. I fried a sporing Oddish. I bit an Abra on its arm, ignoring its psychic energy around me, and tossed it at the crowd of yelping trainers. I headbutted a Mankey and threw a shadow ball at a Gastly. I sent angry psychic waves at a cringing Ekans as I pinned a Slowpoke down. I electrocuted a Psyduck after I froze a Diglett.

I was angry, and still am. He's not here. Where is he?! I jumped high and dodged low. I fired back and held my ground. Where in blazing hell is h—

Down a path, a lone figure was running away. It was him. It is him. I roared to the heavens as I wrapped my surroundings in flames. I grit my teeth and fixed my glare at the retreating trainer as I blew a cold and wild blizzard around me. I kicked the ground and left a roar of electric thunder from my wake. And a startled gasp greeted me as I stopped in front of the trembling trainer.

He gulped and stepped back.

I growled and took a step forward.

He moved his right hand.

My eye twitched.

He pulled out a Pokéball.

That's not the one.

I quickly swayed my head, stabbing a leaf on his right shoulder.

He cried in pain. He was about to run away.

I froze his feet.

He stumbled down.

I walked slowly yet angrily towards his frightened form.

“Pl-please,” he cried as I put a paw on his forehead and pinned it down on the ground. “D-don't hurt me...”

“Let,” I slowly said, my voice no longer sounded like my own, but I didn't care.

I glared at him, as I trembled from pure rage and anger. My mouth watered as I eyed his throat. I wanted to bite him. I wanted to chew him. I wanted to rip him. The fire within me is uncontrollable, almost.

“...the Vulpix,” I slowly said, already finding it difficult to talk.

Something inside my head is kicking in. It's not a Vulpix I wanted to save. It was something else...no...someone else. Someone...dear... Confusion only made me even angrier, and I growled loudly right in front of the trainer's wincing face.

“...GO!” I shouted, releasing sparks of fire, ice and electricity around me. My body was aching too much that I could no longer feel anything but my anger. My eyes were going black and red, and this pathetic excuse of a trainer is pulling my killer instinct out of me.

“O...okay...” the trainer replied, quietly and fearfully.

I growled lowly as he slowly and carefully moved his left hand towards his belt. I glared at his shaky eyes as sweat streamed on his face.

Soon, he slowly pulled his hand back, and shakily showed me a Pokéball. “Th-the Vul...” he gulped as he pressed a button behind the Pokéball. “Vul...pix is inside. I am...” he flashed a very small yet trembling smile. “...r-releasing her now...o-okay?”

Her... Not even the boiling lava of my own anger can stop how lovely that sounded. Her... Who...was she...? I know her... I should...

Did he caught her? Is that why I'm angry? Is he releasing her? He better be!

A popping noise snapped me back and my eyes quickly left the trainer and settled on the white blob of energy. Time somehow slowed as the white energy slowly formed into an Eevee... Yes... Yes, an Eevee. That's what she was...an Eevee. She was an Eevee... I am an Eevee as well... I promised that it would have been our last adventure together... and then... and then...

...and then a confused Vulpix came out from the white energy...

Vulpix... Vulpix... Why is she a Vulpix...?

No... She wasn't a Vulpix... She was an Eevee, just like me! I growled and raised my paw up high, ready to cut this trainer's head off. I glared as the fires within me were fueled once more.

“No!” the trainer cried, closing his eyes and turned his head away, as if that would save him. “Please! I-I just want to g-go home!”

My breath left me as my mind suddenly went blank.

Home... Home... That word. It sounded so...

Home... That...that was my goal... Wasn't it? Home... Eevee... Home... Espeon... Home... Vulpix... Home... Human...

I took a sharp intake of breath as I felt how painful my body suddenly was.

“Vixie!”

That voice... It sounded so familiar...and so foreign at the same time. I gritted my teeth as I tossed around. My body is painful... Argh!!!

“Fay! Shock! Saur!”

That voice... It's her! No! Th-that's not her! That's not her voice! But it is! Aaaccckkk!!!

It's too hot! It's too cold! Sparks... Snow...!

“Jay!” a voice shouted, “s-snap out of it!”

“Jay?! T-that's Jay?!”

AAAHHH!!!” I shouted as I felt unbearable pain coursing through me. I felt a lot of energy that coursed in and out of my body! I shouted as I looked up, but I couldn't see anything other than colors of red, blue, white, yellow, black...and others...

“Jay!”

destinedjagold February 18th, 2014 12:04 AM

Chapter 61
...

... ...

... ... ...

I feel so...light...and at peace...

I see nothing but black. I guess I'm asleep or dreaming once again.

It's...weird though. I feel like I'm floating in outer space, without the tiniest hints of light from any star, near or far. Weird, but it kinda also felt so...soothing.

I...kinda like it here. My mind feels at ease. I feel awake, yet asleep at the same time. Lucid dreaming, maybe? Wait... I didn't accidentally went inside the spirit world, like in that Insidious movie, right? That would suck.

I looked around, or at least, I tried to, but while I feel so at peace and so relaxed here, at the same time, I could also feel nothing at all... I don't feel the fur on me. I don't feel my limbs... I can't even feel my heartbeat.

At least I still have a mind for thinking all of these stuff... Eh, this is definitely a weird dream.

But why am I here, anyway?

“You lost consciousness.”

Well, that's a rather obvious thing to say. Even I could have concluded that. I just don't know why I went unconscious in the first place.

“...what do you last remember before you blacked out?”

Huh... I dunno... Lemme think...

...

... ...

... ... ...

...hm... Well, I remember...that V-Vixie was caught by a trainer... I...am kinda feeling angry about that though. I guess I want to rescue her, or something, but I'm not really sure if I should. I mean...I shouldn't really care, right? Shock pointed that out to me, but...why do I really care, anyway? It's not like I like her.

Um...that last one was a lie... I do like her, as well as the rest of my friends. I guess, as a friend, I just don't want her to be caught, just like myself disliking the fact of getting caught...

I dunno... But whatever. I should probably try to wake up to help Shock and the others to formulate a rescue plan or something.

“Why?”

Why? I just told you: she's a friend. Just like Fay told me before: friends help friends.

“What about home?”

...one step at a time, Darkrai.

“...I am not Darkrai.”

Eh? Sorry... I thought you were Darkrai, since, y'know, you're with me in my dream or whatever this place is. Wait...am I in a coma? Or maybe you're a Pokémon that is feeding off of my dream like a Drowzee? Are you a Drowzee? Um...do dreams taste good?

“...I am not a Drowzee, either.”

Oh. Uh... An Exeggcute? A Genga—er...Gastly? Any Pokémon that knows the move Dream Eater? Or are you another legendary that shares Darkrai's ability of visiting dreams. Cresselia, maybe? Wait, your voice doesn't sound feminine, so scratch that one...

“...I can't believe how noisy you are...”

Well, excuse me for not being able to do anything else than think! So uh...who or what are you?

“...I am you.”

Har har... What movie was that from? I've watched a lot of movies before I woke up in this world, and so if you were ‘me’, then you'd have no trouble answering my question.

...

...

...

...oi, you still there?

...

...drat. Way to go, me! You scared him off with your yapping mind. Now I'm left all alone, talking, er, thinking to myself... That's a weird thing to say.

Ouch... Okay, where'd that come from. I suddenly felt...pain on my...everything. Ugh, the pain is getting worse and it's irritating that I couldn't move to ease them. Ack... Okay, calm down... How the heck can I calm down!? I am in pain! Well, it's bearable at least, but the helpless feeling of not being able to move to do anything about it is...irritating...and annoying...and ugh...

At least I can faintly hear voices now. I guess I'm slowly waking up. Thankfully. Weird. I guess this his how someone feels when they're in a coma. I did read that the brain is still aware of the surroundings. After I figure out how I ended up like this, I'll try my darnest not to get into this kind of situation again!

“—and then Jay glowed again and changed into a Leafeon and slashed that poor Sandshrew with the leaf on his head—”

Ugh... Fay...

“—and he glowed again and changed into a Flareon before he landed and burned that Magnemite! But then more and more of those human-captured Pokémon came out of nowhere and swarmed him!”

“Fay...” I groaned as I shivered from the cold air I inhaled.

“But Jay was too quick and was changing so fast that not even the swarm of many Pokémon could stop him! There was fire and water and lightning and...and...everything! And then—”

“Fay...” I hissed as I rolled on my belly, slowly, and rubbed my aching head, as if that would heal my aching body. “..shut up...”

“Look who decided to return to the land of the living,” Shock's voice reached my ears. He sounded like he was sitting beside me, and was smirking at me.

“—huge blizzard that almost froze everybody outside that healing human building thing and then a loud BOOM of thunder sounded from where Jay once stood! The next thing we knew, he was already far far ahead, in front of that—”

“Tell her to shut up...” I groaned, gritting my teeth and barely managing to open my eyes to bear the pain I felt. “My ears are painfully ringing...”

I heard Shock chuckle, but he called Fay to keep her mouth shut, which I was thankful for.

“But I was about to tell Vixie the best part!”

“Oh, for the love of hotdogs,” I hissed and then took a sharp intake of breath. “SHUT UP!”

Finally... Peace and quiet.

“You okay?”

...denied...

I sighed, bearing the pain by grinding my own teeth. “...I think so...”

I felt a nose on my neck, and then it went into a nuzzle. I was too occupied with my own pain to even care that Vixie was nuzzling me. “Thanks for rescuing me,” she said quietly.

“Oi,” Shock said, “Saur, Fay. Let's give these two lovebirds some room, shall we?”

“S-Shock...” I hissed.

“Yeah?”

“F*ck you...”

He chuckled, and then I heard a series of fading footsteps as Shock ushered Fay to come along.

Vixie already pulled her nose away from me and we were both quiet for a while before I felt her lying down on the ground beside me.

“A-are you still in pain?”

“Nnn...” there's no point in lying, because it's obvious. I just wished she didn't ask the obvious as well... I sighed. “Yeah, b-but I can't really remember why...”

I felt her whiskers on my cheek. She probably shook her head while being so close to mine. “From what Fay told me, I couldn't blame you.” She went quiet for a short while. Finally, she laid her head besides mine. “Thank you.”

I felt my heart race...and it felt painful as well. But...strange that I like her close like this. Maybe it's because I'm hurt all over. It's...nice to have someone there with you when you need them to...just be there. If she could help me stop this pain, that'd be great, though I doubt that she could do that.

I chuckled lightly. I tried to shrug, but eh, I couldn't. “T-that's what friends are for, right?”

“Friends...” she whispered. “...can't we be more than that?”

“Um...Vixie...” I said, “...I'm in pain right now, so uh...can I postpone to answer that one?”

She sighed quietly, her breath smelt of...berries. “I doubt I can take a ‘no’ after what you've done.”

I sighed. “About that though... I couldn't really remember what happened...”

Silence...

“All I remember was that...I was staring in shock at your trainer—”

“Ex-trainer,” she corrected.

I guess the rescue was a success. “Right. Ex-trainer... That, and I felt like I needed to...” I trailed off.

“Save me?”

“Um...” I finally managed to open my eyes without any sharp pain and I saw her eyes reflecting mine, which made my heart go even crazier. “Er...to...to tell the others that...we need to get you out?”

She chuckled, and pulled her head back a bit, which I was thankful for. “In other words, you wanted to save me.”

I sighed, rolled my eyes, and closed my eyes.

...and then I felt a soft, wet, and slightly cold...thing on my cheek.

I opened my eyes in time to see Vixie had licked my cheek. “...eewww...” I cringed.

She chuckled, and then she laid her head on top of my head. “This feels nice...”

I deadpanned. “Horay for being a pillow in pain...”

destinedjagold March 9th, 2014 10:35 PM

Chapter 62
“I evolved?” I asked as we sat on a bed in one of the Pokémon Center's rooms, where Bill was furiously filling the air with his furious typing noises on his laptop.

“Yup!” Fay cheerfully chirped, bouncing a bit from where she sat. “You evolved into a Flareon! And then a Vaporeon! And then a Jolteon! And then—”

I arched an eyebrow and turned to Shock. “I evolved?”

“—an Umbreon! And then an Espeon! And—”

Shock shrugged. “I saw it happen. I still don't believe it.”

“—then a Leafeon! And—”

I turned to Saur. “I evolved?”

“—then a Glaceon!”

Saur just smiled and nodded.

Fay suddenly blinked, and her smile turned into a confused frown. “And that weird pinkeon with tentacles worming around you.”

“That's a Sylll—” I shivered at the sudden pop-ups of images in my head about the ‘things’ I saw on the internet about that girly 'mon. Brr... “...a Sylveon, Fay... Anyway...”

I shook my head and turned to Vixie, who was annoyingly leaning on me, and resting her head on my shoulder.

“Ahem,” I said, pushing her off of me a bit. I failed to get rid of her smile, unfortunately. “So... I evolved?”

“Yep,” and she went back on leaning her head on my shoulder again...

I sighed, and turned back to each one of them. “Okay. So, I evolved, as you claim, right?”

They nodded.

I frowned. “Then why the freaking hell am I still an Eevee?!” I held a paw up, stalling Fay's deep intake of breath. “And more importantly, how the hell was I able to evolve into different Eeveelutions?!”

“Eeveelutions...” Saur quietly repeated with a smile and a nod. “I like that.”

I glared at him. He shrugged.

Shock cleared his throat. He raised a hand, extending a finger for point number one... “For your first question, we do not know.” Second finger. “For the other one, WE should be the ones asking THAT question, not the other way around.”

I frowned.

“So, how'd you do it?!” Fay asked excitingly.

My frown deepened.

Saur chuckled. “Jay doesn't seem to know either.”

Shock arched an eyebrow at me. “Our party's weakest member happens to be the strongest as well, yet he doesn't know how he did it...” He shook his head in disappointment.

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. How sad, isn't it?” I glared at him.

I was being sarcastic. They didn't notice. I sighed.

I pushed Vixie away and turned to Bill, and noticed that his Murkrow was sleeping beside his laptop. What was her name again? I think it rhymns with lies... Eh, whatever.

“So,” I said, stopping for a moment when Vixie finally stopped pushing her head back on my shoulder. “What now?”

“We wait for Krys' group,” Saur calmly replied.

Fay nodded cheerfully.

I blinked. Oh yeah. I almost forgot about her. “Where are they now?”

Shock shrugged and pointed a paw to Bill. “That human Bill guy over there last said that they were following Scizor's group.”

I blinked again. “To where again?”

Shock sighed. “Ever since you evolved, your brain doesn't seem to work anymore.”

I glared. “Well, excuse me for waking up and suddenly feeling like I could have been fried to a crisp!”

“Wouldn't that be a wonderful sight to see.”

“Shock!” Vixie gasped.

The Pikachu waved her off with a hand. “I was kidding. Sheesh, you're being over-protective of your mate lately...”

I frowned. “We're not mates.” I noticed Vixie's frown from the corner of my eyes, and I sighed. Here we go again... “Anyw—”

“Jay,” Bill called.

We all turned to him.

Bill turned, slightly carrying the chair as he turned so he could face us directly. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine, I...” I suddenly felt how free my neck was. I touched my neck with both paws, and yep, no collar there.

“Ah, right,” Bill said, smiling sheepishly as he scratched his head. “The collar was...fried...by the time I got to where you were resting after that...incident.”

I turned and glared at Shock. “See? I was fried!”

Shock just rolled his eyes as Fay giggled.

“Anyway,” Bill said as he returned his attention back to his laptop. “While you were sleeping earlier, I took some blood samples from you and—”

I gasped. It wasn't enough to break his concentration on whatever was on his screen.

“—compared it to the other Eevees from the trainers that were here.”

My eye twitched. I hate needles so much. Just imagining myself being stabbed by... I shivered, and Vixie was quick enough to lean her head on my shoulder again. I sighed.

Bill turned his laptop for us to see two large images side-by-side. It was that aurora-like-rainbow-thingy-thingy again. Bill was frowning at he turned back to us.

“There wasn't any difference, as far as I can tell...”

Well, that was useless information. I frowned. “Can I have my blood back?”

Bill shook his head and returned to his laptop. “Professor Oak went back to Pallet Town so he could do his own research better. And...” he trailed off. He was already absorbed by his laptop that waiting for almost a minute for him to continue became pointless now.

“So...” I said as my friends turned to each other. “We wait?”

Shock nodded. “That's the plan, yes.” He suddenly shook his head. “But I don't like staying here for long.” He looked around. “Feels like we're captured and forced to follow that human.” He looked back at us. “We're leaving.”

I arched an eyebrow. “We leave to...where?”

Shock shrugged. “Nowhere.” He turned to the only window in the room, smiling at the calmly rolling white clouds on a blue sky. “It's a big world out there. There are still so many things for us to see.”

I rolled my eyes. “When did you become so poetic?”

“Shut up.”

I chuckled. “Anyway, so we'll go on an adventure while waiting?”

Shock grinned at me.

I turned to the others. Fay was smiling happily as usual. Saur was smiling calmly as usual. Vixie was annoyingly leaning her head on my shoulder, which I am hoping will not become a usual.

I sighed quietly. Our little group started this little adventure of ours so that we could get to Professor Oak, since that's where Bill was, in hopes for me to return to being human.

We ended up with failure, since Bill can't help me with my situation.

I am still kinda waiting for Celebi, or any legendaries that might bring me the word that Arceus is finally going to help me.

Waiting... Waiting...

Am I just going to sit here and wait? I could. That's a safer option. I thought of that as well when I was in Oak's lab. I ended up working with them to at least help solve the devolution mystery, with the promise of them helping my situation. The promise ended up being nailed in the waiting list... Also...helping them, I kinda didn't like it. It wasn't about me...

Selfish I may sound, but I am truly not supposed to be here. I need to go home. The legendaries, as far as I've seen, are powerful, and they can help me, and it's going to be worth the wait...no matter how long?

Shock wants us to go on an adventure...the five of us. But for what? I think I'm satisfied with the knowledge that I have about this world from the animé, game and manga. I don't really want to experience everything firstha—paw... And there's also t— “Eep!”

I jumped aside in a jolt after I felt a wet lick on my cheek. I stared in disbelief at the giggling Vulpix.

“You think too much,” she said.

“And welcome back to reality,” Shock grinned with an eye roll. “So, what do you say?”

I sat down, leaned down, wiped my cheek on the soft bedsheets, and stayed lying there with a confused sigh. Bad idea. Vixie laid her head on my back. I grunted in annoyance.

“You two look cute together.”

“Shut up, Fay.”

destinedjagold March 12th, 2014 1:24 AM

Chapter 63
It's been two days now since my friends and I left Viridian City. I doubt Bill would be happy that we left though... But I did left a note.

Holding that pen on paws was freaking difficult that I had to ask Saur to wrap a vine around it, and I just used my paws to guide the pen on what to write. The letters we wrote wer squigly, but it was readable at least. We could have used his laptop though, but Lais might notice and wonder what we were doing. That, and it's probably protected with a password.

Anyway, I still didn't like the idea of leaving. Then again, waiting would be boring...and my friends threatened me that they'll leave me and Vixie behind. I...do NOT want to take care of Eggs!

...what? I'm not that oblivious. From what Vixie has been doing, it's obvious that she'll force me at some point in time if she ever gets the chance...

I shivered, not from the cold night air.

I sighed, and then stared back at the vast sea of stars up in the heavens. My friends and I took yet another Tauros ride on Mister Tauros. I was actually quite surprised that the herd were just about to go back to Johto when we arrived there. Mister Tauros was more than happy to give us a ride, which we were quite thankful for.

I lied on my back, so I could stare at the stars properly. Vixie's head was on my chest, and she was sleeping peacefully. I got tired of shoving her away. That, and her body heat helped a lot in staying warm during nights like this one. It's probably good being a fire type, I guess.

...or are they maybe constantly in heat?

I chuckled quietly at my own terrible joke.

My friends were already sound asleep. I'm still quite surprised that we all can sleep comfortably on a single Tauros' back.

I sighed again and caught a glimpse of a shooting star. Aside from the constant sounds of hooves on ground, I heard quiet sounds of awe from a small number of awake Pokémon who also asked for a ride on other Tauroses. Yeah, shooting stars are really a cool thing to see at night. Sad that we had so much light pollution back home though. No one there could actually take a moment to appreciate how beautiful the night sky truly is.

My ear twitched when I heard Shock mumbled something from his sleep. I suddenly remembered the weird look he and the rest of my friends gave me when I suggested that we return to Johto.

I took an hour to think about Shock's offer of going out on an adventure. There really was nothing there for me to gain, so I thought a lot about the things that I might get from adventuring.

I suddenly thought about my favorite Pokémon movie. The third movie. The Unown. After I saw the Jirachi movie, I dubbed the Unowns as the true wish makers.

If the legendaries are busy solving the evolution mystery, then I would try and see my chances with the Unown. I already told myself that I shouldn't heavily base everything on the animé and manga, but eh, it's worth a shot. Besides, Fay and Saur liked the idea of seeing the Ruins of Alph.

According to Saur, the old daycare couple used to tell him and the other Pokémon some stories, and included was the mystery of the Alph Ruins. Saur shared some things about the story, but I couldn't remember any of it right now. Eh...sleep is probably and finally getting to me.

I yawned. Long. Wow, I guess sleep finally caught up with me. I wonder what time is it now.

So anyway, Fay liked the story as well, so she's excited to go there. I also dug a little something about my friends' past. Apparently, Fay used to visit the Daycare often, just to snatch some free food if she felt lazy of fighting other Pokémon for berries in the forest. That's how Fay and Saur met.

“Mmm...” Vixie suddenly mumbled, her ear twitched a bit. With eyes still closed, she rose to a sitting position, though slowly. I'm guessing animals can do those while asleep. As I thought, she used a hind paw to scratch behind her ear, and then she went back to lie on my...

I stifled a gasp. She lied her head a little too low for comfort. Zip it, brain. Anyway, I carefully and gently grabbed her head and dragged it back on my chest.

Huh, strange... I kinda like how my paw rested behind her neck like this. Feels nice, actually...

I sighed as I gently stroke her neck's fur with my paw. I hate to admit it, but I really am starting to like her... Which is wrong... Super duper wrong. I shouldn't be attracted to her. I'm human, for f*ck's sake, and she's...just an animal.

...an animal that could talk and think. An animal with emotions. An animal with a conscience...

I've been torn away from my home for far too long, it seems. There are still humans here in this world, sure, but I'm not... They treat me differently here... Bill already knew I was human, but I could barely feel him treating me like one. I guess I just miss the normal days of my life back home... I wonder if that cute girl back in the office misses me...or maybe I'm just a nobody to her and she already found a guy to be with. Sigh...

This sucks. This really sucks.

I like Vixie, yeah, and so are my friends. But I'm starting to like Vixie more, and it feels so so freaking wrong. We need to get to the ruins while I could still control myself. I just hope I won't regret this later down the road.

I sighed again. Damn, where did sleep went off to? It was suppose to make me fall asleep minutes ago...

...

... ...

... ... ...

I wonder how Krystal is doing.

If the Unowns can help me return home, I wonder how the heck can I let Krystal know. Maybe I can ask my friends to do it? Hey, it's going to be another adventure, so chances are that they might do it.

...

... ...

... ... ...

I should get some sleep. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea right now. All of those thoughts made me kind of depressed...

“Night, Mister Tauros,” I whispered.

“G'night, kid,” he replied.

I stared at the stars for a few more moments before sighing and closing my eyes. “Night, guys,” I whispered as I stroked Vixie's neck one more time. “Night, Vixie...”

destinedjagold March 14th, 2014 12:26 AM

Chapter 64
I heard my friends' voices as I rushed back to them.

“—and they said that the trainer got really bad burns, and his Growlithe disappeared.”

That was Vixie's voice... I turned and finally reached them, who were seated in a circle, eating berries, and were outside the edge of this forest.

Shock nodded as he chewed. “Sounds like Lithe alright.”

A three rhymed words combo. Nice.

“Saves us the trouble of informing his mates,” he added with a smug grin. “If we see them along the way, that is.”

Vixie sighed as her ears drooped. “I just hope to never see him again.” She looked up in time to see me arrive. She instantly brightened, which made me roll my eyes. “Jay! How was it?”

I glared at Fay as I sat beside Vixie. “Remind me not to eat rotten Makigarp meat ever again.”

“What?” Fay asked innocently. “It was deliscious.”

Shock and Saur suddenly stared at the berries with disgust.

“Or anything rotten by that matter. Anyway,” I cringed before I turned to Vixie, “it...went well, but...” I closed my eyes and shivered. “A...a Poliwag saw everything.”

“So?” Shock asked as he took another berry.

“I still don't get this whole ‘privacy’ thing for just taking a poop out of your system,” Fay said, giving me a confused frown. “I do it all the time!”

Thank the heavens that I have never seen any of it, and I plan of keeping it that way.

“Exactly,” Shock added before taking a bite.

I glared at the two of them. “Well, excuse me for being a descent and proper human. What? You expect me to take a dump here while you guys eat?”

“As long as you don't poop on the berries,” Saur calmly said.

“Or on any of us,” Vixie joined in on the teasing.

I groaned, ignoring their chuckles. “Yeah, yeah... Laugh it up.” I took a berry and was about to take a bite when Vixie interrupted me.

“So, what was so bad about a Poliwag seeing you doing...that?”

“Aside from the fact that it saw everything, which is disgusting, and creepy, and weird, and a violation of my privacy and concentration...” I ignored Shock's rolling eyes, “it also...” I suddenly lost my appetite, slowly returning the berry back. “...it also offered...some...er...service.”

“Which is...?” Shock asked as he chewed.

I sighed, and groaned. “It...wanted to...l-l-lick my butt clean.” There. I said it. Goddamn it, I know wiping my butt with this body is close to impossible, but damn, that Poliwag...

Vixie choked on a berry as the rest of my friends burst out laughing. At some point, as I helped Vixie recover from her choking fit, Shock choked, but kept on laughing anyway...

destinedjagold March 20th, 2014 12:28 AM

Chapter 65
Goldenrod is a really big city.

My friends and I walked outside the city's border, hidden behind the safety of the trees and bushes from any human eyes. I don't want to risk them seeing us, or ME, and then try to catch me, and ruin my day.

Despite that though, I felt really glad to see the golden city under the morning glow of the already risen sun. Memories started flooding back in, the good, the fun, and a whole lot of annoying and bad memories as well.

...I suddenly felt a great pang of guilt. I wonder how Kit is doing...

“Well, well, well...”

...Well, that answers that question.

We stopped and looked up, and saw the Meowth standing on two legs on a thick branch, staring at us—or at me—with piercing eyes. He was also slightly tossing a gold coin up with a hand, while the other was resting on the tree. “Never thought I'd see you again.”

“Who are you and what do you want?” Shock asked. I cringed at how straightforward and stupid that question was.

Kit didn't respond as he jumped down and landed in front of our party. I winced slightly after I saw some clear and furless scars around him.

“Do you know him?” Vixie asked, who was beside me. She must have noticed my reactions.

“Oh, he definitely does,” Kit glared at me. “And I'm here to settle a score with him.”

I gulped and took a step back, as my friends turned to look at me. I just smiled nervously. “Eh...heheh...uh... Can't we just...talk about this?”

He clenched a paw and punched the palm of his other paw. “No.”

Loud rustling noises echoed all around us, making my friends and I to look around. I turned back to Kit, and saw him flashing a wicked grin. He showed the coin, one side had a Meowth face, the other had a Meowth tail.

“You've put me in a lot of pain, Eevee,” he said as he tossed the coin up in the air. He then caught it before it could land on the grassy ground, and showed us his paw, and the coin with a Meowth's face. “It's your turn.”

“I was in a lot of pain that time, too, y'know!” I shouted, but it was completely drowned from the loud battle cries of many many many different Pokémon that jumped out from the sea of greens, and each one of them were ready to hurt us.

... One shockwave, heat wave, swift wave and leaf wave later...

All of them were painfully wincing on the ground, barely able to move or even groan in pain.

I nervously stared at the Meowth, whose mouth hung agape in shock, losing his grip on his gold coin. “So, um...” I took a few steps forward, so I would be in front of my friends. I cleared my throat and calmed myself down. “Kit, listen.” I frowned. “I'm sorry for what happened. I was...just desperate to get home... I still am...”

Sounds of rushing footsteps from afar reached our twitching ears. I turned and saw people running towards us from the city.

“Time to run, guys,” Shock said, running away, followed closely by Fay and Saur.

Vixie ran to my side and nudged me to move. “Let's go, Jay!”

I gasped at the realization that I was just simply standing there. For a moment there, I completely forgot that I was still an Eevee. I looked back and saw that Kit was no longer around. I sighed internally and ran after Shock, with Vixie following close behind.

Away from the area of the battle-that-wasn't-really-a-battle, we reached a small clearing where Shock and the others were waiting for us.

“Okay,” Shock said as I sat down to catch my breath. “Who was that cat and why does he want to hurt you so badly?”

I slightly shook my head, still catching my breath. “I guess I'm starting to get my very own Lithe.”

Fay blinked in confusion. Saur arched an eyebrow. Vixie just stared blankly at me.

Shock glared at me.

I sighed. “Remember that wrecking ba—accident that I caused in the city?”

“The only thing we know about it was that you were the one who caused it,” Fay said, strangely in a seriously confused tone.

Saur nodded. Vixie sat beside me.

Shock crossed his arms and was still glaring at me.

“Kit was there,” I said.

“You almost killed him?” Shock asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No!” I yelped. I stopped. I gulped. “M-maybe?”

Shock sighed. “Explains why he wants to hurt you so badly.”

“He agreed to help me!” I reasoned.

“Which was stupid of me,” Kit's voice echoed from the trees.

We turned and saw him lazily lying on his back on a branch, glaring at the small gaps of the sea of leaves up above while casually playing with a coin on a paw.

“Round two?” Shock dared, taking a step forward. I grabbed his tail and tried to pull him back.

Kit closed his eyes and tsk'ed. “You guys are too powerful.” He stood up, opened his eyes, and glared at me. “Expected from used-to-be evolved Pokémons.”

“For your information,” Shock glared at him. “I never evolved into a Raichu, and I don't plan to.”

“Why?” I blinked, letting go of his tail.

Shock turned and blinked at me. “...because they're fat and slow?”

I shrugged. “Eh, good enough. Anyway,” I looked back at the glaring Meowth. “Look, Kit... I am really, really, really, REALLY, sorry for what happened!”

“That's four ‘really's’,” Fay chirped suddenly.

I ignored her and continued, “I was scared that they'll take me away and never let me go home again.”

Kit hissed. “Bill. Returns. A. Month. Or. Two.” He shook his head. “So what if they'll take you in? At least you get free food!”

“I like free food,” Fay chirped once again.

“Not now, Fay,” I sighed and pushed her to Saur. “Kit, I couldn't wait that long. The longer I stay here, the longer I...” I bit my lip and took a glance at the curious Vulpix beside me.

“Does he know?” Saur suddenly asked.

I blinked and look at him. “What?”

He gestured his head, pointing at Kit. “Him. Does he know?”

Does he know what? I don't get it.

“That you're a human...” Vixie quietly whispered.

Oh...that. I shook my head. “No, he doesn't.”

“Keep it,” Kit suddenly said as he went back to lying on his back on the branch, his angry gaze on the leaves. “Keep your stupid reasons and secrets to yourself. I don't want to carry it.”

“Good choice,” Shock said.

I glared at the Pikachu. He ignored me. I sighed as I stared back at the Meowth. “So...we're cool?”

“Meh,” Kit said, unamused. “Just leave already before I decide to call your dog friends.”

“Dog friends?” Vixie asked, looking at me.

I sighed. “How are they, by the way?”

“Better with you no longer there,” Kit replied calmly, yet his voice still felt cold.

I winced. I regret what happened. I didn't mean for those things to happen, but what could I do at that time? They were holding me down, so I had no choice. But still. I took a step forward as I took a deep breath. I looked back at the Meowth, and wanted to apologize again, but his angry eyes, even though directed at the leaves, still were...

I sighed, my ears drooping. “L-let's just go, guys...”

destinedjagold March 21st, 2014 12:06 AM

Chapter 66
Two days after that Kit incident, my friends and I stood on a tall hill, and we were staring down at the peaceful town a few rolling hills away. It was a beautiful and peaceful town, being painted by the wonderous glow of the setting sun, and the tall tower beyond it was really breathtaking.

It would have been a magnificent sight if I didn't say the “oops” word that time.

Shock turned to me and gave me a very, very icy stare. “What do you mean, ‘oops?’”

I hid behind Vixie's side, staring apologetically at the glaring Pikachu. “Eheheh... Um... We...might have made a wrong turn...”

Shock's eye twitched, and then he groaned as he rubbed his forehead with both paws.

“Well,” Vixie said, smiling at me, and then looking at the town. “That village looks really nice. For humans, at least.”

“It's Ecruteak City...” I replied as I mentally slapped myself 'cause I've been calling it a town from the start.

“Ehku-huh?” Fay's face scrunched in confusion.

I ignored her. “The ruins is south-east from here...”

I wonder how we missed the route to Violet City though. I guess we were probably asleep on Mr. Tauros' back while we were passing there...

Shock sighed. “Anything you want to do here before we move on?”

“We can rest here,” Saur suggested.

Shock gave it some thought before nodding.

... Those events were yet another two days ago.

My friends and I were now seated on the edge of a forest, quietly waiting for Saur, who was talking to a Mantine by the river. The ruins were really visible from here though, but damn, this river is big! That, or my small body is making it look big. Though the ruins does look far away from here.

While Fay and Shock were busy arguing about clouds being a Pokémon or not, I was lying on my stomach on the grassy ground, groaning in annoyance as Vixie ‘groomed’ my backside by licking and biting my fur. She has tried to do this in the past few days though, but I managed to push her away and stop her. This time, I was too freaking tired to say no, 'cause we didn't get some sleep last night 'cause there were trainers who decided to catch Pokémon in the night.

“You really need to clean yourself more often,” Vixie whispered.

I groaned. “I don't want to choke on my own hairball.” I sighed as she went back to grooming. “Seriously, there's water literally right in front of us! Can't I at least just take a bath there? What you're doing is really, really disgusting!”

“I actually feel jealous.”

“Oh, go kill yourself, Shock,” I hissed as I glared at his chuckling form.

I suddenly yawned like I haven't yawned in my life, and licked my lips as Saur called us. The Mantine then dived underwater, making me arch an eyebrow.

“So?” Shock asked as we got there.

Saur shook his head with a frown. “None of them are willing to take us there.”

“Well, that sucks,” I sighed.

“See?” Fay stared angrily at Shock. “I should have been the one to ask those meanie rays!”

I doubt she could even catch any of their attention.

...or maybe she could. But eh, the results would still be the same anyway...

“So, what now?” Vixie asked.

“We go around it,” Shock said as he stared at the ruins.

I blinked at him, and looked left and right. “Seriously? This is a big lake!”

“It's a river,” Saur corrected.

“Rivers, lakes, seas,” I rolled my eyes, “they're the same bodies of water.”

Saur shook his head. “No, they're not.”

“Whatever,” I sighed and sat down, wincing that I sat on my tail a bit. Hey, I'm starting to know how to control it, but still kinda not used to it. “I'm still too tired and sleepy...”

“All of us are,” Shock pointed out.

I looked around and spotted a group of Pidgeys. “Can't we ask them to fly us to the other side?”

Shock wondered what I was talking about. He turned, and scoffed. “Good luck.”

I turned to glare at him, but my gaze fell on Fay, who was cheerfully humming to herself as she swam in circles in the river.

Hm... I turned to Shock. “Can you swim?”

He tore his gaze from the ruins and turned to me with an arched eyebrow. “Yes?”

I nodded and looked at Saur. “You can swim?”

He just blinked at me.

“I'll take that as a ‘no.’” I then turned to Vixie. “How about you?”

Vixie frowned at me, and then frowned at the river. “I...can...yes... B-but I don't do it often...”

I nodded. “Good enough.”

“Oi,” Shock called. I turned. “What are you up to?”

“Water jet ski,” I said, turning to the river. I hope the water's enough to rid of our sleepy status condition. “...minus the ‘jet’ part.”

“Hm?” Fay stopped and floated, blinking at us.



Shock was grumbling, but I couldn't hear what he was saying 'cause his mouth was under the water. Fay was humming cheerfully as the two of them swam ahead.

A vine was wrapped around their back and belly, pushing the frowning and floating Saur along, his abdomenal-parts completely under the water's surface.

Vixie was trying her best to stay out of the water on top of the frowning Bulbasaur, while I tried my best not to let go, holding onto Saur's bulb as I kicked my hind legs against the water to at least contribute something.

...I can't swim, by the way.

“This is fun!” Fay shouted ahead.

“This is, by far,” Saur said, wincing a bit when Vixie placed a paw on his head for balance, “the stupidest thing you've come up with, Jay.”

Vixie yelped when she almost lost her balance. “V-v-very stupid,” she gulped.

I am trying to control my nervousness, 'cause if I let go, I'd drown for sure, so I ignored them and the strange looks we were receiving from the eyes of the many water types around the river.

destinedjagold March 24th, 2014 1:40 AM

Chapter 67
The closest that I could describe the ruins though, was that they looked like they were made out of bricks that were used to build the pyramids back in Egypt. The entrances, I mean, since they all lead inside this huge mountain. Anyway, yeah, these bricks were old and yellow, and so freaking huge! I haven't really gone to see the pyramids myself but, I've seen images online.

And just like the pyramids, the walls here have patterns on them. They looked like they've been carved, and then painted black. Whatever paint the old people or Pokémon used, it sure could withstand the test of time! I mean, just wipe the dust away, and I could still clearly see each and every Unown markings that were written.

I was quite thankful that Shock and the others were stubborn enough to rest first before we went inside. After a good rest and...a berry-filled belly...we went inside and began our little exploration inside one of the many entrances that didn't have any human presence.

At first, we went back outside 'cause it was too dark. Shock volunteered to shed some light, but he might be drained out of energy if he did, reminded by Vixie. Shock argued that he was stronger than before now, but still accepted that fact. So Saur volunteered, absorbing some sunlight and his bulb actually glowed while we were inside the dark chamber!

Do Bulbasaurs normally learn Flash? Eh, whatever...

Aside from the fact that the place was dark, the air here was also cool, and carried the smell of old and...weirdness. I can't describe it pretty well. It just felt really weird in here. The closest I could guess is that we were feeling a faint psychic wave around the place. If that was true, then that would explain why we could listen to the Unown through the radio in the games.

I haven't played HeartGold or SoulSilver, unfortunately. I skipped to Black after Ruby, and then skipped to X. Damn, Unown knowledge is pretty useful right about now...

Anyway, Saur and Fay were on one group, chatting quietly yet excitingly. They sounded really amazed though. Shock went on his lonesome, studying a different wall, while, as usual, I was stuck with Vixie.

I decided not to trouble myself with her for now. At the moment, I'm wondering where on earth these Unown messages start...

“May I ask,” Shock asked, squinting his eyes as he leaned closer to a particular spot on the wall, “what are we looking for here?”

I returned my attention back to the wall in front of me. “I don't know yet.” I started ‘reading’ the letters.

Shock sighed. “That's useful...”

“Hmm...” I hmm'ed as I mentally read what was written on the wall.

“You can read these?” Vixie asked.

Her question broke my concentration, and I blinked as I turned to her. “Y-yes?” I blinked again. “Wait...you can't?”

She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Nope.”

I blinked again. “Really?”

“None of us can!” Fay chirped cheerfully.

I felt my two ears droop. “...really?”

“Yes, really,” Shock replied, irritated.

“B-but I thought—”

“Well, you thought wrong,” Shock angrily said. He then took a deep breath, and sighed as he rubbed his forehead with a paw. “Sorry... Anyway, no, we can't.” He took another breath and fully turned to face me. “Wait... You weren't expecting us to know how to read these, right?”

...I guess my sheepish smile was enough of an answer to him.

He groaned and shook his head. “You can at least read these, right?”

I nodded. “Yeah. At least, I think so...”

“Wow, really?” Fay asked cheerfully, hopping from where she stood. She spun around, facing a wall, and pointed. “Oh! Oh! Read this one! Please, please, please, plea—”

“All right, all right,” I hurried over, Vixie following me behind with a chuckle. “Sheesh. Don't wet your pa—fur?”

“What?” Saur blinked.

I shook my head as I reached them, Shock approaching us. “Never mind,” I said.

Fay stepped aside and faced me as she pointed at an Unown letter on the wall. “What does it say?” she asked.

Huh... Strange that this letter followed a blank space. I guess this is a start of a new line of sentence or something. I looked right, to the following letters, and wiped the dusts off of them as far as I could reach just by standing on this spot. Vixie wiped the rest.

“Okay,” I said, squinting my eyes a bit as I realized that whoever wrote these didn't know how to separate each new words with spaces... “It says... ‘us get agua plants grow make food’...”

Fay giggled at how silly I sounded. “You talked silly...”

“Wow,” Shock said with a deadpan, “that was reeeaaalllyyy informative.”

“Well,” I shot him a soft glare, “that's what was written.” I looked back at the wall and wiped the top parts. “Hm... ‘unown act weird many people stand in unown home’... Well, that's something...”

“Try that one,” Saur said, pointing on another wall with his vine. He was pointing at a drawing of a sun.

“Huh,” I blinked as I got closer. I actually didn't expect other symbols besides the Unown letters were used here. “‘Sun too hot we pray unown rain and sky rain’...”

Fay giggled again as Shock sighed.

“This is useless,” Shock shook his head. “There's nothing here but gibberish texts of ancient humans!”

I shook my head. “Wrong,” I said as I read it again, a small smile forming on my lips. “What I just read is proof!”

“Proof of what?” Shock asked, unconvinced.

I turned to him with a smile. “The Unown made it rain that day!”

“So?” Shock arched an eyebrow. “They just rain danced. Drought problem solved.”

“Nah ah ah! That's the thing!” I said happily. “Unowns can't do rain dance, or any other moves! They only know hidden power!”

“What's a hidden power?” Vixie asked.

I ignored her as I looked back at the wall and went to read a random spot. “They can grant requests! They're the true wish makers! Or wish granters? Whatever! Like this one! ‘Food not enough pray unown food and unown give food’!” I ran and stopped and read a random spot. “‘Unown make dead tree alive again!’ Or this one! ‘angry magical beast attack we pray unown protection and unown help us!’ Or this! ‘cannot make mate pregna...’ ...er...” I took a step back and shook my head. “Whatever! You get the idea!”

I turned back to my friends, a giant grin on my face, actually feeling overjoyed.

“Can't you see? They can help me! They can help me go back home!” I was actually jumping in place from joy. “I can go back home!”

Saur was smiling calmly at me. Fay was smiling and jumping on the spot as well. Shock was somehow smiling at me as well while his arms were crossed. Vixie...has a sad smile.

But whatever. This is good news! Definitely good news! “This is great! Now all we have to figure out is to how to call them ou—”

I landed on some sort of scrabble piece on the floor. I stopped as I stared at the spinning piece on the ground, and then it settled on the floor...and then it glowed in blue... and went back to normal.

“...uh...”

The walls glowed in a blue aura, and a few of us yelped in surprised as we grouped together, and nervously staring at the glowing walls.

“Wh-what did you do?!” Shock asked.

“Th-they look pretty though,” Fay said in a nervous tone and followed it with a nervous chuckle, failing to help us calm down.

I...was starting to feel like every hair around my body were standing.

“L-let's get outta here!” Shock said, grabbing Fay and Vixie as he dashed towards— “Where'd the exit go?!”

I gasped after I nervoulsy took a glance up. The others did as well, and we saw a swirling white and blue other-worldly cloud swirling on the ceiling, a starry world in the black and blue hue beyond.

Aside from the faint sparks and air current, an other-worldly hum echoed all around us. The ground was starting to shake as I slowly felt gravity malfunctioned. I felt a vine wrapped around me and saw Saur, already floating, has grabbed me as he grit his teeth, trying not to let his other vine lose its hold on a jagged spot on the floor.

“Jay!” Shock shouted. I turned, and saw him extending a paw towards me. I caught him. “Wh-what's going on?!”

I nervously stared at Fay and Vixie, who were grabbing on Shock's tail. They both looked really terrified... I nervously looked back at the confused and nervous Pikachu. “I...I-I don't know!”

There was a loud noise, and everything went white.

destinedjagold March 28th, 2014 1:04 AM

Chapter 68
White... White...

...and sounds of falling paper everywhere.

...and I just realized that I'm buried in a huge pile of paper.

...what just happened?

“Oh my god!” gasped a very very familiar female voice, and immediately followed by sounds of hands digging through papers. “I-I'm so sorry, Jay!”

A large hand emerged from the papers, and I froze as I saw it bump into my eye.

“Ow...” I winced.

The hand immediately pulled away. “S-sorry.”

The papers slid off of my head, and I saw... “C-Claire?”

I blinked. She was that cute office girl I really wanted to ask out for lunch or dinner or whatever. Fair complexion, long black hair that was tied into a ponytail, beautiful brown eyes... And oh, behind her was...

“Mike?”

He was smirking and mouthed the words ‘you're welcome’, then gestured with his lips, pointing at the sorry-looking Claire, and then he walked off.

“What the hell is going on over there?!” shouted the voice everyone dreaded to hear. I gasped and immediately tried to push myself away from the pile of papers that buried my...body...

...I...have human arms...

“Jay?!”

I yelped and stood up straight. At least, I tried to... I stepped on a few pieces of paper, and I slipped, my back landing on the bed of papers. After wincing for a short bit, a fat and angry face of my boss glared down at me. He held a hand in front of him, his thumb and index finger extended, and almost touching each other.

“You are this close of getting fired, stickboy! Clean this mess up and get back to work!”

“Y-y-y—”

“NOW!”

I shut my mouth, rolled and pulled myself up half-way before kneeling down, and hurried to pick up the papers. I heard his loud footsteps, getting fainter and fainter, until it was drowned by the sounds of keyboards, printers, yawns, and other usual office noises.

I am still a bit confused as to what just happened. Wasn't I in the Pokémon world a few moments ago? Wait... Wasn't I there for...how many days was I stuck ther—

I accidentally grabbed a very smooth arm instead of paper. “Sorry!” I said as I jerked and let it go.

Claire just shook her head, shot me a sad frown, and went back to picking up the papers. “I'm really, really sorry, Jay,” she said, stacking her collected papers on a trolley that I just noticed. “I tripped...and...a-and almost got you fired, and—”

“Nah,” I waved her off with a few papers I had on my hand. “It's fine. Don't worry about it.”

She looked at me, her frown went further down. “I almost got you fired because of my mess up!”

I shrugged, and continued to act casual, but it was freaking hard to do so with my stupid racing heart. “Eh, I'm still here, right?” I smiled as I put some papers on the trolley. “So really, don't worry about it.”

I saw Mike out of the corner of my eye, giving me a thumbs up and gesturing for me to keep it up. I rolled my eyes. He's one of a few of my best friends here, and he has tried to convince me to date someone already. I just told him that I wasn't in a rush. That, and none really caught my interest before Claire got hired.

I just took notice that two of our co-workers, whose tables were beside mine, started helping out as well. As we gathered the papers, I chance a glance at Claire, and she was still looking quite troubled. I sighed internally as I thanked the two. I turned and wanted to smile at Claire, but she already pushed the trolley away towards...wherever she needed it to be placed.

I frowned and sat back on my chair, and immediately stared blankly at a website that was currently displayed.

‘What was I doing here again?’ I asked myself. Seriously, what was I doing before I woke up as an Eevee? Then again, how DID I woke up as an Eevee?

I shook my head slightly and checked my email. The boss usually sends us emails about the tasks we're needed to do for the day.

I...had a hard time controlling my own fingers... And...my butt felt kinda awkward without that tail... And I suddenly felt colder...

I closed my eyes and once again shook my head. Concentrate, Jay. Concentrate! You're back. You're back. I am back, right?

...y-yeah... Yeah, I am back... I should stop pinching myself now.

I...failed to stop myself from smiling. I suddenly felt really...happy. I want to jump and shout and tell the world that I'm back!

...unfortunately, that might get me fired, so yeah, I'm going to have to contain my joy, at least for the time being.

Okay... Work... Damn, it's still ten in the morning...

Aw well. I'm going to do my task, and then finish this day, and celebrate. But before that, work.

As I clicked on my email on one of the tabs of my browser, I suddenly noticed my Skype icon was flashing an orange circle. Meaning, someone chatted with me. I clicked it, and saw that it was Mike.

“dude!” his chat began. “whyd u hold back?”

“eh?” came my usual Skype reply.

While he was busy typing his reply, I went back to my email and read the task that was given to me. From the looks of it, it was going to be yet another long day, but eh, screw it. I'll finish this and be done with it. I don't want it to haunt me in my sleep later tonight!

“you know what I mean!” Mike replied. “did you ask her out for lunch at least?”

I was about to reply when another person started a chat conversation with me. It was...

“er...” I replied to Mike. “brb”

“hey” began Claire's chat message. “sorry about earlier”

I rolled my eyes as I typed my reply. “it's fine. really” Really, it really was no big of a deal, sheesh...

“i feel bad about what happened” was her reply. “i wanna make it up to you”

I sighed and ignored Mike's reply for a while, as I typed my reply. “fine, fine” I heard the word ‘fine’ had a different meaning to females. But eh, screw it. “what do you have in mind?”

“well” she took a few seconds to continue, so I read Mike's reply. It was just spam, so I didn't bother to reply. “how about ill treat u lunch?”

“Er...” was my reply as I er'ed. I slowly opened Mike's conversation window. “she just asked me out”

“YES!” Mike suddenly shouted from where he sat, his loud voice echoed in the office.

It was then followed by an even louder, and scarier, voice that called his name and made some stop from chuckling.

destinedjagold April 2nd, 2014 12:32 AM

Chapter 69
After the double glass doors slid open, Claire and I stepped out of the building where we worked. A gust of dusty air blew past us as I looked around. I stared at the cars moving and waiting for the traffic lights to change. I stared at the tall trees that stood on sidewalks to give some shade and fresh air. I stared at my favorite hotdog stand, where Mr. Kelly had just given a hotdog on a bun to some gangster guy.

“What are you standing there for?” Claire asked, but I ignored her for a moment.

I still couldn't believe that I'm really back. I really am back, aren't I? I could breath the dusty city air. I could hear the city noises. I could even feel the harsh noon sun!

“Jay?”

Finally, I blinked and looked at her frowning yet gorgeous face.

“Something wrong?”

“Not...” I slowly said, looking back, and through the glass, I saw Mike sweet talking to the woman behind the information booth. “...sure...” I breathed out as I noticed a few of our coworkers were walking towards us to go out and eat lunch.

“What's wrong?” she asked.

I shook my head and sighed with a small smile. “Nah, nothing...” I turned to her. “Eh, lead the way, I guess?”

She blinked, and studied my expression with concerned eyes. “You're...um...acting weird...” she said as she moved closer to me, to give way to those who just went out of the building. “If you do anything funny, I'm calling the cops,” she said with a slight glare.

I arched an eyebrow. “Where'd that come from?” I closed my eyes and slightly shook my head. “Eh... I guess I'm hungrier than I thought I was...”

She tilted her head slightly, but then nodded. “Well, that's good.” She turned and stared at some restaurant not too far from where we were. “I may be new to the company, but I'm not new to this city!” She looked back to me as she pointed at the restaurant. “That there's a good place to eat! Good food and price, too.”

I nodded, and tried to feel my wallet through my jeans. The Next payday is next week, if my estimation is correct. Hope I have enough cash left... “Sure,” I said as I turned to the road, just in time to see the pedestrian light turned green. “After you, then,” I said with a small smile.

She nodded and led the way, though it wasn't really needed. We still don't know each other that much, so walking side-by-side would be awkward, to me at least. That, and I could steal a glance at her ass.

...what? I'm a guy! So it's natural for us to do these things.

Anyway, normally, I'd do that, but as I followed her, I was also looking around, staring at the parked cars, taxis, and other vehicles, shops and stores and restaus and other establishments around.

I don't really know. I should really be happy to be back, but at the same time, I also find it hard to believe that I'm back.

...or maybe the thing I find hard to believe was that I went to a new world, leaving my world frozen in time until I returned.

...or maybe, just maybe...I'm trying to spot a creature, or three, with a yellow, purple, or brown furs...

“Here we are!” Claire's voice broke my train of thought.

I turned and saw her grabbing the door handle, and pushed the glass door open.

I mentally slapped myself for letting her open the door. Minus points for being a gentleman, Jay. Damn, I'm having a bad start already...

The place is well-lit. Not too much, and not too dim. Wall was dark blue, I think, and the tables here looked not so classy, with plain maroon table clothes. Chairs were black and looked like they're made of metal.

There were a few diners as well. Hm... I guess they're called lunchers? Eh... Anyway, it's not really a fancy restaurant where some waiter or whatever the guy is called, who stands by the door and escorts you to your table. Nah, here, there were already cooked meals at the counter to my left, behind clean and transparent glass. I guess this is one of those self-service Asian restaus? Anyway, the food there were steaming as I followed Claire.

As she looked at the various food, I already took a tray.

“What will you be having?” she asked without breaking her eyes off of the different food.

I shrugged. “Something cheap that won't put a hole in my wallet.” ...I should probably try not to sound too...uncaring?

She looked at me with a frown. “I told you that I'm treating you to lunch, right?”

...oh yeah. I forgot. I just smiled, shrugged, and play it cool. “Oi, what kind of a guy would I be if I'll let you pay for everything?”

She frowned even further. “A guy who almost lost his job because of my screw up.”

There she goes again. I rolled my eyes and slightly shook my head, and stared at the food, or to be more specific, at the food's price tags. Huh, food here's cheap. “Aaand I told you not to worry yourself about that, didn't I?”

“But still, I—”

“Can you two lovebirds get a move on?” said a very familiar voice behind us.

I gulped, and suddenly found it hard to turn, yet I still did, and saw the boss boringly staring at the both of us. I smiled nervously as I tiptoed to the side, Claire did as well. “A-after you, boss!”

“We're not in the office,” he said, taking a step forward and stared at the food. “So don't call me that.”

I blinked. Weird to see him so calm and not caring like this. Then again, maybe he's just different depending on where he is. Some people are like that, right?

Here, he acts like he doesn't even know who we are. He just made his order, the two middle-aged females behind the counter prepared his food and placed them on his tray, and off he goes to a table by the corner, his eyes glued on a television screen that I just noticed.

Claire stared at him for a few moments before staring back at me. I just shrugged and ordered rice and chicken curry. Claire ordered some veggie salad. Sheesh, females and their dieting habits.

Anyway, I led her to a table, a few tables away from our not-our-boss-at-the-moment boss. I held my tray on one arm and pulled a chair for her with the other. She rolled her eyes, but smiled nevertheless. Score points! After she sat down, I went to my seat and we quietly, and awkwardly began eating. Awkward for me, at least. I was always eating lunch with Mike and a bunch of other dudes in some fast food restaurant. Here though, I'll have to properly hold the silverware while I eat. Y'know, for more plus points. At least the curry taste good.

“Jay?”

“Hm?” couldn't give much of an answer if I'm chewing.

“I'm sorry again for what happened,” she said, staring at her salad. “I know, I know... I apologize too much, but I couldn't help it.” She looked at me with a sad frown. “I really felt bad about it.”

I shrugged as I swallowed. “Eh, it's fine, really.” I was already getting tired of saying that answer again and again. Hm... Eh, screw it. “At least I ended up having a lunch date with a cute girl like you.”

“Har har,” came her smiling answer. “You boys are all the same.”

I shrugged. “Can't blame me for trying to steer the conversation to other roads.”

She frowned at that. “If it ticks you off if I apologize too much, then I'm n—”

“Oi, oi, oi,” I said, stopping her. “I never said that. I get it that you felt bad about what happened and all, but, please, when I say it's okay, it's really okay,” I smiled, “okay?”

She took a breath, and nodded. “Okay.”

I nodded and then returned to my meal. “Sorry for interrupting you though.”

“We're switching places now?” she smiled and ate.

I rolled my eyes. “Hahah.”

And we were quiet as we ate. I have to admit, I'm quite surprised how composed and calm I am. I mentally shrugged. But anyway, this silence is a bit uncomfortable, and even though I'm usually the quiet one, I need to say something to break this silence.

“So,” I began, “how's work so far?” It's better than saying that the weather today's nice.

She focused on her meal as she thought about it. “My first week wasn't really that exciting.”

I believe this week's her second week. Anyway, I smirked. “I doubt any week will be.”

“How do you manage?”

I shrugged. “Eh, by listening to music as I do my work. Though that method backfired a couple of times. I erm...couldn't hear if other pipz are calling me, especially the boss.”

She frowned at me. “What's the purpose of Skype, then?”

I shrugged again. “Eh, I didn't question it.”

“Oh,” was her only reply before she went back to eating. At least, for a minute or two. “How long have you been working there?”

“Hm...” I paused from my meal to think about it. “Dunno... Two years and a few months, maybe? I lost count.” I suddenly felt a heavy hand pat my shoulder. I looked back, and froze in the middle of the process.

“Food's on me, kid,” said our boss, and then leaned closer and whispered to my ear. “Nice catch, by the way.” Strange that despite my frozen state, I could actually feel his smirk as he said those lines.

“Eh heh heh heh...” I chuckled nervously as he walked towards the counter. I turned back to Claire. “Phew... Well, that was weird.”

“What just happened?” she asked, staring at the boss.

“He...just paid for our meal.” I guess he really is a different person outside the office. Wait...how'd he ate so fast?

Claire seemed shocked to hear what I just said. She waited for the boss to leave before turning to me. “R-really?”

I have no idea... I turned to the counter, raised a hand with a thumb's up and with an arch eyebrow, and the ladies there smiled and nodded back. I turned back to Claire. “Yeah, really.”

“Weird.”

“Tell me about it,” I chuckled.

She chuckled as well. “Lunch suddenly tastes better.”

I smirked. “Free food always taste better.”

She chuckled, and then we went back to eating. After a few moments though, “hey,” she said, “just curious, but are you um...s-seeing someone?”

...and there it was.

Weird how the times have changed over the years. Before, it was the males who ask the females out. Not that I'm complaining.

Anyway, I couldn't help but smile shyly as I suddenly found my almost empty plate to be the most interesting thing to stare at. Can't blame me for suddenly feeling nervous. “Er...no... None...” ...Vixie doesn't count. “...at the moment...” I slowly stared back at her. She was also looking at her salad. “H-how about you?”

“Well...no.” She slightly shook her head and looked up at me with a shy smile. “What are you looking for in a girl, anyway?”

I shrugged. “Simple, and cute. Loyal could be an added bonus. I guess...” I swallowed, and shouted ‘f*ck it’ in my head. “...someone like you.”

Her reddened cheeks reminded me of Vixie though. Strange, even I don't know why.

Anyway, we were quiet for a long while until I took a glance at my wrist watch. I almost let out a gasp. Lunch time was almost over. “Okay, I'll be frank,” since time's a-wasting already. “I like you. I started liking you on your first day, while you were introducing yourself to everyone. I don't understand it, but no other girl made me feel this...spark...and...um...” ...and my tongue got tied...darn it.

Whether I blew it or not, it's up to her. At least I told her how I felt towards her, right? If she turns me down, then at least I wouldn't feel so bad...I hope. Anyway...reality calls.

“Anyway,” I slowly and awkwardly stood up, my legs suddenly felt weak and shaky. “Lunch time's almost over.”

“Oh!” she said as I quickly walked behind her to pull her chair as she stood up. “T-thanks.” She shyly said. We then slowly and quietly walked towards the door, her following me from behind. “Can I um...have your number?”

...goal! I couldn't stop myself from smiling. Too hard to hide it and play calm though, but I managed it, thankfully. I turned around as I pulled my phone out. “S-sure!” Bottling my excitement failed. Whatever. “Why not?”

She smiles with reddened cheeks as she pulls her phone out from her small bag, and then started pushing some buttons. “Also, c-can we go out for dinner tonight?”

...really, really weird times now, the girls are asking the guys out. Aw, what the heck. “Su—” I stopped myself, surprised, after I saw my phone...

destinedjagold April 3rd, 2014 5:23 PM

Chapter 70
...or to be more specific, after I saw the date on my phone.

I stammered as I argued with myself inside my head of what to do. The weighing scale appeared and started measuring both sides, and for me to see who would win.

For one, I really, really wanna be with Claire. She's cute and she just asked me out! That has to be one of the rarest of chances I'll ever have in my life.

B-but...today's my bro's...birthday... I...love my brother so much, and so are the rest of my family, that I actually put them first before my own needs...

...I sighed. “I...can't...tonight...” I looked up and saw her disappointed frown. I flashed a small and hopeful smile. “M-maybe tomorrow evening?”

She opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off when my phone made a sound. I received a text message.

“Hey bro,” the text began. “Don't worry about me.”

I almost let go my phone. It's impossible for my bro to text me, let alone for him to own a cellphone at his current state! He's in a hospital! He's in a coma!

I received another text message. No, I didn't. But the one I recently received...from my brother...was updated. “Hey Jay,” it now began, “don't worry about your brother tonight. I'll take care of it.”

It was now from my mom. But she's not even in this city! Nor is she anywhere near this city!

My phone rang again as the message probably got updated again, but I wouldn't know...since I already dropped it in...horror.

“Jay?” Claire called.

I looked up to her, but before I could see her face, a bright flash of white blinded me for a split of a second, and I immediately felt a very powerful pain that coursed around my body. It disappeared as soon as I felt it, but that didn't stop me from flinching and gasping for breath.

“What's wrong?” ...her voice dropped when she said that last word.

I looked back and gasped when I saw her...‘glitched’ up, like some sort of video that got corrupted. Not only her, but the restaurant itself started...changing, and going back to normal, and back and forth.

I looked around in panic, and decided to run towards the door, but as I grabbed it, my hand went through it...or rather...my...brown paw went through it...

“W-what...?” I gasped in shock as I nervously and slowly pulled my...paw...back...through the door.

The door itself turned white, black, white...until it was gone.

“Ack!” I shut my eyes and held my head with both my...paws...as a powerful wave of pain coursed through my body once again. I gritted my teeth and took sharp breaths as it felt like the pain I felt was being turned on and off like a switch. “Gah!”

Through blurry eyes, I noticed my surroundings were now dark, dimly lit by purple and white light. Through the loud painful ringing noises in my ear, I could faintly hear...this weird and otherworldly noise...like a panic...otherworldly chant noise...

“J-J-J-Ja-Jay...” Claire's voice echoed behind me. “W-w-w-w-what's wrong?”

Despite the pain I felt, I took a breath, and shouted my pain. The otherworldly noise buzzed louder and louder as I felt gravity had grabbed me and pulled me down to a solid and dusty floor.

I painfully coughed several times, and I suddenly felt how seriously weak I was. I noticed the noise were above me, and I weakly looked up, and saw a small group of Unowns, formed in a circle, and were shivering as they floated in their spots, their eyes visibly closed in pain. In the middle of their circle was an energy sphere of some sort that is white and purple...and white and purple...

...was I...?

I weak ears twitched when I heard other noises to a direction. I turned towards it, and was too weak to gasp. Shock, Fay, Saur, and Vixie were each inside that same sphere, and were also being held by other groups of Unowns, chanting and circling at each of my friends...

...and they were smiling... My friends were smiling...b-but their bodies...!

No... I... I...

I gritted my teeth as I pushed myself up on all four paws. As I did so, I was staring down, staring angrily at my bone-thin paws.

...I...I want to lie down...and rest...

...N-no... I...I can't...do that...

“Jay,” her voice echoed as my group of Unowns began circling around me, encasing me with the sphere.

My vision was changing again, but I gritted my teeth and glared at each faintly-passing Unown. Claire was visibly naked in front of me, but I glared through her lovely eyes, and directly into the eye of each passing and panic-looking Unown.

I was slowly feeling the pain once more, yet I ignored it as I clenched my fists, and punched her in the face, my vision returning to normal as the Unown shivered in panic.

I suddenly felt my sharp nails and tried to swipe a vulnerable Unown that was in front of me. But I stumbled, my paws too weak for that sudden forward motion I just did, and I collapsed on the dusty floor yet again, coughing...

I gritted my teeth as I tried to stand back up again, ignoring the dusty skull that was lying in front of my eyes.

Ungh... D-darn it...!

I was back on all four and was breathing deeply for air, and glared at the shivering Unown in front of me.

Bite... Bite...

B-bite is a dark-type move...

Psychic-types are weak against dark...

Bite... Bite...

I moved forward. Only inches away now. Just two or more limp steps...

One... ... ... ...two...

...this thing is bigger than I thought...

The white part of the Unown's big eye...reflects an image of a deep-breathing, thin-looking and glaring Eevee.

It suddenly stared at me, and I immediately jabbed a paw at its eye, feeling a weird...slime...

It yelped, and quickly hovered away as I cringed and wiped my slimey paw on the dusty ground. The others sounded like they cried in shock and disbelief, and began to circle around me again, this time with angry and glaring eyes.

“Go...” I gasped for breath... “...away...”

My vision was changing again...

...I can't let it...

...b-but what can I do...?

...if...if only I know a stupid range-attack move...

The Unown were slowly, slowly, fading away as they trapped me in this false reality...

...I...I don't want to be trapped here... B-but I'm too weak... I...I can't...escape this... I-I'm sorry, guys...

I hung my head as a false light of a room shone above me, and my eyes started to water as I quietly stared at my own shadow.

...

...

...!

“Well, duh!” I suddenly remembered what Fay said to me that one time... “Anyone can do a shadow ball!”

...shadow ball...

...t-that's it!

I shot my head back and glared at the faint frames of the Unown that circled me once more. They're psychic-types. Shadow ball is a ghost-type move... And psychic-types are weak against ghost-type moves!

I spread my legs apart and opened my mouth...as I seriously try to ignore a certain illusion that started to unzip my jeans.

...shadow ball...shadow ball...shadow ball...!

Come on! Shadow ball! Just one freaking shadow ball!

Fire already!

H-how the freaking hell do I do a goddamn shadow ba—oh, there we go...

It exploded, and my vision suddenly returned to normal. As I collapsed on the ground, I saw an Unown fell down on the ground a few feet in front of me as well, and it was smoking...and faintly shivering.

I heard the other Unowns gasped in their own otherworldly way as I slowly rose back up, and I slowly turned, and glared at them as I prepared another one.

I don't know how I'm doing this, but right now, I don't freaking care. These little lying pieces of sh*t need to die!

I hit another one, and the others finally got the message and created a small portal for them to run into.

I ignored how painful my body was becoming. I need to save the others! This was my fault from the start, and I don't want them to...!

I turned and fixed my aiming glare at the closest group of Unowns. I hung my head to at least try to calm myself for only a bit, so I could concentrate, ignoring my long and black front paws as I took a few breaths.

Okay. I snapped back and quickly prepared a shadow ball with ease. I've no idea how easily I prepared this third one, but it suddenly felt natural to do it. I fired it, quietly in awe at how big it was and how powerful the explosion was.

Shock dropped down with a weak and sleepy groan as his Unown captors turned to look at their fallen comrade. I fired another one, hitting another one. Each gasping survivor escaped through opening a portal again.

I took aim at another group, saving Saur. Another group. Fay fell down. Another group. Vixie fell down.

All of those floating f*cking letters disappeared, and the chamber became pitch black without their glowy bodies and psychic spheres and...whatever.

...despite the total darkness, I could see clearly, and my anger was quickly washed with guilt and worry as I approached one of my friends who was closest to me.

Shock looked so...frail and thin...b-but still breathing. I swallowed a lump as I slowly felt my ribbon-like feelers began to move and slowly and gently wrapped around him.

...I...don't care what I am and how I did it at the moment. My vision wasn't as clear as earlier before I felt these new appendages of mine, but I don't care.

I placed him gently on my back as I moved to pick Saur up. He's...so yellow and dried up...b-but still breathing... I whispered an apology, then I put him on my back beside Shock as I stared at my two other friends. Their thin frames were still moving, and it made me feel a little bit relieved to know they're still breathing...

I slowly moved, and picked Fay up, who looked so thin as well...and her mouth hung open, and her tongue was stuck out, complete with drool... I frowned... Fay...even in near-death, you're still looking quite stupid.

My back felt like it's only good for two passengers, so I carried Fay on one of my ribbon-thingies and carried Vixie with the other.

Vixie looked so thin... So...weak...and so...fragile...

I pushed back a sob as I started to move. Fairies are drawn to the light, it seems, and I'm following that instinct as I slowly moved so I won't trip on the bones that were lying around...

destinedjagold April 8th, 2014 12:38 AM

Chapter 71
“...nothing happened,” the female Chikorita said with a breath of relief.

She and her Surskit friend, who was currently wrapped around her back, weren't really super excited to evolve just by simply touching the towering gem of rock under many layers of earth beneath a tall mountain. At first, it sounded...suspiscious, so they and their Eevee friend followed the evolved trio into the mountain with caution.

It would seem as though their efforts of being alert and cautious all fell for nothing. The evolved trio has guided them here without any trouble.

“Strange,” one of the evolved trio, the Pidgeot, said with a confused frown. He rubbed his chin with his pollex in thought. “Why did the gem glowed from your friend's touch, yet nothing happened?”

His other comrades bore confused looks as well. All of them stood there and saw the Eevee touched the base of the massive gem with her paw, and almost instantly, if the seventeen seconds of nothing counts as ‘almost instantly’, the gem hummed and glowed. The female Eevee and her two friends gasped when it happened, but after only a few seconds of glowing, the gem dimmed and returned to ‘normal.’

None of them evolved. That fact alone was a big disappointment for their small audience, who were already moving back to where they had come from.

“Bummer,” Mew said in disappointment as she floated down until she sat on the ground near the Chikorita. She had arrived a day or two before they got there. The Eevee was pleasantly delighted to see her the first time, and Mew was more than happy to be friends with them. “I was looking forward to something cool...”

The Rapidash, one of the evolved trio, shook her head. She couldn't believe how carefree the legendary sounded. She also couldn't believe that nothing happened after the gem glowed.

“Though...” Mew continued, looking up at the gem. “I did felt something while that big rock-thingy glowed...”

“Oh?” the Pidgeot asked, quite intrigued. “Pray tell, dear Mew, what was it that you have felt?”

“I'm not...” Mew murmored, but stopped as she looked at the Pidgeot. “You talk like Ho-oh.”

The Pidgeot blinked at that. “Um...thank you?”

“Ancient and boring,” Mew nodded, to which the Pidgeot almost lost his balance and for the Scizor, a member of the evolved trio, to laugh at. Mew then shook her head, hopped to the air, and floated there as she stared at the gem. “It felt like how I change forms.”

“Evolution,” the Surskit muttered.

Mew nodded. “Yep! Changing my form is almost like evolution...I think. But something's weird...”

The Rapidash's eye twitched. She was starting to hate Mew for keeping them in the suspense, so to speak.

“Why?” the Scizor asked.

“It was like psychic, see,” Mew explained as she darted her eyes to each one of them, waving her hands around as if to try and make her explanation clearer. “When I use psychic, I connect my mind to something, like a rock! And then I can lift that rock!”

“So...” the Rapidash deadpanned. “...you felt a rock.”

Mew blinked at her.

“Well,” the Scizor scratched his shoulder, trying his best not to show his dissatisfaction with Mew's ‘new’ information. “Uh...the gem kinda is a...rock, after all...”

Mew blinked again, and suddenly, she laughed. “Oh! No no no! That's not what I meant at all!”

“Ah,” the Pidgeot exclaimed as his face brightened with a thought. “I believe I get what you mean now, my dear Mew. What you mea—”

“I'm not a deer,” Mew frowned at him. “Unkie Xernie is a deer.” She turned to the Rapidash. “Do I look like a deer?”

The Rapidash was about to respond, but bit her lip in annoyance. “...ask someone else.”

“Ahem... If I may?” the Pidgeot said. “I believe what our d...what Mew is trying to tell us, is that she felt a ‘link’, to make things simple enough to understand, that linked the gem,” he extended a wing, pointing at the dim evolution stone, “to another,” he made circle motions with his other wing. He then folded both his wings back to his sides as he slowly shook his head. “To where, I do not know.”

“So...” Scizor blinked. “...what does that mean?”

“Someone evolved,” the Rapidash guessed. “But is that even possible?”

The Pidgeot looked down in thought. “Hm... If what that old Golem had told us earlier was true, then quite possibly, yes...”

The Rapidash felt angry at that recollection. “To think that a stupid Umbreon and Espeon were the cause of all this!”

As the Pidgeot tried to calm her down, the Scizor turned to the floating legendary. “So,” he began, “someone evolved...” he waved a pincer at the dark tunnel, “...out there?”

Mew simply shrugged. “I dunno...” she turned and looked at the dark tunnel. “I can probably trace it.” She shook her head. “But I dunno if I should follow it, or tell the others first.”

“I think,” the Chikorita voiced out, “that you should go and follow it. I may not be a psychic type, but I know that traces can disappear if left alone for too long.” She turned and smiled at their Eevee friend. “Right, Krystal?” She blinked, her smile fading. “Krysie? Something wrong?”

The Eevee however, was still standing there, her paw still on the gem, her absent eyes locked on her paw.

“Krystal?” the Chikorita called once again, approaching her friend, making splashing noises as she walked through the shallow water that surrounded the gem. She was starting to get worried. “Hey,” she said as she reached her, slightly poking her shoulder. “You okay?”

“Ruins,” Krystal replied blankly, completely ignoring the voice that was coming from her earpiece.

Mew finally decided to approach them, confused at the whole scene. “Is she okay?” she asked, waving her tail in front of the Eevee's eyes. “Maybe not.”

Everything was suddenly enveloped with a bright white light as the cavern was suddenly echoing with a loud humming noise.

Mew floated back in surprise. The Chikorita jumped back, and slipped. The evolution trio yelped as they shielded their eyes from the bright light.

Finally, after a few seconds, the evolution gem slowly dimmed.

“Poopie,” Mew rubbed her eyes, as she ignored a series of splashing noises. “That hurts...”

“Kr-Krystal?!” the Chikorita called, unsure if she was seeing things.

“What the—?” the Scizor yelped in surprise.

“Who the—?” the Pidgeot blinked.

A quick purple blur just ran past them and headed towards the dark tunnel.

“It's her!” the Rapidash galloped after the blur. “She's one of them!”

“One of who?!” the Scizor asked, flying after the flaming horse.

The Pidgeot froze, not knowing what to do. He finally snapped back after he heard another series of splashes. Turning, he saw the frantic-looking Chikorita running after them. Taking a quick glance at the gem, he then flapped his wings and grabbed the grass-type with a talon, and then he flew up, flying through the hole above where the gem continued to tower.

The Chikorita yelped. “Wh-where are you going?!”

“The shortcut,” the Pidgeot simply replied, as he tried to piece together what just happened.

Mew finally recovered her sight, and then she blinked, looking around her. “Hey!” her petite ears drooped. “Where'd everyone go?”

Suddenly, a hum.

“Huh?” Mew turned back, and saw the towering evolution gem, glowing and fading.

She wondered what was going on, but she then heard the Rapidash's voice that echoed from the tunnel. Looking back from the tunnel and the gem and back, she blinked and quietly hovered after the voice.

“Stop her!” the Rapidash shouted, who was still far away from the small and fleeing Espeon. “Stop her!”

The Pokémon living in the dark cavern were confused about what was going on, while some were too slow to move or to try to be a hindrance to the Espeon's path.

Suddenly, the earth started shaking. Geodudes and Golems up ahead suddenly created a massive wall of rock, but the Espeon kept on running towards it.

“Is she mad?!” the Rapidash shouted.

The Espeon glowed white, and vanished just before she could collide with the wall.

“...of course...” the Rapidash growled as she skidded to a stop.

“Pyra!” the Scizor called, stopping beside her. “What was that all about? What's going o—”

“Just break the Arceus-damn wall, already!” the Rapidash snarled, making the Scizor flinch.

Meanwhile, the cave-dwelling Pokémon were either unable to stop the escaping Espeon, or were having no idea what was going on to do anything. The latter became common as the Espeon was getting closer and closer to the surface. At one point, she finally took notice of the earpiece on her ear. She just simply used a flicker of psychic energy to pull it off and smashed it on the ground as she kept her pace.

Finally, she was out of the cave.

...but a large shadow loomed over her.

Giant talons suddenly appeared in front of her, and she gasped as she was caught in a split of a second.

The Pidgeot flapped his mighty wings as he headed straight into the cave once again. Looking at his catch, he noticed the Espeon glowed in white.

...and became a puff of white smoke.

“Wh-what?!” the Pidgeot gasped, losing his aerial balance as he tried to stop and control his surprise.

An explosion of dust and bubbles erupted meters away from the mouth of the cave, near the line of trees.

The Pidgeot awkwardly landed on the ground and turned to look.

The Espeon jumped back to avoid another series of bubbles that were aimed at her.

“Krystal!” the Surskit's partner shouted as she threw her head in a waving motion, throwing sharp leaves at the Espeon. “Or whoever you are! Stop!”

Both the Surskit and the Chikorita still couldn't believe what the Pidgeot had told them as they flew earlier. With the Eevee suddenly disappearing, and the Espeon suddenly appearing out of nowhere, then...

The Espeon suddenly glowed, and turned into a Jolteon with a snarl as jolts of electricity sparked around her, zapping the leaves in the process.

With a yelp, the Chikorita pushed the stunned Surskit out of the way as the Jolteon fired a bolt of electricity...behind her.

“Gah!” the Pidgeot's pained shout was almost completely drowned by the sounds of sparking electricity.

The earth shook beneath her, but the Jolteon needed a moment to recover. A Diglett emerged, headbutting the electric-type's belly, and sent her flying above.

The Scizor suddenly appeared, and jumped towards the Jolteon to attack as his pincers glowed. The Jolteon yelped, and the Scizor...hesitated. Instead, he grabbed her, or at least he tried to.

“Aaahhh!” the Scizor cried in pain as he suddenly found himself in flames.

“Scythe!” the Pidgeot cried, helplessly paralyzed.

A blackened and smoking Scizor landed on the ground with a dull thud as the Flareon landed on top of the unconscious bug, and continued her escape towards the trees.

The Chikorita called, but she yelped instead after strong and powerful hooves broke the ground beside her as the angry Rapidash dashed after the fleeing fire type.

Digletts and Dugtrios emerged from the ground, in hopes to stop or slow the Flareon, but the fire-type expertly avoided each one (and three) of them while still keeping her pace.

Pyra was now a Rapidash away from the fleeing Flareon.

...or five Flareons.

“Why you...!” Pyra growled, her horn glowed as she darted her eyes from every shadowy copy of the Flareon's double team ability. With a powerful kick, she jumped, and slammed all four hooves as sharp and spinning stars quickly flew out of her horn, hitting every Flareon in sight, including the real one, and exploded upon contact.

“Ahh—” the Flareon wasn't able to finish her shout as she lost her balance, and rolled painfully. Finally, she reached the trees, and she rolled towards a bush, and emerged on the other side, hurt and bruised, and landed on the ground with a painful thud. She tried getting up, but a strong hoof pinned her nape down.

Pyra leaned down and snarled into her ear. “Stay down!”

A violent wave of water suddenly pushed her off after the Flareon glowed, and the yelping Rapidash found herself being pushed against a tree with a mighty torrent of water pushing her there for a few seconds. When it stopped, she collapsed on the wet and grassy ground with a pained groan. She weakly glared at the Vaporeon, who was limply making her slow escape.

Mew suddenly floated in front of the Vaporeon, curiously blinking at her. She tilted her head as the Vaporeon prepared another water attack with her mouth.

“Weird,” Mew muttered, blinking at the Vaporeon. “You're linked to the gem, too. I wonder...” she yawned, suddenly feeling quite sleepy after a soothing melody echoed around the forest. “...why...”

Mew's eyes slowly drooped, and so did her, and so did the Vaporeon.

After a moment, the Chikorita stopped whistling on her leaf with a frown. Pulling her leaf back, she slowly began to approach them, the Surskit on her back removed his two front legs from his ears.

“That went well,” the Surskit whispered as the Chikorita finally reached the Eevee right next to the Mew, both in deep slumber.

“S-Shadow...” Krystal weakly whispered in her sleep as the Scizor limply reached them, the Rapidash slowly getting back on her hooves and the Pidgeot slowly landed.

destinedjagold April 11th, 2014 1:31 AM

Chapter 72
I have lost track of time as I limply, and finally, walked out of the stupid ruins.

“Well, that twenty-seven minutes of walking and flying around in darkness is finally over!”

...I sighed as I ignored my flying clock.

“You're welcome,” the Zubat smirked, gliding above me in a circle.

I gritted my teeth as I slowly and gently placed both Fay and Vixie on the ground. My extra ribbon-thingies hurt so so much, but I took a deep breath as I tried to move them, grabbing Saur and Shock off of my back, and gently placed them with the others. With that done, I collapsed on the ground, panting for breath as my vision blurred.

“Oh! Oh!” the Zubat yelped in fright. “Food! Right! H-hang in there, big guy!” he said, his voice trailed off, as well as the flapping noises of his wings as he flew away.

The evening air was really cold out here. Trainers or other predatory Pokémon could easily spot us here in the open, but luckily, the ruins' entrance walls kinda extended further, shielding my friends and I from sight.

...and that Zubat... I met him...er...rather, I stepped on him while I was still inside the ruins. He said something about making a slow progress of crawling out so the Unown wouldn't notice him. He and his friends were caught in the Unown's trap, and he was the only one lucky enough to survive. As a bat, he was blind, so luck really contributed a lot to his survival back there.

I was too weak to yelp after two berries fell on my head. I didn't realize the Zubat, but now that I did, I heard him already flying away again.

My stomach growled weakly after the smell of berries entered my nostrils. Despite my blurry eyes, I saw the other one rolled away from me, and stopped beside one of my friends. The other one was a paw's reach in front of me. I gritted my teeth as I forced my brown paw to grab a hold of it with the help of my nails. I...guess I'm an Eevee again... I exhaled, then inhaled as I pulled my paw back. Ugh...my body is so painful right now, but my mind was too weak to register them al—ow...

The Zubat dropped two more berries on me, and flew away again.

I was really really tired, but I had to eat something... I might not be able to wake up if I do give in to sleep, and that scary thought was enough for me to force myself to eat the berry on my grip.

The berry felt hot and spicy, but I tried my best to ignore the burning sensation on my lips. I'm probably eating something that removes the frozen status... Rawst, maybe? Not sure... I never cared for the berries except for Orans, Sitruses and Leppas when I was still playing the game... I'll just...try and eat the counterpart berry next...

The Zubat kept on dropping berries, either on me or not on me. I was getting annoyed at him for dropping them on me, but I kept it in. I should be thankful that the bat was doing the trouble of collecting berries for me...for us to eat.

...I just hope my friends wake up soon...

“Is that plenty enough?” the Zubat asked, gasping for breath as he wobbled from where he stood.

...I was actually having a hard time seeing him able to stand up like that. Weren't their feet...pointed, or something? Anyway, I weakly nodded. “Ye-yeah... This is...plenty enough...”

“Cool!” he said, swiping a wing on the small mountain of berries to grab one. He bit on it...and sucked the juices quicker than a blink. “Ah! That hits the spot!” he said as he grabbed and bit another one. He spat it back. “Pleah! Sitrus! Bleak...” he stuck his tongue out in disgust. Poor guy, can't see the berries he wants to eat. But...

“Can't you smell them?”

He grabbed another one. “Too hungry to smell.” He bit the berry and sucked it dry.

After about...I lost count how many berries he sucked...but after that, he lied down on the ground on his juice-filled belly.

“So...” he said as I was chewing on my third berry. “...who are you and where's the big guy?”

I gulped down what I was chewing and winced at the pain that I was still holding back. I'm slowly regaining my strength, but at the same time, I'm also slowly feeling how painful I was at the moment. I took a deep breath, the cold air easing the pain a bit, and sighed. “I...was that big guy...”

“Oh?”

My ears drooped as I sighed again and grabbed another berry. “It's a long...and complicated story...” I still couldn't believe I could do that. Also, I have no idea how I did that. But I was so thankful that I did it. 'Cause if I wasn't...then...

The Zubat nodded with a smile. “Okay, okay! Maybe you can tell me all about it in the morning?”

“Erm...h-how can you tell the time?”

“Dunno. I just know.”

“Ah...” I don't wanna know then.

We were quiet after that. He was blindly staring at me, and I was eating a few more berries. As I chewed, I was also cursing myself for putting myself and my friends in danger...

My excitement made me blind of what the movie had showed me. The Unown couldn't grant wishes. They only make you think they can, through illusions and psychic powers... That little missed info almost caused me my own life, and my friends' lives, and I doubt they could ever forgive me for that... I doubt that even I could ever forgive myself for that...

Shock would be so angry at me... Fay and Saur would be disappointed. Vixie would...

“Hey,” the Zubat suddenly said, breaking both the silence and my train of thought. “I heard that half-eaten berries won't be delicious if you let it seep a lot of cold air.”

...oh... I forgot to continue eating...

“But since I'm talking now, I just wanna say that it was really cool how you managed to save yourself and your friends from those energy-leeching bastards!” he said with a smile.

...without the eyes' expressions, I could barely tell if he was smiling genuinely, sarcastically, angrily, or whatever...

“So if you're thinking that you did something bad, then don't! You saved them! And they're alive!” he blindly turned to my friends' sleeping forms, his smile had gotten smaller. “...unlike I...who was helpless... I just listened to my friends' cries...”

“You were powerless...” I said, not in the mood to feel sorry for anyone else but me and my friends. “...and you're a poison-type. You're weak against them anyway.”

His smile was gone, and he was quiet for a while, until, “you're bad at helping others' feelings...”

“Sorry...” I sighed. “I'm still...angry at myself. I...was the reason the Unown got us...” I weakly threw my half-eaten berry...somewhere. “I almost got them killed because of my selfishness...”

I was being selfish from the start. They didn't mind it at all. Have I gotten used to it? I selfishly try and steer our group to one hopeful place to another, hoping that I could find a way to go back home, without thinking of the dangers that awaits us there!

...then again, how could I even know what the Unowns were capable of doing...or their intentions of meeting other Pokémon...

I sighed... Again, selfishness... If I was patient, like Saur, then I could have thought of asking the nearby Pokémon about this place first...

“You're a good Pokémon,” the Zubat suddenly said in a calm voice.

I glared at him. “I got my friends almost killed. I guess that's your definition of a ‘good Pokémon.’”

He shook his head, albeit with a little bit of difficulty. “You admit to your mistake. You felt sorry for your actions. And I think you also think that you want to change your ways.” He nodded with a smile. “That's what a good Pokémon is.”

I frowned at him... I wanted to argue that I'm not really a good Pokémon. I'm not even supposed to be a Pokémon in the first place. But, arguing with this simple-minded Zubat might be not worth it...

...still...

“T-thanks,” I said with a small, yet sincere smile. “I'll...try to be better.”

He nodded twice, still with a smile, and then flapped his wings. He flew up, hovered there, and circled, flew back at the ruins' entrance, and hung himself up-side-down on the ceiling.

I arched him an eyebrow.

“I'm sleepy, which is kind of weird for a nocturnal Pokémon such as myself. So, good night, little big guy!” He stretched his wings, and folded them back on his sides. “I'll keep an ear out in case you need help with anything.”

Wow... I'm actually cursing myself for cursing the Zubats to just die during my cave travels in the games. I wanted to ask for his name, but I think he's already asleep.

“Ungh...”

My ears perked up as I sharply turned, and hissed at the sudden jolt of pain that coursed through my body.

“Guh...muh...” Shock mumbled, stirring weakly.

“Hey, hey,” I hurried over to his side, and helped him to sit. “E-easy now...”

“I'm so...weak...” he blinked weakly. He sniffed, and his mouth started to water. “...and so...hungry...”

I picked up a berry and...pawfed(?) Shock. He didn't want to be helped like that, but after the berry fell off of his hands, he surrendered and allowed me to help him.

“Wh-what happened?” he asked after his fourth gulp.

I slightly shook my head. “Long story... I'd rather...tell everyone what happened at the same time, if it's okay...”

“Wh-where are...” he slightly turned, and saw them. “...oh...”

My ears fell flat. “Yeah...”

He turned to me, and studied me.

I sighed through my nostrils and nodded slowly.

He looked ahead and sighed. “I...guess that's what happens if all of you make babies all the time...”

I blinked at him. “Wait...what?”

destinedjagold April 16th, 2014 1:27 AM

Chapter 73
“Let me get this straight,” Shock said as he rubbed his forehead while he tried to stall an incoming headache. “We went inside the ruins. The Unown then trapped us each inside a psychic sphere-thing where we dreamt of happy things while they ‘leeched off of our energy?’”

I simply nodded as I chewed a berry. “I think they just feed on positive energy. I woke up after I wasn't feeling happy anymore...”

All five of us were now awake, and we all sat around the small pile of berries that Zubat collected. It was also already morning, where the sun was just starting to crawl out from the horizon, if the early morning colors were any indication. Our location was surrounded by trees anyway.

I was really happy to see them all awake. They immediately started eating to get some strength.

“And then,” Shock continued, waving a paw at me. “You ‘managed’ to ‘wake up’ and started firing shadow balls at them. They escaped, and you dragged us out of there, all by your lonesome?”

“Well,” I swallowed. “Yeah.” The Zubat doesn't count. I did all the dragging. And carrying.

“Puh,” he scoffed in disbelief. “I think you're still dreaming.”

I frowned at him.

Fay, despite still being weak, jumped on her spot as she chirped. “Oh! Oh! Maybe Jay evolved again!”

I turned to her and frowned even further. “I did... I just didn't know how I did it...” I then turned back to Shock, my frown still present. “And I still can't believe you dreamt about us se-having sex to death.”

Shock just shrugged. “Hey. It's always my dream to see my friends happy. Of course,” he took a berry, “the sex happened after we were done adventuring in our lifetime. I'm gonna miss seeing you guys in your evolved forms though.”

I sighed. I already knew who I was paired with. Thankfully, Saur sat in between Vixie and I. Fay was seated on my other side. Shock sat beside Vixie and Fay.

Hm...

“Shock,” I called, catching his attention as he chewed. “Just curious. Who was Saur paired with?”

“In my dream?”

I nodded.

He shrugged. “Nah. It might ruin the surprise.”

I arched him an eyebrow.

He shrugged again. “Ask him if you wanna know.”

“I hate you.” I then turned to the Bulbasaur. He looked like he didn't hear anything. Oh, and he's not-so-yellow anymore, which was really comforting to know. “Saur?”

“Hm?” he turned to me, with a half-eaten berry on his vine-hold.

I deadpanned at him. “...don't tell me you didn't hear my question with Shock just now.”

He just blinked with an ‘innocent’ smile. “Nope. What was it?”

I sighed, and felt my ears droop as I heard Fay and Vixie chuckle. “Never mind.” I looked back at him again. “So, what did you dream about?”

He shrugged and looked back at his berry. “Same as Shock, minus the adventure and that ‘activity to death’ part.”

“So you did hear us...”

He ignored me. “Was just happy raising a family as an Ivysaur.”

I blinked at that. “Ivysaur? Why not a Venusaur?”

Shock suddenly began laughing. “Hahahah! Poor girl's gonna get flattened if Saur evolves into that!”

Vixie shot him a glare as Fay laughed along.

I just shook my head before I turned my attention to Fay, her laughter already died down. “What about you?”

She blinked at me with a smile. “What about me?”

I glared at her.

She chuckled. “Same as Saur. Enjoying a life with my own family.”

“I'm sure your kids would be pooping with energy,” I shook my head and turned to Vixie. She opened her mouth, but I stalled her with a raised paw. “I already know. Me and you, raising a family. Yeah, not happening.”

Vixie rolled her eyes and continued eating a berry.

I turned to Shock. “What about you, Shock?”

“Huh?”

“Kinda unfair if only us were ‘having fun’ while you weren't.”

Shock blinked at me, then frowned, and then stared at the berry on his paw. “Erm...”

I blinked with a sly smile. “Oh? So you weren't just watching in the sidelines. Well, was it that...Pikachu back in Vi—”

“Arceus, no!” Shock suddenly said, glaring daggers at me. “That will not happen! Never! Period!”

“You mean, ‘exclamation mark,’” Fay giggled.

“Shut it,” Shock snapped at her. He then glared back at me again. “It was Vixie, okay?! Not that Pik...uh...” Shock's red spots on his cheeks grew, almost painting his whole face in red. He looked away, angrily mumbling something.

I was just staring at him in...shock. “Wow...” Busted. I grinned, looking at Vixie, who was staring at our Pikachu friend in surprise. “So that's why you're still very protective over her.”

“Say another word, and I'll zap you.”

I chuckled.

Fay suddenly chirped. “So, who was Jay with?”

Uh... “...do I even wanna know?”

Shock's face went even redder. “Er...” he fidgeted uncomfortably... “...obviously with Vixie...”

Vixie's own red-furred face went even redder.

My mouth hung agape, my mind went down the drain.

Fay blinked, confused. “Wait... How does that even work?”

Saur just calmly took another berry with a vine. “Fay, you're better off not knowing.”

destinedjagold April 21st, 2014 10:31 PM

Chapter 74
We spent a day by the ruins' entrance, for us to get our strengths back. Not one hundred percent, but enough for us to get the hell outta there. During that time, I introduced them to the Zubat, and I thanked him properly before he flew away for good.

Shock and Vixie were really quiet with each other though. Either one of them would immediately jump to the chance of getting away from each other during berry hunting. Just like now. I offered to go berry picking, and instead of Saur, Shock went with me.

Anyway, Saur, Fay and I weren't blind to notice the tension between the two of them. But the three of us just kept quiet. I don't know about Saur, but Fay and I have no clue of what to say to the two of them. But I'll think of something...I think...

If I recall, those two were mates for a period of time before they found me. How long or how short they were mates, I don't know. Though when I asked, Fay told me that it was only for a short while. She guessed that it was only two or three moons, and Saur confirmed it with a nod. So, Shock and Vixie were a thing for three months.

Despite them being mates at the time, there weren't really any actual mating that happened. Fay said that Shock couldn't, 'cause he was still believing, or rather, he was still trying to overcome his belief that he should only mate with his own kind.

Shock was hurt, but a huge part of him was relieved when Vixie ‘broke up’ with him. During that time, Shock told them that he just probably jumped to the affection that Vixie showered him, and that he also kind of liked her.

They were living in Ilex Forest, and the whole forest knew of them being mates. After the news that they were no longer mates, Lithe started pestering them, or Vixie, to be more specific.

Then the devolution happened a few moons after.

...and then they found me unconscious a few more moons after.

“Do you think,” Shock said in a low voice as we picked some berries around the area. “Th-that I made things worse?”

I ignored him as I struggled to pull this pesky berry with my mouth. Yeah. Berry picking is not easy if one has no hands. That, and this berry was too high for me to use my nails to cut the ... thing that attached the berry on the tall bush.

Shock sighed. “I'll take that as a ‘no.’”

Thud! I landed on the ground on my butt pinning my sensitive tail. I cringed in pain, the berry in my mouth that I finally pulled out almost bled its juices out.

“What are you doing?”

“Berry pulling,” I groaned after I spat the stupid thing on a giant leaf on the ground. We've collected a rather satisfying amount already. I guess it's time to go. “So, what was it that you were telling me?”

He shook his head with a slight glare. “Never mind.”

I arched him an eyebrow.

He just looked away.

I rolled my eyes then I bit the giant leaf, and started dragging it back towards our resting site.

“It's...weird...” Shock said, following me from behind. “...that there's only a number of Pokémon around here.”

I noticed a Pidgey shadow passed over us. “Hrm... Mhbeeh ee's cosh of zah Unoun...” I said with a bit of difficulty.

“Guess so,” he replied as he walked beside me. “Need help with that?”

I stopped and blinked at him. I shrugged and let go of the leaf.

He grabbed it and dragged it as we headed back.

Heh... Less work for me! Anyway, now's my chance to talk to him properly. I don't want this tension to last longer that I'd want it, and neither would the rest of us, Shock and Vixie included. “So, Shocky...”

“I told you so many times not to call me that.”

I ignored him. “You still have feelings with Vixie, huh?”

Shock was quiet for a while.

I pressed on. “And it looked like Vixie does, too.”

“...and you don't.”

I glared at him. “I don't swing that way, buddy.”

He blinked and looked at me, confused. “What are you—?” he stopped mid-sentence and glared. “That wasn't what I meant!”

I chuckled. “Just trying to lighten the mood.” I looked ahead. “But...I won't lie. I like her, too, but...”

“You're a human. You wanna change back. You want to return home,” Shock finished.

I nodded. “Yep. Kinda silly, now that I think about it...”

“Oh?”

“It's like I'm repeating history again. First was Krys' journey. Mr. Tauros confirmed that.”

Shock blinked. “His name was Rumblehoof, not Mr. Tauros.”

“...and now, I'm repeating your journey with Vixie...”

Shock was quiet.

“I heard that you liked her, but you were held back because you want to settle with another Pikachu. Or a Raichu. Anyway, I...guess I like her too, with all of her attempts for me to like her back. But...” I sighed, my ears drooping. “I'm a human, Shock. Was, at least. And...I'm not really into furries...”

“...another human term?”

“Er...you can say that.”

“And what does it mean?”

I shrugged. “I dunno. It's just a term I learned from the internet. I didn't bother looking it up.” I quickly continued, because I freaking do NOT want to explain to him what the internet is. “I just assumed that it meant that, humans attracted to ani—er, to creatures with fur...”

Shock looked ahead. “Hm... Is that related to that—” he shivered slightly, “—uh, that bestiality word?”

I shivered. “...maybe? Not sure.”

Shock nodded. “I still don't believe you. You being a human, I mean.”

“Yeah, I know...” I sighed. “Maybe its this Eevee body I'm using. It maybe still has it's instinct-mode turned on.” I shrugged. “Probably why I started liking her, despite me not wanting to.”

And we went quiet for a while.

...and I just noticed that we have been walking for a while now. Did we really went too far? Though the path we were walking felt familiar.

Shock suddenly broke the silence with a sigh. “I made things worse, didn't I?”

I looked at him and saw his ears and face drooped. “Not really. At the very least, you made Vixie stopped pestering me.”

He rolled his eyes. “And I'm sure you're thankful for that.”

“Hey,” I looked ahead, seeing the edge of the treeline already. “At least you can get another shot at her, right?”

“What about you?”

I turned and arched him an eyebrow. “What about me?”

“You like her.”

“I like to be a human more.” I shook my head. “I do NOT want to be stuck as an Eevee forever.”

Shock shrugged. “You can evolve.”

“You know what I mean!” I looked ahead. “Besides...” I paused what I was saying as we emerged from the line of trees, and saw our friends talking with Darkrai and Celebi. “I think it's already long overdue for me to return this Eevee body that I accidentally borrowed.”

destinedjagold April 24th, 2014 10:45 PM

Chapter 75
“Hey, Bi!” Shock greeted as the both of us reached our friends and the two legendary Pokémon.

Celebi was floating. She turned around and smiled at him. “Oh! There you two are! Hi, Shockie!”

Shock's ear twitched as he mumbled quietly.

Bi then smiled at me. “Hello, future mate!”

“You'll be charcoal if you say that again,” I grinned after I noticed Vixie's eye twitched from Bi's greeting.

Bi blinked, her smile gone. She didn't get it. Maybe she doesn't know yet.

I shook my head. “Never mind.” I then smiled hopefully at her. “So... Any news from Arceus?”

She suddenly huffed in anger as she floated and sat on Vixie's back, her arms crossed. “I tried, I really did, but he's so...so...grr!”

My smile and two ears drooped.

“Arceus is just busy, Bi,” Darkrai said, trying to calm the small green fairy thing.

“He's an old meanie! That's what he is!”

Darkrai sighed as he rubbed his head with one hand. He then turned to me. “Jay, right?”

I nodded, suddenly remembering about the topic of our first meeting. “Yeah. So, any news about the evolution problem?”

“Well,” he scratched his head. It's really, really freaking weird to see Darkrai acting like...that.

I noticed that my friends were already eating the berries that Shock and I brought. I waved a paw at them. “What some berries?”

Darkrai just calmly shook his head. “No thanks.” He then blinked at me. “I'd be honest. I've been curious as to what those taste like, but...” he then put a hand on where a mouth should have been.

My drooped ears drooped some more. “Oh, uh...s-sorry...”

“Jay,” Vixie called. “Bi just told us something about Krystal.”

“Oh?” I blinked at her. “Let's hear it, then.”

“Allow me,” Darkrai landed on the ground, the base of this floating shadowy body-thingy suddenly pushed out two pairs of thin black legs, and it was creepy to have seen it. “Krystal and her frie—”

“Krysie and her friends went to that biiig big old mountain where deep underground is where the evolution gem is located and Mew was there too and they found out that Krysie was the Espeon that came with the Umbreon that made the evolution gem go wonky and Krysie tried to escape but they managed to stop her and now they are questioning her about the Umbreon she called Shadow!”

...if a pair of blank eyes could burn, all of our eyes would have turned Fay into ashes by now. How she said all of those words in one breath was beyond understanding. And oh, she just went back to eating berries.

“R-r-right...” Darkrai stammered. “What she just said.”

Bi chuckled. “Never change, Fay.”

I shook my head to snap myself back. “O-okay, so wait...” I turned back to Darkrai. “Krystal's also a human, like me! How could she...er...be an Espeon if she was turned into an Eevee like me?”

“Like you...” Darkrai echoed, staring at me. “Hm...”

I arched him an eyebrow. “What? So, I'm the Umbreon of the story, too?”

“...maybe?” Darkrai shook his head. “I wouldn't know.”

I sighed. “Well, if I am, then that might explain how I could evolve and devolve...”

“Really?” Darkrai and Celebi asked at the same time.

“Yep,” Shock answered. “I've seen it, but I still couldn't believe it.”

“We've seen it!” Fay chirped.

“I've only seen him turn back to an Eevee from being a Flareon,” Vixie smiled at me, and went back to eating as I rolled my eyes at her.

“Oh yeah,” Fay nodded. “You were inside a Pokéball almost the entire time.”

“W-what?!” Bi suddenly gasped, clasping Vixie's cheeks with both her hands and pulled the Vulpix's face closer to hers in a panic. “You've been caught?! When?! How?! Where's your human trainer?!”

A vine pulled Bi away from the choking Vulpix. Shock and Fay helped Vixie out as Saur told Bi about what happened.

I smirked at how silly the scene was. After a few moments, I turned back to Darkrai, who was still staring at me.

I awkwardly blinked. “Um...something wrong?”

“...this Krystal friend of yours was also able to evolve into different evolution forms of your species.”

“She...can...?”

Darkrai nodded.

I sat down in thought. “Huh, so...I guess I really am using the Umbreon's body then... But...why? And how?”

“Krystal is not telling us anything.” Darkrai shook his head. “She kept on demanding to see her mate, Shadow.”

Shadow? Well, that's a cool name for an Eevee, even cooler for an Umbreon. ...come to think of it, was that voice I heard long ago was Shadow's? What did it told me that time? Gah... I couldn't remember. Did Shadow say something important?

Wait... Wait wait... Maybe Shadow's an outlaw! Like in those mystery dungeon games, where there were also Pokémon doing bad stuff!

I yelped in surprised when I felt a poke on my side. I turned and saw Shock.

“Glad that you're back,” he snickered as he waved a paw at Darkrai. “He asked you a question.”

“Oh,” I turned to Darkrai. “Erm... Sorry... I wasn't paying attention. What was the question again?”

Darkrai nodded. “That is alright. Though it wasn't really a question. It was more of a request.”

“Okay...”

“I'd like you to come with us to the evolution gem. That is, if it's okay with you.”

“Oh...” I blinked. “Um...”

...if it's okay with me? Like I have a choice of the matter! If I say no, then Darkrai try and get me.

Obviously, he really does think that I'm using the Umbreon's body. It would make sense for me to go there to ‘return’ the evolution power back to the gem.

I got a theory though. Maybe the power was too much for both the Espeon and the Umbreon to hold. Of course, they'll need to discharge that said power so they won't explode from the overcharge. That happened to my previous phone. It was hella expensive, too...

Anyway, maybe that discharge caused some sort of distortion that then pulled Krysie and I to this world.

That's just a theory though... A game theory...

But why was Krystal sent here first before me? And with a gap of a month! Maybe the Umbreon held onto it longer than the Espeon? Well, females are weaker than males.

Oh, hey... So I devolved into a sexist now, too?

I sighed and nodded. “Yeah. I'll go there.”

“Jay...”

I ignored Vixie's sad call. I looked at Darkrai with a serious look.

Another theory... If I were to return the evolution power, then the original owner of this body I'm using might finally wake up and take over... What would happen to me?

“I need to know something,” I said. “What will I do when I get there?”

“You and Krystal will return the gem's power.” Darkrai then looked skyward. “Mew said that she knows how to return that power if either one of you, or both of you, will refuse to return it. Or...” Darkrai looked back at me with an awkward blink. “...if one or both of you don't know how to return it.”

I nodded. “I see...” I shook my head. “But after that, what happens then?”

Darkrai shrugged. “I don't know. Mew will maybe guard the gem more closely after. Or Arceus might assign someone else to watch over it, or he'll simply move it elsewhere, out of reach from any normal Pokémon.”

“That last part sounds the best option that he'll do.” Although that wasn't really the answer I was seeking. I once again shook my head. “But that really wasn't what I wanted to know.”

“Oh?” Darkrai blinked. “Apologies for assuming.”

“Meh, it's fine.” I turned at my friends, who were listening intently to my conversation with Darkrai. “I have a theory...”

“Which is...?” Shock pressed.

“I don't think I've told you guys this before, but I...think...that while I was out cold, I had a strange conversation with a voice in my head.”

Shock sighed and shook his head. “I think Jay's gone nuts.”

Saur though, arched an eyebrow. “When was this?”

I looked up in thought. “Erm...maybe...after Vixie was caught? Yeah, I think that was it.”

“And the voice?” Bi asked, completely curious. “What did it say?”

I sighed through my nostrils. “I...don't remember. But...my theory is that...” I turned back to Darkrai, his white hair-like thingy swayed with the nonexistent wind. “...that voice belonged to someone.”

“And?” Saur asked.

I turned to him with a serious frown. “I...think that voice belonged to the original owner of this body I'm using. I don't remember rescuing Vixie from that trainer who caught her, so maybe...”

“...Shadow took over.” Darkrai finished with a nod. “That's a possible thing to happen. Mostly common to soul collectors like Spiritombs...”

“Eh?” Shock was surprised to hear that. “Really? There are Pokémon that collects souls?”

...I guess Spiritombs don't exist here. Then again, they are found in Sinnoh. I wonder what happens if trainers start dumping Spiritombs here from their many failed attempts of IV breeding. I wonder if IVs are even a thing here. Meh...

...I wonder if shinies are a thing here. I haven't seen one since I first came here. They're maybe very rare, or don't exist at all.

Ahem... “Anyway,” I turned back to Darkrai. “My theory is that maybe, just maybe, that after I return the evolution power thing, if I really do have it, then the owner of this body o'mine might regain control. W-what would happen to me?”

...I actually wasn't expecting us to go all quiet. I looked at my friends and the legendaries present, but all of their gazes were elsewhere, thinking about what my theory as they formulate a response.

“W-what's happening to Krystal now?” I mumbled the question, but the silence made it loud enough for everyone to hear. “The human Krystal, not Levie...”

“...Levie?” almost everyone asked in chorus.

I arched them an eyebrow. “Yeah. That's the Espeon's name, right?”

Darkrai shook his head. “Her friends claim that her name was Krystal. Assuming what you've said is true, then the Espeon's real owner has ‘regained control of her body.’”

I blinked...and blinked. “Uh... H-how'd I know her name?”

“Good question,” Shock said, crossing his arms. “I'm waiting for a good answer.”

I shook my head. “I...don't know. I just knew.”

“You are the Umbreon, then” Darkrai noted. “...minus your mind, or spirit...” He awkwardly scratched his head. “...this is confusing...”

“Tell me about it,” I sighed. I then lifted my gaze back up to him with a serious face. “Anyway, I'm sorry. Unless you can assure to me that I'll still stay conscious or still in control of this body after I give the gem's power back, then I'm not going.” I stomped a paw on the ground as emphasis. Why would I surrender myself to them just to restore evolution in this world? I'm a victim of this mess as well! I do NOT want to just...disappear inside the mind of this Eevee or Umbreon after whatever process is done! If ever I don't disappear, then I do NOT want to just be taking a backseat on the Umbreon's mind, watching every single Umbreon-ly things that he will do!

Darkrai simply nodded. “That's understandable.” He turned to Bi. “We should contact the Eons.”

“Huh?” Celebi suddenly blinked in surprise and turned to him. “Auntie Latias and Uncle Latios?”

...are all legendaries related?

Celebi smiled and nodded. “Sure! I haven't seen them in, like, forever!”

Darkrai nodded and turned to me. “They will be able to help you with your worries, Jay. So I ask that you and your friends to wait for us here.”

...okay... This world has solutions to all problems, it seems. Now where's the solution of me going back home... Anyway, I shook my head. “No. We're not waiting here.”

“Huh?”

I turned to my friends with a smile. “What do you say, guys? One last adventure before I go ‘poof?’”

“Poof?” Saur tilted his head in confusion.

Vixie frowned.

Fay cheered.

Shock blinked.

I turned back to Darkrai with a serious look. “Just promise me two things.”

Darkrai nodded.

“...I haven't even said what they are yet...”

Darkrai blinked. “Sorry. Sometimes, a nod meant ‘I'm listening, so go on...’ That's what Mewtwo always does, at least...”

“Really?” I shrugged. “Anyway, for one, if I can't control this body, then at least find me a place where I could stay...” ...I wonder what being a soul would feel like...

Darkrai nodded. “The Eons can do both. But if only one of them is present, then he or she can only store you in a...sphere...” He shook his head. “I forgot what they call it...”

“The...Soul Dew?” I asked as I blinked.

“Ah, yes.” Darkrai nodded. “That's the one.”

“Huh...okay... Well, for the second one, I want Arceus to send me and Krystal back to our rightful worlds! Our families back home must have been worried sick!”

Darkrai just nodded. “Arceus will be pleased of your cooperation. I'm sure he'll help after everything is sorted out.”

“And oh...a third one.”

Darkrai blinked. “I thought there were only two...”

“Let Arceus move the damn evolution thing somewhere else so no other human or other creature accidentally gets here!”

“But there are humans here...” Fay said in confusion.

I shook my head. “You know what I mean.”

Fay frowned. She obviously didn't know what I meant.

“I understand.” Darkrai nodded. “However, if you and your friends are not to stay and wait for us here, then it'll take us a while to find you.”

I turned to him. “We're gonna head to the evolution gem. Just tell us where to go from here and we'll go there.”

“Or...” Celebi said in a happy tone as she floated above the curiously-blinking Saur. The said Bulbasaur yelped in surprise when Celebi pushed her hand inside the opening of Saur's bulb, and pulled out a black seed with a chuckle.

...yeah, at least I still have an annoying dirty mind that I'm turning off right now...

“Uncle Darkrai and I will put this seed by the cave so Saur can follow it.” ...legendaries are all related. It's confirmed!

Saur was cringing from where he stood. “I...I thought I told you not to do that...”

“Whoops,” Celebi giggled, and Saur gave her one of his rare glares.

destinedjagold April 28th, 2014 12:44 AM

Chapter 76
We were heading north-east, with Saur leading us. The Bulbasaur explained that all plants are connected. He can sense every plant life by just standing on the ground. He could feel their roots, and he could feel the seed that Celebi has planted, which, sad to say, was very far away.

It made me remember about that night when we reached Pallet Town. Saur did the same thing as well. He planted a seed where I was before he ran off to call our other friends.

Anyway, it was close to nighttime now, and there really was nothing exciting that happened during our travels. I tried staying behind, but Vixie was walking way too slow that even my slow pace outsped her.

She was really troubled, I could tell, and so was Shock.

We camped by a small stream, the territory belonging to friendly Woopers. As long as we don't harm them, they won't give us any trouble, they said. There were a few berries around, since there were quite a lot of Pokémon living in the area. So, we just grabbed what we could and ate around a small bonfire, courtesy of me coughing a small ball of fire since Fay dared me that I couldn't do it as an Eevee.

If it weren't for Fay's and Saur's conversation, our entire dinner would have been dead quiet. While Saur and I enjoyed listening to Fay's crazy blabber, I can't help but feel a bit guilty for making both Vixie and Shock feel uncomfortable around each other.

I stayed awake, even after we called it a night two hours ago. Everyone were sound asleep, but I know one or two of them would still be wide awake. Well, I know one of them was still awake, at least, since the other one was peacefully sleeping beside me.

I sighed and slowly pushed myself up into a sitting position, careful not to disturb Vixie's slumber. On my other side was Saur, and beside him was Fay, and beside her was...

“Can't sleep?” said the voice I knew who wasn't asleep yet.

I slowly shook my head. “Eh... You could say that...” I turned and stared at Shock.

He was lying on his back, both arms behind his head. He was quietly staring at the sea of leaves above us, where the gentle rays of silver moonlight passed through the small gaps.

“What about you?” I asked as I scratched my ear with a front paw. My friends find it weird though, with me using a front paw to scratch an itch. Huh, I wonder if there are lice Pokémon that lives in furs.

“Couldn't sleep... I have a lot on my mind lately...”

“A lot?” I asked with a grin. “Or just one?”

I chuckled quietly as he glared at me. “This is your fault, you know.”

“Yeah...” I said, suddenly feeling not-so-happy anymore. I shifted from where I sat and slowly lied on my back, and stared at the leaves. “You're right on that one. And I'm sorry...but...” I took a breath, “...it's also your fault that you kept quiet about how you really feel towards her, you know...”

We were quiet for a while. I know he was still wide awake. I could tell. We've been together for a long time now, and Shock snores when he sleeps, even though he doesn't believe it.

“Shock...” I said quietly, “will you do me a favor?”

“Depends on what that is...”

“It's nothing really big. Well, it may be, depending on how you look at it, but I—”

“Spit it out already. Sheesh...”

I sighed. “When I do get back home, to my real world...will you take care of Vixie for me?”

“...what?”

I sighed again and stared at the peaceful dance of the leaves with the gentle wind. “...as...as much as I hate to admit it, Shock, but I've really grown to like Vixie. I know she'll get hurt when I leave, so...can I trust her to you when I'm gone?”

No answer... We were quiet... I sighed through my nostrils as I listened to the quiet and unrecognizable conversation of the nocturnal Pokémon in the area.

Vixie's ear twitched, and she mumbled something in her sleep as she slightly shifted, her paw now pinning my ear. “...I think she still has feelings for you, Shock. Little as it may be, but it's still there. If there was none, then she would have dismissed what you have said and will tell you directly that she's really all over me, but...she didn't...so uh...yeah...”

I heard a quiet sigh. I turned my head and saw him rubbing his head with a hand. After a few moments, he put his hand back behind his head and stared up. He was still quiet.

I sighed. I was about to say something when he suddenly spoke up.

“I'll do it.”

“Buh?”

“That favor you asked. I'll do it,” he said in a quiet voice, but it brought a great amount of determination, and a pinch of doubt. “But...only as friends.” He sighed. “Jay... If you do leave us, she'll be a total wreck. I can only promise you that I'll be there for her, and to help her move on, but I can't promise you to keep an eye out for her forever...”

“...if you two won't be mates, you mean.” He didn't respond. Ouch... I guess my teasing was of bad timing? Heh, that rhymed, but anyway... “...sorry...”

“...you know... Sometimes you confuse me if you are being serious or not...”

“You should know by now that I don't like being serious all the time,” I smiled. “It makes me look older than I should be...”

“Heh... So you mean to say that I'm older than my age, huh?”

“Eh... But anyway... Thanks, Shock.”

“Huh? For what?”

I shrugged, even though he wouldn't see me doing it. “For taking my favor.”

“I don't need to do you a favor when it comes to my friends,” he quickly replied. “...and I still don't believe that you're a human that just borrowed an Eevee body or whatcrap. But...”

Silence... We were quiet for a short while. “...but?”

He sighed. “If you do leave us one day, then...I...” He sighed again. “...just know that I'll miss you... Not that much...”

I closed my eyes and stopped myself from chuckling. “Heh. Thanks. It's nice to know that you care.”

“You're my friend, despite how much of an idiot you are.”

“Yeah, I hate you, too.”

He chuckled quietly.

“So...before I showed up... It was you and Vixie, huh?”

“A Raichu and a Ninetales. Yeah...”

I blinked at that. “Oh? You were a Raichu back then?”

“Yeah... When I first got to Ilex Forest, I was still a Pikachu, and she was already a Ninetales. I didn't like her personality, and neither did she liked mine. We kept on arguing and fighting back then, that even Bi couldn't stop us. But, of course, when we're fighting, she always beats me... Advantages of being an evolved Pokémon and all.”

I chuckled. “The more you hate, the more you love, it seems.”

Shock sighed, but it felt like he was smiling. “Yeah... We were like that for a month or two, I think. I couldn't remember. Last time we argued, Bi wasn't there, and Vixie made me so mad that I evolved, and I won that fight that we had. But... But I hurt her, badly. I didn't mean it. I was in a panic that I started yelling for help. That's when an Ivysaur stepped out to help me; Saur. But he made me promise not to cause any more trouble. I didn't care, so I accepted, and he helped. Damn, he was a great healer back then.”

“And I guess that's how the gang started?”

“Yeah... Good old times.”

“What about Fay?”

“Eh... She and Saur already knew each other back then.”

Huh... Go figure...

“Anyway, after Vixie was healed, I apologized to her, which, now that I think about it, was really funny, with the odd and confused look that she was giving me back then,” he chuckled.

And I listened and listened as Shock retold their little misadventures. Yeah, from what Shock was telling me, he really cherished his friends. He's very loyal, and he really cares for everyone that he loves. ...especially Vixie.

“Oh, but Arceus, she's so annoying when she's in love!” Shock groaned, and I chuckled wholeheartedly.

destinedjagold May 7th, 2014 1:40 AM

Chapter 77
Another day went by without any exciting incident.

...well, there was that part where a trainer saw us and wanted to catch me just 'cause I'm an Eevee.

I easily knocked all of his six Pokémon though, and all the while, I made sure I shot venomous glares at my friends who decided that it'd be fun to watch me fight for once. Sigh...

Anyway, I honestly didn't expect that I had it in me. Then again, I was aware of what I was doing back in the ruins, so I guess it's about time for me to know how to fight and defend myself, without evolving of course. That might get the kid more reason to want me. Sigh...

...but of all times to learn these cool attacks, it's when we're having our last adventure together...

...well, I'm pretty certain that Shock and the gang will go on more and more adventures. It's just sad that this will be my last adventure with these four crazy Pokémon.

...and it's really sad. I'm sure going to miss them. But I must stay strong. Home is more important. Besides...I...don't belong here anyway. As cool as this place is, the reality is I belong in my home planet.

...I wonder if I would think and feel like this if I was instead just warped here. Unchanged and still a human. I might ditch my home and travel this world as a Pokémon trainer!

...yeah, keep dreaming, Jay. Even if I was still a human and was transported in this world, I would still try to figure out a way back home. But now that I think about it, traveling around to gather information would be SO MUCH FREAKING EASIER if I was a human! ...sigh...

“What are you thinking about?” asked a very happy voice from behind me. Fortunately for me, I already have gotten used to Fay and her strange ways. I would have yelped in surprise if I wasn't.

Still, I flinched a bit from supressed surprise, and I shot her a glare as she sat beside me. “I told you not to surprise me like that.”

“You didn't look like you were surprised though...”

“I was...” I deadpanned.

She tilted her head, and stared at me in confusion. “If you were, then wouldn't you be like...” she looked ahead, and suddenly jumped and shouted in surprise. “AHHH!” She then turned behind her, and glared at nothing in particular. “Fay! I told you not to surprise me like that!” She then turned to me, smiling. “Or something like that.”

I was still giving her a deadpanned expression. I sighed as I slightly shook my head, and turned my gaze ahead. We were on the edge of a not-so-tall cliff, and I stared at the landscape under the evening sky.

“Jay?” Fay called.

I took a breath and sighed through my nostrils. “Sorry... Was just...collecting my thoughts...”

“Really? That's a weird collection...”

I groaned. “Fay, are you really this...this...” I shook my head. “Never mind.” That's one of her uniqueness that I'm probably never gonna get used to. “I guess I was just...thinking...”

“Of what, exactly?”

I turned to her with an arched eyebrow. Why was she here all of a sudden anyway? “Shouldn't you be bugging Saur or Vixie instead of being here?”

She shook her head and stared ahead. “Nope... Saur didn't want me around while he talks with Shockie and Vixie...”

Oh yeah... I did ask our Bulbasaur friend if his calm and collective mind could help our two friends out. “I see...” I stared ahead.

We were quiet for a while. We were quiet for quite a while, and it was longer than I have expected with Fay around. Something must be on her mind if she hasn't broken the silence yet.

...she hasn't broken it yet...

...still nothing...

...

...I wonder if she's dead...

I turned, and saw her, still sitting there. “Fay?”

“Hm?” she blinked a few times before she turned to me. “Oh, hi Jay!”

My ears drooped as I deadpanned. “Don't ‘oh hai thar’ me, Fay.” I slightly shook my head. “So what's on your mind?” Full of crazy, I bet. “You're not usually this quiet, and...it's quite...scary, to be honest.”

I think it was my first time to see her giving me an arched eyebrow. “Well, duh! If a Pokémon is quiet, then they're probably dead, and you should stay alert, for you might be the next one to be dead!”

...full of crazy... “Seriously, Fay...”

“Well,” she frowned and looked down on the ground. “...I've been worried recently...and me being all happy isn't really helping me nor my friends to get rid of the bad bad feeling of worry...”

I blinked. “Worried of what?”

“You know...” she looked back at me. “Shockie and Vixie... They're like...not talking to each other anymore... M-maybe that's why Saur wanted to talk to them with me not being there...” She looked away. “Last time this happened, Shockie and Vixie almost broke their friendship... And I did little to no help at all! A-and I'm...scared if that were to happen.”

I took a very deep breath and sighed quietly. Never was I expecting to see and hear Fay like this... “Fay... You really, really love them, huh?”

“Of course!” she turned to me with a sad frown. “They're my friends! Bestest friends in the whole wide world! And it...” she looked down again. “...makes me so so sad to see my friends sad...” she sniffled.

...I couldn't take it. I took a quick breath and threw my paws around her, and pulled her into a hug. “There, there...” I patted her back. I really couldn't believe that Fay would be like this.

“Um...” Fay squirmed a bit, and wasn't returning the hug. “What are you doing?”

“...er...” I broke the hug and chuckled awkwardly. “...I was...giving you a hug? You were really feeling so down that I felt like you could use one...”

She blinked. “...a hug?”

...

...

...

... “...don't tell me you don't know what a hug is...”

She shook her head with a growing smile. “Nope! Is that what humans do when the other feels down like I was?”

I blinked. “Well, yeah... It usually helps you feel better.” I shrugged. “It doesn't help solving the problem, but hey, a hug can really do wonders! It's like...telling your friend that you understand what they're going through and telling them that you love and support them, and some other sappy-sappy stuff like that...”

Fay was smiling now. Beaming, even. She then chuckled lightly. “Well, it was weird, but it's the thought that counts, right?”

I was about to reply, but her smile suddenly disappeared as she hummed in thought and looked elsewhere.

“...or maybe I should start practicing this ‘hug’ thing.”

I...was about to reply again, but she then turned to me with a sad frown.

“What about you, Jay?”

I blinked. “What...about me?”

“We're going to that place where you'll give back that evolution thingy back to the rock-thing, right?”

...and here I thought she wanted to ask if I needed a hug. I could actually use one though... “Well, that's the plan, yeah... Why?”

“What happens after that?”

I shrugged. “I guess the legendaries can take me to Arceus so I could...return...home...” My voice faded when I figured out what Fay was actually asking me. She was frowning, and so did I. “Fay...I...”

“I-It's okay,” she tried to smile, but her sad eyes and trembling voice betrayed her. “W-we knew your goal from the start. I...just didn't expect that it would be this soon... But we're really, really going to miss you, Jay.”

I took a breath and sighed through my nostrils. “I'm gonna miss you guys t—”

“Why do you have to go back?!” she suddenly snapped, a tear rolling down her face.

That caught me off guard.

“Don't you like it here? What about Vixie? Don't you like her? Don't you wanna be with her forever and start a family with her?”

...she was crying now...

“What about Shock? He's your best friend, right? And Saur? A-and me? W-we're your friends, r-right?”

I then remembered something... I never actually told them why I was so desperate of going back.

“I'm sorry, Jay...” she sniffled as she tried to calm herself down. “I... I just really don't like friends leaving friends without a good reason...”

I tried to smile, really, I did. But my eyes were stinging and I suddenly was having a runny nose. “Fay...” I slowly started patting her shoulder. “...I do have a reason why I need to go back...”

“...oh...” I waited for her sobs to stop. When she did, she looked up at me. “Can I...Can I st-start practicing that hug now?”

I gave her a small smile and a small nod before I hugged her.

She awkwardly moved her paws and slowly wormed their ways on my back.

“Um...you don't have to reach my shoulder blades, Fay...”

She moved her paws lower.

I blushed. “Er...not too low, Fay...”

“Jay...”

“...yeah?”

“...hugging is weird.”

destinedjagold May 13th, 2014 11:45 PM

Chapter 78
Saur and the others quietly watched Fay leave, heading towards where Jay was at the moment. Once they were sure that the saddened Rattata was out of earshot, Saur exhaled through his nostrils as he turned to look at his two other friends: Shock and Vixie.

The two sat on the ground, with a very noticable gap between them. From Saur's analysis, a Venusaur would easily lie down and sleep from that big of a gap.

Nevertheless, he smiled and called their attention.

“Shock,” the Bulbasaur nodded at the Pikachu, before he turned and nodded at their Vulpix friend, “Vixie.”

“Glad to know that you still know our names, Saur,” Shock deadpanned at the grass-type.

Saur ignored his friend's sarcastic remark. He has gotten used to it already.

“That was mean thing to say, Shock,” Vixie shot him a side-way glare.

...well, only he and Fay were used to Shock's sarcastic remarks...and maybe Jay as well. Saur chuckled.

Shock just awkwardly scratched his neck.

Vixie then returned her attention at their Bulbasaur friend. “So...you wanted to talk to us?”

The Bulbasaur nodded. “By Jay's request.”

“Oh?” the Pikachu and the Vulpix said at the same time.

Saur nodded again. “The tension between the two of you are very worrisome...”

Shock frowned. “That's ridiculous! Jay and Vixie? Really?!”

Saur turned to him and frowned. “...I was talking about the two of you.”

The Pikachu blinked. “Me? And Jay? What?”

Saur deadpanned.

Shock's ears drooped as he sighed and looked away.

“Jay is worried about the two of you. Fay is as well. I am, too.”

Vixie was already looking elsewhere. She doesn't want to talk about this. “T-thanks for worrying about us, Saur, but we'll be fine...” She took a deep breath and quietly sighed to calm herself. “We'll sort this out...eventually...”

Saur nodded. “The question is, when?”

“Soon...”

The Bulbasaur shook his head. “That's not a good answer, Vixie, and you know it.”

Vixie growled, clearly annoyed.

Shock stood up with a sigh. He turned, and slowly walked towards the Vulpix. Slowly...

Saur quietly watched him.

Vixie tensed up as she sensed him approaching.

Finally, with a sigh, Shock hung his head after he was a Pikachu's tail's length from the Vulpix. “Vixie,” he said quietly, barely managing to open his gritting teeth. He never liked apologizing for something as big as this one. Then again, he did promised Jay to look out for her. But how could he if they're avoiding each other? No, he's not doing this for Jay. “Even a Zubat can see the two of us avoiding each other...” He's going to do this for the sake of his friendship with Vixie. He took another breath and exhaled quietly as he turned to look at her.

She still had her head turned, staring at nothing.

“Look, I'm sorry about what I said,” whatever it was that he said. Now that he thought about it, what he said back then wasn't really that big of a deal. They were a thing before anyway... “...and you're one of my best friends, and it...” he looked down, and glared on the ground as he clenched his fists. “...i-it hurts me to a-avoid you, and you to avoid me, j-just because of what I said. I...I-I'm sorry if it made you feel awkward towards me.” He then looked at her. He needed to stop himself from being surprised after seeing her finally looking at him with teary-eyes. “I really, really, really am sorry, Vixie...”

Vixie sobbed, once at least, and hung her head. She lifted a paw to wipe her tears off of her eyes as she took a deep breath. She held her breath as she took a few more seconds to calm herself down. Finally, she looked at him with a small smile.

Shock's heart almost skipped a beat. Finally, they coul—

The Vulpix breathed a bright and powerful train of fire, swallowing the Pikachu's face completely. After a few seconds, she stopped and glared at his blackened face.

“Just a warning if you ever think that dream of yours is going to happen.”

Saur chuckled.

Shock coughed, twice. “...I'll...keep that in mind.”

---

“Huh,” I said as I walked alongside Saur. “So that's what happened?”

Saur just smiled as he walked, his gaze ahead where Fay, Shock and Vixie were having a lively chat. “Yes,” was his simple answer.

I smiled as I looked at our friends who were walking ahead of us. “Well, it's nice to have my crazy friends back.”

Saur nodded. “It's nice to see them back. Thanks, Jay.”

“Buh?” I turned and blinked at him. “Whatever did I do?”

“For that favor you asked me.”

I arched him an eyebrow. “You obviously will go and talk to them anyway.”

Saur just nodded. “Yes, that's true. If you didn't ask me to do that favor, then I would talk to them. But the question though, is when.”

“When?”

He shook his head. “I don't like going head to head with trouble, Jay.” He turned and smiled at me. “If my friends are in danger, then I'll face it head on.” He looked ahead. “But if the trouble is something like they had, then...”

“Eh... You have Fay to push you to help them, in case I'm around to ask you anyway.”

“Maybe,” Saur shrugged.

I rolled my eyes. “Damn... You're a pretty good downer, you know that?” I smiled as I looked ahead. “We should be happy that we have Shock and Vixie back. Fay is extra happy to see them. We should, too, right?”

Saur nodded. “...but for how long?”

“What?” I frowned as I turned to him.

“You're leaving soon, yes?”

I inhaled, and sighed through my nostrils, carrying the happiness out of my system... “You really are a downer...”

Saur shook his head. “Sorry... I just...like to look ahead. For preparation purposes...”

“Whatever...” I rolled my eyes and looked ahead. “I'm gonna concentrate on the present...for now, if you don't mind...”

destinedjagold May 23rd, 2014 12:26 AM

Chapter 79
We were standing on the edge of a small cliff. And we were all staring at a very simple yet magnificent city that was surrounded by tall mountains under the afternoon glow.

There was a lake at the northern part of the city, where a long building with dragon-like details stood by the bank.

Well, I am pretty sure that we're still in Johto, and that building-with-dragon-decos already made it obvious what this city is called.

“So,” I said, finally breaking the silence. “We're gonna go around it?”

Saur nodded.

Shock looked at him for a moment before he turned to me. “Well, obviously. Since we can't risk running into any humans down there.”

I noticed Vixie shivered a bit. Yeah, I still remember that weird yet comforting but still weird feeling inside a Pokéball...

I slightly shook my head. “Well, alrighty th—”

Even though it was far away, we still heard the faint explosion sound from the gym's now-smoking roof. A beam of light was heading to our direction, and as quick as a blink, the beam hit the face of the cliff, and obviously, it exploded upon impact.

The earth violently shook as a loud cracking noise pierced my ears. We lost our balance and I fell on my side, and gasped as a large crack on the ground appeared right in front of my face. As soon as the crack appeared, smoke covered my vision. I coughed.

I blinked as my ears registered the frightened cries and shouts of my friends. Instantly, I jumped up as the smoke thinned and began to clear, and I then looked over the new edge in panic.

I called out their names in a shout as I saw the ground they were lying on, well, slid down towards the base, as if like a sled.

I panicked, heart racing, as many thoughts clashed in my mind. Should I go after them? Should I? I gritted my teeth, I shouted ‘yolo’ in my head, and jumpe—

“Gah!” I yelped when I felt a sharp pain shot through my head as my tail got yanked back. I landed on the ground with a thud. “Oomf!”

“A-are you crazy?!” Vixie exclaimed after spitting my tail out of her mouth. She then ran to my side.

I stared at her in a daze, my mind suddenly blank.

She gave me a worried look before she turned ahead and walked on the edge of the cliff, leaning forward a bit as she looked down.

“That was fun!” Fay's voice echoed quietly down below. “Let's do it again! ...Ow!”

Vixie visibly sighed in relief. “You guys!” she shouted back at them, “we're gonna find a way down!” She then turned back to me, and helped me back up on all four. “You okay?”

“G-guess so...” I said as I pulled her head away from me. “I said I'm fine, so stop nuzzling me...”

She frowned as I looked around, searching for a way to get back to our friends down below. I walked towards the edge and looked down, seeing humans starting to increase in number, surrounding where our friends have landed.

“I sure hope that none of them got captured or anything...” I said before turning back to my Vulpix friend.

She shook her head. “I—”

Something popped out from the ground in between us, and I yelped in surprise, almost falling off the cliff.

“Hi!” Fay chirped brightly, the lower-half of her body still under the hole she made. She shook the dirt off of her fur and smiled at Vixie, and then at me.

I hit her head with a glare. “I almost fell!”

“Ow...” she rubbed her head, shook it, then smiled again at me. “Well, you didn't!”

“That's not the point!”

“Anyway,” she completely ignored me as she turned to Vixie. “Shockie said that we should regroup by the lake! Bye!” She took a deep breath and dove back inside the hole.

I blinked and looked down on the hole, but all I saw was darkness. I looked back down the cliff, and saw Fay emerged from the ground, and ran through the horde of people. None of them seemed to be interested in her.

...well, she is a Rattata, after all...

“Should we follow her through this hole?” Vixie ask.

I shook my head. “Nah. We might get captured right before we could resurface...” I turned to her. “Come on. There's probably a way for us to go down safely and without being noticed by people.”

Vixie just nodded and we both started walking. She was walking way to close on my side though, but I tried to ignore it. Despite my efforts, she still thinks that we're a thing. Sigh... I did give in a few times, but we didn't really officially became a thing...

...do Pokémon need to be officially be a thing so they could be a thing?

I'm not really sure if we're already close to our destination. Not the lake, but where the evolution gem was located. We may still be very far, or we were already close. I dunno. I forgot to ask Saur about it for maybe two or three days now...

Still, I think it's about time Vixie and I had some alone time...to t-talk about stuff!

“Something wrong?”

I shook my head to get rid of what my nasty brain just thought. I can't believe I actually thought of that! Gah... “N-nothing...”

I saw her frown at me from the corner of my eye. “Jay...why are you...?” she took a breath as she stopped walking with me.

I stopped as well and turned around to face her.

She sighed quietly, turning her gaze to the city.

I blinked. I then looked around.

...welp, things got awkward way too fast than I expected...

I sighed and faced her. “Vixie, we need to talk.”

She looked at me.

...er... I guess only humans know what that sentence actually meant. Bleah... “I...” gah... I just want this to be over with. Here goes nothing... “I don't want us to be mates.”

She quickly nodded with a neutral and unreadable expression. “I know...”

I blinked.

She took a breath. “B-but I want us to be...”

Oh, for the love of...! Not this again... “We're not gonna go there again, are we?”

She furrowed her brows. “No. I'm not letting you change the topic...”

“What I meant was...” ...I think I should stop talking like a human and start talking simple for this Pokémon right in front of me... “You know what? Never mind. Just...I don't want us to be mates anymore, okay? Okay! We're still friends right? Right! Okay!” I turned back and started walking. “Now let's g—gyah!”

I jumped to the side in panic when a bright and hot stream of fire passed me by. I quickly turned back and stared at her angry face. And oh, I don't know how, but I felt my two pupils shrunk into dots.

She took a step forward. I took a step back. “Er...”

She took another step. “Do humans end relationships in an uncaring and selfish manner like what you just did?”

...for a fire-type, she sure knows how to ask with a scary-icy tone... “N-no...! Of course not!”

“Lier,” she spat. “I went too low for a female just to get your attention, and you still rejected me. At least reject me nicely than what you just did!”

Er... “You know... To ber fair, I have already lost count of how many times I have told you about me not wanting to be your mate...”

She was still glaring at me, but she didn't respond. She breathed out fumes of fire towards me, and I gasped, but the flames only reached a few inches away from my nose before it faded in thin air. Still, the message was clear.

Also, Vixie was no longer where she stood a few seconds ago. I turned and saw her walking away, hopefully looking for a way down.

“H-hey! Wait up!” I ran after her.

“Go away!” she shouted back. She didn't even bother stopping nor looking at me.

Welp, I did it... I went to her bad side, and I doubt I'll like it.

...at least we're no longer a thing, right?

destinedjagold May 26th, 2014 1:45 AM

Chapter 80
“Vixie!” I called out as I ran after her.

She was still furious, for obvious reasons, even before we started this little chase of ours. I kept on apologizing as I tried to keep up with her speedy walk. She just kept on telling me to go away.

I think she finally had enough of me, and decided to run. I could just use a Quick Attack to catch up to her, or maybe even stop her, but eh, that might not be a good idea.

Even if I already knew how to defend myself, Vixie was still far more experienced that I am. I'd be dead already if she wanted to.

Fortunately for me, she doesn't want me dead yet. “Vixie! W-wait!” Running on four paws wasn't really an easy task. I just needed to remind myself not to put too much attention on my— “Oof!” I stepped on my own paws, lost my balance, fell face first, rolled twice or thrice, and skidded to a stop on my back.

I was...kinda stunned, that I didn't even bother to care about how painful my nose was. I was just...staring at the golden sky, while gasping for breath. My heart was still racing, and my paws were kinda numb. And oh...
“O-ow...” I winced as I finally felt how painful my nose was. “Ow ow owwwowowowow...” I tried to ease the pain by grabbing my nose with both paws. I dunno if it was helping or not, but at least it was making me feel as though I was making it stop feeling less...ouchy...

I heard a flapping noise from...somewhere. It was...kinda mixed with the sound of something metal... I dunno, but it was loud, so it was obviously close by. “Need help?” a female voice asked, followed by the sound of a soft touchdown on the ground.

I turned my head and saw a freakishly tall gray bird, its black and yellow eyes curiously blinking at me. “W-wow...” I breathed out in awe, almost forgetting that my nose was still throbbing with pain. I slowly rolled back on four paws and eyed the tall bird from its big talons up to its curiously blinking eyes. “...I-I've never seen a Skarmory before...”

“Oh? But there are many of us living here up in these mountains,” she said, finishing it up with a nod. “My name's Green Grey.”

I nodded. ...but what kind of a name is that? Anyway... “Name's Jay.”

“Odd name for an Eevee,” she said, tilting her head to the side.

Gee, thank you. Glad I also said the same about your name. Oh, wait...I didn't. I sighed internally... “Yeah, I've heard many say the same thing,” I shrugged. “Blame my parents for giving me that name.”

She chuckled. “I like you, already.”

...er...

She sighed. “If only you were a bird.”

...r-right. Lucky me...

She lightly shook her head. “Anyway, I cannot help but wonder why you were chasing after that Vulpix just now...”

“You...were watching us?”

She shrugged.

Wow, didn't see that coming. Actually, I wanna see her shrug again. I didn't understand how she did it... You know, metal wings and no shoulders?

“It's hard for us to miss what you two were doing...” she turned, facing the forest a few meters away from the edge of the cliff.

...there were lots of Skarmories by the tree roots...their metallic bodies reflecting the setting sun's golden rays.

She then turned back to me, blinking. “Has something happened between the two of you?”

I sighed. “Eh... you can say that. But nothing I couldn't handle.” I hope...

“Ah,” she said, eyes sparkling. “Courtship woes...”

... “...beg your pardon?”

She flashed me a gentle smile. “There's no need to feign ignorance, young Jay.”

...I'm twenty-freaking-three years old, you old bird! I hardly consider that as ‘young.’

She then...um...sat? Yeah, I guess she sat, as she extended a wing over me, and pulled me to her side. I now know what a squished doll feels like... “It was clear that the two of you were quarrelling about something.”

...then why'd you ask in the first place? And I can hardly breathe!

“Ah, young love... Such a wonderful, and very vulnerable emotion...”

“...y-yeah, it'd be...lovely...for my vul...n-nerable lungs to get...s-some wonderful air...r-right about now...”

She suddenly released me. Thank god for inventing air! “S-sorry... I often times get carried away...”

I gasped for breath as I glared at her, who was trying to smile at me sheepishly.

“But you were chasing after her, even yelling that you were sorry.” She nodded. “That's one step closer of winning her back! Just keep at it!”

“...t-then I guess I'll take another course of action...”

She blinked. “...I beg your pardon?”

I shook my head. I sat down. I then sighed. “She likes me...a lot. I think. B-but...I just want us to be...friends,” I explained, complete with a paw making circle patterns in the air.

She blinked. “So...you broke up with her?”

I...slowly nodded. Honestly, I can hardly call it a ‘break up’ if she was the only one who thought that we were a thing, while I didn't. Bleah, I'm in no mood to explain my situation...

She took a breath and sighed through her nostrils. ...do Skarmories even have nostrils? “Well, um...” She awkwardly looked eslewhere. “That's an entirely different thing than I thought... Usually, males would quickly take females who display interest.”

I sighed. “I know...” I turned and stared at the sunset, which was almost completely blocked by tall mountains. “I don't want us to be...mates...b-but I don't want her to hate me, either... It's...” I took a breath. “...complicated,” I breathed out.

We were quiet for a short while though. It was Green Gray who broke the silence. “Win her back.”

I turned back and arched her an eyebrow. “What?”

She smiled at me. “Show her that you mean what you say. She may not be able to accept your decision now, but once you show her that you really mean it, she'll slowly begin to understand and accept it, and she will be able to move on.” She then suddenly frowned at me. “But...I don't understand why you'd want to just be friends with her. I thought the males of the Eevee line hoard females...”

...am I supposed to be a ‘collector’ like Lithe? I violently shook my head to get rid of the growing mental image of me and... I shook my head again.

The Skarmory chuckled lightly. “S-sorry. I shouldn't have thought of you being the same.”

I shivered. “J-just don't say things like that again.”

She nodded. That's good enough.

I took a breath and sighed. “So, uh... Any suggestions?”

She smiled. “It's kinda like winning her over to be your mate, but, make your intentions known to her first.”

...flirting her to just be friends? Yeah, that totally makes no sense... Still, I guess Pokémon ways are different than humans. And besides that, I don't have any other ideas to try and make up with her...

Winning back her friendship. Easier said than done. Then again, nothing has been really easy for me ever since I got here. Except for evolution, but eh, it's not technically mine.

Anyway, I smiled at her. “I guess I could try that.” I nodded my thanks.

She returned it with a nod of her own. “Now, go and get that runaway friend of yours back.”

I rolled my eyes with a smirk. “Eh, I'll do that.” I stood on all four. “Thanks again! And rock on, metal bird!” I ran to the direction where Vixie took off, leaving the Skarmory to wonder what my goodbye meant. I chuckled.

destinedjagold May 29th, 2014 7:56 PM

Chapter 81
I saw Clair busily fixing her gym's roof, along with other people and Pokémon. Even though the sun had already slept under the oce—er, mountains, they still kept at it, with flashlights, torches, and a few Pokémon that were either fire-types or those who knew the move Flash.

...I don't understand why fire-types couldn't learn the move Flash. They have fire, a freaking source of light! And they—bleah, whatever.

At least I'm a Pokémon at the moment. Somehow, Pokémon have better vision at night than humans. At least, as far as I remember when I was still a human during a blackout in the middle of the night.

Anyway, I found a small path up the mountain that led me down here in the city. Aside from the approaching darkness of the evening, I could easily avoid anyone's attention just by traveling behind houses, back yards, bushes, rocks, and that pile of thrash that the city seriously needed to get rid of.

There were a few Pokémon that spotted me though, but none of them really bothered to bother me. Still, it was really nice and weird walking in Blackthorn City.

I still didn't fully understand what that Skarmory had told me earlier today. Green Grey, was it? I can't just keep quiet and pretend that nothing happened like what Shock and Vixie did. I need to confront her about this and ask for her forgiveness. But how? She won't accept it. She gets angry. She avoids me. I need to come up with something, and the sooner, the better.

The lake was already up ahead. I already want this over with already, so I quicken my pace and got there in a few minutes. I sat by the edge, close to the base of this tall and steep mountain. I could already notice the stars' reflection on the calm lake water as I looked around. I raised my nose up and sniffed the air. I got my friends' scents, though it was faint. Still, they were here.

I'm no dog, so I have no idea how to look for them. Maybe they were on the other side? The opposite edge of the lake was quite far, and it may take ten minutes or so of walking around the edge to get there. With a sigh, I stood up and began walking, all the while ignoring the faint swimming and gentle splashing noises from the lake. This is a city where the gym leader's a dragon-type user, so I wasn't really surprised to see silhouettes of Dratinis in the lake.

Now that I thought about it, I wonder why I was the only Pokémon here by the lake. Are Dratinis carnivours? Well, they are dragons after all. Just to be on the safe side, I distanced myself from the edge and continued my walk.

I'm starting to get nervous, and I could barely contain it. But I needed to calm myself if I want this issue to be resolved by the two of us, or with the help of our friends. I just hope their presence won't make me even more nervous than I already am.

Hm... I could try with a simple yet heartfelt apology...and then what? Sigh... I guess I'll just have to go with the flow of how things will work out. At least I know how to begin.

...suddenly, a Dratini crawled out of the water a few feet ahead. It crawled like a snake for a few seconds before it noticed my presence. It stopped, turned, and blinked at me. “...hello?” a female, if her calm and girly voice was of any indication.

“Er...hi?” I awkwardly replied back.

She crawled, or slithered, towards me, and stopped two feet or so in front of me. “Can I eat you?”

I blinked... “Er... Figuratively or literally speaking?” ...wait, what?! I violently shook my head. “No to both, sorry.”

A stomach growled, and it clearly wasn't mine. “Aw...” the Dratini squirmed, and sighed. “...berries for tonight again...”

I chuckled at my shy predator. “I don't like them either.” And then a thought. “Oh hey, before you go, have you seen a Rattata, a Pikachu, a Bulbasaur and possibly a Vulpix around here?”

The Dratini shook her head. “I don't know. I just woke up...”

“Ah...well, thanks anyway.”

And she slithered towards the city. Dragon types are rare 'mons, right? Well, I guess they're quite common in a dragon city. I wonder if that would make Fay a rare 'mon. Then again, no one paid her any attention when she ran through the many humans earlier.

I continued my walk, still busy with my thoughts, and soon enough, I saw my friends hidden behind a tall bush, near a tree, a few feet from both the lake and the base of the mountain. They sat in a circle, chatting and eating berries.

Fay was the first to notice my approach. “Oh! There's Jay!”

Vixie was the only one who didn't turn to see me.

Shock stood up and grinned. “We thought the Dratinis ate you already.”

“He might as well have been,” Vixie whispered all too loudly.

Saur sighed, while Shock sighed with rolling eyes. At least Fay found it funny.

“Whatever happened to the two of you up there, anyway?” Shock asked as I sat beside him. He sat and took a berry. “Vixie was crying us a river as soon as she got to us!”

“Huh,” I tilted my head to the side. “No wonder that Dratini I met early said that the lake got bitter...”

Vixie growled.

My ears drooped. “Sorry... Poor attempt at trying to lighten the mood.” ...and a poor attempt to start apologizing...again... Sigh...

“I'll light you up if I could...” Vixie sharply whispered back.

...she was getting annoying. I shook my head and turned to Shock again. I suppose there was no point in dancing around the issue. “We broke up.”

Shock rolled his eyes. “Obviously.”

I deadpanned. “Then why ask in the first place?”

He shrugged. “Just making sure.”

I nodded at him anyway, and then turned to Vixie. As I said, there was no point in dancing around the issue. “Vixie, I'm sorry, okay?”

...no answer. Saur and Shock thought it might be best to not say anything. Even Fay stopped smiling, and just concentrate on staring at a berry.

“Look, I don't want us to have this...er...bad air between us.”

“You two forgot to take a bath?” ...lame joke, Fay. Saur sighed, Shock facepawed, and Vixie groaned.

I ignored our little rat friend. “Please, Vixie... I'm sorry. You of all peop—er, Pokémon know that I'm a human! Was, anyway, but I'm fixing that!”

“‘We're’...” Saur quietly corrected.

I rolled my eyes. “Sorry. Yes, we're fixing that! I kept on trying to tell you that I just want us to be friends! Just friends!” I stood up and approached her.

She wasn't facing me before, and she still wasn't, and she growled.

I didn't care. I stopped a few inches in front of her. “B-but...” I stared on the ground, fighting the nervousness away. “...things change...over time...” I took a deep breath and faced her. ...like I said, there was no point dancing around it...so I'm gonna say it. “Vixie, I l—”

“Fight me,” she faced me with a sharp glare.

I blinked. “W-what?”

And as sudden as she broke my train of thought, she broke the peaceful silence with a burst of flame.

I jumped back, barely dodging the fiery inferno. It only lasted for a second or two, and Vixie was gone!

I heard my other friends' late gasping reactions.

I turned... At least, I tried to, until something fast slammed against my side, throwing me at the roots of a tree. “Ack!” Skidding to a stop on my other side, I looked up and saw Vixie glaring at me. She attacked me? She just attacked me! And now she was running towards me!

I scrambled back to my feet...paws! Whatever! I couldn't think straight at the moment! I managed to jump away in time. If I didn't, then I'd instead be on the receiving end of a fiery wave of fire. The tree will survive that, hopefully.

“W-what the hell?! Vixie?!”

She vanished yet again.

“Gah!”

She knocked me to my side, and quickly dove down and bit my neck from behind.

I felt her fangs dug under my skin, and felt something warm rolling from her bite down to my neck... I was about to black out then and there, but I took a sharp breath and blindly kicked my paws around. I think I kicked something.

She yelped and lost her grip and as well as her balance.

I jumped away and turned to her in panic. “W-were you trying to kill me?!” I asked that stupid question as I tried to ignore the numbing pain on my neck.

“That's the plan,” she snarled as she quickly got back on her paws, and then fired a thin yet fast wave of fire at me.

I jumped to the side and quickly dug both my front paws on the ground.

She breathed out fire at me again.

I threw both my paws up, creating a thin shield of earth. ...in all honesty, it was easier to jump away than doing what I just did...

As soon as the earth and smoke settled, she was gone once again.

“Oh, for the love of—” I quickly pulled myself down against the earth, and just in time, too.

Vixie yelped as she stepped on my back. Obviously, she failed to anticipate what I just did. She slipped, and still having the speed, slammed face-first on the ground on my other side, and rolled all the way to the scorched tree.

I stood on all four and quickly ran towards her.

She quickly got up.

I jumped, landed on her back, and pinned her down. “Stop this!”

She struggled to get away. “Get off of me!”

I quickly forced her to roll on her back, so she could face me better. I quickly pinned her shoulders down before she could escape. “Vixie, listen to me!”

She breathed a thick streak of fire at my face, and she really let it all out and it lasted more than I thought. But she gasped when she finally stopped.

I deadpanned, my mouth starting to hurt as I kept it open to hold this water ball in front of my face. I dunno, but I guess I could use a few elemental moves even while being an Eevee. I managed to spit fire that one time from Fay's dare. I looked ahead and ‘willed’ the ball to fire itself, and it launched itself somewhere I didn't care. With that out of the way, I sighed, and slowly looked at Vixie again.

She was looking away, still angry, and breathing deep and fast.

I sighed yet again. “Vixie...” I closed my eyes as I suddenly felt how tired I was. Not just physically though... I slowly moved my head, and let it rest on her neck. “I...”

...no point dancing around it anymore...

“...love you...”

She stopped breathing hard. ...actually, it seemed like she stopped breathing at all.

“...and that's why I...I-I don't want us to be...mates...” ...that's the Pokémon equivalent of a boyfriend slash girlfriend, right?

“...w-wh...?”

“...I'm leaving soon, Vixie... You know that...” I sighed as I slowly move back so she could move again. Our position earlier was hella awkward, anyway. I sat down and sighed as she slowly sat up, shock and disbelief still painted clearly on her face. “I...don't...want...to hurt you...physically, or emotionally... T-that's why I—”

“...kept your distance?” she asked, her eyes started to water.

I hung my head, and nodded weakly.

“...kept on telling me that you're not interested? Kept on pushing me away? Kept on—”

“I get it, I get it,” I interrupted her through gritted teeth and with a slight tone of annoyance. “No need to make me feel even more guilty...”

I heard Shock chuckle from far away. Oh yeah...why didn't they stop us from fighting, anyway? I turned and shot the three of them a glare.

I took a breath and sighed through my nostrils, and turned back to the matter at hand.

Vixie already hung her head, sobbing quietly that even I didn't notice while I wasn't looking.

I took a sad breath and slowly approached her, and gently leaned my head on her. Cats do that all the time back at home. They even put rub their head on my bent knee for some strange reason. “I'm sorry,” I whispered.

She sniffed, audible this time. “...hate you...”

I sighed... “I know...”

She slowly moved her head back, and I pulled mine back as well. She wiped her eyes and sniffed. She took a breath, and sighed, and looked at me. “...c-can't you stay?”

I shook my head. “Believe me, I'd love to... I just...can't...”

“Why not?” Fay asked from behind as she and the rest of our friends finally reached us.

...I haven't told them yet, huh? Now that I thought about it, it kinda was unfair for them not to know... With a sigh, I looked at them with sad eyes as I gathered my thoughts about why I really need to return.

I was about to start when we heard faint yet fast footsteps that was getting louder and louder. We turned and saw humans rushing towards us, probably wondering what happened here. Shock and Saur led us somewhere, Fay followed them. I helped Vixie up on her paws and we then followed our friends.

When we find a good place to rest, I'm gonna tell them the reason why I need to return home.

...my brother still needs me back home.

destinedjagold June 3rd, 2014 9:31 PM

Chapter 82
Before we went to sleep last night, I told my friends about me and my brother, and how he ended up in the hospital. I was really planning to have a long and sad tale to share with them, but after countless of questions about what a car was, why a door would slide by itself and why it was made out of glass, what were traffic lights, why do humans need jobs, what was money, currency, rent, tax, and some other simple yet annoying questions, I shouted for them to stop, and I then restarted and ended the story with, “we went to the city to find a job together, we got hit by a car, I was lucky, he wasn't, he was sent to the hospital, now in a coma. The freaking end!”

I quickly turned my back on them and lied down. I even ignored Vixie who was trying to calm me down by nuzzling on my neck.

...and then Fay suddenly asked, “...so what's a hospital?”

I think I woke everyone in the city from that frustrated scream that I did. Whatever. At least I had a good night's rest.

We went inside the cave where many ice-types considered the dark dungeon as their home. Dragons are weak against ice, right? I wonder why they didn't just seal the cave up and just build another route for trainers to get to the city from Mahogany.

Eh, whatever.

Anyway, the cave is dark, but not too dark. There are ice crystals that are sticking out from the walls and ceiling of the cave. Saur's bulb is letting out a faint glow, and with the ice crystals around, well, the dark ice cave isn't so dark anymore. But it still is freaking cold in here.

There are a few ice-type Pokémon around. None of them seem to take any interest in us, which I am quite thankful for. Aside from the cold, battling and scaring any of them off would be annoying as heck.

...and I'm quite thankful that the Jynx here are now Smoochums. They are more bearable to look at than their evolved forms. For me, at least...

“Why are you guys shaking like that?”

Fay, Shock, Saur and I glare at our beloved fire-type companion, who is currently leading our little group. She chuckles lightly and continues walking. I can already guess that she is enjoying herself by watching us suffer in this goddamn freezer.

...or maybe she's waiting for me to ask for a cuddle?

“Hardi-har-har,” Shock shakes himself to get rid of the small ice particles that had formed on his fur. “Laugh it up, why don'cha?”

“This was your idea,” Saur sighs with a slow shake of his head. He then stops walking to shiver for a bit.

Fay is walking beside our Bulbasaur friend. She is also leaning on him, to share her body heat to him or something. I dunno.

Shock and I walk side by side as well, but we aren't leaning against each other. That would be awkward, and weird, and a hell lot of awkward. And awkward.

“Can't we just t-turn back and climb instead?” I ask for the hundredth time.

Shock shakes his head with a frown as he rubs his two paws together. “N-no. We asked a few Pokémon we met outside about i-it before you two showed up. They said that this was the quickest way to reach our dest-tination.”

“...which is...where?”

“T-that...” Saur stops and points with a foot, his bulb's light slowly fading.

...Bulbasaur's feet are called...feet, right? They're not paws, or hooves, or claws...

Even without the light from his bulb, the area around us is still illuminated enough for us to look around. I stop and take a look at where he is pointing. There was a ... big and frozen lake just a few meters ahead of us, and it is illuminated by light that was coming from above the ceiling. Only, there was no ceiling above the frozen lake.

“...how long have we been walking in this cave again?” I ask to no one in particular.

Vixie turns to us with a frown. “A better question is... How are we going to get up all the way there?”

“We fly there, of course!” Fay chirps, quickly turning to me, and unknowingly pushing Saur aside with her bum. “Jay can evolve into a flying thingy! A Flyeon!”

...

...the silence is deafening...

I quietly decide to help Saur up. “Oh, if only I could,” I roll my eyes, “then we wouldn't have traveled on the ground for all this time!”
...huh, that makes me recall the Sylveon speculation. I really believed the little cutie was going to be a flying-type. Thinking back, Sylveon would be silly to be a flying-type. I mean, how would she even fly? Turn her feelers into propellers? Then again, Dodrio being able to learn Fly made no sense at all.

Fay frowns at me. “You mean you can but you decided not to?!” Either she feigned ignorance or she really doesn't know. I sometimes can't tell.

Shock sighs and walks ahead. “What Jay meant to say was he couldn't evolve into a flying-type because there's no flying-type evolution in the Eevee line. And that was a mouthful, so I'm not repeating that again.”

I chuckle. “Care to repeat that?” I receive a groan as a response. I chuckle again.

We continue our walk until we reach the edge of the frozen lake. I have never seen snow before, let alone a frozen lake, but according to my cartoon slash movie encyclopedia, it looks like the lake's frozen surface is thick and an ordinary adult human can walk on it without fearing for it to crack and give in.

“Whoa—oof!”

...if they don't fall on their faces more often.

Fay tries to stand back up again, only to slip and slide a little further away from us.

With a sigh, Saur extends a vine and reels Fay in.

“You caught a big one, Saur!” I said.

He just rolls his eyes with a small smile as he sets Fay down beside him.

Vixie and Shock are already looking around, looking for a way to get up.

I look up and squint my eyes. The light is definitely from the sun, but either the cold atmosphere made the light not so warm, or there is no open hole up there.

“I don't see a way for us to get up there,” Vixie said.

Shock nods.

We continue to wonder how to get up there, until Fay suggests that we should ask the Pokémon around. Fay, Saur and Shock head that way, while Vixie and I head this way.

She is visibly happy for finally having a few precious minutes with me alone.

I roll my eyes and shake my head. “Focus, Vixie.”

She giggles. “I know.” She leans on me with a contented sigh, and I struggle not to slip. “I just still couldn't believe it.”

I groan. Even though I confessed, I still am standing true to what I have told them, that I still want to return home. Vixie knows, but she just doesn't care at the moment, I bet. “You know that I'm still leaving to get back home, right?”

“I don't care. The future sucks—” that made me blink. Blunt much? “—so I'm gonna cherish every minute of the present with you.”

“Oh, for the love of corny...”

“Hush, you!”

Well, at least she's warm.

She finally returns my personal space after we see a Swinub, who is lazily resting on a rock with its furry back on it. The Swinub keeps on mumbling about how much it misses doing what it was doing and says something about never evolving into a Piloswine ever again, with an emphasis on the ‘ever.’

I let Vixie do the talking as I take a few steps away from them. She's a fire-type, so the Swinub might feel the need to talk. Then again, Swinub is part-ground type, and I don't wanna know what a Magnitude or an Earthquake will be like inside an ice cave.

Anyway, the cave is beautiful, but the coldness ruins it for me, unfortunately. The ice shards and crystals are often times glittering in the darkness, like stars during night time.

It isn't really that dark in here. We aren't really that far from the frozen lake anyway.

My ears twitch when I hear a whistle. I turn and see my friends by the lake, Shock and Saur waving a paw at us while Fay jumped and jumped on the spot. Behind the three of them is a tall red-and-white bird.

“They found someone?” Vixie asks as she walks beside me.

I nod and start to walk towards them, Vixie following close behind...beside me...and annoyingly leans on me again. “I can easily push you away, you know.”

“Mmm...I'm glad you didn't.”

My eye starts to twitch. “I hate you.”

“Finally,” Shock rolls his eyes. “The love birds have arrived.”

Saur and the Delibird chuckles. I roll my eyes.

“They look even sweeter than love birds, and they're not even birds!” says the Delibird.

I'm not sure if there are Pokémon that is based on love birds. I don't even know where Skarmory was based from...

“Is this everyone?” the Delibird asks, looking at all of us.

Saur nodded with his signature neutral smile.

“Yep! Yep!” Fay hops in place.

I look at Shock. “Um...” well, the Delibird sounded like a female, so... “she'll fly us up there one by one?”

Shock turns to me with a confused blink. “What? No! That'll take a long time!”

I blink. “Then how with just one Delibird?”

Fay chuckles and pokes Shock on his side. “See? Told ya it's a Delibird! You owe me a shocked berry!”

Shock groans and rolls his eyes. “Eh, no. She'll carry all of us up there.”

I blink again. I still do not know how.

“I'm with Jay here, Shock,” Vixie pipes in, looking confused at our Pikachu friend. “Even if she can manage to carry all of us in one go, wouldn't that be tiring for her?”

Shock simply shrugs. “Hey, she volunteered.”

I deadpan.

The Delibird chuckles, catching our attention. “No need to worry, kiddies. It's a simple task that I'm used to do!” And she then magically pulls out a red santa-like bag from behind her feathers.

I take a step back. I'm starting to think that this is a bad idea. “Um... Is this kidnapping?”

Shock, Vixie and Saur quickly turn their heads to me.

Fay hops happily. “Oh! Oh! We're being kidnapped! Sounds like fun!” She stands up and turns to me. “What does that mean?”

The Delibird, wearing a big smile, swoops her bag on Fay, and the said rodent disappears. She then swoops a startled Saur into her bag. The said bag didn't seem like it is gaining any weight at all.

The three of us take a step back as the Delibird happily takes a step towards us, still with a happy smile. “Now, now, kiddies. No need to worry.”

...I don't think the three of us are fast enough to escape. At least our scream did.

eeveeandmew June 4th, 2014 6:31 PM

This is a well written story in my opinion. Can't wait to see what the delibird will do! :P

destinedjagold June 5th, 2014 10:39 PM

Chapter 83
I don't really understand what just happened. A second ago, the Delibird kidnapped us by putting us inside her bag. A second later, the darkness suddenly brightens up, revealing a snowy-white ground. And I am still screaming.

And oh, I am falling towards it. “Oof!” M-my nose...!

I hear other thudding noises around me, and then groaning noises.

“Ow...”

“Ung...”

“Ouch...”

“Wheee! That was fun! Let's do it again!”

“No...” I groan.

I hear a chuckle from behind us. “Whoops, sorry kiddos.”

I stand up, one paw rubbing my poor nose, and turn to see our kidnapper, smiling sheepishly and scratching her head.

“I sometimes forget what I'm carrying inside my bag...”

I am about to yell at her or maybe attack her, but I hold my breath when I notice the giant hole on the ground behind her. I blink. “Uh... Is that...?”

“Hm?” the Delibird turns around and looks at the hole. “Ah, yes,” she nods and turns to me. “Try not to fall over there. I don't think any wingless creatures can survive such a great height, especially non-evolved ones.”

“R-right... Wait, you flew us out?”

She nods with a proud smile, puffing her chest. “As your Pikachu friend instructed me to do!”

“It felt like we were teleported,” Vixie groans.

I still don't understand what just happened. Does time stop when we're inside a Delibird's bag? She doesn't look like she's tired from carrying all of us. Then again, her bag didn't seem to have gained any weight when she put Saur and Fay inside. I wonder if that's how Santa does his work back home.

...yeah, I'm losing my sense of reality...

After my friends got back on their feet, we said our thanks to the santa bird, albeit a bit awkwardly, and we watch her fly back down the hole, and Saur manages to catch Fay's tail with his vine before she could manage to leap after the bird. She earns a smack from all of us.

And with that out of the way, we continue our journey, Saur and Fay on the lead. It's still cold out here, but at least it's bearable now than inside the ice cave.

It looks like that we are traveling in a valley, surrounded by trees on both sides, and taller mountains beyond. If the area has snow, then we are probably on a very great height, or maybe we're already outside the border of Kanto and Johto? I do remember Arceus' temple located north from Johto, and the entrance is located in the Unown...ruins.

God freaking damnit!

Sigh...it's too late to go back now, I think...

The trees are all covered in snow, and the air is calm and gentle, and so are the Pokémon living around the area. They are mostly ice type, but there are also a few flying types like Pidgeys and Hoothoots, their nests and burrows near the trees. Sentrets, Stantlers and Tediursas. And I'm quite sure that I just saw an Absol running in the trees. Cool! I wish I got a better look at that cool-looking Pokémon. I look around, and up ahead is an angry Growlithe that is walking towards us.

...uh...

We stop, almost immediately.

Shock sighs. “Here we go again...”

Lithe rolls his eyes and...walks past Saur and Fay...walks past Shock, though he gives him a very nasty glare...and then walks by Vixie and I...

I blink and turn around, and see Lithe keeps on walking away from us.

...what just happened?

“Oi!” Shock calls, and Lithe stops. “What's the matter? Afr—mmf!”

I kick my hind leg, throwing a thin layer of snow at his face. I hide my amazement from my lucky blind aim.

Saur gets the idea, and immediately wraps his vines around Shock's mouth before he gets the chance to say something else.

“Hi, Lithe!” ...unfortunately, that means he can't catch Fay, who is already running towards him.
Vixie and I run after her. Lithe turns and yelps when he suddenly sees our Rattata friend in front of him.

“How're you doing?” she asks oh so cheerfully.

Lithe blinks at her. “...good?”

Fay nods, and nods, and nods, while she's being dragged back by Vixie pulling her tail with her mouth. She finally notices. “H-hey! Let go!”

Vixie just rolls her eyes.

I sigh and turn to Lithe. “Sorry about that.”

He replies with a grunt. “What do you want?” he asks me nicely. And by nicely, I mean with a dangerous tone and an angry glare.
I arch an eyebrow. I shouldn't be near him though, but I don't feel like he's going to attack any of us, anyway. No harm in pushing my luck a little. “You're usually going after Vixie. Now you're not. I just wanna know why.”

He keeps on glaring at me for a few more seconds before he grunts at me again, turns around, and walks away.

“...that went well...” My ears droop. Then again, I'd rather have a leaving Lithe than a fighting one. I wonder what happened to him.

He suddenly stops walking. “I just wanna go home,” he suddenly says, his back still on me. “Let's just say that I now know what it feels like to be chased by someone I don't want to be with,” and he then continues to walk away.

“Chased by someone?” Vixie asks, standing beside me. She turns to me with an uncertain look. “Do you think he was talking about that human that caught the two of us back in the forest?”

I lightly shake my head. “Dunno... But at least we won't be worrying about him now.”

She nods, smiling gently. “There's no one who's gonna stop us from being mates now.”

“Don't push it, girl,” I glare at her.

She chuckles and gives me a lick on my cheek.

...I pretend to dislike it by wiping my paw on my wet cheek.
She rolls her eyes.

I turn around, and yelp when, from the distance, a familiar human trainer is running towards us. He looks like he is having a hard time running in the snow.
Vixie yelps beside me, making Saur and the others turn around. They let out a surprised gasp and quickly run to the trees before the human got them.

“Blaze! Wait!” the trainer shouts tiredly, and I hear a faint Lithe-like yelp from behind me. “Oh, cool! Another Vulpix!” he smiles at us as I growl at him. He then looks ahead, and gasps. “Blaze! No! Don't go!” and he quickly turns back to us. “You! Don't go anywhere! I'll be back to catch you! Blaze!” and he runs off, chasing after a much faster Growlithe.

I blink at his retreating form. “That was him, huh?”

Vixie shivers and nods beside me. “Y-yeah...”

“Should we wait for him?”

“Cresselia's poop, no!” she hisses and bites my tail, and rushes back towards the others.

I chuckle as I enjoy the slightly painful but free ride back towards our friends.

destinedjagold June 11th, 2014 12:49 AM

Chapter 84
The fire is burning, its faint sparking and snapping noises echo around this small clearing we're in. My friends are already sound asleep around our little fire. Saur, Shock and Fay are sleeping side by side, while Vixie is snuggled-up beside me.

I can't sleep.

Ever since yesterday, when we came into this thick and snowy forest, I've felt really uneasy. Vixie made me feel worse by suggesting that we should find a den or something to ‘to help me relax’, saying that I ‘should leave her with something before I go away.’ Shock positively jumped in to tease me about it. I just kept on saying ‘no.’ As tempting as that sounds, I still...am not...ugh...

Anyway, aside from that, this forest really... I dunno. But I don't like this forest. I could barely sleep the night before, so I doubt I'll be able to sleep tonight...

I told my friends about it, but they shrugged it off. Although they did find it weird about the lack of wild Pokémon living in the area after I pointed it out to them yesterday. Still, they insisted of going through the forest.

...it's not like there are any other ways to reach our destination... We're in a snowy valley, and the mountains look too steep for us to climb.

I raise my head up, like how dogs do while still lying down, and I look around. I can't see anything beyond the darkness, where our little fire's light couldn't reach. I sigh and lie my head down on my paws, and I then close my eyes, hoping that I will fall to sleep. It's not really fun walking through the forest while yawning all the time.

...and speaking of...I open my mouth wide and let out a very long sig—

A bluish-white ball suddenly appears above our little fire, and it flashes in bright light that can blind me if I let my eyes open. I close my eyes. I'm not that stupid to let it ope—

“Whooo... Pretty!” ...and then there's Fay.

“Huh?”

“What's going on?”

“...ngh...five more minutes...”

The light finally starts to dim, and when it seems like it is safe for my eyes, I open them both to take a look.

Fay chuckles. “I'm seeing black spots everywhere!”

I fight the urge to roll my eyes. Instead, I concentrate on the green little fairy that is still glowing above our little fire.

Vixie blinks. “Bi?”

When the glow around her body is gone, and our little fire is the only light source left, Bi wobbles from where she hovers, and immediately opens her eyes.

“Hot!” she screeches, and immediately lands on the cool snowy ground with a relieved smile. “Ah...much better.”

“Bi?” Shock finally wakes up, rubbing an eye with a paw. “What are you doi—GAH!”

The Celebi immediately shots herself towards Shock and locks herself on him with a hug. It looks like a very tight hug, judging from how Shock gasps the air out of his lungs.

“Oh my gosh! You guys are still alive!” Bi cries. Really, she sounds like she's crying. And she then begins to sob.

Shock grits his teeth, and starts to pull the little legendary off of him. He didn't need to, 'cause Bi immediately lets him go and hovers away to have a better look at all of us. She looks relieved, but it only lasts for a moment before she looks so worried, looking around the area.

“Y-you guys have to get outta here!”

“Nice to see you, too, Bi...” Shock rubs his neck.

Vixie looks at her with worry. “Bi, what's wrong?”

“This place...” Bi still is looking worried, glancing around and behind. “...t-this place killed all of you!”

I...arch an eyebrow. “What?”

Fay frowns and turns to Saur. “Saurie, are we dead?”

Saur frowns back. “I told you not to call me that...”

“You're not making any sense, Bi...” Vixie lightly shakes her head. “Please, calm down an—”

“N-no!” Bi shot her a glare. She then frowns. “I-I'm sorry... B-but there's no time! You guys have to get away from here befo—”

I feel the snowy ground shaking lightly, and as soon as it did, Shock yelps as the snowy ground beneath him erupts, throwing him back. Something sharp slices in the air. My friends gasp. Shock lands on the ground on his back. A dark figure jumps out from the still-settling snow and earth, towards the Pikachu. Celebi shouts. The figure was a Sneasel, its razor-sharp claws at the ready for—

A distorted air collides with the dark type, pushing him away from the startled Pikachu. The Sneasel slams itself on the ground, and rolls away in a very painful speed through the bushes.

Suddenly, small and snowy eruptions are everywhere, and immediately, the sounds of sharp claws follow.

“What in blazes—” I got cut off...

“Attack them!” a loud and commanding voice shouts, and immediately, the Sneasels rush towards us, claws ready. “While they're still startled and surprised!”

I grit my teeth as my ears twitch. There are sounds everywhere, but something inside me is telling me that something behind me is closer and... I jump forward, headbutting the frozen Vixie in the process. I hear slicing noises from behind me, and a ‘tsk.’

Electricity flies over both our heads. As Vixie gasps in surprise, I sharply turn and see both Fay and Saur evading our attackers' attacks.

“We're gonna die, huh?” Fay asks nonchalantly, tail glowing and using it to parry the Sneasels' attacks.

I quickly got back to my feet, and so did Vixie. We jump in different directions to avoid another Sneasel-sweep attack.

“Not,” Saur grunts, parrying the sharp attacks with his vines. “...a good joke, Fay...”

Fire immediately joins the electric attacks.

Most of the Sneasel suddenly got blown away, courtesy of an angry Celebi flying overhead.

I turn and jump in time to evade the slashing attacks from two Sneasels. I quickly charge up a shadow ball and fire it at them, but they easily manage to dodge it, to my annoyance.
The two suddenly got hit by a bolt of electricity.

How many Sneasels are there?! I'm guessing a dozen of them...

Everyone is busy dodging and attacking to notice a Sneasel putting out the fire. Bi fires a beam at it, throwing it away, but the fire was already out, dimming the area.

...does Bi's psychic attacks hurt them? Gah, whatever...

The air got colder, but I didn't care at the moment. I need to concentrate if I don't want to end up into a meal!

Shock's electric attacks, Vixie's fire attacks, Bi's psychic attacks, Fay's rare Swift attacks, and Saur's lighting bulb are the only sources of light we have now. It's difficult to see where the Sneasels are, but I need to concentrate.

“Ah!” Fay shouts in pain.

My heart stopsfor a moment.

“Get away from her!” Bi flies over, but I can't risk looking what is going on back there.

I grit my teeth as a rush of cold air passes me by, making me shiver and almost making me unable to jump in time to avoid the attacks. I quickly fire another shadow ball, this time managing to hit a yelping Sneasel.

But another one quickly rushes towards me. I charge another one, but my target suddenly finds itself being swallowed by thick waves of fire.

I turn in time to see Vixie disappear, tackling another Sneasel with a quick attack.

A quick attack... I can do that, can't I? I can vaguely remember Vixie teaching me how to do it...

I turn and growl at an approaching Sneasel. I duck in time, the Sneasel slashing nothing but air, and I quickly kick my hind legs, headbutting my attacker's belly, and throwing it back.

I shiver a bit when cold air passes by.

“Now would be,” Shock grunts, slamming his glowing tail on a thrown Sneasel from Vixie's quick attack, “...gkt, a good time to evolve, don't ya think?!”

I hear the Sneasel in front of me snicker, probably thinking that what Shock had said is absurd...

I fire a shadow ball, the Sneasel easily dodging it. I fire a quick yet small shadow ball again, startling it as I hit it, and I immediately follow it with a headbutt. “I-I'm trying, but I can't concentrate!”

“Use a fire move then!” Saur shouts, startling me bit.

I make a quick glance, following his voice, and see him and Bi fighting off a horde of Sneasels, while trying to protect Fay, who is lying down on the ground in between them.

“Fay?!” I shout, but quickly turn back when I hear Sneasels approaching me again.

My eye twitch as I take a gulp of air, and breathe out an ice beam, startling the two Sneasels, and freezing the feet of one of them.

I blink. “Um... Wrong move...”

“An ice beam?!” the other Sneasel yelp as a cold air rushes pass me.

I immediately take the opportunity to fire another attack at it, this time a white version of a shadow ball. I hit the Sneasel, and is thrown back from the explosion.

“W-what was that?!” the frozen one asks.

...I guess fairy moves wor— “gah!”

“Jay!”

I kick my hind legs, hitting something, and pushing my attacker back enough for me to fire a desperate wave of fire. I wince as my brain tells me how deep and painful my wound is, and I shiver when the hot liquid that is oozing from my wound quickly gets cold.

Vixie tackles my attacker to the ground with a snarl, but suddenly, she screams in pain after she got hit by chunks of ice from somewhere. She runs away in time to dodge the pinned-down Sneasel's claws.

...and I suddenly notice the lack of electric attacks.

I see Vixie running back to our fallen Pikachu friend, firing waves of fire at the Sneasels who are approaching him.

“B-Bi?” I hear Saur's weak voice. I turn to see Bi lying on the ground, shivering.

...and then another cold air passes me by, and it feels like it was heading towards where Saur and Bi are.

Chunks of ice hit me on my side, and I cry in pain, the impact making me lose my balance and I fall on my side.

“Ack!” Vixie cries in pain as she desperately tries to pull herself away from the Sneasel that stabbed her from behind. Her captor yelps in pain when a sharp leaf stabs him from behind, freeing Vixie. She turn and spits a fume of fire, enough to startle the Sneasel and making him stumble back.

But another Sneasel tackles her down beside Shock.

...Saur hisses at the Sneasels that surrounds him, Fay and Bi.

...I ignore the Sneasels that are approaching me.

I hear a faint jumping noise from the branches, and something lands on the snowy ground a few feet in front of me, blocking my view of Vixie and Shock.

“Good job, boys!” the...Weavile...says, smiling as it looks around. “Dinner's served!”

...I forgot how scary and dark this world is...
...I snarl as I felt very hot, literally exhaling fumes of smoke and fire from my nostrils as I glare at an umimpressed Weavile.

The Sneasels gasps, and those who are approaching me are now distancing themselves away from me.

The Weavile turns to me with a glare. “...light's out.” He is suddenly gone..

SMACK

...and so is my consciousness...

destinedjagold June 15th, 2014 7:15 PM

Chapter 85
...beeping...

...beeping...

...I can hear...beeping...

...it sounds...familiar...

...then again, I have heard a lot of beeping noises in the past...

...most of them, from movies in cinemas and on tv...

...the small, yet recent parts of my life...

...was and still is inside that small white room...in the hospital where my brother lay asleep...

...but it doesn't make sense...

...why am I hearing it now...?

...I was...unconscious...wasn't I?

...not anymore, I guess... I mean, how can I have these thoughts at the moment if I am unconscious, right?

...yeah, I'm thinking to myself again...

...I always do...and I should have already gotten used to it...

...but I guess it's fun to notice myself thinking a lot to myself...

...well...I wonder what happened to me...

...let's see...

...what is the last thing that I remember...?

...hm...well...I was at the office...editing that website for a restaurant...

...they wanted their front page to have a small section for news or whatcrap...

...I don't actually care... I just follow their given instructions and I do it...

...I have read that jobs like those...anyone with the right knowledge can do it at home...

...but working in a company has a lot of benefits...like...hospitalization...

I feel myself mumble, which is really strange. I then feel how weak I am...but at least I can vaguely feel my body now...

Slowly, I open my eyes...

...I try to open my eyes...but either they're too heavy, or I'm too weak.

...well, the former sounds incredibly stupid, so it has to be the latter. Why am I in a hospital anyway? Surely, something happened, and leaving me weak and all...

...stop thinking and open your eyes...!

...slowly, slowly, slowly...I manage to slightly open my eyes, and the soft light hurts, and I mentally brace myself as I try to open my eyes further.

...what I am seeing is a white blur at the moment, but soon, my vision cleared, and from my half-opened eyes, I can see...white ceiling...

And the beeping noises...are still there...

...hospital... I'm in a hospital..?

...something must've happened to me...but I can't remember...

...sigh... What a cliché setting to wake up in... And then what? My brother or someone who has a crush on me is sitting or sleeping beside me?

...strange that I am even too weak to roll my eyes.

“Look who decided to wake up!”

If I wasn't too weak, I swear I would have jumped. At least my heart did that for me, so thank you so much, bro—

...!

I turn. I didn't care how weak I am at the moment. I force my head to turn to the direction to where that voice has come from.

And there, right there, seated on a chair beside my bed, my brother is smiling at me like nothing ever happened to him!

“W-wha..?”

“Shh, shh...” he leans forward a bit, and puts a palm on my forehead. “Don't push yourself. Not yet.” He pulls his hand back. Strange, I didn't feel his palm on my head. Must still be too weak to feel...

At least I am not weak enough to arch an eyebrow. “T...the...f*ck...bro...?”

He sighs. “You really need to control your cursing.”

I'm not really a fan of cursing...but sometimes, if events as crazy as THIS is happening, then I'm not sorry.

He looks at me and smiles gently. “So...how's my brother doing? Bet you've captured lots of Pokémon by now.”

... “W...what?”

He chuckles. “You're gonna have to tell me all about it, when you're done doing whatever in there.”

... “W-wha—”

“Shh... I told you... Don't wake up just yet.”

I am awake, you moron!

He frowns. “No...you're still not.”

...what?

He shrugs and turns to look at another bed. I can't see who he's looking at. He's blocking the way. “...and neither am I.”

...what?

He turns back to me. “Oh, you must be confused.”

Thank you, Captain Obvious.

He frowns. “Hey! No need to glare at me like that! But anyway...” He stands up, and moves aside.

...and I guess my surprised blink is enough for him to fill in the ‘what the f*ck is going on’ I am having.

“I'm not sure, but let's just say that we're spirits, for now.” He turns to me and smiles. “Isn't that great? We're spirits and can go wherever we want!”

I deadpan at him.

“Eheheh.. B-but I haven't tried yet. Guess I'm scared to try, but you've gone further!” He gives me the biggest grin I've ever seen him give me. “You're in the Pokémon world! And that's really, really amazing! You'll have to tell me all about it when you wake up!”

...I sure hope you forget about that when you do wake up from your coma. ...does this mean I'm in a coma as well? What the heck happened to me?

“You keep on mumbling about this Shock, and Fay, and Saur, and Vixie—”

!

“and about meeting Bill, Goldenrod, Pallet, Viridian... And I don't really think spirits can dream, so there was only one logical conclusion! You traveled to the Pokémon world!”

...me seeing you as a spirit is beyond logic at the moment, kiddo...

“And that's why you shouldn't wake up yet! Before you got back here, you were talking about having this intense battle with your Pokémon! Sneasels and Weaviles, right?”

..!

“And you brought out your four Pokémon! Shock the Pikachu, Saur the Bulbasaur, Fay the Rattata... Seriously, bro, a Rattata? Really?”

!!!

“But hey, at least you have an Eevee! But I don't understand why you nicknamed him with your own name, Jay—”

!!!

“and you only called him that once! And it's like...I dunno... But you were in this epic battle! And you can't just leave me hanging! Talk about a bad cliffhanger!”

...cold... It suddenly feels...so...freaking...cold...

“Oh! You're going back already?” My brother smiles, and pats my shoulder. “Don't let a bunch of dark-ice types stop your journey to restore evolution or whatever! I forgot the plot already, but eh, whatever. It's the action that counts! And that saucy romance between your Vulpix and Eev—er...”

...I glare at him.

“Uh... Damn, bro! You're freaking twenty-three years old! You shouldn't stop your Pokémon from banging themselves senseless! Seriously! I don't get you!”

“I'll...” I glare at him, but smile anyway.

He smiles, but he's already fading...

“I'll punch...you senseless...when I...”


...he's gone...

“...get back..!” I bark, spitting fire in the process, and feeling the fire swirl around me in a vortex.

I hear a yelp of pain, and something cold and sharp pulls out from the side of my neck.

I growl as I feel my mouth start to water...thickly...

...well, I was stabbed on the neck. What do I expect?

Whatever. I'm conscious, and currently not dying...yet. At least I could save my friends before I go byebye, and then I'll punch my bro.

“He evolved!”

“A Flareon?!”

“L-let's get outta here!”

“Fools!” the Weavile shouts, and I immediately turn to him. He is busy glaring at his army around the area. “He's wounded!” he turns to me with a glare. “Forget the other ones and concentrate on him!” And then he smiles. “And he's bigger now. Meaning...” he licks his lips. “...more meat.”

Voices of delicious realization echoes around as I roll my eyes. Doesn't evolution heal wounds?

...my neck still feels painful and my mouth is still pooling with blood. And I'm starting to feel my lungs getting heavy.

...to the fanfics who taught me that evolution can ‘instantly’ heal wounds, no matter how severe, well...

“SCREW YOU!” I shout, firing a hot streak of fire towards the startled Weavile, the swirling fire vortex I had flew towards him as well.

My attack was probably too quick, even for me to realize. Anyway, I hear the others scrambling while others are already rushing towards me. I dunno how, but I just willed my four paws to be hot, and the snow beneath me melts instantly. Eh, no time to appreciate that discovery though.

I jump forward, headbutting the burned Weavile in the process, and leaving the Sneasels almost hitting each other behind me. I quickly turn and see a few of them already slipped from the watery ground. Eh, I am not expecting them to slip, but whatever, bonus points, I guess.

I stomp my paw, and willed the small puddle of water to rise, summoning a Surf, and pushing it at the others, and washing them away and beyond to wherever.

I hear surprised gasps from those who are lucky enough to be away from the rapid water's path.

“Ggget him!” the Weavile snarls, rushing towards me.

I roll my eyes and slap my blue-fin tail on the ground behind me, enough to turn the snowy ground I struck into water, and pushing it towards the yelping Weavile.

I tap my hind hoof on the water, zapping it, electrocuting him and a few others.

...including a soaked Shock and Vixie.

“W-w-watch it!” she scolds me, and I wince.

“Eh... Sorry?” I apologize, while wondering how I am able to talk normally. I quickly turn to face the sounds of...fleeing noises.

The Sneasels have already retreated...

“...uh...daradan-dan, dah-dan, dan-dadan?” my poor attempt at a Final Fantasy victory fanfare.

I hear someone groaning. I turn, and see the Weavile a few meters behind Vixie and Shock. He is trying to get up, but I guess I paralyzed him, along with those two Sneasels...and one pissed-off Vulpix.

“Hey, I didn't mean to hurt you, okay? But could you give me a little credit?” I tell her, while holding myself from being startled at the sudden shift of viewpoint. I look at my paws and see my normal Eevee paws now. I lightly shake my head and smile at her. “I did save us, right?”

She was still glaring at me. “You could have done that much sooner...”

“Uh...better late than never?” And oh, I take back what I said about the fanfics and the evolution-heal-thingy...

Vixie finally drops her glare, and sighs instead. “B-but...” she looks at me, her eyes starting to water. “...Bi..?”

...oh...right... I was feeling happy and confident for seeing my brother again, that I forgot about—

“Oh my gosh! What happened here?!” ...Bi...asked?

Vixie, Saur and I quickly turn to the source of the voice, and there, floating by the treelines, is Bi, looking alive, and surprised, with both hands on her mouth.

I turn to Saur, and stare at the brown and clearly-dead Celebi on the ground, and then turn back to the green and obviously-alive Celebi, and blink. My ear twitch when I hear a noise. That can wait for a few seconds... “Uh... You died? And then you're alive? So you tell me!”

I then quickly turn and fire a shadow ball, passing the startled Vixie by a hair, and towards a startled Weavile, before he can land his claws on her. Vixie quickly turn as the Weavile roll back, and finally decides to go unconscious.

Vixie turns back and glares at me. “Are you trying to hurt me?!”

I roll my eyes. “Hey! At least I didn't hit you! Unlike you who really wanted me dead back in Blackthorn!”

“I'll shove a thorn down your throat if you do that again!” she glares.

I glare back.

Saur sighs. “...and we're back to normal...” he says with a roll of his eyes before turning his focus on a waking Fay.

“Ow...” Shock groans, finally waking up as well. “Keep it down, you two...”

“Seriously...” Bi says, floating closer and looking around. “What happened here?”

Vixie and I ignore her, as we continue our glaring contest.

Shock sits up, and stretches. “Just a severe case of lover's quarrel...”

I swipe my paw on the ground, throwing snow at him.

“...and we got in the middle of the cross-fire...” Shock rolls his eyes.

“Put a sock in it!”

“What's a sock?” Fay asks.

destinedjagold June 17th, 2014 9:34 PM

Chapter 86
“Time travel,” Bi whispers as she gently lowers the dead Celebi with her psychic to a little grave we dug earlier today. “I sensed her presence when she appeared in our time.”

Well, that confirms my theory of a time-traveling Celebi, and getting rid of my other silly theories, like maybe it was just a Zorua or a Ditto. Anyway, “and that's why you came?” I ask as Shock and I start to bury the poor, dead legendary.

Bi nods.

“I'm...just glad that you're still okay, Bi,” Vixie smiles at her.

Bi turns to her with a frown. “I should be the one saying that.”

Saur chuckles.

Shock and I are done. He claps his paws together in an up-down manner to get rid of the dirt and snow. “She said that she was glad to see us alive...” he says as he approaches them, and sits down, joining their little circle of chatting. “Does that mean we died in the future and she just traveled back in time to save us?”

“Wouldn't that just...eliminate the already-existing future?” I ask as I turn to them.

Bi shakes her head. “I'm not sure. Time is constantly on the move, and there are many factors in life that can change the future. Every living creature makes choices, creating many threads of possible future outcomes... So there's really no definite future.”

“Uh...” I shake my head. “But there's a solid past, right?”

She nods. “The present creates a lot of ripples in time-space, threading to many possible futures. But every present and future times has only one past, and that is why it's easier to go back in time than going ahead...”

“Uh huh...” ...that's a lot to take. I better stop ahead before this small headache becomes a bigger one that a ‘future me’ is sure not going to like. As Bi and the rest of our friends resume their idle chat, I turn around and walk towards the trees.

“Jay?”

“Hm?” I stop and look back.

Vixie frowns. “I-I'm sorry for getting angry at you earlier...”

I smile at her. “I'm not really upset about it.” I turn to the trees and continue walking. “I just need to get something for the...uh...grave...”

“Oh,” she says. “I'm coming wi—”

“No, you're not!” Bi scolds her. “You're not healed yet!”

“But it's taking too long!”

“Blame the lack of sunlight.”

I chuckle quietly as I reach the trees. I still don't understand how evolution can fix wounds.

...I still don't understand how my brother knows about my journey here. Do I mumble everything back on earth like a radio or something?

I look around, but I can't find any rocks that's good enough... I guess this twig will have to do...

I pick the thin twig on the snowy ground with my mouth. Try as I might, my tongue still touches it and it taste like...wood. Cold wood. Anyway, I look around and spot another one. I guess I'll only need two. I approach the twig and pick it up as well. Now to get back to my friends. I can faintly hear them, so I just need to follow their voices.

...I was...about to die when that Weavile struck me on the neck... I wonder if that proves my theory of me returning home if I do die here. But that's going to be an unpleasant and most especially, a very painful process if I'm not lucky.

...and to my brother who is listening in ways I still don't understand, the Sneasels came back to fetch their fallen comrades, and we let them, as long as they won't bother us. The Weavile was giving me a death glare as he was dragged away, but eh, hopefully, that was the last time we see each other.

...I wonder how that guy evolved. Maybe he wasn't affected? Or maybe the mountain is close by?
If Bi's here, then that means we're already close to where the gem is located. So I guess that's it...

“—and Latios is getting antsy...” I hear Bi's voice as I turn from a tall bush, and finally seeing them sitting around a small fire.

...they got twigs for those, I bet...

“Jay!” Fay chirps when she notices me. She frowns. “That's it? You can't start a fire with that too little twigs.”

I roll my eyes and spit out the twigs by the grave. I turn to our legendary friend. “Bi. You can manipulate plants, right?”

She blinks for a moment. “I can. Why?”

I gesture with my paw for her to get closer.

She floats and lands beside me, and stares at the twigs that I am now holding together with my paws.

“Can you grow a vine and wrap it around...” I lean and touch the part of the twig where the two touch each other with my nose. “...here?”

“I guess I can...” she responds, a bit unsure.

I pull my nose back and nod.

She begins to wave a slightly glowing hand. Soon, a small and thin vine pops out from the ground and starts wrapping itself on the twigs, holding their position in place. I blink in awe. Wow. Never seen a growing vine grow that fast.

I nod. “I think that's good enough.” I pull a sharp nail out and cut the vine from the ground. I ignore Bi's sad frown as I pull the little cross up and stab it on the head of the grave, and then I push it further down a bit. I then let go and take a step back, staring at the sad scene.

“...I think it's one of those human things...” I hear Fay's poor attempt of a whisper behind me. And I swear I can almost feel Vixie's blank stare, Saur's quiet nod and Shock's eye roll.

I turn to them and flash them a sad smile. “Usually, we use grave stones, but I don't think there are any around here.” I shrug. “Nor are there any rocks that are good enough as a replacement.”

“Grave stones?” Saur asks, blinks, and then his eyes shine in realization. “Ah. I get it now... I think I've heard of those before... I think it's where humans write the dead's name on it...”

I nod. “Yeah. I wonder if that Absol foresaw this...”

“Absol?” Vixie blinks. “What's that?”

“It's a name of a Pokémon,” Bi explains. “I hear they have the ability to sense upcoming danger...”

“Oh?” Shock turns to her. “Are they four-legged and have black and white furs?”

I nod. “Yeah. But they're not supposed to be common here in Johto, nor in Kanto.”

Shock shrugs. “I remember seeing a weird Pokémon like that in Ilex Forest a few days before we all devolved...”

Ah... I nod. “I see...” Wait... “You didn't blame the guy, right?”

“That ‘guy’ was a ‘she’,” he smirks, “if Lithe trying to win her was an indication at that time.”

I groan...

Fay chuckles. “Oh! I remember that! Even as a mighty Arcanine, he got beaten!”

Saur smirks and shakes his head. “If I recall correctly, she was telling us that there's great danger coming.” He then rolls his eyes. “And then there was Lithe...”

Vixie groans. “Here was to hoping to never hear his name...”

I chuckle and carefully pat her shoulder. She has a wound there, and I'm not sure if Bi or Saur already patched her up with Synthesis or something... “I'm actually hoping to see him bring you flowers...”

She growls and bites my paw, but I am too quick to pull it back.

I stick my tongue out at her. I yelp in surprise when she headbutts me and pushes me on the ground on my back, pinning me down. “Ow...” I wince.

“He's not coming after me,” Vixie glares at me with a smile. “'cause I'm with you now, remember?”

“...overly attached matefriend...” I look to the side and sigh.

“They're mates now? Like, really?” I hear Bi ask.

“Yeah,” Shock chuckles. “You'll have grandkids soon enough.”

“Hey!” I shout. “I resent that!” I then glare at my pinner. “And could you please get off of me?”

“Grandkids?” Bi asks, and then gasps. “V-Vixie? You're pregnant?” she asks in a happy tone.

Vixie grins at me. “Soon...”

I glare at her.

destinedjagold June 29th, 2014 7:37 PM

Chapter 87
Even though Bi had healed my friends up, exhaustion was still an issue, yet it was easily remedied by sleep. While my friends were all sound asleep around the small fire that was almost out, Bi was keeping an eye on us as she sat on a branch, hidden in the shadows.

As for me? Well, I was just lying on the ground, my head on Vixie's neck. I actually lost tracked of time. I think I've bee like this for two or so hours now...

...what? She's warm, and we're surrounded by snow, so I'm gonna need all of the heat I can get.

Evolution really healed my lethal injury though, and the adrenaline rush I had during the battle was yet to settle.

I sighed and quietly stared at the fire.

When that Weavile stabbed me on the neck, I slipped out from existing and went back to my world. I guess that proved the theory of mine that if I die here, I would wake up in my home world.

But eh, death doesn't sound fun. It sounds painful. And I don't want my brother to give me an earful if I die right now, ending the adventure. I rolled my eyes at that thought.

Hm... I wonder how many weeks have I been here. Months? I haven't spent a year here yet, and I don't plan to. I'm leaving, but I guess I can do every Pokémon here a favor and return the evolution power thingy to them before I go home.
Even if I was fighting to get back home, heh, I still enjoyed my time here. I mean, another world, where Pokémon exist? Hell, if only I didn't had any attachments back home, I sure as heck won't go back. My world sucked. Well, to be fair, this world wasn't as awesome as I thought it would be, but eh, I'll pick this over my world in a heartbeat, if only...

I sighed, and slowly rose up, careful not to wake Vixie or anyone up. I'm not sure if Bi was still awake, but eh... I quietly walked towards the trees, heading...nowhere. I guess I just felt like I needed a walk.

Back home, offline video games were the things that'd drain my energy so I could sleep during some sleepless nights I had in the city. Or I'll just visit 9gag. But recently, when I got here, I've been walking just to tire myself so I could sleep. Not walking far though, since I still need to return and sleep together with my friends. On the ground. Outside. Surrounded by things that could kill us. Sigh...

“Having trouble sleeping?”

I stopped and shrugged. “Eh,” I turned and sat down as Vixie approached me. “Yeah.”

She sat beside me and started licking her paw.

...and then it clicked on me. We're alone. Surrounded by trees and bushes. With no one else around.

...I'm doomed.

I gulped and slowly stood.

She stopped licking her paw and turned to me. “Hm? Where're you going?”

“Back,” I lied. “I'm feeling tired now...”

I turned my back on her and began my walk back.

She sighed, making me stop. “Jay... Can we talk?”

...now or never? I can delay this, can't I? We're close to the mountain now. I wonder if that would make her even more desperate. With a sigh, I turned back and sat on the cold ground. “Okay. Shoot.”

“I'm not gonna shoot fire at you.”

...I closed my eyes...tightly. “...not what I meant.” I opened them and looked at her. “Whatever. Anyway, go on...”

She blinked. She looked elsewhere. “Well, you said that you like me, right?”

Stop being cute, goddamn it! “Er...yes?”

She slowly looked back at me. “And um... You know that I like you too, right?”

I nodded, and internally sighed.

She frowned. “A-and Bi's here... Meaning...”

“It means that the gem-thing is close by, and we're gonna be having less days together now.”

She hung her head, ears drooped.

“...t-that's assuming that they can really help me get back home.”

And then we went quiet.

“Er...so...” I scratched my neck. “...b-but they can get me back home, right?”

She sighed and nodded.

I'll be back home. Back to my world. Back to work. Back to my brother.

...but I'll be leaving my friends here... I tried making my friends feel that I would always be with them even if I was already back home, like, during that time when Fay cried. Fay cried, and told me that she only wanted to see her friends to be happy. That was really unexpected, yet, I think I encouraged her to keep it up? I no longer remember...

...some friend I am. But anyway, that was my intention. Shock and I had a good talk during that sleepless night we both had.

...I'm not sure about Saur though. He's so quiet and calm, and has a good smile. I guess smiling back at him was enough, I hope.

...and then there's Vixie...

I sat beside her and patted her shoulder. “Vixie,” I said. I blinked. I wanted to say something, anything, but I was drawing a blank.

She shook her head. “I can't force you to stay, Jay... That'd be selfish.”

“Yeah, it does...” I earned a weak glare. “B-but...er...” Come on, brain! Think of something! “Uh...”

Vixie sighed and leaned her head on my shoulder. “I'll...miss you.”

I sighed. Damn, hearing that hurts...a lot more than I expected. I sighed again. I've been sighing a lot lately. Then again, that was the only thing that I could do at the moment...

No, that was a lie. I do like her, and she does like me, too, but...

With another sigh, I gently pushed her head off of my shoulder. She didn't fight it. I took a deep breath, and licked her cheeks.

...and wow, did she blush. I swore she'd turn into a living fireball if she kept it up. Or at least her head would be on fire, like that ghostrider movie. ...I don't want that mental image right now.

She turned to me, eyes wide and mouth hung agape.

I chuckled nervously. “S-stop being cute, 'xie...”

“J-Ja-b-but you-ah?”

I chuckled again and leaned close, our nose touching. I guess I'll just...let it flow? Yeah. Let it flow, let it flow~ Can't hold it back an—yeah, whatever. “I'm the selfish one, 'xie...”

She blinked, still blushing hard.

“You only wanted to show me how much you like me, yet I kept on pushing you away...” I leaned back and shook my head. “It wasn't fair, right?”

“I...” She was still a mess... Poor girl.

I shrugged. “I...guess...what I'm...trying to say is...that...” ...and then I'm a nervous wreck as well. Good job, me. I looked elsewhere. Her eyes were making me too freaking nervous. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but heck, I could at least...give her something, right? S-something to remember me by?

“Jay?”

I gulped. “I...ah...” I looked back at her. “Would you...like to be...my girlfriend?”

Yes, or no. She'll be the one who'll decide. It's only fair, right? To me at least. She blinked, and blinked, probably thinking of an answer, yet if she really likes me, then the answer would have been pretty obvious. Then again, I kept on pushing her away, even after I told her that I liked her back at the lake.
Damn, the wait is killing me.

She opened her mouth, closed it. Opened, closed. “J-Jay?”

I gulped. I took a deep breath.

She blinked. “What's a girlfriend?”

...I fell on the ground on my side. Wow, that really ruined the moment. I chuckled quietly. “It means...mates, Vixie. I'm asking you if you wanted to be my mate...”

“Oh...” she blinked. “But we already are.”

That made me blink. “Wait, what?” I sat back up. “Since when?”

She smiled...cutely. “Since you told me that you like me, silly.”

I blinked. “...is that how things work here?”

She blinked. “What work?”

I sighed. “Never mind...”

She suddenly started nuzzling my neck. “Mm... But it was really nice to hear you say it, Jay.”

Yeah, I bet it was.

She pulled back, and looked elsewhere with a shy smile. “D-does this mean...we can...”

I gulped. “I...er...”

---

“Vixie has a weird spring on her steps,” Shock noted as we continued walking, Vixie unusually leading us in front with Bi. He turned to look at me. “While you walk like a Slugma...”

I sighed, ears drooping. “Go away, Shock...” I still can't believe we did it.

Fay chuckled. “Vixie is super extra happy today.” She turned to me with a sly grin. “I wonder if something happened between you two last night,” she said, with emphasis on those two words...

I glared at her, blushing.

Shock immediately caught on. “Wait... No way!”

“Yes way!” Fay chirped, and dashed after Vixie before I could stop her. “And I wanna hear all about it!”

I blushed even further as I grumbled.

Shock snickered. “Does that mean you'll be making me your kids stepdad?”

“I'm gonna murder you...”

“No need to be ashamed, Jay,” Saur said. He was smiling ever so calmly. “You made her happy. And she's the happiest I've seen her yet.”

I sighed through my nostrils. “But I didn't do it so our goodbye wouldn't...hurt her.”

“Really?” Shock asked, looking skyward. “I find that hard to believe.”

“Shut up, Shock.”

“Still,” the Pikachu patted my shoulder with a smile. “I didn't know you had it in you.”

“Gee, thanks...” I sighed.

“It felt wonderful, right?”

“Yeah, it was, actually...” I sighed, a bit dreamily. I blinked back to reality, and turned, seeing Shock snickering. “I'm gonna freaking murder you,” I glared at him.

Saur shook his head with a smile.

destinedjagold July 2nd, 2014 7:40 PM

Chapter 88
I learned that it wasn't Vixie's first time to...you know. Ahem, anyway, she and Shock were a couple before, so I guess there's that. But I couldn't get the nerve to ask either of them if they...mated before.

Anyway, the first few nights after what happened were severely awkward, with my friends teasing us and all. Well, most of their teasing were aimed at me, since Vixie didn't mind them. Blushing and glaring became tiring, so I started to zone them out and just...enjoyed Vixie's company, I guess.

There were a few nights where Vixie wanted to do...it, again. And only a few of those few nights where I gave in. It still felt weird, but eh, I loved it, even though it was still awkward.

The days passed by like a blur, and the closer we got, the more Vixie stopped asking me to do our nightly activities and just wanted to...cuddle until sleep would embrace us. It was...sad... Just when I started to really like being like this, it was about to end.

Vixie tried to hide it though, but I guess, since we were mates now, I guess I could just...sense it, that she was...really sad. Not only her though. Even my friends were sad. Why wouldn't they?

I'm...also sad as well. Hurt, even. I'm the one who was leaving, after all. Our group became quieter and quieter the closer we were getting to our destination, and it was...sad...

We eventually reached a cliff. A very tall and steep one. Down below, we could see nothing but green, with a few streaks of blue that broke the sea of green.

It wasn't snowing down there, which was really wonderful to see. Shock, Saur and Fay were smiling, obviously glad to finally be out of this snow. Vixie didn't understand our joy of no-snow. Bi just giggled, and asked us to sit and wait as she went back to go and look for her friend.

Bi said that the previous days where we were going through the snowy forest, she didn't see nor sense her friend close by, so she wanted to head back. She already left before the question ‘why’ even popped in my head.

So, we waited. All of us sat in a circle, while Shock went and stood on the edge, looking around.

“Hm...” he said, scratching his head, “...I don't see a way for us to climb down...”

“Dig?” I suggested.

He turned and approached us. “No. That'd take a day, and Arceus bless us if Fay or I would have the energy to dig that long!”

“Jump?” Fay chirped cheerfully.

Shock glared at her as he sat down. “Ladies first, the humans always say.”

Fay nodded and scurried to the edge.

Vixie and I yelped and were about to chase after her, but a vine quickly shot out and wrapped around the fleeing rat's tail. With a sigh, Saur dragged the giggling Fay and lifted her up, her up-side-down face facing Saur's deadpan expression.

“I was only kidding, you know,” Fay chuckled.

“I sure hope so,” Saur replied.

“Can you put me down now?”

The Bulbasaur shook his head. “Not until you promise me not to scare us like that again.”

“Okay!” she chirped, although I saw her hiding a paw behind her back, crossing her small fingers. It was plainly visible from Vixie's, Shock's and my point of view.

Shock sighed as Saur put Fay back down on the ground.

“I can paralyze her, if you want me to,” the Pikachu offered.

Saur smiled at him. “Please.”

Fay gasped. “No! I won't be able to move if you do!”

“I think that's the point, Fay,” I grinned.

“I wonder...” Vixie mumbled, looking at me, and then looking away with a dreamy smile.

I glared at her. “...I don't like what you're thinking, 'xie...”

Shock grinned. “Say the word, and I'll gladly do it.”

I shot him a glare. “I should have murdered you in your sleep.”

“Too bad you didn't.”

“Can we come with you, Jay?”

Everyone turned to Fay, who just blinked as if the question was natural to ask.

She looked at us. “What? I was just asking.”

We were quiet for a while, where my friends occasionally switch their attention on her and on me. I considered the question, and an answer immediately popped into my head.

I shook my head. “Bad idea.”

“Why?”

I shook my head once more.

Shock scratched his head. “You...told us that there are no Pokémon back in your world, right?”

I nodded. “Yeah. None that breathes, at least.”

“What do you mean?”

“Hm...” How can I explain this properly... I turned to Saur. “Saur, you lived with the old human couple in a daycare, right?”

He nodded. “Yes. Why?”

“There were many trainers visiting the daycare, right?”

“Well, yes,” he blinked. “Young and old, wanting their Pokémon to be taken care of, a few want them to breed for eggs, a few want to help around, and a few want to get their Pokémon, and eggs, back.”

“Humans force their Pokémon to breed?” Vixie asked, surprised by this information.

“Yup,” Fay chirped. “Humans even do silly things, trying to see their Pokémon in action!” she giggled.

Shock and I just rolled our eyes.

“But they kept on getting disappointed for they can't see the action,” ...why does she add an emphasis on those?

“The...mating, or the egg-laying?” I asked carefully, glancing at Vixie from time to time.

“Both,” Fay chirped.

Well, call me lucky to ever witness and experience one of the Pokémon games' greatest mysteries. I sighed.

“Jay is a lucky human then,” Shock snickered.

I shot him a tired glare, and he snickered some more. I shook my head. “Whatever...”

“Wanna stay and see her lay eggs?” Shock teased.

I glared at him before turning to Vixie, who looked elsewhere with blushing cheeks. I still don't understand how mammals here lay eggs. There's even a theory that humans were a far-evolved branch from Pokémon. What set them apart was their great intellect...and probably their not-laying-egg ability?

Vixie placed a paw on my nose and pushed me to look elsewhere. “Stop staring at me like that,” she scolded me.

Fay giggled. “Looking at her won't make her lay eggs any faster, you know.”

...I'm gonna be a dad? A heartless dad who left his children? I wasn't ready to be a dad, and the first step I took was to abandon them. Good show, me...

My ears drooped as I sighed.

“What's wrong?” Fay asked, her voice full of concern.

I slightly shook my head. “I'm...leaving soon...”

“We already know that,” Shock said, trying to sound reassuring. “Don't worry! We understand, so try not to let us all go sappy again.”

I rolled my eyes. “That's...not really what I was worried about...” I frowned at him, before turning to Vixie.

She blinked, and her ears drooped. “The...eggs...?”

I sighed and nodded. “...I'm...sorry...”

She smiled a sad smile. “They'll be fine. I promise.”

I dunno what I was feeling at the moment. I felt like I don't want to leave anymore. I suddenly felt...attached... Attachment to the kids? The attachment of being a dad? I wonder if that was how my father felt when I was born. He stayed and watched me and my bro grow up.

...while I'm leaving and will not see any of them grow up.

“J-Jay?”

I just realized I was crying. I quickly hung my head and wiped my eyes with my paws. “S-sorry...” Crying felt so foreign. When was the last time I cried? I couldn't really remember...

I felt a lick on my cheek, and followed by a nuzzle on my neck.

“Hey, hey...” Shock said, patting my shoulder. “What's wrong?”

I sniffled. “...I dunno...” I sniffled again. “I...I-I guess I'm...just sad that I'm leaving... Leaving you guys, and leaving...”

After a few moments of quiet, Vixie pulled away with a frown. “...I...see...”

Fay and Saur turned and looked at each other. Shock blinked, turned to Vixie, and his eyes then went wide, probably realizing what I meant.

I no longer remember why I asked Saur about him and the daycare... But I guess I could at least explain to Fay why going to my world was a bad idea. “Fay... You guys going with me to my world is a bad idea,” and it's a good way to change the topic, I guess... And I finally remembered why I asked Saur those questions. “S-Saur. Did any of those trainers who visited the daycare talked about games or anything like that?”

Saur blinked in confusion, but didn't ask about the sudden shift of topic. He instead scrunched his face, deep in thought. “Hm... I'm not certain, Jay...”

I wiped my eyes a few more times, and blinked, testing if they were clear now. I took a breath as I nodded. “Well... Does the daycare have any computers?”

“Ah! Those things,” he nodded. “Yes, I remember a few of those in the daycare. Why?”

“Any trainers mentioned about games inside those?”

“There are games inside those?!” Fay gasped. “What kind? I wanna try some!”

“Too late for that, don't you think?” Shock said, gesturing at our surroundings.

“Hm,” Saur hm'ed. “I remember a few younger humans talking about some game while they were using those machines.” He nodded. “I also remember that one stormy day, the old couple would let some of us play this weird game of boxes on the screen...”

I nodded. I guess that was all the info I need, although I'm curious about the games this world has. “Well, in my world, Pokémon are just that: games.”

Blinks.

“That's why I know a lot about you guys, and the world, this world, even though I told you that I'm a human-turned-Pokémon from another dimension. There's even a game about humans turning into Pokémon in my world. So yeah...”
Blinks.

I sighed. “The reason why I think it's a bad idea for you guys to come with me, if that's even possible, is because Pokémon, in my world, is a fantasy. If fantasy suddenly becomes real there, people from the government will do everything to get you and will experiment on you, understand you, and...just imagine them doing horrible things to you.”

“Why?” was their simple and innocent question.

“...for money? For power? Heck if I know,” I sighed. “I was just a regular guy who was working nine hours in a computer company.”

Shock shook his head. “I don't understand.”

Fay frowned. “Me either...”

Vixie shook her head. “I don't, either, but...”

“But?” I blinked at her.

She shook her head and just gave me a small smile. “No. Never mind...”

I frowned. I sighed, and lean my head on her shoulder. “I'm really sorry, Vixie...”

“For what?”

“...for leaving. I can't really imagine how you're going to raise the egglings all by yourself, telling them that their fatherless.”

“...is that what you're so worried about?” Shock asked.

I pulled my head back and turned to him. “Well...yes.”

Shock sighed. “Lots of Pokémon are only raised by their mothers. Some even none. Wanna know why?”

The slight anger on his tone made me flinch. “N-no...?”

“Take Lithe as an example.”

...ah... I think I get it now. Weren't there animals back home who just...mate with the females in the alpha male's circle? I think there are... Wolves, maybe? Lions?

“I take it that you now know why.”

I slowly nodded. “I...think so...but,” I frowned, “that doesn't make me feel any better. In fact, it just made me feel even worse!”

Shock rolled his eyes.

“I'll be fine,” Vixie nuzzled my neck again. “And they'll be fine. I promise.”

“And I promised to watch them, remember?” Shock frowned. “So, thank you for limiting our adventuring days.”

“Er...sorry?”

Saur chuckled. “Humans really are weird...”

“Yup,” Fay chirped, and chuckled.

“Sorry for the wait,” Bi's voice echoed from the trees behind us. We all turned and saw her just floated out of the line of trees. She hovered in front of us and smiled tiredly. “Well, I found him.” She turned as something blue and large stepped out from the shadows of the trees.
I caught my breath. “...whoa!”

“Greetings,” Suicune said, with a voice so...legendary? I can't explain it very well, but his voice sounded awesome and definitely fitting for a Suicune! He looked at all of us after he stepped out from the tree lines, and his gaze suddenly locked on me.

I slightly flinched at the pressure I felt from his gaze.

“You're the other Eevee?”

“Saur,” I heard Fay whisper. “Is...is that a Suicune?”

“Y-yes,” Saur stammered.

“Wow,” Fay wow'ed. “He doesn't look as awesome as in that book we saw!”

Suicune blinked at her, confused. “...book?”

Saur slapped her with a vine.

destinedjagold July 8th, 2014 11:03 PM

Chapter 89
Saur pulled his vines out and wrapped them around Fay, helping her up. With that done, we were now seated on Suicune's back, who now stood up on all four paws.

I grunted as I tried to get comfortable. By that, I mean I grabbed Suicune's annoying purple mane and pinned them down so I could breathe normally. Vixie and Shock helped me out as well. Suicune doesn't seem to mind, so we kept at it until the three of us completely pinned his mane under our bums.

Bi hovered around with a smile. “All right! Looks like everyone's ready!”

Suicune nodded, and turned, facing the mountains and the sea of green with blue veins down below.

We were still on the edge of the cliff, and we were too freaking high up if it was snowing here while it was all green down below.

I smiled as 'xie leaned her head on my shoulder, me leaning mine on her head. “Well, at least we'll be quicker this way.”

That didn't really sound uplifting. It wasn't a surprise to me now though. It only meant that I'll be leaving soon. Sigh...

“I still don't see a way for us to get down there,” Shock pointed out, shaking his head a bit. “Don't tell me that Suicune's going to jump all the way down! I know this guy's a legendary and all, but I don't think he'll survive such a height.”

“That's a really well-explained joke, Shock,” I said lamely.

“Meh...”

Vixie sighed. “I just hope it won't be too quick.”

I was about to respond when we felt Suicune moving. I looked around and saw that he was taking a few steps back, still facing the edge of the cliff.

“...er...” I er'ed.

Bi hovered in front, looking all worried at us. “Um... You guys might need to hold tight.” She slightly shook her head. “I don't wanna rescue any of you if we can help it.”
I blinked as Suicune stopped, and slowly leaned down, preparing to—

“Wait wait wait!” Shock exclaimed. “Y-you can't be serious!”

I heard Saur's vines wrapped around Suicune. I turned in time to see him already completed a loop around and wrapped itself around me, Vixie, Shock and Fay.

“But it'll be quicker this way,” Bi said, still wearing a worried expression for the wrong reason.

Shock's pupils shrunk. Vixie's as well. Fay giggled in excitement.

“Ready?” came Suicune's calm question.

“No!” I exclaimed, Vixie and I already hugging each other in fear.

Suicune nodded, and immediately rushed towards the edge in a second, and jumped.

Aside from the piercing whistle of the air and our screams, Fay's happy scream also reached my ears.

---

“We've arrived,” Suicune announced as he skidded to a stop, leaving trails behind the grassy green ground. After he stopped, he took a breath before he lied down on the ground on his belly.

With a groan, I fell off of his back, and landed on the grass with a soft ‘thud,’ my friends soon followed.

“See?” Bi hovered above us with a smile. “I told you it'll be quicker.”

“I feel like...m-my spirit was left behind...a-and still t-trying to catch up...” I wheezed.

Shock weakly managed to hold his breakfast. He burped in disgust. “Ugh... I think I prefer the slow Tauros ride...”

Fay giggled weakly. “Can we do that again?” I heard a vine making a slapping noise. “Ow...”

I slowly rolled to my stomach, and saw Vixie panting for breath, staring at the sky.

“You okay?” I asked.

She turned her head to face me, and smiled while still panting for breath. “Y-yes... Hah... That was...scary...”

I was about to say something when something pink floated a few meters ahead. Blinking, I saw the pink thing hovered in front of Darkrai. The pink thing nodded its head, and then it turned to look at us, and started floating closer.

“Hi,” Mew greeted us as she hovered in front of me. She looked at me, tilted her head, and blinked. “Is something wrong with your mouth?”

I just realized that I hung my mouth wide open. Oh. My. God! “MEW!” I jumped and hugged her and squee'd as I twirled on a hind paw. And I squee'd as I hugged her and rubbed my head on her...I dunno, chest or belly, I think. I didn't care! It's freaking Mew! The cutest thing ever existed!

My twirling slowed, and soon, I stopped, in front of an angry Vulpix. I blinked, and blushed as I let go of a dazed Mew, who fell on the ground beside me with a thud, complete with a foot twitch.

“...uhm...”

“Do you like her more?” came Vixie's quick and scary question.

I flinched, ears drooping. “...uh, n-no!”

Fay suddenly was beside her, leaning her snout to 'xie's ear. “He stammered,” she whispered.

I glared at her. “I did not!”

“And then in denial...”

“Fay, no!” I stomped a paw, accidentally stomping it on Mew's tail. “It's not like that!” I then removed my paw and turned to the legendary to apologize, but she seemed to be dizzy at the moment, Bi by her side, trying to help her.

Shock chuckled. “You're worse than Lithe.”

“Ahem,” a really, really deep and loud voice echoed from behind.

I saw my friends looking up and behind me, face paled. I gulped and slowly turned around, and saw a big...gray plate of some sort. It was a tall thing, so I looked up, and my mouth struck the ground.

Dialga's slightly-glowing red eyes were staring down at us, and I was mere inches away from his foot...or toenail. How a giant godzilla managed to sneak behind me without me noticing was beyond me.

I gulped, and involuntarily took a step back. “Um... W-we come in peace?”

Dialga closed its eyes as it nodded its large head. It then opened them before it replied. “I will hold you on that.”

He sounded male. At least, his telepathic voice sounded male. I carefully looked around, trying to find the other one. “Um... Where's Palkia?”

He actually scoffed and shook his head. “And why do you need to know?”

“You're not gonna ask her to be your mate, too, right?” Fay whispered beside me. She was gone when I was about to hit her head, leaving behind a faint trail of giggles.

Darkrai finally hovered to us, and then looked up to Dialga. “You can go and tell Arceus that the other Eevee's here now.”

Dialga sighed. “Can't Palkia tell dad that?”

“Just go and tell him,” Darkrai said calmly.

Dialga let out another sigh. “...fine.” A faint blue aura started to envelop the tall dragon, and he quietly hovered up, up, and with a white flash, he was gone.

I blinked. “Er... T-that was anti-climatic...”

Darkrai sighed. “My nephew and niece can be a handful at times...”

“You're nephew an—you know what? I'm not going to bother...” I shook my head, and just noticed a big entrance to a cave on the base of this tall mountain that Suicune had carried us to. “Um... So...that's where the evolution gem is located?”

Darkrai turned to me and—

“Yup!” Mew replied, hovering in front of me. “So, you're Shadow?”

Vixie growled at her as she stood beside me.

“Calm down, girl,” I patted her shoulder, but she ignored me and kept on glaring at the pink thing. I sighed and turned back to Mew, fighting the urge to squee again. “So uh... What about my shadow?”

Mew blinked at 'xie, and then floated back beside Darkrai. She giggled. “Hey! Your mate's the one who touched me first.”

Vixie growled. My friends behind me sighed. Darkrai actually rolled his eye.

Bi landed beside my angry mate. “She's just teasing.”

“He's really cute, by the way,” Mew winked at her. “Lucky catch.”

“Can we please just go to the gem already?” I groaned.

destinedjagold July 10th, 2014 9:00 PM

Chapter 90
“'xie! Com'on...!” I cried in desperation as I walked after my fuming mate. “Don't be like this.”

She replied with a grunt and once again, picked up her pace.

I sighed. I've already spent the last twenty or so minutes trying to apologize to her. We were already inside the cave and were already heading towards the gem, where the trio of legendaries: Mew, Bi and Darkrai, were leading us there.

The cave was very dark, but Mew and Saur provided some light for us to see around. The cave held an old atmosphere, with stalactites and stalagmites all around. There were also cave-dwelling Pokémon living here, yet none of them bothered us.

...probably because I kept on breaking the silence with my apologies. “'xie, please...” I begged her again, but she just ignored me and marched on. If Mew wasn't a few meters ahead, I'd probably be on the receiving end of her glare. My two ears drooped as I sighed. This was one of the reasons why I was afraid of being in a relationship.

Mew occasionally looked back at us ever since we started traveling inside the cave. At first, she was teasing me and Vixie, but after a few minutes, she stopped, and looked like she wanted to apologize. But I think Vixie's glare was keeping her from trying.

Bi, at first, was scolding the pink legendary, and was convincing her to apologize. Now, she doesn't know what to do.

Darkrai probably thought that it was best not to say anything.

Behind 'xie and I were our friends. They've grown tired of hearing me apologizing to my stubborn mate. I wasn't sure if they were tired of hearing my apologies, or tired of 'xie ignoring me.

After another failed attempt, I sighed, walked after her, and jumped in front of her. She was quick to walk aside, but I grabbed her tail with both paws.

She growled and finally gave me a glare. “Let go,” she said quietly yet frighteningly.

“No,” I said, tightening my hold on her tail. I countered her glare with a tired stare. “Vixie... I'm sorry, okay?”

“I'm not angry at you, you dolt!”

I blinked.

She turned her head and glared at the three waiting legendaries. She let out a small growl.

I sighed. I let go of her tail, walked beside her, steeled myself, and licked her cheek.

She regarded me with a quick glance before glaring back at Mew.

I sighed again. “'xie, let it go. She was just teasing. And even if she wasn't, she won't take me...” I flashed her a tired yet hopeful smile. “Yes, I may like her—” that caught her attention, “—b-but that was just only me being a fan! Believe me.”

She kept on glaring at me.

“What's a fan?” I heard Fay's whispered question.

“You're asking the wrong guy,” Shock whispered back.

“It means someone who greatly idolizes a well-known person,” came Darkrai's calm reply. “Like Mew who idolizes—”

“Shh!” Mew glared at him, blushing.

Darkrai blinked, probably confused. I know I am.

Vixie's sigh caught my attention. She sat down and scratched her ear with a hind paw. After that, she stood back up, and looked tiredly at me. “...and me?”

I blinked. I smiled, and lightly touched her nose with my own. “...I thought it was obvious?”

She smiled. And then she quickly bit my nose.

I yelped in pain.

She growled at me. “That's a warning, Jay,” she glared at me with a smile.
I tearfully stared at my painful nose as I rubbed it with both paws. “...i-if—” I bit my tongue. There won't be a next time, right? I ignored Shock's chuckles as I stared back at my mate. I smiled. “A-at least I wont be leaving without you forgiving me...”

She immediately frowned at that.

Darkrai cleared his throat. “Ahem... About that,” he turned.

We turned, and I noticed a faint glow up ahead. I looked around and noticed that the cave now looked like some sort of tunnel.

“I'm sorry,” Mew whispered. I turned, and saw her floating a few feet in front of 'xie and I. I didn't even notice her approach, even though she was glowing to provide some light. “I was...just teasing you guys...” she chuckled nervously. “You can't blame me for being jealous, right?”

“Jealous?” I blinked.

She turned to me and nodded. “When I see couples, I get jealous for not being with any of my mates...”

“Oh...” Vixie said, her glare slowly fading. “Well, I guess I understand.”

“I'm curious,” I said, hoping that I just misread her. “Who's your mate?”

Mew's features brightened. “Oh! There's so many, I don't know where to begin!” She looked up and started saying names I don't recognize, and telling me where and how she met them in different parts of the globe, and how she fell in love with each one of them with their ‘peotic words’ of watchamacallit. Nope, I didn't mishear it...

After she told us a sixth name, I turned to Vixie, whom was now faking an interested smile.

“She's worse than Lithe,” Shock whispered behind me.

“Mew,” Bi groaned, thankfully catching her friend's attention. She was rubbing her forehead. “We have a job to do.”

“Oh, right!” She giggled and turned to us. “Sorry! I got carried away!” She then floated back to the two other legendaries, and we resumed our walk.
“From the sound of it, you really are easy to be ‘carried’...” I mumbled, earning a giggle from 'xie. I smiled at her, and she reflected it back. I noticed that there were a few Pokémon around the closer we got to the light.

When we got even closer, Saur and Mew stopped letting out light, and after my eyes adjusted, I finally could see a very big crystal-like base of a towering gem up ahead, which was fluctuating with light.

We walked out of the tunnel-like cave, and now found ourselves in a big dome-like part of the cave, where the center-most of the ceiling was pierced by the ever-so-big-and-ever-so-tall crystal gem. It looked purplish at first, but it faintly changed color to green and then to orange and to other colors. The giant base of the gem stood on a small island-like ground, which was surrounded by shallow waters.

My friends and I gasped when we saw familiar faces by the foot of the gem. A Surskit was on the back of a Chikorita. Both were looking worried over a struggling Eevee, whose paws and mouth were tied up with vines.

Hovering above them were the Eon legendaries: Latios and Latias. The two's ears twitched from our gasps, and turned to us.

Latios groaned. “Finally! About time you showed up!”

“Brother, relax,” Latias said, looking at him.

He gave her a glare. “I'll relax when that Arceus-forsaken Eevee returns the power back!” He then sharply turned back to us, and as soon as he did, his face was already inches away from mine.

I yelped, and stumbled back.

“Now give it back,” he snarled.

'xie growled and jumped in between us, glaring back at him. Shock, Fay and Saur stood by her, making a shield in front of me.

“Guys, guys!” Bi called out, hovering to us. “Let's not fight, please!”

Latios growled, and a faint blue aura surrounded him. He hovered higher, while kept that death-glare aimed at me. Suddenly, a reddish aura enveloped over the blue, and the legendary's features softened, for the tiniest bit.

“Brother, please,” Latias said quietly, floating beside him. “You're scaring them.”

“L-l-look,” I said, standing back up as my friends eased up. “I'm willing to return...it...?” I actually don't remember what it was called. Evolution power? Evo-aura? Nen?

Latios was still glaring at me as he and his sister gently floated back down. “I sure hope so, for your sake.”

I winced, and 'xie growled.

“Then let's get this over with,” Latios announced, eyes glowing white.

I yelped after I was levitated up in the air. “Wait wait wa—”

“What?!” Latios snarled.

“C-can I ask a few questions first?”

“No!”

“Brothe—”

“F-fine...” He dropped me back down. “What do you want to know?”

“C-can I ask your sister instead?” I quickly shot Fay a glare, stopping her giggles. “And zip it, Fay.”

“Killjoy,” she pouted.

Latios grunted and flew to Darkrai and Mew, hopefully to calm himself down.

Latias sighed while staring at her brother. “I apologize for my brother's behavior,” she said, turning to us with a small yet gentle smile. “He's just nervous and worried about me and our baby.”

... ...my mind needed some time to reset itself. “W-wa-wait, what? You and him?” I finally noticed that her belly was slightly...bigger. I took a quick glance at xie's.

“Too bad. She's already taken,” Fay giggled.

I shot her a glare before turning back to Latias. I bit my tongue. What they...erm...did was kinda taboo back home, but who am I to judge them if things here are different, right? Right! “So...” I instead turned my curious eyes on Krystal, who was still struggling to set herself free. “W-what happened to Krystal?”

Shock nodded. “I've been wanting to ask that as well. Why's she all tied up?”

Latias took a breath and sighed. “She tried to flee, and attacked us even after we captured her.”

“That's not right,” Fay said. “That doesn't sound like Krysie at all.”

“Apologies to ask, but,” Latias said, “are...are you aware that she's...well...”

“A human?” I finished for her. “Yeah, we all knew. She was very willing to help the last time we saw her.”

Latias shook her head. “I'm not sure what happened to her, but from what Cyan told me, she suddenly had a change of heart and tried to get away, even managing to hurt him and his friends: Pyra and Scythe. And...she claims to be—”

“Levie?” I finished for her, while trying to kick this growing headache I was having.

My friends turned to me.

I shrugged. “Hey, I just know, okay?”

“Shadow's memory,” Latias whispered, catching our attentions again. “I'm worried that he might—”

I suddenly felt cold. Too cold. My vision of Latias zooming out, like a television screen being pulled away from me, and the surrounding areas of that vision was nothing but darkness. I shivered from the cold, but at the same time, I didn't. I can still feel my body, yet at the same time, I couldn't!

I began to panic, and tried to shout for help, yet I heard no voice come out from my mouth. I gasped and tried to touch my mouth with my paws, but I don't see anything. I couldn't feel anything.

...what's going on?

destinedjagold July 15th, 2014 11:53 PM

Chapter 91
"Shadow's memory," Latias whispered with a visible frown. "I'm worried that he might take over this Eevee's body, as what had happened to the other one," she said, turning to look at the three Pokémon by the base of the evolution gem.

"Jay?" a familiar voice called. I turned, and found myself leaning on her. "Are...you okay?"

"Yes," I simply said, then pulled myself straight back up. I smiled at her. "...Vixie. Just...worried, I guess."

"Worried about what?" Yet another familiar voice asked from my other side. I turned, and saw Shock arching an eyebrow.

"If you feel anything," Latias said, "a...mental tug or anything, just let me know."

I nodded, suppressing a grin. Too late for that, don't you think? "I will." I then focused my attention at the...other Eevee. I faked a frown. "So, what happened to her, exactly?"

Latias turned, staring at her. "My brother and I already separated the human's spirit and the evolution aura from her." She turned again, staring at Latios and Darkrai on the far-side of the cave. "I gave the orb to him for safe-keeping."

"Orb?" Shock asked.

Celebi landed on the Vulpix's back, eliciting an annoyed grunt from the latter. "The orb is where they kept Krystal's spirit."

"The...soul dew, correct?" I asked.

Vixie arched me an eyebrow.

Celebi nodded. "Yep! I still find it weird that you know a lot, considering that you're a human from another world. A world without Pokémon!"

I simply smiled at her while Latias gasped from what the Celebi just said.

"...a world without Pokémon?" she asked. "Could such a world really exist?"

"Well, Jay's from there," Fay said happily. "Or so he claims."

Latios suddenly interrupted us by suddenly appearing beside Latias. "Are you done talking yet?" he asked with a glare that was fixed on me. I had to suppress a grin. "Any longer, and I might refuse to extract your soul, human."

"Sorry," I said, faking a nervous smile. I hate faking so much, it hurts... I looked at the Pokémon around me, still holding this smile. "Well, I guess we should be going."

I turned, ignored their responses, and started walking towards the gem. It felt so odd being so small again. It felt so odd being an Eevee once again. I was vaguely thankful that the water wasn't so high, even though it was shallow.

"Grah!" Latios screeched, and suddenly picked me up.

I honestly yelped in surprise as he did that, and flew me towards the gem, and unceremoniously dropped me by the base. The Chikorita had no choice but to yelp and jump back to avoid my cringing landing. I gritted my teeth and threw that annoying legendary a glare, countering his own.

"Now, touch the gem and be over with it!" he snarled.

I ignored him. Instead, I turned to the struggling Eevee, paws and mouth tied by vines, rendering her movement and speech. She was giving me that cute glare I always loved to see every time I teased her. The said glare slowly disappeared, replaced by confusion when she noticed my grin.

"Been a while, love," I whispered, still having that grin on me.

Her eyes grew wide, probably realizing who I am.

"I'll help you s—"

"Oi!"

I sharply turned and glared at the hovering legendary.

"The human inside that thief's body is no longer there, and soon, yours. Now, hurry up or do you want me to slam you against the gem?"

"Don't be too harsh, brother," Latias scolded him, flying beside him.

Latios looked away and mumbled something.

Latias looked apologetic at me. "I'm sorry... He didn't mean what he just said."

"I know," I grinned as I changed into an Umbreon, ignoring their collected gasps. "But I'm not."

"You little—!" Latios flew in front of Latias.

'DEATH!' I thought with a growl, unleashing a powerful wave of dark aura in front of me. I sent the two legendaries and the unfortunate Chikorita flying, while the human's five followers soon followed when my attack reached them.

I quickly turned to my mate, still wearing that grin she always hated. "Now to—"

That ghost-like legendary suddenly appeared behind her, an arm glowing bright and immediately punched the air between us, launching a terrifying attack at me. I was too close, and was surprised, so it was impossible for me to dodge it.

"Stay down!" he commanded as smoke covered my sight.

I grinned. The smoke didn't block my mental sight. "Right back at ya," and I immediately launched an unknown moon-ball attack.

"Ughua...!" the ghost screeched in pain.

I immediately felt weird body extensions around me, so I used them to touch the gem and Levie's head. Closing my eyes, I concentrated, and made a silent apology as I transferred a few of the gem's power to my mate in a rush. If not for the vine that rendered her speech, she would have been screaming right about now.

"Okay," I breathed out, stopping the process. I looked at her and...uh...she's going to kill me as soon as the opportunity rises. "Um, sorry," I smiled nervously and immediately carried her with my new flexible arm-things. Hey, these are useful!

"Grrraaahhh!" Latios suddenly flew towards me.

I just smiled at him and launched another moon-ball. He went down, splashing water everywhere. I grinned. This weakness and resistance information from that human was really useful. I quickly made my escape, dodging the weaker Pokémon's attacks and ignoring their cries.

"You could have at least removed my bindings, you know!" Levie said. The vines probably lost their power the moment the Chikorita was no longer within range.

I jumped over a sleeping Golem, and landed...landed... I should be landing now... Why am I—

Celebi... Of course...! She's probably altering time!

"Shadow's memory," Latias whispered with a frown... "I'm worried that he might take over this Eevee's body, as what had happened to the other one," she said, turning. Guh...

"Jay?" The Vulpix called. "Are...you okay?"

"Bi?" the Pikachu's said. I turned, and saw the floating legendary's eyes were glowing, but slowly fading... "What's going on?"

I grinned, evolved into an Umbreon, and fired an aura around me, but mostly focused on that annoying green thing.

My vision suddenly blurred, a painful headache coursing through my head, and I landed and rolled on the ground. "Gah!"

"Shadow!" Levie called, immediately by my side. She's a lovely Espeon again. "W-what happened?!"

"Time travel," I groaned. I quickly stood back up, even though the headache was still present.

Levie assisted me...and we were suddenly outside the cave.

The teleport made my head even more painful. "Ouch... A l-little warning next time?"

She hit me on the head. "Now we're even."

Espeon's weren't supposed to learn Teleport, right? Wait... What do humans know, anyway? Despite my painful head, I looked at her, smiled at her, leaned forward to nuzzle her—

She growled. "You...! You mated with someone else?!"

I flinched and took a step back. "Hey now! It wasn't me! It was this human inside me, okay?! Honest!"

"Excuses!" she said. "I thought I was your only one!"

"That's why I got you out of there!"

I flinched, and so did she, when we felt an angry aura coming from inside the cave.

"We'll continue this later, okay?" I asked, nuzzling her. "Right now, I'm happy to be escaping with you."

She rolled her eyes with a glare, but failed to stop her smile.

destinedjagold July 17th, 2014 1:46 AM

Chapter 92
I flinched, and so did she, when we felt an angry aura coming from inside the cave.

“We'll continue this later, okay?” I asked, nuzzling her. “Right now, I'm happy to be escaping with you.”

She rolled her eyes with a glare, but failed to stop her smile.

I smiled, then turned to—

I gasped, stepping back, when a fast and frosty beam of ice flew pass mere inches away from my face!

Levie cried in pain. I immediately turned, and saw her pained features frozen inside a chunk of ice!

“L-Levie!” I shouted, scratching the ice in a panic. I growled and limped back when one of my nails broke from the base. I ignored my bleeding paw and took a deep breath. Fire melts ic— “Gah!”

A strong water pressure struck me from behind, slamming me towards Levie, and pinned me there for a few seconds. When it was over, I coughed and shivered as I lied on the soaked and muddy ground.

“Graaah!” Latios suddenly flew out of the cave's mouth. He stopped, flew higher, and charged a beam while glaring at me. He fired, and I immediately channeled all of my willpower to protect Levie and I.

The impact was head-splitting powerful, but I managed to block it with Protect or whatever. A loud explosion shook the ground and smoke covered my vision. My mental vision is poor for being a Flareon, yet I was too weak to change into anything else. I could barely stand up, b-but I needed to!

I gritted my teeth and stared at Levie's frozen form. I took another breath, but coughed when I inhaled some of the smoke.

A big and blue paw suddenly emerged from the smoke, and I yelped and tried to back away, but it reached me, and pinned me down on my neck!

“I take it that you're Shadow?” a deep voice asked. When the smoke finally cleared a bit more, I saw the owner of the paw that was choking me: Suicune. Despite my attempts of pulling and clawing his paw off of me, Suicune looked as if my attempts meant nothing to the damn thing!

“Let him go!” Latios shouted, floating overhead. “He's mine! He hurt my sister, so I'll make sure to give him what he deserves!”
Suicune calmly closed his eyes. “I never thought you'd be that kind of Pokémon, Latios.”

“I don't know what you meant, yet I don't care!” Latios snarled, charging yet another beam, this time, in between his hands. “I'm warning you one last time. Move!”

Suicune slightly turned his head, enough to give the floating legendary a one-sided glare.

I calmly took a slow yet deep breath. I slowly turned my head, and violently let out a stream of fire towards my frozen mate. I grinned, while ignoring how painful to the lungs that was.

I was about to shout for Levie to immediately run away, but Suicune added more pressure on my neck. I could hardly breathe now.

The flames cleared, but Levie was still frozen solid! W-why?!

I...I tried looking around, but I couldn't find anyone who could be responsible for what just happened! Even Latios appeared to be surprised! No! H-how'd—

“Give. Jay. Back!” a Vulpix marched towards us from the cave, her eyes slightly glowing. Her fur had scratches and dirt all over. ...she dug her way up?!

I felt the paw on my neck slowly being lifted up. Suicune calmly stepped aside as I immediately gasped for air, ignoring my shrunken form...

A stomp on the muddy ground captured my attention, and I glared at the glaring Vulpix who now stood before me. “Give,” she hissed, “Jay. Back.”

I coughed when I took another attempt of a deep inhale. After that, I wheezed, yet grinned at her. “...I...I'd love to see you try.”

Her glare intensified, and she opened her mouth wide, immediately charging fire, yet she hesitated.

I grinned even further. “Y-your mate's not coming back. Wanna know why?” I prepared my paws. “'C-cause I killed his spirit before I took over!”

“Lies!” She blasted me with her raging fire, burning all over, but with gritted teeth, I immediately shot my paws up and grabbed her face, and turned it towards Levie. She immediately stopped after she realized what I just did, but it was enough. I couldn't see pretty well, yet I heard Levie's lovely gasp, and the sounds of broken ice.

“Levie! Leave!” I shouted blindly. “R-Run!”

I heard a snarl, and a painful claw that swiped my paws away from the Vulpix.

I heard sounds of attacks, followed by her pained cry. “S-Shadow?!”

“Run! J-just run away!”

I heard a powerful sound of some sort of attack, and it was followed by multiple voices of pain. Suddenly, I smelled a familiar scent from the one nuzzling my neck. “I...I can't leave you behind!”

“I-idiot!” I snarled as I felt her pushing me on my stomach, then biting behind my neck to carry me. “T-they might get back up and get you!”

“Indeed I will,” I blinked in time to see Darkrai appearing right before us, arms both outstretched.

I felt Levie tremble with a stifled yelp, and I saw the ground before us glowing in bright darkness.

“Goodnight,” was the last thing I heard before the darkness consumed us.

destinedjagold July 23rd, 2014 1:38 AM

Chapter 93
Darkness...

I've been here before, haven't I?

When was it, though? I couldn't remember...

But I'm sure that I've been here before...

The weird and cold feeling is definitely familiar...

...the sensation of feeling your body, yet at the same time, the absence of it...

...phantom feeling? I remember reading about it back home.

...I wonder what's going on...

...wait...weren't...weren't we supposed to return the evolution power? Y-yeah... We were supposed to do that. So what happened? Why am I here? Am I unconscious? Was the process of giving the evolution power back already over?

If it was already over, then maybe my spirit is already inside the Soul Dew. I guess that would make sense. Strange that I don't remember what happened though.

No... Not strange. Sad. It's sad that I don't remember any of it. It would have been pretty interesting. Or probably pretty boring.

...but the saddest part is that I don't remember saying goodbye to my friends, especially to Vixie...

Sigh... Well, my adventure kinda started like a Mystery Dungeon, so I hope that...I'll suddenly go back down and...wait... Won't that mean that I'll be staying forever? No idea about Gates to Infinity though. I haven't played that game yet, though I started watching playthroughs on YouTube. I think I'm still on that part where Hydreigon revealed itself as...not the bad guy. Plot twist!

...

...is something burning? Why do I smell smoke all of a sudden?

I looked around and saw fire. There was fire everywhere. A burning forest. I looked around myself, and I was literally in the middle of a burning forest! What the he—

“Ma! Pa!” I...shouted? That voice sounded mine, but I didn't shout anything.

I looked at myself and found out that I was an Eevee again. Hooray for having a body once again, I guess?
“Cerulean! Ruby! Ack!”

Sounds of falling and crashing trees cut the voice off. There was a yelp, and sobs soon followed. My ears twitched as I tried to pinpoint where that voice was coming from.

The severe heat of the burning place is making my throat all watery... Furred creatures sweat through their noses and tongues, right? Right, whatever... I need to get outta here.

I yelped when I heard a loud cracking noise. Turning, I saw a burning tree slowly bending towards me. I kicked my hind paws and made a run for it. It crashed a few meters behind me, and I panted for breath as I looked at the spot where I stood a few seconds ago...

“M-ma! Pa!”

I turned and yelped when burning twigs fell around me. I jumped ahead and looked around myself. The sparking and splitting and burning noises were still ringing in my ears, yet the sobbing was clearer now. I can just run away, but gah, leaving behind whoever was crying for help will make my guilt kill me later, I'm sure of it... Sigh...

“H-hey!” I shouted, and ignored the fact that my voice sounded...not mine at the moment. Probably caused by the severe heat. “Hey! Where are you?!”

Creaking noises. I turned and saw another tree falling away from me. I cringed as it crashed over burning grass and bushes.

The fallen tree looked like a makeshift bridge now for me to cross over the burning debris of wood and leaves. I climbed up on its wooden trunk, wincing at how hot it felt on my paws.

After I crossed over the burning everything, I jumped down on the ground, ashes flying upon my landing, and yelped when burning twigs landed behind me. Shaking them off, I then looked around, and froze when I saw a burned...figure... The burned thing was pinned under a burned trunk of a tree, the ground underneath was covered with dried blood. I can't tell what the poor thing was, but it looked slightly bigger than me...

“'lean... R-ruby...” the sobbing snapped me back. “...pa...ma...”

Through a burned bush, I saw a crying Eevee, lying on the ground in front of a burning tree, its trunk on a slight uphill of land, where a...den was slightly blocked by the said tree... The den itself was pitch-black...where a burned...paw...was sticking out from it...

The sobbing Eevee stood up, and then tried to push the trunk away. “...ma...pa...” He pushed, and pushed, and his hind paws slipped, and he fell down on the ground with a thud.

A rather loud cracking noise snapped me back. I looked back and saw a rather large and burning tree slowly leaning towards me...and towards the Eevee.

“He-hey!” I looked back and ran towards the yelping Eevee. “We've gotta get outta here!”

He was surprised to see me for some strange reason, but his eyes then switched their focus on the creaking tree behind me. “N-no!” he cried, pushing the trunk yet again out of the den.

I bit his tail and pulled him away, but damn, I think we have equal strengths if I can't pull him away.

“L-let go of me!”

“You'll die if you stay here!”

“Let go!”

CR-CRACK!

I gasped as I stared at the creaking tree falling towards us. I quickly pulled him away, managing to pull him—which surprised me—but the tree finally fell down on the ground with a loud crash, swallowing the both of us with its burning leaves and branches...

...and everything was darkness again...

...despite the darkness though, I could clearly see Darkrai floating in front of me. Although he wasn't really looking at me.

I felt like I was sitting. I blinked. Was it all just a dream? Have I fainted at some point? Wait, Darkrai's here, so what I saw was a nightmare, right? But, it didn't feel like one. Sure, everything was burning everywhere, but—

“I didn't want to be reminded of that,” said a familiar voice beside me.

I blinked, turned, and saw an Umbreon, who was looking away with gritting teeth.

“I was too weak to save my family, okay? I just wanted to be stronger so I can protect Levie...”

He threw a glare at Darkrai, but then he blinked, and finally took notice of me. He stared at me with wide and surprised eyes.

“...w-who are you?” he asked, dumbfounded.

I was about to answer when I felt weird about myself. I then looked at myself, and noticed that I was a human again. ...without clothes... I pulled my knees against my chest and wrapped my arms around to cover myself...

Darkrai cleared his throat, catching our attentions. He was looking at me. “Jay, Mew just finished returning the evolution's power from your...erm...shared body. So—”

“J-Jay?” Shadow interrupted him, looking at me in shock. “You're Jay?”

I frowned. “No. I'm Fred. It's nice to meet you.”

He growled and jumped at me, claws and fangs at the ready.

I yelped and raised my hands to shield myself. I felt his claws...run through me? It was quick, and was instantly followed by a weird and shivering feeling of something...weird...passing through me. I...cracked open an eye, and saw Shadow no longer there. I looked behind and saw him standing, his back on me.

“...what?” he growled, turning and glaring at me. “What trickery is this?! Humans can't do what you just did!”

“I don't even know what I just did!” I spat back, and flinched when he growled at me.

Someone sighed. I turned and saw Darkrai scratching his nape with an arm. “You both are...consciousness. I don't think consciousness can hurt each other...”

“Consciousness?” I blinked. “Wouldn't ‘spirit’ be a better word to use?”

“I guess so,” Darkrai shrugged, making me shiver internally. He really ruined the cool legendary that I pictured of him in my head. Sigh...

“Don't you ignore me!” Shadow growled, catching my attention. “We could have already gotten away if it weren't for your meddling!”

I blinked, enjoying the safety of untouchability. But it didn't save me from the irritation I felt. “Me? What did I ever do?! I was dragged into this world!”

He stomped his paw on the non-existent ground. “You controlled my body!”

“I see no reason why you couldn't just take it back! And it's not my fault that I was stuck inside your body!”

He opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. He closed it and looked away. “...then again, it gave me the time to understand how to properly evolve into other evolutions...” He then glared back at me. “But how dare you use me to mate with someone I didn't even know?!”

My eye twitched, yet I took a deep breath to calm myself. I then turned to Darkrai. “...how did I got here in the first place?”

The legendary blinked at me. “...I have no idea.”

I sighed, ignoring Shadow's angry snarl for being ignored again.

destinedjagold July 24th, 2014 1:53 AM

Chapter 94
“You don't have to cry all the time, you know,” a female Eevee said, smiling a small smile at the quiet male Eevee, who was staring down at his reflection on the pond. “I'm sure they're all happy that you're alive and well.”

“I won't be, soon enough...” the other Eevee quietly replied.


I gasped, and turned to Shadow, who was sitting beside me. “You've thought of suicide?!”

He turned and threw me a glare. “I just lost my entire family in a flash! Plus, I was a cub back then! I didn't know any better!”

“...touché...”

Earlier, we've been arguing and shouting at each other for god-knows how long. All the while, Darkrai just kept quiet, until he disappeared at some point. I don't know if that was a good choice, or that he just didn't know what to do with us during our yelling match. We got tired over time, and decided to just...talk, and we ended up sharing some of our memories, flashing them in front of us like we were in a cinema.

The female Eevee frowned. “I'm sorry about what happened to your family, but,” she smiled a small smile, “you're alive, right? And,” she looked back, staring at the many Pokémon living around the clearing. “...you can live here!” She turned and smile at him. “The Pokémon here are really nice. Some are annoying, but it's nice to live here. No humans have ever come here!”

The male Eevee sighed yet again, staring at his rippling reflection with a lonely frown.


Shadow shook his head as the memory screen in front of us flickered, and soon disappeared. “I never managed to find out the reason of that fire... I've heard a number of rumors that humans set it on fire, either accidentally or not. Some say that it was from a fire-type, either from a battle or whatever...” He shook his head again and sighed. “Levie was the one who saved me back there in the burning forest... If it weren't for her, I doubt I'd be even alive today...”

“And the two of you have been together ever since?”

“Heh,” he smirked as the memory screen flashed, showing us a still-image of two Eevees. One of them was angrily shouting at a group of teasing Pokémon while the other one beside her was trying to hold his laughter. “Like two peas in a pod. We treated each other like a brother and sister though, but eh, she was right about the Pokémon living there being annoying,” he rolled his eyes.

I smirked. “Sounds like a good plot for an incest story...”

He blinked at me. “What does that mean?”

I shrugged. “Eh, don't worry about it. It's a human-only joke-thing, I suppose.”

He scoffed. “Whatever.” He smiled, staring at the image. “I guess her being constantly sticking with me made me...like her.”

I rolled my eyes at how cheesy that sounded. But, hm... “What about her parents? Did they took you in?”

He shook his head. “She never knew her parents. All she ever knew was the Pokémon living there found her as a cub, and they took her in.”

I frowned. “That's...”

He smirked. “Eh, she's a tough gal. So don't worry about it.”

I nodded as the memory screen flickered and disappeared. “If...you say so.” I turned and stared at where the screen was flickering once again, and then it displayed another still-image, this time from one of my fond memories. “I woke up in the middle of a forest, where Shock and company found me.”

Shadow chuckled. “Judging from their looks, I'd say you gave them quite a scary look.”

“I was using your body, so you probably looked ugly.”

“Why you—”

I laughed, the memory screen flickered, and switched to another still-image, still from my memory, but this time, from my world. I stared at it for a long while before I sighed. “I wonder if she wondered what happened to me. I wonder if she even care. I wonder if she already found someone...”
“That's...um...Claire, right?”

“Yeah...”

“...she's weird.”

“Oi,” I glared at him.

He shook his head. “Then again, all humans look weird.” He threw a smirk at me. “I guess weird goes well with weird.”

“If only I can punch you.”

“Too bad you can't.”

“Grr...”

Darkrai suddenly appeared before the two of us. He blinked, shifting his gaze from Shadow and I. “I was...expecting the two of you to be...at each other's throats still?”

Shadow rolled his eyes. “I got tired. He got tired.”

Darkrai nodded. “Oh, okay then.” He then looked at me. “Latias is ready to extract you now... Once that's done, I'll allow Shadow to wake up.”

“Whatever will happen to him after that?” I asked.

Darkrai blinked. “...I don't know. Arceus will judge his and his mate's punishment.”

Shadow's ears drooped.

I frowned, staring at him for a while before returning to Darkrai. “Well... C-can I ask for it to at least be not too harsh?”

“They disrupted the natural order of evolution and caused global pan—”

“I get it, I get it,” I cut him off. I don't want Shadow to feel too bad. “It's just that...well... It's kinda Arceus' fault for putting the gem in a very reachable place, no?”

Darkrai was quick to answer, with a slightly angry glow on his eye. “I'm...not going to talk about that anymore. Anyway, just...get yourself ready.” With that, he faded and disappeared.

Shadow sighed. “We kinda deserve it...”

I just smirked at him. “Yeah, you both do. But I can't blame the two of you for being adventurous and wild. That's how young couples tend to be, right?”

Shadow gave me a small smile. “I think so.”

“Hm...” I hm'ed as the memory screen flashed back again, this time showing a memory of mine back home when my bro and I were still kids, teasing each other as we battled against each other with our Pokémon on our GameBoy that was connected with a link cable. I smiled. “He always threatened to pull the cable off if I was about to win. Heh, the cheater...”

Shadow stared at the scene for a short while before sighing. “You're lucky, having a family waiting for you.”

I kept my smile, as my little bro cried as I teased him for losing, and then my mom came over our room. She carried him as she scolded me. “Yeah, I guess...” I shrugged and turned to him. “But you can have a family with your mate, you know.” Heh, look who's talking. It's not like I have any experience about that.

He turned and glared at me. “You made things complicated between us, if you have forgotten already.”

I blinked. “Wait... You mean Vixie?”

He rolled his eyes. “Who else would I be talking about?”

“Oi, oi. It was me, not you, okay?”

He shook his head. “No difference.”

“There was,” I said. “I chose her, and I love her. While you don't.”

He scoffed. “Tell that to Levie.”

I shook my head. “You know that Eevee better than I do. And you said so yourself that the two of you've been together for quite a long time now! I'm sure she'll understand.”

He sighed. “I sure hope so... For your Vulpix's sake.”

I blinked, and then glared at him. “Oi... If you hurt her, I swear, I'll break the world barrier and hunt you.”

He arched me an eyebrow. “...yeah, right.”

I pointed at him. “Never underestimate the power of love!”

He rolled his eyes. “That's the lamest thing I've ever heard in my entire life.”

I grinned, and was about to reply, but I suddenly found myself glowing in a faint white light. “Whoa...!”

“I guess this is goodbye,” he smirked. “And good riddance! Finally, I can have my body all to myself!”

“You know...” I said, smiling at him. “If things were a little different, we could probably have been friends.”

“Or enemies,” he shrugged. “But whatever. Have fun, and all that stuff.”

“Likewise, I guess?”

destinedjagold July 30th, 2014 7:58 PM

Chapter 95
“Let's go and see the world together!”

Those words were the ones that changed my life forever.

I was nothing but a simple Bulbasaur. I hatched outside the human building known to many as the Daycare Center. There was no one who waited for me to hatch. I remember that I felt discouraged, but I continued to smash the shell that protected me. My soft paws and head made the task difficult, but I kept on going. Maybe, just maybe, that my parents were simply asleep, or weren't home yet. Imagine how disappointed I was when there was literally no one there. No one was around me. I didn't even had any siblings.

I was alone...

I guess I made myself deaf to my surroundings when I started crying. I didn't even notice the old human lady approaching, until her old yet gentle hands carried me off of the ground. I was surprised by the sudden motion, and when I saw her face, I was...happy. I wasn't alone.

There was someone there for me.

But gone were the days where she and her husband would feed me and help me fall asleep. Once I grew old enough to understand my surroundings, the parental feelings I had for them...simply began to fade...to neutrality...

I wasn't the only one hatching without a proper parent. They needed to split their attention to so many other hatchlings. After I realized that, I decided that I'd help them.

“You're no fun. You know that?”

I helped the old couple with their tasks in the daycare. But there were two of them, and only one of me, so I decided to always stay with the first face that I saw when I hatched. She didn't mind, which made me happy. She wasn't my real mother, that I knew, but I still felt the feeling of connection. And, I suppose helping around was my way of showing thanks?

“Why are you always so busy, anyway?”

It was but a simple lie to myself. I was trying to show them that I could be useful. My mind was still too young that time for me to completely understand what was truly going on around me.

I didn't want them to give me away to other humans.

That was why I kept myself busy with helping them around the best that I can. Was it fear that drove me to do so? They didn't give me away, so I supposed it worked. And I supposed that fear made my love for them dwindle and...disappear? No, not completely, just...less, I suppose.

A year or two later though, I finally understood how things truly work in the daycare. The fear of being given away was gone, after I learned that the trainer who owned my parents decided to leave me there. I was glad to hear that I wasn't going anywhere, and I was glad that I wasn't abandoned by my parents, but I was sad, hurt even, that I won't be able to see my parents... Because their human trainer forced them to abandon me...

...humans make the rules in this world...

“Yeah, right! You know that's not true!”

There was still a small flicker of hope that it wasn't true. Humans weren't really that superior to us Pokémon, that much I've learned. We were more powerful, yet, humans command us around. I never understood why. I never even questioned it... I just accepted it...without even realizing it. Do I hate it? I wasn't sure. I mean, the old couple command me around, but not in a harsh way. I understand that they were old and frail, that they find it difficult to do simple things with their age. But they took care of me. They fed me. They gave me shelter.

They helped an abandoned Pokémon.

“Not all of them are as kind as those old poops, you know.”

That was true. It was easy to tell from all of the old humans' ‘customers.’ Human trainers often leave one or two of their Pokémon for them to take care of, while the human trainer goes elsewhere.

The way they talked, and the way they acted. Humans were as different as there are different Pokémon in the world. While some are close to as kind as my human parents, most of them weren't. I suppose it was a good idea for me not to go near them and simply ignore them.

Unfortunately, I couldn't ignore the many Pokémon the trainers leave with us to take care of.

“Heheheh! This place is full of strange Pokémon!”

Strange were their behavior. It was as if they also had their human trainers' attitudes. And most of them were...really annoying, especially the female ones who kept on distracting me. But I tried to stretch my patience and smile at them, as I try to reason with them, or if that won't work, ignore them. Just like my human mother always does.

“Why don't you try and give them what they want? I know you know that it'll be easier if you give in! Ouch!”

That was the first time I ever hurt anyone with my vines, and truth be told, I wasn't sorry.

Fay was a strange Pokémon. She lived inside the forest nearby, but she kept on visiting the daycare, and she kept on stealing the food that we were giving to the Pokémon we were taking care of. But we're friends now, so gone were the days where my human mom and I would chase her away, and leaving the two of us with her giggles.

If we can't beat them, befriend them. That was what my human mom said from our last attempt of chasing her off. She slipped, and her back was really hurt, so I had to help her back to her bed. That was probably the longest time I have spent with her. She kept on telling me stuff she doesn't normally say as I kept a watchful eye on her. She told me her childhood experiences, the days when she was still a tough and rough trainer. The gym badges she earned. The leagues, contests, and villains that she conquered. She didn't win them all, but she enjoyed her journey.

And then she told me how sad she was for me. She told me that I would never experience how fun and dangerous the world would be if I stayed. Those words kept echoing inside my head since then.

“Well, why don't you come with me? It'll be fun!”

I have never felt so conflicted with my life. I've seen so many pictures in books. Pictures of many different places, both amazing and wonderful. I wanted to go out and see them one day. But when? I wasn't sure. I don't want to leave my human parents all alone. They were old, yes, and needed so much help with...stuff...

A few days after that, I woke up from a commotion. There was an angry human trainer in front of the counter, and she called out a large, blue, two-legged and intimidating Pokémon, and she threatened to destroy the place if...if... I don't remember what it was all about.

I never knew I would feel fear again. Time seemed to stand still after the large Pokémon rushed towards my human parents, with its big jaw wide open. Their cries of panic, as well as the Pokémon around me, rang in my ears, as my mind went blank. The next thing I knew, I already threw myself towards the large Pokémon, right before it could have hurt them. I pushed the monster to a wall, and it crashed. It quickly got back up and roared at me, and fear froze me into place. It rushed towards me, but I couldn't move to save myself.

But then, something happened.

The Pokémon we were taking care of attacked, and quickly overpowered the blue monster.

“Black clothes? I bet'cha it was those nasty group of humans. They do nothing but trouble, I hear. But it's really cool that you evolved to save those old poops!”

Evolution. One of the many great things that Pokémon can achieve. They say that it was a magical process of growth and maturity, and my human parents were very proud of me. But, it was also a sign, my human mother said, that I had so much potential, that I shouldn't waste it by staying there.

I told her that I didn't care. With evolution came new power! And I've never felt so strong like this before! And I was willing to learn to use it to help them more, and to protect them.

But she simply smiled at me. She stood up, and looked around. I didn't know what she was doing, until I looked around as well.

There were so many orphaned Pokémon around the place now, and I didn't even notice until now! And they were the ones who took down that giant Feraligatr. She told me that they'll be the ones who'll be helping them now, and protecting them, when it'll come to that. And, of course, when they're mature enough, they'll be letting them go to see the world, just like what she was doing to me.

...and she was too stubborn for not accepting ‘no’ for an answer.

“Heheheh! So, like, you were kicked out? Hahahah!”

Despite that though, I decided to accept it. It was my mom's wish for me to be happy. Elsewhere. She knew, probably, that I would never be truly happy if I stayed. She never said those words though, but I felt it, through our hearts, as we embraced each other for the first, and last time...

“So. Saur, right? Right! Well, you ready? Let's go and see the world together!”

---

I finally let out a breath as soon as Mew finally lets go of Jay. She was shining so bright now. She turned towards Darkrai, and nodded. He nodded back, and Mew then turned to the evolution gem. She slowly hovered towards the gem, and when she was finally within reach, she touched the surface with both hands, and closed her eyes.

She grew even brighter, as the gem hummed and started to glow as well.

“J-Jay?” Vixie called out, stepping closer.

I then looked back at Jay. He was lying on the ground, unconscious.

“Jay...?”

“He is still asleep,” Darkrai said, before closing his eye. “But with the extraction now complete, it's time for me to wake him up. Prepare yourselves, Latios and Latias.”

“I'll apologize in advance,” Latios said angrily, “but I'll kill him the very moment he tries something funny.”

Vixie turned to him with a sharp glare.

“Brother,” Latias tried to calm her brother, to no avail.

Latios growled, turning to his sister. “He hurt you! I may as well stop him before he'll get another chance of h-hurting you again!”

Latias simply smiled at him, and then hovered closer to nuzzle him. “He won't.”

“Y...y-you don't know that!”

“And you don't know if he'll attack us again or not.”

“And that's the point!” he snarled.

“You okay?” Fay suddenly asked me.

I blinked and turned to her, and smiled. “I will be.”

She frowned, but she nodded anyway, before turning back to Jay. “And...a-and Jay? Do you think he'll be okay?”

“We've seen him in worse conditions, yes?”

Fay's frown deepened as her ears drooped. “That's...not really reassuring, Saury...”

I slowly pulled out a vine and gently rubbed her back. “Have faith. He'll be fine.”

“I sure hope so,” Shock suddenly said, sitting beside me. “Else we'll be dealing with...”

I blinked at him, waiting for him to finish. But after I noticed his sad eyes lingered on something, I followed it, and saw Vixie, who was fighting the urge to sob as she sat beside Jay.

I frowned. I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. After a few seconds, I opened my eyes again, and smiled. “He'll be fine.”

“How do you know that?”

I turned to Shock. “Because...”

...he'll never let his friends down? No...

...he'll never let Vixie worry? Hm... Maybe...

But... “I know for a fact that he'll never give up the chance of getting back home.”

“Oh, right,” Fay said, nodding. “I think that's true.”

Shock sighed. “I sure hope that you are right... For her sake...”

destinedjagold August 10th, 2014 11:13 PM

Chapter 96
Fay frowned at Saur, her ears drooping. “That's...not really reassuring, Saury...”

Saur kept his smile as he pulled out a vine and rubbed Fay's back reassuringly. “Have faith. He'll be fine.”

“I sure hope so,” Shock quietly said as he sat beside the Bulbasaur, his eyes on Vixie. “Else we'll be dealing with...”

As Saur pulled his vine back, he and Fay followed Shock's gaze, and the Bulbasaur's smile vanished the instant they saw Vixie, who sat a few feet ahead of them. She slightly hung her head as she tearfully eyed the unconscious Eevee before her, fighting the urge to sob yet failing at it.

Saur closed his eyes, took a deep breath, held it in for a while, and exhaled quietly. Seconds later, he opened his eyes as he tried to smile, small as it may be. “He'll be fine,” he calmly said.

Shock looked at him, and whispered a reply: “How do you know that?”

Saur looked at him. “Because...” he paused for a short while as Fay looked at them both. He then continued, “I know for a fact that he'll never give up the chance of getting back home.”

“Oh, right,” Fay said quietly, nodding. “I think that's true.”

With drooping ears, Shock sighed. “I sure hope that you are right...” He looked back at their Vulpix friend. “...for her sake...”

“Just...think positive,” Fay mumbled to herself. “T-think positive...”

Saur frowned a worried frown at Fay. She always valued her friends, he knew. He only wished that he knew what to do or say that would help ease her mind.

Shock knew that Fay values her friends, but only vaguely. So he kept his focus on Vixie.

Fay kept mumbling to think positively, that Jay would be alright, and that Vixie would be fine. But she was having a hard time to believe that.

Vixie tried to be strong. She didn't want to cry. Not yet, at least. If she does, and Jay does wake up and attacks her...well... She wiped her eyes and took a breath. She'd rather stay alert, in case Jay, or Shadow does attack her. She wondered if she should ask Saur to bind the Eevee's feet, like what Dawn did to Krystal. She shook her head. No, that wouldn't be a good idea. She can pin Shadow down no problem. Besides, he no longer has the ability to evolve.

...and speaking of evolve...

She blinked, after she noticed her paws were glowing. So was Jay. She looked back, and saw her friends were faintly glowing in white and were looking both surprised and confused at the same time.

She heard a gasp, and turned to look. She saw Krystal and her friends were glowing as well.

“It's back,” Bi's voice echoed in the cavern as the evolution gem started to hum. The little green legendary Pokémon smiled brightly. “Evolution is back!” she couldn't hold back a cheer.

Even Latios managed to smile. He turned, and reflected his sister's smile.

“Phew...” Mew sighed in relief as she floated back, her glowing form dimming. She turned and slowly levitated towards Celebi. “I'm never doing that again,” she grunted, throwing an angry glare at the towering gemstone.

Bi only laughed in response.

“You might want to tell that to Arceus,” Latias teased her with a wink.

Mew only groaned some more.

Bi chuckled a few more times before she shifted her attention to her four friends. She slowly landed in between Vixie and the rest of her friends. “You guys are going to evolve again! Isn't it great?”

Shock blinked, staring dumbly at his glowing hands. “Uh... I-I guess so?” He tore his gaze off of his hands and studied his friends' reactions. He was supposed to worry about Vixie and Jay, but now he and the rest of his friends were going to deal with one same problem.

A Raichu, an Ivysaur, a Raticate, and a Ninetales... Will they go back to their previous forms?

Bi blinked at her friends, confused. “W-what's wrong? Don't you guys want to evolve?”

Fay and Saur looked at each other. Vixie was still staring at her own paws, dumbfounded.

Shock was about to reply, but Darkrai suddenly spoke.

“He is ready,” Darkrai said. He blinked, and flinched as he shielded his eye. “Augh! I take it t-that evolution is back?”

“Yes,” was Latios' simple answer as he and Latias hovered close to the unconscious Umbreon. He stared down at the dark-type, and wondered if it was safe enough to perform their task.

“Brother,” Latias called.

Latios grunted.

Vixie disregarded the evolution aura that surrounded her so she could concentrate on glaring at Latios.

Darkrai finally finished rubbing his eye with a sigh. “At least it's not as bright as Arceus' chamber...” The brightness of the Creator's chamber was the only reason why he doesn't visit Arceus often. He cleared his throat and turned to Latios. “Right. Don't worry, Latios. Shadow won't be waking up anytime soon.”

They heard a muffled gasp. They all turned and saw a tied-up Espeon, glaring daggers at them.

“She's a psychic type,” Latios noted. “That's going to be a prob—” He just then took notice of the Meganium who was quietly playing a tune with a leaf on her lips. Soon, the Espeon's eyes became drowsy, until they closed and the psychic was now fully asleep. “...or not.”

“Sorry,” Dawn quietly whispered as she sadly stared at their former friend, accepting the Masquerain's nuzzles.

“Right,” Latios sighed, and turned back to Shadow's sleeping form. He then turned to his sister, their eyes locked on each other, and nodded. “Let's get this over with...”

The two Eon siblings then turned their attention on Shadow. Closing their eyes, they concentrated their psychic powers, surrounding themselves with their respective auras.

Soon, a bright sphere appeared out of nowhere above the Umbreon. It grew in size until it was roughly the same size as a baseball. Its white glowing surface faded, revealing its ocean-blue color.

“Its always nice to see the Soul Dew...” Darkrai muttered to himself, staring in awe at the floating orb. “Kinda reminds me of my blue eyes...”

Shock actually rolled his eyes at that, but then blinked. “Wait, eyes?”

Bi just giggled and floated away, Mew following close behind. The two legendaries flew closer to the Eon siblings to get a better look, their eyes already well-adjusted to the brightness of everything.

After a few seconds, the brightness quickly faded, and the orb stopped glowing. It fell, until it was a hair away from hitting Shadow's slumbering form.

“S-sorry,” Latios said, looking away. “I-I always forget to catch it...”

Latias just chuckled as she levitated the Soul Dew towards Darkrai.

Darkrai carefully held it in his hands, and stared at it.

A voice quietly echoed from the orb, glowing in sync with each syllable. “Uh...h-hello?

“Jay?” Vixie gasped, running closer to the dark legendary, followed closely by her other friends.

“Strange,” Darkrai said as he gave the orb to the still-glowing Pikachu. “Krystal wasn't able to talk while inside the Soul Dew...”

W-what?” Jay's voice echoed out. “I'm inside the Soul Dew? Like, right now?

“Jay?”

Oh, hey there, Vixie.

Vixie was smiling in relief. “T-thank goodness... Jay, d-don't scare us like that!”

Uh...scare you?” A pause. “Ah, right... Shadow mentioned that he attacked you guys... W-wait! You guys aren't hurt, right?

“Pfft! He didn't even left a scratch!” Shock said proudly.

“Actually, he did...” Latias whispered quietly, staring at the small cut on her arm.

S-sorry...” Jay said.

“Don't worry about it,” Shock said. “I bet it was from a rock or something.”

“If it weren't for him, she wouldn't be—”

“Brother...”

Latios glared at his sister, and sighed, hanging his head. “Let's deliver the orbs to Arceus now and be done with it.”

“W-wait...” Vixie said, staring up at them. “Not yet, please? J-just give us a little time...”

“No,” Latios said sternly with a glare.

“Brother...”

Latios gritted his teeth. “Fine...! Ten minutes.”

bewbs August 11th, 2014 7:32 AM

96 chapters is a really big achievement. The chapters are short and sweet, and I found this really easy to read. I enjoyed it very much and I think you've got your own unique style of writing. Perhaps some of these chapters could be merged together, but it's up to you. I think you're doing fine at the moment.

destinedjagold August 14th, 2014 11:02 PM

Chapter 97
Happiness...

It has always been my goal to always see my friends happy. But we couldn't avoid a time where we go into despair. And that is why I always try to help out my friends to see them smile again.

But this time though, I was clueless... I dunno how to help Vixie... A simple laugh from a joke or two might crack a smile, but that won't solve her problem. No. I knew how to help her, but the problem was, I did not know HOW to help her...

Jay... It was Jay that would make her happy. But it was also Jay that made her so sad...

B-but... I guess I should be happy now. Jay's back, and Vixie's happy, and the rest of us are happy, too! Jay's a friend, and his absence really made us all worry about him. But now, he's back! Well, s-sort of. He's inside that blue orb thing. What was it called again? Soul Boo? Eh, it doesn't matter. What matters is that Jay's back, and he sounds really happy to see—er...to hear us, especially hearing Vixie with us. And Vixie's really happy, too.

...but...he's going soon. Very soon. When he leaves, I...don't know how to help Vixie... B-but Saur said to have some faith! So I should believe in myself! R-right! I'm sure I can think of something when the time comes. I hope.

Strange that a single person in one's life can both become someone's happiness and sadness... Kinda weird to think about it though. But, I guess that's how friendship works, too. There will always come a time when someone will leave to continue with their own lives... Like us! One day, we're gonna be having our own families, and we won't be seeing each other as frequent as we do now... It's...kinda sad...but I guess that's how life works... It still hurts to think about...now with Jay leaving us soon...

...life is full of meeting and leaving...in more ways than one...

Well, I promised myself not to think about them anymore, but, I guess I couldn't help it... It was a silly promise to begin with.

“You're crying again...” Saur whispered, patting my shoulder.

I sat down as I sniffed, and wiped my eyes with my paws. “Eh...eheheh, sorry, Saury,” I chuckled poorly.

Saury only frowned on me. “I really hate that nickname, y'know...”

“I'm surprised you're still not used to it,” I stuck my tongue out at him, and sniffed again. I sighed and shook my head.

Saury just kept his frown. “You don't have to think about them...”

“I...I-I couldn't help it,” I squeaked. I turned, and stared at Vixie and Shockie, who were happily chatting with Jay The Orbie. “J-Jay's leaving... I-I don't like people leaving...”

“I know,” Saury nodded, staring at our other friends. He then looked back at me with that cute smile of his. “But that's part of life, isn't it?”

I pouted. “Well, that's one part of life that I don't like. And that time when I met Lithe. And that time when those baddies Rocket meanies killed my family. Oh! And that time you and that old human put poison on the food that one time.”

Saury frowned. “I told you that it was meant for the poison-types,” he closed his eyes and sighed. “But you didn't listen.”

I giggled. “Why should I? I was hungry that time!”

Saury rolled his eyes, “I was aware, yes...” He blinked, and looked at me. “You still didn't tell me how you got that out of your system.”

I winked at him. “A girl has her secrets, Saury!”

He rolled his eyes again.

“Oi,” Shockie called, looking at Saury and I. “You two have nothing to say to poor, little Jay?”

Shock,” Jay's voice sounded weird coming from that glowy orb thing. “Just so you know, I'm giving you a glare at the moment.

Shockie chuckled. “Oh? Hard to tell with you being an orb, Jay.”

“Shock...”

“Just having some little fun, Vixie. Sheesh, no need to be so grumpy.”

I bet it's her hormones,” Jay said, chuckling.

Shockie blinked, and chuckled as well.

Vixie supressed a growl. Instead, she looked down on the ground. “...wonder what would happen if I drop the Soul Dew...”

Oi, oi, oi...” Jay said.

I chuckled. I guess I should count myself lucky to have friends like these. I could never ask for better friends than my friends! Because they're the best!


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