The Swellow puffed up in annoyance. "A green Sableye stole this necklace! Did you not see it when you retrieved it!? Are you all colorblind!?"
"We found it on the ground near your nest!" I shouted.
She paused. "Hmph." With that, she took the necklace, dropped our cash, and flew off in a huff.
I let out another sigh as Surf walked up behind me. "I can't believe she was the only customer we've had this month."
Surf rubbed my cheek comfortingly. "I know. On the plus side, we're well stocked, so..."
"Yeah... I know..." I muttered as I rubbed him back. "Sometimes, it just feels like I'm barely making things work. Barely any money or customers, this weird spat between Umbreon and Bolt..."
Bolt interrupted our moment. "Yeah, about that..." I turned around to face him. "We've called a truce, but there's a problem that we can't fix here. I'm afraid it'll tear the two of us apart. I don't want to hate Umbreon, but I can't see a way to fix this."
I cocked my head at him. "Surf, can you give us a moment?" This was about more than just a small argument, I could tell that much. Surf nodded, rose to his feet, and padded off quietly. I turned to Bolt. "What's on your mind?"
Bolt looked at me curiously. "You trying to fly away or something?"
I had a brief moment of confusion before realizing that my fins were vibrating to the point of humming slightly. "Wow. I didn't really notice. There must be a big storm on the way."
Bolt nodded absentmindedly. "Anyway... I don't want to keep this just to myself, and I need to tell someone I know I can trust."
I was touched. "That... instills a lot of confidence in me," I said, being honest. "I was just telling Surf how I sometimes feel like I don't do that good of a job." I shook my head. "Enough about me. What's up with you?"
Bolt started rapidly pacing back and forth, the way he does when he's nervous. "I... I just... Oh boy. I don't know how to say this... I... I'm..." I waited patiently for him to finish. Let him come out on his own. This must be big for him. "I'm just going to say it. Please don't be upset with me."
"Of course not!" I said. "This is obviously hard for you! I'll support you. No matter what." I silently congratulated myself. Nice job, Splash. Chalk one up for the leader.
"Ok..." he said with a sigh. "Here goes. ..... Im-"
CRAACKK!! BOOOOOOOOMM!
Both of us jumped as a massive blast of thunder struck a nearby tree. Immediately after, the sky opened up into a torrential downpour. I heard Inferno scream. And Umbreon yelling at him for being "such a princess."
I looked at Bolt. He looked at the ground. "...I'll.. Tell you later." With that, he dashed off. Half of me wanted to follow him. The other half said to wait, let him tell me when he's ready. The second half won. Besides, my Clan probably needed help.
Sure enough, Clover and Snow were trying to tie down Espeon's and Umbreon's log den so that it wouldn't blow away in the wind. Clover made roots appear from the ground, loop over the log, and go back into the ground on the other side. Snow was freezing the entry and exit points on the roots to the ground so that nothing would tear. "Good thinking!" I yelled as I raced by. They nodded back and resumed tying things down.
"Surf!" I called. "Come help me with the pond!" During bad rainstorms, the pond would overflow and sometimes flood the camp. Therefore, it was our job as the local Vaporeons to spill as much water as we could on the other side so that it would have more room to fill up.
We dove into the water in perfect harmony. We started simple, using our tails to throw water over the side. Then we progressed to swimming against the side as fast as we could, then stopping suddenly, causing more water to rush out.
Just as we both started using Surf to get more water out, the biggest bolt of lightning I had ever seen struck the middle of camp. For a second, I was blind and deaf. I dove deeper to recover quicker, bumping into Surf in the process, who had the same thought. When I regained my senses, I shot to the surface in a jet of bubbles. The lightning had not left any damage. But it had left something else.
Something the size of a large Rapidash. Something with electric yellow fur and black stripes. Something with spiked whiskers and very long fangs. Something with claws the length of my tail. Something with black thunderclouds rolling angrily across his back.
I only caught a brief glimpse before I fell back into the water. It couldn't have been.
Surf swam up to me. "Splash? Are you ok? You look like you've seen a ghost type."
"Not a ghost type. Not at all," I stammered. "No. It was..."
"It was what?"
"Raikou. It's Raikou. He's in our camp."
Surf's eyes nearly fell out of his head. "What!? Are you sure!?"
"Positive." I was still in shock.
"Well... what do we do now?" Surf asked. I said nothing. I didn't know. I thought Raikou was a kit story at least, and at most an elusive Pokemon that was only seen in times of crisis.
"I recognized him from the stories. He fits the descriptions exactly."
Surf was at a loss. "What now?"
"I... don't know."
I poked my head above the surface, dully noting that if Raikou decided to attack, the pond wouldn't exactly provide ample protection. He was standing in the same place as he was when he first appeared. His claws dug into the ground slightly. As he turned his head, lightning struck again. The clouds on his back crackled with electricity. He did not look happy.
Diving back under, I swam to Surf. "He looks pretty angry. I doubt he's here for idle conversation."
"I'd say the same thing, judging by this storm," he said, glancing at the raindrops on the water's surface. Raikou roared, making us both jump. On a split-second decision, I swam to the surface again. Surf followed.
I glanced back at him. "Stay low." He nodded. Without warning, I leaped out of the pond and landed on the side. I could almost feel Surf's mix of anger, fear, and concern. But no time to think about that, seeing as Raikou whipped around to face me as I landed.
He growled, sounding like distant thunder. "And you are?"
All I could think of right now were the ten some ways he could kill me where I stood. "S-Splash, great Raikou."
The storm lessened a bit. "Splash as in the Eevee Clan Splash?"
Wait, what? "You know me, sir?"
He nodded, relaxing his position. "I have come to speak with you. It's a most a most urgent matter."
"Why me?" I asked, getting slightly less tense.
The Thunder Pokemon glanced around the camp. "Get your Clan together. I must speak to all of you."
One by one, my Eevees crept out of their dens and hiding places, even Espeon, who's not much of a rain fan. Naturally, Inferno was missing. "Inferno!" I hissed.
"Not coming out!" he shouted back. "I can hear from here!"
"Fine," Raikou growled. He turned to look at all of us before sitting down. "Hello, Bolt," he nodded to the Jolteon, who nearly fainted.
I got right to the point, deciding to ask Bolt about this later. "Why are you here, if you don't mind my asking, great Raikou?"
The legendary looked up at the storm clouds. "I am here because I have been told that you are the best of the best."
Bolt almost fainted again. "Wait. You... I... That... Wait... What!?"
Raikou smiled in amusement. "That's right. That dream was real."
All attention turned to Bolt. "...I had a dream a few nights ago that I met Raikou. We talked about the Clan and I told him we were the best," he finished, half looking down, half proud.
My breath caught in my throat as I thought of what the legendary's words meant for us. "Wait..."
Raikou nodded. "That's right. I need your expertise and versatility. I need you for a job."
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