Taken (Part 2)

"Stand back!" I yelled.  "Inferno, light it up!"  Through the thorny brambles, I could barely see Snow standing in the dead center of the bramble circle, while Surf paced around closer to the outside.  Inferno used Flamethrower to light the thorny branches on fire, sending flames rapidly spreading around the ring.  Surf quickly put out any stray fire with a well-aimed spray of cold water.

Finally, the brambles burned enough so that Snow and Surf could easily jump over them.  Surf extinguished the last of the flames with Surf, causing Inferno to squeal and try to climb a tree.  Surf bounded over the ashes of the brambles, raced up to me, and skidded to a halt with his nose touching mine and his fins rubbing mine.  He leaned into me.  "I was so worried about you..."

I welcomed his caresses, some of the panic of Clover's abduction melting away.  Some.  "Me too.  But Clover's gone.  She was taken by the Mandibuzz."

Surf pulled away in disbelief.  His mouth was open slightly, whether from shock or he wanted to say something, I couldn't tell.  Inferno fell from the tree with a soft thud.  Surf ignored him and shook his head.  "What do we do?"

I closed my eyes and took a breath.  "We go back to camp, regroup, and track the Mightyenas.  I have a definite feeling that they're in cahoots with the Mandibuzz.  They must be going to the same place.  We find the pack, we find Clover."

Snow finally mustered up the courage to jump out of the ring as well.  "We'd need some serious help if we plan to save her."

I turned towards her.  "Exactly.  Back to camp.  I think I might have an idea."

After a brief mental contact with Espeon to make sure the camp was safe, the six of us marched in and sat in a circle, Espeon and Umbreon joining between Bolt and Snow.  There was an open spot next to Snow, where Clover normally sat.

I did my best to ignore that fact and continued.  "Ok.  Who here has good tracking skills?"  Everyone stood up.  I shook my head and sat back down again.  Everyone else followed suit as I spoke.  "Ok, never mind.  Four Eevees in the Search Party.  Myself, Snow, Espeon, and Umbreon.

Surf stood up again.  "No way, Splash.  I am not letting you out of my sight again until this threat is resolved."

I gently pushed him back into a sitting position with my tail.  "Surf, the reason I want you here is that, 1. you can handle yourself in battle.  If the camp came under attack, you'd be fine.  2. You're a good commander.  If we do come under attack again, Bolt and Inferno would follow your instructions to the letter.  I've seen you in action."

Inferno nodded in agreement.  Surf looked at the ground in defeat.  "Fine...  But if you get hurt out there, I will never forgive myself.  Understood?"

I smiled at him.  "Yes, sir."

Snow stood up.  "With all due respect, Splash, tracking her down is all well and good, but how are 8 Eevees going to stand up to 20 Mightyenas and a Mandibuzz?  Who knows, there might be even more foes than that!  We'd need some serious assistance!" 

I turned towards her with serious eyes and a ghost of a smile.  "I was just getting to that.  I think that the Search Party should track Clover down, get a location, then come back.  Then, Bolt, Inferno, and I will take a nap."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I watched Snow put her nose to the ground again, trotting along the scent trail of the Mightyena pack.  Espeon was searching for Clover through brain waves, trying to get a hold of her by thought.  Umbreon was keeping an eye out for danger.  He said he hadn't had any more premonitions, but better safe than sorry.

I raised my head from the ground, looking at Espeon.  "Anything?"

She shook her head.  "Nothing.  Something must be wrong.  I might have found her, but she's not responding."

Snow's head jerked up.  "Can you zero in on her location?" she said, much louder and quicker than usual. 

Espeon shook her head again.  "No.  She'd have to tell me where she is, and I'm not close enough to her to wake her up."

I looked at Espeon, deducing what was going on.  "So she's unconscious?"

"That's my best guess."  Snow said nothing, just slowly returning to her tracking.  Espeon sent a thought to me.  "She's extremely upset over the loss of her best friend."

I sent a thought back while resuming tracking myself.  "She's not dead, Espeon.  You just said that."

The thought came back in a very quiet whisper.  "I said that for Snow's benefit.  She seems distraught now, but she's broken inside.  Clover is the one Eevee she really trusted with all her heart.  She trusts us, as well, but no one as much as Clover.  I said that to keep her from breaking down even more.  The truth is, I can't tell if she's alive or dead."

I thought nothing in response.  My mind was blank.  I could tell that Espeon was distinctly regretful that she sent that thought to me.  I was worried enough.  I focused on tracking the Mightyenas.  If she was anywhere, they might tell us where... and if she was ok.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Time passed.  How much, I wasn't sure.  I was just trying to fix my mind on tracking.  Any thoughts about Clover I shut out as fast as I could.  They were all concerns, and concerns would only distract me and make me even more upset.

So caught up in tracking, I didn't notice that Snow had stopped until I bumped into her.  She was frozen.  Umbreon gasped.  I could feel the fear and concern radiating off of Espeon in waves.  I looked up and saw what everyone was concerned about.  We were there.  Umbreon finally spoke where no one else could.  "...yeah.  We're going to need that help."

Clover slowly came to consciousness.  Her first feeling was that of pain.  A lot of it.  The second was that she was cold.  Not the familiar kind of cold that she was used to, like ice from Snow, but a different kind of cold.  She didn't like this new kind of cold.

Clover forced her eyes open.  She saw shiny walls, like metal.  She sensed no danger around her, no sign of the terrible man, his Mandibuzz, or any Mightyenas.  Making herself stand up, despite how much it hurt, Clover turned around, making sure that she wasn't dreaming... or more accurately, having a nightmare.  Blank metal walls on three sides around her.  The floor was also metal, explaining the uncomfortable cold.  Behind her was a cage door, comprised of metal bars.  The gaps between them was far too small for her to slip through.  She could stick her paw through, but not much else. 

She used Synthesis to heal all of her cuts and scratches.  The pain subsided.  Clover took a shaky breath and looked around her cage again.  There wasn't much.  She had a total of three things in here: two red plastic... things that slightly resembled a Pitcher Plant, or a Weepinbell.  They were bolted to the wall using more metal.  There was metallic-smelling water in one and some brown mush in the other that smelled disgusting.  The only other thing in this cage was... a sand box!  Clover smiled.  She may be captured, but there was no reason she should be uncomfortable here.

Having nothing else to do, Clover pawed at the sand, spilling it all over the floor of her cage.  Trying not to think about the rest of the Clan, especially Snow, Clover dutifully smoothed out the sand with her tail, making sure it was even.  Then, she went over to the water container thing.  She hesitantly poked it with her paw, just to make sure it wouldn't hurt her.  It didn't.  She then set about slopping some of the water around the sand, making sure to leave a bit for herself.  She wasn't sure when she would get more...

Wait.  She was inside.  No rain.  No rain meant no water that would get in that red thing naturally... that had to mean that... humans came and gave her water!  That wasn't good.  From her experiences, humans = bad.  That man had really hurt her.  She was not keen on letting anyone near her. 

Clover shivered and shook herself out, as if to get rid of the touch of that horrid man that she could still feel on her neck.  If she was to protect herself, she'd better finish this project.  Clover stood in the far corner of her cage and focused on the sand.  It wasn't much, but it would have to work.  The water that she had sprinkled on the ground helped the tall grass and flowers that Clover grew, making sure that all of them had thorns.  She purposefully left a clear space from the door to the red things, so that her water could be refilled later.  As terrifying as the notion was, Clover needed that water, both for herself and for her plants.  For when the occasion arose that a human did come near her cage, Clover also wove a nice den of flowers, perfectly sized for her.  The thorns faced away from where Clover would be walking, from her makeshift flower den, to the opposite corner, where Clover had grown some berry-yielding plants and herbs, to the red things, so that she could get more water later.

"There." Clover said quietly, partly to reassure herself, partly to hear something in this desolate place.  It was unnervingly quiet in here.  "Protection and comfort.  Not exactly home, but it'll have to do until I escape."

"Escape?" a raspy voice said from a few feet away, making Clover nearly jump out of her skin.  "There is no escape.  Not for you, not for anyone."

Taken (Part 1)

I glanced in panic around camp.  Clover, gone!?  "This is beyond a worse-case scenario!" I shouted.

Inferno leaned on my shoulder, calming me down a bit.  "Splash, what about the others?  Are they still out in the forest?"

I took a deep breath, trying to clear my head.  "Yes.  They are.  Bolt, go treetop and see if they're still under attack!"

"Rodger!" Bolt shouted before zipping up his safety tree and rapidly leaping from one tree to another.  I could only watch the yellow blast leap away.  A thought entered unpermitted into my head.  Was Surf ok?

As if reading my mind (probably because she was), Espeon rubbed my cheek comfortingly.  "He'll be all right.  In fact, I think the Mightyenas attacking them are leaving..."

As if to confirm this, Bolt blasted back into camp, through the entrance this time.  "They were still there, but I scared them off with a bit of lightning."  Espeon gave him a look to say really?  Bolt shrugged.  "Fine, they were leaving just as I got there.  Everyone else is ok.  Clover's barriers worked wonders."

I groaned.  "She would have been safe if she'd stayed with us!"

Umbreon turned to face me.  "Look, Splash," he said roughly.  "Would those barriers have had any protection against the Mandibuzz?  No.  Everyone would have been too distracted by the Mightyenas to notice its approach."  He cut me off before I could respond.  "BUT it doesn't matter!  What happened, happened!  Now it's YOUR job to stay level and come up with a plan!"

It wasn't exactly a pep talk, but it grounded me.  Umbreon was right.  I had a job to do.  And on my roster right now was saving Clover.  "Thanks, Umbreon.  All right.  If we want to go after Clover, we need the rest of our Clan.  Let's go get Surf and Snow, then we'll start tracking the Mightyenas.  I'm positive they'd be going to the same place."

The rest of the clan nodded their consent, but Espeon stood up.  "Umbreon and I will stay here, just to be sure there won't be another ambush when we get back."

I nodded to her.  "Good thought.  Everyone else, let's move.  Now!"

Clover thrashed about desperately, trying to escape the Mandibuzz's cruel talons.  She was getting cuts all over the place.  She tried using Leaf Blade again, but to no avail.  She just wasn't in the right position. 

Where had this even come from!?  She opened up the tunnel into camp and had seen nothing threatening.  Next thing she knew, a Mightyena attacked her from behind!  Leaf Blade had saved her then, but just as she was driving it off with Aura Sphere, the Mandibuzz appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her!

She resumed thrashing, but the Mandibuzz squeezed her harder, driving her talons deeper into Clover's skin.  She yelped and quit moving.  Even if she could escape, they were too high off the ground.  She'd never survive the fall.  Another horrifying thought struck her.  What happened to everyone else!?  Last she knew, Splash, Surf, and Snow were still in her thorn barrier and the camp was obviously under attack.  Was everyone at camp ok?  What about Espeon's kits?  Did anyone in the forest follow her tunnel?  Did they get attacked?

Concerns flooded through Clover's mind.  She took a breath to focus herself.  She had to help her clan, but helping herself came first right now.  She had to escape.  Obviously, the Mandibuzz was taking her somewhere.  Clover might be able to make another, unexpected escape attempt when they were closer to the ground.  Heck, if she could manage, she could Dig back to camp, this time into the shelter of Bolt and Inferno's rock den.  She could fix the hole later.

They flew on for several minutes.  Clover thought she recognized some of the foliage...  That oak tree looked familiar.  But when had she been here before?

The answer came when the Mandibuzz made a banking turn towards a large building in a clearing.  A very familiar large building in a clearing... With a start, she realized where she'd seen this area before.  That's the same building where Entei and Suicune were captured!

With horror, Clover realized that this was their destination.  She screamed and thrashed in terror, not caring anymore how tightly the Mandibuzz held her.  Her feathered captor let out a piercing screech, making Clover wince.  A man in a white lab coat and a clipboard under his arm stepped out of the building, looking up at the Mandibuzz.  He removed a Poke Ball from his lab coat pocket and held it up.

"NO WAY!" Clover screamed, fighting for her life.  She refused to become a slave to this terrible man!  The Mandibuzz flew up to the man and hovered in front of him.  Clover froze, wishing she could disappear like Umbreon or Espeon.

The man spoke.  "Well done, Mandibuzz.  You didn't steal this one from another Trainer, now, did you?"  The Mandibuzz shook her head and shook Clover.  She shrunk away from the man in pure, unadulterated terror.  He peered at her, then held up the Poke Ball.  "Let's see if it cooperates."

The next thing Clover knew, she was trapped!  She threw herself against the sides of an enclosed space she could not see.  It gave way.  Clover tumbled back into the sunlight.  She scrambled to her paws and tried to make a run for it, but suddenly the Mandibuzz was on top of her, pinning her to the ground!  The man walked slowly in front of her, regarding her.  "All right..." he said, seeming a bit indifferent.  "Whatever works for you, Leafeon."

He reached out a hand.  Clover tried to bite him.  The Mandibuzz put one foot on her head, pushing her muzzle into the dirt.  A cold, sterile hand clutched her scruff, and hauled her off the ground, causing the Mandibuzz to push off her back to take flight, giving her more serious slashes.  Nevertheless, Clover fought the man.  He shook her by the scruff, causing a lot of pain.  She yelped again, but continued to fight. 

Finally, the man grew frustrated and threw her hard into a tiny, handheld cage near the door.  She hit the side hard, with the tightly woven wires digging into her cuts.  Stunned by the pain, Clover could only lie on the floor of the cage as the man walked up to it, closed the cage door, and locked it with a resounding click.

The Calm Before the Storm (Part 3)

I can say this for certain.  Clover's new Emergency-vine-that-you-can-only-pull-on-in-desperate-situations-as-in-SOS-someone-is-dying-and-I-need-to-contact-Splash-immediately works pretty well.  The slack is hidden under a rock, and the rest of the vine snakes though a small tunnel underground that Clover made with Dig.  Because my bed is in an air-filled space under the pond, it's kind of hard to contact me in case of emergency.  So, Clover tied the other end of the vine to my bed.  That way, if someone moved the rock aside and pulled on the vine, my bed would rise up and slam against the ceiling.  I have been told I sleep very deeply, so...  Since the possible threat of another Mightyena attack, I had Clover install it.

Needless to say, it works perfectly.

WHAM!  "OW!" I shouted as my head hit the ceiling.  I rubbed my brow with a paw.  The mechanism worked all right.  Oh, wait.  Emergency.  Right.  As I slid into the water, I thought to myself "I swear, if this is Bolt or Inferno playing a prank on me, I will seal them in their rock den for a WEEK."  As I reached the surface however, it appeared as though Bolt and Inferno were safe.  Espeon and Umbreon had pulled the alarm.

I pulled myself onto the ground, not even bothering to shake the water off of myself.  The pair looked rather eerie in the moonlight, with Espeon's jewel giving off a light aura and Umbreon's yellow rings glowing brightly in the dark.  I looked back and forth between the two.  "Ok... when I said that the Emergency Vine was only for emergencies, I meant it....  I am losing valuable sleep here...  What's going on?"

Umbreon spoke first with a note of urgency in his voice.  "I've had a premonition."

I was too tired for this.  "What?"

"A premonition." he repeated.  "You know, a feeling of what's to come."

"Like Future Sight?" I asked, still somewhat dazed from my head trauma. 

Espeon responded this time, soothing my head while she spoke.  "Something like that, yes."

I used Recover to fix my bump on the head, my drowsiness forgotten with Espeon's help.  "How?  You don't know Future Sight."  I gave a nod of thanks to Espeon as Umbreon explained.

"I don't.  But ever since Espy and I have been together, we've kind of... picked up a few tricks.  You know, like Bolt built up a resistance to fire since Inferno tends to explode in his sleep."  I nodded.  Inferno was prone to sleep-splosions.  Umbreon continued.  "Well, I've picked up two things from Espeon.  One you know about; I can sense lies?"

"Oh yeah," I recalled.  "All those times we've almost been scammed or cheated..."  Umbreon was my lie detector.  He was always present during customer negotiations to make sure our customer could and would pay.

Umbreon nodded and kept going.  "Right.  But the other one developed much more recently.  I can sort of... sense when something bad is going to happen."

Uh-oh.  "And... you sensed this just now?"

He nodded.  "Yeah.  Woke me up.  Someone in the Clan is in danger.  I can't tell who, but..."

I nodded seriously.  "I'll tell everyone to be on high alert.  I'll station two Eevees on watch and make sure anyone who goes outside the camp is with their battling partner."

Umbreon sighed in relief.  Espeon spoke.  "Since we're already awake, why don't the two of us relieve Snow?  She's up there right now.  It's only midnight."

I groaned.  "Thank you for reminding me of that fact...  Sure, go ahead.  Let her sleep.  And in the morning, put... Bolt and Inferno on watch.  Tell them that if there's too much chitchat and not enough watching, I'll box them around the ears."

Espeon chuckled.  "Will do."  With that, they walked off together, exited the camp and jumped up to the lookout post just as Snow slid down the ice slide.  The Glaceon shook her fur out and then walked casually to her thorn-bush shielded den with Clover.  I smiled, replaced the rock on top of the extra vine, and slid back into the water.  I swam into the small opening in the side of the pond, surfaced in my cozy little den, and laid back down in my bed, drifting off to sleep.

The next morning, I was grumpy from sleep deprivation.  Fortunately for everyone else, Surf met me in the middle of the pond.  I told him what happened the night before, and he not only told how reasonable I was, but rubbed and swam with me for a good half hour, melting my bad mood away like ice in the morning sun.

Together, we swam to the surface.  As we pulled ourselves out of the water, we were met by Snow and Clover.  Clover gave me a bright, sunny smile.  "Good morning!  We wanted to go out on a hunting patrol, if you Love Pidoves would like to join us."

I smiled at the analogy.  Surf just looked slightly embarrassed.  I nodded.  "Sure.  We'd love to.  Just one sec."  I left the three of them by the pond and walked over to Espeon and Umbreon, who, despite their long night, were eating by the prey hole, sharing sunny looks with each other.  If my calculations were correct, Espeon's eggs should be coming along in the next week or so.

I trotted up to the amicably.  "Morning.  How are you two this morning?"

Umbreon gave me a coy smile.  "You seem in a good mood, despite your late night."

I shrugged it off.  "You'd be surprised what Surf can do."

Umbreon leaned on Espeon.  "Oh, I know."

Espeon spoke, her soft voice like sunlight.  "Did you want to ask us something?"

I shook my head.  "No, tell you.  Snow, Clover, Surf and I are going out hunting.  I want you two in charge at camp.  We'll have four out and four home."

She nodded.  "Absolutely.  Be careful, though," she finished seriously, referring to Umbreon's prediction.

I nodded firmly.  "I will.  I'll be careful and make sure everyone else is, as well."

They nodded in thanks.  I turned back to the other three by the pond, sweeping my tail towards the entrance to signal to them that we were good to go.

Ten minutes later, the four of were padding side by side across the forest floor, keeping our noses and ears tuned for signs of prey... and danger.  Clover voiced my thoughts.  "Does anyone else find it a tad odd that it's right in the middle of fall, the leaves are turning and falling, and there's not a single sign of prey anywhere?"

"Yeah..." I agreed.  "Maybe we should head back.  I don't like this...  Everyone be on your guard.  Back to camp."  We turned around and started walking back home.  I couldn't shake the sense that we were being watched.

As it turns out, I was right.

Shuffling in the bushes caught Surf's attention.  He nudged my shoulder, and silently alerted the others to the threat.  Therefore, we were ready when the same pack of 10 Mightyenas exploded out of the thicket.  They surrounded us.  They had obviously been tracking us.  Thinking quickly, Clover thrust thorny brambles up from the ground, circling and shielding us from the ferocious dog Pokemon.  She turned to me.  "I can dig a hole back to camp!  Stay here and keep them occupied!" 

"Go!"  I shouted.  Clover sprang to the middle of her bramble circle and used a rapid and panicked Dig, drilling into the ground with alacrity.  Surf, Snow, and I remained outside the tunnel, drawing the Mightyenas' attention.  The three of us fired moves through the thick brambles, trying to disable or knock out any that we could, but it was hard to aim.  Our foes on the outside snarled and barked, trying to get into our protective circle.  All we could do was wait for Clover to return and give us the all clear.

Suddenly, Espeon's voice shouted in my head.  "Splash!  The pack is back!  They're at the camp!  Don't come back!  Wait for them to leave!  We're in hiding, better this time."

I stopped in dread.  I sent a desperate thought back to her.  "We're being attacked as well!  Clover's digging back to camp!  Tell her to come back!"  No response from Espeon.  "Espeon?  Espeon!"  I turned to Surf.  "Espeon just contacted me!  She said they're under attack at the camp, too!  There are more of them!"

His first concern was the same as mine.  "What about Clover?"

I shook my head.  "I tried to tell her, but she's not answering!"

Surf thought hard and fast.  "Maybe that warning to you might have given them away.  The less time in contact with you, the better."

"Not in this case!  Clover's in danger!"

Snow whipped around to face us.  "Splash, you go after her!  You can use Blizzard to freeze the tunnel in case of possible collapses!"

"Good idea!" I called back.  With that, I dove into Clover's hole, pinning my fins to my back and sides to avoid scraping them on the tunnel walls.  As I tore through the dirt tunnel, coming closer and closer to camp, I grew concerned for Clover's safety.  Finally, to my relief, I spotted her.

The good news was, she was fine.  The bad news was, just as I caught sight of her, she opened the other end into camp.

At first, I saw no Mightyenas.  Apparently, neither did Clover, because she stepped out into the open.  As she turned around to come back into the tunnel and reinforce it, something heavy stepped on the ground above the hole, exactly on the spot between Clover and me.  The extra weight caused a cave in between us before I could warn her.  I could only launch Blizzard to keep the tunnel from caving in on top of me. 

The only problem with this strategy was that I also ended up freezing the soil in front of me.  As I scraped and scrabbled my claws against the ice, I heard Clover crying out in surprise and pain.  She was in trouble!  Finally, I had the idea to use Stone Edge to shatter the ice in front of me.  However, by the time I was able to start digging, Umbreon was joining in from the other side.

As he dug me out, and Inferno and Bolt joined in, pulling me from the soil.  I glanced frantically around camp.  "Where's Clover!?"

Espeon shook her head.  "That Mandibuzz came back.  It snatched her right off the ground while the Mightyenas kept us busy.  It's my fault, Splash.  I should have took your sent thought.  She's gone."

The Calm Before the Storm (Part 2)

I finally mustered up the courage to speak.  "Did... did you say Mightyenas?"

Streak nodded.  "Yes, why?"

I sat down and did my best to look and act diplomatic.  "A pack of Mightyenas attacked us a short while ago."

Espeon's thoughts entered my head.  "This might be good news, actually.  It might mean that subject 470 is not among us."

I thought back to her, "But then why would they attack us so viciously?"

Espeon shrugged before thinking, "You have a point."

She stopped reading my mind as Streak continued.  "A pack of about... 10 Mightyenas?"  Night nodded to confirm his estimate.  "They were walking past our tree last night.  They looked like they were stalking something.  Anyway, Night here flew back to the nest with a catch, and they saw her.  They went crazy, barking, snarling, trying to climb our tree...."

Night, once again, finished Streak's thoughts.  "Good thing they didn't have a fraction of the tree climbing skills that you do, Bolt."  Bolt blushed.  "Luckily, we both know Close Combat and were able to fight them off.  Even so, it was close.  I don't think we could have done it if we couldn't fly."

I nodded, thinking hard.  Umbreon spoke up.  "Was there a Mandibuzz with them by any chance?"

Streak shook his head.  "No.  No Mandibuzz.  Or else we would have been in even bigger trouble."

I sent a deliberate thought to Espeon, telling her to quietly relax Clover and Bolt.  No need for them to worry about something that might not be there.  Mightyenas were common in the forest at night.  It was a bit unusual, but not unheard of, for a pack of that size to form to hunt larger prey.  True to her abilities, Bolt and Clover seemed to relax upon hearing this bit of information.  I closed the conversation.  "Well, thank you for letting us know.  We'll keep an eye out."

"Thank you for helping us rebuild and reinforce our nest!"

"Anytime!"  With that, I stood up, beckoned to my Eevees with a flick of my tail, and left.  Bolt trotted out in front, as usual, Clover walked next to me at the back, and Espeon and Umbreon walked in perfect sync back to camp.

When we returned, Inferno tackled Bolt off his feet, and Snow, who was on watch, slid down the ice slide to greet Clover.  Espeon and Umbreon padded back to their den just as Surf trotted up to me and nuzzled my fins in greeting.  As I observed Bolt and Inferno getting into another Exploding Competition (Raikou and Entei switching Lava Plume and Discharge gave them a realm of new game possibilities), I gestured to Surf that, perhaps it would be better to catch up by the pond.  I had a few things to ask him about.

"So," Surf began as we sat down with our tails in the water.  "You look like you want to tell me something."

I nodded.  "And I need you to be rational and calm about it, so just act like you normally do."  He smiled warmly at me.  "The Staraptors said that a pack of about 10 Mightyenas attacked them.  That's what caused their nest to fall.  But, Surf, they said that it looked like they were stalking something else."

Surf shrugged.  "So?  That could have been anything from a Patrat to a Tauros.  Was there a Mandibuzz with them?  No.  There wasn't.  That seemed like their calling card, don't you think?  Besides, that Mandibuzz seemed to do the most against us.  Why would they try again without their best asset?"

I sighed, feeling relieved.  "How is it that you always know exactly what to say?  You just took the weight of a Wailord off my back.  Thanks."

Surf shrugged with a smile.  "Anytime.  I know you like the back of my paw, Splash.  I know what to say."

We said nothing else, just leaned against each other and touched noses.

Meanwhile...

A man adjusted his lab coat and made a few marks on his clipboard.  His meeting was about to start.  Better be off.  He strode down the halls with purpose, clipboard under his arm and carrying a small stack of papers.  As he reached the double doors, a huge Houndoom stood in his way.  The man let the guard dog sniff his hand, then step on the button on the floor that admitted the man to the main building of the compound.

He adjusted his lab coat again as he entered the conference room, scanning the assembled party.  4 other Scientists sat around the table, each with their Pokemon sitting next to them.  The man sat at the head of the table, then released his Pokemon.  The meeting began.

"As you are all aware," the man began, "I have some new design ideas that I believe we should implement.  Testing should begin immediately."

Another Scientist with a Liepard spoke.  "Subject 470 again, sir?"

The man nodded.  The Liepard swished her tail hungrily.  Her trainer stroked her head and scratched her ears.  "Yes, my dear, you can play with them."  He turned back to the man.  "What do you have planned this time?"

Another Scientist with a Weavile standing behind him spoke.  "Does it have something to do with that unauthorized experiment on Number 7b?"

The man nodded.  "I wanted to see if my ideas were possible.  They are.  If this works, it could change everything."

The Scientist with the Liepard spoke up again.  "What do you have in mind?"

The man unclipped a paper from his clipboard, then placed it in the center of the table, where everyone could see it.  "This is the current model of subject 470."  He took a pen out of his lab coat pocket and sketched on top of the picture.  When he finished, he placed the new picture back in the center of the table.  "And this is the upgrade."

Gasps were heard around the table.  The Scientist with the Weavile stood up.  "You can't be serious!  We've had success before, but this!?  This takes it to a whole new level!"

Another Scientist with a Shiftry spoke above the clamor.  "It may not be as 'impossible' as you say.  I've seen it done before with a move pairing."

The man nodded to him.  "Exactly!  Why not make the effect permanent?"

The Scientist with the Weavile yelled again.  "We've made one into a shiny!  That was a huge success!  This is beyond impossible!"

Yet another Scientist with a Zoura on his lap stroked his Pokemon and asked, "Would they be functional?"

The man raised his hands to quiet the clamor, then responded.  "Of course they would be functional.  My test on Number 7b is a major step in the right direction."  He glanced at the man at the opposite end of the table.  "I just need more test subjects."

The head of the experimental committee crossed his arms.  His Bisharp did the same.  "How many?  And do keep in mind that these things are incredibly hard to find."

The man smiled.  This meeting was going his way.  "Three should do.  One for another test for this, another for the finished product, and a third in case something... goes wrong."

The executive leaned back in his chair.  "Three.  That will be rather challenging.  However, I have faith in you.  You have a high success rate, and this new idea of yours is beyond anything I have ever heard of before.  Very well.  I'll gather all of the Mightyenas to see what we can find."

The man smiled.  "Oh, I already know where a few are."  He sat back down.  "Just make sure that those blasted Legendaries don't get in our way again."  He pursed his lips and stroked his Mandibuzz thoughtfully.